Russia on Friday appointed notoriously pro-Kremlin maestro Valery Gergiev, a personal friend of President Vladimir Putin for decades, to lead Moscow's...

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Russia has warned Western countries that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would carry “colossal risks”, after US president Joe Biden announced the US would support the delivery of warplanes. As G7 leaders met for the second day of the summit in Japan, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko accused Western countries of “still adhering to the escalation scenario”. “It involves colossal risks for themselves,” he added. “In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set.” Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has long stressed the need for F-16 jets, but the US previously hesitated to provide them. The warplanes can travel at twice the speed of sound and can engage with targets in the air and on the ground. Mr Biden has now informed his allies that it will allow the advanced planes to be donated to Kyiv. Mr Biden, who is attending the G7 with other members, also announced training for Ukrainian pilots. It comes as Ukraine has denied claims by Russia that it has taken full control of Bakhmut but warned the situation in the key battle town is “critical”. Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s defence minister, pushed back on the claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner Group of mercenaries had seized the town around lunchtime. “Heavy fighting in Bakhmut. The situation is critical,” she said on the Telegram messaging app. “As of now, our defenders control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area and the private sector.” Prime minister Rishi Sunak welcomed President Biden’s decision on the F-16 fighter jets, having previously pressed allies to provide the Ukrainian president with the jets. “The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs. We stand united,” he said in a statement. The RAF does not have any US-manufactured F-16s. Mr Zelensky touched down in Japan to join the G7 summit on Saturday morning, saying in a statement that “peace will become closer” as he headed to talks. It is understood it was Mr Sunak who suggested to the Ukrainian war leader that he should attend the Asian summit in person. Mr Sunak is understood to have pitched the idea during a phone call about a month ago before it was then broached with the Japanese hosts. Mr Zelensky’s presence at the meeting will potentially bring him into contact with India’s Narendra Modi and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who have not supported Ukraine like their Western allies. Neither are G7 members, but India is being represented at the summit because it is the current G20 chair, while Brazil has been invited as a guest. Mr Zelensky’s attendance at the G7, the group that Russia was expelled from over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, is another show of solidarity from Western allies. Japan said Mr Zelensky has a “strong wish” to take part in the talks that will influence his nation’s defence against Vladimir Putin. On Saturday, Mr Sunak met with French president Emmanuel Macron for discussions at the summit and had a short “brush-by” meeting with German chancellor Olaf Scholz. They discussed providing military aid and “longer-term security assistance” to Ukraine as well as tackling small boat crossings of the Channel, Downing Street said. Meanwhile, the G7 announced it would establish a new team to root out and counter Russia and China’s use of economic coercion to influence nations’ decisions. Worried by the outsized role China now plays in supply chains for everything from semiconductors to critical minerals, the G7 issued a communique that set out a common strategy towards future dealings with the world’s second-largest economy. “We call on China to press Russia to stop its military aggression, and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine,” the leaders said in a statement. They warned that countries attempting to use trade as a weapon would face “consequences”, sending a strong signal to Beijing over practices Washington says amount to economic bullying. “We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognise that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying,” they said. “A growing China that plays by international rules would be of global interest.” Later on Saturday, the Vatican announced that Pope Francis has asked Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops’ conference, to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine. Pope Francis first spoke of his intention to launch a mission when he was returning from a trip to Hungary last month. A Vatican diplomatic source said Cardinal Zuppi would try to meet separately with both President Zelenskiy and Russia’s President Putin but gave no timescale for the plans. Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Sunak meets Zelensky at G7 summit as hopes rise of Ukraine getting fighter jets ‘Peace will become closer today’: Ukraine’s Zelensky arrives for G7 summit in Japan

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Britain could deploy military instructors to Ukraine and even play a more active role in the Black Sea where Russia has targeted cargo ships, defence minister Grant Shapps has said. Mr Shapps – who took over the defence portfolio from Ben Wallace last month – said he has spoken with Army chiefs about the UK moving “more training” into Ukraine and stepping up defence production there. “I was talking today about eventually getting the training brought closer and actually into Ukraine as well,” he said in an interview with the Sunday Telegraph. “Particularly in the west of the country, I think the opportunity now is to bring more things in country, and not just training. We’re seeing BAE, for example, move into manufacturing in [the] country,” the defence secretary said. “I’m keen to see other British companies do their bit as well by doing the same thing.” The UK and its allies have till date steered clear of formal military presence inside Ukraine to prevent a direct conflict with Russia. The Russian invasion of Ukraine is now in its 20th month. The UK has trained more than 20,000 recruits from Ukraine since the start of 2022, but Nato members have avoided training programmes in the besieged country to avoid the risk of personnel being drawn into combat with Russia. Mr Shapps said he spoke to president Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday and hinted Britain could play a more active role in the Black Sea, where Russia has targeted cargo ships. “Britain is a naval nation so we can help and we can advise, particularly since the water is international water,” he said. “It’s important we don’t allow a situation to establish by default that somehow international shipping isn’t allowed in that water. There’s a lot of places where Britain can help advise,” he told the newspaper. This comes shortly after Mr Zelensky said he wants to turn his country’s defence industry into a “large military hub” by partnering with Western weapons manufacturers to increase arms supplies for its counteroffensive against Russia. One of Ukraine’s strongest allies against the continuing Russian invasion, London has spent £2.3bn on supporting Mr Zelensky’s war efforts between April 2022 and March 2023, according to former defence secretary Ben Wallace’s statement in July. Mr Wallace had said it put the UK only second to the US in terms of international donors of military aid to Ukraine, which is currently involved in counteroffensive skirmishes as it looks to retake its territory. “The delivery and provision of aid is dynamic and fast moving, responding to the priority needs of the armed forces of Ukraine,” he had said. He had also confirmed the success of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles in June and told the parliament that the weapons were already having a “significant impact on the battlefield”. Britain has already donated at least five million anti-personnel weapons, including mortars and grenades, along with 1,500 anti-air weapons and 100 launchers. The Ministry of Defence listed 12,000 ballistic vests and 80,000 helmets as having been supplied in July. A total of £4m had been spent on spare parts, tools and support kits for Kyiv’s military. Read More Ukraine aid left out of government funding package, raising questions about future US support Ukraine-Russia war - live: Moscow could annex more Ukrainian regions, says Medvedev ‘Keep an eye on Crimea’: Ukraine’s costly battlefield gains ‘prelude battle to retake peninsula’ Confident of Poland continuing Ukraine military support despite strained ties, Nato chief says Putin marks anniversary of annexation of Ukrainian regions as drones attack overnight

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