+ Ukraine war in the news blog + Kiev reports dozens of Russian attacks in eastern Ukraine

Day 416 since the beginning of the war: Vladimir Putin meets China’s defense minister. US Secretary Janet Yellen wants Russia to pay for the damage in Ukraine. All information in the news blog.

8:31 p.m.: During his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu highlighted the “very strong relations” between Russia and China. “They are better than the military and political alliances of the Cold War era,” he said in the Kremlin on Sunday. In addition, Russian-Chinese relations are “very stable”. “Recently, cooperation between Russia and China in the military and technical fields has been developing very well. It is a contribution to global and regional security,” Li was quoted as saying by the Russian state agency Tass.

At the meeting, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized the military cooperation between the two countries. “Our military departments actively cooperate, regularly exchange useful information, cooperate in the field of military-technical cooperation and hold joint exercises,” Putin said on Sunday. There have been exercises by ground, sea and air forces in the Far East and in Europe. “This is undoubtedly another key area that reinforces the highly trusting, strategic nature of our relationship.”

After the war of aggression against neighboring Ukraine and the resulting break with the West, Putin is trying to win over China as a strong partner. China sees itself as neutral in the war. However, Western states accuse the government in Beijing of tacitly supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

7:14 p.m.: Russian forces have launched dozens of attacks against positions held by Ukrainian defenders, according to the General Staff in Kiev in eastern Ukraine. The Russian units suffered heavy losses, which were not specified, according to the Ukrainian army leadership on Sunday in its daily situation report. A total of 45 Russian attacks were repelled around Bakhmut and Marjinka. These places continue to be the epicenter of the attacks. The Russian army “actively deploys tactical and military air forces in these areas,” the general staff wrote on Facebook. The information could not be independently verified.

“The enemy is suffering significant casualties but is sticking to plans to occupy Ukrainian territory,” it said. According to the general staff, medical facilities in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions are “overflowing” with wounded attackers. Despite the large number of Russian attacks, the front line remained unchanged.

6:19 p.m.: The Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has given an indication of the approximate amount of own losses since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression. “I can’t give you an exact figure, but I can assure you that it’s lower than the death toll from the earthquake in Turkey,” he said in an interview with Spanish newspaper La Razón published on Sunday. According to Turkish information, more than 50,000 people died in the February 6 earthquake in the south-east of the country.

So far, Ukraine has not provided any information on the number of its wounded and dead. Only estimates exist for the total number of Ukrainian victims. Kyiv sees the figures as a state secret.

5.10 p.m.: According to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Russia should take financial responsibility for the destruction in Ukraine. “I think Russia should pay for the damage it has done to Ukraine,” Yellen said on US television on Sunday, referring to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. However, it reacted hesitantly to the seizure of Russian assets demanded by Ukraine. “It’s something we’re discussing with our partners. But you know there are legal restrictions on what we can do with frozen Russian assets.”