Ukraine Russia news – latest: Netanyahu offers to mediate in Putin’s war ‘if asked’

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he is willing to consider the role of mediating in the war between Russia and Ukraine if he is asked by both the nations and the US.

“If asked by all relevant parties, I’ll certainly consider it, but I’m not pushing myself in,” Mr Netanyahu told CNN in an interview.

It would have to be the “right time and the right circumstances,” he said.

He added that the US will also need to ask for its close ally because “you can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen.”

Russia’s refusal to allow on-the-ground inspections to resume is endangering the New Start nuclear treaty and US-Russian arms control overall, the Biden administration said last night.

The finding was delivered to Congress and summarised in a statement by the State Department. It follows months of more hopeful US assessments that the two countries would be able to salvage cooperation on limiting strategic nuclear weapons despite high tensions over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

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Olympic gold medalist Wladimir Klitschko – brother to the mayor of Kyiv – has joined Ukraine’s fight against the International Olympics Committee’s plans to let some Russians compete at the 2024 Paris Summer Games.

Boris Johnson has insisted that the West “should have no fear of escalation when it comes to the provision of weaponry”, as he met with Republicans in Washington on Tuesday to drum up further support for Ukraine.

Some hardline members among the Republicans, which took control of the House of Representatives at the start of the year, have called for an end to US military and other assistance to Ukraine.

In a statement, the former prime minister said: “I am here primarily to recognise and pay tribute to the immense US contribution to the security of the Ukrainian people.

“My mission is to demonstrate that Ukraine will win – and that there is no conceivable case for delay in further supporting the Ukrainians to win this year. We should have no fear of escalation when it comes to the provision of weaponry.”

Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his administration, military officials and the intelligence team is already responding to Moscow’s plans to extract revenge from Ukraine.

“Today, as in fact every day, I held several meetings with the military and the head of intelligence. We are studying the situation in detail in all major operational directions and in the long term. What the occupier is preparing for, and how we are already responding to Russia’s preparations for a revanche attempt,” he said in his nightly address.

He added: “Our defence and security forces, the Ukrainian government, our partners – all of us are making efforts to ensure that Russia not only fails in regaining ground on the battlefield, but also loses its last hope for aggression in its revanche attempts.

“Russia’s defeat will prevent any alternatives to a lasting and reliable peace. I thank all our partners who support this position of Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.

Boris Johnson met with Republican politicians in Washington yesterday, as he continued his personal international campaign in support of Ukraine.

The former prime minister spoke with House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy and was scheduled to speak at a private Republican club on Tuesday evening, Reuters was told.

On Wednesday, the Tory MP and former London mayor will discuss the need for “Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses” at the Atlantic Council think-tank.

Rishi Sunak has said that it is “not practical” to provide Ukraine with British fighter jets but he has pledged to accelerate support to enable “decisive gains” against Russian invaders.

Downing Street said training Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces on “extremely sophisticated” Typhoons and F-35s would take too long, but it does not oppose allies sending their own jets.

After completing a review, the prime minister told his Cabinet that a “prolonged stalemate” in the war in Ukraine “would only benefit Russia” and its president Vladimir Putin, according to No 10.

The United States has put new trade restrictions on seven Iranian entities for producing drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine, the US Department of Commerce has said.

The firms and other organisations were added to a US export control list for those engaged in activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy interests.

The additions to the Commerce Department’s “entities list” were posted in a preliminary filing in the US Federal Register, the government’s daily journal, and will be officially published on Wednesday.

Alexander Lukashenko has said that Belarus is willing to offer more assistance to its close ally Russia in its war against Ukraine – but claimed that Moscow does not need “any help” right now.

“However, if our Russian brothers need help, we are always ready to offer such assistance,” the authoritarian leader told reporters during a state visit to Zimbabwe.

Despite allowing Russia to use its territory to launch its invasion on Kyiv last year, Belarus has not committed any of its troops to the war. Nonetheless, Ukraine says it has maintained forces along its border with Belarus to fend off any potential invasion.