Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin was historic, and he blamed Putin for the deportation of thousands of Ukrainian children.
"This is a historic decision that will lead to historic responsibility," Zelensky said in a nightly video address, Reuters reports.
As he stated, the real number of deported children could be "far higher" than 16.000.
He added that it would be impossible to carry out such a criminal operation without the word of the man "at the head of the terrorist state".
The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced earlier today that it has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, due to his alleged involvement in the kidnapping of children from Ukraine, AP reports.
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The United States is deeply concerned that China could try to position itself as a peacemaker in the war in Ukraine by promoting a ceasefire, White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said.
Kirby told reporters at the briefing that any ceasefire at this time will not lead to a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia.
The MiG-29 fighter jets that Poland and Slovakia will soon send to Ukraine will be "destroyed", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today.
He condemned, as he said, the "increasing involvement" of NATO countries in the conflict with Kiev.
"The delivery of that military equipment, as we have repeated several times, cannot affect the outcome" of the conflict, Peskov told reporters, adding: "Of course, that equipment will be destroyed."
Slovakia announced earlier today that it plans to send its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, and yesterday Poland also announced the sending of about a dozen MiGs to Ukraine.
The countries that mistreated Ukraine will answer when the war ends, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said today.
Ukraine's head of diplomacy said that when making future decisions, Kiev will take into account the decisions of each country from the moment when Russia began the invasion, writes the BBC.
Kuleba also warned that delaying the delivery of weapons from the West "is costing Ukrainians their lives" and that "when one delivery is delayed for just one day, it means that someone will lose their life at the front".
He explained that countries that did not support Ukraine now, and "bullied" Kiev during the war, "will pay dearly in the future."
Western countries strongly united in support of Ukraine, but many countries in Africa, Asia and South America remained on the sidelines.
"If anyone in the world thinks that the way a country behaved or treated Ukraine in the darkest moment of its history will not be taken into account in building future relations, they simply do not know how diplomacy works," said Kuleba.
He referred to the fighting around the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and said that it is of great importance because its conquest would mean an open road to other cities for Russia.
"Every war ends at the negotiating table. My goal as foreign minister is to ensure that Ukraine reaches the table after a decisive success on the battlefield," said the head of diplomacy.
Kuleba explained that this means building the strongest possible coalitions for support and an alliance that, he says, does not currently include the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis.
"I deeply regret that Pope Francis has not seen fit to visit Ukraine since the war began," he said.
Referring to the announced visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow, Kuleba said that he does not think that Beijing is "ready to start arming Russia."
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The Slovak government has approved sending MIG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Prime Minister Eduard Heger said.
Slovakia is the second country to decide to send warplanes to Kiev after Poland, which announced on Thursday that it would do so.
Its fleet of 11 MiG-29 aircraft was grounded last summer and most of them are not operational, and it will send the ones that are operational to Ukraine, reports Reuters.
Slovakia will also supply part of its KUB air defense system, Heger said.
Poland announced on Thursday that it would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in the coming days, becoming the first of Kiev's allies to provide such aircraft.
Western countries that have supplied weapons to Ukraine have so far refused to send fighter jets.
The war in Ukraine has entered the 387th day, the fiercest fighting is taking place in the east of the country.
Chinese President Xi Jinping will visit Russia from March 20 to 22, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China announced, reports Reuters.
"Xi Jinping will exchange views on major international and regional issues with Russian President Vladimir Putin," the statement said.
The visit of Sia was also confirmed by Moscow.
"Current issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China will be discussed. A number of important bilateral documents will be signed," the Kremlin announced.
Reuters reported earlier this week that the Chinese president plans to travel to Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin.
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