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It used to be that visitors would browse through Bakhmut’s late 19th century buildings, enjoy walks in its rose-lined lakeside park and revel in the sparkling wines produced in historic underground caves. That was when this city in eastern Ukraine was a popular tourist destination. No more. The longest battle of Russia's war has turned this city of salt and gypsum mines into a ghost town. Despite bombing, shelling and attempts to encircle Bakhmut for six months, Russia's forces have not conquered it. But their scorched-earth tactics have made it impossible for civilians to have any semblance of a life there. “It’s hell on earth right now; I can’t find enough words to describe it,” said Ukrainian soldier Petro Voloschenko, who is known on the battlefield as Stone, his voice rising with emotion and resentment. Voloschenko, who is originally from Kyiv, arrived in the area in August when the Russian assault started and has since celebrated his birthday, Christmas and New Year’s there. The 44-year-old saw the city, located around 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Russia’s border, gradually turned into a wasteland of ruins. Most of the houses are crushed, without roofs, ceilings, windows or doors, making them uninhabitable, he said. Out of a prewar population of 80,000, a few thousand residents remain. They rarely see daylight because they spend most of their time in basements sheltering from the ferocious fighting around and above them. The city constantly shudders with the muffled sound of explosions, the whizzing of mortars and a constant soundtrack of artillery. Anywhere is a potential target. Bakhmut lies in Donetsk province, one of four that Russia illegally annexed in the fall — but Moscow only controls about half of it. To take the remaining half, Russian forces have no choice but to go through Bakhmut, which offers the only approach to bigger Ukrainian-held cities since Ukrainian troops took back Izium in Kharkiv province in September, according to Mykola Bielieskov, a research fellow at Ukraine’s National Institute for Strategic Studies. “Without seizure of these cities, the Russian army won’t be able to accomplish the political task it was given,” Bielieskov said. The deterioration in Bakhmut started during the summer after Russia took the last major city in neighboring Luhansk province. It then poured troops and equipment into capturing Bakhmut, and Ukraine did the same to defend it. For Russia, the city was one stepping stone toward its goal of seizing the remaining Ukrainian-held territory in Donetsk. From trenches outside the city, the two sides dug in for what turned into an exhausting standoff as Ukraine clawed back territory to the north and south and Russian airstrikes across the country targeted power plants and other infrastructure. Read more: Ukraine conflict casts shadow on Russia as it enters 2023 The months of battle exhausted both armies. In the fall, Russia changed tactics and sent in foot soldiers instead of probing the front line mainly with artillery, according to Voloschenko. Bielieskov, the research fellow, said the least-trained Russians go first to force the Ukrainians to open fire and expose the strengths and weaknesses of their defense. More trained units or mercenaries from the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company led by a rogue millionaire and known for its brutality, make up the rear guard, Bielieskov said. Bielieskov said that Ukraine compensates for its lack of heavy equipment with people who are ready to stand to the last. "Lightly armed, without sufficient artillery support, which they cannot always be provided, they stand and hold off attacks as long as possible,” he said. The result is that the battle is believed to have produced horrific troop losses for both Ukraine and Russia. Quite how deadly isn’t known: Neither side is saying. “Manpower is less of a Russian problem and, in some ways, more of a Ukrainian problem, not only because the casualties are painful, but they’re often ... Ukraine’s best troops,” said Lawrence Freedman, a professor emeritus of war studies at King’s College London. The Institute for the Study of War recently reported that Wagner forces have seen more than 4,100 die and 10,000 wounded, including over 1,000 killed between late November and early December near Bakhmut. The numbers are impossible to verify. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a recent address, described the situation in Bakhmut as “very tough.” “These are constant Russian assaults. Constant attempts to break through our defenses” he said, Like Mariupol — the port city in the same province that Russia eventually captured after an 82-day siege that eventually came down to a mammoth steel mill where determined Ukrainian fighters held out along with civilians — Bakhmut has taken on almost mythic importance to its defenders. “Bakhmut has already become a symbol of Ukrainian invincibility,” Voloschenko said. “Bakhmut is the heart of Ukraine, and the future peace of those cities that are no longer under occupation depends on the rhythm with which it beats.” For now, Bakhmut remains completely under the control of the Ukrainian army, albeit more as a fortress than a place where people would visit, work or love. In January, the Russians seized the town of Soledar, located less than 20 kilometers (some 12 miles) away, but their advance is very slow, according to military analysts. “These are rates of advancement that do not allow us to talk about serious offensive actions. It’s a slow pushing out at a very high price,” Bielieskov said. Along the front line on the Ukrainian side, emergency medical units provide urgent care to battlefield casualties. From 50 to 170 wounded Ukrainian soldiers pass daily through just one of the several stabilization points along the Donetsk front line, according to Tetiana Ivanchenko, who has volunteered in eastern Ukraine since a Russia-backed separatist conflict started there in 2014. After its setbacks in Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson province in the south, the Kremlin is hungry for any success, even if it is just seizing a town or two that have been pounded into rubble. Freedman, the King’s College London professor emeritus, said the loss of Bakhmut would be a blow for Ukraine and offer tactical advantages to Russian forces, but wouldn't prove decisive to the outcome of the war. There would have been more value for Russia if it could have captured a populated and intact Bakhmut early on in the war, but now the capture would just give its forces options on how to seize more of Donetsk, said Freedman. A 22-year-old Ukrainian soldier who is known as Desiatyi, or Tenth, joined the army on the day that Russia started the full-scale war in Ukraine. After months spent defending the Bakhmut area, losing many comrades, he said he has no regrets. “It is not about comparing the price and losses on both sides. It’s about the fact that, yes, Ukrainians are dying, but they are dying because of a specific goal,” said Desiatyi, who did not give his real name for security reasons. “Ukraine has no choice but to defend every inch of its land. The country must defend itself, especially now, so zealously, so firmly, and desperately. This is what will help us liberate our occupied territories in the future.”

Ukraine is pushing its Western allies to provide it with fighter jets, a week after winning pledges of sophisticated modern tanks to help it beat back Russia’s invasion force after almost a year of fighting. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov was due in Paris on Tuesday where discussions about the possible delivery of fighter jets to Ukraine was expected to be on the agenda. After months of haggling, Ukrainian authorities last week persuaded Western allies to send the tanks. That decision came despite the hesitation and caution of some NATO members, including the United States and Germany. There was no indication that a decision on warplanes to Ukraine might come any time soon and no sign that Western countries have changed their earlier stance on the issue. Some Western leaders have expressed concern that the move could escalate the nearly year-long conflict and draw them deeper into the war. The U.K. government, which has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest diplomatic supporters and military suppliers, said that sending its fighter jets is “not practical.” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s spokesman, Max Blain, said “the U.K.’s Typhoon and F-35 fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly.” “Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine,” he said Tuesday, though he didn't say that the U.K. was opposed to other countries sending planes. Asked by a reporter Monday if his administration was considering sending Ukraine F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, U.S. President Joe Biden responded “no.” Kyiv officials have repeatedly urged allies to send jets, saying they are essential to challenge Russia’s air superiority and to ensure the success of future counteroffensives that could be spearheaded by tanks recently promised by Western countries. Ukraine's allies also have ruled out providing Kyiv with long-range missiles able to hit Russian territory, signaling a similarly cautious stance on warplanes. Asked Tuesday about the supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov repeated the Kremlin’s view that “NATO long has been directly involved into a hybrid war against Russia.” He added after the talks in Moscow with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry that the Russian military will “take all the necessary measures to derail the fulfillment of Western plans.” He said that Shoukry conveyed a message from U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken about Ukraine, which repeated the previous calls from Washington for Russia to withdraw. Lavrov said “Russia is ready to hear any serious — I want to underline this word — proposal aimed at comprehensive settlement of the current situation.” Both Ukraine and Russia are believed to be building up their arsenals for an expected offensive in coming months. The war has been largely deadlocked on the battlefield during the winter. As in previous debates about how to help Ukraine, Poland is a leading advocate in the European Union for providing military aid. Poland, Slovakia and the Baltic countries on NATO’s eastern flank feel especially threatened by Russia. Asked about Lithuania’s call for fighter jets and long-range missiles for Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the comments “reflected an aggressive approach taken by the Baltic nations and Poland, who are ready to do everything to provoke further escalation without thinking about consequences.” “It’s very sad that the leaders of big European countries that drive the European agenda don’t fulfill a balancing role to offset such extremist inclinations,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that France doesn’t exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step is taken. The conditions, he said, include not leading to an escalation of tensions or using the aircraft “to touch Russian soil,” and not resulting in weakening “the capacities of the French army." Read more: NATO vows to aid Ukraine ‘for as long as it takes’ He also said Ukraine must also formally request the planes, something that could happen when Reznikov sits down for talks in Paris. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appeared to balk at the prospect of providing fighter jets, suggesting Sunday that the reason for the entire discussion might be down to “domestic political motives” in some countries. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Monday there are “no taboos” in efforts to help Ukraine. But he added that sending jets “would be a very big next step.” NATO-member Croatia’s president, meanwhile, criticized Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons. President Zoran Milanovic argued that those arms deliveries will only prolong the war. Earlier in the conflict, discussions focused on the possibility of providing Kyiv with Soviet-made MiG-29 fighter jets that Ukrainian pilots are familiar with. In March, the Pentagon rejected Poland’s proposal to transfer its MiG-29 fighter jets to Kyiv through a U.S. base in Germany, citing a high risk of triggering a Russia-NATO escalation. Western warplanes would offer Ukraine a major boost, but countering Russia’s massive air force would still be a major challenge. Ukraine inherited a significant fleet of Soviet-made warplanes, including Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets and Su-25 ground attack aircraft. Switching to Western aircraft would require Ukrainian crews to undergo long training and would also raise logistical challenges linked to their maintenance and repair. Russia methodically targeted Ukrainian air bases and air defense batteries in the opening stage of the conflict, but Ukraine has been smart about relocating its warplanes and concealing air defense assets, resulting in Russia’s failure to gain full control of the skies. After suffering heavy losses early during the conflict, the Russian air force has avoided venturing deep into Ukraine’s airspace and mostly focused on close support missions along the frontline. The Ukrainian air force faced similar challenges, trying to save its remaining warplanes from being hit by Russian fighter jets and air defense systems.

France and Australia announced Monday plans to jointly produce and send several thousand 155-millimeter artillery shells to Ukraine, starting in the coming weeks. The multimillion-dollar plan is the latest offer of support for Ukraine by both countries, and comes amid growing appeals from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for heavy weaponry and long-term supplies from Western allies nearly a year into Russia's war on Ukraine. The joint announcement, made by Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu, also appeared aimed at sending a signal that the two countries have overcome a damaging dispute over submarines. Australia secretly jettisoned a $60 billion contract for conventional French submarines in 2021 in favor of a deal for nuclear-powered submarines made by the U.S. and Britain instead, deeply harming French-Australian relations. Read more: France’s defense minister goes to Ukraine to boost support The production of artillery shells for Ukraine will be led by French manufacturer Nexter in cooperation with Australian manufacturers, the defense ministers said. They did not provide further details, citing national security. “I’m pleased to announce that Australia and France are working together to supply 155-millimeter ammunition to Ukraine, to make sure Ukraine is able to stay in this conflict and see it concluded on its own terms,” Marles said. Lecornu said they aim to send the first shells in the first quarter of this year, and that the project is meant to secure a steady supply of shells to Ukraine over time.

Name it, act on it, sanction it. That is the focus of a new drive against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination of all kinds that was announced Monday by French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne. The four-year plan starts with educating youth with a required yearly trip to a Holocaust or other memorial site exemplifying the horrors that racism can produce. It includes training teachers and civil servants about discrimination and toughening the ability to punish those denounced for discrimination. Arrest warrants will be issued to those who use freedom of expression for racist or anti-Semitic ends. Unusually, the plan includes fighting discrimination against Roma. “There will be no impunity for hate,” Borne said, presenting her plan with 80 measures at the Institute of the Arab World. Tolerance is on the rise, “but hate has reinvented itself,” she said. “Our first challenge is to look squarely at the reality of racism and anti-Semitism and cede nothing to those who falsify history, who rewrite our past, forgetting or deforming some pages,” Borne added. Some people working for years in French associations against racism and discrimination are skeptical about the plan, reject it outright or are reserving their judgement. Even Kaltoum Gachi, a co-president of the anti-racist MRAP organization — which contributed a proposal — told The Associated Press that her group “will be vigilant to see if, concretely, (the plan) bears fruit.” France’s government has rolled out a succession of plans over five decades, the latest in 2018, to grapple with racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination. Still, the estimated number of victims who suffered as least one racist, anti-Semitic or xenophobic attack was 1.2 million per year, according to the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights. Social media and a rising far-right fearful of the disappearance of the nation’s Christian roots in an increasingly multi-cultural France have added new dimensions to the fight against racism. Generations of citizens from former colonies in mostly Muslim north and west Africa have over decades given the nation a new face. Read more: Uproar in France over proposed limits on filming police Gachi, the MRAP co-president and a lawyer, told those attending the presentation that 25 years ago, her younger brother Kamel failed in numerous requests for a job interview with an automaker — until he changed his name to Kevin. Just on Monday, Gachi, a lawyer, said in an interview with The AP that she spoke with a youth with the same problem, a humiliating experience that leaves a lasting mark. She added that dignity, not just equality, is part of the equation. Names, addresses and looks have long been a roadblock for people with origins outside France. Regular testing in private and public places of employment will be part of the new anti-discrimination effort, though the exact method is still being devised. Borne said her plan will also offer victims of racism and discrimination the possibility to file complaints outside a police station, and in a “partially anonymous” way. She did not elaborate. The plan will also make it “an aggravating circumstance” if someone in authority, such as a police officer, uses racist or discriminatory words to someone. However, Borne’s plan dodges some sensitive areas, notably failing to directly tackle discrimination and racial profiling within the nation’s powerful police force. Omer Mas Capitolin, a founder of the grassroots Community House for Supportive Development, said the measures are not sufficient. “There is a denial of systemic discrimination,” not mentioned once in the plan, he told the AP. His organization is one of a group of NGOs that launched a class action suit in 2021 against France’s powerful police in 2021, contending that it lawfully propagates a culture leading to systemic discrimination in identity checks. But for Mas Capitolin, who spoke on a personal level, alleged systemic discrimination goes beyond law enforcement to sectors like housing and jobs. Mas Capitolin also criticized the timing for unveiling the plan on a day parliament opens debate on a hotly contested pension plan and on the eve of a planned protest march.  

Turkey's president has suggested his country might approve Finland's application for NATO membership before taking any action on Sweden's, while the Turkish government issued a travel warning for European countries due to anti-Turkish demonstrations and what it described as Islamophobia. The travel warning published late Saturday followed demonstrations last weekend outside the Turkish Embassy in Sweden, where an anti-Islam activist burned the Quran and pro-Kurdish groups protested against Turkey. The events stiffened Turkey's refusal so far to ratify Sweden's NATO bid. Sweden and Finland applied jointly to become members of the military alliance, dropping their longstanding military nonalignment following Russia’s war on Ukraine. In a prerecorded video of an event released Sunday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan indicated that Turkey might sign off on only Finland. “If needed, we could give a different message about Finland. Sweden will be shocked when we give the different message about Finland.” Erdogan said to a group of young people in Bilecik province. Turkey has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient toward groups it deems as terror organizations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. NATO requires unanimous approval of its existing members to add new ones, but Erdogan's government has said it would only agree to admit Sweden if the country met its conditions. Read more: Erdogan says no support for Sweden's NATO bid In its travel warning to citizens, the Turkish foreign ministry cited an increase in anti-Turkish protests by “groups with links to terror groups,” a reference to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey. Along with Turkey, the European Union and United States also designate the PKK as a terror group. Pro-Kurdish groups have waved the flags of the PKK and its affiliates during protests in Sweden organized as a response to Sweden and Finland’s promise to prevent the PKK’s activities in their countries in order to gain Turkey’s approval for their NATO memberships. Erdogan said he told the Swedish prime minister, “You will extradite these terrorists if you really want to enter NATO. If you don’t extradite these terrorists, then sorry.” He said Turkey had provided a list of 120 people it wants extradited from Sweden, a demand that was part of a memorandum signed in June that averted Turkey’s veto of the Nordic nations' joint application. Turkey is demanding the extradition of alleged PKK militants as well as some followers of Fethullah Gulen, the Muslim cleric accused of the 2016 attempted coup. In December, the Swedish Supreme Court said the country cannot extradite Bulent Kenes, the former editor-in-chief of a newspaper linked to Gulen, angering Turkey. Turkey also strongly condemned far-right activist Rasmus Paludan’s burning of the Quran last weekend in Stockholm, which he repeated in Copenhagen Friday. Ankara summoned the Dutch ambassador after another far-right activist tore pages of the Quran in the Hague. Following last week's protests, Erdogan warned Sweden not to expect support for its membership bid for the military alliance. Turkey also indefinitely postponed a key meeting in Brussels that would have discussed Sweden and Finland’s NATO membership. The Turkish foreign ministry urged its citizens to take precautions and stay away from demonstration areas in Europe. It also said they should go to local authorities if they face xenophobic or racist attacks. In a separate advisory, the ministry also urged Turkish citizens to be vigilant in the United States in case of protests in response to the fatal beating by Memphis, Tennessee, police of Tyre Nichols, an unarmed Black man. Earlier Saturday, before Turkey had issued its travel warning, the Nordic countries separately issued updated travel guidelines for Turkey. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden urged their citizens visiting Turkey to avoid large gatherings and to exercise caution. Read more: Turkey condemns Sweden protests, cancels ministers' meeting The Swedish Foreign Ministry said in a message on its website that Sweden’s embassy in Ankara remains closed to the public and visitors to the country’s consulate general in Istanbul are “requested to exercise vigilance.” “We want to make Swedes in Turkey aware that further manifestations may occur,” the Swedish ministry said, referring to counter-protests that erupted in Turkey after last weekend’s events in Stockholm.

Authorities said Saturday that three people had died and at least one was missing after record levels of rainfall pounded New Zealand's largest city, causing widespread disruption. Prime Minister Chris Hipkins flew to Auckland on a military plane after a state of emergency was declared in the region. “Our priority is to ensure that Aucklanders are safe, that they're housed and that they have access to the essential services that they need,” Hipkins said. He said the city was in for a big cleanup and that people should remain indoors if possible. He said a break in the weather could prove temporary, with more heavy rain forecast. “This is an unprecedented event in recent memory," Hipkins said. Friday was the wettest day ever recorded in Auckland, according to weather agencies, as the amount of rain that would typically fall over the entire summer hit in a single day. On Friday evening, more than 15 centimeters (6 inches) of rain fell in just three hours in some places. The rain closed highways and poured into homes. Hundreds of people were stranded at Auckland Airport overnight after the airport stopped all flights and parts of the terminal were flooded. Police said they found one man's body in a flooded culvert and another in a flooded carpark. They said fire and emergency crews found a third body after a landslide brought down a house in the suburb of Remuera. One person remained missing after being swept away by floodwaters, police said. Hipkins said power had been restored to most places, although about 3,500 homes remained without electricity. Video posted online showed chest-deep water in some places. Lawmaker Ricardo Menéndez posted a video of water surging into houses. “We’ve just had to evacuate our home as the water was already rising rapidly and coming in aggressively,” he tweeted. Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews had responded to more than 700 incidents across the region and staff had taken more than 2,000 emergency calls. “We had every available career and volunteer crew on the road responding to the most serious events,” said district manager Brad Mosby. Mosby said crews had rescued 126 people who were trapped in houses or cars, or who had been involved in vehicle crashes. Air New Zealand said it resumed domestic flights in and out of Auckland on Saturday afternoon, but wasn't yet sure when international flights would resume. “The flooding has had a huge impact our Auckland operations," said David Morgan, the airline's chief operational integrity and safety officer. “We’re working on getting customers to their final destinations and getting our crew and aircraft back in the right place. It might take a few days to get everything back on track.” In a series of updates on Twitter, Auckland Airport said people were able to leave the airport early Saturday for their homes or accommodation after hundreds spent the night in the terminal. “It’s been a long and challenging night at Auckland Airport, we thank everyone for ongoing patience,” the airport wrote. “Unfortunately, due to earlier flooding in the baggage hall, we are currently unable to return checked luggage to you,” the airport wrote. “Your airline will make arrangements for its return at a later time.” The storm also caused an Elton John concert to be canceled just before it was due to start Friday night. A second concert by John that was planned at the stadium on Saturday night was also canceled. About 40,000 people were expected to attend each concert at Mt Smart Stadium. Thousands were already at the venue Friday night when organizers decided to cancel not long before John was due to take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Many concertgoers who had braved the conditions were frustrated the decision hadn't been made hours earlier. Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown defended criticism that his office did not communicate the seriousness of the situation well and held off on declaring an emergency until about 9:30 p.m. Friday. He said the timing of the emergency declaration was guided by experts. “We will review everything that took place,” Brown said. “We've got to make sure we had the coordination, and the consultation with the public, correct.”

A former Russian Orthodox monk, who denied that the coronavirus existed and defied the Kremlin, was handed a seven-year prison sentence Friday. Nikolai Romanov, 67, who was known as Father Sergiy until his excommunication by the Russian Orthodox Church, urged his followers to disobey the Russian government's lockdown measures and spread conspiracy theories about a global plot to control the masses. A court in Moscow convicted him of inciting hatred. His lawyer immediately announced plans to appeal. Romanov served as a police officer during Soviet times, but after quitting the ranks was convicted of murder, robbery and assault and sentenced to 13 years in prison. He became a monk after his release. When the coronavirus pandemic began, he denied its existence and denounced government efforts to stem the pandemic as “Satan’s electronic camp.” He spread long-debunked conspiracy theories about COVID-19 and described the vaccines developed against the virus as part of a global plot to control the masses via microchips. The monk chastised President Vladimir Putin as a “traitor to the Motherland” who was serving a Satanic “world government,” and denounced the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, and other top clerics as “heretics” who must be “thrown out.” Read more: China's Xi faces public anger over draconian 'zero COVID' Romanov urged followers to disobey the government’s lockdown measures and holed up at a monastery near Yekaterinburg that he founded. He had dozens of burly military veterans enforce his rules while the prioress and several nuns left. The Russian Orthodox Church stripped Romanov of his abbot’s rank for breaking monastic rules and later excommunicated him, but he rejected the rulings. Facing stiff resistance by hundreds of his supporters, church officials and local authorities hesitated for months until finally moving to evict Romanov and detain him. Romanov has been in custody since his arrest in December 2020. In November 2021, he was given a 3½-year sentence after being convicted of inciting suicidal actions through sermons in which he urged believers to “die for Russia,” and breaching freedom of conscience, accusations he denied. The seven-year sentence will run concurrently with the previous sentence.  

Britain’s Treasury chief said Friday that taming inflation is more important than cutting taxes, resisting calls from some in the governing Conservative Party for immediate tax breaks for businesses and voters. At a speech in London, Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said “the best tax cut right now is a cut in inflation.” The U.K.’s annual inflation rate hit a four-decade high of 11.1% in October, fueling a cost-of-living crisis and a wave of strikes by workers seeking pay raises to keep pace with rising food and energy prices. It has since eased but still reached a painful 10.5% in December and is the highest since the 1980s. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has promised to halve the inflation rate from those levels by the end of the year. Hunt said he wanted Britain to be a low-tax economy but “with volatile markets and high inflation, sound money must come first” — a sign he won’t cut taxes when he makes his annual budget statement in March. The U.K. economy, like others around the world, has been rattled by pandemic restrictions and the shockwaves from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Britain also has suffered the self-inflicted damage of Liz Truss’ brief term as prime minister last year. She resigned in October after her plan for billions in unfunded tax cuts spooked financial markets, drove up the cost of borrowing and sent the pound plunging to a record low against the dollar. Hunt was appointed to steady the economy in the final days of Truss’ seven-week tenure and was kept on by her successor, Sunak. Inflation is higher than in the U.S. and the 20 nations that use the euro currency, with most forecasters expecting the U.K. economy to contract in the first half of 2023. In his speech at the headquarters of news agency Bloomberg, Hunt argued that changes to financial regulations and other rules, made possible by Brexit, will help boost the U.K.’s stubbornly low productivity rate. Three years after Britain formally left the European Union, and more than two years after the split became complete, the Conservative government is still struggling to deliver many of the economic benefits promised by pro-Brexit politicians. Most economists agree that Brexit has weighed down the economy by making it harder for U.K.-based businesses to trade with the 27-nation EU. Hunt said changes “necessitated, energized and made possible by Brexit” would help “make Britain the world’s next Silicon Valley,” a leader in digital technology, green energy and the life sciences. “We need to make Brexit a catalyst for the bold choices that will take advantage of the nimbleness and flexibilities that it makes possible,” he said, arguing that “Britain needs a more positive attitude to risk-taking” and is “too cautious compared to our U.S. friends.” Hunt said Britain will scrap Solvency II, an EU rule that sets out how much money insurers must hold in reserve. Hunt said easing the restriction could unlock up to 100 billion pounds ($124 billion) in investment over a decade for big infrastructure and clean energy projects. Business groups welcomed the tone of Hunt’s speech but said it lacked specifics. Confederation of British Industry chief Tony Danker said it provided “a strong framework for growth,” though Shevaun Haviland of the British Chambers of Commerce said there was “very little meat on the bones” of Hunt’s vision. Opposition Labour Party economy spokeswoman Rachel Reeves said the Conservatives, in power since 2010, “have no plan for now, and no plan for the future.”

The historic centre of the port city of Odesa, in Ukraine, has been inscribed on the UN's cultural body's world heritage list, 11 months since the full-scale Russian invasion. "Odesa, a free city, a world city, a legendary port that has left its mark on cinema, literature and the arts, is thus placed under the reinforced protection of the international community," said UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Director-General Audrey Azoulay Wednesday. "While the war continues, this inscription embodies our collective determination to ensure that this city, which has always surmounted global upheavals, is preserved from further destruction." The decision commits the 194 States Parties of the Convention – which includes Russia – not to undertake any deliberate step that may directly or indirectly damage the world heritage site and to assist in its protection. The historic centre of Odesa has also been inscribed on the more than 50-strong list of world heritage in danger, which gives it access to reinforced technical and financial international assistance. Ukraine may request this, to ensure the protection of the property and, if necessary, assist in reconstruction, if attacked. Given the threats to the city from Russia's armed forces and irregulars, the World Heritage Committee used an emergency procedure provided for by the World Heritage Convention. Read more: French baguettes, Chinese traditional tea-making added to world heritage list As early as the summer of 2022, UNESCO linked international experts with Ukrainian experts to prepare the nomination, with the support of Italy and Greece. Ukraine's President Zelensky made the submission official in October 2022, and the nomination was evaluated over the following weeks. In parallel with the inscription process, UNESCO implemented emergency measures on the ground to help protect the site. Notably, the organisation ensured repairs were carried out following damage inflicted by Russian attacks on the Odesa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odesa Museum of Modern Art. So far, the historic western Ukrainian city has not come under the kind of sustained bombardment that laid waste to the once-thriving port city of Mariupol, hundreds of kilometres to the east.

Russia fired more missiles and self-exploding drones at nearly a dozen Ukrainian provinces early Thursday, causing the first war-related death in Kyiv this year and killing at least 11 people overall, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks adhered to Russia's recent pattern of striking power plants and other critical infrastructure about every two weeks. However, the latest onslaught came after Germany and the United States upped the ante in Russia's 11-month war by promising Wednesday to send high-tech battle tanks to Ukraine and green-lighting other allies to do the same. Read more: Ukraine reports more Russian drone attacks The spokesperson for Ukraine’s State Emergency Service, Oleksandr Khorunzhyi, said that in addition to the dead at least 11 people were wounded. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one person was killed during the attacks, the city’s first such death since New Year’s Eve. Two others were injured, he said. The head of the Kyiv city administration, Serhii Popko, said Ukrainian air defenses shot down 15 cruise missiles heading to the area. The regional prosecutor’s office in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia province said three people were killed and seven injured in a strike on an energy facility. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine's armed forces, said Thursday's volley involved a total of 55 missiles, of which 47 were intercepted. Self-exploding drones swept in overnight before the missile strikes. As air raid sirens echoed across the country, civilians, some tugging pet dogs on leashes, poured into subway stations, underground parking lots and basements to seek shelter. It was the first such barrage of Russian firepower across the country since Jan. 14. Russia has carried out massive strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities since early October, part of a strategy to try to hamper Ukrainian forces and to keep civilians in the cold and dark this winter before what many experts predict could be a springtime offensive as more conscripts reach the battlefields. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko acknowledged that some sites were hit, resulting in emergency power outages. In Kyiv’s southern Holosiivsky district, Arkadii Kuritsyn, 53, said he heard a loud explosion that blew out windows of several trucks parked next to his scrap metal business and snapped several trees in a nearby wooded area in half. But the strikes did not reach what appeared to be the intended target: a nearby district power plant. The industrial area has witnessed several missile attacks already, due to its proximity to the power station, said Andrii Tarasenko, 36, who works in a factory nearby. “I am not surprised it was targeted again," he said. "We’ve gotten used to it.” In Hlevakha, an urban area about 35 kilometers (about 22 miles) southwest of the capital, a barrage of missiles followed a drone attack that damaged the two-story home of Halyna Panasian. The damage included a deep crater in the courtyard, a large hole in the roof and pieces of debris scattered about the house. “I was in my bedroom when the house was hit. I had to crawl out through the destroyed walls,” Panasian, 59, said of the blast at about 2 a.m. “Such grief: What can I say? How can I have a happy life now? I can’t. I’m so sad. My life is broken.” The attacks came a day after Germany said it would supply 14 high-tech Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and authorize other European countries to send up to 88 more. The U.S. said it planned to ship 31 Abrams M1 tanks to Ukrainian forces. Along with Germany and the U.S., Britain, Poland, the Netherlands and Sweden are among the nations that have sent or announced plans to supply hundreds of tanks and heavy armored vehicles to fortify Ukraine as it enters a new phase of the war and tries to break through entrenched Russian lines. Gian Gentile, a U.S. Army veteran and senior historian with the Rand think tank, said the M1 Abrams and the Leopards would give Ukraine a “mechanized armored punching force.” The British government said Thursday it would start training Ukrainian troops next week on how to use and fix Challenger 2 tanks. The U.K. is giving 14 of the tanks to Ukraine’s forces, and Defense Minister Alex Chalk said they should arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Ukrainian crews will start their training in Germany in coming days on German-made Marders, which are infantry fighting vehicles, while training on the heavier Leopard 2 tanks would start “a little later.” “In any case, the aim with the Leopards is to have the first company in Ukraine by the end of March, beginning of April,” he added. “I can’t say the precise day.” Read more: Russian attacks on Ukraine reported; tank training to start NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declined to speculate on the timing of the tanks' arrival but told Britain's Sky News the “allies are extremely focused on the importance of speed.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the move to provide Ukraine with modern tanks reflected the West’s growing involvement in the conflict. “Both European capitals and Washington keep saying that the delivery of various kinds of weapons systems, including tanks, to Ukraine, absolutely does not mean the involvement of these countries or the alliance in the hostilities ongoing in Ukraine,” Peskov told reporters. “We categorically disagree with that." “Moscow views everything that has been done by the alliance and the capitals I have mentioned as direct involvement in the conflict,” he added. "We can see it growing.” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who happened to be in Ukraine’s Black Sea port city of Odesa on Thursday, in part to meet with Ukraine's foreign minister. told France’s LCI television that Thursday's attacks went beyond retaliation. “What we saw this morning — that is, new strikes on civilian installations — that is not making war. It is making war crimes.”