Europe

MINSK, February 23. /TASS/: Russia advocates an end to the Ukraine conflict, but the peace solution depends on the US’ actions, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with Chinese media on Thursday.

"I am 100% convinced that Russians tend to want this conflict to end. Everything is up to the Americans. Make (the United States - TASS) practical steps toward peace, and there will be peace," he said in a video excerpt that was published by Pool One, a Telegram channel close to his press service.

MOSCOW, February. /TASS/: Moscow is studying Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's peace proposals for Ukraine, but it is taking into account the evolving situation "on the ground", Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with TASS.

BELFAST, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Northern Irish police have arrested three men in relation to the attempted murder of a senior detective shot in front of his son in the town of Omagh on Wednesday evening that they suspect was carried out by the New IRA Irish nationalist militant group.

Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell is in a critical condition having undergone surgery overnight. He was shot a number of times by two gunmen while putting footballs in his car after finishing a coaching session with an under-15 soccer team.

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - A group of activists poured hundreds of litres of yellow and blue paint onto the road outside the Russian Embassy in London on Thursday to create an enormous Ukrainian flag ahead of the one year anniversary of Moscow's invasion.

The campaign group "Led By Donkeys" halted traffic before spreading more than 300 litres of paint across the road using wheelbarrows and brushes to make the 500 square metre (5382 square feet) flag.

"Ukraine is an independent state and a people with every right to self-determination," the group said in a statement.

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Britons may face shortages of salad staples, including tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, for up to another month, the government said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Britain's biggest supermarket group Tesco (TSCO.L) followed rivals Asda, Morrisons and Aldi in imposing customer purchase limits on salad items after supplies were hit by disrupted harvests in southern Europe and north Africa due to unseasonal weather.

CHISINAU, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Moldova dismissed an accusation by Russia's defence ministry on Thursday that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria after staging a false flag operation, and called for calm.

The Russian news agency RIA said Ukraine, which borders Moldova, planned to stage an attack by purportedly Russian forces from Transdniestria as a pretext for the invasion. Russia keeps troops in the breakaway region.

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, said on Thursday that much-needed ammunition for his troops had been dispatched, after a public row in which he accused the military leadership of treason.

Prigozhin had on Wednesday published a grisly image of dozens of men who he said had been killed because commanders including Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov had withheld ammunition to spite him. Neither man commented but the ministry rejected the charge.

MOSCOW, Feb 23 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia would pay increased attention to boosting its nuclear forces by deploying a much delayed new intercontinental ballistic missile, rolling out hypersonic missiles and adding new nuclear submarines.

A year since ordering the invasion of Ukraine, Putin has signalled he is ready to rip up the architecture of nuclear arms control - including the big powers' moratorium on nuclear testing - unless the West backs off in Ukraine.

KYIV, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Ukraine said its forces had repelled Russian assaults along the length of the front line on Thursday on the eve of the war's anniversary, as President Vladimir Putin, empty-handed after a bloody winter offensive, talked up Russia's nuclear arsenal.

After a series of strident speeches in the runup to the anniversary of his invasion, Putin announced plans on Thursday to deploy new Sarmat multi-warhead intercontinental ballistic missiles this year. Earlier this week he suspended Russia's participation in the START nuclear arms control treaty.

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — President Joe Biden closed out his wartime visit to Europe on Wednesday, working to shore up partnerships with allies on NATO’s perilous eastern flank — even as Russia’s Vladimir Putin was drawing closer to China for help as his invasion of Ukraine neared the one-year mark.

Biden’s meeting with leaders of the Bucharest Nine nations in Warsaw came at the conclusion of a whirlwind, four-day visit to Ukraine and Poland meant to reassure allies that U.S. support in fending off Russia isn’t at risk of waning.