United States determines Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine ahead of Nato summit

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The moment Russia’s advance came undone on the road west to cut Ukrainians off, as Correspondent John Ray reports

The Biden administration has determined Russian troops have committed war crimes in Ukraine and said it would work with others to prosecute offenders.Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday: “I can announce that, based on information currently available, the US government assesses that members of Russia’s forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.”

The statement was made as Mr Blinken and Joe Biden traveled to Brussels for a Nato summit.Mr Blinken attacks said they would share their information with their allies and cited on the civilian population in the besieged city of Mariupol and elsewhere.The assessment was based on a “careful review” of public and intelligence sources since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine last month, he said.

Antony Blinken said Russia had committed war crimes in Ukraine Credit: AP

The announcement comes as Ukraine has regained ground in recent days, taking back some towns from Russian forces.

Nato said it believed 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of war in UkraineBy way of comparison, Russia lost about 15,000 troops over 10 years in Afghanistan.

Officials in Makariv, west of Kyiv, say the Ukrainian flag is flying in the town once more.

A US spokesperson says the Ukrainians are also turning the tide in the south of the country. Elsewhere, Russian troops were pushed back in Voznesensk, as the Ukrainians destroyed a military convoy.

Additionally, Ukrainians are working hard to regain ground in Kherson, which was the first city to fall to the Russians.

Despite the work of the Ukrainian forces, it is thought their Russian counterparts are regrouping as they look to envelope those fighting against them in the east of the country.

Russian forces are continuing their bombardment of Mariupol where rescue workers and drivers from a humanitarian convoy trying to get desperately needed food and other supplies into the city were captured by Russian troops.

Mariupol has faced weeks of sustained attacks which have razed parts of the city to the ground and left those trapped in the city burying the dead in the streets.

The captured reported of 11 bus drivers and four rescue workers, by Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also accused Russian forces of blocking the aid convoy despite agreeing to the route ahead of time.

Drone footage shows the damage in the city

“We are trying to organise stable humanitarian corridors for Mariupol residents, but almost all of our attempts, unfortunately, are foiled by the Russian occupiers, by shelling or deliberate terror,” Mr Zelenskyy said.

In his daily late night address to the nation, Mr Zelenskyy said he estimated that 100,000 civilians remained in the city of 430,000, adding there is “nothing left” of it.

The Red Cross confirmed a humanitarian aid convoy trying to reach the city had not been able to enter.

ITV News Correspondent Geraint Vincent reports from Lviv as people continue to leave Ukraine

The convoy’s attempt to deliver assistance came as Russian navy vessels joined in what have been weeks of Russian air and land strikes into Mariupol, US officials said.

A senior US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity to give the Pentagon’s assessment, said Russian ships in the Sea of ​​Azov added to the shelling of Mariupol. The official said there were about seven Russian ships in that area, including a minesweeper and a couple of landing vessels.

Boris Johnson spoke to President Zelensky on Wednesday. A Downing Street spokesman said: “President Zelensky updated on the latest developments on the ground, and the Prime Minister reiterated his admiration for the bravery of the Ukrainian armed forces and their success in repulsing Russia’s onslaught.” He said the bombardment of civilian areas, Including the siege of Mariupol, is unconscionable and demands a response from the international community.” The Prime Minister set out his intention to use tomorrow’s G7 and Nato meetings to increase the pressure on Vladimir Putin’s regime and work with partners to substantively increase defensive lethal aid to Ukraine.”Leaders would look to address Ukraine’s requests and ensure President Zelensky is in the strongest possible position in ongoing peace talks.”The Prime Minister and President Zelensky agreed to continue to remain in close contact in the coming days.”

US President Joe Biden is due to head to Europe for an emergency NATO summit on Thursday on Russia’s invasion and hostile stance toward the West, where NATO members and other European allies are strengthening their defences.

Rageh Omaar looks at where Russia are trying to make gains

Mr Biden is traveling to Brussels and Poland, which has received more than two million Ukrainian refugees since the February 24 invasion began. He is expected to seek continued unity among Western allies and to announce more sanctions in a punishing series of economic and financial penalties on Russia.

Asked on CNN what Russian President Vladimir Putin had achieved in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Well, first of all, not yet. He hasn’t achieved yet.” But he insisted that the military operation was going “strictly in accordance with the plans and purposes that were established beforehand”.

Mr Putin’s aims remain to “get rid of the military potential of Ukraine” and to “ensure that Ukraine changes from an anti-Russian center to a neutral country,” Mr Peskov said.

He also weapons warning that Mr Putin could use nuclear if Russia faced “an existential threat”.

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In Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, explosions and bursts of gunfire shook the city overnight, and heavy artillery fire could be heard from the northwest, where Russia has sought to encircle and capture several of the capital’s suburbs.

Ukrainian forces this week recaptured one suburban city, Makariv, but partially lost three other northwest suburbs, Ukraine’s defense ministry said.

A video posted by Ukrainian police showed them surveying damage in Makariv, including to the town’s police station, which an officer said took a direct hit to its roof. The police drove by destroyed residential buildings and along a road pocked by shelling. The town appeared all but deserted.

A Western official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss military assessments, said Ukrainian resistance has brought much of Russia’s advance to a halt but has not sent Moscow’s forces into retreat.

“We have seen indications that the Ukrainians are going a bit more on the offensive now,” Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said. He said that was particularly true in southern Ukraine, including near Kherson, where “they have tried to regain territory.”

Russia’s far stronger, bigger military has many Western military experts warning against overconfidence in Ukraine’s long-term odds. Russia’s practice in past wars in Chechnya and Syria has been to grind down resistance with strikes that flattened cities, countless civilians and sent millions fleeing.

But Russian forces appeared unprepared and have often performed badly against Ukrainian resistance.

The US estimates Russia has lost a bit more than 10% of the overall combat capability it had at the start of the fight, including troops, tanks and other materiel.

Western officials say Russian forces are facing serious shortages of food, fuel and cold weather gear, some soldiers suffering from frostbite leaving.

How badly is the Russian offensive going? ITV News Global Security Editor Rohit Kachroo reported live from Kyiv on Tuesday’s News At Ten

The invasion has driven more than 10 million people from their homes, almost a quarter of Ukraine’s population, according to the United Nations.

Thousands of civilians are believed to have died. Estimates of Russian military consequences vary widely, but even conservative figures by Western officials are in the low thousands.

Mr Putin’s troops are facing unexpectedly tough resistance that has left the bulk of Moscow’s ground forces miles from the center of Kyiv, and they are making slow progress on apparent efforts to cut off fighters in eastern Ukraine. The Russians are concentrating their air and guns on Ukraine’s cities and civilians.

Talks to end the fighting have continued by video. Mr Zelenskyy said negotiations with Russia are going “step by step, but they are going forward.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he saw progress in negotiations.

“From my outreach with various actors, elements of diplomatic progress are coming into view on several key issues,” and the gains are enough to end hostilities now, he said. He gave no details.

The Western official, though, said that there were no signs Moscow was ready to compromise.

Listen to the latest analysis on the Ukraine crisis in ITV News’ podcast

In the last update from Mariupol officials, they said that as of March 15 at least 2,300 people had died in the siege. Accounts from the city suggest the true toll is much higher, with bodies lying uncollected. Airstrikes over the past week destroyed a theater and an art school where many civilians were taking shelter.

Mr Zelenskyy, in his address, said more than 7,000 people were evacuated from Mariupol on Tuesday. Those who remain suffer “in inhuman conditions, under a full blockade, without food, without water, without medicine and under constant shelling, under constant bombardment,” he said.

Perched on the Sea of ​​Azov, Mariupol is a crucial port for Ukraine and lies along a stretch of territory between Russia and Crimea. The siege has cut the city off from the sea and allowed Russia to establish a land corridor to Crimea.

It’s not clear how much of the city Russia holds, with fleeing residents saying fighting continues street by street.

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