TOP HEADLINES

• The UN atomic watchdog chief is visiting Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, currently held by Russian forces. Rafael Grossi, Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and his delegation are expected to spend most of Wednesday there.

• Russian forces are relentless in their attempts to capture the bombed-out eastern Ukrainian towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka but are not making progress, Ukraine's military said, but a pro-Moscow official said the Russians are advancing.

• Ukraine's top diplomat demanded that Russian forces leave "every meter" of the country as he cast Kyiv's battle against Moscow as part of the global fight for democracy. "I want to be clear - Russia has to withdraw from every square meter of Ukrainian territory. There should be no misinterpretation of what the word withdrawal implies," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy extended an invitation to Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit the country in an interview with the Associated Press news agency. The Chinese foreign ministry said China maintains communication with all parties involved, including Ukraine.

• Russia's cyberwar on Ukraine largely failed and Moscow is increasingly targeting Kyiv's European allies, according to U.S. and French analysts. French defense firm Thales said in a report that Russia was hitting Poland, the Nordic and Baltic countries with an arsenal of cyber weapons aiming to sow divisions and promote anti-war messages.

• The U.S. threw support behind a special international tribunal to try Russia for "aggression" against Ukraine, building momentum to prosecute the crime for the first time since the aftermath of World War II. The European Union has backed the special tribunal. READ MORE BELOW

• U.S. President Joe Biden blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's stated plan to deploy nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus, branding it "dangerous" talk. 

• Russia has begun exercises with the Yars intercontinental ballistic missile system and several thousand of troops, its defense ministry said, in what is likely to be seen as another attempt by Moscow to show off its nuclear strength.

• Olympic chiefs recommended the return to competition of Russian and Belarusian athletes as individual neutrals, but refused to give a timeline on their potential participation at next year's Paris Olympics. The move to "postpone" the decision about Russian and Belarusian athletes competing at the Games in France was welcomed by Ukraine. 

IN DETAIL

U.S. backs international tribunal to try Russia for 'aggression'

The U.S has thrown support behind a special international tribunal to try Russia for "aggression" against Ukraine, building momentum to prosecute the crime for the first time since the aftermath of World War II.

The European Union has backed a special tribunal, which could bring fresh charges against President Vladimir Putin.

The State Department said that the U.S. would work with allies to set up a "special tribunal on the crime of aggression" over Russia's February 2022 offensive against its neighbor.

"We envision such a court having significant international support - particularly from our partners in Europe - and ideally located in another country in Europe," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said.

Beth Van Schaack, the U.S. ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, said the U.S. wanted the court to have international personnel and resources.

That "will provide the clearest path to establishing a new tribunal and maximizing our chances of achieving meaningful accountability," she said.

She added the U.S. was "committed" to working with other countries to provide resources for such a tribunal "in a way that will achieve comprehensive accountability for the international crimes being committed in Ukraine."

It was the first time that the U.S. - which has fraught relations with the International Criminal Court - has explicitly supported a special tribunal on Ukraine.

The European Union in November floated the idea of a tribunal, which was backed formally in January by a vote of the European Parliament.

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