Bulgaria is drafting new legislation that will allow it to seize control of an important oil refinery belonging to Russia's sanctioned oil giant Lukoil.
The Burgas refinery is the only one of its kind in Bulgaria and was a vital party of Lukoil's foreign business empire. The company is now facing US sanctions over Russia's war on Ukraine.
Earlier, Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered preparations for nuclear weapons testing after president Donald Trump announced last week that the US would be running its first tests in over three decades.
Trump announced last week that the US would breach a global moratorium on testing nuclear weapons, claiming rivals such as China and Russia were already doing the same in secret, but did not offer more details.
At the same meeting on Wednesday, Putin ordered the heightened defence of Russia's oil refineries from Ukrainian drone attacks, signing a new law deploying millions of reservists to the task.
And on the battlefield, Russia claimed its troops were advancing inside the key city of Pokrovsk, where the Ukrainian army said its units were battling hard to avoid being encircled by Moscow's forces.
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Key Points
- Bulgaria drafts law to seize and sell Russian oil refinery
- Why talk of the fall of Pokrovsk – and Ukraine – is premature
- Putin's aides push him for full-scale nuclear tests
- Britain may send troubled Ajax vehicles to Ukraine
- Putin orders defence of oil sites from Ukrainian drone attacks
- Watch: Putin orders nuclear weapons test preparations after Trump threat in new escalation
- Angelina Jolie makes surprise visit to Ukraine's frontline region
Bulgaria drafts law to seize and sell Russian oil refinery
09:00
,
Arpan Rai
Bulgaria is drafting legal changes that will allow it to seize control of sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil's Burgas refinery and sell it to a new owner to protect the plant from US sanctions, local media reported.
Burgas is Bulgaria's only oil refinery, and was a key part of Lukoil's foreign business empire, which is being threatened after the US joined Britain last month in imposing sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The draft legislation, first reported by Bulgarian outlet Mediapool yesterday, would permit a special manager to oversee the sale of the Burgas oil refinery, which owner Lukoil would have no right to vote on or appeal against, the reports said.
"There is a lot of logic in this, which is why today we will submit a draft law on the special governor," public broadcaster BNT quoted Boyko Borissov, former prime minister and leader of the GERB party – which heads Bulgaria's coalition government – as saying.
As Russian drone incursions rattle Europe, Poland and Romania deploy a new defensive system
08:45
,
Arpan Rai
Poland and Romania are deploying a new weapons system to defend against Russian drones, following a spate of incursions into Nato airspace in recent months that exposed the alliance’s vulnerabilities and put Europe on edge.
The American Merops system, which is small enough to fit in the back of a mid-sized pickup truck, can identify drones and close in on them, using artificial intelligence to navigate when satellite and electronic communications are jammed.
As well as being deployed in Poland and Romania, Merops will also be used by Denmark, Nato military officials told The Associated Press, part of a move to boost defenses on the alliance’s eastern flank.
US and European energy leaders in Greece to talk ways to better supply Ukraine
08:30
,
Arpan Rai
Energy ministers from the United States and European countries are holding talks today in Greece on how to use a newly upgraded regional pipeline network to better supply war-torn Ukraine as the Trump administration seeks to further ramp up gas exports to Europe.
US energy secretary Chris Wright and interior secretary Doug Burgum were attending the meeting in Athens, hosted by the Atlantic Council, the Washington-based think tank.
They were joined by more than 80 US officials, European Union energy ministers, and executives from leading American liquified natural gas companies.
President Donald Trump is seeking to use America’s position as the world’s top LNG exporter to press the EU to buy more US gas, linking energy exports to broader trade negotiations.
South Africa says 17 citizens were lured into fighting in Ukraine
08:15
,
Arpan Rai
South Africa's government said it had received distress calls from 17 citizens who had joined mercenary forces in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The men are between the ages of 20 and 39 years and are trapped in Ukraine's war-torn Donbas region.
"President Cyril Ramaphosa has ordered an investigation into the circumstances that led to the recruitment of these young men into these seemingly mercenary activities," South Africa's government said in a statement.
Angelina Jolie makes surprise visit to Ukraine's frontline region
08:00
,
Arpan Rai
American actor Angelina Jolie has visited Ukraine’s southern regions to meet children impacted by the Russian invasion, local media reported.
Jolie was seen playing with Ukrainian children in Kherson, a region that is hit by Russian drones and missiles on a daily basis.
The Tomb Raider star was visiting the war-hit country in her role as a UNICEF ambassador.
The actor was seen wearing a bulletproof vest with a patch from the Legacy of War Foundation, a British non-profit organisation helping civilians during the war.
The visit by Jolie faced an incident with local military recruiters, reported Politico, citing a top Ukrainian official. The official said Jolie had not informed the Ukrainian government about her intention to visit the country, and that she entered on foot.
American actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie visited the city of Kherson, according to local Telegram channels. Suspilne and local outlet MOST also confirmed the visit.
— Hromadske Int. (@Hromadske) November 5, 2025
Jolie visited medical facilities, including a children's hospital and a maternity hospital. pic.twitter.com/gVTvdwKoG3
Watch: Putin orders nuclear weapons test preparations after Trump threat in new escalation
07:45
,
Arpan Rai
Putin orders defence of oil sites from Ukrainian drone attacks
07:30
,
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has ordered the heightened defence of Russia's oil refineries from Ukrainian drone attacks in a new law.
In a law signed on Tuesday, Putin called on around two million reservists to protect Russian oil facilities from increasing Ukrainian drone attacks.
In recent weeks, Ukraine's daring strikes deep inside Russia using domestically produced drones have embarrassed Moscow, with officials being unforthcoming about any damage, and unnerved Russians.
Ukraine has taken aim at manufacturing plants, oil refineries and military logistics hubs in a bid to disrupt Russia's war effort almost four years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant around 1,300km (800 miles) inside Russia, local officials said.
Russia and Ukraine say their forces are locked in fierce fighting in the ruins of Pokrovsk
07:14
,
Arpan Rai
Russia said its forces were advancing north inside Pokrovsk in a drive to take full control of the Ukrainian city, but the Ukrainian army said its units were battling hard to try to stop the Russians from gaining new ground.
Ukraine has acknowledged that its troops face a difficult position in the strategic eastern city, once an important transport and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, which Russia has been trying to capture for more than a year.
The Russian defence ministry said two assault groups were destroying Ukrainian troops that were surrounded in several districts of the city and continuing an offensive pushing north through it. Russian forces were clearing Ukrainian troops from settlements on Pokrovsk's southeastern flank and had repelled Ukrainian attempts to break out of encirclement.
The Ukrainian military denied that its troops were surrounded in Pokrovsk. It said they were trying to stop Russian soldiers from digging in while seeking to secure and protect logistics routes in the wider area.
“Measures are being taken to block the enemy, which is attempting to infiltrate and accumulate in the city of Pokrovsk," the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement.
“Active countermeasures are being taken against attempts by enemy infantry groups to gain a foothold.”
Russia sees the city as the gateway to its capture of the remaining 10 per cent, or 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region, one of its key aims in the almost four-year-old war.
Britain may send troubled Ajax vehicles to Ukraine
06:57
,
Arpan Rai
The UK government is reportedly considering transferring some of the Army’s controversial Ajax armoured vehicles to Ukraine as part of a peacekeeping force.
Ministry of Defence figures show that the Army has at least 128 Ajax armoured fighting vehicles, though an update from defence minister Lord Coaker suggests that only 91 of these are already in service after years of delays.
Around 50 of these vehicles are now ready to be deployed, reported The Telegraph.
The armoured vehicles have been deemed unfit over several problems, most notably the loudness of the noise it produces, which has been harmful to soldiers testing them.
More than 300 British soldiers have had to undergo hearing assessments and around 17 of those involved in the trials have been undergoing treatment for hearing loss, the report added.
One killed as Ukraine strikes Russia's Volgograd with drones
06:20
,
Arpan Rai
At least one person was killed after Ukraine struck Russia with at least 75 drones overnight, officials said.
The attack sparked a fire in an industrial area of the southern city of Volgograd, killing at least one and halting dozens of flights across the country, according to regional officials said.
Volgograd Governor Andrei Bocharov said a 48-year-old man was killed by shrapnel and that a fire was sparked in an industrial zone in the Krasnoarmeysk district of the city, which was formerly known as Stalingrad.
The district is home to Lukoil's major Volgograd refinery which has been repeatedly targetted by Ukraine. In 2024 the Volgograd refinery processed 13.7 million metric tons of oil, or 5.1 per cent of the total volume at Russian refineries.
Ukraine has for several months been striking Russian oil refineries, depots and pipelines in a bid to undermine the Russian economy as Russian forces advance in eastern Ukraine.
Bulgaria drafts law to seize and sell Russian oil refinery
05:59
,
Arpan Rai
Bulgaria is drafting legal changes that will allow it to seize control of sanctioned Russian oil giant Lukoil's Burgas refinery and sell it to a new owner to protect the plant from US sanctions, local media reported.
Burgas is Bulgaria's only oil refinery, and was a key part of Lukoil's foreign business empire, which is being threatened after the US joined Britain last month in imposing sanctions on Russia's two largest oil companies over Moscow's war in Ukraine.
The draft legislation, first reported by Bulgarian outlet Mediapool yesterday, would permit a special manager to oversee the sale of the Burgas oil refinery, which owner Lukoil would have no right to vote on or appeal against, the reports said.
"There is a lot of logic in this, which is why today we will submit a draft law on the special governor," public broadcaster BNT quoted Boyko Borissov, former prime minister and leader of the GERB party – which heads Bulgaria's coalition government – as saying.
Putin's aides push him for full-scale nuclear tests
05:32
,
Arpan Rai
Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov told Vladimir Putin that recent US remarks and actions meant it was "advisable to prepare for full-scale nuclear tests" immediately.
Russia's Arctic testing site at Novaya Zemlya could host such tests at short notice, Belousov added.
The comments were made at a meeting between Putin and his Security Council, where parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin departed from the official agenda of transport safety to ask how Moscow should respond to Donald Trump's threat to carry out the first US nuclear weapons testing in 33 years.
Trump announced last week that the US would breach a global moratorium on testing nuclear weapons, claiming rivals such as China, Russia and North Korea were already doing the same in secret, but did not offer more details.
General Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff, told Putin: "If we do not take appropriate measures now, time and opportunities for a timely response to the actions of the United States will be lost, since the time required to prepare for nuclear tests, depending on their type, ranges from several months to several years.”
No country apart from North Korea – most recently in 2017 – has carried out explosive tests of nuclear weapons in the 21st century.
Security analysts say a resumption of testing by any of the world's nuclear powers would be destabilising, as it would likely trigger a similar response by the others.
“Action-reaction cycle at its best. No one needs this, but we might get there regardless," Andrey Baklitskiy, senior researcher at the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, posted on X.
Russia and the US are by far the biggest nuclear powers by numbers of warheads, followed by China, France, Britain, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Poland in talks to import more LNG from US to supply Ukraine
04:55
,
Arpan Rai
Poland is working on a deal to import liquefied natural gas from the US to supply Ukraine and Slovakia, sources familiar with the negotiations said.
The agreement would further tighten the European Union’s ties to American energy.
"We are working with our partners – Americans, Slovaks, Ukrainians – on the possibilities of importing American gas to boost the energy security of our region," the Polish energy ministry told Reuters late last night, confirming the talks.
Officials expect to announce a joint declaration to boost imports after a meeting of the parties at a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week, one of the sources said.
"After that, discussions would follow on terms for supplies to Slovakia," one of the sources told Reuters. Potential volumes to be shipped south via Poland could be as much as 4 to 5 billion cubic meters of gas per year, about the same as Slovakia's annual gas consumption, the sources said.
This is expected to be the latest in a series of energy deals struck between European and US government officials and companies on the back of a push from Washington to boost exports of American gas and nuclear technology.
Why talk of the fall of Pokrovsk – and Ukraine – is premature
04:24
,
Arpan Rai
Not a word of what the Russian defence ministry says is credible. Its claims that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk, in eastern Ukraine, are agitprop.
But Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement from the front line that his country’s fighters are “under pressure” is something of an understatement.
Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Russian troops may have successfully infiltrated the three tactically important towns.
Kupiansk is on Russia’s route towards Kharkiv. The other two control the eastern and southern routes to the last remaining Ukrainian redoubts in Donetsk – Kramatorsk and Slaviansk.
Vladimir Putin has thrown a massive effort into the fight for Donetsk, which Moscow has already illegally “annexed”. Ukraine’s commanders believe there are about 100,000 Russian troops in this sector alone.
Ukraine is reported to have sent its own special forces into the fight for Pokrovsk. If the pattern of previous battles for eastern towns and cities is repeated, it could be a year at least and many tens of thousands of Russian dead, before they fall. If they fall.
Putin orders defence of oil sites from Ukrainian drone attacks
04:00
,
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin has ordered the heightened defence of Russia's oil refineries from Ukrainian drone attacks in a new law.
In a law signed on Tuesday, Putin called on around two million reservists to protect Russian oil facilities from increasing Ukrainian drone attacks.
In recent weeks, Ukraine's daring strikes deep inside Russia using domestically produced drones have embarrassed Moscow, with officials being unforthcoming about any damage, and unnerved Russians.
Ukraine has taken aim at manufacturing plants, oil refineries and military logistics hubs in a bid to disrupt Russia's war effort almost four years after Moscow launched an all-out invasion.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian long-range drones attacked an industrial plant around 1,300km (800 miles) inside Russia, local officials said.
Watch: Putin orders nuclear weapons test preparations after Trump threat in new escalation
03:48
,
Arpan Rai
Angelina Jolie makes surprise visit to Ukraine's frontline region
03:35
,
Arpan Rai
American actor Angelina Jolie has visited Ukraine’s southern regions to meet children impacted by the Russian invasion, local media reported.
Jolie was seen playing with Ukrainian children in Kherson, a region that is hit by Russian drones and missiles on a daily basis.
The Tomb Raider star was visiting the war-hit country in her role as a UNICEF ambassador.
The actor was seen wearing a bulletproof vest with a patch from the Legacy of War Foundation, a British non-profit organisation helping civilians during the war.
The visit by Jolie faced an incident with local military recruiters, reported Politico, citing a top Ukrainian official. The official said Jolie had not informed the Ukrainian government about her intention to visit the country, and that she entered on foot.
Russia and Ukraine say their forces are locked in fierce fighting in the ruins of Pokrovsk
03:05
,
Arpan Rai
Russia said its forces were advancing north inside Pokrovsk in a drive to take full control of the Ukrainian city, but the Ukrainian army said its units were battling hard to try to stop the Russians from gaining new ground.
Ukraine has acknowledged that its troops face a difficult position in the strategic eastern city, once an important transport and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, which Russia has been trying to capture for more than a year.
The Russian defence ministry said two assault groups were destroying Ukrainian troops that were surrounded in several districts of the city and continuing an offensive pushing north through it. Russian forces were clearing Ukrainian troops from settlements on Pokrovsk's southeastern flank and had repelled Ukrainian attempts to break out of encirclement.
The Ukrainian military denied that its troops were surrounded in Pokrovsk. It said they were trying to stop Russian soldiers from digging in while seeking to secure and protect logistics routes in the wider area.
“Measures are being taken to block the enemy, which is attempting to infiltrate and accumulate in the city of Pokrovsk," the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement.
“Active countermeasures are being taken against attempts by enemy infantry groups to gain a foothold.”
Russia sees the city as the gateway to its capture of the remaining 10 per cent, or 5,000 square km (1,930 square miles) of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region, one of its key aims in the almost four-year-old war.
Analysis: Ceasefire deal 'firmly off the table', says expert
02:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
President Volodymyr Zelensky’s visit to the frontline shows that the battle between Ukraine and Russia is continuing to intensify rather than slow down.
“Zelensky's visit to the troops near an embattled town is a clear sign that a ceasefire deal is firmly off the table - at least in the short run,” Dr Bariş Çelik, an academic specialising in security and defence policies in Europe at the University of Sheffield, told The Independent.
“The visit shows that Zelensky's government is understandably invested in a defensive struggle to maintain Ukraine's territorial integrity, even if this means a continued and protracted fight against a sustained flood of Russian troops.
“This in turn adds to the doubts over a potential ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian forces, let alone an end to the ongoing war.”
Recap: Ukraine seeks to revamp military service as troops worn down by war
01:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Ukraine seeks to introduce fixed-term military contracts to allow recruits more flexibility over their futures as the war with Russia shows no sign of ending.
Its current system of conscription enlists soldiers under open-ended contracts, which has led to an army worn down by the relentless intensity of fighting since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The new system will allow current service members and recruits to sign deals lasting between one and five years, according to the country’s defence minister Denys Shmyhal who announced the news on Tuesday. The plan will seek to ease the strain on existing military members, and replenish Ukraine’s forces.
Watch: Why Russians are fighting against Russia
00:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
ICYMI: Latvian arrested for allegedly collecting information for Russia's intelligence
Wednesday 5 November 2025 23:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
A Latvian citizen has been arrested for allegedly collecting information on behalf of Russia’s intelligence service, according to Latvia's State Security Service.
They added the suspect obtained and passed along details about NATO forces there, as well as information about private infrastructure used for aviation and how to buy prepaid cellphone cards.
You can read more below...
Special dispatch: US medic describes horrors of Ukraine frontline – but says hearing Trump pontificate about peace is more traumatic
Wednesday 5 November 2025 22:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Ukraine gets more Patriot air defence systems to counter deadly Russian attacks
Wednesday 5 November 2025 21:01
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Ukraine has received more American-made Patriot air defence systems in an effort to repel Russian attacks, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“More Patriots are now in Ukraine and being put into operation,” Zelenskyy said on social media late Sunday. “Of course, more systems are needed to protect key infrastructure sites and our cities across the entire territory of our state.”
The sophisticated Patriot systems are the most effective weapon against Russian missiles.
You can read more below...
Poland 'working with US' on gas deal, reports say
Wednesday 5 November 2025 20:00
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Poland is working on a deal to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US to supply Ukraine and Slovakia, an agreement that would further tighten the European Union’s ties to American energy, according to two sources familiar with the negotiations.
Officials expect to announce a joint declaration to boost imports after a meeting of the parties at a transatlantic energy conference in Athens later this week, one of the sources said.
"After that, discussions would follow on terms for supplies to Slovakia," one of the sources told Reuters news agency.
This is expected to be the latest in a series of energy deals struck between European and U.S. government officials and companies on the back of a push from Washington to boost exports of American gas and nuclear technology.
Watch: Moment Ukraine special ops blow up ‘elite Russian unit’ on Black Sea oil rig
Wednesday 5 November 2025 19:30
,
Daniel Keane
Recap: Embarrassment in Moscow as Ukraine’s daring strikes hit targets deep inside Russia
Wednesday 5 November 2025 19:16
,
Nicole Wootton-Cane
Ukrainian long-range drones have reportedly struck an industrial plant deep inside Russia, approximately 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the border, while Kyiv’s forces continue to fight an intense battle to repel a Russian advance on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk.
These strikes, using domestically produced drones, have caused considerable embarrassment for Moscow, with officials often reluctant to admit any damage.
You can read more below...
Russia and Ukraine say their forces in fierce battles in ruins of Pokrovsk
Wednesday 5 November 2025 18:30
,
Daniel Keane
Russia has said that its forces are advancing north inside Pokrovsk in a drive to take full control of the Ukrainian city, but the Ukrainian army said its units were battling hard to try to stop the Russians from gaining new ground.
Ukraine has acknowledged that its troops face a difficult position in the strategic eastern city, once an important transport and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army, which Russia has been trying to capture for more than a year.
Russia sees the city as the gateway to its capture of the remaining 10% of Ukraine's eastern industrial Donbas region, one of its key aims in the war.
The Russian defence ministry said two assault groups were destroying Ukrainian troops that were surrounded in several districts of the city and continuing an offensive pushing north through it.
The Ukrainian military denied that its troops were surrounded in Pokrovsk. It said they were trying to stop Russian soldiers from digging in while seeking to secure and protect logistics routes in the wider area.
US 'notified Russia ahead of Minuteman III missile test'
Wednesday 5 November 2025 17:38
,
Daniel Keane
The United States notified Russia in advance of a Minuteman III missile launch, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
The US conducted a test launch of the unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on 5 November.
Why Russia is so desperate to win the battle of Pokrovsk and what happens next
Wednesday 5 November 2025 16:32
,
Maira Butt
Russian forces have advanced in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, the Russian Defence Ministry said on Monday.
Pokrovsk is a city that Russia has been trying to capture for over a year.
An estimated 100,000 Russian troops were circling the area, with Ukraine’s top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi saying his forces pushed hard to dislodge Russian troops.
The following are key facts about Pokrovsk, which Russians call by its Soviet-era name of Krasnoarmeysk, and the long battle for its control, which began in earnest in mid-2024.
Embarrassment in Moscow as Ukraine’s daring strikes hit targets deep inside Russia
Wednesday 5 November 2025 16:06
,
Maira Butt
Ukrainian long-range drones have reportedly struck an industrial plant deep inside Russia, approximately 1,300 kilometres (800 miles) from the border, while Kyiv’s forces continue to fight an intense battle to repel a Russian advance on the strategic city of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk.
Two drones targeted an industrial facility in Sterlitamak, located in Russia’s Bashkortostan region, according to regional Governor Radiy Habirov. He stated online that both drones were shot down, causing no casualties, and that the facility was operating normally, though he did not specify the exact target.
Analysis: Why talk of the fall of Pokrovsk – and Ukraine – is premature
Wednesday 5 November 2025 15:30
,
Maira Butt
Not a word of what the Russian defence ministry says is credible. Its claims that Russian troops have surrounded Ukrainian forces in Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk, in eastern Ukraine, are agitprop.
But Volodymyr Zelensky’s statement from the frontline that his country’s fighters are “under pressure” is also misleading - and something of an understatement.
The Independent’s foreign correspondent Sam Kiley reports:
Putin orders preparations for nuclear testing after Trump threat
Wednesday 5 November 2025 14:59
,
Maira Butt
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered top officials to begin drafting proposals on nuclear testing after US President Donald Trump said that he would resume tests last week.
"I am instructing the Foreign Ministry, the Defence Ministry... the special services and relevant civilian agencies to do everything possible to collect additional information on the issue, analyse it at the Security Council and make agreed proposals on the possible start of work on the preparation of nuclear weapons tests," Putin said on Wednesday.
Ukraine strengthens units to defend Pokrovsk
Wednesday 5 November 2025 14:30
,
Maira Butt
Ukraine’s general staff denied Russian statements that its military surrounded Kyiv troops.
The military said that it had strengthened its units to defend the strategic city, which is located in the eastern Donetsk region.
It said combat work was underway to reinforce the flanks around Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad area and secure logistics routes, according to the statement on the Telegram app.
Ukraine military using video game-style reward system earning points killing Russians with drones
Wednesday 5 November 2025 14:00
,
Maira Butt
Ukraine’s military units are competing with each other by launching deadly drone attacks to earn points that can be used to buy more weapons.
The video game-style rewards system is proving to be very popular, Ukraine’s first deputy prime minister said, with hundreds of units participating. Launched a year ago, it is now being expanded to reconnaissance, artillery and logistics operations, according to reports.
Bryony Gooch reports:
Zelensky calls for Ukraine to join EU before 2030
Wednesday 5 November 2025 13:30
,
Maira Butt
Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his desire for Ukraine to join the EU by 2030.
"Ukraine is fighting for its independence, and our future is in the EU, which is part of our independence … and for us, it is an important factor that we are highly assessed in this [report]," he said, speaking during a visit to frontline troops near Pokrovsk.
The president said he "would not like this [accession] process to be too long," but acknowledged that this "does not depend on us".
"The quicker Ukraine is able to open the clusters and to have the fully fledged negotiations, the better it is for us," he added.
His statement comes after the EU's foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, said the EU could admit new members by 2030.
“Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine and the geopolitical shifts make the case for enlargement very clear cut,” Kallas told reporters.
“It is a necessity if we want to be a stronger player on the world stage.”
She added that “new countries joining the European Union by 2030 is a realistic goal” and said Montenegro was the most advanced in the accession process.