Vladimir Putin is “dragging Asia” into the war in Ukraine with the use of Chinese-made drones and North Korean troops, the German foreign minister has said.
On a visit to Beijing, Annalena Baerbock stressed the responsibility of permanent members of the UN Security Council, such as China, not to further fuel conflicts with their support.
“Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking peace in the centre of Europe violate our core European security interests,” Ms Baerbock said after meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed North Korean soldiers deployed to fight for Russia have been killed.
Pyongyang is said to have dispatched between 10,000-12,000 troops to aid Putin’s forces.
A Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson told Radio Free Europe an additional 2,000 North Korean troops have been assigned to Russia's Marine and airborne units fighting on the front.
Meawhile on the frontlines, Moscow's troops have been capturing village after village in Ukraine's east, part of a drive to fully seize the industrial Donbas region, while Russian airstrikes continue to target a hobbled Ukrainian energy grid as winter sets in.
Key Points
- Zelensky’s latest Nato plan is a ‘major concession’ to Putin, says former UK ambassador
- US will not return nuclear weapons to Ukraine, says White House
- Putin signs off on record military spending in 2025
- Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine could temporarily cede territory to Russia
- Zelensky ‘calling Nato’s bluff’ with latest proposals, expert suggests
Photos: Mobile anti-drone teams operate near Ukraine’s southeastern front
04:10
Arpan Rai
German aid to Ukraine will include air defence systems, spokesperson says
04:00
Jabed Ahmed
German military aid to be delivered to Ukraine in December includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a defence ministry spokesperson has said.
“Winter is just around the corner, so there will also be winter equipment, as well as hand-held weapons and warming devices,” the spokesperson said just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during a surprise trip to Kyiv.
A government spokesperson said the deliveries were part of a military aid package already announced by Berlin in October.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers charged with desertion, prosecutors say
03:00
Jabed Ahmed
More than 100,000 soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said, starving Kyiv of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia.
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials have told the Associated Press.
Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, military commanders and soldiers said. Some take medical leave and find themselves unable to bring themselves to return. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights.
Nearly half of the 100,000 peope charged have deserted in the last year alone, after Kyiv launched an aggressive mobilisation drive that government officials and military commanders concede has largely failed.
There were an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in combat before the mobilisation drive began. One politician with knowledge of military matters estimated the actual number of deserters could be as high as 200,000.
Nato likely to ignore Ukraine’s call for quick invite
02:58
Arpan Rai
Nato is highly unlikely to heed Ukraine’s call for a membership invitation at a meeting today, according to diplomats.
Ukraine sees Nato membership as the best guarantee of its future security. Under Nato’s Article 5 mutual defence pact, members agree to treat an attack on one as an attack on all and come to each other’s aid.
In a letter to his Nato counterparts ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said an invitation would remove one of Russia’s main arguments for waging its war - namely, preventing Ukraine from joining the alliance.
But there is no sign of the required consensus among Nato’s 32 members for such a decision at the foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels, said diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“It will take weeks and months to get consensus,” a senior Nato diplomat said yesterday. “I don’t see that happening tomorrow, I would be very surprised.”
A senior US official said the meeting would focus on surging support for Ukraine so it was in the strongest possible position next year, “going into possible negotiations”.
“The best way to do that is to surge money, munitions and mobilisation,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
US, Ukraine defence heads discuss Russia’s use of new missiles, 2025 aid to Kyiv
02:51
Arpan Rai
The US and Ukrainian defense chiefs discussed Russia’s use of new ballistic missiles, preparations for the next meeting of arms donors and plans for Washington’s military aid next year, both sides said.
“Secretary (of Defence Lloyd) Austin condemned Russia’s recent barrage of missiles and Unmanned Aerial Systems targeting Ukraine‘s civilian infrastructure and its use of an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile in Ukraine, which marks another escalation in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” the Pentagon’s press secretary, Major General Pat Ryder, said in a statement.
The meeting came as the US said it will send Kyiv $725m of missiles, ammunition, anti-personnel mines and other weapons, as president Joe Biden’s outgoing administration seeks to bolster Kyiv before leaving office.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov said the call also focused on “strategic planning for 2025, particularly regarding the supply of weapons, equipment, and equipping of our units.”
He also said he discussed with Mr Austin preparations for the upcoming meeting of the Ramstein Group, an alliance of Nato, the European Union and countries that have supported Kyiv.
Blinken heads to final Nato foreign ministers meeting of Biden administration with Ukraine in focus
01:02
Jabed Ahmed
Pictured: Scholz and Zelensky hold joint press conference
Monday 2 December 2024 23:59
Jabed Ahmed
Arms producers saw revenue up in 2023 with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, report finds
Monday 2 December 2024 23:02
Jabed Ahmed
Major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2 per cent increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East, a new report has found.
The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said revenues from the top 100 arms companies totaled $632 billion last year in response to surging demand related to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
It said that “smaller producers were more efficient at responding to new demand.”
The 41 US-based arms companies among the world’s top 100 saw revenues of $317 billion (£263bn), a 2.5% increase from 2022, the report said.
Russia’s top two arms companies saw their combined revenues increase by 40 per cent, to an estimated $25.5 billion.
“This was almost entirely due to the 49% increase in arms revenues recorded by Rostec, a state-owned holding company controlling many arms producers,” the SIPRI report said.
Monday 2 December 2024 22:10
Jabed Ahmed
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will attend a Nato meeting to shore up allied support for Ukraine ahead of President-elect Donald Trump ‘s return to the White House in January.
Mr Blinken will meet Nato foreign ministers meetings in Brussels on Tuesday and Wednesday, the US State Department said.
Blinken will “discuss priorities for transatlantic security, including supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion, deepening cooperation with NATO’s southern partners in the Middle East, North Africa, and Sahel regions, and preparing for the upcoming summit at The Hague,” the department said in a statement.
Outgoing President Joe Biden will not be in power when Nato leaders gather for their next summit in June but he has stepped up the delivery of weapons and other materiel to Ukraine over the past several months and has also eased restrictions on how Kyiv can use them.
Biden's goal is to put Ukraine in the best position possible to negotiate a settlement and has come as Moscow has made significant advances in the conflict and North Korean troops have moved to assist Russian forces.
Scholz says Germany to deliver air defences to Ukraine in 2025
Monday 2 December 2024 21:02
Jabed Ahmed
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Germany would deliver additional air defence systems to Ukraine next year, and said his trip to Kyiv was demonstrating his country’s unwavering support.
“I am making this very clear to Putin here in Kyiv today. We have staying power and we will stand by Ukraine’s side for as long as necessary,” he told a press conference.
Scholz added he had told Russian leader Vladimir Putin that he should pull back its troops from Ukraine.
Ukraine needs more air defences to protect two dozen ‘special’ sites, Zelensky says
Monday 2 December 2024 20:14
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine needs more air defence systems to protect its important facilities from Russian missile attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.
“We are looking at how to protect two dozen special facilities, there are simply not enough (air defence) systems because of such dense missile strikes,” Zelenskiy told a press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Kyiv.
Norway to send F-35 fighter jets and air defence systems to Poland
Monday 2 December 2024 19:38
Jabed Ahmed
Norway's defence ministry has said it will deploy F-35 fighter jets and NASAMS air defence systems to a logistics hub in Poland which coordinates military aid for Ukraine.
From early December, Norway will safeguard the airspace above the Rzeszow airport in Poland and will send around 100 soldiers in addition to the air defence systems and fighter jets, the ministry said in a statement.
"Ukraine remains in critical need of military support, with Poland as the most critical logistics hub ... This way Norway contributes to ensuring that aid to Ukraine reaches its destination," Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram said.
Full report: Poland's prime minister visits defensive fortifications on border with Russia
Monday 2 December 2024 19:01
Jabed Ahmed
Former British diplomat gives verdict on whether ceding territory would hand Putin a form of victory
Monday 2 December 2024 18:09
Jabed Ahmed
Asked whether Ukraine ceding territory in a peace deal would hand a form of victory to Vladimir Putin, the UK’s former representative to Nato Sir Adam Thomson told Sky News: “The outcome that Zelensky is suggesting is agreement to disagree over who owns a chunk of Ukraine currently owned by Russia.
“Russia would claim it as its own. Zelensky is making the crucial point that this would not be internationally legally recognised – it would just be a de facto control that could change at some future stage through diplomacy.
“Putin would have seized some territory, he would have done it at extraordinary cost – billions and billions of dollars, two new Nato members already, a thousand or more Russian soldiers being killed or wounded every day at the moment.
“It’s in that sense a compromise. He’s got some territory under his control, it’s not recognised, and it’s an outcome that means he’s lost the rest of Ukraine and alienated Europe for a generation.”
Putin wants ‘control not territory’, says analyst
Monday 2 December 2024 17:41
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Ukraine could temporarily cede territory to Russia in return for Nato assurances are “quite smart” but it is unlikely that Vladimir Putin would accept such an arrangement, an expert has suggested.
Asked about the Ukrainian president’s recent remarks on ending the “hot phase” of Russia’s war, James Nixey, of the Chatham House think-tank, told The Independent in emailed remarks: “It’s quite smart.
“Because territory can be regained – even militarily if need be (and the Ukrainians could switch to ‘deniable’ subversive warfare). Or it could be re-acquired under a post-Putin regime. It’s hard to see Ukraine ever giving up on it forever.
“However, it’s even harder to see Putin going for it,” said Mr Nixey, adding: “Putin wants control, not territory. That’s why he hasn’t invaded Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan etc. He controls them ‘enough’ and they have not been so wayward.
“So Ukraine – any part of it – in Nato as part of a deal would be unacceptable.”
Putin would not accept any part of Ukraine being in Nato, analyst suggests
Monday 2 December 2024 17:12
Jabed Ahmed
James Nixey of the Chatham House think-tank has warned that any part of Ukraine being in Nato would be unacceptable to Vladimir Putin, after Volodymyr Zelensky said he could accept territory being temporarily ceded to Russia in exchange for security assurances from the alliance.
“After all, [Nato] is, for him, an abhorrence. Putin doesn’t want a pause anyway – he believes he’s on the brink of an historic and strategic victory, kindly deal-sealed by Donald Trump,” Mr Nixey told The Independent.
Full report: Cabinet minister ‘can’t predict’ whether Ukraine will become part of Nato
Monday 2 December 2024 16:42
Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky: I want to speak with Trump directly without voices around him
Monday 2 December 2024 16:12
Jabed Ahmed
Putin raises Russian military spending in 2025 to record levels
Monday 2 December 2024 15:41
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin has approved plans which raise 2025 military spending to record levels, with 13.5trn roubles £99.5bn) – nearly a third of the budget posted on a government website – allocated for national defence.
Politicians in both houses of the Russian parliament have already approved the plans over the past 10 days.
The increase in military spending – from a reported 28.3 to 32.5 per cent of Russia’s budget – comes despite discussions over US president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to bring the war to a rapid end.
More than 100,000 Ukrainian soldiers charged with desertion, prosecutors say
Monday 2 December 2024 15:12
Jabed Ahmed
More than 100,000 soldiers have deserted the Ukrainian army, Ukraine’s prosecutor general has said, starving Kyiv of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia.
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials have told the Associated Press.
Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, military commanders and soldiers said. Some take medical leave and find themselves unable to bring themselves to return. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights.
Nearly half of the 100,000 peope charged have deserted in the last year alone, after Kyiv launched an aggressive mobilisation drive that government officials and military commanders concede has largely failed.
There were an estimated 300,000 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in combat before the mobilisation drive began. One politician with knowledge of military matters estimated the actual number of deserters could be as high as 200,000.
Arms producers saw revenue up in 2023 with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, report finds
Monday 2 December 2024 14:46
Jabed Ahmed
Major companies in the arms industry saw a 4.2 per cent increase in overall revenue in 2023 with sharp rises for producers based in Russia and the Middle East, a new report has found.
The report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), said revenues from the top 100 arms companies totaled $632 billion last year in response to surging demand related to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
It said that “smaller producers were more efficient at responding to new demand.”
The 41 US-based arms companies among the world’s top 100 saw revenues of $317 billion (£263bn), a 2.5% increase from 2022, the report said.
Russia’s top two arms companies saw their combined revenues increase by 40 per cent, to an estimated $25.5 billion.
“This was almost entirely due to the 49% increase in arms revenues recorded by Rostec, a state-owned holding company controlling many arms producers,” the SIPRI report said.
Zelensky’s latest Ukraine-Russia war plan is a ‘major concession’ to Putin, says former UK ambassador
Monday 2 December 2024 14:11
Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky and and Scholz visit injured soldiers
Monday 2 December 2024 13:43
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky and Olaf Scholz have visited injured Ukranian soldiers in hostpital following Germany’s military aid announcement.
In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said: “We are deeply grateful to Germany for all the assistance it has provided. Germany stands as a European leader in supporting Ukraine, helping us defend ourselves against Russian aggression and terror.
“Our meeting with Olaf Scholz began with a visit to our warriors, wounded in combat against the occupiers, who are currently undergoing treatment and rehabilitation.”
Today, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Ukraine, marking the first bilateral visit by a German Chancellor in more than two years. We are deeply grateful to Germany for all the assistance it has provided. Germany stands as a European leader in supporting Ukraine, helping us… pic.twitter.com/NoTDQLqVuc
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 2, 2024
Commment: Zelensky is playing a clever game with America by talk of ceasefire
Monday 2 December 2024 13:16
Jabed Ahmed
German aid to Ukraine will include air defence systems, spokesperson says
Monday 2 December 2024 12:51
Jabed Ahmed
German military aid to be delivered to Ukraine in December includes IRIS-T air defence systems, Leopard 1 tanks and armed drones, a defence ministry spokesperson has said.
“Winter is just around the corner, so there will also be winter equipment, as well as hand-held weapons and warming devices,” the spokesperson said just hours after Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced the deliveries during a surprise trip to Kyiv.
A government spokesperson said the deliveries were part of a military aid package already announced by Berlin in October.
Why is Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy grid with missile attacks?
Monday 2 December 2024 12:19
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s process of joining EU marked by ‘sense of urgency’, new European Council chief says
Monday 2 December 2024 11:47
Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s process of joining the EU is marked by a “sense of urgency”, new European Council president Antonio Costa has said, during a vist to Kyiv.
Mr Costa, the former Portuguese premier, visited Ukraine along with the new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the bloc’s head of enlargement Marta Kos, on the day they all took office.
The EU has “stood with you since the very first day of this war of aggression, and you can count on us to continue to stand with you”, Mr Costa said, in remarks alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, adding: “These are not just words.”
Mr Costa said Ukraine’s process of joining the EU was marked by “a sense of urgency” and that the bloc could take steps to integrate Ukraine before its entry, such as coordinating mobile phone roaming rules and letting some goods into the single market.
“We cannot manage this process as business as usual because it is a geopolitical choice,” he said.
Pictured: Zelensky and Scholz visit memorial for Ukrainian and foreign fighters in Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 11:19
Jabed Ahmed
Putin signs off record Russian defense spending as top EU officials visit Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 10:39
Jabed Ahmed
Kremlin says Georgia protests have signs of attempted Ukraine-style revolution
Monday 2 December 2024 10:08
Jabed Ahmed
The Kremlin has said that a wave of pro-EU protests in Georgia resembled an attempted Ukraine-style "Orange Revolution" and that the authorities were trying to stabilise the situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that some of the protesters had clearly broken the law by attacking police, but that Russia would not interfere in the situation.
More than 200 people have been detained after four nights of protests in the Georgian capital following the government's decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union after the block criticised the country's parliamentary election.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered outside the parliament for the fourth night on Sunday. Some protesters threw fireworks at police who responded by deploying tear gas and water cannon.Georgia’s Interior Ministry said Monday that 224 protesters were detained on administrative charges and three arrested on criminal charges. So far, 113 police officers needed medical treatment while three others were hospitalized.
Zelensky criticised Scholz for call with Putin earlier this month
Monday 2 December 2024 09:51
Jabed Ahmed
German chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke with Vladimir Putin for the first time in nearly two years, earlier this month.
The German leader urged Mr Putin to pull his forces out of Ukraine and begin talks with Kyiv that would open the way for a “just and lasting peace”, the German government said at the time.
The move was swiftly criticised by Mr Zelensky, who said the call had opened a “Pandora’s box” by undermining efforts to isolate the Russian leader.
“Now there may be other conversations, other calls. Just a lot of words,” said Mr Zelensky in an evening address on 15 November. “And this is exactly what Putin has long wanted: it is extremely important for him to weaken his isolation and to conduct ordinary negotiations.”
Today, Mr Scholz made an unexpected visit to Kyiv and promised military aid worth €650 million (£538mn).
More than 160 clashes on the frontlines in past day, Ukraine Army says
Monday 2 December 2024 09:31
Jabed Ahmed
There have been 165 combat clashes on the frontlines in the past day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
The General Staff also reported that Russian forces carried out 18 airstrikes on the Ukrainian positions and settlements, dropped 25 glide bombs, and deployed 1,635 kamikaze drones.
Asia being dragged into Ukraine war, German foreign minister warns
Monday 2 December 2024 09:11
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin is dragging Asia into the war in Ukraine with the use of Chinese-made drones and North Korean troops, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said during a visit to Beijing.
She stressed the responsibility of permanent members of the UN Security Council, such as China, not to further fuel conflicts with their support.
"Drones from Chinese factories and North Korean troops attacking peace in the centre of Europe violate our core European security interests," Ms Baerbock said after meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
ICYMI: UK Cabinet minister ‘can’t predict’ whether Ukraine will become part of Nato
Monday 2 December 2024 08:47
Jabed Ahmed
A Cabinet minister has said he “can’t predict” whether Ukraine will become part of Nato, but added that the country has “got to be free to make its choices”.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK does not want to see “Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal” it does not want after Russia’s invasion.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky has suggested that territory under his control should be taken under the “Nato umbrella” to try to stop the “hot stage” of the war with Russia.
He said Ukraine could then get back the other parts of its territory “diplomatically”.
Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I don’t know whether Ukraine will be part of Nato or not in the future, I can’t predict that.
“What I do know is that I want the country to be free to make decisions about its own future.”
He added that any application would “have to be considered properly by Nato in the future”.
German Chancellor announces Ukraine military aid in visit to Kyiv
Monday 2 December 2024 08:25
Jabed Ahmed
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has made an unexpected visit to Kyiv, promising military aid worth €650 million (£538mn).
The visit, his second since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago, signals Germany's support at a time of uncertainty ahead of President-elect Donald Trump taking the reins at the White House and as Russian forces make territorial gains.
Scholz will hold talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is set to push NATO to invite Ukraine to join the military alliance at a meeting in Brussels this week.
"Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe," Mr Scholz wrote on X.
At the meeting with Zelenskiy, he said he would "announce further military equipment worth 650 million euros, which is to be delivered in December."
If the war in Ukraine ends in a deal, it must be struck by Zelensky from a position of strength
Monday 2 December 2024 08:00
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, has suggested he would temporarily cede Ukrainian territory to Russia in exchange for joining Nato. The negotiation to end the war has begun.
“If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the Nato umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control. We need to do it fast,” Mr Zelensky told Sky News.
He implied that he would worry about recovering the eastern provinces and Crimea later: “And then on the occupied territory of Ukraine, Ukraine can get them back in a diplomatic way.”
Mr Zelensky understands two ways in which the tide of war is turning against him, and is seeking to stay ahead of events. After nearly three years of fighting, enduring terrible losses and hardship, the Ukrainian people are becoming more tolerant of a settlement that ends the war without recovering all Ukrainian territory – something that Mr Zelensky has not previously been willing to contemplate.
Putin’s forces making rapid advances towards lynchpin of Ukrainian defences, warns UK
Monday 2 December 2024 07:45
Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin’s forces have made rapid advances towards the eastern flank of a longstanding lynchpin of Ukraine’s defensive line, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
The Donetsk town of Velyka Novosilka is now vulnerable following the loss of Vuhledar in early October, which lies 30 kilometres east, the ministry warned.
“This enabled increased Russian advances into less well-defended areas in western Donetsk oblast,” said the ministry, warning that “Russian forces are attacking behind established Ukrainian defences and threatening the primary logistics routes to the town”.
Zelensky pitches diplomatic solutions to retake occupied land, including Crimea
Monday 2 December 2024 07:37
Arpan Rai
Ukraine must find diplomatic solutions to retake its occupied territory, president Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Kyodo News published today.
He said such steps could be considered “only when we know that we are strong enough”.
“Our army lacks the strength to do that. That is true,” he said, admitting it is difficult to retake by force some of the Russian-occupied parts of the country, including Crimea that Russia annexed in 2014. “We do have to find diplomatic solutions.”
Mr Zelensky said returning US president Donald Trump and his team were studying the Ukrainian “victory plan” and he expected additional talks with them to explain “certain things in more detail,” according to the report.
Germany’s Scholz arrives in Kyiv for surprise visit
Monday 2 December 2024 07:20
Arpan Rai
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has arrived in Kyiv for a surprise visit, public broadcaster ZDF reported today.
The German leader will hold talks with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as announce the delivery in December of further armaments worth €650m ($685m), ZDF cited Scholz as saying upon arrival.
“Germany will remain Ukraine’s strongest supporter in Europe. At the meeting with @ZelenskyyUa I will announce further military equipment worth 650 million euros, which are to be delivered in December,” he said in a post on X.
Ukraine’s process of joining EU marked by ‘sense of urgency’, new European Council chief says
Monday 2 December 2024 07:00
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s process of joining the EU is marked by a “sense of urgency”, new European Council president Antonio Costa has said, during a vist to Kyiv.
Mr Costa, the former Portuguese premier, visited Ukraine along with the new EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and the bloc’s head of enlargement Marta Kos, on the day they all took office.
The EU has “stood with you since the very first day of this war of aggression, and you can count on us to continue to stand with you”, Mr Costa said, in remarks alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, adding: “These are not just words.”
Mr Costa said Ukraine’s process of joining the EU was marked by “a sense of urgency” and that the bloc could take steps to integrate Ukraine before its entry, such as coordinating mobile phone roaming rules and letting some goods into the single market.
“We cannot manage this process as business as usual because it is a geopolitical choice,” he said.
Ukraine downs 52 out of 110 Russian drones overnight
Monday 2 December 2024 06:58
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s air force said it downed more than 50 drones Russia launched to attack the country overnight.
Of the total 110 drones fired by Russian forces, the air force shot down 52 and 50 were ‘lost’, likely due to electronic warfare, it said.
One drone remained in Ukrainian airspace and six of the drones headed toward Belarus and Russia, the air force added.
Russia using thermal and radar decoys to trick Ukrainian air defences
Monday 2 December 2024 06:00
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s air force has warned that Russia was using thermal and radar decoys to trick Ukrainian air defences, and putting electronic warfare devices on its missiles.
"All this significantly complicates the operation of Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile systems. Western systems work much more effectively in such conditions, but Ukraine does not have enough to reliably cover hundreds of critical infrastructure facilities," the air force said.
It said foggy weather conditions also made it harder for machine gunners to spot drones, as Russia launched a large-scale attack this week on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Photos: Top EU officials visit Ukraine in show of solidarity
Monday 2 December 2024 05:37
Arpan Rai
European Council president Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv yesterday, using the first day in their new roles to send a message of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Their visit comes as Ukraine struggles to fend off a grinding Russian offensive and faces the uncertainty of US policy toward Kyiv when Donald Trump takes office next month.
Putin will use North Korean troops as cannon fodder, says Zelensky
Monday 2 December 2024 05:23
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said North Korean soldiers deployed by Russia will be used as “cannon fodder”.
Many North Korean soldiers will be sent to the frontlines of the war in the future, Mr Zelensky told Kyodo News and he said that it was “indisputable” that Russian president Vladimir Putin will use them “as cannon fodder” to reduce losses to his country’s military.
Mr Zelensky said there is evidence that about 12,000 North Korean soldiers had been deployed to Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine but Kyiv needs “to have proof” before disclosing the exact number of casualties.
Russia downs 15 drones fired by Ukraine overnight
Monday 2 December 2024 05:07
Arpan Rai
Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 15 Ukrainian drones over several Russian regions overnight, the state-run RIA news agency reported this morning, citing the defence ministry.
Putin’s secret daughter ‘is part-time DJ living in Paris under pseudonym’
Monday 2 December 2024 05:00
Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin’s youngest daughter is an occasional DJ who has lived in Paris under a pseudonym, according to reports.
While the Russian president officially has two daughters with his ex-wife, who has remarried as Lyudmila Ocheretnaya after she and Putin were divorced in 2014, he is also alleged to have had a daughter with a woman named Svetlana Krivonogikh.
Her daughter Elizaveta has now been reported in Ukrainian media to haved lived in Paris under the name Elizaveta Olegovna Rudnova, and to have studied at the ICART international school of art management.
You can read more details here:
German foreign minister slams China for providing weapons to Russia
Monday 2 December 2024 04:10
Arpan Rai
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has accused China of providing Russia with weapons for its war against Ukraine and threatening peace in Europe and the Indo-Pacific.
“Instead of taking responsibility for peace and security in the world as a permanent member of the UN security council, China is opposing our core European interests with its economic and weapons aid to Russia,” Ms Baerbock said in a statement ahead of a visit to Beijing.
The German foreign minister will travel to China next week, where she will meet with her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi to discuss issues including the war in Ukraine. “Putin’s brutal war of aggression against Ukraine is a direct threat to our peace,” Ms Baerbock said. “I will also speak in Beijing about the fact that we cannot simply ignore this in our relations with China.”
She noted that the war in Ukraine shows how security in Europe is inextricably linked with that in Asia.
“If North Korea sends soldiers and weapons against Ukraine, while Russia supports Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, then this jeopardises peace both here and in the Indo-Pacific,” Ms Baerbock said.
Why is Russia targeting Ukraine’s energy grid with missile attacks?
Monday 2 December 2024 04:00
Andy Gregory
Russia has unleashed another “massive” attack against Ukraine‘s energy infrastructure, firing nearly 200 missiles and drones and leaving more than a million households without power, Ukrainian officials said.
Explosions were heard across the country as damage to the energy and other critical infrastructure was reported by officials in cities in the west, south and centre of the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in Thursday’s attack, calling it a “vile escalation”.
In this article, The Independent takes a look at why Russia is launching so many strikes and the likely impact of them on Ukraine.
Read our analysis here:
