UK intelligence says Valery Gerasimov’s tenure in charge of Russian forces characterised by failed winter offensive

Here are some images coming to us over the wires.

The latest intelligence update from the UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) catalogues the performance of the Russian chief of the general staff, Gen Valery Gerasimov, who, the MoD says is “pushing the limits of how far Russia’s political leadership will tolerate failure”.

On 11 January 2023, Russian chief of the general staff (CGS) General Valery Gerasimov took personal command of the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.

Gerasimov’s tenure has been characterised by an effort to launch a general winter offensive with the aim of extending Russian control over the whole of the Donbas region. Eighty days on, it is increasingly apparent that this project has failed.

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The town infamous for a massacre at hands of Russia has become a symbol of Ukraine’s reconstruction effort, but experts say the influx of money from the west will bring challenges in such a corrupt country

Standing on the crumbling roof of a house, dozens of workers hammer in unison. Around them, cranes, bulldozers and trucks work frantically to repair roads and buildings destroyed by Russian artillery. It is hard to believe that this noisy construction site is in Yablonska Street, in the town of Bucha, in the north of Kyiv, at the precise crossroads where a year ago the bodies of dozens of civilians, brutally killed by Russian soldiers, were strewn over almost a mile, some with their hands bound behind their backs.

Ukraine has already repaired, and in many cases fully rebuilt, many of the sites destroyed by Moscow, including bridges, roads and government buildings. It is only the beginning of what Kyiv has described as the largest rebuilding effort since the second world war and perhaps the most expensive in history, with an estimated cost of half a trillion dollars. But managing this unprecedented influx of money in a country with a long history of corruption will bring challenges, experts say.

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Putin preparing for ‘forever war’; Ukrainian parents hiding their children in basements; Finland clears final hurdle to Nato membership

• See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage

Every week we wrap up the must-reads from our coverage of the Ukraine war, from news and features to analysis, visual guides and opinion.

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Russia arrests US journalist; Turkey approves bill to allow Finland to join Nato

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Human Rights Watch describes arrest of WSJ’s Evan Gershkovich as ‘depraved cynical move’ designed to silence critical voices

President Joe Biden has called on Russia to release Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested earlier this week on espionage charges and facing 20 years in jail.

“Let him go,” said Biden, when asked about the case on Friday. Previously, the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, described the espionage charges levelled against Gershkovich as “ridiculous”.

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Pedro Sánchez encourages dialogue between Xi Jinping and Ukraine president during China visit

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Spain’s prime minister has said he conveyed concerns over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to China’s Xi Jinping, urging Beijing to discuss peace plans with Kyiv directly, during a visit to China aimed at boosting ties between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters on Friday from the Spanish embassy in Beijing, Pedro Sánchez said that the talks had “transmitted our concern at the illegal invasion of Ukraine,” as well as “encouraged Xi to talk to President Zelenskiy” to learn first-hand about the peace plan proposed by Kyiv.

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Historic move was driven by concern over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

• Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updates

Finland will formally be welcomed into Nato “within days” after Turkey’s ratification of the Baltic country’s accession to the western defence alliance, the Nato secretary general has announced.

“All 30 Nato allies have now ratified the accession protocol,” Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday. “Finland will formally join our alliance in the coming days.”

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• All England Club and the LTA reverse decision on bans
• Players will be required to sign neutrality agreements

Russian and Belarusian players will be allowed to compete at Wimbledon and the British grass-court tournaments this year after the All England Club and the LTA jointly opted to reverse their bans on players for this season’s events.

After being banned from competing at all British tour-level events last year, this year Russian and Belarusian players will be required to sign neutrality agreements, which prohibit them from expressing support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, receiving funding from the Russian or Belarusian state and being sponsored by organisations funded by their governments. Players will not be required to express criticism of their governments.

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‘Evan,’ I said out loud in my hotel room. In that moment, this news story moved out of the realm of professional dismay and into the intensely personal

His face stared out from news stories on Thursday morning, accompanied by headlines like this one in the Guardian: “Russia arrests reporter and accuses him of espionage.”

Oh, that’s awful, I thought at first, reflecting that we really are involved in some kind of new cold war, and there is no end to the toll that authoritarian governments will take on journalists. The imprisonment of journalists is at a historic high worldwide; I’ve written columns about that. And I know that there are close to 20 journalists in Russian jails and that Vladimir Putin’s administration has instituted harsh consequences for what it considers “fake” news, a highly subjective judgment.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

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