Ukraine’s forces are engaged against nearly 50,000 enemy troops in Russia’s Kursk region, president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned.
Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, insisted earlier on Monday that Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk operation was still successfully diverting Russian forces from mounting heavier attacks on the eastern front – as he confirmed New York Times reporting that Moscow had assembled some 50,000 troops in Kursk.
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhiv or Toretsk directions, which would have significantly worsened the situation at the front,” he said.
The Times report, citing a US assessment, said Russia had built up the force in Kursk – where North Korean troops have reportedly been stationed in recent days – without needing to move troops from eastern Ukraine.
It came as Kyiv claimed Russia had suffered its deadliest day of the Ukraine war, alleging that Mr Putin’s forces suffered record daily high of 1,770 losses as they continued their offensive in the east.
Key Points
- Russia suffers deadliest day of Ukraine war so far, Kyiv claims
- Emergency blackouts and air raid alerts across Ukraine amid fears of missile strikes
- Ukrainian forces engaged against 50,000 troops in Russia’s Kursk region, Zelensky says
- Kremlin claims reports of Trump-Putin phone call are ‘pure fiction’
- Russia-Ukraine trade largest drone blitz since star of war
Russian glide bombs, drones and a ballistic missile kill 6, injure 30 in Ukraine
03:34
Arpan Rai
Russian glide bombs, drones and a ballistic missile smashed into cities in southern and eastern Ukraine yesterday, officials said, killing at least six civilians and injuring about 30 others.
Ukraine resident Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia has recently intensified strikes that have long tormented civilian areas, in an apparent effort to unnerve Ukrainians and wear down their willingness to keep up a war that is approaching its 1,000-day milestone.
“Every day, every night, Russia commits the same terror,” Mr Zelensky said.
“Except that an increasing number of civilian objects are becoming targets.”Both Russia and Ukraine are waiting to see how Washington will change its policy on the war after Donald Trump takes office as the US president in January.
The US is the biggest provider of military help to Ukraine, but Mr Trump has chided the Biden administration for giving Kyiv tens of billions of dollars of aid.
North Korea ratifies major defence treaty with Russia
03:20
Arpan Rai
North Korea ratified a major defence treaty with Russia stipulating mutual military aid, the North’s state media reported today, as the US, South Korea and Ukraine say North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
Russia had completed the ratification of the treaty last week after it was signed by Russian president Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. It is considered both countries’ biggest defence deal since the end of the Cold War.
North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, has the right to ratify treaties but Kim can unilaterally ratify major ones, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry.
The treaty requires both countries to use all available means to provide immediate military assistance if either is attacked. Some observers speculate the treaty’s ratification in both countries could signal North Korea could formally enter the Russia-Ukraine war soon.
The Comprehensive Strategic Partnership treaty will take effect when both sides exchange documents on the ratification, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
North Korea ratified the treaty through a decree signed Monday by the country’s president of state affairs, KCNA said, using one of Mr Kim’s titles.
Kremlin claims to sense that Europe is nervous about Trump’s re-election
02:57
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has claimed to sense that European nations are nervous about Donald Trump’s re-election, but said that they were still “pumping weapons into Ukraine in order to continue this war to the end”.
Asked about reports that Sir Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron want to convince Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles deep into Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “Nothing can be ruled out”, adding that European leaders still want to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.
“We, in turn, will continue the [special military operation] until we achieve all our goals,” he added. “The dynamic of the SMO is well understood by the military. They understand well what is happening. And it is probably important to note that no individual types of weapons are able to change this dynamic anymore.”
Fire reported as Ukraine attacks Russia’s fuel depot in Belgorod
02:56
Arpan Rai
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 early today.
Vyacheslav Gladkov said one of the tanks at the depot had caught fire in the Starkooskolsky District near the Ukrainian border. At least 10 fire crews were dispatched to the site and put out the blaze.
ICYMI: Zelensky reveals Ukraine's 'good conversations' with Donald Trump in new video address
01:54
Andy Gregory
British family pays tribute to ‘brave’ 22-year-old son who died fighting in Ukraine
00:52
Andy Gregory
A British family has paid tribute to their “brave” son who has been killed while fighting in Ukraine.
Callum Tindal-Draper, 22, from Gunnislake, Cornwall, was killed in action while serving with the foreign volunteer platoon in the country’s struggle against Russia. In an interview with the BBC, his father Steven Draper said he begged his son not to travel to Ukraine, but he told him he was “not frightened of bullies”.
“We begged and begged and begged him not to go,” his father said. “But Callum said ‘dad, I’m not frightened of bullies and what’s going on in Ukraine is awful and someone needs to stand up for these people’.”
In a tribute, his mother Caroline Tindal wrote: “He fought till he could no longer hold them off any more and his platoon are calling him a ‘hero’ and ‘As brave as they come’. 22 is a young age. But you lived and died following your heart, soul and morals.”
Donald Trump Jr mocks Zelensky by suggesting that he’s just weeks away from ‘losing allowance’
Monday 11 November 2024 23:50
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump Jr took a swipe at Volodymyr Zelensky after sharing a social media post suggesting that the Ukrainian president was just weeks away from losing his “allowance” – a reference to US military funding for fighting Vladimir Putin’s.
President-elect Donald Trump has staunchly criticised the Biden Administration spending more than $64 billion in providing security assistance to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of the nation in February 2022, according to figures from the US Department of State.
On Sunday, Trump’s eldest son mocked Mr Zelensky in a social media tirade, teasing that Ukraine’s military aid budget was about to be abolished.
The outspoken political scion shared an Instagram post by former GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, as per screenshots taken by the Daily Beast, with the caption: “POV: You’re 38 Days from losing your allowance.”
Our US news reporter James Liddell has more details in this report:
EU has supplied Ukraine with over 980,000 shells, foreign policy chief says
Monday 11 November 2024 22:50
Andy Gregory
The European Union has supplied Ukraine with more than 980,000 artillery shells, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
A target to supply a total of one million shells would be reached “very soon”, Mr Borrell told Ukrainian outlet European Pravda.
He said: “I know that we made a commitment to reach this level by spring and we failed,” adding: “But we can do it by the end of the year.”
Winter will be ‘critical point’ in war, says Ukrainian official
Monday 11 November 2024 21:50
Andy Gregory
This coming winter will be “a critical point” in the war against Russia, a Ukrainian official has warned.
As Donald Trump’s election win brings the prospect of talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine closer, Kyiv is battling to put itself in the strongest position for any negotiations, including by securing more arms and holding out on the battlefield.
A senior Ukrainian official said the next four to five months would be pivotal, signalling how Trump’s return to the White House is focusing minds in Kyiv on a possible end game in the war.
“This winter is a critical point ... I hope the war is drawing to an end. Right now we will define the positions for both sides on negotiations, the starting positions,” the official told Reuters.
‘Massive’ Russian losses ‘won’t see war grind to a halt any day soon’
Monday 11 November 2024 20:50
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.
“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.”
Russia poised to step up assaults in Ukraine’s south, Kyiv’s military warns
Monday 11 November 2024 19:50
Andy Gregory
Russian infantry groups could launch ground assaults in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region in a matter of days, a military spokesperson has warned.
The attacks – on a front in the south where fighting has been less active for months – could create a new pressure point for Kyiv’s overstretched defenders, who already are on the back foot in Ukraine’s east. Although it was unclear if they would involve a single offensive push or separate assaults, the spokesperson said.
“[The assaults] could begin in the near future, we’re not even talking about weeks, we’re expecting it to happen any day,” Vladyslav Voloshyn told Reuters.
Ukraine’s allies should not pre-judge Donald Trump, France says
Monday 11 November 2024 18:50
Andy Gregory
Ukraine’s allies should not prejudge how Donald Trump will handle the Ukraine conflict, France’s foreign minister has said.
Mr Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western financial and military aid to Kyiv, spoke in recent days with Vladimir Putin and advised him not to escalate the Ukraine war, both Reuters and the Washington Post reported, citing a source familiar with the matter. The Kremlin dismissed this as “pure fiction”.
“Facing the speculation on what could be the positions or initiatives of the new US administration, I think that we absolutely should not prejudge and we have to give it time,” Jean-Noel Barrot told the Paris Peace Forum.
However, Mr Barrot said any initiatives would have to ensure that Ukraine itself determined the timing and conditions for engaging in a negotiation process. In the meantime, he said, Western allies had to give Kyiv all the necessary means to push back invading Russian forces.
“Ukraine, and beyond that the international community, would have too much to lose if Russia imposed the law of the strongest,” he said.
ICYMI: Putin calls Trump ‘courageous’ as he congratulates future US president on election
Monday 11 November 2024 17:50
Andy Gregory
Defence secretary insists UK has ‘cast-iron commitment’ to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence
Monday 11 November 2024 17:20
Andy Gregory
Britain’s defence secretary John Healey has told MPs that the government “has a cast-iron commitment” to spending 2.5 per cent of GDP on defence.
He told the Commons: “We promised this in our manifesto at the election, the prime minister promised it at Nato in Washington in July and the Chancellor promised this in the Budget two weeks ago as well as announcing a £3bn boost for defence spending next year to start to fix the foundations for our armed forces.
“This is on top of £3bn each year for Ukraine.”
He added: “Everyone agrees that defence spending must increase to match and deal with the threats that we face and one of our very first acts as a government was to launch the Strategic Defence Review (SDR), which is working at pace to look at the threats we face, the capabilities we need and the resources we have available. This isn’t just about how much we spend but it is how we spend it too.”
Mr Healey said the SDR will come first before the government sets out the “pathway” to spending 2.5 per cent, adding that this will come in the spring.
Helsinki dismisses ‘Finlandisation’ model for Ukraine
Monday 11 November 2024 16:50
Andy Gregory
Forcing neutrality onto Ukraine will not bring about a peaceful solution to Russia’s war, Finland’s foreign minister has warned.
Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Elina Valtonen poured cold water on using the “Finlandisation” model as a way of securing peace in Ukraine.
“I’m against it, yes. Let’s face it, Ukraine was neutral before they were attacked by Russia,” Ms Valtonen said on the sidelines of the Paris Peace Forum. “It’s definitely not something I would be imposing on Ukraine. Definitely not as a first alternative.”
Ms Valtonen questioned whether Russia could be trusted even if it agreed a deal and said forcing Ukraine’s hand to accept terms against its will would tear down the international system.
“I really want to avoid a situation where any European country, or the United States for that matter, starts negotiating over the heads of Ukraine,” she said. “A larger power can not just grab territory, but also essentially weaken the sovereignty of another nation,” she said.
Russian training exercise blamed after air raid sirens sound across Ukraine
Monday 11 November 2024 16:22
Andy Gregory
Threats of a renewed mass missile attack by Russia which saw air raid alerts issued across Ukraine today are reportedly believed to have been a Russian training exercise.
Bringing some relief to Ukrainians awaiting feared mass missile attacks ahead of winter, the Kyiv Independent reported that the warnings that sounded on Monday after Russian bombers and fighter jets took off turned out instead to merely amount to a Russian training exercise, with the all clear given just before 9am local time.
But Ukraine’s counter-disinformation chief Andrii 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.”
Zelensky issues warning over Russian attacks on civilians
Monday 11 November 2024 16:06
Andy Gregory
Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a warning over what he said were increasing Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, after at least six civilians were killed and around 30 others injured when Russian glide bombs, drones and a ballistic missile struck cities in southern and eastern Ukraine overnight.
“Every day, every night, Russia commits the same terror. Except that an increasing number of civilian objects are becoming targets,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian army intends to expand its mobile units, which are primarily tasked with shooting down drones, in the regions most frequently targeted by Russian strikes, the Ukrainian president said, adding that Kyiv is working on producing its own glide bombs as part of a domestic missile programme.
Ukraine accuses Russia of attacking dam in Donetsk
Monday 11 November 2024 15:52
Andy Gregory
Russia has attacked a dam holding a reservoir in Donetsk, the regional governor has warned, accusing Moscow of imperilling civilians living in multiple regions.
Vladimir Putin’s troops damaged the dam holding the Kurakhove Reservoir in Donetsk on Monday, governor Vadym Filashkin said, after reports of the dam being attacked near the village of Stari Terny, the Kyiv Independent reported.
“This attack potentially threatens residents of settlements on the Vovcha River, both in Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk [regions],” Mr Filashkin said.
Trump’s comms chief declines to confirm or deny phone call with Putin
Monday 11 November 2024 15:37
Andy Gregory
Asked about reports that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have held a phone call in recent days – described as “pure fiction” by the Kremlin, Mr Trump’s communications director Steven Cheung said: “We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders.”
Full report: Starmer and Macron vow to put Ukraine ‘in strongest possible position’ before Trump becomes president
Monday 11 November 2024 15:22
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have vowed to put Ukraine in the “strongest possible position” going into winter, in a boost in support before Donald Trump returns to the Oval Office.
In a show of European solidarity days after Trump’s election win, the two leaders held talks in Paris to mark Armistice Day and consider how best to continue supporting the wartorn country.
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Surprising alliance of Trump, Orban and Pope Francis could derail support for Ukraine
Monday 11 November 2024 15:07
Andy Gregory
A surprising trinity of Donald Trump, Hungary’s right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban and Pope Francis could spell the end to hopes for continued support for Ukraine in fighting the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The Independent has spoken to Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, who has been critical in attempting to create an international coalition to find a so-called “peace deal” to end the war – one opposed by all the other Western allies in Nato.
He has spoken about how Pope Francis has played an important role in supporting a deal which will probably see Mr Trump push for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to cede territory to Russia.
Mr Habsburg-Lothringen said: “Following the decision of the American electorate a few days ago, we really have good hope that Hungarian-American political cooperation will return to its peak: we share similar views on peace, illegal immigration and the protection of families. I believe there is a better chance than ever that peace will finally return to Ukraine after almost a thousand days of war.”
Our political editor David Maddox has the full exclusive report:
Lasting peace in Ukraine ‘can’t be achieved quickly’, analyst warns
Monday 11 November 2024 14:52
Andy Gregory
Any peace agreement rapidly imposed by Donald Trump would be “an ugly peace deal” in which Kyiv would be forced to trade “land for peace”, a leading analyst has warned.
Historian and Russia expert Mark Galeotti told Sky News: “If we’re talking about a deal that is imposed, or at least I say facilitated, within a matter of months, it almost certainly would have to be an ugly peace deal in which essentially Ukraine is trading land for peace.
“But more to the point, this could well just simply end up being a temporary ceasefire. The question is, what would stop Putin regrouping his forces and coming back for another round when he thinks that the time is right?”
Warning that while Mr Trump could impose a “kind of ceasefire” by threatening to halt aid to Kyiv, this would only be temporary, he added: “A lasting peace that involves security guarantees for Ukraine - that is a very, very complex program which can’t be done quickly, unfortunately.”
Voices | Has the warmth gone from the Trump-Putin bromance?
Monday 11 November 2024 14:37
Andy Gregory
Donald Trump has a complicated relationship with Vladimir Putin, to say the least. Not so long ago, during the first Trump term, he seemed to like and admire the Russian strongman – no doubt seeing him as a kindred spirit: clever, audacious, authoritarian, predatory.
At the Helsinki summit, in 2018, Trump went as far as to publicly state that he was more prepared to trust the word of this dictator than his own intelligence agencies. There was, to put it lightly, consternation. Observers wondered what appalling kompromat Putin had on the US president that would make him behave in this way, like something out of the Manchurian Candidate.
During his time out of office, after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, Trump again praised Putin for his audacity. Shortly after the ill-fated “special military operation” was launched in 2022, Trump declared at a fund raising event at Mar-a-Lago: “They say, ‘Trump said Putin’s smart.’ I mean, he’s taking over a country for two dollars’ worth of sanctions… I’d say that’s pretty smart. He’s taking over a country – really a vast, vast location, a great piece of land with a lot of people and just walking right in.”
Subsequent to that, Trump said he could end the war in a day, something widely taken to mean he’d force President Zelensky to capitulate and let Putin keep his illegal territorial gains.
Now, though, the warmth seems to have gone from the Trump-Putin bromance. Could it be that, like any pair of gangsters in a town not big enough for the two of them, they are turning from friends to rivals?
Our associate editor Sean O’Grady has more in his latest column:
No 10 declines to say whether Starmer believes Ukraine will be safe with Trump in White House
Monday 11 November 2024 14:22
Andy Gregory
Downing Street has declined to say whether Sir Keir Starmer believes Ukraine will be safe after Donald Trump’s election win.
Asked whether the prime minister shared his defence secretary’s confidence that Mr Trump would not abandon Kyiv, a No 10 spokesperson said: “We’re not going to speculate on positions before the administration is in place.
“We always welcome sustained bipartisan support in the US or Ukraine, and that’s been key to our international efforts to support. We expect the US to remain alongside allies like the UK in standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin’s invasion.”
Ukrainian forces engaged against 50,000 troops in Russia’s Kursk region, Zelensky says
Monday 11 November 2024 14:07
Andy Gregory
Ukraine's forces are engaged against nearly 50,000 enemy troops in Russia's Kursk region, president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine would also “considerably strengthen” its positions on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the east, where the most active fighting is taking place.
Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, insisted earlier on Monday that Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk operation was still successfully diverting Russian forces from mounting heavier attacks on the eastern front – as he confirmed New York Times reporting that Moscow had assembled some 50,000 troops in Kursk.
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhiv or Toretsk directions, which would have significantly worsened the situation at the front,” he said.
The Times report, citing a US assessment, said Russia had built up the force in Kursk – where North Korean troops have reportedly been stationed in recent days – without needing to move troops from eastern Ukraine.
No 10 insists ‘no change’ to UK’s position on weapons for Ukraine
Monday 11 November 2024 13:56
Andy Gregory
Downing Street insisted there was “no change” to the UK’s position on supplying weapons to Ukraine amid speculation that Britain and France are looking to ramp up arms provision before Donald Trump takes office.
Asked whether the UK was looking to provide “as many arms as it can” before Mr Trump’s presidency, a No 10 spokesperson said: “There’s no change in that regard ... We’ll be maintaining our position of continually stepping up. That means ensuring Ukraine gets what it needs and gets it more quickly.”
But No 10 insisted that “no war was ever won by a single weapon” when asked whether the UK was speaking to Joe Biden about the potential use of Storm Shadow missiles by Ukraine within Russia before Donald Trump enters the White House.
A spokesperson said: “We’ve always said that where we discuss our support for Ukraine, we do so in terms of broader strategy to ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position going forwards, particularly in the winter, and we’ve also been clear that no war was ever won by a single weapon.”
Starmer and Macron discuss ‘putting Ukraine in strongest possible position ahead of winter'
Monday 11 November 2024 13:42
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron discussed how to put Ukraine in “the strongest possible position going into the winter” as the two leaders met ahead of Armistice Day commemorations, Downing Street has said.
A No 10 spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister thanked the President for the personal invitation, noting he was the first UK leader to attend in 80 years. The leaders started by discussing the situation in Ukraine, including how best to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position going into the winter.
“Turning to the Middle East, both underscored their deep concern at the situation in Gaza and Lebanon. They also reiterated the need for stability in the West Bank.
“Reflecting on the situation in the Channel, the Prime Minister set out his mission to disrupt and deter smuggling gangs across Europe, and the leaders strongly agreed on the importance of bearing down on illegal migration at every stage of a migrant’s journey. The leaders agreed to stay in close touch.”
Starmer and Macron discuss Ukraine on sidelines of Armistice Day event
Monday 11 November 2024 13:01
Andy Gregory
Sir Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron discussed the Ukraine war on the sidelines of today’s ceremony to mark the anniversary of Armistice Day, the French presidential office said.
“Concerning the situation in Ukraine, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to coordinate closely, stressing their determination to support Ukraine unwaveringly and for as long as necessary to thwart Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine,” Mr Macron’s office said in a statement.
Ukrainian air force issues further warnings over Russian drones
Monday 11 November 2024 12:27
Andy Gregory
The Ukrainian air force is continuing to warn of Russian drone attacks on Monday, after claiming to shot down nearly half of those fired overnight.
Kyiv warned of drones being fired from Russia’s Kursk region towards neighbouring Sumy, Chernihiv and the central Poltava region.
Full report: UK defence secretary defiant over US support for Ukraine after Trump re-election
Monday 11 November 2024 11:36
Andy Gregory
Britain’s 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 Putin’s invasion”, and that Mr Trump “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.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Watch: Head of UK’s armed forces ‘confident’ that Britain could fight full-scale war
Monday 11 November 2024 11:21
Andy Gregory
Seven injured and others trapped beneath rubble in Russian strike on Kryvyi Rih
Monday 11 November 2024 11:02
Andy Gregory
A Russian missile has hit a residential building in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, injuring at least seven people, with more trapped under the rubble, officials said.
A 10-year-old girl and a boy of 11 years were among those injured in the attack on Monday, which destroyed multiple floors, regional governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.
The building’s smashed roof and collapsed floors covered in smoke could be seen on images shared by officials. Cars parked outside had been buried.
Ukrainian pesident Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Every day, every night, Russia unleashes the same terror. More and more civilian objects are being targeted. Russia only wants to continue the war, and each of its strikes negates any claims of diplomacy from Russia.”
Kremlin insists reports of Trump-Putin phone call are ‘pure fiction'
Monday 11 November 2024 10:32
Andy Gregory
The Kremlin has claimed that reports Donald Trump spoke with Vladimir Putin in recent days are “pure fiction”.
The Washington Post first reported that the call had taken place, citing unidentified sources close to the matter, and that Mr Trump had told Mr Putin that he should not escalate the Ukraine war. Reuters also reported on the call, citing an unidentified source.
“This is completely untrue. This is pure fiction, it’s just false information,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed. “There was no conversation.”
“This is the most obvious example of the quality of the information that is being published now, sometimes even in fairly reputable publications,” Mr Peskov said.
Asked whether Mr Putin had plans for any contacts with Mr Trump, he said: “There are no concrete plans yet.”
Britain should move past ‘special relationship’ with US, Lord Mandelson claims
Monday 11 November 2024 10:04
Andy Gregory
Britain should move past the “special relationship” with the US, the frontrunner to become the UK’s next ambassador in Washington has said – amid fears over the impact of Donald Trump’s second presidency on the US’s relationship with Europe, Nato and Ukraine.
Peter Mandelson is a favourite to replace Dame Karen Pierce, who is overseeing the transition to Donald Trump’s second administration.
The Labour grandee, a key architect of Tony Blair’s New Labour, said it is time for a “new relationship” with the US.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
Russia suffers deadliest day of Ukraine war so far, Kyiv claims
Monday 11 November 2024 09:46
Andy Gregory
Russia has suffered its deadliest day of the Ukraine war, Kyiv has claimed, alleging that Vladimir Putin’s forces suffered record daily high of 1,770 losses as they continue their offensive in the east.
While Moscow is making significant gains in the Donbas region, the UK’s armed forces chief Admiral Anthony Radakin also said on Sunday that Russian casualties averaged 1,500 every day last month.
“Russia is about to suffer 700,000 people killed or wounded – the enormous pain and suffering that the Russian nation is having to bear because of Putin’s ambition,” he told the BBC on Sunday.
He said that while Russia was making gains and putting pressure on Ukraine, the losses were “for tiny increments of land”, adding that the cost of the war – which he put at more than 40 per cent of public expenditure on defence and security – is also “an enormous drain” on Russia.
UK defence secretary insists relationship with Ukraine has not weakened under Labour
Monday 11 November 2024 09:18
Andy Gregory
The UK’s defence secretary John Healey has rejected reported comments by Ukrainian officials suggesting Kyiv is unhappy with the Labour government’s level of support.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today show that it is “simply not correct” to say the situation is not the same as it was under Rishi Sunak and has worsened under the new administration, after The Guardian reported officials in Kyiv as having said relations have deteriorated since Labour took office, voicing frustration over the failure to provide additional long-range weapons.
Asked about the reported remarks, Mr Healey said: “That is simply not correct. We’ve stepped up with more military support. We’ve speeded up deliveries. We’re now spending more on military aid for Ukraine than ever before as a UK government, and I spoke at length to the defence minister in Ukraine yesterday.
“He certainly doesn’t see the UK support weakening, and he said the Ukrainians are confident in Britain’s continuing and steadfast support for their country.”
Trump ‘exactly right to warn Putin against escalating Ukraine war’, says UK’s defence secretary
Monday 11 November 2024 09:04
Andy Gregory
The world will have to “wait and see” what Donald Trump “really proposes” over Ukraine, the UK’s defence secretary has said.
John Healey told BBC Breakfast: “We’ll have to wait and see what President Trump really proposes ... but if the reports of his call with Putin last week are right then President Trump is exactly right to warn Putin against escalation of the conflict in Ukraine.
“And our task as a nation supporting Ukraine, one of its leading supporters, alongside allies like France, is to step up our support to reinforce the position that Ukraine has at this period where it’s under great pressure from Russia.”
Images show destruction as five killed by drone attacks in Mykolaiv
Monday 11 November 2024 08:54
Andy Gregory
Images from photojournalists have shown the impact of Russian drone attacks on the southern Mykolaiv region, where at least five people have been killed in overnight attacks.
Ukraine’s choice when negotiations should start, UK defence secretary says
Monday 11 November 2024 08:46
Andy Gregory
It is “Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts”, Britain’s defence secretary has said, after a Trump ally appeared to suggest that the war could end if Kyiv was open to ceding land to Russia.
John Healey told BBC Breakfast: “Because of the strength of bipartisan support in the US and a recognition that it’s in no one’s interest to let an aggressor like Putin redraw international boundaries by force, I expect the US to remain steadfast alongside countries like the UK.
“We can do more to support Ukraine. We’re doing that at the moment, and that will be part of the discussion that Prime Minister Starmer has with President Macron this morning in Paris.”
Asked what the UK’s reaction to the suggestion that the war could come to a conclusion if there was support within Ukraine to give away land to Russia, he said: “It’s Ukraine that gets to call when the talking starts. Our job is to support Ukraine, stand by them when they fight, stand by them if they decide to talk.
“This could be ended today if Putin withdrew following his illegal invasion ... that’s the way this conflict could be ended, and the importance for us for Europe and for the United States is that Putin in the long run does not prevail, because if he does prevail, he will not stop at Ukraine, and the cost to us all will be much greater in the future.”
'I expect the US to remain steadfast alongside countries like the UK'
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) November 11, 2024
Defence Secretary John Healey spoke to #BBCBreakfast about what the election of Donald Trump as US President will mean for the war in Ukrainehttps://t.co/qimFShQIy0 pic.twitter.com/bc9AkMIg0I
UK defence secretary ‘doesn’t expect Trump to turn away from Nato'
Monday 11 November 2024 08:42
Andy Gregory
Defence secretary John Healey has denied that Donald Trump’s incoming administration turning away from Nato would leave the UK in a “weak position”.
Asked whether the loss of US backing would put us in “a very weak and exposed position”, Mr Healey told Sky News: “No, we wouldn’t be in a weak position. I don’t expect the US to turn away from Nato. They recognise the importance of the alliance. They recognise the importance of avoiding further conflict in Europe.”
The US support for Nato “goes back decades, and that has remained, including through the previous President Trump administration”, Mr Healey said, adding: “He pushed, rightly, he pushed European nations to do more, to front Nato better.”
Ukraine ‘shoots down 39 of 74 Russian drones'
Monday 11 November 2024 08:27
Andy Gregory
The Ukrainian air force has said it shot down two missiles and 39 of 74 drones launched by Russia overnight, as Russian attacks in the south killed at least six people and injured 21 more.
Five people were killed in the Mykolaiv region and one was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region, where a residential building was destroyed, the governors of the regions said on the Telegram messaging app.
Among the injured in Zaporizhzhia were five children between the ages of 4 and 17.
Claiming to have shot down nearly half of the drones fired by Russia, the Ukrainian air force said 30 more drones were lost in Ukrainian air space and three more left toward Belarus and territories temporarily occupied by Russia.
The Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions and most the of eastern half of Ukraine were under air raid alerts and the threat of Russian drone attacks on and off for most of the night, starting around 9:30pm on Sunday, according to data from the Ukrainian air force.
50,000 Russia and North Korean troops to march on Kursk - report
Monday 11 November 2024 07:30
Shweta Sharma
Russian president Vladimir Putin has amassed a 50,000-strong military force made up of Russian and North Korean forces to march on the Kursk region, according to a New York Times report.
The forces are preparing to reclaim the parts of the region that Ukrainian forces captured after a massive operation in August.
Ukrainian officials anticipate that the North Korean troops will be involved in a major offensive soon, though for now, these forces are training alongside Russian troops in the western part of Kursk, it said citing sources.
The new US assessment said Russia has been able to build a new contingent of troops without having to pull back soldiers from Ukraine’s east where the main battle is being fought.
Around 10,000 of the 50,000 massed troops are North Koreans, US and Ukrainian officials say.
Ukraine’s top commander says Russian troops are trying to advance in Kursk region
Monday 11 November 2024 07:01
Shweta Sharma
Russian troops are trying to advance in the Kursk region, Ukraine’s top commander said on Monday, adding that Moscow has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers in the region that borders Ukraine.
“Following the order of their military leadership, they are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the top commander of Kyiv’s forces, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Biden to speak with Trump about continued support to Ukraine
Monday 11 November 2024 07:00
Shweta Sharma
Outgoing president Joe Biden has invited president-elect Donald Trump for talks at the Oval Office on Wednesday.
He is expected to tell the incoming president why “the United States should not walk away from Ukraine”.
Fears have risen about the US withdrawing support to Ukraine in its war against Russia as Republican leader Trump has previously opposed and Republican lawmakers blocked Democrats from passing key funding to Ukraine.
Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national security adviser, said the two would talk about conflicts in Europe, in Asia and the Middle East.
He said on Face the Nation on CBS: “President Biden will have the opportunity over the next 70 days to make the case to the Congress and to the incoming administration that the United States should not walk away from Ukraine, that walking away from Ukraine means more instability in Europe.”
Mr Sullivan has said the White House is planning to spend its remaining $6bn of funding for Ukraine before Mr Trump is inaugurated.
He said the Biden administration aims “to put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is ultimately in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table”.
As Russian forces close in on Kurakhove, hundreds of residents remain in the front-line city
Monday 11 November 2024 06:00
Tom Watling
Emergency blackouts and air raid alerts across Ukraine following missile strikes
Monday 11 November 2024 05:31
Shweta Sharma
Parts of Kyiv have been hit with emergency power cuts following reports of coordinated missile attacks across Ukraine.
Witnesses confirmed power outages in sections of the capital as emergency blackouts were implemented across several regions, according to Reuters.
“The air alert is related to the launch of cruise missiles from Tu-95MS strategic bombers,” the air force said on their Telegram channels.
Ukrainian media reported air raid alerts throughout the country shortly after Ukraine’s Air Force announced a wave of cruise missile launches originating from Russian bombers. Authorities are urging citizens to remain vigilant and to seek shelter as necessary.
Updates on the extent of the damage and
