Russian forces have claimed a breakthrough in capturing two settlements in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region as an onslaught of overnight bombardment across Ukraine killed six people.
The Russian defence ministry announced the capture of Petropavlivka, a village near the contested towns of Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, and Vremivka, located further south.
However, Ukrainian military officials dismissed suggestions that Russian forces had breached Pokrovsk, a critical transport hub.
Ukraine’s popular Deep State blog, which documents changes in the positions held by both sides using open source materials, confirmed Petropavlivka and Vremivka falling into Russian hands.
In Kyiv, three people were killed and three others injured following a deadly nighttime attack which saw Putin’s forces launch a barrage of drones and missiles in the early morning on Saturday.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were damaged in the assault, said city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
Three others were killed in the country’s south as Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike.
It comes as France accused Russia of “intimidation” after its air defences locked onto a French patrol plane over the Baltic Sea.
Key Points
- Strikes in Kyiv kill four and damage water pipeline in latest attack on the capital
- French patrol aircraft victim of Russian intimidation, Paris says
- Russian forces have retaken 63.2 percent of territory captured in Kursk, Moscow claims
- Starmer considers UK troops in Ukraine in peacekeeper role
- North Korea may lose all 12,000 soldiers in Russia by April – ISW
70 per cent of Ukrainians support ‘West German’ model for Nato accession, survey shows
04:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
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.
Ukraine warns Trump against early peace talks with Putin
03:55
,
Arpan Rai
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.
Russia suffered record 150,000 losses last year, Ukraine’s military chief says
03:33
,
Arpan Rai
Russia’s casualties mounted to a record high of 434,000 in 2024, with 150,000 deaths, Ukraine’s commander in chief of the armed forces said.
The toll is higher than the previous two years combined, he said.
“By our calculations, total [Russian] losses amounted to over 434,000 personnel, of whom approximately 150,000 were killed in 2024 alone,” Ukraine commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrski told a Ukrainian TV channel TSN yesterday. “This year of combat has cost them more than the previous two years of the war combined,” he said.
Russia has lost nearly 819,000 of its soldiers, including those killed, captured or wounded since the start of the invasion. Of these 1,580 casualties were reported in the past day.
Husband and wife Ukrainian heroes warn against Trump’s peace plan
02:59
,
Arpan Rai
Serge in his blue anorak, Olena in her black faux fur jacket – an inconspicuous couple on a trip in Kyiv to show their daughter the capital they did so much to save three years ago.
Their clandestine work as part of self-starting groups of volunteers, heroic by the standards of any war, turned back two invading Russian convoys as they converged on Kyiv in 2022. Serge and a small group of comrades, veterans of Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine, took on Putin’s invaders in hit-and-run raids using pickup trucks and weapons they found in a warehouse in Sumy province.
Now Donald Trump is threatening to turn the course of history against Ukraine, by cutting US military support to the embattled nation. This could ultimately allow Vladimir Putin to hang on to the 20 per cent of the country Russia has already taken as part of a future peace deal forced on Kyiv.
Sam Kiley reports:
Ukraine downs 43 Russian drones over nine regions, air force says
02:52
,
Arpan Rai
Ukrainian air defences shot down 43 out of 61 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack that targeted nine regions across Ukraine, the air force said.
It said that 15 other drones were “lost”, in reference to Kyiv using electronic warfare to redirect them.
No major damage or casualties were immediately reported by officials.
Trump can lay claim to the ceasefire in Gaza – doing the same in Ukraine will be much harder
02:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Trump heads into the White House thoroughly puffed up by his role in securing the Gaza ceasefire, writes World Affairs Editor Sam Kiley. His allies and enemies around the world will now be plotting to exploit his vanity further
Senior military figures warn Starmer against sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine
Sunday 19 January 2025 23:59
,
Jabed Ahmed
North Korea troops fighting for Putin ‘could all be dead or wounded by April’ as casualties mount
Sunday 19 January 2025 23:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Full report | Three lawyers for Alexei Navalny are jailed by a Russian court
Sunday 19 January 2025 22:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Sunday 19 January 2025 21:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainians celebrate Epiphany festival despite ongoing invasion
Sunday 19 January 2025 20:43
,
Barney Davis
War in Ukraine: A snapshot of 2024 military warfare
Sunday 19 January 2025 20:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
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.
Mr 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.
Pictured: Belarussian woman killed fighting for Ukraine
Sunday 19 January 2025 19:30
,
Barney Davis
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.
Explained | Why does Russia want to capture strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk?
Sunday 19 January 2025 19:01
,
Jabed Ahmed
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.
Russian state TV floats splitting Greenland with Trump
Sunday 19 January 2025 18:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Man, 24, killed in Russian shelling in Kherson
Sunday 19 January 2025 17:55
,
Barney Davis
A 24-year-old was killed in the Russian shelling of Kherson.
Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration reported the fatality on Telegram.
“Around 2pm, enemy artillery targeted Chervonyi Maiak. A 24-year-old man sustained fatal injuries as a result of the shelling,” the statement read.
Pictured | Russian strikes on Ukraine
Sunday 19 January 2025 17:00
,
Barney Davis
125 clashes with fiercest fighting in Pokrovsky
Sunday 19 January 2025 16:48
,
Barney Davis
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Facebook there have been 125 combat clashes on the front in 24 hours.
They said: “Our defenders stop the enemy, hold the borders and destroy the plans of the Russians.
“The high activity of the enemy is currently in the Pokrovsky direction. Sixty-two times today, clashes of different intensity began near the settlements Green Field, Oleksandropil, Water Second, Elizabethtivka, Mirolubivka, Ray, Lisivka, Mirnograd, Pokrovsk, Zvirove, Shevchenko, Udaachne, Uspenívka, Kotline, Nadiivka, Novotroitske, Novoandriivka, Slovyanka, Petropavlivka, Andriyivka, Dachne, Ulakly and Yantarne, fifteen clashes continue.
“Ukrainian troops are exhausting the enemy along the entire line of combat and in the rear.Join the Defense Forces!
“We shall win!
“Glory to Ukraine!”
ICYMI |
Sunday 19 January 2025 16:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Saturday, killing three people, while two other attacks in the country’s south killed three more, officials said.
In Kyiv, explosions boomed across the pre-dawn sky as air defences activated against the attack, which also wounded three others, according to city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were damaged in the assault, he said.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media. “These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
Rescue workers plodded through a flooded street as they sifted through debris. The charred remains of a van were visible in front of the station, whose facade was marked by twisted metal and blown-out windows.
As daylight broke, they could be seen examining missile fragments and loading a body bag into a truck.
Another Russian missile attack killed one person and wounded 11 in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said.
The governor of the adjacent southern region of Kherson, Oleksandr Prokudin, said Russian shelling killed two people in a town north of the regional centre, also called Kherson.
Russia says it will counter any UK-Ukraine cooperation in Sea of Azov
Sunday 19 January 2025 15:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Ukraine and Britain “had no room” for cooperation in the Sea of Azov, commenting on a new 100-year partnership agreement between Kyiv and London which the two countries’ leaders announced on Thursday.
The Kremlin said that any placement of British military assets in Ukraine under the new agreement would be of concern to Moscow, in particular in the Sea of Azov, which Russia considers its own, and the ministry echoed those remarks.
“Any claims to this water area are a gross interference in the internal affairs of our country and will be firmly resisted,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a comment posted on the ministry’s website.
The Azov Sea is bordered by southwest Russia, parts of southern Ukraine that Russia has seized in the war, and the Crimean peninsula that Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Ms Zakharova said the agreement itself was “worthless” for Russia, calling it “just another PR campaign” of Ukraine. Ms Zakharova described the Sea of Azov as Russia’s “internal sea”.
Exclusive | The Ukrainian war hero couple who helped push back the Russians from Kyiv warn against Trump’s peace plan
Sunday 19 January 2025 14:28
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian husband and wife Serge and Olena Kravchenko tell Sam Kiley this is no time for peace
Trump-Putin deal forcing Ukraine to give up territory would breach international law, lawyers say
Sunday 19 January 2025 14:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces take control of Vozdvyzhenka in eastern Ukraine, IFX reports
Sunday 19 January 2025 13:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Russian troops have captured the village of Vozdvyzhenka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian defence ministry.
The Independent could not confirm battlefield reports.
Ukraine downs 43 Russian drones over nine regions, air force says
Sunday 19 January 2025 12:00
,
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian air defences shot down 43 out of 61 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Sunday that targeted nine regions across Ukraine, the air force said.
It said that 15 other drones were “lost” in reference to Kyiv using electronic warfare to redirect them.
No major damage or casualties were immediately reported by officials.
Recap: Russian attack damages Ukraine’s oldest McDonald’s
Sunday 19 January 2025 11:30
,
Shweta Sharma
An overnight onslaught on a Russian missile strike on 19 January damaged Ukraine’s oldest McDonald’s in the capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
McDonald’s confirmed the damage to the outlet opened in 1997.
“Today, during an aerial attack on Kyiv, a McDonald’s restaurant near the Lukianivska metro station was damaged. Our staff were able to evacuate to a shelter in time thanks to our safety protocols.”
Hundreds of Swedish troops arrive in Lativa in largest Nato deployment
Sunday 19 January 2025 10:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Hundreds of Swedish troops arrived in Latvia on Saturday to join a Canadian-led multinational brigade along Nato’s eastern flank, a mission Sweden is calling its most significant operation so far as a member of the Western defence alliance.
A ship carrying parts of a mechanised infantry battalion arrived early on Saturday in the port of Riga, the Latvian capital, escorted by the Swedish air force and units from the Swedish and Latvian navies, the Swedish armed forces said in a statement.
Latvia borders Russia to its east and Russia ally Belarus to its southeast.
Tensions are high across Central Europe over Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Sweden’s armed forces said the mission of 550 troops will contribute to the alliance’s deterrence and defence efforts, and ensure stability in the region, and that it “marks Sweden’s largest commitment yet since joining Nato” last year.
Commander Lieutenant Colonel Henrik Rosdahl of the 71st Battalion said he felt great pride in contributing to the alliance’s collective defence.
“It’s a historic day, but at the same time, it’s our new normal,” he said.
The Swedish troops join one of eight Nato brigades along the alliance’s eastern flank. The battalion is stationed outside the town of Adazi, near Riga.
A close look at Britain and Ukraine’s partnership deal
Sunday 19 January 2025 09:44
,
Shweta Sharma
Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Britain has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, with prime minister Keir Starmer’s predecessors visiting Kyiv in the early days of their tenure.
As the war against Russia approaches its three-year mark, Ukraine is on the backfoot on the frontlines. Ukrainian forces are suffering from manpower shortages and losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region as Russia’s troops continue their advance.
It took a little longer for Sir Keir to make the trip, but he comes armed with a 100-year partnership with Kyiv to deepen security and cultural ties.
The treaty and political declaration aims to boost military cooperation to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov and deter Russian aggression.
The treaty will also cover areas such as energy, critical minerals and green steel production, the prime minister’s office said.
“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Sir Keir said in a statement. “Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.”
Britain has provided £12.8bn in support to Ukraine since in 2022, a sum dwarfed by Washington’s $63.5bn in security assistance, underscoring the importance of Donald Trump’s actions over Ukraine.
The partnership announced on Thursday, which provides £40m for Ukraine’s economic recovery, includes additional support around grain verification and trade with Ukraine’s thriving technology sector that has produced battle-ready equipment.
Biden's departing UN envoy says US rivals will fill the vacuum if Trump abandons global leadership
Sunday 19 January 2025 09:00
,
Shweta Sharma
The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations says she watched America’s leadership diminish in the world during Donald Trump’s first presidency and China fill the vacuum.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is warning that if it happens again during Trump’s second term, adversaries will move in anew.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Thomas-Greenfield said during Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States again engaged with the world, rebuilt alliances and reestablished America’s leadership.
“That is the gift that we hand over to the next administration,” she said, “and I hope that they will accept that gift in the spirit in which it is being given to them.”
In a brief meeting with Trump’s nominee, Rep Elise Stefanik of New York, Thomas-Greenfield told her “that the UN is important, and that it is important that we not cede any space to our adversaries.”
Those rivals “will change the rules of the road,” she warned. “And so, US leadership is extraordinarily important.”
Biden's departing UN envoy says US rivals will fill the vacuum if Trump abandons global leadership
Sunday 19 January 2025 09:00
,
Shweta Sharma
The outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations says she watched America’s leadership diminish in the world during Donald Trump’s first presidency and China fill the vacuum.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield is warning that if it happens again during Trump’s second term, adversaries will move in anew.
In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Thomas-Greenfield said during Joe Biden’s presidency, the United States again engaged with the world, rebuilt alliances and reestablished America’s leadership.
“That is the gift that we hand over to the next administration,” she said, “and I hope that they will accept that gift in the spirit in which it is being given to them.”
In a brief meeting with Trump’s nominee, Re. Elise Stefanik of New York, Thomas-Greenfield told her “that the UN is important, and that it is important that we not cede any space to our adversaries.”
Those rivals “will change the rules of the road,” she warned. “And so, US leadership is extraordinarily important.”
Russian missile strikes Zelensky’s hometown on Friday
Sunday 19 January 2025 08:30
,
Shweta Sharma
On Friday, a Russian missile strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s hometown, killed four people and partially destroyed an educational facility, officials said.
“All those who assist the Russian state in this war must face pressure as impactful as these strikes,” Zelenskiy wrote on social media in response to Saturday’s attack.
Russia has carried out regular air strikes on towns and cities far behind the front line since the start of its almost three-year-old invasion of Ukraine, targeting critical infrastructure in particular.
Trump can lay claim to the ceasefire in Gaza – doing the same in Ukraine will be much harder
Sunday 19 January 2025 08:00
,
Shweta Sharma
When outgoing president Joe Biden was asked if he or Donald Trump deserved credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in Qatar he shot back: “Is that a joke?” It wasn’t. Trump’s claim of having secured the “EPIC” deal was comic, but his contribution was real.
Biden’s team worked in tandem with Trump’s incoming administration – and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – to deliver the agreement which had taken many months to thrash out.
It was no accident that it was struck in the dying days of the Biden years, less than a week before Trump was due to move back into the White House. Israel’s prime minister knew that involving Trump would set him up to warm relations with the 47th president.
Hamas knows he’ll always be an enemy, but one who might actually make good on a threat to “rain hell” on the movement if no deal was made.
Read our voices piece by Sam Kiley.
Ukraine downs 43 Russian drones over nine regions, air force says
Sunday 19 January 2025 07:40
,
Shweta Sharma
Ukrainian air defences shot down 43 out of 61 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Sunday that targeted nine regions across Ukraine, the air force said.
It said that 15 other drones were “lost” in reference to Kyiv using electronic warfare to redirect them.
No major damage or casualties were immediately reported by officials.
An imprisoned Nobel laureate underscores human rights abuses in Belarus
Sunday 19 January 2025 07:30
,
Shweta Sharma
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.
Russian attack damages Ukraine’s oldest McDonald’s
Sunday 19 January 2025 07:00
,
Shweta Sharma
An overnight onslaught on Russian missile strike on 19 January damaged Ukraine’s oldest McDonald’s in capital’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
McDonald’s confirmed the damage to the outlet opened in 1997.
“Today, during an aerial attack on Kyiv, a McDonald’s restaurant near the Lukianivska metro station was damaged. Our staff were able to evacuate to a shelter in time thanks to our safety protocols.”
The restaurant has been closed but the company has pledged to reopen it after repairing the damages.
Senior military figures warn Starmer against sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine
Sunday 19 January 2025 07:00
,
Holly Evans
The UK sending peacekeeping troops to Ukraine is “highly risky”, a former security adviser to Gordon Brown has warned, arguing the “grotesquely underfunded” armed forces do not have the resources to do so.
The prime minister confirmed the UK will discuss such a move with its allies on a visit to Kyiv this week, vowing Britain will “play our part” in guaranteeing the Ukraine’s security following any ceasefire with Russia.
But a number of senior military figures have expressed concerns at the plan. Among them is Lord West of Spithead, retired admiral of the Royal Navy and Mr Brown’s former advisor.
Read the full article here:
Trump intends to visit China to meet Xi, WSJ report
Sunday 19 January 2025 06:06
,
Shweta Sharma
President-elect Donald Trump is considering a visit to China early in his presidency, possibly within his first 100 days, according to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal.
Mr Trump’s inauguration is Monday, and Chinese state news agencies said on Friday that Chinese Vice president Han Zheng will attend as Beijing stands ready to strengthen cooperation.
The proposed trip would aim to ease tensions with Beijing, heightened by Mr Trump’s campaign promises to impose significant tariffs on Chinese goods.
Although Mr Trump’s transition team has not issued a statement, advisors have also explored the idea of inviting Chinese president Xi Jinping to the United States to initiate discussions on key issues.
A meeting between Mr Trump and Mr Xi could prove critical as both nations face complex economic and geopolitical challenges, including trade disputes, Taiwan, and the ongoing war in Ukraine.
On January 17, Mr Trump and Mr Xi had their first phone conversation since the November election.
They discussed topics such as trade, the fentanyl crisis, and concerns surrounding TikTok. Expressing optimism, Mr Trump later stated on social media that he anticipates the two countries will “work together to address many pressing issues without delay.”
Trump can lay claim to the ceasefire in Gaza – doing the same in Ukraine will be much harder
Sunday 19 January 2025 06:00
,
Holly Evans
When outgoing president Joe Biden was asked if he or Donald Trump deserved credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in Qatar he shot back: “Is that a joke?” It wasn’t. Trump’s claim of having secured the “EPIC” deal was comic, but his contribution was real.
Biden’s team worked in tandem with Trump’s incoming administration – and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – to deliver the agreement which had taken many months to thrash out.
It was no accident that it was struck in the dying days of the Biden years, less than a week before Trump was due to move back into the White House. Israel’s prime minister knew that involving Trump would set him up to warm relations with the 47th president.
Read the full article here:
Six killed in Russian strikes, including in Kyiv, officials say
Sunday 19 January 2025 04:30
,
Shweta Sharma
Russian forces unleashed a combined drone and missile strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv early on Saturday, killing three people, while two other attacks in the country’s south killed three more, officials said.
In Kyiv, explosions boomed across the pre-dawn sky as air defences activated against the attack, which also wounded three others, according to city military administration chief Timur Tkachenko.
A shopping mall, business centre, metro station and water pipe were damaged in the assault, he said.
“Russian forces initially launched drones and then a ballistic-missile strike,” parliamentary ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets wrote on social media. “These acts merely underscore the enemy’s ruthlessness and barbarity.”
Rescue workers plodded through a flooded street as they sifted through debris. The charred remains of a van were visible in front of the station, whose facade was marked by twisted metal and blown-out windows.
As daylight broke, they could be seen examining missile fragments and loading a body bag