Putin exit 'being discussed behind scenes' in Kremlin; Microsoft to help war crimes probe; 500 people 'being held hostage' | Ukraine live updates 👇
Updates from Sky News correspondents Alex Crawford in Donbas and Dominic Waghorn in Odesa. Live reporting by Bhvishya PatelPresident of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen urged leaders to"firmly secure Ukraine in pursuing its European path" as she addressed the World Economic Forum today - in a firm hint that EU membership could be on the cards.
She said this was in turn putting"new burdens" on businesses and households and more countries already battered by COVID-19 were now having to cope with rising energy prices"as a direct result of Putin's unpardonable war". Senior business figures and many members of the government are said to be displeased that Mr Putin initiated the war without thinking about the scale of the sanctions imposed as a result.
"The president messed up, but then everything can be fixed - somehow come to an agreement [with the West and Ukraine]," one interlocutor told the site. Russia has dropped its bid to host Expo 2030 in Moscow as it"cannot count on a fair and impartial assessment" in competition with the other candidates, Interfax news agency reports, citing the Russian foreign ministry.
He wrote:"We have been cooperating with Microsoft for a long time, and they actively support Ukraine during the war. Asked if US special operations forces may go into Ukraine, which officials have insisted they are not doing yet, General Mark Milley said that"any reintroduction of US forces into Ukraine would require a presidential decision".
While Kremlin troops have achieved some localised successes, the offensive in the east seems to have slowed down as Western arms flow into Ukraine to bolster its army. Mr Austin declined to say if the US would send Ukraine high-tech mobile rocket launchers, which it has requested. "The nature of the fight, as you've heard us describe a number of times is really shaped by artillery in this phase. And we’ve seen serious exchanges of artillery fires over the last several weeks," Mr Austin added.Famine caused by grain and food shortages due to the invasion of Ukraine could cause more deaths than the war itself, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.
Mr Shapps went on to say it was"absolutely essential" to arrange a safe passage to get grain and other goods out of the country.
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