February 24, 2023 - It's now one year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began

Russia could provide Iran with fighter jets as military cooperation between the two countries deepens, the White House said Friday.

Iran is also seeking helicopters, radar and combat trainer aircraft from Moscow, according to John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator at the US National Security Council. He said, in total, Iran was seeking billions of dollars worth of military equipment from Russia.

In exchange, Iran has shipped artillery and tank rounds to Russia as its invasion of Ukraine enters a second year.

Iran has given Russia hundreds of drones to use in the war — many of which have targeted Ukraine's power grid and energy facilities to devastating effect — and appears to be modifying the attack drones so that the explosive warheads can inflict maximum damage on infrastructure targets, according to an investigative report obtained by CNN earlier this month.

Kirby did not expand on what types of jets Russia might provide Iran, nor did he provide any indication of when such a move might occur.

The White House has previously warned that Iran and Russia could provide each other with military equipment and weapons. The new requests, including the fighter jets, represent the US concerns being realized, Kirby said.

He called the alignment between Moscow and Tehran an unprecedented level of defense cooperation.

Other rouge nations have also provided Russia support in its ongoing war. North Korea has provided arms to the mercenary group Wagner, Kirby said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that what he had witnessed in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha after it was liberated was the most frightening moment in the war.

“What we saw was that the devil is not somewhere else, he is on Earth,” Zelensky said at a news conference in Kyiv on Friday.

Remember: After Russian forces left the area at the end of March 2022, widespread human rights atrocities were uncovered.

Zelensky said his biggest disappointment of the war was the Ukrainian leaders who left the country when the Russian invasion began on February 24, especially the ones “who were supposed to rule, protect and fight for the country.”

The President said he had made a lot of mistakes himself during the conflict, but the most important lesson for him is “not to make fatal mistakes that could lead to losing his country.”

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba addressed the United Nations Security Council on Friday, one year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kuleba urged the world to adopt Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s 10-point peace plan, which he says aligns with the UN-approved resolution calling for Russia to pull out of Ukraine.

“The goal of the standpoint plan is to restore the respect for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in full compliance with the UN Charter that we all have committed to respect and uphold," Kuleba said. "The goal of the plan is to get Russia out of Ukraine and make the world a safer place. Obviously, any new peace proposals should now be aligned with demands set forth by the resolution."

Russia protested the foreign minister's address: Before Kuleba addressed the council, Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia argued that allowing the foreign minister to speak before the meeting violated UN procedure.

“I would like to just warn you, the moment you put gavel down, thus formalizing your decision, you will create an egregious precedent, where representatives from Ukraine in the council are given the kind of privilege that is denied to the representative of others,” Nebenzia said to Maltese Foreign Minister Ian Borg, who chaired the meeting.

“What we're witnessing today is yet another attempt to give certain rights to a group of the country, whereas the EU gives preference to Ukraine because that it is a part of your geopolitical project."

Kuleba’s address ended in a minute of silence in memory of the victims in Ukraine.

Nebenzia interjected that the silence should be in honor of all of those who have died in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was asked by a reporter if he would join negotiations mediated by Turkey if Russian President Vladimir Putin came to the table, and Zelensky said, "I don't accept it."

Erdogan "knows my view," Zelensky said. "We discussed this before the war. I told him to put Putin at the table for negotiations. 'Can we please do that? We must avert a full-scale war.' But [Erdogan] was not able to do that. Not only him — he is powerful — but he is not able to do it. And now he thinks that he is? Now we can't," Zelensky said Friday.

Zelensky explained why he cannot speak to Putin anymore.

"It is not the same man. There is nobody to talk to there," he said.

US President Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv showed "there was faith in victory," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday during a news conference in the Ukrainian capital. 

"There was faith in victory and that was President Biden's visit — that was the main signal," he said. 

Zelensky added that he has invited Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley to Ukraine. In January, Milley traveled to a site near the Ukraine-Poland border and met with Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Speaking at the United Nations on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken seemed to tacitly downplay a proposal by Beijing to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

In what could be seen as a dig at China’s newly unveiled 12-point proposal “on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis,” Blinken said he expects “many countries will call for peace today,” but “history teaches us that it’s the nature of peace that matters.”

“For peace to be just, it must uphold the principles at the heart of the UN Charter: sovereignty, territorial integrity, independence. For peace to be durable, it must ensure Russia can’t simply rest, rearm and relaunch its war in a few months, or a few years,” he said. “Any peace that legitimizes Russia’s seizure of land by force will weaken the Charter and send a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they can invade countries and get away with it.”

The 12-point plan released by Beijing Friday calls for a cessation of hostilities and resumption of peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. It states that “all parties should support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible, so as to gradually deescalate the situation and ultimately reach a comprehensive ceasefire.”

Blinken said members of the UN Security Council “should not fall into the false equivalency of calling on both sides to stop fighting, or calling on other nations to stop supporting Ukraine in the name of peace.”

The White House also publicly downplayed the viability of the Chinese proposal Friday. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the administration has read it and thinks, "quite frankly, it could have stopped right after the first two lines,” in which China alludes to respect for national sovereignty.

Some key context: Beijing’s claim to neutrality in its peace proposal has been severely undermined by its refusal to acknowledge the nature of the conflict – it has so far avoided calling it an “invasion” – and its diplomatic and economic support for Moscow.

Western officials have also raised concerns that China may be considering providing Russia with lethal military assistance, an accusation denied by Beijing.

And despite claiming the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries must be effectively upheld,” the document fails to acknowledge Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.

What Ukraine is saying: At an event in Kyiv held at the same time as Blinken's remarks to the UN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to a question about China by saying he was willing to work with Beijing if they show respect for international law and his country's sovereignty.

CNN's Nectar Gan, Nikki Carvajal and Simone McCarthy contributed to this report.

When asked if NATO countries should increase their defense spending given the war in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's invasion has forced the world and NATO countries to rethink their security systems.

"A lot of countries in the world (have) started increasing their defense budgets," he told reporters on Friday. "The war in Ukraine has pushed the reset button on NATO."

When thinking of defense spending, Zelensky said it's about more than just ammunition and weapons, and pointed to drones, IT, information sharing and defense against cyber attacks.

"There is a lot of state-of-the-art technology, and it is not universally effective. Of course, some people may be increasing spending. But on the whole, this is also a reform of security systems. I believe that this is right. Because everybody has seen what you can expect of the Russian Federation," he said at a news conference to mark one year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

On the anniversary of Russian President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on the international community not to let Putin’s crimes “become our new normal."

In his remarks at the United Nations Security Council on Friday — just over one year after he told the same council that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine – Blinken stressed the need to stand for “the basic principles” of international order.

Blinken catalogued a litany of horrific actions committed by Russia over the past year, and spoke of the “inspiring unity” shown by Ukrainians “in helping one another endure Moscow’s relentless assault.” He also spoke of the way “the international community has come together.”

“That’s the world this body was created to end. And members of this council have a unique responsibility to make sure we don’t return to it,” he continued.

The top US diplomat said nations must “reaffirm our commitment to upholding what the UN Charter calls ‘the dignity and worth of the human person,’” emphasizing the need to continue to compile evidence of Russian atrocities, with the goal of one day achieving accountability for those crimes.

“Day after day of Russia’s atrocities, it’s easy to become numb to the horror, to lose our ability to feel shock and outrage,” he said. “But we can never let the crimes Russia is committing become our new normal.”

“We must not let President Putin’s callous indifference to human life become our own,” the secretary continued. “We must force ourselves to remember that behind every atrocity in this wretched war, and in conflicts around the world, is a human being.”

On the question of China, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnky said, "we need to work with China" if they can respect international law and territorial integrity.

"I believe it would be correct to think that if there are thoughts that are consistent with respect for international law and territorial integrity and certain security issues, I believe that we need to use it in a good sense of the word and work with China on this. Why not? Our task is to rally everybody to isolate somebody," he told reporters Friday.

Some background: China said it is willing to play a constructive role in resolving issues between Ukraine and Russia, its Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Friday in a daily briefing, without providing concrete details.  

The response, a recurrent line that China has been using when asked about its position on the war in Ukraine, was prompted by questions about a position paper issued by Beijing on Friday.