President suggests bringing Kyiv-controlled land into western military pact could stop ‘hot stage’ of war
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has suggested that Ukrainian territory under his control should be taken under the “Nato umbrella” to try to stop the “hot stage” of the war with Russia.
Speaking to Sky News, the Ukrainian president said that such a proposal has “never been considered” by Ukraine because it has never “officially” been offered.
Continue reading...Court has ordered recount of vote won by far-right candidate and will decide whether it needs to be rerun
Romania’s constitutional court has deferred a decision on whether to annul the first-round vote in the country’s presidential election until Monday, a day after parliamentary elections in which far-right parties are forecast to post major gains.
The court, which had already ordered a recount, considered for two hours on Friday a request to annul the 24 November vote, which was won by Călin Georgescu, a far-right, Moscow-friendly independent who had previously been polling at barely 5%.
Continue reading...This blog is now closed, you can read more on this story here
German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, will travel to China next week, where she will meet her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to discuss issues including the war in Ukraine, said a ministry spokesperson on Friday, according to Reuters.
Further political talks are also planned, said the spokesperson, adding that Baerbock will also meet German business representatives in the country.
Continue reading...If Putin allowed to reduce Ukraine to vassal state ‘he will not stop there’, Richard Moore says in plea to Trump
Abandoning Ukraine would jeopardise British, European and American security and lead to “infinitely higher” costs in the long term, the head of MI6 has warned in a speech that amounted to a plea to Donald Trump to continue supporting Kyiv.
Richard Moore, giving a rare speech, said he believed Vladimir Putin “would not stop” at Ukraine if he was allowed to subjugate it in any peace talks involving the incoming US Republican administration.
Continue reading...In a co-authored document presented to Trump in April, Keith Kellogg also said US should give Ukraine more weapons if Russia doesn’t join negotiations
Donald Trump’s plan to tap the retired US lieutenant general Keith Kellogg as US envoy to Ukraine and Russia has triggered renewed interest in a policy document he co-authored that proposes ending the war by withdrawing weapons from Ukraine if it doesn’t enter peace talks – and giving even more weapons to Ukraine if Russia doesn’t do the same.
Trump is said to have responded favorably to the plan – America First, Russia & Ukraine – which was presented to him in April and was written by Kellogg and the former CIA analyst Fred Fleitz, who both served as chiefs of staff in Trump’s national security council from 2017 to 2021.
Continue reading...Prime minister holds press conference to announce plans as ONS announces net migration figures
Here is a chart from the ONS report illustrating the latest figures.
Here is the PA Media story on the figures.
Net migration to the UK hit a higher than previously thought record of 906,000 in the year to June 2023, revised official estimates show.
The measure for the difference between the number of people arriving and leaving the country then dropped by 20% in the latest period, the 12 months to June 2024, and now stands at 728,000.
Continue reading...This live blog is closed
Reuters has a quick snap that there are power cuts in Ukraine’s southern region of Mykolaiv as a result of Russia’s missile attack. It cited regional governor Vitaliy Kim.
Zhitomir and Chernihiv region have ended their air alarms in Ukraine.
Continue reading...More than a million households without power across the country as strikes on energy infrastructure continue
Russia has continued its assault on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as Vladimir Putin threatens to strike “decision-making centres” in Kyiv with Moscow’s new ballistic Oreshnik missile.
More than 200 missiles and drones were fired by Russia on Thursday morning, leaving more than a million households without power, according to reports from Ukrainian officials.
Continue reading...German intelligence chief warns continued hybrid warfare by Moscow increases risk of alliance invoking Article 5
Russia’s acts of sabotage against western targets may eventually prompt Nato to consider invoking the alliance’s Article 5 mutual defence clause, the head of Germany’s foreign intelligence service has warned.
Speaking at an event of the German Council of Foreign Relations (DGAP) think tank in Berlin on Wednesday, BND chief Bruno Kahl said he expected Moscow to further step up its hybrid warfare.
Continue reading...Retired US army general and former Pence aide tapped for newly conceived role to negotiate amid ongoing war
Donald Trump has picked Keith Kellogg to serve as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, a newly conceived role given the ongoing war between the two countries.
Kellogg, an 80-year-old retired US army lieutenant general, would start in the role as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its third year.
Continue reading...Intelligence agency has been trying to entice Russians disaffected by invasion of Ukraine but president-elect is likely to want to make an ally of Kremlin
For the past three years, the CIA has run an unusually bold outreach programme. It targeted Russians within the country’s government and security services, attempting to turn them into double agents.
Slickly produced recruitment videos portrayed cooperation with the US secret agency as the patriotic choice for officials disaffected with Vladimir Putin’s regime and the war in Ukraine. The videos ended with instructions on how to contact the CIA in a secure manner.
Continue reading...Moscow bans Labour figures including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves under new sanctions
Russia has banned cabinet ministers including Angela Rayner, Yvette Cooper and Rachel Reeves from entering the country under new sanctions announced by Moscow’s foreign affairs ministry.
More than a dozen other senior Labour politicians are among the 30 British citizens on the Russian “stop list” after tensions between London and Moscow rose following Ukraine’s recent use of British missiles to strike deeper into Russia.
Continue reading...This live blog is closed
Călin Georgescu, a Moscow-friendly independent candidate with a nationalist background, has taken a surprise lead in the first round of Romania’s presidential election.
As my colleague Jon Henley notes in this report, with 99.98% of votes counted, Georgescu, who has praised Vladimir Putin as “a man who loves his country”, was on 22.9%, with the reformist Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union (USR), second on 19.17%.
Continue reading...Moscow is pushing hard on eastern frontline amid uncertainty as to how Trump taking office will affect war
Russia launched its biggest ever drone attack on Ukraine on Monday night and Tuesday morning, sending a reported 188 drones into the country against various targets, resulting in power cuts in part of western Ukraine and damage to residential buildings outside Kyiv.
Russian forces are pushing hard along the frontline in the east of the country, amid uncertainty as to how the dynamics of the war might change once Donald Trump takes office in January. Russia also vowed “retaliatory actions” for fresh Ukrainian strikes on military targets inside Russia that used long-range missiles sent by the US.
Continue reading...Security service accuses diplomat of ‘reconnaisance and subversive activities’ amid rising tension
Russia said it was expelling a British diplomat for alleged spying as tensions between London and Moscow rose after Ukraine’s recent use of British weapons to strike deeper into Russia.
The FSB, Russia’s domestic intelligence agency, announced on Tuesday that it had acted on documents accusing a British diplomat of engaging in “reconnaissance and subversive activities that threaten the country’s security”.
Continue reading...Foreign secretary offers support for James Scott Rhys Anderson, who was fighting for Ukraine reportedly in Kursk
The UK government has promised to do all it can to assist a former British soldier fighting for Ukraine who has been taken prisoner by the Russian army.
Two videos of a man who identified himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson surfaced on Russian Telegram channels over the weekend. They featured interrogation of a bearded man in military fatigues, who had his hands tied and spoke slowly in English to give details from his biography, including that he served as a signalman in the British army between 2019 and 2023. Anderson is 22, according to the date of birth he gave in the video.
Continue reading...Olympic gold medalist argues in video that podcaster’s remarks about war in Ukraine is result of Putin-led plot
The podcaster Joe Rogan is “repeating Russian propaganda” about the war in Ukraine, the former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko charged in remarks on social media, adding that Rogan should invite him on his podcast to discuss the issue “like free men”.
“I listen to your latest podcast,” said Klitschko, whose brother Vitali Klitschko was also a world champion boxer and is now mayor of Kyiv.
Continue reading...App planned for public to find emergency shelter in places including underground train stations and car parks
Germany is drawing up a list of bunkers that could provide emergency shelter for civilians, the interior ministry has said, at a time of rising tensions with Russia.
The list would include underground train stations and car parks as well as state buildings and private properties, a ministry spokesperson said.
Continue reading...Casualties include 14 people who have been sent to hospital
Jon Henley is the Guardian’s Europe correspondent
An ultranationalist, Moscow-friendly Nato critic is set to face a centre-right candidate in the runoff of Romania’s presidential elections after a shock first-round result that has upended the country’s politics and could jeopardise its support for Ukraine.
Continue reading...Man identifies himself in a video as James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, saying he joined the country’s International Legion
A British man has reportedly been captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine.
In a widely circulated video on Sunday, first posted on Telegram, the man identifies himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, and says he is a former British army soldier.
Continue reading...