Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine foreign minister says Moscow ‘senses defeat’; US set to host talks in Germany on arming Kyiv – live | Ukraine

A suggestion by Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov that the world is at risk of descending into a third world war only means that Moscow “senses defeat in Ukraine,” his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba has said.

Russia loses last hope to scare the world off supporting Ukraine. Thus the talk of a ‘real’ danger of WWIII. This only means Moscow senses defeat in Ukraine. Therefore, the world must double down on supporting Ukraine so that we prevail and safeguard European and global security, the foreign minister said in a tweet.

Lavrov had warned the west on Monday not to underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine and said he viewed Nato as being “in essence” engaged in a proxy war with Russia by supplying Kyiv with weaponry, in an interview broadcast on state television.

Lavrov was asked about the importance of avoiding World War Three and whether the current situation was comparable to the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, a low point in US-Soviet relations, according to Reuters.

Russia, Lavrov said, was doing a lot to uphold the principle of striving to prevent nuclear war at all costs.

This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable. I would not want to raise those risks artificially. Many would like that. The danger is serious, real. And we must not underestimate it.

Lavrov, defending Moscow’s actions, also blamed Washington for a lack of dialogue.

“The United States has practically ceased all contacts simply because we were obliged to defend Russians in Ukraine,” Lavrov said, repeating the rationale for Moscow’s invasion of its southern neighbour.

But he said Western supplies of sophisticated weapons, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, armored vehicles and advanced drones were provocative measures calculated to prolong the conflict rather than bring it to an end.

These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia’s military acting within the context of the special operation. Storage facilities in western Ukraine have been targeted more than once (by Russian forces). How can it be otherwise?” I have added. “NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war.”

He said that Kyiv authorities were not negotiating in good faith and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, a former actor, was like British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in playing to the public rather than addressing the task at hand – negotiations.

“They are similar in a way in their ability to play to the gallery. For example, they imitate negotiations,” Lavrov said.

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine with me, Helen Livingstone.

Here’s a roundup of the latest developments:

• Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has said that deliveries of western weaponry to Ukraine mean that the Nato alliance is “in essence engaged in war with Russia”. In interviews with Russian media, he also warned that there remains a “real” danger of a third world war. Ukrainian foreign minister Dymtro Kuleba said the comments meant only that Moscow “senses defeat in Ukraine”.
• Officials from more than 40 countries are set to gather at Germany’s Ramstein airbase on Tuesday, for US-hosted talks expected to focus on how to arm Kyiv against a Russian onslaught in eastern Ukraine. US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said a key goal of the talks was to synchronize and coordinate mounting security assistance to Kyiv that includes heavy weaponry.
• Ukraine’s foreign minister has urged UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to press Russia for an evacuation of the besieged port of Mariupol when he visits Moscow on Tuesday. In an interview with AP, Dymtro Kuleba also said he was concerned that by visiting Moscow before traveling to Kyiv, Guterres could be falling into a Kremlin “trap” and be “played around”.
• About 15,000 Russian troops have been killed since the start of the invasion, the UK defense secretary, Ben Wallace has said. Speaking in parliament on Monday afternoon, he added that alongside the death toll, 2,000 armored vehicles had been destroyed or captured, including 530 tanks. Russia is believed to have lost more than 60 helicopters and fighter jets.
• Wallace also confirmed that the UK will send a small number of Stormer missile launching vehicles to Ukraine, and that the overall amount of military aid could rise to £500m. The UK has sent 5,361 NLAWs, 200 Javelins and will provide 250 Starstreak anti-air missiles.
• Russia’s foreign ministry said it had expelled 40 German diplomatic staff in a retaliatory move after Berlin expelled the same number of Russian diplomats. In a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said it had taken the decision after Germany declared a “significant number” of officials at the Russian embassy in Berlin “undesirable” on 4 April.
• A senior Russian diplomat has been quoted as saying that a ceasefire in Ukraine would not be “a good option” as Kyiv may use it to “stage provocations”. Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, said: “Ukraine is undermining our efforts to open humanitarian corridors so we don’t think a ceasefire is a good option now.”
• The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the shelling of a government building in Moldova’s breakaway region of Transnistria was a “planned provocation” by Russia. “Obviously, this case is one of a number of provocative measures organized by the FSB [the Russian security service] to instill panic and anti-Ukrainian sentiment,” the ministry’s defense intelligence department said, according to CNN.
• Sweden and Finland have agreed to submit simultaneous membership applications to the US-led Nato alliance as early as the middle of next month, Nordic media reports. The story was broken by Finnish newspaper Iltalehti, and Swedish government sources appeared to confirm the news to domestic media in the country.
• The US has launched a new web portal which will allow a US-based sponsor to apply for Ukrainian refugees and their immediate family members to stay in the US for up to two years.