Sir Keir Starmer has backed Ukraine’s need to emerge in “strongest possible position for negotiations” on peace talks to end the Russian invasion.
In his first remarks on the situation, the British PM conceded in the clearest terms there could be a negotiated end to the war and said, “We must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defence for as long as it takes.”
“To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence - and right to choose their own future,” Sir Keir said in the first signs of accepting peace talks to end Vladimir Putin’s nearly three-year-old war in Europe.
It comes as Russian forces made their largest monthly territorial gains in the war in Ukraine since March 2022, according to analysis by AFP from the think tank Institute for the Study of War.
Putin’s forces advanced over 280 square miles of Ukrainian territory, mainly in the east near the city of Pokrovsk — up from 235 square miles in October. The Ukrainian army now controls less than a third of the region.
Key Points
- Starmer concedes peace talks may end Ukraine war
- Nato likely to ignore Ukraine’s call for quick invite
- German aid to Ukraine will include air defence systems
- Russian drones attack critical infrastructure in Ukraine's west, air force says
Ukrainians find new energy sources to beat blackouts as winter arrives
09:56
Jabed Ahmed
The two previous winters of the war were already challenging, but Russia has now intensified its attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with at least 11 major missile and drone strikes since March.
About half of Ukraine’s generating capacity was knocked out and distribution networks were also damaged.
In Kyiv, daily blackouts of eight hours are common and people plan their days around when power is scheduled to be available, including waiting in cafes for elevators to work if they live near the top of high-rise buildings.
Some residents and businesses have rushed to install new generating capacity in an attempt to access energy independently of the central energy system.
Analysts said strategies included more electricity imports from Ukraine’s Western neighbours, purchases of generators and alternative energy sources including solar panels, batteries and small gas turbine generators.
Russia has damaged or destroyed all of Ukraine’s thermal and hydropower plants.
In monetary terms, total damage to Ukraine’s energy sector exceeds $56 billion, including $16 billion in direct physical destruction and over $40 billion in indirect financial losses, according to estimates from the Kyiv School of Economics.
The country has to rely increasingly on nuclear generation, which makes it difficult to balance the amount of electricity on the grid, especially during peak morning and evening hours when retail consumption jumps.
Ukraine pushes for Nato invite 30 years after failed nuclear deal
09:26
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine has blasted an agreement struck 30 years ago under which it relinquished nuclear weapons in exchange for security assurances that never materialised, as it makes a concerted push for an invitation to join the NATO alliance.
Kyiv is desperately calling for robust security guarantees to protect it from renewed Russian aggression as US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House raises fears of a rapidly-struck settlement to the war that would leave it exposed.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry pointed to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum which saw Kyiv give up the world’s third-largest nuclear arsenal in return for security assurances, including from Russia, after the 1991 Soviet breakup.
“Today, the Budapest Memorandum is a monument to short-sightedness in strategic security decision-making,” the ministry wrote in a statement, marking this week’s anniversary of the Dec. 5, 1994, agreement.
It said the agreement “should serve as a reminder to the current leaders of the Euro-Atlantic community that building a European security architecture at the expense of Ukraine’s interests, rather than taking them into consideration is destined to failure”.
Ukraine has denounced the memorandum since 2014, long before the 2022 invasion, when Russian troops seized and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula before backing paramilitary proxies in the east.
The fighting in Ukraine’s east, which killed thousands, was brought to an uneasy ceasefire followed by dozens of rounds of talks under what was known as the Minsk agreements.
Russia and Belarus to sign landmark security pact, Russian news agency says
08:57
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, will sign a landmark security pact on Friday that reflects global geopolitical changes, Russian state news agency RIA has said.
The agreement will be among the documents the leaders are set to sign in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, on the 25th anniversary of the Union State, a borderless union and alliance between the two former Soviet republics and neighbours.
“We are covering the topics of state, public, economic security, talking about ensuring stability in the development of our economies,” the agency quoted Belarusian Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Nazaruk as saying.
“It is designed to take into account the changed external conditions, when the world is moving to a polycentric world order,” he added, describing what he called a “landmark” agreement.
As president, Lukashenko has kept Belarus in a firm authoritative grip for the past three decades, and been a loyal ally of Putin, allowing his territory to be used as a launch pad for Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Russian drones attack critical infrastructure in Ukraine's west, air force says
08:27
Jabed Ahmed
Russian drones struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine's western Ternopil and Rivne regions overnight, the Ukrainian air force has said.
The attack left part of the city of Ternopil without electricity, its mayor said, a week after Moscow's strikes cut power to much of the city and its surrounding region.
Ternopil lies about 135 miles east of NATO-member Poland.
Russia mounted two big attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in November, triggering power cuts across the country in the build-up to winter.
Ukraine's air force said it shot down 22 of 28 drones that Russia fired overnight. One drone was "lost" and two more left Ukraine-controlled airspace, according to the statement.
Russia also attacked energy infrastructure in Rivne region, governor Oleksandr Koval said. There were no casualties, he added.
Putin would not accept any part of Ukraine being in Nato, analyst suggests
08:00
Jabed Ahmed
James Nixey of the Chatham House think-tank has warned that any part of Ukraine being in Nato would be unacceptable to Vladimir Putin, after Volodymyr Zelensky said he could accept territory being temporarily ceded to Russia in exchange for security assurances from the alliance.
“After all, [Nato] is, for him, an abhorrence. Putin doesn’t want a pause anyway – he believes he’s on the brink of an historic and strategic victory, kindly deal-sealed by Donald Trump,” Mr Nixey told The Independent.
Germany’s Scholz pledges new military aid worth €650m on rare trip
07:07
Arpan Rai
German chancellor Olaf Scholz announced new military aid for Ukraine during a rare visit yesterday that he said sent a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin that Berlin would stand by Kyiv for as long as needed in the war.
The visit, his first to Kyiv since the early months of Russia’s 2022 invasion, comes ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House and weeks after Mr Scholz’s governing coalition in Berlin collapsed, threatening his future as chancellor.
The political upheaval in Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, adds to a growing sense of uncertainty in Ukraine, with Russian troops advancing ever faster in the east. It is unclear how much Kyiv’s European partners can step up support for Ukraine if Trump cuts help from the United States, its most powerful ally.
“My message from Kyiv to Putin: we’re in this for the long haul. Our support for Ukraine will not waver. We will stand by the Ukrainian people - for as long as it takes,” Mr Scholz wrote on X.
Putin’s forces making rapid advances towards lynchpin of Ukrainian defences, warns UK MoD
07:00
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin’s forces have made rapid advances towards the eastern flank of a longstanding lynchpin of Ukraine’s defensive line, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
The Donetsk town of Velyka Novosilka is now vulnerable following the loss of Vuhledar in early October, which lies 30 kilometres east, the ministry warned.
“This enabled increased Russian advances into less well-defended areas in western Donetsk oblast,” said the ministry, warning that “Russian forces are attacking behind established Ukrainian defences and threatening the primary logistics routes to the town”.
Explained: What is in US’s $725m weapons package for Ukraine
06:00
Arpan Rai
The Biden administration is sending Ukraine $725m worth of missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
The outgoing US president Joe Biden is seeking to bolster Kyiv in its war with Russian invaders before leaving office in January.
The assistance will include Stinger missiles, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), drones and land mines, among other items, Mr Blinken said in a statement.
“The United States and more than 50 nations stand united to ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to defend itself against Russian aggression,” Mr Blinken’s statement said.
The announcement marks a steep uptick in size from MR Biden’s recent use of so-called Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA), which allows the US to draw from current weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency.
Moscow’s troops have been capturing village after village in Ukraine’s east, part of a drive to seize the industrial Donbas region, while Russian airstrikes target a hobbled Ukrainian energy grid as winter sets in.
Why is Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy grid with missile attacks?
06:00
Jabed Ahmed
UK war-games major conflict to test durability of weapons stockpiles
05:46
Arpan Rai
The UK has begun a week-long mock-up of a major conflict to test how its ammunition supplies hold up in a war-time scenario.
The test run comes just three years after British stockpiles failed to see them through a 10-day exercise.
The Ministry of Defence began the war game on Monday morning. It is taking place at the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, Oxfordshire.
The simulation is intended to “stress-test” how supply chains of artillery munitions and drones would hold up during a major war with an unspecified adversary. It is the first war game to involve representatives of the defence industry alongside military commanders and officials.
Defence companies taking part in the exercise include submarine builder BAE Systems, missiles firm MBDA, American jet fighter business Lockheed Martin and ship builder Babcock.
Tom Watling reports:
Russian drone attack leaves parts of Ternopil without power
05:35
Arpan Rai
An overnight Russia drone attack has left Ukraine’s western city of Ternopil without electricity, a regional military official said this morning, a week after Moscow’s strikes cut power to much of the city and its surrounding region.
“Energy workers and rescuers are eliminating the consequences of the attack. Stock up on water, charge your phones,” Serhiy Nadal, the head of the regional defence headquarters in Ternopil, said on his Telegram messaging channel.
The full scale of the attack on Ternopil, a major city in Ukraine’s west, was not immediately clear.
Air raid alerts over the Ternopil region, of which the city of Ternopil is the administrative centre, lasted for about two and a half hours, starting at around 11.30pm GMT yesterday.
At least one person was killed and several were wounded in Russia’s drone attack on Ternopil earlier yesterday.
A week ago, much of the Ternopil region lost power in Russia’s largest ever drone attack on Ukraine.
Starmer concedes peace talks may end Ukraine war
04:19
Arpan Rai
Prime minister Keir Starmer vouched for stepping up support for Ukraine as an essential move to put the country in the strongest position for peace talks.
Sir Starmer stressed the importance of continued Western support to Ukraine and warned a Russian victory in Ukraine would threaten Europe’s security, stability and prosperity, particularly because it could embolden Russia’s allies.
“We must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defence for as long as it takes,” the British PM said in a speech in London’s historic financial district.
He added: “To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence – and right to choose their own future.”
Sir Starmer’s comments come at crucial moment in the war with Russia advancing at its fastest rate since 2022 and US president-elect Donald Trump - who is deeply sceptical of US support for Ukraine - promising to end the war quickly after he is inaugurated next month.
Britain has been one of Ukraine‘s most vocal supporters since the start of the invasion by Russia in 2022 and was the first country to supply more sophisticated weapons to Ukraine, including battle tanks and long-range cruise missiles.
Photos: Mobile anti-drone teams operate near Ukraine’s southeastern front
04:10
Arpan Rai
German aid to Ukraine will include air defence systems, spokesperson says
04:00
Jabed Ahmed
German military aid to be delivered to Ukraine in December includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a defence ministry spokesperson has said.
“Winter is just around the corner, so there will also be winter equipment, as well as hand-held weapons and warming devices,” the spokesperson said just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during a surprise trip to Kyiv.
A government spokesperson said the deliveries were part of a military aid package already announced by Berlin in October.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers charged with desertion, prosecutors say
03:00
Jabed Ahmed
More than 100,000 soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said, starving Kyiv of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia.
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials have told the Associated Press.
Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, military commanders and soldiers said. Some take medical leave and find themselves unable to bring themselves to return. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights.
Nearly half of the 100,000 peope charged have deserted in the last year alone, after Kyiv launched an aggressive mobilisation drive that government officials and military commanders concede has largely failed.
There were an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in combat before the mobilisation drive began. One politician with knowledge of military matters estimated the actual number of deserters could be as high as 200,000.
Nato likely to ignore Ukraine’s call for quick invite
02:58
Arpan Rai
Nato is highly unlikely to heed Ukraine’s call for a membership invitation at a meeting today, according to diplomats.
Ukraine sees Nato membership as the best guarantee of its future security. Under Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence pact, members agree to treat an attack on one as an attack on all and come to each other’s aid.
In a letter to his Nato counterparts ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said an invitation would remove one of Russia’s main arguments for waging its war - namely, preventing Ukraine from joining the alliance.
But there is no sign of the required consensus among Nato’s 32 members for such a decision at the foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, said diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It will take weeks and months to get consensus,” a senior Nato diplomat said yesterday. “I don’t see that happening tomorrow, I would be very surprised.”
A senior US official said the meeting would focus on surging support for Ukraine so it was in the strongest possible position next year, “going into possible negotiations”.
“The best way to do that is to surge money, munitions and mobilisation,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US, Ukraine defence heads discuss Russia’s use of new missiles, 2025 aid to Kyiv
02:51
Arpan Rai
The US and Ukrainian defense chiefs discussed Russia’s use of new ballistic missiles, preparations for the next meeting of arms donors and plans for Washington’s military aid next year, both sides said.
“Secretary (of Defence Lloyd) Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and Unmanned Aerial Systems targeting Ukraine‘s civilian infrastructure and its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which marks another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the Pentagon’s press secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, said in a statement.
The meeting came as the US said it will send Kyiv $725m of missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, as president Joe Biden’s outgoing administration seeks to bolster Kyiv before leaving office.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said the call also focused on “strategic planning for 2025, particularly regarding the supply of weapons, equipment, and equipping of our units.”
He also said he discussed with Mr Austin preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Ramstein Group, an alliance of Nato, the European Union and countries that have supported Kyiv.
Blinken heads to final Nato foreign ministers meeting of Biden administration with Ukraine in focus
01:02
Jabed Ahmed
Pictured: Scholz and Zelensky hold joint press conference
Monday 2 December 2024 23:59
Jabed Ahmed
Arms producers saw revenue up in 2023 with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, report finds
Monday 2 December 2024 23:02
Jabed Ahmed
Major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2 per cent increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East, a new report has found.
The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said revenues from the top 100 arms companies totaled $632 billion last year in response to surging demand related to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
It said that “smaller producers were more efficient at responding to new demand.”
The 41 US-based arms companies among the world’s top 100 saw revenues of $317 billion (£263bn), a 2.5% increase from 2022, the report said.
Russia’s top two arms companies saw their combined revenues increase by 40 per cent, to an estimated $25.5 billion.
“This was almost entirely due to the 49% increase in arms revenues recorded by Rostec, a state-owned holding company controlling many arms producers,” the SIPRI report said.
Monday 2 December 2024 22:10
Jabed Ahmed
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a Nato meeting to shore up allied support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump ‘s return to the White House in January.
Mr Blinken will meet Nato foreign ministers meetings in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, the US State Department said.
Blinken will “discuss priorities for transatlantic security, including supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, deepening cooperation with NATO’s southern partners in the Middle East, North Africa, and Sahel regions, and preparing for the upcoming summit at The Hague,” the department said in a statement.
Outgoing President Joe Biden will not be in power when Nato leaders gather for their next summit in June but he has stepped up the delivery of weapons and other materiel to Ukraine over the past several months and has also eased restrictions on how Kyiv can use them.
Biden's goal is to put Ukraine in the best position possible to negotiate a settlement and has come as Moscow has made significant advances in the conflict and North Korean troops have moved to assist Russian forces.
Scholz says Germany to deliver air defences to Ukraine in 2025
Monday 2 December 2024 21:02
Jabed Ahmed
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Germany would deliver additional air defence systems to Ukraine next year, and said his trip to Kyiv was demonstrating his country’s unwavering support.
“I am making this very clear to Putin here in Kyiv today. We have staying power and we will stand by Ukraine’s side for as long as necessary,” he told a press conference.
Scholz added he had told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that he should pull back its troops from Ukraine.
Ukraine needs more air defences to protect two dozen ‘special’ sites, Zelensky says
Monday 2 December 2024 20:14
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine needs more air defence systems to protect its important facilities from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.
“We are looking at how to protect two dozen special facilities, there are simply not enough (air defence) systems because of such dense missile strikes,” Zelenskiy told a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv.
Norway to send F-35 fighter jets and air defence systems to Poland
Monday 2 December 2024 19:38
Jabed Ahmed
Norway's defence ministry has said it will deploy F-35 fighter jets and NASAMS air defence systems to a logistics hub in Poland which coordinates military aid for Ukraine.
From early December, Norway will safeguard the airspace above the Rzeszow airport in Poland and will send around 100 soldiers in addition to the air defence systems and fighter jets, the ministry said in a statement.
"Ukraine remains in critical need of military support, with Poland as the most critical logistics hub ... This way Norway contributes to ensuring that aid to Ukraine reaches its destination," Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram said.
Full report: Poland's prime minister visits defensive fortifications on border with Russia
Monday 2 December 2024 19:01
Jabed Ahmed
Former British diplomat gives verdict on whether ceding territory would hand Putin a form of victory
Monday 2 December 2024 18:09
Jabed Ahmed
Asked whether Ukraine ceding territory in a peace deal would hand a form of victory to Vladimir Putin, the UK’s former representative to Nato Sir Adam Thomson told Sky News: “The outcome that Zelensky is suggesting is agreement to disagree over who owns a chunk of Ukraine currently owned by Russia.
“Russia would claim it as its own. Zelensky is making the crucial point that this would not be internationally legally recognised – it would just be a de facto control that could change at some future stage through diplomacy.
“Putin would have seized some territory, he would have done it at extraordinary cost – billions and billions of dollars, two new Nato members already, a thousand or more Russian soldiers being killed or wounded every day at the moment.
“It’s in that sense a compromise. He’s got some territory under his control, it’s not recognised, and it’s an outcome that means he’s lost the rest of Ukraine and alienated Europe for a generation.”
Putin wants ‘control not territory’, says analyst
Monday 2 December 2024 17:41
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Ukraine could temporarily cede territory to Russia in return for Nato assurances are “quite smart” but it is unlikely that Vladimir Putin would accept such an arrangement, an expert has suggested.
Asked about the Ukrainian president’s recent remarks on ending the “hot phase” of Russia’s war, James Nixey, of the Chatham House think-tank, told The Independent in emailed remarks: “It’s quite smart.
“Because territory can be regained – even militarily if need be (and the Ukrainians could switch to ‘deniable’ subversive warfare). Or it could be re-acquired under a post-Putin regime. It’s hard to see Ukraine ever giving up on it forever.
“However, it’s even harder to see Putin going for it,” said Mr Nixey, adding: “Putin wants control, not territory. That’s why he hasn’t invaded Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan etc. He controls them ‘enough’ and they have not been so wayward.
“So Ukraine – any part of it – in Nato as part of a deal would be unacceptable.”
Putin would not accept any part of Ukraine being in Nato, analyst suggests
Monday 2 December 2024 17:12
Jabed Ahmed
James Nixey of the Chatham House think-tank has warned that any part of Ukraine being in Nato would be unacceptable to Vladimir Putin, after Volodymyr Zelensky said he could accept territory being temporarily ceded to Russia in exchange for security assurances from the alliance.
“After all, [Nato] is, for him, an abhorrence. Putin doesn’t want a pause anyway – he believes he’s on the brink of an historic and strategic victory, kindly deal-sealed by Donald Trump,” Mr Nixey told The Independent.
Full report: Cabinet minister ‘can’t predict’ whether Ukraine will become part of Nato
Monday 2 December 2024 16:42
Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky: I want to speak with Trump directly without voices around him
Monday 2 December 2024 16:12
Jabed Ahmed
Putin raises Russian military spending in 2025 to record levels
Monday 2 December 2024 15:41
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin has approved plans which raise 2025 military spending to record levels, with 13.5trn roubles £99.5bn) – nearly a third of the budget posted on a government website – allocated for national defence.
Politicians in both houses of the Russian parliament have already approved the plans over the past 10 days.
The increase in military spending – from a reported 28.3 to 32.5 per cent of Russia’s budget – comes despite discussions over US president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to bring the war to a rapid end.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers charged with desertion, prosecutors say
Monday 2 December 2024 15:12
Jabed Ahmed
More than 100,000 soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said, starving Kyiv of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia.
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials have told the Associated Press.
Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, military commanders and soldiers said. Some take medical leave and find themselves unable to bring themselves to return. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights.
Nearly half of the 100,000 peope charged have deserted in the last year alone, after Kyiv launched an aggressive mobilisation drive that government officials and military commanders concede has largely failed.
There were an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in combat before the mobilisation drive began. One politician with knowledge of military matters estimated the actual number of deserters could be as high as 200,000.
Arms producers saw revenue up in 2023 with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, report finds
Monday 2 December 2024 14:46
Jabed Ahmed
Major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2 per cent increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East, a new report has found.
The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said revenues from the top 100 arms companies totaled $632 billion last year in response to surging demand related to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
It said that “smaller producers were more efficient at responding to new demand.”
The 41 US-based arms companies among the world’s top 100 saw revenues of $317 billion (£263bn), a 2.5% increase from 2022, the report said.
Russia’s top two arms companies saw their combined revenues increase by 40 per cent, to an estimated $25.5 billion.
“This was almost entirely due to the 49% increase in arms revenues recorded by Rostec, a state-owned holding company controlling many arms producers,” the SIPRI report said.
Zelensky’s latest Ukraine-Russia war plan is a ‘major concession’ to Putin, says former UK ambassador
Monday 2 December 2024 14:11
Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky and and Scholz visit injured soldiers
Monday 2 December 2024 13:43
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky and Olaf Scholz have visited injured Ukranian soldiers in hostpital following Germany’s military aid announcement.
In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said: “We are deeply grateful to Germany for all the assistance it has provided. Germany stands as a European leader in supporting Ukraine, helping us defend ourselves against Russian aggression and terror.
“Our meeting with Olaf Scholz began with a visit to our warriors, wounded in combat against the occupiers, who are currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.”
Today, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Ukraine, marking the first bilateral visit by a German Chancellor in more than two years. We are deeply grateful to Germany for all the assistance it has provided. Germany stands as a European leader in supporting Ukraine, helping us… pic.twitter.com/NoTDQLqVuc
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 2, 2024
Commment: Zelensky is playing a clever game with America by talk of ceasefire
Monday 2 December 2024 13:16
Jabed Ahmed
German aid to Ukraine will include air defence systems, spokesperson says
Monday 2 December 2024 12:51
Jabed Ahmed
German military aid to be delivered to Ukraine in December includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a defence ministry spokesperson has said.
“Winter is just around the corner, so there will also be winter equipment, as well as hand-held weapons and warming devices,” the spokesperson said just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during a surprise trip to Kyiv.
A government spokesperson said the deliveries were part of a military aid package already announced by Berlin in October.
Why is Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy grid with missile attacks?
Monday 2 December 2024 12:19
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s process of joining EU marked by ‘sense of urgency’, new European Council chief says
Monday 2 December 2024 11:47
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s process of joining the EU is marked by a “sense of urgency”, new European Council president Antonio Costa has said, during a vist to Kyiv.
Mr Costa, the former Portuguese premier, visited Ukraine along with the new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the bloc’s head of enlargement Marta Kos, on the day they all took office.
The EU has “stood with you since the very first day of this war of aggression, and you can count on us to continue to stand with you”, Mr Costa said, in remarks alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, adding: “These are not just words.”
Mr Costa said Ukraine’s process of joining the EU was marked by “a sense of urgency” and that the bloc could take steps to integrate Ukraine before its entry, such as coordinating mobile phone roaming rules and letting some goods into the single market.
“We cannot manage this process as business as usual because it is a geopolitical choice,” he said.
Pictured: Zelensky and Scholz visit memorial for Ukrainian and foreign fighters in Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 11:19
Jabed Ahmed
Putin signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 10:39
Jabed Ahmed
Kremlin says Georgia protests have signs of attempted Ukraine-style revolution
Monday 2 December 2024 10:08
Jabed Ahmed
The Kremlin has said that a wave of pro-EU protests in Georgia resembled an attempted Ukraine-style "Orange Revolution" and that the authorities were trying to stabilise the situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that some of the protesters had clearly broken the law by attacking police, but that Russia would not interfere in the situation.
More than 200 people have been detained after four nights of protests in the Georgian capital following the government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union after the block criticised the country's parliamentary election.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament for the fourth night on Sunday. Some protesters threw fireworks at police who responded by deploying tear gas and water cannon.Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Monday that 224 protesters were detained on administrative charges and three arrested on criminal charges. So far, 113 police officers needed medical treatment while three others were hospitalized.
Zelensky criticised Scholz for call with Putin earlier this month
Monday 2 December 2024 09:51
Jabed Ahmed
German chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Vladimir Putin for the first time in nearly two years, earlier this month.
The German leader urged Mr Putin to pull his forces out of Ukraine and begin talks with Kyiv that would open the way for a “just and lasting peace”, the German government said at the time.
The move was swiftly criticised by Mr Zelensky, who said the call had opened a “Pandora’s box” by undermining efforts to isolate the Russian leader.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words,” said Mr Zelensky in an evening address on 15 November. “And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation and to conduct ordinary negotiations.”
Today, Mr Scholz made an unexpected visit to Kyiv and promised military aid worth €650 million (£538mn).
More than 160 clashes on the frontlines in past day, Ukraine Army says
Monday 2 December 2024 09:31
Jabed Ahmed
There have been 165 combat clashes on the frontlines in the past day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
The General Staff also reported that Russian forces carried out 18 airstrikes on the Ukrainian positions and settlements, dropped 25 glide bombs, and deployed 1,635 kamikaze drones.
Asia being dragged into Ukraine war, German foreign minister warns
Monday 2 December 2024 09:11
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin is dragging Asia into the war in Ukraine with the use of Chinese-made drones and North Korean troops, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said during a visit to Beijing.
She stressed the responsibility of permanent members of the UN Security Council, such as China, not to further fuel conflicts with their support.
"Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking peace in the centre of Europe violate our core European security interests," Ms Baerbock said after meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
ICYMI: UK Cabinet minister ‘can’t predict’ whether Ukraine will become part of Nato
Monday 2 December 2024 08:47
Jabed Ahmed
A Cabinet minister has said he “can’t predict” whether Ukraine will become part of Nato, but added that the country has “got to be free to make its choices”.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK does not want to see “Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal” it does not want after Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that territory under his control should be taken under the “Nato umbrella” to try to stop the “hot stage” of the war with Russia.
He said Ukraine could then get back the other parts of its territory “diplomatically”.
Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I don’t know whether Ukraine will be part of Nato or not in the future, I can’t predict that.
“What I do know is that I want the country to be free to make decisions about its own future.”
He added that any application would “have to be considered properly by Nato in the future”.
German Chancellor announces Ukraine military aid in visit to Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 08:25
Jabed Ahmed
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made an unexpected visit to Kyiv, promising military aid worth €650 million (£538mn).
The visit, his second since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, signals Germany's support at a time of uncertainty ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking the reins at the White House and as Russian forces make territorial gains.
Scholz will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to push NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance at a meeting in Brussels this week.
"Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe," Mr Scholz wrote on X.
At the meeting with Zelenskiy, he said he would "announce further military equipment worth 650 million euros, which is to be delivered in December."
If the war in Ukraine ends in a deal, it must be struck by Zelensky from a position of strength
Monday 2 December 2024 08:00
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has suggested he would temporarily cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in exchange for joining Nato. The negotiation to end the war has begun.
“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. We need to do it fast,” Mr Zelensky