The Ukrainian army is inflicting “extremely significant” losses on Russian forces near the town of Vugledar in eastern Donbas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Sunday, Reuters reports.

Summary for the last 24 hours:

• US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned that Beijing plans to supply Russia with “weapons” to support its offensive in Ukraine.

• The war in Ukraine will cost the German economy about 160 billion euros this year, according to the head of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DIHK).

• NATO’s commander-in-chief in Europe believes that the West should send F-16s to Ukraine

• Ukrainian intelligence has warned that Russia is preparing to conduct “large-scale exercises of strategic nuclear forces”, and Moscow has accused Ukraine of planning a nuclear incident on its territory

• France will send AMX-10 tanks to Ukraine “by the end of next week”.

• Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Sunday that he plans to one day start his own private military company.

• The war with Ukraine will end if the EU does not find a way to speed up the supply of ammunition to Ukraine within weeks, warned Josep Borrell

• According to local officials, three people were killed on Sunday morning as a result of Russian bombing near the city of Berylslav in southern Ukraine, The Guardian reports.

• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius told CNN that he expects more countries to offer battle tanks to Ukraine after Germany pledged Leopard 2 tanks in late January.

• Ukraine has a real chance of liberating Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, by the end of summer if it receives long-range missiles, retired US general Ben Hodges said.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 362, LIVETEXT:

06:13 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi announced on Sunday a new package of sanctions aimed at the Russian financial sector, trying to target Moscow’s military reserves, dpa informs. The sanctions apply not only to representatives of Russia’s banking sector, but also to the stock exchange in Moscow. Volodymyr Zelenskyi also announced that the tenth package of sanctions for Ukraine is already under development. “We are working with our partners to strengthen it,” he said.

05:30 The Ukrainian army is inflicting “extremely significant” losses on Russian forces near the town of Vugledar in eastern Donbas, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Sunday: “The situation is very difficult. And we are fighting. We are destroying the occupiers and causing extreme damage.” significant losses for Russia,” he said. President Zelenskyy said in his video speech on Sunday evening.

10:07 pmFrench President Emmanuel Macron spoke by phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Sunday. The two leaders discussed Zelenskyi’s recent visits to London, Paris and Brussels, and Macron confirmed NATO’s military support for Zelenskyi.

Macron also confirmed to Zelenskyi his support for the 10-point peace proposal presented by Zelenskyi.

20:51 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said that Russia blocked the rotation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in the Ukrainian city of Energodar, which was occupied by the Russians shortly after February 24, Kyiv Independent reports.