Russian forces have claimed a breakthrough in capturing two settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as an onslaught of overnight bombardment across Ukraine killed six people.
The Russian Defence Ministry announced the capture of Petropavlivka, a village near the contested towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, and Vremivka, located further south.
However, Ukrainian military officials dismissed suggestions that Russian forces had breached Pokrovsk, a critical transport hub.
Ukraine’s popular Deep State blog, which documents changes in the positions held by both sides using open source materials, confirmed Petropavlivka and Vremivka falling into Russian hands.
In Kyiv, three people were killed and three others injured following a deadly nighttime attack which saw Putin’s forces launch a barrage of drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were damaged in the assault, said city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
Three others were killed in the country’s south as Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike.
It comes as France accused Russia of “intimidation” after its air defenses locked onto a French patrol plane over the Baltic Sea.
Key points
- Strikes in Kyiv kill four and damage water pipeline in latest attack on the capital
- French patrol aircraft victim of Russian intimidation, Paris says
- Russian forces have retaken 63.2 percent of territory captured in Kursk, Moscow claims
- Starmer considers UK troops in Ukraine in peacekeeper role
- North Korea may lose all 12,000 soldiers in Russia by April – ISW
Trump intends to visit China to meet Xi, WSJ report
06:06
,
Shweta Sharma
President-elect Donald Trump is considering a visit to China early in his presidency, possibly within his first 100 days, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Mr Trump’s inauguration is Monday, and Chinese state news agencies said on Friday that Chinese Vice president Han Zheng will attend as Beijing stands ready to strengthen cooperation.
The proposed trip would aim to ease tensions with Beijing, heightened by Mr Trump’s campaign promises to impose significant tariffs on Chinese goods.
Although Mr Trump’s transition team has not issued a statement, advisors have also explored the idea of inviting Chinese president Xi Jinping to the United States to initiate discussions on key issues.
A meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Xi could prove critical as both nations face complex economic and geopolitical challenges, including trade disputes, Taiwan, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
On January 17, Mr Trump and Mr Xi had their first phone conversation since the November election.
They discussed topics such as trade, the fentanyl crisis, and concerns surrounding TikTok. Expressing optimism, Mr Trump later stated on social media that he anticipates the two countries will “work together to address many pressing issues without delay.”
Trump can lay claim to the ceasefire in Gaza – doing the same in Ukraine will be much harder
06:00
,
Holly Evans
When outgoing president Joe Biden was asked if he or Donald Trump deserved credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in Qatar he shot back: “Is that a joke?” It wasn’t. Trump’s claim of having secured the “EPIC” deal was comic, but his contribution was real.
Biden’s team worked in tandem with Trump’s incoming administration – and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – to deliver the agreement which had taken many months to thrash out.
It was no accident that it was struck in the dying days of the Biden years, less than a week before Trump was due to move back into the White House. Israel’s prime minister knew that involving Trump would set him up to warm relations with the 47th president.
Read the full article here:
Six killed in Russian strikes, including in Kyiv, officials say
04:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Saturday, killing three people, while two other attacks in the country’s south killed three more, officials said.
In Kyiv, explosions boomed across the pre-dawn sky as air defences activated against the attack, which also wounded three others, according to city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were damaged in the assault, he said.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media. “These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
Rescue workers plodded through a flooded street as they sifted through debris. The charred remains of a van were visible in front of the station, whose facade was marked by twisted metal and blown-out windows.
As daylight broke, they could be seen examining missile fragments and loading a body bag into a truck.
Another Russian missile attack killed one person and wounded 11 in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
The governor of the adjacent southern region of Kherson, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian shelling killed two people in a town north of the regional centre, also called Kherson.
Russia says its forces capture two settlements in eastern Ukraine
04:00
,
Shweta Sharma
Russian forces took control of two more settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday, the latest in a series of gains it has reported in its steady advance westward.
The ministry statement said Russian forces were now in control of Petropavlivka, a village between the towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, focal points in fighting in recent months in the area.
It also noted the capture of Vremivka, one of a cluster of small towns further south in the Donetsk region.
The ministry also said Russian forces hit Ukraine‘s military facilities with high-precision weapons in response to a Ukrainian attack on Russia’s southern Belgorod region with US-made ATACMS missiles.
Ukrainian military statements made no mention of either of the two villages changing hands, but referred to heavy fighting near the key city of Pokrovsk.
Ukraine‘s popular Deep State blog, which documents changes in the positions held by both sides using open source materials, placed both Petropavlivka and Vremivka in Russian hands.
The spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Khortytsya, or eastern, group of forces dismissed for the second day running any notion that Russian forces had entered Pokrovsk.
“There have been no developments in Pokrovsk, things are stable,” Viktor Trehubov told national television. “The enemy is not there.”
It now holds about 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory.
The Ukrainian military’s General Staff, in a late night report, said Russian forces trying to pierce Ukrainian defences had launched 84 attacks in the Pokrovsk sector. Fourteen battles were still raging in the area.
Russia says it will counter any UK-Ukraine cooperation in Sea of Azov
03:26
,
Shweta Sharma
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday Ukraine and Britain “had no room” for cooperation in the Sea of Azov, commenting on a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London the two countries’ leaders announced on Thursday.
The Kremlin said on Friday that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under the new agreement would be of concern to Moscow, in particular in the Sea of Azov, which Russia considers its own, and the ministry echoed those remarks.
“Any claims to this water area are a gross interference in the internal affairs of our country and will be firmly resisted,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a comment posted on the ministry’s website.
The Azov Sea is bordered by southwest Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Ms Zakharova said the agreement itself was “worthless” for Russia, calling it “just another PR campaign” of Ukraine. Ms Zakharova described the Sea of Azov as Russia’s “internal sea”.
British prime minister, Keir Starmer pledged on Thursday to work with Ukraine and allies on robust security guarantees if a ceasefire is negotiated with Russia, offering more support to President Volodymyr Zelensky with a 100-year partnership deal.
The agreement, announced in Kyiv during Starmer’s first visit as prime minister, covered several areas, including boosting military cooperation to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov.
Russian attack kills 3 people in Ukraine's Kyiv
02:00
,
Holly Evans
Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday, leaving at least three people dead.
The three were killed in the Shevchenkivskyi district, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. There was also falling debris in the Desnyansky district, he said.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitalii Klitschko said that in the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.
Read the full article here:
Trump-Putin deal forcing Ukraine to give up territory would breach international law, lawyers say
00:00
,
Holly Evans
The incoming US president Donald Trump could risk violating international law – as well as sending a “chilling” message to aggressors around the world – if he forces Ukraine to give up territory as part of a peace deal with Russia, human rights lawyers have warned.
What to do about Ukraine will be one of the most pressing questions facing Mr Trump when he returns to the White House on Monday, having promised to end the war in a day. His campaign advisers are already slowly backtracking from that particular promise.
On Wednesday, Russia showed the first signs of warming up to the Republican leader and convicted felon, praising his remarks about the crisis in Europe and saying Moscow is ready for talks with Mr Trump.
Read the full article here:
Russian state TV floats splitting Greenland with Trump
Saturday 18 January 2025 22:00
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Holly Evans
Russian state media pundits have mulled the possibility of splitting Greenland with Donald Trump, as the President-elect continues to posture about acquiring the Danish territory.
Andrey Gurulyov, a member of the state Duma – the Russian assembly – said on Sunday that “basically, the war in the Arctic has started” and that Russia should look to strengthen its resources in the north, according to The Daily Beast.
In December, Trump floated the idea of purchasing Greenland from Denmark, calling the acquisition an “absolute necessity” for American “security” and “freedom”. Last week, when asked if he would rule out using “military or economic coercion” to obtain the foreign land, he replied, “No, I can’t assure you on either of those two.”
Read the full article here:
3 lawyers for the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny are jailed by a Russian court
Saturday 18 January 2025 20:00
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Holly Evans
Three lawyers who once represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were jailed Friday in Russia as part of the Kremlin’s crackdown on dissent that has reached levels unseen since Soviet times.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser were jailed from 3 1/2 to five years by a court in the town of Petushki, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Moscow. They were arrested in October 2023 on charges of involvement with extremist groups, as Navalny’s networks were deemed by authorities.
The case was widely seen as a way to increase pressure on the opposition to discourage defense lawyers from taking political cases.
Read the full article here:
North Korea troops fighting for Putin ‘could all be dead or wounded by April’ as casualties mount
Saturday 18 January 2025 19:00
,
Holly Evans
All of the roughly 12,000 North Korean troops fighting with Russian forces may be dead or wounded by mid-April, a leading war monitor has said.
North Korean troops have suffered an estimated 92 casualties every day since significant fighting in Russia’s border Kursk region began in early December, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in early January that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk, where Russia is trying to reclaim territory following Kyiv’s lightning offensive last August and a second push late last year.
Read the full article here:
Drones and missiles target cities and regions across Ukraine
Saturday 18 January 2025 18:00
,
Holly Evans
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said windows were broken in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district, and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building.
A water supply pipeline was also damaged, he added.
The Lukyanivska metro station was closed after the attacks damaged its glass entrance, but was later reopened.
Drones and missiles were also shot down across numerous regions in Ukraine, including Poltava, Sumy, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Donetsk.
Ten people were injured when a Russian missile struck the regional centre of Zaporizhzhia, damaging residential buildings and private vehicles, local governor Ivan Fedorov said.
Eight people aged between 28 to 69 were taken to hospital, including a 48-year-old woman in a serious condition, he wrote in a statement.
Senior military figures warn Starmer against sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine
Saturday 18 January 2025 17:00
,
Holly Evans
The UK sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine is “highly risky”, a former security adviser to Gordon Brown has warned, arguing the “grotesquely underfunded” armed forces do not have the resources to do so.
The prime minister confirmed the UK will discuss such a move with its allies on a visit to Kyiv this week, vowing Britain will “play our part” in guaranteeing the Ukraine’s security following any ceasefire with Russia.
But a number of senior military figures have expressed concerns at the plan. Among them is Lord West of Spithead, retired admiral of the Royal Navy and Mr Brown’s former advisor.
Read the full article here:
Two men and woman confirmed dead in Kyiv attack
Saturday 18 January 2025 15:31
,
Holly Evans
The Kyiv City Military Administration said three people were killed and three more injured in the attack.
A fourth victim had been assumed dead but the administration said later the case has yet to be confirmed.
The known victims are two men aged 43 and 25, and a 41-year-old woman, officials said.
The office of Ukraine’s general prosecutor said in a statement that the casualties included a security guard at a food establishment and people who were in a minibus on the street.
The cost of war is so great that compromise should not be a dirty word
Saturday 18 January 2025 14:30
,
Holly Evans
The cost of the conflict between Israel and Hamas has been monstrous and tragic. As we hope that this phase of it will start to come to an end on Sunday, we have tried to sum up the price in lives lost, the suffering of hostages, civilian victims and their families – and the destruction of property, livelihoods and hope.
Our aim is nothing sophisticated. It is not news that war is terrible, but it is worth remembering that wars always bring more death and destruction in their wake than intended – and that they nearly always last longer than expected.
The Independent has, since its founding, been resolute in its support of human rights, self-determination and national security. It has always argued that democracies must be prepared to take military action as a last resort in defence of those principles. We supported – with reservations – the aerial campaign against Slobodan Milosevic’s forces to protect the people of Kosovo from “ethnic cleansing”. And we opposed the US-British invasion of Iraq because we thought the cost would be too high for any good that removing Saddam Hussein would do.
Today, we stand with the Ukrainian people in their brave resistance against Vladimir Putin’s aggression, and we welcome Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Kyiv to express that solidarity in person. But there are limits to that support: we are not prepared to commit British troops to the defence of Ukraine and, while we believe that the Ukrainians should be supplied with long-range missiles, we are wary of anything that looks as if Nato members are being drawn into direct conflict with Russian forces.
Read the full editorial here:
Ukraine continues air campaign against targets on Russian soil
Saturday 18 January 2025 13:30
,
Holly Evans
Ukraine on Saturday claimed a pair of attacks on oil depots in western Russia, the latest salvo in Kyiv’s air campaign against strategic targets on Russian soil.
Kyiv’s General Staff said its forces had struck storage facilities overnight in the Kaluga and Tula regions. Damages were still being assessed, it said in statements on each attack, adding that the depots supported Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine.
Kaluga’s regional governor, Vladislav Shapsha, said on Telegram that a fire had broken out after an industrial site was hit in the city of Lyudinovo.
He later said seven drones had been downed, with one landing in a “non-residential area”.
Tula’s regional governor, Dmitry Milyaev, said on Telegram that a fuel and lubricant tank had caught fire at a facility in the region as result of a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukrainian forces have stepped up strikes inside Russia, primarily oil depots and military production facilities, as they struggle to hold back steady Russian advances on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine.
Russian missile strikes Zelensky’s hometown on Friday
Saturday 18 January 2025 12:29
,
Holly Evans
On Friday, a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown, killed four people and partially destroyed an educational facility, officials said.
“All those who assist the Russian state in this war must face pressure as impactful as these strikes,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media in response to Saturday’s attack.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on towns and cities far behind the front line since the start of its almost three-year-old invasion of Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure in particular.
All day, rescue operations have been ongoing in Kryvyi Rih following a Russian ballistic missile strike. Four people were killed in this attack. My deepest condolences to their families and loved ones.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 17, 2025
Fourteen others were injured, and they have received the necessary medical… pic.twitter.com/J0QFs5Jd3K
Attack on Kyiv shows Russia’s ‘ruthlessness and barbarity’, says Ukrainian official
Saturday 18 January 2025 11:28
,
Holly Evans
Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Saturday, killing three people in a central district, officials said.
Explosions boomed across the pre-dawn sky as air defences repelled the attack, which also wounded three others, according to city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were also damaged, he said.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media. “These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
Rescue workers plodded through a flooded street as they sifted through debris. The charred remains of a van were visible in front of the station, whose facade was marked by twisted metal and blown-out windows.
As daylight broke, they could be seen examining missile fragments and loading a body bag into a truck.
Air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told Ukrainian media that both missiles that had been aimed at Kyiv were destroyed, but that one of them was shot down at a low altitude, resulting in heavy damage.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow, which has denied deliberately targeting civilians.
Trump can lay claim to the ceasefire in Gaza – doing the same in Ukraine will be much harder
Saturday 18 January 2025 10:30
,
Holly Evans
When outgoing president Joe Biden was asked if he or Donald Trump deserved credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in Qatar he shot back: “Is that a joke?” It wasn’t. Trump’s claim of having secured the “EPIC” deal was comic, but his contribution was real.
Biden’s team worked in tandem with Trump’s incoming administration – and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – to deliver the agreement which had taken many months to thrash out.
It was no accident that it was struck in the dying days of the Biden years, less than a week before Trump was due to move back into the White House. Israel’s prime minister knew that involving Trump would set him up to warm relations with the 47th president.
Read the full article here:
Russian forces take control of two villages in Donetsk
Saturday 18 January 2025 09:55
,
Holly Evans
Russian forces took control of the settlements of Petropavlivka and Vremivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday.
It also said Russian forces hit Ukraine’s military facilities with high-precision weapons in response to an Ukrainian attack on Russia’s southern Belgorod region with U.S.-made ATACMS missiles.
The battlefield reports have not been independently verified.
Ukraine says it struck oil depot in Russia's Kaluga region
Saturday 18 January 2025 09:29
,
Holly Evans
Ukraine’s General Staff said on Saturday that it had struck an oil depot in western Russia’s Kaluga region overnight.
It said damage from the attack on the facility, which it described as important for Russian military logistics, was still being assessed.
Industrial sites in Russia targeted by Ukrainian drones
Saturday 18 January 2025 08:49
,
Holly Evans
Industrial sites in Russia’s Kaluga and Tula regions were set ablaze Saturday by Ukrainian drone attacks, local officials said.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said that 46 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed across the country overnight.
In the Kaluga region, a drone strike sparked a fire in the town of Lyudinovo, Gov. Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram. Residents said on social media that the attack had targeted a local oil depot.
A fire was also reported in Tula region, where Gov. Dmitry Milyaev said a fuel storage tank had been set alight. He warned residents to stay away from fallen drone debris.
No casualties were reported in either case.
North Korea troops fighting for Putin ‘could all be dead or wounded by April’ as casualties mount
Saturday 18 January 2025 08:00
,
Alex Croft
All of the roughly 12,000 North Korean troops fighting with Russian forces may be dead or wounded by mid-April, a leading war monitor has said.
North Korean troops have suffered an estimated 92 casualties every day since significant fighting in Russia’s border Kursk region began in early December, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in early January that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk, where Russia is trying to reclaim territory following Kyiv’s lightning offensive last August and a second push late last year.
“The entire North Korean contingent of roughly 12,000 personnel currently in Kursk Oblast may be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025 should North Korean forces continue to suffer from their current high loss rate in the future,” the ISW said.
Read the full report:
Strikes in Kyiv kill four and damage water pipeline in latest attack on the capital
Saturday 18 January 2025 07:53
,
Holly Evans
Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital with a barrage of drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday, leaving at least four people dead.
Russia launched 39 Shahed drones, other simulator drones and four ballistic missiles according to Ukraine’s Air Force. Ukrainian air defense forces shot down two missiles and 24 drones. A further 14 drone simulators were lost in location, the statement said.
The three were killed after a shot-down missile fell over the Shevchenkivskyi district, said Kyiv City Military Administration head Timur Tkachenko. There was also falling debris in the Desnyansky district, he said.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said that in the Shevchenkivskyi district, windows were broken and there was smoke at the entrance of a residential building, adding that a water supply pipeline was also damaged.
AP journalists at the scene saw a man lying dead amid the debris in a pool of blood. Water flooded the streets as firefighters put out the blaze from the attack.
The cost of war is so great that compromise should not be a dirty word
Saturday 18 January 2025 07:30
,
Alex Croft
Today, we stand with the Ukrainian people in their brave resistance against Vladimir Putin’s aggression, and we welcome Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Kyiv to express that solidarity in person. But there are limits to that support: we are not prepared to commit British troops to the defence of Ukraine and, while we believe that the Ukrainians should be supplied with long-range missiles, we are wary of anything that looks as if Nato members are being drawn into direct conflict with Russian forces.
The Independent has, since its founding, been resolute in its support of human rights, self-determination and national security. It has always argued that democracies must be prepared to take military action as a last resort in defence of those principles. We supported – with reservations – the aerial campaign against Slobodan Milosevic’s forces to protect the people of Kosovo from “ethnic cleansing”. And we opposed the US-British invasion of Iraq because we thought the cost would be too high for any good that removing Saddam Hussein would do.
Read The Independent’s editorial:
A close look at Britain and Ukraine’s partnership deal
Saturday 18 January 2025 07:01
,
Alex Croft
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Britain has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, with prime minister Keir Starmer’s predecessors visiting Kyiv in the early days of their tenure.
As the war against Russia approaches its three-year mark, Ukraine is on the backfoot on the frontlines. Ukrainian forces are suffering from manpower shortages and losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region as Russia’s troops continue their advance.
It took a little longer for Sir Keir to make the trip, but he comes armed with a 100-year partnership with Kyiv to deepen security and cultural ties.
The treaty and political declaration aims to boost military cooperation to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov and deter Russian aggression.
The treaty will also cover areas such as energy, critical minerals and green steel production, the prime minister’s office said.
“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Sir Keir said in a statement. “Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.”
Britain has provided £12.8bn in support to Ukraine since in 2022, a sum dwarfed by Washington’s $63.5bn in security assistance, underscoring the importance of Donald Trump’s actions over Ukraine.
The partnership announced on Thursday, which provides £40m for Ukraine’s economic recovery, includes additional support around grain verification and trade with Ukraine’s thriving technology sector that has produced battle-ready equipment.
Blinken says he is worried about Trump’s policies on his last working day
Saturday 18 January 2025 06:58
,
Shweta Sharma
In an interview with the Associated Press, outgoing secretary of state Antony Blinken said that he hopes the incoming Trump administration will press forward with key points in president Joe Biden’s foreign policy, including on the Middle East and Ukraine.
He expressed concern that the Trump team might abandon all or some of those policies on his last working as secretary of state on Friday.
“When we came in, we inherited partnerships and alliances that were seriously frayed,” he said. “So if past is prologue, yes, it would be a concern.”“I don’t know — can’t know — how they approach things,” Blinken added. “I do think that there is, there could and I believe should be, some real continuity in a couple of places.”
Photos show aftermath of Kyiv attack
Saturday 18 January 2025 06:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Russia says any British military role in Ukraine under new 100-year deal would be worrying
Saturday 18 January 2025 06:19
,
Shweta Sharma
Russia said that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London would be of concern to Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the possibility of Britain setting up military bases in Ukraine under the agreement announced on Thursday by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British prime minister Keir Starmer.
“Given that Britain is a NATO country, the advancement of its military infrastructure towards our borders is certainly a rather worrying element. In any case, it will be necessary to further analyse what will happen,” Mr Peskov said.
At Thursday’s talks in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said he had spoken to Mr Starmer about Kyiv’s desire for Western peacekeeping troops to be deployed in Ukraine if the war with Russia ended.
Asked if Britain would contribute troops, Mr Starmer said in an interview with Sky News that he had discussed this with Mr Zelensky and other allies and Britain would “play our full part”.
Mr Peskov said Moscow also took a “negative” view of the prospect of British cooperation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, which he described as Russia’s “internal sea”.
The Azov Sea is bordered by southwest Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Trump and Xi discuss Ukraine war in phone call
Saturday 18 January 2025 06:01
,
Alex Croft
Trump and Xi discuss Ukraine war in phone call
Chinese president Xi Jinping spoke with US president-elect Donald Trump over the phone on Friday, according to Chinese state media.
The pair discussed international issues of common interest, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and war in Ukraine.
Death toll in Kyiv rises to four after series of Russian strikes
Saturday 18 January 2025 05:58
,
Shweta Sharma
At least four people have been confirmed dead in the centre of Kyiv following deadly nighttime Russian attacks, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration.
Mr Tkachenko posted on the Telegram messaging app that the deaths had occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
He said falling debris had also hit the Holosiivskyi district on the west bank of the Dnipro River that runs through the capital and in the Desnyanskyi district on the opposite bank.
Public broadcaster Suspilne posted on Telegram pictures of emergency crews working amid piles of shattered glass.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defences were in operation around the city.
Mr Klitschko said windows had been shattered in Shevchenkivskyi district, including at a metro station which had been closed. He said smoke was coming out of an apartment building and repair crews had been dispatched to repair a damaged water main.
Authorities had warned of the danger of attack drones and missiles in the run-up to the attack. The air raid alert on the capital was lifted after it had been effect for a little more than an hour.
Putin hails ‘real breakthrough’ after partnership treaty with Iran
Saturday 18 January 2025 05:44
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Shweta Sharma
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, signed a broad cooperation pact Friday as their countries deepened their partnership in the face of stinging Western sanctions.
Russian and Iranian officials say the “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas - from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture. The 20-year treaty could be extended further.
Mr Putin praised the deal as a “real breakthrough, creating conditions for the stable and sustainable development of Russia, Iran and the entire region.”
He said the amount of trade and economic cooperation was still insufficient, voicing hope the new treaty will help clear bureaucratic hurdles and expand ties.
Mr Pezeshkian said the projects are feasible, adding that experts were working to resolve remaining obstacles.
“We witness a new chapter of strategic relations,” the Iranian president said, adding that the countries were set to expand trade ties and also boost the “level of security cooperation.”
Drone attack at a oil dipot in Russia’s Kaluga causes fire
Saturday 18 January 2025 05:23
,
Shweta Sharma