Russia is rearming faster than previously thought and could be making preparations to attack a Nato country, a top German official has warned.
“The Russian armed forces are not just able to compensate for the enormous personnel and material losses, they are successfully rearming,” said Germany’s Maj Gen Christian Freuding.
While it is not clear that Vladimir Putin intends to attack a Nato member state, Gen Freuding said the Russian president was “clearly creating the conditions for it”.
“Production is growing, the supplies in the depots are growing,” said the head of Germany’s military task force for Ukraine, noting Russia is using Iran and North Korea to replenish its supplies of missiles, drones and tanks.
In France, president Emmanuel Macron spoke moments before Donald Trump’s inauguration to warn that Russia will challenge Europe’s security for a long time. “Let’s not fool ourselves, this conflict will not be resolved tomorrow. Or the day after tomorrow,” he said, adding that peace in Europe required Europeans to be at the negotiating table.
Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Trump’s return as president, saying Ukraine looks forward to working with him.
Key Points
- Putin is building up for possible attack on Nato, German general says
- Zelensky welcomes ‘man of strength’ Trump as US president
- Macron warns Europe it can’t depend only on US weapons as Trump takes office
- Trump says he will meet Putin but no date decided yet
German general says Putin is building up for possible attack on Nato
03:56
,
Arpan Rai
Russia is rearming faster than previously thought and could be making preparations to attack a Nato country, a top German official has warned.
“The Russian armed forces are not just able to compensate for the enormous personnel and material losses, they are successfully rearming,” said Germany’s Maj Gen Christian Freuding.
While it is not clear that Vladimir Putin intends to attack a Nato member state, Gen Freuding said the Russian president was “clearly creating the conditions for it”.
“Production is growing, the supplies in the depots are growing,” said the head of Germany’s military task force for Ukraine, noting Russia is using Iran and North Korea to replenish its supplies of missiles, drones and tanks.
Macron warns Europe it can’t depend only on US weapons as Trump takes office
03:29
,
Arpan Rai
French president Emmanuel Macron has warned that the billions of euros of taxpayer money spent on Europe’s military budgets should not be used to buy only American weapons, pushing for more investment in home-grown defence industries.
Speaking minutes before the inauguration of US president Donald Trump, who has complained that Europeans do not pay enough for their defence, Mr Macron said the continent should spend more.
But he added, in a New Year address to military top brass: “We can’t raise debt together, spend more for our defence to subsidise the industry, wealth and jobs of other continents.
“When we say ‘let’s spend more for our armies’, in many countries it means, way too often, ‘buy more American materiel’.”
Mr Macron said France now had “Europe’s most efficient army” and met Nato’s military budget target of 2 per cent of GDP, but could not rest on its laurels at a time when the US might withdraw troops from Europe.
And he suggested that 2 per cent might not be enough “when the world is going off track”.
Trump says he will meet Putin but no date decided yet
03:11
,
Arpan Rai
US president Donald Trump has said he will meet his Russian counterpart president Vladimir Putin but added that a date for the meeting had not been set.
Mr Trump, who took office yesterday, also said he will try to end the Russia-Ukraine war as quickly as possible.
Russian disinformation campaign looking to boost support for Germany’s far-right AfD
03:00
,
Alex Croft
A Russian disinformation campaign is seeking to support the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaign ahead of the country’s February election, a think tank has found.
An analysis of hundreds of German-language posts on X over the past month have exhibited patterns of Russia’s Doppelgaenger disinformation campaign against the West.
The campaign spreads links to falsified Western news outlets sharing fake information, a German foreign ministry report published last June. Russia has consistently denied involvement.
Recent posts have blamed the Greens for Germany’s economic woes, criticised chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support for Ukraine, and spoken in favour of the AfD, CeMAS said.
The tracked posts share links to falsified German news websites or to articles on authentic ones supporting their narrative, and have achieved over 2.8 million views, CeMAS said.
Watch: Putin takes swipe at Biden as Russian president congratulates Trump
02:58
,
Arpan Rai
Zelensky welcomes ‘man of strength’ Trump as US president
02:56
,
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has welcomed the incoming US president Donald Trump shortly after his inauguration and said that Ukraine looks forward to work with him.
“The inauguration of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump @POTUS. He is a man of strength. I wish President Trump and all of America success. Ukrainians are ready to work together with Americans to achieve peace — a true peace. This is a chance that must be seized,” he said in his nightly address.
In a separate post on X, Mr Zelensky said: “President Trump is always decisive, and the peace through strength policy he announced provides an opportunity to strengthen American leadership and achieve a long-term and just peace, which is the top priority.”
The inauguration of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump @POTUS. He is a man of strength. I wish President Trump and all of America success.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 20, 2025
Ukrainians are ready to work together with Americans to achieve peace—a true peace. This is a chance that must be seized. pic.twitter.com/YMk1qvUR5U
Man injured in Russian strike on Kherson
02:00
,
Alex Croft
A man in a bus was injured after Russian troops attacked the southern Kherson region with drones and artillery on Monday morning, the region’s military administration said.
“As of now, one person is reported injured. A 56-year-old man sustained a mine-blast injury and multiple shrapnel wounds to his face and neck,” the administration said.
Other settlements in the area also came under Russian fire, causing damage to several houses, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Senior military figures warn Starmer against sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine
01:00
,
Millie Cooke, Political Correspondent
UK to explore possibility of military bases in Ukraine
00:01
,
Alex Croft
The UK will explore the possibility of establishing military bases in Ukraine, according to a 100-year declaration signed between the two countries.
Signed alongside the 100-year Partnership Agreement last week, the declaration states the UK will work with Ukraine to identify common defence needs and expand the capabilities of both countries.
“The Participants will explore options for deploying and maintaining defence infrastructure in Ukraine, including military bases, logistics depots, reserve military equipment storage facilities and war reserve stockpiles,” the declaration reads.
“These facilities could be utilised to bolster their own defence capabilities in the event of a significant military threat.”
The possibility of military bases is only presented as a theoretical possibility, and no specifics of the placement of potential bases is laid out.
It is also unclear how Article 17 of the Ukrainian Constitution - which prohibits military bases on Ukrainian territory - may impact any future plans.
World War Three may have already begun, says Finnish speaker
Monday 20 January 2025 23:03
,
Alex Croft
World War Three may have already begun, the speaker of Finland’s parliament has said.
“If we don’t know whether we’re at war, it’s always best to assume that we are,” Jussi Halla-aho said, warning that ignoring the reality of global conflicts could result in even more severe consequences.
The world may not have realised World War Three has begun because “we’re trying so hard to avoid it”, Mr Halla-aho said according to European Pravda.
It comes after Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson said last Sunday: “Sweden is not at war. But it is not a state of peace either.”
Russia recruiting women to boost military headcount, says ISW
Monday 20 January 2025 22:31
,
Alex Croft
Russia is recruiting unskilled men and women to boost its military, a US based think tank said.
“Russian volunteer military detachments continue efforts to boost manpower by recruiting women into the Russian Armed Forces. Former Roscosmos (Russian space agency) head and Zaporizhia Oblast occupation senator Dmitry Rogozin reported on January 19 that the Russian BARS-Sarmat Detachment (Russian Combat Army Reserve) is recruiting specialists and unskilled men and women from across Russia to participate in combat operations in Ukraine,” according to the Institute for the Study of War.
It added: “The post follows recent Russian promotional activities highlighting the recruitment of Russian women to various combat units in the Russian Armed Forces.”
Russia investigates video of military police beating wounded soldiers
Monday 20 January 2025 21:59
,
Alex Croft
Russia is investigating video footage which appears to show a military policeman savagely beating contract soldiers bound for Ukraine.
A man in a Russian police uniform appeared to beat one Ukraine-bound soldier to the ground before stunning him with an electric shock gun.
Another soldier with a walking stick is then seen being beaten and stunned with the gun as the military policeman demands they undress.
The soldiers had reportedly been discharged from hospital to return to the front lines in Ukraine, according to Russian reports.
A time stamp on the video, which has been shared on Telegram by Russian war correspondents, shows January 16, and local authorities said it took place in Kyzyl, in the southern Siberian region of Tuva.
The Tuva regional government said:”In one of them, on January 16, 2025, cases of ill-treatment of contract soldiers were recorded in military unit No. 55115, including beatings and the use of electric shock guns before they were sent to the SVO,” the Tuva government said.
The SVO is the acronym Russia uses to describe what it officially calls its “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine.
Navalny’s lawyers jailed as Putin’s crackdown on dissent reaches new heights
Monday 20 January 2025 21:30
,
Alex Croft
Three lawyers who represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny have been sentenced to years in a Russian penal colony, as part of Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on dissent that has reached levels unseen since Soviet times.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser – already in custody – have been jailed from three-and-a-half to five years after being arrested in October 2023, charged with involvement with extremist groups, which is what the Russian state designates opposition groups as.
Before his sudden death in a penal colony last year – which Western leaders have blamed Putin for – Mr Navalny slammed the arrests of his lawyers as “outrageous”, describing it as a plan to further isolate him in jail. Despite his imprisonment, Mr Navalny was able via his lawyers to post on social media and file frequent lawsuits over his treatment in prison, using the resulting legal hearings as a chance to keep speaking out against the government and the war.
Read the full report:
Russia used chemical weapons 434 times on Ukraine last month, officials say
Monday 20 January 2025 21:01
,
Alex Croft
Russian forces used ammunition equipped with chemical agents at least 434 times in Ukraine in December 2024, the Ukrainian general staff said yesterday.
The use of chemical agents banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) added to a total of 5,389 documented cases since February 2023, the general staff said.
“Ukrainian officials have previously reported on increasingly common instances of Russian forces using chemical substances in combat that are banned by the CWC, to which Russia is a signatory, and the Ukrainian General Staff noted that such violations have been systematic in the Russian military since February 2023,” the Institute for the Study of War said.
Ukrainian foreign minister bids goodbye to Blinken: ‘Farewell call’
Monday 20 January 2025 20:30
,
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has thanked the outgoing US secretary of state Antony Blinken for his role at a “watershed moment in history”.
“In a farewell call, I thanked @SecBlinken for his crucial role at a watershed moment in history that helped ensure Ukraine’s survival as an independent, free, and European nation. We value our strategic partnership and rely on continued support from the new U.S. administration,” he said on X.
The Biden administration marks its final day in power today as it hands over the control to the incoming Trump administration in the evening.
In a farewell call, I thanked @SecBlinken for his crucial role at a watershed moment in history that helped ensure Ukraine's survival as an independent, free, and European nation. We value our strategic partnership and rely on continued support from the new U.S. administration.
— Andrii Sybiha (@andrii_sybiha) January 19, 2025
70 per cent of Ukrainians support ‘West German’ model for Nato accession, survey shows
Monday 20 January 2025 19:57
,
Alex Croft
Just over 70 per cent of Ukrainians support gradual Nato accession akin to West Germany’s model, a survey by the Kyiv-based New Europe Center showed.
This invitation would cover Ukraine, but the alliance’s defensive umbrella would only extend to occupied territories after liberation.
Different Nato accession pathways are gaining traction in both the West and Kyiv as Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield and the prospect of liberating occupied territories militarily remains slim.
ICYMI: Ukraine warns Trump against early peace talks with Putin
Monday 20 January 2025 19:26
,
Alex Croft
Officials in Kyiv are warning the incoming Trump administration that it would be a catastrophic mistake to force negotiations between Ukraine and Russia before Ukrainian forces have gained the territorial advantage on the battlefield.
“The bottom line is that there are no simple, quick decisions to be made here,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky. “The initiative has to be controlled. It must not be given away to Russia.”
The war-time president’s aides have said that failure to make Vladimir Putin “feel pain” before negotiating would embolden the Russian president, weaken Ukraine and ultimately damage the West’s reputation and interests.
Mr Podolyak said 46 per cent of the Russian refinery sector, a key sector of Russia’s economy, is under attack from Ukraine and several key Russian military infrastructure are also being hit.
“We need to be able to keep up this kind of pressure if we are to enter negotiations from a position of strength. Only if Russia is suffering losses will it be willing to negotiate meaningfully,” he said.
Pictured: Belarussian woman killed fighting for Ukraine
Monday 20 January 2025 18:55
,
Alex Croft
A female soldier died protecting her comrades in fierce fighting in Pokrovsk the Second International Legion reported.
Belarusian national Maria Zaitsava, was killed in action in the Pokrovsk operational zone on January 17.
“The Second International Legion of Ukraine’s Defense reports with great regret the death of our Legion’s fighter, 24-year-old citizen of Belarus, Maria Zaitsava.
Maria died while performing a combat mission, protecting the lives of her comrades-in-arms, repelling the invaders’ assault in the Pokrovsk direction,” the report says.
The Legion praised the fallen fighter for being “a model of selflessness, discipline, courage and indomitability”.
“Maria was loved and respected,” the press service concluded.
An imprisoned Nobel laureate underscores human rights abuses in Russia-ally Belarus
Monday 20 January 2025 18:23
,
Alex Croft
The yellow name tag that Ales Bialiatski wears on his prison garb sets him apart from other inmates in Penal Colony No. 9 in eastern Belarus.
It marks Bialiatski as a political prisoner to be singled out for harsh treatment. Because he’s been labeled an “extremist” by authorities, he’s routinely denied medications, food parcels from home and contact with relatives, and is subjected to forced labor and stints in punishment cells, according to former inmates.
Authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko often claimed in his three decades in power that Belarus has no political prisoners, but activists say it currently holds about 1,300 of them. Many endure harsh conditions like Bialiatski, 62, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 for his human rights activism and is believed to be in worsening health.
Read the full report:
War in Ukraine: A snapshot of 2024 military warfare
Monday 20 January 2025 17:52
,
Alex Croft
Russian forces in 2024 advanced in Ukraine at the fastest rate since 2022, the war’s first year, and control about a fifth of the country. But the gains have come at the cost of heavy, though undisclosed, losses in men and equipment.
In 2024, Russia was invaded for the first time since the Second World War as Ukraine grabbed a slice of its western Kursk region in a surprise counter-attack on 6 August.
Russia has yet to eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk despite bringing in more than 10,000 troops from its ally North Korea, according to Ukrainian, South Korean and US assessments. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
“To sustain even the very slow advance in Ukraine, Russia has been forced to ignore the months-long occupation of part of its own territory by Ukrainian forces,” British security expert Ruth Deyermond said.
“Taking a ‘nothing to see here’ attitude to the loss of its own land is not what great powers do, particularly one so preoccupied with the idea of state sovereignty.”
Deyermond, in a long thread posted on X, suggested Putin’s efforts to portray Russia as a leading world power were also undermined by the toppling of its chief Middle East ally, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and its increasing dependence on China.
Putin, the longest-serving ruler of Russia since Josef Stalin, said on 19 December that under his leadership the country had moved back from “the edge of the abyss” and rebuffed threats to its sovereignty.
With hindsight, he said, he should not have waited until February 2022 before launching his “special military operation” in Ukraine, the term he still uses for the full-scale invasion of Russia’s neighbour.
In pictures: Putin hosts meeting with Security Council
Monday 20 January 2025 17:21
,
Alex Croft
Explained | Why does Russia want to capture strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk?
Monday 20 January 2025 16:50
,
Alex Croft
Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.
Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. While most people have fled, Ukraine estimated last month that up to 11,000 still remain in the city.
It lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled eastern outposts including the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine’s only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry and vital for the country’s pre-war economy - is just a 20-minute drive to the west of Pokrovsk, and open source data shows Russian forces are less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from one of the mine shafts.
Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia’s territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.
Control of the city, which the Russian media call “the gateway to Donetsk”, would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.
Squeezing the Ukrainian military’s access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv’s troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to advance the front line.
French and Danish shipyards ‘fixing Russian gas tankers’
Monday 20 January 2025 16:19
,
Alex Croft
European shipyards are repairing Russian gas tankers, enabling Moscow to keep energy supplies moving through the Arctic and avoid Western sanctions, according to reports.
Damen shipyard in Brest, France, and Fayard A/S in Denmark have provided maintenance works to Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers, allowing them to access crucial markets through winter, the Financial Times reported. A loophole in European Union sanctions means maintenance can be carried out there.
Satellite images and port-call tracking data from data and analytics firm Kpler, seen by the FT, showed that the two shipyards have serviced 14 of the 15-ship fleet of specialist Arc7 tankers that sail from Yamal LNG on Russia‘s far northern coast.
Jabed Ahmed reports:
Ukraine arrests army commander for failing to fulfil duties
Monday 20 January 2025 15:51
,
Alex Croft
A former commander of Ukraine’s 155th Separate Mechanised Brigade has been arrested on suspicion of failing to perform his official duties.
Colonel Dmytro Riumshyn will be served with a notice of suspicion by the State Bureau of Investigation of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU).
It comes after an investigation found that he did not respond to offences in his unit, including his men’s absence from the armed forces without permission, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
The colonel had been warned by leadership staff that some servicemen had gone on unauthorised absences, as well as failures to return from leave, business trips and sick leave.
But the commander failed to take action and notify pre-trial investigative authorities, therefore law enforcement officers weren’t able to return these men to their units or ensure they were legally punished.
Putin congratulates Trump on taking White House
Monday 20 January 2025 15:25
,
Alex Croft
Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated US president-elect Donald Trump on taking the White House hours before his inauguration in Washington.
Putin said he is open to dialogue with the new US administration on Ukraine and nuclear arms.
The Russian autocrat told Mr Trump that he wants to secure long-lasting peace in Ukraine rather than a short ceasefire, he said in a meeting of Russia’s Security Council.
What could the Trump presidency mean for Nato and Ukraine?
Monday 20 January 2025 14:58
,
Alex Croft
One area where the incoming Trump administration and Labour are likely to clash is on defence spending. The incoming president has said he feels the US spends more on defence than most Nato countries, calling for a new target of fie per cent GDP.
This is up considerably from the current two per cent target. The UK currently pledges 2.3 per cent, with intentions ro raise it to 2.5 per cent by this year. Given the tight economic contraints outlined by the Treasury, it’s unlikely calls to increase this futher would be welcomed by UK officials.
The incoming president has also said he would like to bring the war in Ukraine to a speedy end – and will now be able to use the US’s massive expenditure on Zelensky’s forces as a bargaining chip in discussions.
But some of his comments have prompted concern that Mr Trump may cede key Russian demands as part of a deal. This could include granting Vladimir Putin’s regime large regions of the country, or deferring Ukraine’s Nato membership bid. The incoming president has previously said that he “understands [Russia’s] feelings” about having “somebody right on their doorstep.”
If the war in Ukraine does move from military support to a possible peacekeeping operation, the prime minister has said that the UK will play “full part” in the plans.
Read Albert Toth’s full report here:
North Korea troops fighting for Putin ‘could all be dead or wounded by April’ as casualties mount
Monday 20 January 2025 14:36
,
Alex Croft
All of the roughly 12,000 North Korean troops fighting with Russian forces may be dead or wounded by mid-April, a leading war monitor has said.
North Korean troops have suffered an estimated 92 casualties every day since significant fighting in Russia’s border Kursk region began in early December, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in early January that 3,800 North Korean soldiers had been killed or wounded in Kursk, where Russia is trying to reclaim territory following Kyiv’s lightning offensive last August and a second push late last year.
“The entire North Korean contingent of roughly 12,000 personnel currently in Kursk Oblast may be killed or wounded in action by mid-April 2025 should North Korean forces continue to suffer from their current high loss rate in the future,” the ISW said.
Read the full report:
Ukraine commemorates Donetsk Airport battles in 2014
Monday 20 January 2025 14:18
,
Alex Croft
Cyborgs withstood, concrete could not withstand.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 20, 2025
January 20 — Memorial Day of Defenders of Donetsk Airport. For 242 days, Ukrainian warriors defended the airport.
We remember the cost of the battle for our freedom and our present.
Glory to Ukrainian defenders pic.twitter.com/15J7Ky448H
Poland wants the EU focused on security. Its border with Belarus highlights the challenges
Monday 20 January 2025 13:56
,
Alex Croft
Poland’s six-month presidency of the European Union is firmly focused on security. As Europe’s biggest land war in decades rages, fewer places highlight the challenges and contradictions of defending the bloc and its values more starkly than the border with Belarus.
Some 13,000 border guards and soldiers protect around 400 kilometers (250 miles) of border. It’s become a buffer zone since Belarus’ ally, Russia, invaded neighboring Ukraine three years ago. Similar fortifications farther north line Poland’s frontier with the Russian region of Kaliningrad.
Poland is Ukraine’s top logistical backer. Most of the Western-supplied arms, ammunition and equipment helping to keep Ukraine’s armed forces afloat transit through. Russia, meanwhile, uses Belarus as a staging ground for its invasion.
Read the full report:
Trump presidency will trigger right-wing surge in Europe - Hungarian PM
Monday 20 January 2025 13:37
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump’s presidency in the US will prompt a right-wing surge in Europe, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said on Monday, as he called for an offensive to “occupy” Brussels.
Mr Orban envisaged a “golden era” for relations between the US and Hungary, with Mr Trump’s presidency beginning from today, 20 January.
"Only a few hours and even the sun will shine differently in Brussels. A new president in the US, a large faction of Patriots in Brussels, great enthusiasm," Mr Orban said. "So the great attack can start. Hereby I launch the second phase of the offensive that aims to occupy Brussels.”
Mr Orban’s hard-right Fidesz party formed the Patriots party group in the European Parliament last year. Led by France’s National Rally, the group has become the third largest in parliament with 86 members.
‘I didn’t know I would be fighting in Ukraine’ - captured North Korean soldier
Monday 20 January 2025 13:19
,
Alex Croft
‘I didn’t know I would be fighting in Ukraine’ - captured North Korean soldier
A North Korean soldier captured by Ukraine has said he did not know who he would be fighting against or where he would fight.
In the recording of the interview, posted by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on X, the soldier says he arrived with Russia along with 100 fellow North Koreans on a ship, before being later transported by train.
The soldier, who had joined the army aged 17 as a conscript, said some of his compatriots were trained on heavy Russian military equipment - but that he did not go through this training.
“I didn’t know before coming to Russia that I would be fighting here, in Russia and I didn’t even know who we were fighting against,” the soldier told Ukrainian investigators.
“There were a lot of casualties when I was there alone, starting from the battle on Jan. 3. Overall, it’s hard to answer about such large-scale numbers.”
When asked what he knew about the world outside of North Korea, he said: “Not much.” Asked what he knows about South Korea, he said: “I only know that South Korea has fewer mountains than North Korea.”
Analysis | Trump has a key decision to make on Ukraine – is he an ally of Kyiv or Putin?
Monday 20 January 2025 13:00
,
Alex Croft
Critics of Donald Trump may sigh with irony as he takes the presidential pledge to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America – and hope that he holds back on pledges to tear into the foundation document of modern America in the hours after taking office. In Ukraine, no one’s holding their breath.
In Ukraine’s capital they know that the 47th president of the US is no particular friend. They also believe he’s potty about Vladimir Putin, and that may be to their advantage when Trump comes around to renewing military support for a nation fighting off the Kremlin.
Officials here are philosophical and diplomatic, even when speaking privately, about the incoming president. They’re keen to make a new relationship work, but also know that if there’s one legacy Trump won’t want attached to his name is that he was a patsy for the Russian president.
World affairs editor Sam Kiley writes:
Man injured in Russian strike on Kherson
Monday 20 January 2025 12:41
,
Alex Croft
A man in a bus was injured after Russian troops attacked the southern Kherson region with drones and artillery on Monday morning, the region’s military administration said.
"As of now, one person is reported injured. A 56-year-old man sustained a mine-blast injury and multiple shrapnel wounds to his face and neck,” the administration said.
Other settlements in the area also came under Russian fire, causing damage to several houses, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
Most of the world is glad Donald Trump is back, says David Lammy
Monday 20 January 2025 12:23
,
Alex Croft
Donald Trump is not a warmonger and most people in the world are glad he is back in power, David Lammy said ahead of his inauguration on Monday.
Going out of his way to praise the new president, the Foreign Secretary called him “gracious and generous”.
Mr Lammy, who has been fiercely critical of Mr Trump in the past, said Britain had to come to terms with dealing with him.
Political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Russian disinformation campaign looking to boost support for Germany’s far-right AfD
Monday 20 January 2025 12:04
,
Alex Croft
A Russian disinformation campaign is seeking to support the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) campaign ahead of the country’s February election, a think tank has found.
An analysis of hundreds of German-language posts on X over the past month have exhibited patterns of Russia’s Doppelgaenger disinformation campaign against the West.
The campaign spreads links to falsified Western news outlets sharing fake information, a German foreign ministry report published last June. Russia has consistently denied involvement.
Recent posts have blamed the Greens for Germany’s economic woes, criticised chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support for Ukraine, and spoken in favour of the AfD, CeMAS said.
The tracked posts share links to falsified German news websites or to articles on authentic ones supporting their narrative, and have achieved over 2.8 million views, CeMAS said.
In pictures: Ukrainian forces continue to defend eastern frontline
Monday 20 January 2025 11:43
,
Alex Croft