The British government has rubbished Russia’s claim that Ukraine is trying to obtain a nuclear weapon with British and French help.
Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), without providing evidence, claimed that Ukraine’s nuclear allies in Europe were preparing to provide Ukraine with nuclear parts and technology.
A British government spokesperson shot back on Tuesday, saying: “This is a clear attempt by Vladimir Putin to distract from his heinous actions in Ukraine. There is no truth to this.
“You'll have seen the PM's words this morning paying tribute to the incredible resilience of the Ukrainians … We will continue with our efforts to secure a just and lasting peace.”
Ukraine also dismissed Russian claims as “absurd”, as it marked four years since the full-scale Russian invasion.
“Russian officials, known for their impressive record of lies, are once again trying to fabricate the old ‘dirty bomb’ nonsense," said Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian foreign ministry.
“For the record: Ukraine has already denied such absurd Russian claims many times before, and we officially deny them again now,” Tykhyi said. “We urge the international community to reject and condemn Russia’s dirty information bombs."
Read MorePutin wanted to rebuild Russia’s empire. He’s ended up as China’s lapdog instead
Russians describe senior officers ordering brutal execution of fellow soldiers
Ukraine front line mapped: The 745 miles at the heart of the war with Russia
Key Points
- UK rejects Moscow's claims on nuclear weapons
- Trump says he is 'working very hard to end the slaughter' in Ukraine
- Russia can continue fighting Ukraine war throughout 2026, says think tank
- UN chief says Ukraine war 'a stain on our collective conscience'
- Zelensky praises resilience of Ukrainians in face of Russian aggression
UK has much to learn from Ukraine, says British ambassador
08:15 , James ReynoldsReflecting on the fourth anniversary of the war, the British Ambassador to Ukraine said the UK has much to learn from Kyiv’s resilience.
Neil Crompton said in a statement on Tuesday that the war is “the issue of our lifetime”, describing it as “existential, in that the outcome will shape the future of Europe”.
“I can’t but marvel at the fortitude Ukrainians have shown,” he added. “Back in 2022, analysts predicted Kyiv would be captured within days.
“Who can forget President Zelenskyy’s immortal line’“I don’t need a ride. I need ammunition,’ when offered the chance to be evacuated?
“Four years on, the Ukrainians are still fighting, having revolutionised warfare through innovative use of drones and technology to bridge the numerical advantages Russia enjoys. The UK and NATO have much to learn from them.”
Recap: Another round of talks expected tomorrow
07:55 , James ReynoldsUS and Ukrainian officials are expected to hold another round of talks in Geneva on Thursday, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff announced yesterday.
He said that he and Trump’s son in law, Jared Kushner, would travel to Geneva tomorrow to hold talks with Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s lead negotiator, and separately with Iran.
Witkoff said he spoke with Umerov over the phone to seek permission for the meeting from Zelensky.
He said he and Umerov talk on an almost daily basis.
How have the frontlines changed in four years of war?
07:33 , James ReynoldsUkraine’s front line today is “not like a coherent line, where there’s like a clear control, with two trench lines with a little bit of no man’s land in between,” military analyst Emil Kastehelmi told The Independent as the war entered its fifth year.
“Drones have made it so that front lines are blurry and troops may be intermingled in a certain area of presence.”
This “drone-dominated battlefield” has “demechanised” the front lines, making huge advances difficult. The threat from the sky has made tanks unviable, leading Russia to fall back on trying to overwhelm Ukraine with infantry-heavy tactics.
Even with plans to increase the size of the army to 1.5 million people, this has come at a huge cost for Russia.
On the fourth anniversary of the war, The Independent looked at how technology and tactics have changed the frontlines:
Ukraine front line mapped: The 745 miles at the heart of the war with Russia
Ukraine says it will never agree to territorial concessions to Russia
07:13 , Arpan RaiUkraine will never agree to concede territory, as being forcibly asked by Russia, in concessions during peace talks, the Ukrainian deputy foreign minister Mariana Betsa said at a UN security council meeting today.
"We will never recognise the occupation and will never accept territorial concessions. We will never compromise our freedom,” she said.
The Ukrainian official added that Russia and its accomplices will not stop. “Moscow feels a sense of impunity, as it has not yet faced proper consequences for its crimes,” she said.
The official emphasised Moscow’s totalitarian goals towards Ukraine which require a complete takeover of the war-hit nation’s territory and how it continues to use negotiations as a cover for its war.
"The Kremlin's position remains unchanged. It wants Ukraine to withdraw from our own sovereign territory to ensure that Russia can occupy it. And this is not a matter of negotiating red lines. Sovereignty and territorial integrity is a key founding principle of the UN charter," Betsa said.
At #UNSC on Ukraine:
— Mariana Betsa (@Mariana_Betsa) February 25, 2026
Ukraine wants peace. Russia continues to escalate its attacks while stalling negotiations.
Russia will not stop by itself. The cost of Russian aggression must rise: sanctions, accountability and more defence support for 🇺🇦 #StopRussia pic.twitter.com/DiKj1PNpju
Putin's special envoy calls for Starmer to resign
07:05 , Arpan RaiVladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev called for prime minister Keir Starmer to resign in a social media post that claimed the UK is supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons.
"Starmer needs to resign before trying to cover up his shame by provoking a nuclear war," Dmitriev said in a post on X.
The prime minister's spokesperson said there was no truth to the comments.
Zelensky: Only by visiting Ukraine can Trump understand who must be pressured
06:48 , Arpan RaiIn his address earlier today to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for Donald Trump to visit Ukraine.
“Only by coming to Ukraine, and seeing with one's own eyes our life and our struggle, feeling our people and the enormity of this pain – only then can one understand what this war is really about. And because of whom. Who the aggressor is here and who must be pressured,” the Ukrainian president said in the address, as he stressed the importance of a visit by Trump.
He said Ukraine is defending life, adding that it is “not a street fight” but an “attack by a sick state on a sovereign one”.
Zelensky added: "Putin is this war. He is the cause of its beginning and the obstacle to its end. And it is Russia that must be put in its place. So that there can be real peace.”
Trump's former Ukraine envoy condemns US abstention on UN resolution: 'Not a business deal'
06:23 , Arpan RaiUS president Donald Trump's former special envoy for Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, who left his role last month has bashed the administration for not backing the UN resolution on peace in Ukraine.
“A UN vote on a lasting peace in Ukraine and we abstained. Go figure. The Russian Federation was against the proclamation. Is not four years of war enough? Is not missing children, shelling of cities and the killing of innocents enough? It is not a business deal-it is war,” he said in a post on X.
A UN vote on a lasting peace in Ukraine and we abstained. Go figure. The Russian Federation was against the proclamation. Is not four years of war enough? Is not missing children, shelling of cities and the killing of innocents enough? It is not a business deal-it is war. pic.twitter.com/EN6DsGgqF5
— Keith Kellogg (@generalkellogg) February 24, 2026
US abstains from UN ceasefire resolution on Ukraine, blames China instead
06:13 , Arpan RaiTammy Bruce, the US deputy UN envoy, explained the US abstention, saying that while Washington welcomed the call for an immediate ceasefire, the resolution included language likely to distract from ongoing negotiations, "rather than support discussion of the full range of diplomatic avenues that may pave the way to that durable peace”.
The 15-member UN Security Council has been deadlocked throughout the war and unable to take action on Ukraine because Russia holds a veto.
The council session saw a clash between the US and China over Washington's charge that Beijing's imports of Russian oil and Chinese sales of materials with military uses to Russia have helped sustain Moscow's operations in Ukraine.
"China remains a decisive enabler of Russia's war machine," Bruce told the council.
"If China truly wants peace, it should immediately end exports of dual-use goods and stop purchasing Russian oil."
Fu Cong, China's UN ambassador, responded by accusing the US of fabricating "all sorts of excuses and lies" about China intended "to create division and conflict."
Washington, he said, should "stop shifting blame and creating conflicts and wars around the world”.
Children in Ukraine have spent six months under air raid sirens since start of war, analysis finds
05:56 , Arpan RaiChildren in Ukraine have spent a combined six months of their lives under an air raid alert, a new analysis has found as the war passed the four-year mark on Tuesday.
The later months of 2025 saw an increase in the duration of alarms across Ukraine, as Russia intensified its air attacks and ramped up its use of drones to target Ukrainian civilians.
Children in Ukraine have now endured an average of around 4,000 hours of air raid alarms, equalling more than five and a half months of constant alerts since Vladimir Putin’s forces began their full-scale invasion in February 2022, according to Save the Children’s analysis of official alert data on sirens.
“It is constant emotional strain. Adults feel it, but children feel it more deeply. The nervous system is exhausted,” said Veronika, the mother of an eight-year-old, Anastasiia. “When children hear an explosion, they worry, they get nervous.”
Ukrainian children have spent half a year under air raid alerts, analysis finds
South Africa says 11 of 17 men lured to fight for Russia will return home soon
05:39 , Arpan RaiSouth Africa's government has said that 11 of a group of 17 men who were lured into fighting for Russia in Ukraine were set to return home soon, after an initial four landed back in the country last week.
A further two remained in Russia, with one in a hospital in Moscow, president Cyril Ramaphosa's office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa raised the fate of the 17 men, who sent distress calls to the South African government in November after getting trapped in Ukraine's Donbas region, in a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin this month.
Reports of African men being lured into Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine's front line have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.
A Kenyan intelligence report presented to lawmakers last week estimated that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight on Russia's side in the war in Ukraine. Kenya's foreign minister has said he plans to visit Russia to address the issue.
UK sanctions Russian oil pipeline giant on fourth anniversary of Ukraine war
05:19 , Arpan RaiThe UK government has imposed its most extensive package of sanctions to date, targeting nearly 300 entities, including the oil pipeline operator Transneft, to coincide with the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The government announced on Tuesday that Transneft, one of the world's largest pipeline firms responsible for transporting over 80 per cent of Russia's crude exports, was specifically targeted to further diminish Moscow's energy revenues.
"The UK has today taken decisive action to disrupt the critical financing, military equipment and revenue streams that sustain Russia's aggression," foreign minister Yvette Cooper said in a statement.
UK sanctions Russian oil pipeline giant on fourth anniversary of Ukraine war
Prominent Russian scholar detained and ‘blacklisted’ in Latvia minutes before delivering lecture on North Korea
05:09 , Arpan RaiAndrei Lankov, a prominent Russian scholar on North Korea who teaches at a Seoul university, was detained in Latvia while delivering a lecture, Russian media reported.
Lankov confirmed to multiple news agencies that he was detained by Latvian police just minutes before delivering a lecture on North Korea and placed on a blacklist by the country’s authorities.
Lankov said police officers took him to an immigration office and then placed him in a car that took him to the border with Estonia. He was eventually expelled from the country.
At around 11pm Moscow time, Lankov said that he was still being held, adding that lawyers were working on his case and friends were helping with logistics.
“About thirty minutes before the event, police and immigration came and told me that the foreign ministry of Latvia included me on its list of undesirable people,” he told NK News.
Russian scholar detained in Latvia minutes before lecture on North Korea
UK rejects Moscow's claims on nuclear weapons
04:38 , Arpan RaiThe British govermment has dismissed Russian claims on plans to provide Ukraine with nuclear weapons as an attempt to distract by Vladimir Putin.
"This is a clear attempt by Vladimir Putin to distract from his heinous actions in Ukraine. There is no truth to this. You'll have seen the PM's words this morning paying tribute to the incredible resilience of the Ukrainians… We will continue with our efforts to secure a just and lasting peace," the prime minister’s spokesperson said.
The statement comes as Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), accused Britain and France of preparing to secretly supply Ukraine with nuclear weapons parts and technology, without providing evidence.
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has threatened Russia could use nuclear arms against the UK, Ukraine and France "if necessary".
Watch: Starmer says Putin standing in the way of peace deal to end Ukraine war
04:29 , Arpan RaiUS warned Ukraine not to hit US interests in strikes on Russia energy infrastructure, envoy says
04:05 , Arpan RaiThe Ukrainian government received a formal, official message from the US State Department recently after attacks by Ukraine on the Russian port of Novorossiysk affected US interests in Kazakhstan, Ukraine's ambassador to the US, Olha Stefanishyna, said on Tuesday.
Most of Kazakhstan's oil is sent to Novorossiysk for export.
Stefanishyna, speaking on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, declined to provide details about the State Department's demarche.
She added that it focused on strikes affecting US interests, not halting attacks on Russian energy infrastructure.
"We have heard from the Department of State that we should refrain from... attacking American interests," Stefanishyna told reporters.
“This reach-out was not related to encouraging Ukraine from refraining to attack Russian military and energy infrastructure. It was related to the very fact that American economic interest was affected there," the official said.
She said the incident made clear that Ukraine had failed to establish similarly close economic ties with the US in the decades since its independence following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and she was determined to change that.
Trump says he is 'working very hard to end the slaughter' in Ukraine
03:51 , Arpan RaiDonald Trump has said his administration is working very hard to end the war in Ukraine which he claimed is killing at least 25,000 people every month.
"And we're working very hard to end the ninth war, the killing and slaughter between Russia and Ukraine were 25,000. Soldiers are dying each and every month. Think of that,” he said, addressing the US lawmakers in his State of the Union speech today.
“25,000 soldiers are dying a month, a war which would have never happened if I were president, would have never happened,” Trump said.
US senators back Ukraine ahead of Trump's State of the Union speech
03:35 , Arpan RaiDemocratic and Republican US senators have introduced a resolution supporting Ukraine as it battles Russian invaders, hours before president Donald Trump was due to make his nationally televised State of the Union address to the nation.
The resolution was led by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Thom Tillis, who are co-chairs of the Senate Nato Observer Group. It had at least 26 other co-sponsors, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats, representing more than a quarter of the Senate.
Provisions in the measure include encouragement of strong cooperation among Nato allies and a call for any negotiated settlement to respect Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and "include Ukraine as the central party to discussions regarding its future”.
Members of Congress, including some of Trump's fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, have urged him to do more to help Zelensky's government, including sending all of the financial and military aid they have authorized over the past several years.
"Congress must continue to support Ukraine and place real pressure on the Kremlin. That pressure must include sanctions against Russia’s shadow fleet to cut off Putin's ability to fund the war and must be done in conjunction with our allies," Shaheen said in a statement, referring to Russian president Vladimir Putin's attempts to evade sanctions on oil shipments.
UN chief says Ukraine war 'a stain on our collective conscience'
03:23 , Arpan RaiUN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the war there remained "as a stain on our collective conscience" and reiterated calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In remarks for a session of the United Nations Security Council to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia's invasion, Guterres commended the efforts of the United States and others to end the war, but said concrete measures were needed to de-escalate and create space for diplomacy.
"We have witnessed the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law," he said, referring to the Russian invasion.
He said more than 15,000 civilians had been killed in Ukraine since the start of the war and over 41,000 hurt. Among those killed or hurt were 3,200 children.
Guterres' remarks were read on his behalf by Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN under-secretary-general for peacebuilding.
Guterres warned that the fighting posed direct risks to the safe and secure operation of Ukraine's nuclear sites, and added: "This unconscionable game of nuclear roulette must cease immediately."
Russia can continue fighting Ukraine war throughout 2026, says think tank
03:10 , Arpan RaiVladimir Putin’s forces can sustain the war in Ukraine throughout this year even if the country faces economic and manpower pressures, a military think tank has said.
There is “little indication” that “Russia’s ability to continue its war against Ukraine for a fifth year is diminished”, Bastian Giegerich, the director general of the International Institute for Strategic Studies said as the war completed four years.
According to the IISS, the Kremlin has spent at least $186bn (£138bn) on defence in 2025, more than twice the proportion spent by the US and about three times the spending of the UK.
This also marks a three per cent increase in real terms, estimated to be 7.3 per cent of its GDP, the think tank said. Russia’s military spending has “doubled in real terms since 2021”, said Fenella McGerty, a defence finance expert at the IISS.
The increased military budget allows Russia to spend more heavily on military equipment and recruitment to sustain relentless ground and air attacks against Ukraine in the immediate future, she said.
Zelensky: Only by visiting Ukraine can Trump understand who must be pressured
02:55 , Arpan RaiIn his address earlier today to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky called for Donald Trump to visit Ukraine.
“Only by coming to Ukraine, and seeing with one's own eyes our life and our struggle, feeling our people and the enormity of this pain – only then can one understand what this war is really about. And because of whom. Who the aggressor is here and who must be pressured,” the Ukrainian president said in the address, as he stressed the importance of a visit by Trump.
He said Ukraine is defending life, adding that it is “not a street fight” but an “attack by a sick state on a sovereign one”.
Zelensky added: "Putin is this war. He is the cause of its beginning and the obstacle to its end. And it is Russia that must be put in its place. So that there can be real peace.”
Analysis | Ukraine is surviving Russia’s invasion. This is how it can win the war
02:01 , Alex CroftI could hear the take-off detonation being filmed live and broadcast around the world in my earpiece, along with my TV colleague’s report of the Russian attack. It was the morning that Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Standing in the pre-dawn freeze on a terrace overlooking Kharkiv’s Freedom Square four years ago, it was less than a minute before I was reporting on those rockets when they exploded on impact.
The skyline bulged orange, then came the concussive thump, then the cracks of the rockets exploding. They’d been fired from Russia into Ukraine’s second-biggest city.
Our world affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Ukraine is surviving Russia’s invasion. This is how it can win the war
South Africa says 11 of 17 men lured to fight for Russia will return home soon
01:02 , Alex CroftSouth Africa's government has said that 11 of a group of 17 men who were lured into fighting for Russia in Ukraine were set to return home soon, after an initial four landed back in the country last week.
A further two remained in Russia, with one in a hospital in Moscow, President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said in a statement.
Ramaphosa raised the fate of the 17 men, who sent distress calls to the South African government in November after getting trapped in Ukraine's Donbas region, in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin this month.
Reports of African men being lured into Russia with promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine's front line have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved.
A Kenyan intelligence report presented to lawmakers last week estimated that more than 1,000 Kenyans had been recruited to fight on Russia's side in the war in Ukraine. Kenya's foreign minister has said he plans to visit Russia to address the issue.
Zelensky praised billions spent in defense support from Nordic and Baltic nations
00:30 , Rebecca WhittakerVolodymyr Zelensky thanked Nordic and Baltic countries for spending billions on supporting Ukraine.
In a post on X he said: “We appreciate the readiness of the Nordic and Baltic countries to continue assisting Ukraine: at least €12.5 billion in defense support this year and no less than €918 million to strengthen energy resilience.”
Ukraine – Nordic-Baltic Summit. The main focus was achieving a dignified peace and our efforts toward it. Separately – reliable security guarantees to make new aggression impossible and ensure lasting stability for all of Europe.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2026
We appreciate the readiness of the Nordic and… pic.twitter.com/PSPsoLr4h6
Zelensky marks war anniversary with declaring defence of Ukraine's independence
Tuesday 24 February 2026 23:59 , Alex Croft'China remains a decisive enabler of Russia's war machine,' says US deputy UN envoy
Tuesday 24 February 2026 23:35 , Rebecca WhittakerThe Security Council meeting on Ukraine saw a clash between the US and China over the accusation that Beijing's imports of Russian oil and Chinese sales of materials with military uses to Russia have helped sustain Moscow's operations in Ukraine.
"China remains a decisive enabler of Russia's war machine," Tammy Bruce, the US deputy UN envoy told the council. "If China truly wants peace, it should immediately end exports of dual-use goods and stop purchasing Russian oil."
Fu Cong, China's UN ambassador, responded by accusing the US of fabricating "all sorts of excuses and lies" about China intended "to create division and conflict." Washington, he said, should "stop shifting blame and creating conflicts and wars around the world."
Russia's UN ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said Europe was presenting itself as the source of moral standards for others when it brought a "brutal regime of a neo-Nazi ilk" to power in Ukraine. He called the general assembly resolution "another manipulation" that had "nothing to do with reality."
Zelensky praises resilience of Ukrainians in face of Russian aggression
Tuesday 24 February 2026 23:00 , Alex CroftContinuing his 18-minute address, Zelensky praises the resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russian aggression.
He says: “All this time, we have not let our anger eat us from within. Ukrainians have turned their own rage into energy for the fight and have proven: we can be forced into shelters, but it is impossible to drive Ukraine underground forever.
“We inevitably rise, we return, we continue to fight – because we fight for life. For the right to stand on our land – and to breathe our own air.”
Comment | Putin wanted to rebuild Russia’s empire. He has ended up as China’s lapdog instead
Tuesday 24 February 2026 22:01 , Alex CroftIt’s been four years of war. Four years of a Russian onslaught to extinguish Ukrainian independence that Vladimir Putin thought would be over in days. For just over a year of this, I worked as a special adviser to a foreign secretary, with this as my main brief. And I don’t think it’s quite understood just how far the war has changed not just the course of Ukrainian but also Russian history.
One of the last things I did in government was join a visit to the White House, where top British officials sought to get across just how much the Ukrainian army has changed for the better in 18 months. This is exactly what I had a chance to explain to Vice President Vance – whose views on Ukraine, more nuanced than is assumed, are central to US policy.
Former special adviser Ben Judah writes:
Putin wanted to rebuild Russia’s empire. He has ended up as China’s lapdog instead
Putin's special envoy calls for Starmer to resign
Tuesday 24 February 2026 21:34 , Rebecca WhittakerVladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev called for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign in a social media post that claimed the UK is supplying Ukraine with nuclear weapons.
"Starmer needs to resign before trying to cover up his shame by provoking a nuclear war," Dmitriev said in a post on X.
The prime minister's spokesperson said there was no truth to the comments.
Starmer needs to resign before trying to cover up his shame by provoking a nuclear war. 👇 https://t.co/jhvHnVNuUi
— Kirill Dmitriev (@kadmitriev) February 24, 2026
The war is 'a stain on our collective conscience', says UN chief
Tuesday 24 February 2026 21:29 , Rebecca WhittakerSecretary General Antonio Guterres said the conflict remained "as a stain on our collective conscience" and repeated calls for an immediate ceasefire.
In another sign of support at the United Nations, dozens of countries including France, Britain, Canada, Japan and Peru gathered to condemn Russia's violations at a meeting on the sidelines of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
"What Russia has done and is doing in Ukraine right now is violating every principle in the book," Espen Barth Eide, Norway's foreign minister, told the meeting.
"Everything the UN stands for is being violated," he added, ending his speech with "Glory to Ukraine!"
107 countries side with Ukraine in UN vote
Tuesday 24 February 2026 21:17 , Rebecca WhittakerVolodymyr Zelensky has shared the results of a vote at the United Nations General Assembly for the resolution "Support for lasting peace in Ukraine".
He revealed 107 nations supported Kyiv in the vote in an image shared on social media. The post also showed 12 nations, including Russia and Belarus, voted against the resolution. China and the United States were two of the 51 who abstained.
He said in a post on X: “The General Assembly adopted our resolution in support of a lasting peace, with clear calls for a full ceasefire and the return of our people.
“These are the right and necessary steps. And we will keep working actively to achieve peace, together with our partners.”
I am grateful to each of the 107 countries that stood with Ukraine today in defense of life at the @UN.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 24, 2026
The General Assembly adopted our resolution in support of a lasting peace, with clear calls for a full ceasefire and the return of our people.
These are the right and… pic.twitter.com/s5tmD1Bymm
Macron 'very sceptical' about prospects for immediate peace
Tuesday 24 February 2026 21:01 , Alex CroftEmmanuel Macron has told the Coalition of the Willing meeting that he is “very sceptical” about the possibility of a short-term peace in Ukraine.
He says it is good to follow up on peace talks, but calls on leaders to be “lucid” about Russia’s willingness to reach a peace deal.
“I completely agree with you, Keir and Volodymyr: we have to make very clear now about first the recent successes on the ground, but at the same time the fact that militarily, economically, and strategically the Russians are being defeated at this very moment” he said.
Russia boasts drone unit's work in battlefield as war with Ukraine enters fifth year
Tuesday 24 February 2026 20:01 , Alex CroftStarmer recalls visiting Bucha in early days of the war
Tuesday 24 February 2026 19:02 , Alex CroftSir Keir Starmer spoke of three impressions of “four long years of suffering in Ukraine” as he marked four years of the war in an address to Cabinet.
The Prime Minister said: “You will have your own images and memories of that suffering. I’ve got three etched in my mind.”
He said he went to Bucha near Kyiv in the early days of the war, where he saw “the roads and the ditches in which Ukrainian civilians were handcuffed with their hands behind their back, blindfolded and shot in the head, the bodies left in the road”.
“The second etched in my memory was last year when I went to one of the busiest hospitals in Kyiv and saw for myself the incredibly awful burns on some of those who had returned from the front line. Burns the like of which I’d never seen in my life before.
“And at the same time, I went to a primary school and these children who were five, six, seven years old, had lost both their parents to the conflict.”
Ukraine war has been 'four years of failure for Putin'
Tuesday 24 February 2026 18:01 , Alex CroftThe Ukraine war has been “four years of failure for Putin”, Defence Secretary John Healey said.
Asked for his reflections on the fourth anniversary of the war, Mr Healey told the Press Association: “This is four years of failure for Putin.
“This is a war he thought he would win in a week, he has lost more than a million men during that time and Russia has been fighting in Ukraine for longer than the Soviet Union was fighting Germany during the Second World War.”
Asked if he agreed with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky’s claim that the “beginning of the end” of the war is afoot, Mr Healey said: “I want to make 2026, like President Zelensky does, the year that this war ends, that we can bring peace.
“The UK is ready to play a part in securing that peace for the long term.”
Ukraine does not feel abandoned by US government, envoy says
Tuesday 24 February 2026 17:45 , Nicole Wootton-CaneUkraine does not feel abandoned by the US government, its ambassador to the United States said, adding that she expected President Donald Trump to discuss ending Russia's war in Ukraine during his State of the Union speech later on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Olga Stefanishyna also said she received a demarche from the US State Department recently after attacks by Ukraine on Russian port of Novorossiysk affected US interests in Kazakhstan. Most of Kazakhstan's oil is sent to Novorossiysk for export.
"We have heard from the Department of State that we should refrain from... attacking American interests," she said.
Ukraine war in numbers: The bleak toll of Putin’s invasion after four devastating years
Tuesday 24 February 2026 17:30 , Alex CroftRussia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now been raging for four years – and despite repeated attempts at peace talks brokered by the US, there appears to be no end in sight.
As the war marks the grim anniversary milestone on Tuesday, the bloody war of attrition continues, having claimed the lives of more than 15,000 Ukrainian civilians.
In the last year, Moscow has ramped up its use of drones by 200 per cent, regularly launching hundreds of strikes from unmanned aircraft.
Vladimir Putin’s forces have also increasingly targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, leaving millions without power or heat as they face their coldest winter in years, with temperatures as low as -26C.
Ukraine war in numbers: Bleak toll of Putin’s invasion after four devastating years
Russia launches 134 drones and missiles overnight
Tuesday 24 February 2026 17:01 , Alex CroftRussian forces fired an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 133 drones at Ukrainian targers overnight, the Ukrainian air force has said.
Ukrainian defences destroyed or jammed 111 drones across the country’s north, south and east
Strikes were recorded across 16 locations by one ballistic missile and 19 drones.
The attack was ongoing as of earlier on Tuesday morning, the air force added.
In pictures: Zelensky meets British foreign minister before Coalition of the Willing meeting
Tuesday 24 February 2026 16:32 , Alex Croft Kremlin’s crackdown on misinformation sparks ‘unexpected internal resistance’ – report
Tuesday 24 February 2026 16:17 , Alex CroftThe Kremlin’s efforts to push greater control over the information space with restrictions on Whatsapp and Telegram has caused domestic trouble in Russia.
Russia’s reliance on Telegram as the most widely used social media platform for communication and access to information, says Tatiana Stanovaya, the founder of Russian political analysts R.Politik and senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center.
“Although preparations for such a move had been evident, the decision nonetheless came as a shock to many, including senior officials, businesses, and representatives of the pro-war community," she said.
The move "has triggered unexpected internal resistance across the elite, including from domestic policy overseers, regional authorities, parts of United Russia, the military, pro-war bloggers and even the systemic opposition,” analysts have said.
She added that while the systemic opposition's decision to speak out against the measure carries no tangible political weight, "it signals emerging discrepancies within the ruling elite".
"The FSB, which stands behind the decision, was compelled to justify its actions publicly," she added.
"The measure is highly likely to be implemented, yet it will have a noticeable impact on public sentiment."
Kyiv dismisses 'absurd' Russian claims it is seeking to obtain nuclear weapons
Tuesday 24 February 2026 16:00 , Alex CroftUkraine has dismissed Russian claims that Kyiv was trying to obtain nuclear weapons with the help of Britain and France as “absurd”.
"Russian officials, known for their impressive record of lies, are once again trying to fabricate the old ‘dirty bomb’ nonsense," Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, told Reuters.
"For the record: Ukraine has already denied such absurd Russian claims many times before, and we officially deny them again now. We urge the international community to reject and condemn Russia’s dirty information bombs."
Earlier, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), without providing evidence, accused Britain and France of preparing to secretly supply Ukraine with nuclear weapons parts and technology. Britain and France, both nuclear powers, did not immediately respond to the allegation.
EU: We will force through 90 billion euro loan 'one way or another' despite Hungary opposition
Tuesday 24 February 2026 15:40 , Alex CroftVolodymyr Zelensky, EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council president Antonio Costa are currently holding a press conference at a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing.
Costa said Moscow must accept it will not win this war, adding that he anticipates significant progress in Ukraine’s accession path to the European Union in the foreseeable future.
Asked about the 90 billion euro EU loan for Ukraine, von der Leyen said it would be delivered “one way or another”, after threats by Hungary that it will block the loan.
She added that a new “winter energy package” of 920 million euros would be provided to Ukraine for 2026-2027.
Explosion in Moscow kills police officer on anniversary of war on Ukraine
Tuesday 24 February 2026 15:29 , Alex CroftAn unidentified attacker detonated an explosive device next to a police patrol vehicle in central Moscow early on Tuesday, killing himself and one officer, while injuring two others, officials have confirmed.
The incident occurred just after midnight near the Savyolovsky Train Station in the Russian capital’s downtown area, according to Moscow’s Interior Ministry branch. The assailant reportedly approached a traffic police car before detonating the device, resulting in the immediate death of an officer and hospitalisation for two colleagues.
Russia’s Investigative Committee has launched an inquiry into the attack. No details regarding the assailant’s identity, potential motives, or further specifics have been released.
Explosion in Moscow kills police officer on anniversary of war on Ukraine