The Biden administration formally concluded that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris said, as Western leaders met in Munich to assess the year-long war shaking Europe.
DIPLOMACY
* Harris also warned that Chinese support for Russia in its war in Ukraine would reward aggression, as the two powers traded barbsat a prominent security conference in Germany.
* The European Union is urgently exploring ways for its member countries to team up to buy munitions to help Ukraine, following warnings from Kyiv that its forces need more supplies quickly. European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU "can move mountains" to supply more ammunition to Ukraine.
* Britain offered to help other countries which were willing to send aircraft to Ukraine now, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said, as he urged allies to maintain their support in the war against Russia.
* Poland is ready to support Ukraine with its MiG jets, but only if a broader coalition is formed with the United States as a leader, Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki said.
* China has "neither stood by idly nor thrown fuel on the fire" regarding the crisis in Ukraine, and continues to call for peace and dialogue, top diplomat Wang Yi said at the Munich Security Conference.
* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the conference it was "obvious" Ukraine would not be the last stop of President Vladimir Putin's invasion, and that it was vital the West did not delay arms deliveries to help repel Russian forces.
* The Kremlin on Friday accused the United States of inciting Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that Washington was now directly involved in the conflict because "crazy people" had dreams of defeating Russia.
FIGHTING
* Blasts wounded two civilians and shattered several hundred windows in the west Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi as Russia fired missiles from the Black Sea, Ukrainian officials said. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched four Kalibr missiles from the Black Sea, two of which were shot down by air defences.
* Russia's defence ministry said that an offensive push by its forces had yielded the capture of Hrianykivka, a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
ECONOMY
* The US sanctions authority has launched an inquiry into Raiffeisen Bank International over its business related to Russia, the Austrian lender told Reuters on Friday, increasing scrutiny on the bank that plays a critical role in the Russian economy.
QUOTES
"He wants us to be dead," Zelensky told actor Sean Penn hours after Putin's invasion began a year ago, as seen in Penn's film "Superpower", which debuted on Friday. "He hates Ukraine. He hates us."
