President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is open to a diplomatic end to the almost three-year war with Russia and a potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine.
"Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it," Mr Zelensky told reporters in Kyiv yesterday.
On the deployment of Western troops inside Ukraine, he said: “A troop contingent from one country or another could be present in Ukraine for as long as it isn’t part of Nato. But for that we need to have a clear understanding of when Ukraine becomes an EU member and when a Nato member.”
His remarks come just a day after he said around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the war and that there had been 370,000 wounded soldiers, revealing a rare tally of war dead.
A day earlier, US president-elect Trump had claimed Kyiv had lost some 400,000 soldiers and that "Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.
Key Points
- Zelensky open to idea of Western troops in Ukraine
- Atomic bomb survivor gives warning to Putin
- Ukrainian war dead reaches 43,000
- US and Ukraine discussed next Ramstein meeting
Zelensky says 800,000 Russian soldiers inside Ukraine
02:54
Arpan Rai
Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday, reported the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
He claimed that the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad has fallen as “there are no real Russian fighters left there”.
“This means that the entire army of a great pseudo-empire is fighting against the Ukrainian people. The same thing is happening in Africa. We know that there were ‘Wagners’ there,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said that if Ukraine falls, “Putin will return to Syria, Africa and many other countries.” His remarks came before a meeting with Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal.
Zelensky says a ‘diplomatic resolution’ to war in Ukraine would save lives
02:50
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been speaking at a joint press conference with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.
The Guardian reports he said: “Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it. You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield.”
There is growing recognition among Zelensky’s inner circle that, as Russia continues to achieve combat victories, some form of negotiation will be required shortly.
But the Ukrainian leader wants more armaments from friends, as well as security guarantees, to negotiate with Moscow from a position of strength if necessary.
Atomic bomb survivor gives warning to Putin
01:50
Rachel Hagan
Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ group, Nihon Hidankyo, said Monday that it did not believe Russian president Vladimir Putin comprehended the threat posed by nuclear weapons after the warmonger modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
“President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings,” Terumi Tanaka, 92, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo and a survivor of Nagasaki’s 1945 atomic blast, said.
Tanaka remarked at a press conference in Oslo, published by the news agency AFP, and a day before receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize at a formal ceremony in Oslo: “Nuclear weapons are things which must never be used.”
Zelensky open to Western forces providing security for an end to fighting in Ukraine
01:20
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he is willing to consider the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to ensure the country’s security as part of a larger effort to end the nearly three-year conflict with Russia.
Zelensky claimed in a message on his Telegram channel that the deployment would be a step towards Ukraine joining NATO.
“But before that, we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will be in the European Union and when Ukraine will be in NATO,” he said.
His suggestions take a tricky diplomatic path amidst international efforts to find a way to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, at a time when Russia has gained an advantage in the combat.
UK sanctions illegal gold trade players in an effort to reduce Russia’s war funding
00:45
Rachel Hagan
Britain announced a new round of sanctions on Monday, accusing Russia of supporting its war efforts in Ukraine and fostering corruption through the illicit gold trade.
According to an official notice, the government added one new designation under the Russia sanctions regime, one under the Democratic Republic of the Congo regime and three under the global anti-corruption system.
Following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Britain and other major Western economies banned the import of new Russian gold in 2022. Russia has since found new outlets for the gold it produces.
Last week, Britain and the United States said that they had broken a global money laundering conspiracy used by wealthy Russians to circumvent sanctions.
Along with the recent sanctions, the government nominated a new ‘Anti-Corruption Champion’ to help coordinate efforts to combat all forms of corruption among parliamentarians, the commercial sector and civil society.
EU countries approve new €4.2bn payment for Ukraine
00:10
Rachel Hagan
The EU council confirmed that Ukraine will soon receive an additional €4.2 billion ($4.4 billion; £3.5 billion) in funds after the EU’s member states accepted the scheduled payment.
The funds, which are part of the EU’s Ukraine facility, will benefit the country’s suffering economy, which has been hurt by a drop in exports and the closure of several firms as a result of Russia’s war.
The EU council wants the money to be transferred to Ukraine as soon as possible, citing the country’s terrible fiscal condition.
The G7 group of the world’s largest economies has agreed to provide Ukraine with an overall loan of €47.3 billion ($50 billion; £39 billion), which will be serviced by earnings earned by Russian assets frozen in the West.
Zelensky to discuss NATO with Biden not Trump
Monday 9 December 2024 23:30
Rachel Hagan
Further information on the below post has just come through from the Reuters news agency, with Ukraine‘s president Volodymyr Zelensky saying that discussions on the NATO membership with Trump “doesn’t make sense” and he will call Biden “in the coming days.”
Speaking at a news conference with Germany’s visiting opposition leader Friedrich Merz on Monday, he said: “I intend to call President Biden in the coming time to discuss the question of an invitation to join NATO. He is the current president and a lot rides on his opinion. Discussing it with Trump before he takes office doesn’t make so much sense.”
Kremlin says it has had no contact with Trump
Monday 9 December 2024 23:00
Rachel Hagan
Russia has had no contact with US president-elect Donald Trump thus far, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said to reporters during a news briefing.
The Kremlin claimed yesterday that Russia was willing to negotiate about Ukraine after the President-elect called for an urgent cease-fire and discussions.
Trump calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 22:30
Rachel Hagan
After meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the country’s war with Russia.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being wasted, too many families destroyed,” Trump wrote in an online post on Sunday.
He continued: “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting! Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.”
US and Ukraine discussed next Ramstein meeting
Monday 9 December 2024 22:00
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine’s defence minister said today he discussed planning for the next meeting of the Ramstein Group with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
The Ramstein group, also known as the Ukraine defence contact group UDCG, is a US-led group of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, which convenes at the US Ramstein air base in Germany.
Rustem Umerov also said Austin reaffirmed the “readiness of the United States to provide Ukraine with everything it needs to effectively fight the enemy” during a conversation about continued security assistance.
On November 25, general Christian Freuding, head of the special Ukraine task force at Germany’s ministry of defence, hinted at the possibility of an additional Ramstein-format meeting in December.
Previously, Umerov stressed the importance of the Ramstein format for Ukraine and expressed hope for continued support under Donald Trump’s administration.
Denmark delivers batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 21:15
Rachel Hagan
Denmark has transferred a second batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, further bolstering the country’s air defence capabilities, president Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
The American-made fighter jet has been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years.
Although new to Ukraine, the F-16s are older jets which have been donated by Western allies of Ukraine. Zelensky added that the first batch of Danish-provided F-16 jets has already been deployed, and the second one will improve Ukraine’s air defence capabilities against ongoing Russian missile strikes.
“Denmark’s decisive leadership in defending lives stands out,” he wrote in a social media post, adding: “With this additional reinforcement, our air shield is stronger than ever.”
He thanked Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, her team, and the Danish people for their support.
Ukraine must negotiate from position of strength, France says
Monday 9 December 2024 20:40
Rachel Hagan
France’s acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Monday that Ukraine should decide when it’s ready to negotiate with Russia on ending the war and Kyiv should do so from a position of strength.
Asked about comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called on the weekend who called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between the two countries, Barrot told franceinfo radio a strong Ukraine was also in the United State’s interest.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Monday 9 December 2024 20:00
Rachel Hagan
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
Explained: Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile and its use in war
Monday 9 December 2024 19:30
Rich Booth
The silent black-and-white surveillance camera video of the Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was brief but chilling: Six huge fireballs pierced the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.
Within hours of the 21 November attack on the military facility, Vladimir Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the new, hypersonic missile. He warned the West that its next use could be against Ukraine’s Nato allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Mr Putin said the missile was called the “Oreshnik” — Russian for “hazelnut tree.”
Putin’s cousin accidentally reveals secret figure relating to Russian losses
Monday 9 December 2024 19:00
Rachel Hagan
A family member of Russian president Vladimir Putin accidentally revealed what is likely a confidential tally of the appeals by relatives of soldiers who submitted DNA samples.
Anna Tsivilyova, the daughter of Mr Putin’s cousin and a deputy defence minister, said the government received tens of thousands of appeals from relatives trying to trace soldiers, dead or missing, through DNA samples.
Ms Tsivilyova said in a video, published by the independent Astra Telegram channel, the ministry received 48,000 requests from relatives of Russian troops.
Russia and Ukraine have not officially published a tally of their respective military losses of personnel in the nearly three-year-old war and treat the figure as a state secret.
Western intelligence sources estimate the number of Russian dead to be as high as 200,000, with 400,000 wounded.
Zelensky says Ukrainian war dead reaches 43,000
Monday 9 December 2024 18:30
Rachel Hagan
Around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a first rare update on the war casualties.
The Ukrainian president said 370,000 injuries had been reported in a post on his social media and said that this tally included soldiers who had been hurt more than once and some of the injuries were said to be minor.
Additionally, around 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 wounded.
Russia and Ukraine have not shared the total military losses in the continuing war and treat the number as a state secret. The latest information from Mr Zelensky comes as a rare admission at a time the incoming US president Donald Trump called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end “the madness.”
Trump calls for Putin to reach ‘immediate ceasefire’ deal with Ukraine as Syrian government falls
Monday 9 December 2024 17:30
Rachel Hagan
President-elect Donald Trump publicly urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to reach an “immediate ceasefire” deal with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky in a late-night social media post-Saturday evening amid reports that Syria’s capital of Damascus had fallen to a rebel attack.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote that “there should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin” in the wake of Bashar al-Assad, Putin’s ally, being ousted by a Turkish-backed rebel force.
Assad granted asylum in Russia after flees Syria
Monday 9 December 2024 17:00
Rachel Hagan
Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said yesterday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.
The arrival of Assad and his family in Moscow was reported by Russian agencies Tass and RIA, citing an unidentified source at the Kremlin.
Earlier, the Russian foreign ministry had announced that Assad “decided to resign the presidency and left the country, giving instructions for a peaceful transfer of power”.
Russia, which has two key military bases in Syria, is a staunch ally of Assad and had intervened in Syria’s 13-year civil war to keep him in power.
Kyiv to gather key European allies in December to coordinate joint position, official says
Monday 9 December 2024 16:38
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine aims to hold a meeting of its key European allies in December to coordinate a joint position and ensure Kyiv is in a strong position for any potential talks and on the battlefield, the presidential spokesman said on Monday.
He added that the final list of participants was still being decided.
‘Impossible to treat’ superbugs on rise in Ukraine, scientists warn
Monday 9 December 2024 16:06
Vishwam Sankaran
Scientists have sounded a warning about the alarming rise of “extremely pathogenic” multi-drug resistant bacteria in war-torn Ukraine.
Researchers tested samples from 150 war-wounded people and found several types of bacteria resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics, with six per cent resistant to all tested antibiotics.
They narrowed in on samples of the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae to assess if it had the ability to cause disease in a wider context.
Klebsiella causes a range of diseases like pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract, skin and wounds, and is responsible for about a fifth of all deaths attributed to drug-resistant superbugs.
Scientists assessed samples from 37 patients known to have drug-resistant bacteria, and sequenced the bug’s genome. “All the bacteria were shown to carry the genes that we know are associated with resistance,” Kristian Riesbeck, an author of the study, said. “We saw that one quarter of them were resistant to all the available antimicrobial drugs on the market. These bacteria are said to have total resistance.”
Dutch F-35s intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea
Monday 9 December 2024 15:17
Rachel Hagan
Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea last Friday, the Dutch Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The Dutch F-35s escorted the aircraft at a distance over international waters to the border of the NATO area of responsibility, the statement said.
Almost 800k Russian troops in Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 15:14
Rachel Hagan
Interfax-Ukraine said on Monday that around 800,000 Russian troops are currently stationed in Ukraine, quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with no further information.
Zelensky says a ‘diplomatic resolution’ to war in Ukraine would save lives
Monday 9 December 2024 14:40
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been speaking at a joint press conference with German opposition leader Friedrich Merz in Kyiv.
The Guardian reports he said: “Ukraine wants this war to end more than anyone else. No doubt, a diplomatic resolution would save more lives. We do seek it. You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield.”
There is growing recognition among Zelensky’s inner circle that, as Russia continues to achieve combat victories, some form of negotiation will be required shortly.
But the Ukrainian leader wants more armaments from friends, as well as security guarantees, to negotiate with Moscow from a position of strength if necessary.
Atomic bomb survivor gives warning to Putin
Monday 9 December 2024 14:14
Rachel Hagan
Japan’s atomic bomb survivors’ group, Nihon Hidankyo, said Monday that it did not believe Russian president Vladimir Putin comprehended the threat posed by nuclear weapons after the warmonger modified Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
“President Putin, I don’t think he truly understands what nuclear weapons are for human beings,” Terumi Tanaka, 92, the secretary general of Nihon Hidankyo and a survivor of Nagasaki’s 1945 atomic blast, said.
Tanaka remarked at a press conference in Oslo, published by the news agency AFP, and a day before receiving the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize at a formal ceremony in Oslo: “Nuclear weapons are things which must never be used.”
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Monday 9 December 2024 14:03
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian forces defending the eastern region of Donetsk are heading into the “moment of maximum tension” as Russian forces rush to take territory across Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next year, war monitors have claimed.
Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Zelensky open to Western forces providing security for an end to fighting in Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 13:55
Rachel Hagan
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he is willing to consider the deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to ensure the country’s security as part of a larger effort to end the nearly three-year conflict with Russia.
Zelensky claimed in a message on his Telegram channel that the deployment would be a step towards Ukraine joining NATO.
“But before that, we must have a clear understanding of when Ukraine will be in the European Union and when Ukraine will be in NATO,” he said.
His suggestions take a tricky diplomatic path amidst international efforts to find a way to end Europe’s largest conflict since World War II, at a time when Russia has gained an advantage in the combat.
UK sanctions illegal gold trade players in an effort to reduce Russia’s war funding.
Monday 9 December 2024 13:33
Rachel Hagan
Britain announced a new round of sanctions on Monday, accusing Russia of supporting its war efforts in Ukraine and fostering corruption through the illicit gold trade.
According to an official notice, the government added one new designation under the Russia sanctions regime, one under the Democratic Republic of the Congo regime and three under the global anti-corruption system.
Following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Britain and other major Western economies banned the import of new Russian gold in 2022. Russia has since found new outlets for the gold it produces.
Last week, Britain and the United States said that they had broken a global money laundering conspiracy used by wealthy Russians to circumvent sanctions.
Along with the recent sanctions, the government nominated a new ‘Anti-Corruption Champion’ to help coordinate efforts to combat all forms of corruption among parliamentarians, the commercial sector and civil society.
EU countries approve new €4.2bn payment for Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 13:15
Rachel Hagan
The EU council confirmed that Ukraine will soon receive an additional €4.2 billion ($4.4 billion; £3.5 billion) in funds after the EU’s member states accepted the scheduled payment.
The funds, which are part of the EU’s Ukraine facility, will benefit the country’s suffering economy, which has been hurt by a drop in exports and the closure of several firms as a result of Russia’s war.
The EU council wants the money to be transferred to Ukraine as soon as possible, citing the country’s terrible fiscal condition.
The G7 group of the world’s largest economies has agreed to provide Ukraine with an overall loan of €47.3 billion ($50 billion; £39 billion), which will be serviced by earnings earned by Russian assets frozen in the West.
Trump calls on China to help end ‘madness’ between Russia and Ukraine:
Monday 9 December 2024 13:00
Rachel Hagan
Donald Trump called on China to help broker a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine as the incoming US president revealed he had communicated with Xi Jinping.
The conflict had caused enormous losses to both Russia and Ukraine, Mr Trump said, and Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky “would like to make a deal” to end the “madness”.
Mr Zelensky has yet to respond to the claim.
Mr Trump’s outreach to China came a day after he made a proposal to end the war during a trilateral meeting with Mr Zelensky and French president Emmanuel Macron in Paris.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Monday 9 December 2024 12:20
Rachel Hagan
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
Zelensky says Ukrainian war dead reaches 43,000
Monday 9 December 2024 12:00
Rachel Hagan
Around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky said in a first rare update on the war casualties.
The Ukrainian president said 370,000 injuries had been reported in a post on his social media and said that this tally included soldiers who had been hurt more than once and some of the injuries were said to be minor.
Additionally, around 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 wounded.
Russia and Ukraine have not shared the total military losses in the continuing war and treat the number as a state secret. The latest information from Mr Zelensky comes as a rare admission at a time the incoming US president Donald Trump called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end “the madness.”
Estonian prime minister arrives in Kyiv
Monday 9 December 2024 11:34
Rachel Hagan
Kristen Michal, Estonia’s prime minister, has arrived in Kyiv to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials, including Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Friedrich Merz, the German opposition leader, is also making a diplomatic visit to the Ukrainian capital today.
Michal succeeded Kaja Kallas as Prime Minister in July. She resigned to become the EU’s foreign policy leader after becoming one of the political bloc’s and NATO’s most outspoken critics of Russia and backers of Ukraine. It is her first trip to Ukraine as head of the Estonian government.
Zelensky to discuss NATO with Biden not Trump
Monday 9 December 2024 11:06
Rachel Hagan
Further information on the below post has just come through from the Reuters news agency, with Ukraine‘s president Volodymyr Zelensky saying that discussions on the NATO membership with Trump “doesn’t make sense” and he will call Biden “in the coming days.”
Speaking at a news conference with Germany’s visiting opposition leader Friedrich Merz on Monday, he said: “I intend to call President Biden in the coming time to discuss the question of an invitation to join NATO. He is the current president and a lot rides on his opinion. Discussing it with Trump before he takes office doesn’t make so much sense.”
Just in: Ukraine’s NATO membership to be discussed in days
Monday 9 December 2024 10:50
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has just said there are plans to discuss Ukraine’s NATO membership with US President Biden in “the coming days.”
Kremlin says it has had no contact with Trump
Monday 9 December 2024 10:22
Rachel Hagan
Russia has had no contact with US president-elect Donald Trump thus far, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said to reporters during a news briefing.
The Kremlin claimed yesterday that Russia was willing to negotiate about Ukraine after the President-elect called for an urgent cease-fire and discussions.
Trump calls for ‘immediate ceasefire’ in Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 10:04
Rachel Hagan
After meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris, Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations to end the country’s war with Russia.
“There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin. Too many lives are being wasted, too many families destroyed,” Trump wrote in an online post on Sunday.
He continued: “I know Vladimir well. This is his time to act. China can help. The world is waiting! Zelenskyy and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness.”
US and Ukraine discussed next Ramstein meeting
Monday 9 December 2024 09:31
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine's defence minister said today he discussed planning for the next meeting of the Ramstein Group with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
The Ramstein group, also known as the Ukraine defence contact group UDCG, is a US-led group of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, which convenes at the US Ramstein air base in Germany.
Rustem Umerov also said Austin reaffirmed the "readiness of the United States to provide Ukraine with everything it needs to effectively fight the enemy" during a conversation about continued security assistance.
On November 25, general Christian Freuding, head of the special Ukraine task force at Germany’s ministry of defence, hinted at the possibility of an additional Ramstein-format meeting in December.
Previously, Umerov stressed the importance of the Ramstein format for Ukraine and expressed hope for continued support under Donald Trump’s administration.
Denmark delivers batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 09:04
Rachel Hagan
Denmark has transferred a second batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, further bolstering the country's air defence capabilities, president Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
The American-made fighter jet has been the front-line combat plane of choice for the NATO alliance and numerous air forces around the world for 50 years.
Although new to Ukraine, the F-16s are older jets which have been donated by Western allies of Ukraine. Zelensky added that the first batch of Danish-provided F-16 jets has already been deployed, and the second one will improve Ukraine’s air defence capabilities against ongoing Russian missile strikes.
"Denmark's decisive leadership in defending lives stands out," he wrote in a social media post, adding: "With this additional reinforcement, our air shield is stronger than ever."
He thanked Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, her team, and the Danish people for their support.
Ukraine must negotiate from position of strength, France says
Monday 9 December 2024 08:24
Rachel Hagan
France’s acting Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Monday that Ukraine should decide when it’s ready to negotiate with Russia on ending the war and Kyiv should do so from a position of strength.
Asked about comments by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called on the weekend who called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between the two countries, Barrot told franceinfo radio a strong Ukraine was also in the United State’s interest.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Monday 9 December 2024 08:00
Jabed Ahmed
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
Explained: Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile and its use in war
Monday 9 December 2024 07:04
Arpan Rai
The silent black-and-white surveillance camera video of the Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was brief but chilling: Six huge fireballs pierced the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.
Within hours of the 21 November attack on the military facility, Vladimir Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the new, hypersonic missile. He warned the West that its next use could be against Ukraine’s Nato allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Mr Putin said the missile was called the “Oreshnik” — Russian for “hazelnut tree.”
Putin’s cousin accidentally reveals secret figure relating to Russian losses
Monday 9 December 2024 07:00
Jabed Ahmed
Kyiv to gather key European allies in December to coordinate joint position, official says
Monday 9 December 2024 16:55
Rachel Hagan
Ukraine aims to hold a meeting of its key European allies in December to coordinate a joint position and ensure Kyiv is in a strong position for any potential talks and on the battlefield, the presidential spokesman said on Monday.
He added that the final list of participants was still being decided.
Zelensky says Ukrainian war dead reaches 43,000
Monday 9 December 2024 06:42
Arpan Rai
Around 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022, Volodymyr Zelensky saidin a first rare update on the war casualties.
The Ukrainian president said 370,000 injuries had been reported in a post on his social media and said that this tally included soldiers who had been hurt more than once and some of the injuries were said to be minor.
Additionally, around 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 wounded.
Russia and Ukraine have not shared the total military losses in the continuing war and treat the number as a state secret. The latest information from Mr Zelensky comes as a rare admission at a time the incoming US president Donald Trump called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end “the madness”
Full report: Trump calls for Putin to reach ceasefire with Ukraine after Syrian government falls to rebel assault
Monday 9 December 2024 06:00
Jabed Ahmed
Russia destroys 13 Ukrainian drones overnight
Monday 9 December 2024 05:54
Arpan Rai
Russian air defence units destroyed 13 Ukrainian drones over three western Russia regions, the Russian defence ministry said this morning on the Telegram channel.
It was not immediately clear how many drones were fired and if the debris from downed drones caused any damage.
Photos: Protests in London in support of pro-Europe protestors in Georgia
Monday 9 December 2024 05:06
Arpan Rai
Assad granted asylum in Russia after flees Syria
Monday 9 December 2024 04:56
Arpan Rai
Ousted Syrian leader Bashar Assad fled to Moscow and received asylum from his longtime ally, Russian media said yesterday, hours after a stunning rebel advance seized control of Damascus and ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.
The arrival of Assad and his family in Moscow was reported by Russian agencies Tass and RIA, citing an unidentified source at the Kremlin. A spokesman there didn’t immediately respond to questions. RIA also said Syrian insurgents had guaranteed the security of Russian military bases and diplomatic posts in Syria.
Earlier, Russia said Assad left Syria after negotiations with rebel groups and that he had given instructions to transfer power peacefully.
Thousands of Syrians poured into streets echoing with celebratory gunfire and waved the revolutionary flag in scenes that recalled the early days of the Arab Spring uprising, before a brutal crackdown and the rise of an insurgency plunged the country into a nearly 14-year civil war.
The swiftly moving events raised questions about the future of the country and the wider region.
Dutch F-35s intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea
Monday 9 December 2024 16:54
Rachel Hagan
Dutch F-35 fighters intercepted three Russian aircraft over the Baltic Sea last Friday, the Dutch Defence Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The Dutch F-35s escorted the aircraft at a distance over international waters to the border of the NATO area of responsibility, the statement said.
'Reindeer' volunteers bring holiday magic to Ukrainian children living on the frontlines
Monday 9 December 2024 04:09
Arpan Rai
Hopes for victory, a swift end to the war and prayers for their loved ones’ survival or return from Russian captivity are among the wishes scattered throughout letters sent to a volunteer group by Ukrainian children living in frontline areas.
While the volunteers, who are named reindeer after the magical beasts that pull Santa’s sleigh, cannot fulfill many of these dreams, they strive to deliver on the simpler ones, such as requests for power banks to help families endure outages, bicycles, books, and even pets.
Every winter, the volunteers travel to heavily damaged cities to deliver gifts and ensure that, despite the war, Ukrainian children can celebrate the holiday season just like their peers around the world.
This year, the group received 2,310 letters, according to project manager Inna Achkasova from the NGO Ukrainian Frontiers, who launched the St. Nicholas’ Reindeers initiative in 2015.
The children’s wishes are published on the project’s website. Donors affectionately known as magicians then choose a letter and buy the requested gift to make that child’s dreams come true. The reindeer then deliver those gifts.
‘Impossible to treat’ superbugs on rise in Ukraine, scientists warn
Monday 9 December 2024 04:03
Arpan Rai
Scientists have sounded a warning about the alarming rise of “extremely pathogenic” multi-drug resistant bacteria in war-torn Ukraine.
Researchers tested samples from 150 war-wounded people and found several types of bacteria resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics, with six per cent resistant to all tested antibiotics.
They narrowed in on samples of the bacterium Klebsiella pneumoniae to assess if it had the ability to cause disease in a wider context.
Klebsiella causes a range of diseases like pneumonia and infections of the urinary tract, skin and wounds, and is responsible for about a fifth of all deaths attributed to drug-resistant superbugs.
Ukrainian navy says Russian-occupied gas platforms in Crimea hit by drones
Monday 9 December 2024 04:00
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian naval drones have struck and destroyed surveillance systems on Russian-controlled gas platforms in Crimea, vice-admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa said.
“The hunt for the enemy in the Black Sea continues. The occupiers will not stay on our territory — we will get them everywhere,” Neizhpapa said on Saturday in a post on Facebook.
“Naval (drones) delivered precise strikes on Russian targets.”
Recent weeks have seen intensified attacks on Russian assets in Crimea. Strikes have targeted radar stations, and explosions were also reported in Sevastopol and near the Belbek airbase in November.
Russian troops take control of Blahodatne in eastern Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 03:54
Arpan Rai
Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Blahodatne in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported, citing the defence ministry. The territorial capture has not been confirmed by Ukrainian military officials.
Experts monitoring the war did not confirm the Russian advancement on the battlefield. “The Russian ministry of defence (MoD) claimed on 8 December that Russian forces seized Blahodatne (south of Velyka Novosilka), but ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim,” the Institute for the Study of War said.
Russian forces control just under 20 per cent of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced through the Donetsk region over the past two months at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data.
Almost 800k Russian troops in Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 16:54
Rachel Hagan
Interfax-Ukraine said on Monday that around 800,000 Russian troops are currently stationed in Ukraine, quoting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky with no further information.
Ukraine confirms second Danish delivery of F-16s
Monday 9 December 2024 03:34
Arpan Rai
Denmark has delivered a second batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky said over the weekend as he travelled to Paris to meet with top politicians and dignitaries.
In a message on Telegram, Mr Zelensky praised Denmark and lamented a lack of dedication from other allies.
“The first batch of planes provided by the Danes are already shooting down Russian missiles: rescuing our people and our infrastructure. Now our air shield is reinforced even further,” he said. “If all partners were so determined, we would have been able to make Russian terror impossible.”
Assad’s fall underscores Russian weakness, says Ukraine
Monday 9 December 2024 02:59
Arpan Rai
The fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad underscores Russia’s weakness and inability to fight on two fronts, Ukraine‘s foreign ministr