Ukraine updates: Kyiv calls on allies for more weapons

Slovakia does not support Ukraine's entry into NATO and will veto such a move if necessary, the country's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Saturday.

In an interview with Slovakian public radio station RTVS, Fico said he is due to travel to the Ukrainian border town of Uzhhorod on Wednesday to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

"I will tell him that we will block and veto Ukrainian accession to NATO, because it would be nothing but the basis for a third world war," he added.

Slovakia has been a member of NATO since 2004.

The country was once a staunch support of Ukraine against Russian agression, but since coming to power last October, Fico's government has pushed back against strong support for Kyiv.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is worried about the prospect of former US President and current Republican frontrunner Donald Trump returning to the White House.

"(Trump) is going to make decisions on his own. I'm not even talking about Russia, but without both sides, without us," Zelenskyy said in an interview with the UK's Channel 4.

"If he says this publicly, that's a little scary. I've seen a lot, a lot of victims, but that's really making me a bit stressed."

"Because even if his idea (for ending the war) — that no one has heard yet — doesn't work for us, for our people, he will do anything to implement his idea anyway. And this worries me a little."

Trump has repeatedly claimed that he has good relations with both the Russian and the Ukrainian sides and is therefore in a position to negotiate an end to the war. He has frequently praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, even after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Russian forces are still making no progress in their attacks on Ukrainian positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the British Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence update.

The Ukrainians maintain a bridgehead on the river and continues to repel Russian attacks despite logistical concerns, the ministry said.

"It is highly likely that the poor training and coordination of Russian forces in the area is limiting their offensive capabilities," the update said.

The British ministry believes that forcing Ukraine to withdraw its forces from the left bank of the Dnipro remains a priority objective for Moscow, so Russia will continue its attacks in the coming weeks "despite growing personnel losses."

Russia has surpassed Saudi Arabia to become China's top crude oil supplier in 2023, defying Western sanctions.

Russia shipped a record 107.02 million tons of crude to China last year, as per Chinese customs data. Meanwhile, imports from Saudi Arabia fell 1.8% to 85.96 million tons. China is the biggest crude oil importer in the world.

The switch comes after Saudi Arabia raised prices for its oil in July, forcing refiners to look for cheaper options. 

At the same time, Russian crude traded at significant discounts to the international benchmark for much of 2023 after it was shunned by many buyers over sanctions against the Kremlin's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. 

Russian lawmakers have prepared a bill allowing the confiscation of money and property from people who spread "deliberately false information" about the country's armed forces, Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma, said.

According to Volodin, the measure would also apply to those found guilty of what he described as specific forms of treason. These include "discrediting" the armed forces, calling for sanctions against Russia or inciting extremist activity.

"Anyone who tries to destroy Russia, who betrays it, must face deserved punishment and compensate for the damage done to the country at the expense of their own property," Volodin wrote on Telegram.

He said the bill would be submitted to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, on Monday. Under laws passed in March, discrediting the armed forces or spreading false information about them is already punishable by long prison sentences.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has called upon allies for more weapons to aid his country's defense against Russia’s invasion.

"The problem at this stage of the war is that the number of weapons, drones, grenades or artillery fire is not evenly distributed. This needs to be equalized," he told Germany's Bild newspaper.

He said Ukraine needs investment in military production, specially to make long-range missiles, drones, grenades and artillery fire.

"The number of weapons should be large" Podolyak said, noting that fighting is taking place along about one half of the 1,300-kilometer (808-mile) front line.

Despite the harsh winter, the intensity of the fighting is not decreasing, he said, noting that this makes the military situation difficult.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his advisers have repeatedly asked Kyiv's allies, largely the EU nations and the US, for weapons, tanks and fighter jets.

Russia's war in Ukraine is approaching its two-year mark in February 2024. Podolyak noted that Russia has not made any significant progress in the last year..