Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin, Zelenskiy warns Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin, Zelenskiy has said. The Ukrainian president is currently visiting Vilnius, one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies and his comments came at at a news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda. AFP report that Zelenskiy warned that any delays in Western aid to Kyiv emboldened the Kremlin, almost two years into Russia’s invasion. He said: He [Putin] is not going to stop. He wants to occupy us completely. And sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia’s courage and strength. Additionally, Zelenskiy said that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop him: He [Putin] won’t finish this [war], until we all finish him together. We must understand that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next if we [Ukraine] do not withstand [Russia]. His comments came as Ukraine faced renewed aerial assaults from Russia, prompting pleas for more support to Kyiv, which Zelenskiy says is “sorely lacking” modern air-defence systems. “Air-defence systems are (the) number one (thing) that we lack,” he added. In recent days, Russia had hit Ukraine with a total of 500 devices – 70% of these were destroyed said Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian president’s first official trips of 2024 will take in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, which are all former Soviet republics and now EU and Nato members. Summary of the day Thanks for following the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. It will be closed shortly but you can continue to follow the latest news here. Below is a closing summary of today’s key posts. Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, met with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda, in Vilnius on Wednesday. The surprise visit marked the start of Zelenskiy’s tour of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia – all former Soviet republics and now EU and Nato members. In a statement on X, Zelenskiy called the countries “reliable friends and principled partners” to Ukraine. Dozens of schoolchildren were evacuated from the Russian border city of Belgorod on Wednesday after a spate of deadly Ukrainian shelling attacks. About 300 residents have already left the area, making it the biggest evacuation from a major Russian city since Moscow launched hostilities against Ukraine in 2022. Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin, Zelenskiy warned in a news conference with Nauseda. A 48-year-old woman has been killed and a school has been partially destroyed after Russian airstrikes against Kharkiv oblast, according to Ukraine’s state emergency service. Pope Francis has expressed his concern that international attention is shifting away from the nearly two-year-old Russian war against Ukraine, and warned that it risks becoming a “forgotten” war. Zelenskiy expressed his desire to see action on Ukraine gaining Nato membership at this year’s Nato summit, adding that 2024 would be decisive for Ukraine and its allies. At the news conference in Lithuania, he said: “Russia can be stopped”. A €200m (£172m) package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine has been approved by the Lithuanian government. The news was announced after a bilateral meeting between Zelenskiy and Nauseda on Wednesday. Air-defence systems are the “number one” thing that Ukraine are lacking, said Zelenskiy at Wednesday’s news conference in Vilnius. He asked for more support to Kyiv, warning that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop him. An “explosive” new attack drone has been developed by Iran for Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a Sky News exclusive. Russia accidentally bombed a Russian village, the UK said. Its Ministry of Defence said that “inadequate training” and “crew fatigue” by Russian forces has likely exacerbated accidents. At least four people have been injured in Russian attacks against nine of Ukraine’s oblasts over the past day, say regional officials. Two people were injured in the frontline town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk oblast, while the governor of the Kherson oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, said two civilians had been wounded in attacks against the area, which have damaged a bank, a factory, an educational institution and other civilian buildings. A majority (63%) of Russians continue to support the full-scale war against Ukraine, according to a poll released by the University of Chicago’s nonpartisan National Opinion Research Center (Norc). Ukraine’s agricultural product exports via its alternative Black Sea corridor reached 4.8m metric tons in December, surpassing the maximum monthly total exported via a former UN-brokered grain deal, brokers said on Wednesday. Russian’s defence industry has shown clear signs of slowdown, said Zelenskiy in his nightly video address. In contrast, Russian officials have said that production of military equipment has been stepped up. One person killed and a school damaged by Russian airstrike against Kharkiv A 48-year-old woman has been killed and a school has been partly destroyed after Russian airstrikes against Kharkiv oblast, officials have said. As reported in the Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s state emergency service said two guided aerial bombs were launched by Russian forces against the village of Vilkhuvatka in the Kupiansk district. The attack took place at 2.30pm local time on Wednesday, officials said, adding that one of the bombs had started a fire in a local school and partly destroyed it. The fire was put out at 4.20pm by rescuers. Another bomb was responsible for the death of the 48-year-old woman, officials claimed, after it hit the village’s residential area. A shop and at least 10 houses were also reportedly damaged. Ukraine risks becoming a "forgotten" war, Pope Francis says Pope Francis has expressed his concern that international attention is shifting away from the nearly two-year-old Russian war against Ukraine, the Ukrainian eastern-rite Catholic church said on Wednesday. According to Reuters, the church referred to a letter received by the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic church, in which Francis said he was sorry that “in an increasingly tragic international situation, the war in Ukraine risks becoming a forgotten one”. The pope was quoted as replying to a letter from major archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk that raised similar concerns about the war, and informed him on 29 December of Russian airstrikes – the biggest since the start of the conflict. Francis called strikes on civilians and vital infrastructure “vile” and “unacceptable”, adding that they “cannot be justified in any way”. In the statement, Francis urged the international community and all involved in the conflict to seek peaceful solutions. While the pope has pleaded for peace previously, with numerous appeals for “martyred Ukraine”, he has faced criticism in some Ukrainian quarters for appearing reluctant to openly criticise Russia, especially at the start of the war. A special peace envoy, Italian cardinal Matteo Zuppi, has visited Kyiv, Moscow, Washington and Beijing, and was tasked by Francis with helping repatriate Ukrainian children from Russia and Russian-occupied territories. Russia claims it is ready for peace talks if Ukraine takes account of “new realities”, suggesting an acknowledgment that Russia controls about 17.5% of Ukrainian territory. Zelenskiy, though, has rejected any notion that Moscow is interested in talks. Lithuanian authorities approve €200m of military assistance to Ukraine A €200m (£172m) package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine has been approved by the Lithuanian government, Al Jazeera reports. Plans to send Ukraine ammunition, generators, and detonation systems in January, plus M577 armoured personnel carriers in February, were announced by the Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nausėda, during a joint press conference in Vilnius on Wednesday with Zelenskiy. “We continue to support the brave Ukrainians in their fight by all means: military, economic and political,” said Nausėda. Vladimir Putin is going for a fifth term as Russia’s president in the country’s upcoming election this spring. In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Olga Chyzh, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Toronto who researches political violence and repressive regimes, argues that Putin’s grip on power could be weakened even if he wins. Chyzh writes: In December, Vladimir Putin finally ended any suspense by announcing his candidacy for a fifth term as Russia’s president. With a blend of resignation and cynicism, the world will watch as the country gears up for another presidential ‘election’ – a term I employ with the heaviest of quotation marks. In the lead-up to the election, Russia will undergo a cosmetic transformation. Streets will be cleaned, buildings given a fresh coat of paint and pensioners handed their electoral encouragement: a free meal. On the day of the election, students and state employees will be herded to polling stations to perform their most important job: voting in an orchestrated display of fealty to Putin. Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin, Zelenskiy warns Western hesitation on aid to Ukraine helps Putin, Zelenskiy has said. The Ukrainian president is currently visiting Vilnius, one of Kyiv’s staunchest allies and his comments came at at a news conference with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda. AFP report that Zelenskiy warned that any delays in Western aid to Kyiv emboldened the Kremlin, almost two years into Russia’s invasion. He said: He [Putin] is not going to stop. He wants to occupy us completely. And sometimes, the insecurity of partners regarding financial and military aid to Ukraine only increases Russia’s courage and strength. Additionally, Zelenskiy said that Putin would not stop at Ukraine but would attack other neighbours unless allies joined forces to stop him: He [Putin] won’t finish this [war], until we all finish him together. We must understand that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next if we [Ukraine] do not withstand [Russia]. His comments came as Ukraine faced renewed aerial assaults from Russia, prompting pleas for more support to Kyiv, which Zelenskiy says is “sorely lacking” modern air-defence systems. “Air-defence systems are (the) number one (thing) that we lack,” he added. In recent days, Russia had hit Ukraine with a total of 500 devices – 70% of these were destroyed said Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian president’s first official trips of 2024 will take in Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, which are all former Soviet republics and now EU and Nato members. Zelenskiy says Russia "can be stopped" as he speaks in Lithuania “We have proven that Russia can be stopped. Now we need to prove that we are capable of wresting a just peace,” Zelenskiy has said at a news conference in Vilnius, reports Al Jazeera. He also commented on the importance of Ukraine and Lithuania working together, saying it was necessary so that the two countries did “not become hostages of geography and will not allow Russia to destroy our and your statehood”. “Together we must determine what decisions this year will bring us. These must be decisions in favour of our freedom,” he said. Zelenskiy also said there was no pressure from the country’s partners to stop the fight against Russia, according to the article. He expressed his desire to see action on Ukraine gaining Nato membership at this year’s Nato summit, adding that 2024 would become decisive for Ukraine and its allies. Speaking on modern air defences, he called it his country’s largest deficiency. Russia evacuates dozens of children from Belgorod Dozens of schoolchildren were evacuated from the Russian border city of Belgorod on Wednesday after a spate of deadly Ukrainian shelling attacks, the region’s governor has said. About 300 residents had already left Belgorod, the biggest evacuation from a major Russian city since Moscow launched hostilities against Ukraine in February 2022. The first group of children have left Belgorod for the neighbouring region of Voronezh, which is further from the border, the governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram. “Ninety-three children from first to fourth grade from different schools of the city will have a rest and gain health in children’s health camps,” he added. The camps had organised an “interesting leisure and educational programme” for the children, who would stay there for at least 21 days, Gladkov said. Russia said on Tuesday its military would do everything possible to stop the Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod, days after a series of strikes on the city killed 25 people. Ukraine’s agricultural product exports via its alternative Black Sea corridor reached 4.8m metric tons in December, surpassing the maximum monthly total exported via a former UN-brokered grain deal, brokers said on Wednesday. Prior to Russia’s invasion in February 2022 Ukraine exported about 6m tons of food per month via the Black Sea. It now relies on the corridor along its western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria, its small ports on the Danube River, and exports over land via eastern Europe. Kyiv believes it has managed to dislodge Russian forces from the western part of the Black Sea, securing grain exports which are crucial to its economy as well as important imports. Ukraine launched the corridor along its western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria in August after Moscow withdrew from the UN-brokered deal in July and threatened to treat all vessels as potential military targets. The deputy infrastructure minister Yuriy Vaskov told foreign diplomats last year that the maximum monthly volume exported via the UN-brokered corridor was 4.2m tons in October 2022. An “explosive” new attack drone has been developed by Iran for Russia’s war in Ukraine, reports Sky News. In an exclusive to its security and defence editor, the publication quotes an informed source as claiming that a “few units” of an “explosive and reconnaissance” unmanned aerial vehicle – the Shahed-107 – may have been offered to Russia in in a deal estimated to be worth more than $2m (£1.6m). The source said the move reflected “the significant force design work Iran is engaged in to support Russia’s interests regarding Ukraine”.