Russia-Ukraine war updates: Zelenskyy pushes for NATO membership at Davos

This live page is now closed. Follow along with our coverage of the war in Ukraine here.

To learn more about Ukrainian efforts to maintain Western support as the country fights to expel Russian forces, you can read our coverage of remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland here.

You can also read our story on potential peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, which continue to appear distant following dismissive remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

We will soon be closing this live page. Here’s a recap of the day’s main developments:

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges investment in Ukraine’s economy in remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he also met with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss reconstruction in Ukraine.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin says it would be “impossible” to take away Russia’s gains in Ukraine and dismisses the possibility of peace talks due to what he says are “prohibitive formulas” advanced by Ukraine.
• Authorities in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region urge residents of more than two dozen villages near the front line to evacuate as Russian strikes in the area intensify.
• Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says support for Ukraine should not damage the EU budget, reprising his role as a sceptic of increased assistance from Europe.

BlackRock Vice Chairman Philipp Hildebrand has told Reuters news agency that a Ukrainian bank being set up to advance reconstruction efforts in the country should be ready to begin activities within a year.

The bank, set up with the guidance of BlackRock and banking giant JPMorgan Chase, hopes to attract private investment as Ukraine faces hundreds of billions in possible recovery costs.

“We want to be ready to deploy with at least soft commitments from donor countries,” Hildebrand told Reuters.

“That money cannot be invested in very high-risk enterprises,” he added.

“Not only has their counter-offensive failed, but the initiative is entirely in the hands of the Russian armed forces. If this continues, Ukraine’s statehood could be dealt an irreparable, very serious blow,” Putin said in televised remarks.

Speaking earlier in the day, Zelenskyy stated that “Putin will not change” and that Russia’s invasion must be repelled “so that he or any other aggressor will not prevail”.

Ukrainian border authorities say Polish truck drivers blocking three border crossings have lifted their blockade at two of the locations.

Polish officials previously said the truckers, who have been blocking Ukrainian crossings since November to protest what they call unfair competition from Ukrainian hauliers, would suspend their blockade until March 1 after an agreement with the government.

Ukraine has protested that the action is harming its war effort.

“Today, Polish strikers unblocked the Korczowa-Krakowiets checkpoint. As of this hour, about 300 trucks are queuing to enter Ukraine from the Polish side,” the State Customs Service said on the Telegram messaging app.

Putin says it would be “impossible” to take away Russia’s gains in Ukraine, even as that country continues to fight to expel Russian forces.

In televised remarks, Putin also shot down the possibility of peace talks with Ukraine, saying the country had advanced “prohibitive formulas for the peace process”.

In remarks at Davos, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that Russian forces have targeted food production in Ukraine, raising global prices and causing widespread hunger.

“Russia’s attacks on fields, granaries, on ports in Ukraine, the world’s breadbasket, have disrupted global markets, making food harder to afford and harming the poor and most vulnerable most of all,” Blinken said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about anti-corruption reforms in Davos, according to a press release from the US Department of State.

“The three additionally discussed ongoing anti-corruption reform efforts to bolster Ukraine’s economic recovery and continue its trajectory towards Euro-Atlantic integration,” the statement says.

Over the past few days, we’ve published several new pieces covering various aspects of the conflict.

Here are a few highlights:

• Wider context: Putin waged a trade war long before bombing Ukraine. Which side is winning?
• Photo gallery: Wave of Russian missiles pounds areas across Ukraine
• Video: Portuguese FM: Ukraine can prevail, Russia a ‘Paper Tiger’

And there’s plenty more here.

Polish truck drivers who had been blocking several crossings on the Polish-Ukrainian border lifted their blockade at one of them, says Ukraine’s state customs service.

“Today, Polish strikers unblocked the Korczowa-Krakowiets checkpoint. As of this hour, about 300 trucks are queuing to enter Ukraine from the Polish side,” the service said on the Telegram messaging app.

He says that international partners could strengthen the Ukrainian economy with much-needed investment while Kyiv would strengthen its security.

“Only our people and your investments can build a strong economy … We need normal investments from predictable, transparent companies,” Zelenskyy said in his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

“Strengthen our economy; we will strengthen your security.”

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the West should show unity and called for more support for Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not prevail.

In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy said that the West’s worries about escalation had lost Kyiv time in its struggle against Russia.

He added that Putin would pursue his invasion of Ukraine even if fighting pauses on the sprawling front.

“After 2014, there were attempts to freeze the war in Donbas. There were very influential guarantors, the chancellor of Germany, the president of France. But Putin is a predator who is not satisfied with frozen products,” Zelenskyy said.

Help for Ukraine should not damage the European Union’s budget, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said.

Hungary has opposed aims to revamp the EU budget to channel 50 billion euros ($54bn) to Kyiv and provide more cash for other tasks, such as managing migration.

EU leaders are set to hold a summit on February 1 at which they will discuss the issue.

It’s just after 3:30pm (13:30 GMT) in Kyiv, Ukraine, on the 692nd day of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Here’s a recap of the latest developments:

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in the Swiss city of Davos to meet with world leaders and executives at the World Economic Forum as he presses for more financial backing for Ukraine’s war and reconstruction efforts.
• At the summit, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Washington would keep up its support for Ukraine, while NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine was moving closer to joining the defence alliance.
• Dozens more villages in Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region have been ordered to evacuate after a series of deadly aerial assaults.
• Russia has declared a state of emergency in its southern city of Voronezh, which has seen several drone attacks injure children in recent days.
• Polish truckers have paused a months-long protest blockading the Ukrainian border, which could ease the flow of Ukraine’s imports and exports.

The major liquified natural gas (LNG) project in the Arctic, which has been disrupted by US sanctions against Russia, will load up small volumes of LNG in a tanker destined for Asia, according to sources cited by the Reuters news agency.

One of the sources said the first cargo could be destined for either China or South Korea at the end of this month.

Another industry source cited by Reuters said initial LNG volumes are likely to be “very minimal” and garner limited interest due to the US sanctions.

“Only third-tier Chinese companies with very limited exposure, or zero exposure, to the US market will be able to touch this LNG,” the source said.

Russia claimed in December that US sanctions levied against the Arctic LNG 2 project undermine global energy security.

In a post on Telegram, the Ukrainian president said the two had a “meaningful” meeting and thanked the US for its continuing support.

He said they discussed defence cooperation, particularly how to boost Ukraine’s air defences after intensified Russian attacks this month.

“Air defence and long-range capabilities are particularly important for our state,” Zelenskyy said in the Telegram post.

The Polish truckers officially announced they would suspend their protest for 1.5 months, following our earlier report of an upcoming pause.

The truckers, along with Polish farmers, have been blockading some of Poland’s key crossings with Ukraine, objecting to what they say is unfair competition from Ukrainian truckers and government neglect.

In a statement on X, the co-organiser of the Polish protests, Rafal Mekler, said Poland’s government had agreed to meet several of their demands by March 1.

“If we don’t manage to reach a solution, we will return to the border … This is not capitulation but a strategic pause,” he said.

The pause will be seen as a welcome development for Ukraine, which relies heavily on road transport with Poland for its exports and imports, particularly since Russia’s invasion nearly two years ago.

The leading US bank is one of a string of corporations represented at the Davos summit, where Ukraine’s leader is appealing for more support to boost his country’s war and reconstruction efforts.

Earlier, we reported that Zelenskyy held a closed-door meeting with several corporate executives at Davos, including the head of JP Morgan, according to Reuters news agency.

In a message on Telegram after the meeting, Zelenskyy held up hopes that the bank would play a key role in mobilising funds for Ukraine’s reconstruction.

“We hope that JP Morgan will help attract a large number of global investors and corporations to the Ukrainian economy,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

These included a missile attack and 68 air raids. The attacks hit Ukrainian troop positions as well as Ukrainian cities and towns, according to a Facebook post by the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces.

Most of the attacks were concentrated in Avdiivka in Donetsk region near the front line, it said.

Over the past day, air strikes hit the following areas, according to the post:

• Vesele and Berestove, in Kharkiv region
• Novoliubivka and Serebrianske forestry, in Luhansk region
• Terny, Yampolivka, Bohdanivka, Avdiivka, Oleksandropil, Novomykhailivka and Vodiane, in Donetsk region
• Novodariivka in Zaporizhia region
• Zmiivka, Novoberyslav and Beryslav in Kherson region.