Vladimir Putin’s forces are ready to launch a massive attack on Ukraine, the head of Kyiv’s national security council has warned, as the country braces for large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Blasts were heard over Kyiv on Wednesday as Ukraine accused Russia of launching its first missile attack on the capital since August and urged residents to take cover as air raid sirens blared in multiple regions.
But Ukraine security chief Andrii Kovalenko warned the the attacks on Wednesday – involving cruise and ballistic missiles – were less intense than those Moscow was equipped to carry out in the future, as it continues to stockpile cruise missiles. Russia’s plans are known and understood, and Ukraine will counter, he insisted.
It came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken travelled to Brussels, meeting Nato chief Mark Rutte and Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
Vowing that the Biden administration will bolster Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Mr Blinken also warned that Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops “demands and will get a firm response”.
Key Points
- Vladimir Putin’s forces ‘ready to launch large missile attack’ on Ukraine
- Blasts in Kyiv as Russia stages first missile attack since August, Ukraine says
- North Korean troop deployment in Russia ‘will get a firm response’, vows US
- Boris Johnson claims UK may have to deploy troops in Ukraine if Trump cuts support
- Russia suffers second consecutive day of record casualties, Kyiv claims
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years behind bars for releasing secrets about Ukraine war
19:43
Tara Cobham
Watch: Putin calls Trump ‘courageous’ as he congratulates future US president on election
19:15
Andy Gregory
Trump picks new US defence secretary from his favourite talent pool – Fox News
18:51
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump has stunned the Pentagon and the broader defence world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defence secretary and in effect helm the world’s largest and most powerful military.
The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington, as Mr Trump bypassed a number of established national security heavy-hitters in favour of a US Army National Guard captain who is best-known as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends Weekend.
If confirmed, Mr Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China.
On air, Hegseth has complained the US is spending too much supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia and has been an outspoken advocate for Israel.
Our US reporter Josh Marcus has more details here:
Ukraine’s grid operator to temporarily limit power supply for businesses
18:26
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s national power grid operator Ukrenergo has introduced limits on electricity supply for businesses on Wednesday due to “significantly” lower imports and lower generation, the company said.
“The restrictions will be in place during the day. In the evening, after the equipment is fixed, the restrictions will be lifted,” Ukrenergo said.
The last time massive restrictions on electricity supplies to both businesses and households were imposed was after a massive Russian missile and drone attack in late August.
Ukraine’s largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the Kyiv region, Odesa, Dnipro and the Donetsk regions.
“The reasons: a shortage (of electricity) in the power grid due to previous shelling by Russia and a drop in temperature,” DTEK said on the Telegram.
Officials have said Ukraine has lost around half of its generating capacity as a result of Russian attacks and now relies mainly on energy generated by three nuclear power plants.
Russian doctor jailed for 5 years for ‘anti-war comments to patient’s family’
18:01
Andy Gregory
A doctor accused of criticising the war in Ukraine in front of a patient was convicted Tuesday of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to five and a half years in prison, part of an unrelenting Kremlin crackdown on dissent.
Dasha Litvinova reports:
Indonesia and Australia hold joint military drills after signing new defence agreement
17:36
Andy Gregory
Russian court orders arrest in absentia of ICC judge
17:11
Andy Gregory
A Russian court has ordered the arrest in absentia of a judge at the International Criminal Court, Russian outlets report, after it issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.
Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled that Reine Alapini-Gansou should be extradited to Russia on charges of “unlawful detention”, the second such charge it has levelled against in ICC judge in less than a week, the Moscow Times reported.
Zelensky reveals Ukraine’s ‘good conversations’ with Donald Trump
16:46
Andy Gregory
Taiwan does not rule out US taking island’s old missiles and sending them to Ukraine
16:21
Andy Gregory
The US can do what it wants with Taiwan’s decommissioned HAWK anti-aircraft missiles, the island’s defence minister has said without ruling out their transfer to Ukraine.
HAWK is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system used for air defence, which is one of Ukraine’s top security needs right now.
“If the US side requests that we transfer them back to them, we will do so in accordance with the relevant regulations and return them to the US, and then the US will decide what to do with them,” Wellington Koo said while answering a reporter’s question on whether the old American weapons system could be given to Kyiv.
Biden could raise Ukraine war at White House meeting with Trump
15:57
Andy Gregory
The war in Ukraine could be on the agenda as US president Joe Biden hosts his successor-to-be Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.
In a traditional courtesy which Mr Trump failed to extend to Mr Biden in 2020, the current president will welcome Mr Trump into the Oval Office, in a process designed to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations – despite Trump’s team not yet having signed documents to start the handover process.
The outgoing president may urge Mr Trump to back Ukraine in its war with Russia, as Washington’s support for Kyiv hangs in the balance since Mr Trump's victory last week, with US secretary of state Antony Blinken vowing to bolster Kyiv as much as possible in the months prior to Mr Trump reassuming office.
Ukrainian drone triggers fire at oil storage depot in Russia’s Belgorod region
15:32
Andy Gregory
A Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire in Russia’s southern Belgorod region and firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, the regional governor said on Tuesday.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said one of the tanks at the depot had caught fire in the Starkooskolsky District near the Ukrainian border. Ten fire crews were dispatched to the site and put out the blaze.
US and Polish officials open missile defence site that Russia has long protested
15:07
Andy Gregory
US and Polish officials have inaugurated a Nato missile defence base in northern Poland, with Polish officials welcoming it as a significant security boost.
The base was originally planned under US president George Bush as a way to protect Europe from ballistic threats from Iran. Poland, however, has always seen it as a form of US protection in case of Russian aggression, anxiety over which has sharply increased since the invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin has long protested against the plans, and on Tuesday it denounced the base as a challenge to its own military potential that would require measures “to ensure parity”.
North Korean troop deployment in Russia ‘will get a firm response’, vows US secretary of state
14:42
Andy Gregory
The deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war “demands and will get a firm response”, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said during a visit to Brussels.
Washington has said North Korean troops have been engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces in Kursk, and Mr Blinken warned that the United States has concerns over what Russia may be doing to strengthen Pyongyang’s forces, including their nuclear capacity.
Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday. However, language barriers and cooperation between militaries pose significant challenges, the Pentagon said.
“At the best of times, a battlefield is confusing and complex place,” historian Mark Galeotti, author of Forged in War: A Military History of Russia, told The Independent.
“To throw in troops who are used to different equipment, speak a different language, and have no experience of the Russian way of war really is asking for trouble.”
Dr Galeotti added: “There’s talk that they have one interpreter for 30 soldiers. Given how much the war is being fought at the small unit level, that really isn’t enough.”
Putin’s forces ‘ready to launch large missile attack’ on Ukraine
14:33
Andy Gregory
Vladimir Putin’s forces are ready to launch a massive attack on Ukraine, the head of Kyiv’s national security and defence council has warned, as the country braces for large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Blasts were heard over Kyiv on Wednesday as Ukraine accused Russia of launching its first missile attack on the capital since August and urged residents to take cover as air raid sirens blared in multiple regions.
But Ukraine security chief Andrii Kovalenko warned the the attacks on Wednesday – involving cruise and ballistic missiles – were less intense than those Moscow was equipped to carry out in the future, as it continues to stockpile cruise missiles.
Russia’s plans are known and understood, and Ukraine will counter, Mr Kovalenko insisted.
Earlier this week, air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as Russia launched multiple bomber jets. However, the Kyiv Independent later reported that the flights appeared to have been military exercises.
At the time, Mr Kovalenko warned: “The Russians are ready for massive strikes. There are enough missiles, they are accumulated at strategic aviation airfields and continue to accumulate.
“Aviation is also ready. Rehearsing the tactics of simulated launches by the Russians is also part of maintaining the readiness of aviation for action.”
Future of global security is being decided in Ukraine, warns Kyiv’s foreign minister
13:53
Andy Gregory
The future of transatlantic and global security is now being decided in Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha has warned.
Speaking as he met US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Brussels, Mr Sybiha warned that the war in Ukraine was at a critical moment.
“Ukraine’s defence cannot be put on hold ... We need to speed up all critical decisions,” he said.
Germans don’t need to choose between prosperity and security, insists Scholz
13:34
Andy Gregory
German chancellor Olaf Scholz has urges parties in the Bundestag to pass measures in the time left before a snap election at the end of February – insisting that Germans do not need to make a choice between security and prosperity.
Speaking to parliament, Mr Scholz said there should be agreement on increasing child benefit and tackling fiscal drag. While Europe has a responsibility towards Ukraine, that aid money should not lead to cuts in pensions or care at home, said the chancellor.
“Let us work together for the good of the country until the new election,” he said.
ICYMI: The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary
13:15
Andy Gregory
It was a month into Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Russian forces had withdrawn from around Kyiv and in their wake Bel Trew and her team stumbled on a body by an abandoned Russian camp.
His hands were tied. He had been burned and shot in the back. Soldiers said he was a teenager.
As Bel tried to find out who he was and what had happened, she uncovered a nightmare world: a nation struggling to find thousands of its missing and to identify its dead.
The Body in the Woods by Bel Trew is streaming now on Independent TV and on your smart TV.
Ukraine claims Russia suffered 1,770 casualties in past 24 hours
13:01
Andy Gregory
Ukraine claims to have inflicted another day of near-record casualties upon Vladimir Putin’s forces, after claiming two consecutive record days earlier this week.
Kyiv’s military said Russia had suffered 1,770 losses over the past 24 hours, as well as the destruction of 24 tanks, 49 armoured vehicles and 56 artillery systems.
Russia claims control of settlement in Donetsk, state media reports
12:46
Andy Gregory
Russia’s defence ministry claims its forces have taken control of the settlement of Rivnopil in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti has reported.
It was not immediately possible to verify the claim. Russia frequently asserts control over areas it is yet to seize, however Moscow’s troops have been making steady – albeit grinding – gains in Ukraine’s east in recent months, at a cost of heavy losses.
Trump’s new defence secretary says women should not have combat roles
12:31
Andy Gregory
Finnish investors to buy Helsinki Arena from sanctioned Russians
11:46
Andy Gregory
A group of Finnish investors have agreed to buy Finland’s flagship sports and events venue from its sanctions-hit Russian owners – after the city of Helsinki threatened a forced takeover.
The Helsinki Arena has stood idle for two years since sanctions were imposed on Russian investors following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, and Helsinki said last year that Russian-Finnish energy billionaire Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg would face expropriation unless they voluntarily sold the arena.
The capital city initiated a forced takeover on Monday and a deal was announced by the Finnish Foreign Ministry the next day.
The Finnish buyers, grouped under Trevian Asset Management Ltd and led by Heikki Viitikko, a previous ice hockey club owner, said it took them two years to negotiate the deal with lawyers working for the Russian owners.
“Yesterday, we were finally able to sign the deeds,” Trevian chief executive Reima Sodervall told Reuters, adding that the deal would still require an exceptional permit from the European Union to be approved because of the sanctions.
South Korea says North Korean soldiers are fighting Ukraine forces
10:24
Andy Gregory
South Korea's spy agency has warned that North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia are engaging in combat against Ukraine.
Following reports of 10,000 North Korean soldiers arriving in Russia, some are claimed to have been stationed in Kursk, the region attacked by Ukraine in August.
Experts have told The Independent that they believe Vladimir Putin may now be amplifying his efforts to take back territory in Kursk ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Polish security services detain Belarusian suspected of attempted arson
10:01
Andy Gregory
Polish special services have detained a Belarusian citizen suspected of committing acts of sabotage by attempting to set fire to a building in Gdansk.
Poland believes its role as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a key target for spies who are trying to gather information on support for Kyiv’s war effort and engage in acts of sabotage.
In January and May, Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested citizens of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus whom it accused of carrying out arson attacks on buildings in Gdansk, Gdynia and Marki, and preparing similar attacks in Wroclaw.
“This is another arrest in the investigation into the activities of an organised criminal group that, at the request of foreign special services, carried out acts of sabotage, in particular arson,” the agency said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office has charged the detained Belarusian citizen with participation in an organised criminal group and committing acts of sabotage, diversion or terrorist crimes on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. A court ordered his detention for three months.
Blinken meets Nato chief in Ukraine talks ahead of Trump transition
08:33
Andy Gregory
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has met Nato chief Mark Rutte in Brussels as the outgoing Biden administration seeks to cement support for Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return.
Mr Blinken is expected to discuss in Brussels how US allies can take greater leadership over support for Ukraine with Washington’s future role uncertain.
Following his meeting with Mr Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters, Mr Blinken is later expected to meet Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
He will also meet top EU officials and British foreign secretary David Lammy in Brussels on Wednesday.
Ukraine claims to shoot down missiles and 37 Russian drones launched in overnight attacks
08:16
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s air force said it has shot down two cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 Russian drones as regions across Ukraine were targeted in overnight attacks.
A further 47 Russian drones were lost in different regions of Ukraine, while two left Ukraine’s airspace oin the direction of Belarus and Russia, Kyiv said.
Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv were among the regions targeted, Ukraine’s air force said.
Blasts in Kyiv as Russia stages first missile attack since August, Ukraine says
08:01
Andy Gregory
Blasts rang out over Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August and urged residents to take cover.
The scale of the strike and extent of any damage were not immediately clear. The attack involved missiles launched by strategic bombers as well as ballistic missiles, the military said. No casualties or damage have been reported so far.
“Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office wrote on Telegram.
The missile strike came after what officials said was a drone attack. Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor, said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
“Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. Stay in shelters!” the Kyiv city administration wrote on the Telegram messenger.
Nato’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
08:00
Arpan Rai
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with further support “to change the trajectory of the conflict” with Russia.
Speaking ahead of a meeting in Paris with French president Emmanuel Macron, Rutte said: “We must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight.”
He added: “We need to raise the cost for Putin and his enabling authoritarian friends by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict.”
Rutte, who did not provided details about the military equipment and weapons needed for that purpose, said it was “very concerning” that Russia was getting “closer to its allies, China, Iran and North Korea.”
Europe is in immense danger if Trump hands any kind of victory to Putin in Ukraine
07:30
Arpan Rai
According to anonymous sources quoted in The Washington Post, one of Donald Trump’s first actions on being re-elected was to call Vladimir Putin. That call was immediately denied by the Kremlin. As Trump moves back into power, we should get used to confusion and mixed messaging – between him and Vladimir Putin, it’s always going to be hard to tell which, if either, might actually be telling the truth on any given occasion.
In fact, Russia’s response to the return of Trump has been a similarly confusing mixture of shameless flattery and blatant trolling. Putin’s comments on “courageous” Trump were accompanied by Russia’s prime-time television propaganda show welcoming Trump to the White House by airing nude photographs of his wife from a quarter-century ago while its presenters smirked.
That’s led to speculation over how the relationship might have moved on since Trump’s first term in office. But long-term, Russia analysts consider this kind of power play “normal for Putin” – particularly when the target of the information campaign has shown himself as easy to manipulate as Trump.
Full story: EU top diplomat nominee strongly backs Ukraine and underlines China’s links to war
06:30
Tara Cobham
The European Union must back Ukraine against Russia for as a long as it takes and persuade the United States that its strategic interests in China are tied up in the outcome of the war, the woman nominated as the bloc’s top diplomat for the next five years said Tuesday.
Questions have been raised about whether the 27-nation EU’s commitment to Ukraine would remain firm with Russia appearing to have an edge in the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, and following the reelection of Donald Trump, who has vowed to end the conflict as U.S. president.
“Ukraine’s victory is a priority for us all. The situation on the battlefield is very difficult,” Estonia ex-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers during a hearing she must pass to be appointed as foreign policy chief.
Read the full story here:
Isolationism has never worked for America, EU’s Kallas says
06:00
Andy Gregory
Kaja Kallas, the nominee to be the European Union’s next foreign policy chief, has warned against making assumptions about what US president-elect Donald Trump would do in Ukraine and said isolationism had never worked for the United States.
The former Estonian prime minister told her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday that she did not think anybody knew what Mr Trump would do and that the EU would need to hear directly from his team.
“If we look to the history, then isolationism has never worked well for America ... If America is worried about China, they should first be worried about Russia, and we will have these dialogues with the United States,” Ms Kallas said.
Blasts heard in Kyiv
05:35
Arpan Rai
Loud blasts have been heard in Kyiv in the early hours today amid reports on missiles heading for the Ukrainian capital.
“A rocket in Chernihiv region heading for Kyiv region!” the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram. “Rocket to Kyiv, take cover immediately,” it said.
“Russia’s winter campaign against Ukraine’s civil energy infrastructure appears to be starting. Some cruise missiles are headed Kyiv’s way,” said Oliver Carroll, a journalist based in Kyiv.
“Ballistic missiles reported headed to Kyiv right now. The sound of air defence is very audible in centre of capital,” he said in another tweet.
Recao: Trump told Putin not to escalate war in Ukraine days after the election, reports say
05:30
Tara Cobham
President-elect Donald Trump reportedly advised Russian President Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine in a phone call the day after the presidential election, a report says.
As one of his first orders of unofficial business as the president-elect, Trump spoke with Putin on Thursday in a telephone conversation that he took from his home in Florida, sources familiar with the matter told The Washington Post.
He allegedly asked the Russian president not to escalate his war and reminded him of the US’s military presence in Europe.
My colleague Ariana Baio reports:
Blinken heads to Europe for Ukraine talks ahead of Trump return
05:00
Reuters
The outgoing Biden administration’s top diplomat, Antony Blinken, headed to Brussels on Tuesday for talks with European allies concerned that US president-elect Donald Trump could abandon Ukraine in its war with Russia.
In his first overseas trip since Mr Trump’s election victory, the secretary of state will stop in Brussels ahead of scheduled visits to Peru and Brazil later this week, his department said.
In meetings with Nato and European Union officials, Mr Blinken will “discuss support for Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s aggression,” the US State Department said, without elaborating on what message he will deliver.
Recap: Watch as BBC’s Steve Rosenberg confronts Putin on Ukraine war
04:30
Tara Cobham
Ukraine in 'final stages' to set up three new JVs with European armsmakers
04:13
Arpan Rai
Ukraine is close to setting up three new joint ventures with European weapons producers in its effort to boost arms output during the war with Russia, the first deputy prime minister said.
Yulia Svyrydenko, who is also the economy minister, said five joint ventures with Western weapon producers had already been set up, including with German and Lithuanian companies. Several arms producers have opened offices in Ukraine.
“We have three more agreements with European companies in the final stages to set up joint ventures,” Svyrydenko told Reuters in an interview in the government headquarters in central Kyiv.
She gave no details about the planned new ventures or the scale of the investments.
Ukraine’s military industrial production has exploded in size with state and private companies rapidly increasing their production and innovating, as the government has scrambled to respond to Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Full story: Doctor given more than five years in prison for criticising Russia’s war in Ukraine
02:30
Tara Cobham
A doctor accused of criticizing the war in Ukraine in front of a patient was convicted Tuesday of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison, part of an unrelenting Kremlin crackdown on dissent.
Dr Nadezhda Buyanova, 68, was arrested in February after Anastasia Akinshina, the mother of one of her patients, reported the pediatrician to authorities. Akinshina alleged that Buyanova told her and her son that his father, a Russian soldier who was killed in Ukraine, was a legitimate target for Kyiv’s troops and had blamed Moscow for the war.
A video of the outraged Akinshina complaining about Buyanova was widely publicized, and chief of Russia’s Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin personally demanded a criminal case be brought against the doctor.
Read the full story here:
‘Massive’ Russian losses ‘won’t see war grind to a halt any day soon’
02:00
Andy Gregory
Leading Russia expert Mark Galeotti, has warned that Russia’s war in Ukraine is unlikely to grind to a halt any day soon in spite of “massive” losses for Moscow, as Ukraine claimed that Moscow had suffered record losses for two consecutive days.
“I think both sides are able just about to hold on,” he told Sky News. “The Russians can’t really continue quite at this rate indefinitely. But on the other hand, they have the economy for at least another year or two at something like this kind of tempo.
“So it’s not as if this is a war which is going to grind to a halt any day soon, unfortunately.”
Full story: NATO’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine and warns of Russian alliances
01:30
Tara Cobham
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with further support “to change the trajectory of the conflict” with Russia.
Speaking ahead of a meeting Tuesday in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron, Rutte said: “We must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight.”
He added: “We need to raise the cost for Putin and his enabling authoritarian friends by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict.”
Read the full story here:
Britain shadows Russian warship as it transits through Channel
01:00
Andy Gregory
Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said it shadowed a Russian warship as it passed through the English Channel on Sunday.
Russian state media reported that the Admiral Golovko frigate carried out military drills in the Channel, however it is understood that UK observers witnessed no evidence of this.
An MOD spokesperson said: “The Russian frigate Admiral Golovko was shadowed by a number of maritime and air assets, including HMS Iron Duke, as it transited the English Channel on Sunday.
“The Royal Navy monitors UK territorial waters to protect the UK, including to ensure compliance with maritime law and deter malign activity.
“The passage was in line with international law and norms.”
China needs to feel ‘higher cost’ for its Russia support, Kallas says
Tuesday 12 November 2024 23:59
Andy Gregory
The nominee to be the European Union’s next top diplomat has warned that China should feel a “higher cost” for lending support to Russia that helps Moscow pursue the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas said: “Without China’s support to Russia, Russia would not be able to continue its war with the same force. China needs to also feel a higher cost.”
Rutte calls for continued support for Ukraine
Tuesday 12 November 2024 23:30
Tara Cobham
Kyiv is now battling to put itself in the strongest position for any negotiations, including by securing more arms and holding out on the battlefield, with a senior Ukrainian official telling Reuters the next four to five months will be pivotal.
"We must recommit to stay the course of the war and we must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.
"We need to raise the cost for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his enabling authoritarian threats by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict."
Russia’s Medvedev says Europe is trying to escalate Ukraine conflict after Trump win
Tuesday 12 November 2024 23:00
Andy Gregory
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused European leaders of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict following the re-election of former US president Donald Trump.
In his latest post on Telegram, Mr Medvedev – once viewed as a moderate – claimed that European politicians were aiming to “push the conflict with Russia into an irreversible phase” while they could and warned against allowing Kyiv to use Western long-range missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.
Mr Medvedev dismissed what he called “ultimatums” issued by German opposition leader and possible next chancellor Friedrich Merz about Ukraine’s use of such weapons as “electioneering in nature”.
With Sir Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron having also reaffirmed their support for Kyiv during talks in Paris on Monday, Mr Medvedev added: “Generally speaking, it is surprising to what extent the current generation of European politicians wants to drag the war into their territory.”
Recap: Watch as Zelensky reveals Ukraine’s ‘good conversations’ with Trump in video address
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:30
Tara Cobham
Ukraine military chief details Kursk battle
Tuesday 12 November 2024 22:00
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he travelled to the front in Russia’s Kursk region where a surprise Ukrainian incursion carved out a chunk of land in August that president Volodymyr Zelensky said could be used as a bargaining chip.
“(Russian forces) are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” he said on Telegram.
Ukraine says Russia has deployed 11,000 North Korean troops to the Kursk region and that they have already been involved in clashes, urging the West to respond robustly.
Moscow neither denies nor confirms their presence.
Syrskyi said the Kursk operation had drawn in crack Russian fighters and relieved pressure that would have been brought to bear on several important outposts in the east where Russia has been making gains at its fastest clip since 2022.
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhove or Toretsk directions, which would have significantly worsened the situation at the front,” he said.
John Healey defiant over US support for Ukraine after Trump re-election
Tuesday 12 November 2024 21:30
Tara Cobham
The defence secretary has struck a defiant tone on US support for Ukraine amid fears Donald Trump will force Volodymyr Zelensky to do a deal with Russia.
John Healey said he expects the Americans to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes to prevail over (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion”.
He said that the former president, who will return to the White House in January after a sweeping election win, “recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do”. And Mr Healey stressed that America’s determination to support Ukraine in its campaign against Russia is “just as strong” as before voters in the US went to the polls.
Political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports: