Donald Trump has said he sympathises with Vladimir Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, incorrectly accusing Joe Biden of changing US policy on the issue.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Nato’s official position since 2008 has been that Ukraine should work towards membership, and that remains the case. No new invitation to join Nato has been offered, despite calls from Kyiv for the alliance to do so.
It comes as a major fire has erupted in an oil facility in the Russian city of Engels after a long range Ukrainian drone attack.
The Ukrainian military, who confirmed Kyiv’s involvement in the attack, said the facility provides fuel for Russian bomber planes responsible for launching missile attacks against Ukraine.
Key points
- Major fires in Russian oil facility after Kyiv drone attack
- Ukraine hails ‘superpower’ long range drones after Russian oil base hit
- Trump sympathises with Russia’s opposition to Ukraine’s Nato bid
- Biden set to announce ‘substantial’ final weapons package for Ukraine
- Why is Ukraine fighting to keep a piece of Kursk?
Russian drones cross into allied Belarusian airspace
12:04
Tom Watling
More than a dozen Russian drones launched at Ukraine overnight crossed into Belarusian airspace, a report has found.
Dozens of Russian drones appear to have misfired and crossed into Belarus, an ally of Moscow, over the past three years.
At least 17 Russian Shahed drones flew into Belarus from Ukraine and Russia on the night of January 8.
— Belarusian Hajun project (@Hajun_BY) January 8, 2025
The drones flew from Bryansk region (Russia), flying towards the Palesski Reserve, Kamaryn, Loyeu, Hdzien, Naroulia, Brahin, Asarevichy, and passing through the “Belarusian… pic.twitter.com/RuulL0Chip
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
11:31
Tom Watling
Finland says oil tanker linked to subsea cable damage has serious deficiencies
11:00
Tom Watling
Finland’s public transport agency said on Wednesday that an oil tanker suspected of damaging undersea cables in the Baltic Sea has been found to have serious deficiencies and will not be allowed to operate until repairs have been made.
Baltic Sea nations are on high alert following a string of power cable, telecom link and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. The Nato military alliance has said it will boost its presence in the region.
Finnish police seized the Eagle S tanker carrying Russian oil on 26 December and said they suspected that the vessel had damaged the Finnish-Estonian Estlink 2 power line and four telecoms cables by dragging its anchor across the seabed.
While the police investigation is ongoing, Finnish authorities also checked the vessel’s condition in a port state inspection that was concluded on Wednesday.
“Correcting the deficiencies will require repair assistance from outside the vessel and will take time,” director of Maritime Affairs Sanna Sonninen at Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom said in a statement.
Ukraine is right to stop the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
10:28
Tom Watling
Mapped: Ukraine-Russia frontline
10:00
Tom Watling
Below, you can see the latest updated maps of the front line in Ukraine and the Russian region of Kursk.
We have also highlighted the most significant flashpoints across the roughly 640-mile front line, including Kurakhove, which the Russians claimed to have captured at the start of this week.
Russian governor visits site of Ukrainian drone strike
09:38
Tom Watling
The governor of the Russian Saratov region has visited a damaged oil facility after a Ukrainian drone strike in the area caused a huge fire.
Ukraine military confirms responsibility over Engels strike
09:15
Tom Watling
The Ukrainian military has confirmed responsibility for a drone strike against a Russian oil base in the city of Engels.
They said they hit the Russian oil base, known as Kristall, to “reduce [Russia’s] ability to strike peaceful Ukrainian cities and civilian objects”, as well as to “create serious logistical problems for Russian occupiers’ strategic aviation”.
They claimed the oil base, located near a major Russian military airbase, was fueling bomber planes that were later being used to fire missiles at Ukraine.
It is not usual practice for the Ukrainians to officially state responsibility for attacks deep inside of Russia.
You can read their full statement below.
Ukraine military says it shot down 41 Russian drones launched overnight
09:08
Tom Watling
The Ukrainian military said on Wednesday that Russia launched a total of 64 drones at the country overnight.
Of those drones, Ukraine‘s air force shot down 41, while 22 “imitator drones” did not reach their targets, the air force added.
Drone debris fell on a private residence in the Kyiv region, damaging its facade and windows without causing any casualties, according to the local authorities.
Ukraine confirms drone strike deep inside Russia
08:54
Tom Watling
Engels on fire, your defense is terrified
— Alexander Kamyshin (@AKamyshin) January 8, 2025
Yet another russian oil depot, serving military airfield, was hit by long range capabilities #MadeInUkraine.
Our #DefenseTech is our superpower. pic.twitter.com/cbO94Rqbee
Footage shows aftermath of fire in Russian region
08:45
Tom Watling
Footage published this morning has shown the aftermath of what local Russian officials are claiming is a Ukrainian drone attack on an oil facility in the city of Engels.
Russian media outlets have claimed the oil facility was used to fuel Russian bomber planes. The city is host to a major military base.
As of this morning, still a lot of smoke coming from the place of arrival in Engels, Saratov region in Russia. https://t.co/uQqx6mr1QP pic.twitter.com/GseHzLr9DA
— NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) January 8, 2025
Ukraine stages drone attack on Russia's Saratov region, causing big fire
08:30
Tom Watling
Ukrainian drones struck deep inside Russia overnight and attacked the Saratov region, causing a major fire in the city of Engels, the local governor said on Wednesday.
The region hosts a major air base for strategic bomber planes that form part of Russia’s nuclear forces. Ukraine has attacked the base with drones before, but there was no word on whether it had been targeted on this occasion.
Russian news reports said the fire was at an oil facility. Unverified videos and photos published on social media showed a large fire burning with orange flames, sending thick clouds of smoke into the night sky.
Regional governor Roman Busargin said the cities of Saratov and Engels, on opposite sides of the Volga river, had been subject to a “mass drone attack” and there was a fire at an industrial site, but that there were no known casualties.
“There are sufficient forces and resources to localise the fire,” he posted on Telegram.
Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement that 11 Ukrainian drones had been destroyed overnight over the Saratov region, and 21 over other parts of Russia and the Azov Sea. It did not mention any damage.
The Engels air base is located about 450 miles southeast of Moscow and hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border. In December 2022, three Russian air force personnel were killed when a drone was shot down there.
Independent news outlet Astra said the oil depot where the fire was burning provided fuel for the air base. The Independent was not immediately able to confirm that.
Oil depot in Russia's Saratov Oblast on fire following drone attack
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) January 8, 2025
TG/exilenova_plus, Tsaplienko pic.twitter.com/PGDmWrLw0W
Ukraine Kursk offensive: What Kyiv stands to gain and lose in surprise counterattack on Russian soil
08:00
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has launched a fresh counterattack in the Russian border region of Kursk as it looks to gain the most territory it can ahead of possible peace negotiations – with US president-elect Donald Trump saying he wants to end the war as soon as possible.
The attack started over the weekend, with unverified footage circulated by Russian military bloggers showing a column of Ukrainian tanks and armoured personnel carriers heading towards the village of Berdin, a small area outside of what Ukraine currently controls in Kursk.
Kyiv’s military has not officially acknowledged a fresh offensive, months after an initial incursion that caught Russia off guard and allowed Ukraine to capture a swathe of Russian territory in the region. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said: “Kursk region, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves.”
Ukrainian refugee family learns that son is alive after almost three years of captivity in Russia
07:00
Arpan Rai
A Ukrainian refugee family have received the heartwarming news that their son is alive – nearly three years after he was captured by Russian forces while battling the invading forces in his homeland.
Valeriia and Roman Biletskiy fled to Washington state at the start of the brutal war in February 2022 along with seven of their children. Their other child, Roman Jr., instead remained, and enlisted to defend Ukraine. However, three months later, he was captured by Russian forces and later, presumed dead.
But on Monday 30 December, the couple saw a picture shared by Ukraine’s media that showed their son Roman Biletskiy Jr., 25, alive, and sitting at the back of a bus with a group of men who had just been freed from a Russian prison.
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
06:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine still fighting for eastern town despite Russian claims of a takeover
05:34
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has denied Russian claims that they have captured a key town in the eastern Donetsk region, but admitted that the situation looks desperate.
Russia claimed control of the eastern town of Kurakhove on Monday, after months of heavy fighting. The town has been decimated by continuous Russian shelling.
A Ukrainian military spokesperson, however, said on Monday that fighting is ongoing in the western outskirts of the town.
“Currently, the situation in Kurakhove is indeed quite difficult, because a significant part of the city has been destroyed,” spokesperson Viktor Tregubov said.
Ukraine says Trump’s envoy’s visit cancelled but will be rescheduled
05:19
Arpan Rai
An upcoming trip to Kyiv by US president-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia has been canceled but will be rescheduled, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said yesterday.
The planned meetings between Keith Kellogg, a highly decorated retired three-star general who has long been Mr Trump’s top adviser on defence issues, and Ukrainian officials are “extremely important,” Mr Sybiha told reporters in the Ukrainian capital.
“I am confident that this meeting will take place in its own time,” he said during a news conference with his visiting Icelandic counterpart. “We are in contact to clearly define the timeline for its organisation and to ensure that the meeting is as meaningful as possible.”
Mr Trump’s arrival in the White House on 20 January injects another measure of uncertainty into how the almost three-year-old war might unfold and whether it can end in the foreseeable future.
Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kursk from multiple directions
05:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine appears to confirm new offensive in Kursk
04:59
Arpan Rai
Ukraine confirmed its forces were “commencing new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region, before quickly deleting the phrase from an official update.
The first substantive remarks came more than two days after the first Russian reports of a renewed Ukrainian thrust in the area. The Russian defence ministry said on Sunday that Kyiv had launched a new counter-attack.
Ukraine’s general staff yesterday said Kyiv’s military had hit a Russian command post near Kursk settlement of Belaya.
The strike and other recent operations in the region were coordinated with Ukrainian ground forces who “are currently commencing new offensive operations” against Russian troops, it said.
The military later edited out any mention of a new attack in the Telegram statement, replacing the phrase with the much vaguer “combat operations”. It provided no explanation.
Ukraine first seized part of the Kursk region in a surprise incursion last August, and it has held territory there for five months despite losing some ground.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
04:00
Tom Watling
Biden set to announce ‘substantial’ final weapons package for Ukraine
03:15
Arpan Rai
The Biden administration is set to announce a massive, final weapons aid package for Ukraine as part of defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Germany tomorrow to meet with representatives of about 50 partner nations who have come to Ukraine’s defence since Russia invaded nearly three years ago, two senior defence officials said.
The officials did not provide an exact dollar amount but said the package was expected to be “substantial,” although it would not include all of the roughly $4bn left in the congressionally authorised funding for Ukraine.
There likely would be “more than a couple of billion dollars” remaining for the incoming Trump defence team to provide to Ukraine if it chooses to do so, the officials said yesterday in briefing reporters traveling with Mr Austin.
Mr Biden’s defence officials working on Ukraine have been in contact with Trump’s transition team to discuss “all the issues that we believe are important,” one of the officials said.
Ukraine is in the midst of launching a second offensive in Russia’s Kursk region and is facing a barrage of long-range missiles and ongoing advances from Russia as both sides seek to put themselves in the strongest negotiating position possible before president-elect Donald Trump takes office on 20 January.
Trump sympathises with Russia’s opposition to Ukraine’s Nato bid
03:00
Arpan Rai
President-elect Donald Trump said he sympathised with the Russian position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, and he lamented that he will not meet Russian president Vladimir Putin before his inauguration.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia - for many, many years, long before Putin - said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida.
He also blamed outgoing Democratic president Joe Biden for allegedly changing the US position on Nato membership for Ukraine.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation have officially expressed support for Ukraine‘s eventual membership since the Bucharest Summit of 2008, and the Biden administration continues to support Ukraine‘s eventual Nato accession, though Ukraine has never been extended an invitation.
Bulgarians celebrate the feast of Epiphany with a ritual plunge into icy rivers
03:00
Tom Watling
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
02:00
Tom Watling
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what can he show for it?
01:00
Tom Watling
Nato cannot defend Europe from Russia without the US, warn leaders
00:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine is right to stop the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Tuesday 7 January 2025 23:00
Tom Watling
What happens now Ukraine has ended Russian gas to Europe?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 22:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine will ask allies to boost its air defenses at a meeting in Germany, Zelenskyy says
Tuesday 7 January 2025 21:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 20:00
Tom Watling
Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kursk from multiple directions
Tuesday 7 January 2025 19:00
Tom Watling
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 17:30
Tom Watling
If the West gives an inch on Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
Tuesday 7 January 2025 16:30
Tom Watling
Russia claims to capture village in eastern Ukraine after advances
Tuesday 7 January 2025 15:45
Tom Watling
Ukrainian soldiers celebrate Epiphany - picture
Tuesday 7 January 2025 15:09
Tom Watling
Slovak PM Fico to discuss gas transit with Commission on 9 January
Tuesday 7 January 2025 14:41
Tom Watling
Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico will discuss the end of Russian gas transit through Ukraine with representatives of the European Commission on 9 January in Brussels, Slovakia’s government office said on Tuesday.
Supplies through Ukraine stopped on 1 January after a transit agreement between Ukraine and Russia expired, but Fico had been keen to continue receiving Russian gas through that route and threatened to retaliate against Ukraine for what he said were large economic losses for Slovakia.
Ukraine's military reports 'new offensive operations' in Russia's Kursk region
Tuesday 7 January 2025 14:17
Tom Watling
The Ukrainian military said on Tuesday its forces were commencing new offensive operations in Russia’s western Kursk region.
The general staff also said on Telegram that Ukrainian troops had hit a Russian command post in the region on Tuesday.
“The strike and a series of recent operations... were coordinated with the Ukrainian Ground Forces who are currently commencing new offensive operations,” it said.
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what can he show for it?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 14:09
Chris Stevenson
Ukraine is right to stop the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Tuesday 7 January 2025 13:54
Chris Stevenson
Tuesday 7 January 2025 13:39
Chris Stevenson
Kyiv's army has said it is clinging on to part of Kurakhove, a strategic town in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk that Russia claims to have captured.
The Ukrainian army said Tuesday fighting was still ongoing on the fringes of the town and accused Russia of using scorched-earth tactics to "completely destroy" it.
"Ukrainian troops are holding on in the western part of the town, on the western outskirts of the town," Victor Tregubov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia army unit, which is fighting in the area, said in an interview on national TV.
A "large part of the town has been destroyed", he said, adding that Russians were grinding through the area, clearing the town building by building.
"They are actually trying to dismantle the town brick by brick," Mr Tregubov said.
Mapped: Russian advances in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region
Tuesday 7 January 2025 13:08
Tom Watling
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 12:39
Tom Watling
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 12:05
Tom Watling
Mapped: Ukraine launches attack in Kursk
Tuesday 7 January 2025 11:39
Tom Watling
Ukrainian pilot destroys six miles in one sortie
Tuesday 7 January 2025 11:09
Tom Watling
A Ukrainian pilot flying a Western F-16 fighter jet has shot down six Russian missiles in one sortie, the Ukrainian defence ministry has announced.
The pilot shot down the cruise missiles during a Russian aerial attack involving more than 200 missiles and drones on 13 December last year.
F-16—Ukrainian pilots set records.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) January 7, 2025
During a massive missile attack on December 13, 2024, an F-16 fighter jet destroyed six cruise missiles in a single combat sortie. This marked the first time in the history of Fighting Falcon operations.
: UA Air Force pic.twitter.com/GD7iWci66Y
Zelensky praises emergency services
Tuesday 7 January 2025 10:45
Tom Watling
In various regions of our country – in the rear, on the frontlines, and in border areas of Ukraine – there are people who, 24/7, after everything Russia brings with its terror, do not hesitate to arrive at the scene and do everything possible to help as quickly as they can.… pic.twitter.com/UaaT6LGuB1
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 7, 2025
Nearly half of Russian attacks in past day staged in Kursk
Tuesday 7 January 2025 10:19
Tom Watling
Nearly half of all of Russia’s attacks in the past day were launched in its own region of Kursk as it looks to blunt a fresh Ukrainian counteroffensive in the area, Kyiv’s military has claimed.
In its latest update, the Ukrainian general staff said Russia launched 94 assaults in Kursk. In total, they launched 218 attacks across the entire, roughly 640-mile frontline.
They added that Russia launched 67 attacks at the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the Donetsk region, where Moscow has been advancing slowly over the past year.
In total, that means that 74 per cent of all Russian attacks yesterday were launched in Kursk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
In pictures: On the frontline in Kharkiv
Tuesday 7 January 2025 09:52
Tom Watling
Russia says its troops improve positions, repel Ukrainian attacks
Tuesday 7 January 2025 09:38
Tom Watling
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed its central, western and eastern troop groupings had repelled Ukrainian counter-attacks in the last 24 hours and improved their positions.
Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia.
However, open-source war trackers suggest that Ukraine have made confirmed gains in Kursk.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 09:08
Tom Watling
Trump's Ukraine envoy postpones Kyiv trip until after inauguration
Tuesday 7 January 2025 08:42
Tom Watling
US president-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy has postponed a fact-finding trip to Kyiv and other European capitals until after Trump's inauguration on 20 January, according to four sources with knowledge of the trip's planning.
Retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, who is set to serve as Mr Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, had initially planned a mission to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders in early January, Reuters reported last month. His team was also setting up meetings with officials in other European capitals, including Rome and Paris.
Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kursk from multiple directions
Tuesday 7 January 2025 08:29
Tom Watling
Ukraine downs 28 Russian drones overnight, military says
Tuesday 7 January 2025 07:39
Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian military shot down 28 Russian drones overnight, it said this morning.
Of the 38 drones launched, 10 did not reach their targets, the air force said.
Macron urges realism from Ukraine over territory
Tuesday 7 January 2025 06:50
Arpan Rai
French president Emmanuel Macron has stressed the need for “realistic discussions on territorial questions” between Ukraine and invading power Russia saying that “such negotiations can only be conducted by Ukrainians themselves”.
Speaking on Monday in a new year’s address from the Elysee Palace, Macron called on the US to “help change the nature of the situation and convince Russia to come to the negotiating table”.
“The Europeans will have to construct security guarantees for Ukraine, which will be primarily their responsibility,” he said. Mr Macron countered Trump’s campaign pledge to reach a quick peace settlement, warning: “There is no quick and easy solution in Ukraine.
“The new American president himself knows the United States has no chance of winning anything if Ukraine loses,” he said. “The credibility of the West will be shattered if we compromise because of fatigue.”
Kyiv’s allies back new Kursk offensive: ‘Legitimate targets'
Tuesday 7 January 2025 06:23
Arpan Rai
The United States, Britain and the European Union have reaffirmed their support for Kyiv in the wake of its new offensive inside Russia’s Kursk.
“Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and under international law, this right extends beyond its borders,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement to Reuters.
“Moscow’s unlawful war against Ukraine has included numerous Russian attacks originating from the Kursk region. So Russian military forces there are legitimate targets under international law.”
A US state department spokesperson said: “We are committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield, including by surging security assistance and utilising all available resources authorised by the Congress.”
Britain said it would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
Tuesday 7 January 2025 06:04
Tom Watling
West trying to smother Russia, Russian orthodox patriarch says
Tuesday 7 January 2025 06:01
Arpan Rai
The patriarch of Russia’s orthodox church, celebrating Christmas alongside Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, claimed that the Western world despised Russia and its “alternative path of civilised development”.
Orthodox Christians in Russia celebrate Christmas today, according to the Julian calendar.
Patriarch Kirill, an enthusiastic backer of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, blessed icons and crosses that were to be engraved with the president’s initials and sent to servicemen in the 34-month-old war in Ukraine, Russian news agencies quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.
“They hate us because we are offering a different, alternative path of civilised development,” Kirill said at Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which was rebuilt on the site of a swimming pool in the 1990s after Soviet dictator Jos