The head of Ukraine’s armed forces says a renewed Russian offensive “has actually already begun” with Moscow’s forces nearly doubling across key sections of the frontline for fresh attacks.
The comments come after Beijing said it was working to verify claims that Ukraine has captured two Chinese soldiers, saying it had always urged its citizens to stay away from all areas of armed conflict.
China’s foreign ministry spokesperson also hit back against “totally unfounded” claims by Kyiv that there are many more Chinese nationals fighting in Ukraine than the two supposedly captured.
Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday posted a video of one of the captured men, saying it confirmed Beijing has joined Russia’s war effort in the three-year-old war, adding that Ukraine believes there are “many more Chinese citizens in the occupier’s units than just these two”.
It is understood that UK officials have so far found nothing that links the captured troops to the Chinese government.
Kyiv demanded an explanation from Beijing following the revelation, summoning China’s charge d’affaires as foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said the development “undermines Beijing‘s credibility as a responsible permanent member of the UN Security Council”.
Shelling continues as spring offensive starts
Ukraine’s military said fighting has continued through the day with 54 combat encounters so far.
In the Kursk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said it has repelled six Russian attacks but three confrontations are ongoing.
“Since the beginning of the day, the enemy launched 33 air strikes, in total dropped 58 controlled airstrikes at positions of our troops and settlements and fired 154 artillery shells, including seven from reactive arsenal systems,” the military said on social media.
Why is a spring offensive significant?
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces has said Russia’s spring offensive “has already begun”.
Commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military Oleksandr Syrskyi said in the Kyiv Independent that Moscow has nearly doubled its offensive operations across all main areas in the last week ahead of increased attacks.
This renewed push is significant. Here’s why.
Winter with its freezing temperatures has meant drone strikes, but warmer weather (and closer to summer, less mud) means moving troops and equipment will be easier for both sides in the war in Ukraine.
Kyiv has expected Russia to launch a new offensive to heap pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin’s negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
Citing intelligence reports late last month, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia was preparing new offensives in the northeastern Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizizhia regions.
He suggested that Vladimir Putin had been dragging out peace negotiations in order to buy time to “grab more land”.
“Putin wants to negotiate over territory from a stronger position,” he said after his visit to Paris.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksii Hetman, who has connections to the military’s general staff, said that the renewed offensive will last for most of 2025.
Watch: Firefighters tackle huge flames after Russia launches massive drone attack on Kharkiv
Russian military airfield reportedly hit in Ukraine’s mass drone attack
A Russian military airfield has likely come under attack after being targeted in an overnight Ukraine drone attack.
The drones targeted the airfield in Mozdok town in Russia’s North Ossetia–Alania, reported an independent Telegram channel. The airfield hosts Russian MiD-31K carriers of hypersonic missiles.
Mozdok regional head Sergey Menyaylo said air defences have “repelled” the attack in the district, while Russian defence ministry did not acknowledge the strike on the airfield.
Photos and videos shared on social media showed plumes of smoke rising near the area.
Russian authorities did not acknowledge any strike on the Mozdok airfield itself. Regional head Sergey Menyaylo said air defences “repelled” the attack in the Mozdok district.
The US bombing Iran will not promote peace, says Kremlin
Bombing Iran will not bring about closer, Russia has warned Washington following threats by Donald Trump towards Tehran.
Iran is approaching weekend talks with the US warily, with little confidence in progress and deep suspicions about U.S. intentions, Iranian officials told Reuters on Tuesday.
The talks were announced on Monday by US President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January and has repeatedly threatened Washington’s decades-long foe Iran with military action if it does not agree to a deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow was aware of the “quite harsh rhetoric” and that Tehran was taking preventative measures, and suggested the focus should be contacts rather than confrontation.
“Indeed, the world is growing tired of the endless threats against Iran,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said when asked by Reuters to clarify Russia’s approach. “There is a growing understanding that bombing cannot pave the way to peace.”
German coalition partners support pursuing Nato membership for Ukraine
German political parties have reached a coalition agreement following February’s election.
In positive news for Kyiv, the coalition has agreed to pursue Nato membership for Ukraine – one of Volodymyr Zelensky’s priorities and yet a crucial sticking point between Kyiv and Moscow.
Friedrich Merz’s CDU-CSU conservative bloc and the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) have spent weeks hashing out a deal for a coalition, which still needs to be ratified by a vote of the SPD’s membership
Putin holds Moscow meeting
Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the Director General of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Svetlana Chupsheva in Moscow.
The meeting comes after Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian president’s claims.
“I cannot comment on this information in any way,” he told reporters.
In pictures: Dnipro clean up after Russian strike
The clean up after Russian strikes in Dnipro was well underway on Wednesday.
It comes as the head of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russia had already begun its spring offensive.
Head of Ukraine’s armed forces says Russia’s spring offensive has ‘already begun’
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces says a renewed Russian offensive “has actually already begun”.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military, said President Volodymyr Zelensky’s comments that Moscow was amassing forces for a fresh attack in northeastern Ukraine were correct.
“I can say that the president is absolutely right, and this offensive has effectively already begun,” he said in comments reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Mr Syrskyi said Russian offensive operations had nearly doubled over the last week.
Source: independent.co.uk