Russia-Ukraine war live updates: ?Scorched earth? tactics in eastern city; soldier?s war crimes verdict due

New law allows Ukraine to seize assets of invasion supportersA grasp at diplomacy as fighting grinds on in UkraineRussian soldier gets life in prison in Ukraine’s first war crimes trialZelensky tells Davos forum Ukraine is ‘short on time’YouTube has removed more than 70,000 Ukraine war videosRussia’s death toll in Ukraine likened to losses in 9-year Afghan warAsia-Pacific trade summit ends in acrimony after walkout to protest Russia‘Russia House’ in Davos becomes war crimes exhibit before Zelensky addressBiden, Japan’s leader call invasion greatest challenge to world orderRussia going ‘scorched earth’ in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian official saysBattle for eastern Ukraine is ‘going to be bloody,’ Mullen saysUpdates from battlefields: Russia seeks to surround key eastern cityPentagon discusses sending troops to U.S. Embassy in Kyiv Why Russia is focused on SeverodonetskNew law allows Ukraine to seize assets of invasion supportersA grasp at diplomacy as fighting grinds on in UkraineRussian soldier gets life in prison in Ukraine’s first war crimes trialZelensky tells Davos forum Ukraine is ‘short on time’YouTube has removed more than 70,000 Ukraine war videosRussia’s death toll in Ukraine likened to losses in 9-year Afghan warAsia-Pacific trade summit ends in acrimony after walkout to protest Russia‘Russia House’ in Davos becomes war crimes exhibit before Zelensky addressBiden, Japan’s leader call invasion greatest challenge to world orderRussia going ‘scorched earth’ in Severodonetsk, Ukrainian official saysBattle for eastern Ukraine is ‘going to be bloody,’ Mullen saysUpdates from battlefields: Russia seeks to surround key eastern cityPentagon discusses sending troops to U.S. Embassy in Kyiv Why Russia is focused on SeverodonetskA Kyiv court found a Russian soldier who killed an unarmed civilian guilty in the first war crimes trial since the invasion — as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, accused Russia of “becoming a state of war criminals."Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian tank commander who pleaded guilty last week to killing a 62-year-old Ukrainian man but said he was following orders, was found guilty of premeditated murder and “violation of the rules and customs of war." He was sentenced to life in prison, and his lawyer said he would appeal.Zelensky called on the democratic world to help rebuild his country as the United Nations said 6.5 million Ukrainians have now fled Ukraine, pushing the number of people forcibly displaced by conflicts around the world over 100 million for the first time.The battle for Severodonetsk is becoming a focal point in the war as Russia seeks to capture one of the last major cities in a key eastern province still under Ukrainian control after its seizure of southeastern port city Mariupol. Putin has called the invasion “a special military operation” and has denied that Russia is responsible for war crimes.In March, Roskomnadzor, Russia’s official digital censor, said it would fine Google for not removing certain videos from its YouTube video service and accused it of harboring videos from far-right Ukrainian groups.Bryan Pietsch and Gerrit De Vynck contributed to this report.In the three months since President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded Ukraine in late February, Russia has probably lost the same number of troops as the Soviet Union did during its nine-year war in Afghanistan that began in December 1979, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said Monday.The death toll is a result of “poor low-level tactics, limited air cover” and “a lack of flexibility,” the ministry said in its daily intelligence update, adding that Russian commanders are prone to repeating mistakes.More than 13,000 Soviet soldiers lost their lives during the conflict in Afghanistan, The Post previously reported, citing data provided by the Soviet Union. With Russian losses climbing in Ukraine, especially in the Donbas region, “public dissatisfaction with the war and a willingness to voice it may grow,” the intelligence update said.A summit of Asia-Pacific trade representatives has ended in acrimony, with officials concluding their weekend meetings without issuing a joint statement after delegates from the United States, Canada and several other nations staged a walkout during remarks by Russia’s representative.In a statement issued Monday, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the United States expressed their “unwavering support” for the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation bloc, while condemning Russia’s “unprovoked war of aggression” against Ukraine.The officials expressed “grave concern” at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the threat posed to global food and energy security by the conflict, which they said was undermining global supply chains and hampering the world’s recovery from the pandemic.“We strongly urge Russia to immediately cease its use of force and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine,” the trade delegates said.New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, whose trade minister was one of those to join the walkout on Saturday, told reporters on Monday that the forum provided an opportunity to send a clear message to Russia.It is not the first time Western officials have walked out as Russian representatives have addressed a world forum. They “condemned Russia’s actions, and called for Russia to be held accountable for its atrocities.”Kishida told Biden during their meeting at Akasaka Palace that “Russia’s aggression against Ukraine undermines the foundation of global order” — and said Japan and the United States “can in no way allow whatsoever such attempts to change the status quo by force wherever it may be in the world.”Russian troops are working on “erasing Severodonetsk from the face of the earth,” a regional official said this weekend, telling of how the city is becoming the eastern focus of the Kremlin’s months-long invasion.“Every day they are trying to break the line of defense,” Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai said in a Ukrainian-media interview that he posted to his Telegram channel Sunday. Such a move could be seen as a provocation by Moscow.Mariupol: The mayor of Mariupol has warned that the Russian-occupied port city is “on the verge of an outbreak of infectious diseases” because of the war.Paulina Villegas and Victoria Bisset contributed to this report.Pentagon and State Department officials have discussed potential plans to send Special Forces to Kyiv to protect the U.S. diplomats at the embassy there now that operations have resumed, the Pentagon confirmed Sunday.The discussions, first reported by the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, involve the possibility of deploying troops to help secure the embassy; for example, assisting in the event that U.S. staff members need to be extracted if battles reemerge in the Ukrainian capital, according to the newspaper.Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement to The Washington Post on Sunday that the Pentagon and the State Department have been evaluating “potential security requirements” for the newly reopened embassy but “no decisions have been made.”Kirby said there have been preliminary planning discussions, but that “no specific proposals have been debated — at senior levels of the department about the return of U.S. military members to Ukraine for that or any other purpose.”If President Biden were to approve such a course of action, it could be interpreted by Moscow in several ways, and potentially seen as a provocation — making the decision particularly tricky.The Biden administration has played a delicate balancing act of asserting strong support for Ukraine during the war through economic sanctions, sending millions in weapons and training thousands of Ukrainian troops.