​Ukrainian soldiers fighting to contain a Russian offensive on the small eastern town of Bakhmut begged for more weapons from allies on Friday as Western leaders met in Munich to assess the year-long war that has rocked Europe. The meeting will continue over the weekend.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 360, LIVETEXT:

01:16Zelensky: The world has already heard how it is necessary to create an aviation coalition for the security of Ukraine. I will continue these negotiations

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told Ukrainians on Friday evening that he is continuing diplomatic efforts to strengthen the country’s defense, and noted that his next step and next goal will be the acquisition of modern fighter jets. The message he is sending to international leaders is that Ukraine can achieve victory this year, but it needs the right weapons to do so.

00:24Kuleba: Nobody is pushing Ukraine to negotiate with Putin, it makes no sense.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs added that Ukraine has successfully changed the initial focus of its closest allies from preventing Russia’s victory to an emphasis on Ukraine’s victory. “They started talking about it and building politics on it,” he said, as quoted by the Kyiv Independent.

A quick recap of Saturday morning’s latest events:

• Zelensky: The world has already heard how it is necessary to create an aviation coalition for the security of Ukraine. I will continue these negotiations. President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told Ukrainians on Friday evening that he is continuing diplomatic efforts to strengthen the country’s defense, and noted that his next step and next goal will be the acquisition of modern fighter jets. The message he is sending to international leaders is that Ukraine can achieve victory this year, but it needs the right weapons to do so.
• More than 30,000 of Wagner’s mercenaries have died in Russia’s war against Ukraine, the White House has announced, while the US says most of the dead were recruited from Russian prisons.
• Prigozhin announces the capture of a town north of Bakhmut The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Friday that his troops had captured the Ukrainian town of Paraskoviyvka, bordering Bakhmut, the site of the longest battle in Donbas, reports AFP.
• Why do Ukrainians consider ordinary Russians as guilty as Putin. “No, the majority of the population supported Putin – those who did not support Putin lived in complicity with his government that: “We still have gas and oil, we still have a lot of money, so you don’t touch us and we won’t riot “, says the Ukrainian journalist, referring to the unwritten social contract in which the authorities promised Russian citizens stability in exchange for silence.
• The first group of Ukrainian military personnel completed training at the US base in Germany, the Pentagon reported. The second group is already undergoing training, and the training period is five weeks, writes CNN.
• Kuleba: Nobody is pushing Ukraine to negotiate with Putin, it makes no sense. The Minister of Foreign Affairs added that Ukraine has successfully changed the initial focus of its closest allies from preventing Russia’s victory to an emphasis on Ukraine’s victory. “They started talking about it and building politics on it,” he said, as quoted by the Kyiv Independent.
• NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday at the Security Conference in Munich that he still believes that Ukraine can win a war with Russia, DPA reports.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has said that it is “obvious” that Ukraine will not be the end line for Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and that Russia is now thinking about “stifling” the Republic of Moldova.
• French President Emmanuel Macron has said there can be no peace in Ukraine until Russia is defeated and that now is not the time for dialogue with the Kremlin, after the leader struck a more conciliatory tone in Paris last year and sought to maintain contact with Volodymyr. Putin.

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Friday’s events regarding Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro