Russia-Ukraine war | Zelensky plans to meet Xi; FATF suspends Russia's membership

Zelensky said that he was planning to meet China's Xi Jinping after Beijing called for urgent peace talks to end the war in Ukraine.

"I am planning to meet with Xi Jinping," he told reporters, without saying when or where. "This will be important for world security."

G7 leaders on Friday warned countries they will face "severe costs" if they continue helping Russia evade international sanctions imposed to try to stop its invasion of Ukraine. 

"We call on third-countries or other international actors who seek to evade or undermine our measures to cease providing material support to Russia’s war, or face severe costs," the Group of Seven leaders said in a joint statement after holding a virtual summit on the first anniversary of the Russian full-scale invasion. 

Zelensky said that Kyiv needed to cooperate with China to put an end to the war after Beijing presented a position paper on the conflict in Ukraine. 

"China started talking about Ukraine and that's not bad," Zelensky said. "It seems to me that there is respect for our territorial integrity, security issues," he added. 

"We need to work with China on this point... Our task is to unite everyone in order to isolate one," he added. 

Poland said that it began talks with the US during Biden visit on producing ammunition for Ukraine. While responding to a journalist's question about military support for Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said: "I can reveal that I spoke to President Biden about starting joint military production, of ammunition for example." 

Meanwhile, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said that his country has delivered four advanced Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Morawiecki told a news conference in Kyiv that the tanks have actually arrived and aren't just pledges on paper. 

The prime minister said Poland will provide more Leopard tanks soon, as well as a number of upgraded, Soviet-era T-72 tanks.

The United Nations Security Council held a minute of silence Friday to mark the first anniversary of the Ukraine war, after Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of genocide against his country.

The homage of silence came only after Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya insisted the council honor "all of those who perished," in the conflict.

"All lives are priceless," he said.

Zelensky held a news conference on anniversary of Russia's invasion. 

Here are the key points: 

He said, "We are confident we will win this conflict."

While speaking on some countries supporting Russia. He said, "We are trying to let the world know the consequences of this war. We are working with 141 countries who supported us. We are working spreading this fact - the consequences of this war we are facing to other countries." 

In a statement, FATF said that Russian Federation’s actions unacceptably run counter to FATF core principles aiming to promote security, safety and integrity of global financial system. FATF has decided to suspend their membership. 

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that China's proposal to resolve the Ukraine war was "interesting" but not a full-fledged plan to lead to peace.

"It is not a peace plan, it is a position paper ... where China has put together all their positions expressed since the beginning," Borrell said at the United Nations.

China is "actively thinking about," offering "lethal" aid to Russian soldiers in war-torn Ukraine," said US State Secretary Antony Blinken on Friday. 

"We're very concerned that they're thinking about it. Up until now, Chinese companies have provided non-lethal support," Blinken told ABC News' George Stephanopoulos in an interview on Good Morning America.

The Group of 20 finance meeting on Friday in Bengaluru witnessed tensions over Russia's conflict in Ukraine. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen condemned the “illegal and unjustified war against Ukraine” and said, “I urge the Russian officials here at the G-20 to understand that their continued work for the Kremlin makes them complicit in Putin’s atrocities."

Yellen added, “They bear responsibility for the lives and livelihoods being taken in Ukraine and the harm caused globally.”

A key Crimean bridge which was damaged in October of last year has reopened to car traffic. Russia announced its reopening on the ev of the first anniversary of its military offensive against Ukraine.

"All lanes of the Crimean bridge are fully open to car traffic 39 days ahead of schedule," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, while making the announcement.

Moscow, as per AFP, had blamed Kyiv for the blast on the bridge that connects Moscow-annexed Crimea peninsula to mainland Russia. Kyiv, however, denies the charges. 

China is reportedly planning to provide "kamikaze drones" to Russia for the Ukraine war, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Thursday (February 24) without citing specific sources. 

Here's all you need to know.

As Ukraine marks one year of a fierce fight against Russia's invasion, King Charles II sent a message for the war-torn nation on Friday (February 24). Ukrainians, he said, have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack on their nation yet they "have shown truly remarkable courage and resilience in the face of such human tragedy". 

Read more here

As fighting rages on in Ukraine's east and south, Kyiv's allies around the world lit up landmark monuments, held vigils and prepared new sanctions in a collective show of support on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion.

Here's how the global community marked the day:

A virtual Group of Seven (G7) summit marking one year since the invasion of Ukraine, will call on countries to not send military aid to Russia.

The move has been announced by Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, whose nation will be chairing the virtual meet.

"In view of the military support for Russia by third countries that has been pointed out, the G7 intends to call for such support to cease," he said.

On the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of neighbour Ukraine, Poland has made the first delivery of the first German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Kyiv.

As per a report by Polish news agency PAP citing government sources, "Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki will announce on Friday in Kyiv that Poland has already delivered the first Leopard tanks to Ukraine."