Live: Wagner chief says Russian forces will not seize Bakhmut ‘anytime soon’

4:23pm: US Defence Secretary Austin says he expects to see Ukrainian offensive in spring

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday that he expected Ukraine to conduct an offensive against Russia in spring.

“Ukraine wants to create momentum … We expect to see them conduct an offensive sometime in the spring”, he told reporters after meeting with NATO defence ministers in Brussels.

He also said that Russia is introducing a number of new troops to the battlefield but that many are ill-trained and ill-equipped.

Asked whether Ukraine’s allies on Tuesday discussed the issue of sending fighter jets to help the country in its war effort, Austin said “I don’t have any announcement to make today.”

3:45pm: Battle for Bakhmut is far from over, says Wagner chief

The Ukrainian town of Bakhmut is far from being seized by Russian forces, said Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russian paramilitary organization Wagner Group, on Tuesday.

“We won’t be celebrating anytime soon,” Prigozhin’s communications team said via Telegram. “Bakhmut will not be captured tomorrow because there is strong resistance… The meat grider is in action,” he added, referring to the heavy losses incurred during seven months of fighting in the city.

Wagner, which has recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine, has been leading the Russian assault on Bakhmut since last summer. In recent days Russian forces have captured a series of neighbouring locations in an attempt to encircle the city.

“[Ukrainian] opposition is active and sends new reserves all the time. Every day, between 300 and 500 fighters arrive in Bakhmut from everywhere, the artillery fire increases every day,” Prigozhin added. “For the moment there is no prospect of Ukraine abandoning its position without a fight.”

2:36pm: Moldova reopens airspace after ‘security’ closure

Moldova reopened its airspace for civil aviation on Tuesday hours after closing it for security reasons, its aviation authority said.

“Moldova’s airspace was temporarily closed at 11:24 am (0924 GMT), 14 February, in order to assure the safety and security of civil aviation,” Moldova’s Civil Aviation Authority said in a press release.

“At 14:47 pm (1247 GMT) the airspace was re-opened,” it added, without giving further details.

2:24pm: EU group to seek access to frozen Russian funds to aid Ukraine

The European Union will on Wednesday launch an ad hoc group to investigate how frozen Russian funds can be accessed for the benefit of reconstruction in Ukraine, Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday.

“The mandate is to contribute to mapping which funds have been frozen in the European Union … and secondly how to legally proceed to access those funds,” Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference in Stockholm.

Sweden currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency.

2:05pm: Moldova has temporarily closed its airspace

Moldova has temporarily closed its airspace, one day after the tiny east European country’s president accused Russia of plotting to bring down its government.

Russia has denied the accusation by President Maia Sandu, who has repeatedly expressed concern about Russia’s intentions towards the former Soviet republic since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

A source at Chisinau International Airport told Reuters the closure was due to security concerns. Russian news agency RIA said the airport had confirmed that flights had been cancelled. Moldova’s government did not immediately comment.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week his country had uncovered a Russian intelligence plan “for the destruction of Moldova”. Days later, Moldova’s government resigned.

1:35pm: Norway to send 8 Leopard tanks to Ukraine

Norway will send eight German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks and other equipment to Ukraine to aid in the war with Russia, the NATO member has announced.

“It is more crucial than ever to support Ukraine’s fight for freedom,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement.

Norway said it will also send four special purpose tanks from its armoured engineering and bridge layer category, with the exact selection depending on what Ukraine needs the most, while also setting aside funds for ammunition and spare parts, the defence ministry said.

Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, has 36 Leopard 2 tanks in total.

12:35pm: Russia added to EU tax haven blacklist

The EU has added Russia to its tax haven blacklist, the latest in economic and diplomatic measures taken against Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine.

The bloc said in a statement that Russia’s 2022 tax legislation had failed to allay concerns over its opaque treatment of the tax affairs of international holding companies.

“In addition, dialogue with Russia on matters related to taxation came to a standstill following the Russian aggression against Ukraine,” the European Council said.

11:05am: Kremlin says NATO becoming more involved in Ukraine conflict

The US-led NATO military alliance is demonstrating its hostility towards Russia every day, and is becoming more and more involved in the conflict in Ukraine, the Kremlin has said, commenting on the Western alliance’s latest pledges to step up military support for Kyiv.

“NATO is an organisation which is hostile to us and which proves this hostility every day,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “It is trying its best to make its involvement in the conflict around Ukraine as clear as possible.”

Moscow claims weapons supplies to Ukraine by NATO countries are dragging out the conflict and raising the possibility of a further escalation. Kyiv and the West say deliveries of advanced military hardware are crucial in helping Ukraine defend itself against Russia’s offensive.

10:25am: More important Finland, Sweden join soon than together, says NATO chief

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said it is more important that applications from Finland and Sweden to join the alliance are ratified quickly than together.

The two countries applied to join NATO following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and their membership bids have been ratified by all allies except Hungary and Turkey. Ankara is widely seen as the main hold-up and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has indicated his country could ratify Finland’s application while not going ahead with Sweden’s.

Western officials have argued that it would be easier to integrate the two countries at the same time into NATO’s military structures, but Stoltenberg suggested that was a secondary consideration.

“The main question is not whether Finland and Sweden are ratified together. The main question is that they are both ratified as full members as soon as possible,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “I’m confident that both will be full members and I’m working hard to get both ratified as soon as possible.”

>> Read more: Sweden’s bid to join NATO meets continued resistance from Turkey

9:30am: Germany to restart production of Gepard ammunition for Ukraine

Germany has signed contracts with Rheinmetall to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv, German Defence minister Boris Pistorius has said.

“We will quickly start our own production of Gepard ammunition at Rheinmetall. I am very happy we have been able to guarantee the delivery of this important part of air defense,” Pistorius said before a meeting with NATO ministers in Brussels.

Germany has been trying for months to find new munitions for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns which its own military had decommissioned in 2010.

7:15am: Ukraine must get weapons it needs to ‘win this war’, says NATO’s Stoltenberg

NATO has to ensure Ukraine gets the weapons it needs “to win this war”, the alliance’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reaffirmed, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not preparing for peace but is instead “preparing for more war”.

“We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace, what we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, new offensives and new attacks,” said Stoltenberg ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers.

“This is a grinding war of attrition, therefore a battle of logistics,” he added, referring to Ukraine’s needs for more weapons and talks over possibly providing aircraft for Ukraine.

On Monday, Stoltenberg said NATO must “ramp up production” of ammunition to meet Ukraine’s needs on the battlefield which are currently draining stockpiles.

6:50am: Russia’s Wagner has made further small gains around outskirts of Bakhmut

Russia’s Wagner group has made further small gains around the northern outskirts of Bakhmut over the past three days, the British defence ministry has said in its daily intelligence update.

The tactical Russian advance to the south of Bakhmut has likely made little progress, Britain said in a regular Twitter bulletin.

“Russia likely aims to reverse some of the gains Ukrainian forces made over September-November 2022: there is a realistic possibility that their immediate goal is to advance west to the Zherberets River,” it added.

6:10am: Russia rejects claim of plot to destabilise Moldova

Russia has rejected an accusation by Moldova‘s president that Moscow is plotting to destabilise the former Soviet republic.

Moldova’s president, Maia Sandu, complained on Monday that Russia was planning to use foreign saboteurs to bring down her tiny country’s leadership, stop it joining the European Union and use it in the war against Ukraine.

“Such claims are completely unfounded and unsubstantiated,” Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Kyiv of trying to draw Moldova “into a tough confrontation with Russia”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last week his country had uncovered a Russian intelligence plan “for the destruction of Moldova”. Days later, Moldova’s government resigned.

10:40pm: Bakhmut closed to aid workers as Ukraine says city ‘too dangerous’ for civilians

Ukraine closed the city of Bakhmut to humanitarian volunteers on Monday as authorities said it is now “too dangerous” for any civilians to be there. Fighting near the major Ukrainian-held town in Donetsk region has been ongoing for seven months.

“It looks as though the Russians are coming closer to encircling it, though they’re still quite a long way from fully encircling it,” says FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg reporting from Kyiv. Ukraine has closed the city to humanitarian workers and journalists due to increased risk of street fighting.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

Read more analysis on the war in Ukraine (C) France M?dias Monde graphic studio