US president-elect Donald Trump has called for an immediate ceasefire and negotiations between Ukraine and Russia to end "the madness".
He made the comments just hours after meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris for their first face-to-face talks since he won last month's US election.
"Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social, adding that Kyiv had lost some 400,000 soldiers. "There should be an immediate ceasefire and negotiations should begin."
“I know Vladimir [Putin] well. This is his time to act. China can help. The World is waiting!” Trump added.
Zelensky reacted to Trump's message on Sunday saying peace was not just a piece of paper, but needed guarantees.
"When we talk about effective peace with Russia, we must first and foremost talk about effective guarantees for peace. Ukrainians want peace more than anyone else," he said on X.
It appeared Trump's figure of 400,000 Ukrainian soldiers lost in the war meant both killed and wounded. Zelensky said 43,000 soldiers had been killed in the war and that there had been 370,000 wounded soldiers.
Key Points
- US announces $1bn weapons package for Ukraine
- Ukraine unveils new ‘rocket-drone’ to boost long-range strikes
- Trump talks ending Ukraine war with Zelensky in ‘good and productive’ meeting
Assad’s fall underscores Russian weakness, says Ukraine
02:59
Arpan Rai
The fall of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad underscores Russia’s weakness and inability to fight on two fronts, Ukraine‘s foreign ministry said.
Russia had bolstered Mr Assad’s government by staging air strikes against opposition targets beginning in 2015 and had operated out of two bases on Syrian territory.
But Moscow’s 33-month-old invasion of Ukraine has sapped considerable military resources.
“Events in Syria demonstrate the weakness of Putin’s regime, which is incapable of fighting on two fronts and abandons its closest allies for the sake of continued aggression against Ukraine,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Russia said earlier that Mr al-Assad had left office and departed his country after giving orders for a peaceful transfer of power, but did not say where he was now or whether the Russian military planned to stay in Syria.
The HUR intelligence directorate, posting on the Telegram app, said Russian forces in Syria “had withdrawn its warships from the naval base in Tartous which Assad had allowed Moscow to use as payment for his security”.
Trump calls for immediate ceasefire in Ukraine
02:52
Arpan Rai
Donald Trump has pushed Russian leader Vladimir Putin to act to reach an immediate ceasefire with Ukraine, describing it as part of his active efforts as president-elect to end the war despite being weeks from taking office.
“Zelensky and Ukraine would like to make a deal and stop the madness,” Mr Trump wrote on social media, referring to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
In a television interview that aired yesterday, Mr Trump also said he would be open to reducing military aid to Ukraine and pulling the United States out of Nato. Those are two threats that have alarmed Ukraine, Nato allies and many in the US national security community.
Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” if he were actively working to end the nearly 3-year-old Ukraine war, Mr Trump said, “I am.”
He refused to say if he had spoken to MR Putin since winning election in November. “I don’t want to say anything about that, because I don’t want to do anything that could impede the negotiation,” the incoming US president said.
ICYMI: Canada bans more types of firearms and proposes donating guns to Ukraine
02:00
Jabed Ahmed
Canada has said it is outlawing another 324 firearm varieties — guns the public safety minister said belong on the battlefield, not in the hands of hunters or sport shooters.
Ottawa also said it is working with the government of Ukraine to see how the guns can be donated to support the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move follows the May 2020 ban of 1,500 makes and models of firearms, a number that grew to more than 2,000 by November of this year as new variants were identified.
US announces $1bn weapons package for Ukraine
Sunday 8 December 2024 23:58
Jabed Ahmed
The US will provide $988m more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine, defence secretary Lloyd Austin said.
“The baton will soon be passed,” Austin said. “Others will decide the course ahead. And I hope that they will build on the strength that we have forged over the past four years.”
The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
This package is in addition to the $725m military assistance that the US announced on Monday.
Top Estonian tech firm to test AI-guided anti-drone missiles in Ukraine
Sunday 8 December 2024 23:02
Jabed Ahmed
A leading Estonian defence firm has said it will start testing anti-drone missiles in Ukraine in 2025.
The tests intend to check the system’s effectiveness in real combat conditions, Frankenburg Technologies said.
Recognised as Europe’s top technology startup, Frankenburg Technologies has developed missiles to intercept Iranian Shahed dronesat altitudes of two kilometres using artificial intelligence for autonomous targeting.
“The technology is promising, and we will start testing it in Ukraine in the new year,” the company’s CEO Kusti Salm told Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR.
Production will start increase from a few dozen units per week to hundreds by the third quarter of 2025.
Russia puts out feelers to Trump despite ‘red lines’
Sunday 8 December 2024 22:03
Jabed Ahmed
Russia is open to talks with US President-elect Donald Trump but will use “any means” to prevent Washington and its allies from defeating it in Ukraine, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US journalist Tucker Carlson.
In an 80-minute interview released late on Thursday, Mr Lavrov spoke positively of Mr Trump, who returns to the White House next month, despite urging the West to take Russia’s “red lines” seriously.
Mr Lavrov said Mr Trump was “a very strong person, a person who wants results” and said he saw no reason why the two countries could not “cooperate for the sake of the universe”.
Mr Lavrov’s comments were part of a pattern of Russian signals designed to deter Washington from further escalation in support of Ukraine while displaying openness to negotiations.
Rachel Reeves to meet with EU counterparts over Ukraine support
Sunday 8 December 2024 21:01
Jabed Ahmed
ICYMI: Putin signs off record Russian defence spending
Sunday 8 December 2024 20:01
Jabed Ahmed
Russian president Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine.
Around 32.5 per cent of the budget posted on a government website earlier this month has been allocated for national defence, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over £107 bn), up from a reported 28.3 per cent this year.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council, approved the plans.
Putin says new Oreshnik hypersonic missile could be deployed in Belarus
Sunday 8 December 2024 19:01
Jabed Ahmed
President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia could deploy its new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile on the territory of its ally Belarus in the second half of next year.
Putin was responding to a request from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a summit in Minsk, where the two leaders signed a mutual defence pact.
“... since we have today signed an agreement on security guarantees using all available forces and means, I consider the deployment of such systems as the Oreshnik on the territory of the Republic of Belarus to be feasible,” Putin said.
“I think this will become possible in the second half of next year, as serial production of these systems in Russia increases and as these missile systems enter service with the Russian strategic forces,” he added in televised comments.
Russia first fired the Oreshnik at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 21 November, in what Putin cast as a response to Ukraine’s first use of US ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.
Kremlin gives verdict on Trump’s call for Ukraine peace talks
Sunday 8 December 2024 18:01
Jabed Ahmed
The Kremlin has said Russia was open to talks on Ukraine after US President-elect Donald Trump called for “an immediate ceasefire and negotiations”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said peace negotiations had to be based on agreements reached in Istanbul in 2022 and on the current battlefield realities.
Peskov noted that Ukraine has banned contact with the Russian leadership through a special decree which he said would have to be revoked if talks were to proceed.
“Our position on Ukraine is well known; the conditions for an immediate stop of hostilities were set out by President Putin in his speech to the Russian Foreign Ministry in June of this year. It is important to recall that it was Ukraine that refused and continues to refuse negotiations,” Peskov said.
What is Russia's 'Oreshnik' missile?
Sunday 8 December 2024 17:01
Jabed Ahmed
Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv’s use of US and British missiles against Russia.
On 21 November, he said Russia had launched an “Oreshnik”, one of its newest intermediate-range missiles, at a defence enterprise in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Putin said it travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and could not be intercepted. It has a range of around 3,100 miles allowing Russia to strike most of Europe, according to experts.
It appears to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.
Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service.
Nato chief warns Trump not to push Ukraine deal that would see Putin ‘high-fiving’ Iran
Sunday 8 December 2024 16:02
Jabed Ahmed
Full report: Trump talks ending Ukraine war with Zelensky in ‘good and productive’ meeting
Sunday 8 December 2024 15:01
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian navy claims Russian-occupied gas platforms in Crimea hit by drones
Sunday 8 December 2024 14:01
Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian naval drones have struck and destroyed surveillance systems on Russian-controlled gas platforms in Crimea, vice-admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa said.
“The hunt for the enemy in the Black Sea continues. The occupiers will not stay on our territory — we will get them everywhere,” Neizhpapa said on Saturday in a post on Facebook.
“Naval (drones) delivered precise strikes on Russian targets.”
Recent weeks have seen intensified attacks on Russian assets in Crimea. Strikes have targeted radar stations, and explosions were also reported in Sevastopol and near the Belbek airbase in November.
Russian gains in eastern Ukraine accelerate through the Autumn
Sunday 8 December 2024 13:01
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces have increased the pace at which they are taking territory in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv’s troops struggle to hold back a much larger and more heavily armed military.
Along the 1,000 km frontline, Moscow has focused its attacks on towns and villages around the transport hub of Pokrovsk, the seizure of which could severely disrupt Ukraine’s ability to supply its forces.
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst from the Finland-based Black Bird Group, which studies footage and satellite images from the frontline, told Reuters that Russian gains in Ukraine had accelerated in recent months.
He estimated the following monthly territorial gains by Russia:
- August - 403 sq km
- September - 422 sq km
- October - 491 sq km
- 1-18 November - 363 sq km
In Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in August, Kyiv now holds approximately 500 sq km of territory, Paroinen estimated, down from a maximum of around 1,200 sq km.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Sunday 8 December 2024 12:01
Jabed Ahmed
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
What is ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
Sunday 8 December 2024 11:01
Jabed Ahmed
There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.
Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had “proven themselves.”
Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.
Russia says its forces have taken Blahodatne in eastern Ukraine
Sunday 8 December 2024 10:00
Shahana Yasmin
Russian troops have taken control of the settlement of Blahodatne in eastern Ukraine, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry.
The report could not be independently verified.
Ukraine confirms second Danish delivery of F-16s
Sunday 8 December 2024 09:30
Shahana Yasmin
Denmark has delivered a second batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday.
In a message on Telegram, Zelenskyy praised Denmark and lamented a lack of dedication from other allies.
“The first batch of planes provided by the Danes are already shooting down Russian missiles: rescuing our people and our infrastructure. Now our air shield is reinforced even further,” he said. “If all partners were so determined, we would have been able to make Russian terror impossible.”
ICYMI: Canada bans more types of firearms and proposes donating guns to Ukraine
Sunday 8 December 2024 09:00
Shahana Yasmin
Canada said Thursday it is outlawing another 324 firearm varieties — guns the public safety minister said belong on the battlefield, not in the hands of hunters or sport shooters.
Ottawa also said it is working with the government of Ukraine to see how the guns can be donated to support the fight against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The move follows the May 2020 ban of 1,500 makes and models of firearms, a number that grew to more than 2,000 by November of this year as new variants were identified.
Read the report here.
Putin’s cousin accidentally reveals secret figure relating to Russian losses
Sunday 8 December 2024 08:30
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine air force says it destroyed 28 Russian drones overnight
Sunday 8 December 2024 08:10
Shahana Yasmin
The Ukrainian air force said on Sunday its air defence units shot down 28 of 74 drones launched by Russia overnight targeting Ukraine.
The air force said on Telegram that 46 of the Russian drones were “lost”, likely neutralised by electronic warfare.
Ukraine unveils new ‘rocket-drone’ to boost long-range strikes
Sunday 8 December 2024 07:50
Shahana Yasmin
Ukraine showed off a new locally-produced “rocket-drone” on Friday which it said could fly 700 km - more than twice the longest range attributed to missiles supplied by Western allies.
The unmanned craft, called “Peklo” - which means hell in Ukrainian - is the second “rocket drone” unveiled by Kyiv as it tries to increase its ability to strike deep into Russia.
Ukraine‘s arms production minister told Reuters in November the “rocket-drone” could be viewed as something akin to a cruise missile, which flies low on a guided path to its target, usually below the speed of sound.
Putin says new Oreshnik hypersonic missile could be deployed in Belarus
Sunday 8 December 2024 07:30
Shahana Yasmin
President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia could deploy its new Oreshnik intermediate-range hypersonic missile on the territory of its ally Belarus in the second half of next year.
Putin was responding to a request from Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko at a summit in Minsk, where the two leaders signed a mutual defence pact.
“... since we have today signed an agreement on security guarantees using all available forces and means, I consider the deployment of such systems as the Oreshnik on the territory of the Republic of Belarus to be feasible,” Putin said.
“I think this will become possible in the second half of next year, as serial production of these systems in Russia increases and as these missile systems enter service with the Russian strategic forces,” he added in televised comments.
Russia first fired the Oreshnik at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 21 November, in what Putin cast as a response to Ukraine’s first use of US ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.
What is Russia's 'Oreshnik' missile?
Sunday 8 December 2024 06:50
Shahana Yasmin
Vladimir Putin said Russia had struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile in response to Kyiv’s use of US and British missiles against Russia.
On 21 November, he said Russia had launched an “Oreshnik”, one of its newest intermediate-range missiles, at a defence enterprise in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.
Putin said it travelled at 10 times the speed of sound and could not be intercepted. It has a range of around 3,100 miles allowing Russia to strike most of Europe, according to experts.
It appears to have multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles: separate warheads able to hit different targets.
Anatoly Matviychuk, a Russian military expert, said it could carry six to eight conventional or nuclear warheads, and was probably already in service.
Putin signs agreement offering Russia's security guarantees to ally Belarus
Sunday 8 December 2024 06:30
Shahana Yasmin
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus on Friday to sign a treaty offering security guarantees for Moscow’s closest ally, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel an aggression.
Nato chief warns Trump not to push Ukraine deal that would see Putin ‘high-fiving’ Iran
Sunday 8 December 2024 06:10
Shahana Yasmin
The new secretary-general of Nato has warned Donald Trump not to push Ukraine to sign a peace deal that would see the leaders of Russia and Iran “high-fiving”.
Mark Rutte also warned such an agreement would create a “dire security threat not only to Europe but also to the US.”
Foreign minister says in interview that Russia will use 'all means' to defend its interests
Sunday 8 December 2024 05:50
Shahana Yasmin
Russia’s top diplomat said in an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson released Friday that Moscow doesn’t want a war with the United States but will use “all means” to defend its interests.
Sergey Lavrov argued that while Russia and the US are officially not at war, Washington’s permission for Ukraine to use American longer-range missiles for strikes on Russian territory marked a dangerous escalation.
Ukrainian navy claims Russian-occupied gas platforms in Crimea hit by drones
Sunday 8 December 2024 05:10
Shahana Yasmin
Ukrainian naval drones have struck and destroyed surveillance systems on Russian-controlled gas platforms in Crimea, vice-admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa said.
“The hunt for the enemy in the Black Sea continues. The occupiers will not stay on our territory — we will get them everywhere,” Neizhpapa said on Saturday in a post on Facebook.
“Naval (drones) delivered precise strikes on Russian targets.”
Recent weeks have seen intensified attacks on Russian assets in Crimea. Strikes have targeted radar stations, and explosions were also reported in Sevastopol and near the Belbek airbase in November.
ICYMI: Putin signs off record Russian defence spending
Sunday 8 December 2024 04:50
Shahana Yasmin
Russian president Vladimir Putin approved budget plans, raising 2025 military spending to record levels as Moscow seeks to prevail in the war in Ukraine.
Around 32.5 per cent of the budget posted on a government website earlier this month has been allocated for national defence, amounting to 13.5 trillion rubles (over £107 bn), up from a reported 28.3 per cent this year.
Lawmakers in both houses of the Russian parliament, the State Duma and Federation Council, approved the plans.
Trump talks ending Ukraine war with Zelensky in ‘good and productive’ first in-person meeting since US election
Sunday 8 December 2024 04:30
Shahana Yasmin
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has described his first in-person talks with US-president elect Donald Trump since November’s US election as “productive” as the pair discussed ending the war as soon as possible.
The meeting with Mr Zelensky was brokered and attended by French president Emmanuel Macron, who played a key role in the service at the cathedral amid turmoil in French politics.
Scholz says a joint Ukraine approach can be found with Trump
Sunday 8 December 2024 04:10
Shahana Yasmin
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is confident he will be able to agree with US President-elect Donald Trump on a joint strategy for Ukraine after speaking to him on the phone.
“I am confident that we can develop a joint strategy for Ukraine. My guiding principle remains that nothing can be decided without giving the Ukrainian people a say,” he told the Funke group of newspapers in an interview.
He added he had spoken with the future US president “in detail” and that his team was in a direct exchange with Trump’s security advisers.
Ukraine is shaping up as a major issue in campaigning for Germany’s snap election in February, which follows the collapse last month of Scholz’s three-party governing coalition in Berlin.
Friedrich Merz, the conservative opposition leader who is on course to unseat Scholz, has said Germany should send Taurus cruise missiles. Scholz has opposed such a move, saying it could escalate the war.
Scholz on Monday announced new military aid for Ukraine during a rare visit to Kyiv that he said sent a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin that Berlin would stand by Kyiv for as long as needed in the war.
Zelensky meets with Georgian president in Paris, offers ‘full support’
Sunday 8 December 2024 03:50
Shahana Yasmin
President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Notre Dame Cathedral reopening.
“I expressed Ukraine’s full support and solidarity with the Georgian people, who are fighting for their dignified future, and emphasised that respecting the will of the Georgian people and preventing Ivanishvili’s government from surrendering the country to (Russian president Vladimir) Putin is essential for the stability and future of the region,” Mr Zelensky posted on X.
I met with the President of Georgia, @Zourabichvili_S, in Paris.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 7, 2024
I expressed Ukraine’s full support and solidarity with the Georgian people, who are fighting for their dignified future, and emphasized that respecting the will of the Georgian people and preventing Ivanishvili’s… pic.twitter.com/d09B9BZqf6
“Thank you, President Zelensky, for your steadfast and unwavering support for the Georgian people. Our nations’ fight for independence, freedom, and a European future will prevail - there is no alternative,” Ms Zourabichvili posted.
Thank you, President @ZelenskyyUa , for your steadfast and unwavering support for the Georgian people
— Salome Zourabichvili (@Zourabichvili_S) December 7, 2024
Our nations’ fight for independence, freedom, and a European future will prevail - there is no alternative pic.twitter.com/DNxC2XKDkN
Russia claims they’ve taken control of village in Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast
Sunday 8 December 2024 03:30
Shahana Yasmin
Russia has captured the village of Beretsky in Donetsk Oblast, the Russian defence ministry announced on Sunday, according to The Kyiv Independent.
Beretsky, located about 40km west of Donetsk, lies near Kurakhove, an area that has faced heavy Russian assaults in recent months as part of efforts to gain ground in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has not commented on Russia’s claims yet.
US announces $1bn weapons package for Ukraine
Sunday 8 December 2024 03:10
Shahana Yasmin
The US will provide $988m more in longer-term weapons support to Ukraine, defence secretary Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.
“The baton will soon be passed,” Austin said. “Others will decide the course ahead. And I hope that they will build on the strength that we have forged over the past four years.”
The latest package will include more drones and munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.
This package is in addition to the $725m military assistance that the US announced on Monday.
Ukraine confirms second Danish delivery of F-16s as Zelenskyy seeks support in Paris
Sunday 8 December 2024 02:50
Shahana Yasmin
Denmark has delivered a second batch of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday as he traveled to Paris to meet with top politicians and dignitaries.
In a message on Telegram, Zelenskyy praised Denmark and lamented a lack of dedication from other allies.
“The first batch of planes provided by the Danes are already shooting down Russian missiles: rescuing our people and our infrastructure. Now our air shield is reinforced even further,” he said. “If all partners were so determined, we would have been able to make Russian terror impossible.”
MI5 forced to shift focus from terrorism to Russia due to ‘finite capacity’
Sunday 8 December 2024 02:01
Jabed Ahmed
Trump talks ending Ukraine war with Zelensky in ‘good and productive’ meeting
Sunday 8 December 2024 01:02
Alex Ross
Volodymyr Zelensky has described his first in-person talks with US-president elect Donald Trump since November’s US election as “productive” as the pair discussed ending the war as soon as possible.
Mr Trump arrived in Paris for a ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral, destroyed by a fire in 2019, in a return to the world stage at a time leaders are jostling for his attention.
The meeting with Mr Zelensky was brokered and attended by French president Emmanuel Macron, who played a key role in the service at the cathedral amid turmoil in French politics.
Mr Trump has previously pledged to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of his 20 January inauguration, although his officials have floated the idea of forcing Kyiv to cede territory to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to achieve that aim.
On the 35-minute three-way meeting on Saturday night, Mr Zelensky described it as “good and productive”, adding: “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace.”
Full story here:
Top Estonian tech firm to test AI-guided anti-drone missiles in Ukraine
Saturday 7 December 2024 23:58
Jabed Ahmed
A leading Estonian defence firm has said it will start testing anti-drone missiles in Ukraine in 2025.
The tests intend to check the system’s effectiveness in real combat conditions, Frankenburg Technologies said.
Recognised as Europe’s top technology startup, Frankenburg Technologies has developed missiles to intercept Iranian Shahed dronesat altitudes of two kilometres using artificial intelligence for autonomous targeting.
“The technology is promising, and we will start testing it in Ukraine in the new year,” the company’s CEO Kusti Salm told Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR.
Production will start increase from a few dozen units per week to hundreds by the third quarter of 2025.
ICYMI: Putin signs agreement offering Russia’s security guarantees to ally Belarus
Saturday 7 December 2024 23:02
Jabed Ahmed
Russia puts out feelers to Trump despite ‘red lines’
Saturday 7 December 2024 22:01
Jabed Ahmed
Russia is open to talks with US President-elect Donald Trump but will use “any means” to prevent Washington and its allies from defeating it in Ukraine, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US journalist Tucker Carlson.
In an 80-minute interview released late on Thursday, Mr Lavrov spoke positively of Mr Trump, who returns to the White House next month, despite urging the West to take Russia’s “red lines” seriously.
Mr Lavrov said Mr Trump was “a very strong person, a person who wants results” and said he saw no reason why the two countries could not “cooperate for the sake of the universe”.
Mr Lavrov’s comments were part of a pattern of Russian signals designed to deter Washington from further escalation in support of Ukraine while displaying openness to negotiations.
Zelensky says Putin ‘does not need real peace’ after Russian strikes kill 12
Saturday 7 December 2024 21:03
Jabed Ahmed
Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Vladimir Putin over strikes that at least 12 in southeastern Ukraine.
At least 10 people were killed in Zaporizhzhia, while two were killed in Zelensky’s hometown Kryvyi Rih, regional officials said.
“Thousands of such strikes carried out by Russia during this war make it absolutely clear that Putin does not need real peace,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. “Only by force can we resist this. And only through force can real peace be established.”
Rachel Reeves to meet with EU counterparts over Ukraine support
Saturday 7 December 2024 20:01
Jabed Ahmed
Full report: Ukraine confirms second Danish delivery of F-16s as Zelensky seeks support in Paris
Saturday 7 December 2024 19:02
Jabed Ahmed
Zelensky hails ‘good and productive’ meeting with Trump in Paris
Saturday 7 December 2024 18:31
Tom Watling
I had a good and productive trilateral meeting with President @realDonaldTrump and President @EmmanuelMacron at the Élysée Palace.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 7, 2024
President Trump is, as always, resolute. I thank him. I also extend my gratitude to Emmanuel for organizing this important meeting.
We all want… pic.twitter.com/eKMtuhp2ZI
Russia says it has taken another village in Ukraine's Donetsk region
Saturday 7 December 2024 18:01
Jabed Ahmed
Russia’s Defence Ministry has said that its forces had taken Berestky, a small village close to the embattled town of Kurakhove in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
The Independent could not verify this claim.
Pictured: Zelensky arrives at Paris’s Elysee Presidential Palace
Saturday 7 December 2024 17:29
Jabed Ahmed
Russian gains in eastern Ukraine accelerate through the Autumn
Saturday 7 December 2024 17:02
Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces have increased the pace at which they are taking territory in eastern Ukraine, as Kyiv’s troops struggle to hold back a much larger and more heavily armed military.
Along the 1,000 km frontline, Moscow has focused its attacks on towns and villages around the transport hub of Pokrovsk, the seizure of which could severely disrupt Ukraine’s ability to supply its forces.
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst from the Finland-based Black Bird Group, which studies footage and satellite images from the frontline, told Reuters that Russian gains in Ukraine had accelerated in recent months.
He estimated the following monthly territorial gains by Russia:
- August - 403 sq km
- September - 422 sq km
- October - 491 sq km
- 1-18 November - 363 sq km
In Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in August, Kyiv now holds approximately 500 sq km of territory, Paroinen estimated, down from a maximum of around 1,200 sq km.
Trump to hold three-way meeting with Macron, Zelensky in Paris
Saturday 7 December 2024 16:52
Jabed Ahmed
US President-elect Donald Trump will hold three-way talks in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday, the Elysee said.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Saturday 7 December 2024 16:01
Jabed Ahmed
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26% of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
What is ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
Saturday 7 December 2024 15:02
Jabed Ahmed
There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.
Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had “proven themselves.”
Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.
