Ukraine president seeks to boost morale after difficult year as Russian opponent claims to hold initiative
The leaders of Ukraine and Russia have struck a defiant tone and vowed to reach their military goals as the war heads toward its third year.
Speaking in Kyiv during his end-of-year press conference, Volodymyr Zelenskiy sought to boost the domestic mood and maintain western support that has been stuttering in recent weeks.
Continue reading...As the Ukraine war heads into a new calendar year, the country is battling not just the Russian army but also on the diplomatic front, to secure further aid from its allies. Luke Harding and Dan Sabbagh report
On the face of it, support for Ukraine from its allies in Europe and the US has been unwavering: ministers and officials fly in and out of Kyiv to back Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his government’s grinding fight to keep Russian troops at bay.
But that moral support is more solid than the financial backing. As Dan Sabbagh tells Hannah Moore, funding packages worth tens of billions of pounds have been held up in the US Congress by Republican politicians, and in the EU by Hungary’s prime minister, Victor Orbán.
Continue reading...This live blog is now closed, you can read more of our Ukraine war coverage here
Russia is increasing its efforts to capture Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, transporting battalion reserves to the area, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian army has said.
Kupiansk was liberated from Russian occupation in September 2022 by the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and has been a target since then, as it serves as an important logistics centre for the Russian invasion’s progression to the south and west. It was captured by Russia in February 2022.
Continue reading...Decision after hours of tense negotiations in Brussels is critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy
The EU has decided to open membership negotiations with Ukraine, in an unexpected move that will be a critical boost to Volodymyr Zelenskiy and deal a blow to Vladimir Putin.
The announcement, made on Thursday after eight hours of tense negotiations in Brussels, came despite the opposition of Hungary, whose prime minister, Viktor Orbán, had for weeks said it would veto any opening of accession talks.
Continue reading...Ukraine’s capital comes under attack, with mayor saying children’s hospital damaged
Norway will donate 3bn crowns (£220m) to Ukraine, the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, told a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, on Wednesday, Reuters reports.
The funds are part of a package agreed previously by Norway’s parliament, of 75bn crowns over five years.
Russia has lost 341,500 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces claimed today.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Leonid Kuchma describes history behind Putin’s attack as new edition of his 2003 book Ukraine Is Not Russia is published
Ukraine’s former president Leonid Kuchma has warned that the US “will lose face before the entire world” if it abandons Kyiv, and said mistakes by the west contributed to Vladimir Putin’s all-out invasion last year.
In his first interview with a western publication since 2015, Kuchma described Putin as a career KGB operative. “It’s his profession, with everything that implies,” he said, adding: “People say his obsession with Ukraine is a kind of mania or mental disorder. Maybe it’s true.”
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Russian police have put the prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.
The independent Russian news outlet Mediazona was the first to report on Friday that Gessen’s profile has appeared on the online wanted list of Russia’s interior ministry, and the Associated Press was able to confirm that it was. It was not clear from the profile when exactly Gessen was added to the list.
Continue reading...Prominent journalist – who lives in the US – was placed on the list after discussing atrocities committed in Ukraine by Russian forces
Russian police have put prominent Russian American journalist and author Masha Gessen on a wanted list after opening a criminal case against them on charges of spreading false information about the Russian army.
It is the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown against dissent in Russia that has intensified since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine more than 21 months ago, on 24 February 2022.
Continue reading...Russian president visits United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia for talks. This live blog is closed
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainians on Wednesday that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace “against all odds” as the future of vital US military and financial aid hung in the balance.
Zelenskiy delivered his defiant message in an unusual early-morning video that showed him walking through Kyiv on his way to pay his respects to fallen soldiers on what Ukraine marks as Armed Forces Day, Reuters reported.
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Associated Press have provided a little more detail of the Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s earlier comments in which he said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution.
Speaking at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe conference in North Macedonia, Lavrov also said Russia was not prepared to “review its goals” in Ukraine.
Russian authorities are attempting to quell dissent from the wives of soldiers deployed in Ukraine, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said. The MoD said in its daily intelligence briefing that some were being paid off while others have been discredited online.
Ukraine has become progressively stronger over the past year and will soon be able to reopen Kyiv’s international airport, Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said.
Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase its number of troops by nearly 170,000, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine needs to improve its mobilisation system, with the issue of recruitment under public discussion for some time. Questions of corruption in the military, particularly in procurement and recruiting, have periodically seized public attention as Ukraine tries to press on with a counteroffensive that has so far produced only incremental gains.
Continue reading...Russia’s armed forces set to total 1.32 million after latest increase amid the continued invasion of Ukraine
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered the country’s military to increase the number of troops by nearly 170,000 to a total of 1.32 million, as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine continues into its 22nd month.
Putin’s decree was released by the Kremlin on Friday and took force immediately. It brings the overall number of Russian military personnel to about 2.2 million, including 1.32 million troops.
Continue reading...Star conductor becomes latest Kremlin supporter to lead a major Russian cultural institution
Valery Gergiev, the star Russian conductor and prominent supporter of Vladimir Putin, has been installed as general director of Moscow’s Bolshoi theatre, in the latest appointment of a Kremlin loyalist to a leading cultural institution.
The appointment means that Gergiev, who also heads the rival Mariinsky theatre in St Petersburg, will have artistic control over the two crown jewels of the Russian ballet and opera.
Continue reading...Human rights activists say supreme court’s vague wording provides wide scope for persecution
Russia’s supreme court has outlawed what it called an “international LGBT public movement” as extremist, in a landmark ruling that representatives of gay and transgender people warn will lead to arrests and prosecutions of the already repressed LGBTQ+ community.
The ruling in effect outlaws LGBTQ+ activism in a country growing increasingly conservative since the start of the war in Ukraine. The “extremist” label could mean that gay, lesbian, transgender or queer people living in Russia could receive lengthy prison sentences if deemed by the authorities to be part of the so called “international LGBT public movement”.
Continue reading...Russia has conducted airstrikes in support of ground operations as it aims to surround city on outskirts of Donetsk. This live blog is closed
It’s just after 2.30pm in Kyiv. Here are the day’s main developments so far:
Russia has brought down at least 24 drones over the Moscow region and three other provinces to the south and west, the Russian defence ministry and the Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin have reported in a series of Telegram updates. One person was injured in Tula when an intercepted drone hit an apartment building, the region’s governor, Alexei Dyumin, said.
The spokesman for Ukraine’s ground forces, Volodymyr Fitio, has told the United News telethon that Russian soldiers “seek to reoccupy” the town of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.
Russia has placed the Meta spokesperson Andy Stone on a wanted list, according to the state-run TASS news agency. TASS said the Russian interior ministry had opened a criminal investigation against Stone but had not disclosed the details of the investigation or charges.
The UK government has been urged to take immediate action to disrupt supply of technology used in electronic warfare. A dossier, compiled by Ukraine and circulated to the leading countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine, identifies key Russian companies involved in the development and production of electronic military equipment. It says the UK and other countries have not yet imposed sanctions on some of the firms involved.
Indeed, Russian invaders have not abandoned their intentions to attack … to advance toward the town of Kupiansk. They seek to reoccupy it. In this area, Ukrainian defenders repelled four enemy attacks. It was near Usenkivka and Ivanivka. The enemy intends to advance to the settlement of Sinkivka in order to develop their further success in the offensive on Kupiansk.
Continue reading...Russian president blames US for Gaza conflict as he attempts to woo global south
US unilateralism has wrecked the chances of peace in the Middle East, Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, told a crisis Brics meeting on Gaza as he attempted to woo leaders of the global south.
The virtual meeting of 11 nations, convened by South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, came as Arab foreign ministers toured capitals to drum up support for a fresh UN security council resolution mandating Israel to introduce a full ceasefire and end what they say are breaches of international humanitarian law.
Continue reading...UN says expects real toll to be significantly higher than official tally; Germany to send IRIS-T air defence unit, defence minister Boris Pistorius says. This live blog is closed
Russia cannot coexist with the current “regime” in Kyiv but Moscow can resist the might of Nato for as long as it needs to fully demilitarise Ukraine, a senior Russian diplomat said on Tuesday, Reuters reports.
“The current regime [in Kyiv] is absolutely toxic, we do not see any options for coexistence with it at the moment,” Russian ambassador-at-large Rodion Miroshnik told reporters in Moscow.
Continue reading...Supreme court to consider justice ministry request to outlaw ‘international LGBT public movement’ as extremist
The Russian justice ministry on Friday said it had filed a lawsuit with the supreme court to outlaw what it called an “international LGBT public movement” as extremist, in the latest attacks against the country’s already suppressed LGBTQ+ community.
The ministry said in an online statement that authorities had determined “signs and manifestations of extremist nature” in “the activities of the LGBT movement” in Russia, including “incitement of social and religious discord”.
Continue reading...Proposals aimed at choking off commercial revenues include total ban on sale of Russian rough diamonds
The European Commission is proposing a 12th round of sanctions against Moscow, including restrictions on scores of individuals apparently including the son of the former president Dmitry Medvedev and a relative of Vladimir Putin’s.
Among the 47 individuals the commission wants added to existing sanctions lists are Putin’s cousin Anna Tsivileva, who chairs the “defenders of the fatherland” foundation that supports Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine.
Continue reading...Broadcaster NDR launches investigation after Hubert Seipel admits receiving support for work on two books on Russian leader
A German publisher has announced a stop to the sale of books authored by a leading journalist and Russia expert after an investigation showed he had received at least €600,000 (£522,000) in undisclosed offshore payments from companies linked to an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin.
Hubert Seipel, an award-winning film-maker and author, admitted receiving support for his work on two books charting the Russian leader’s rise to power and offering portrayals described as sympathetic to him.
Continue reading...Russia withdraws from treaty of conventional armed forces in Europe, which was aimed at preventing cold war rivals from massing forces at borders
A Russian ship was “almost certainly” damaged after being struck in Crimea, says the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
In a defence intelligence update, the MoD said a newly built Russian naval corvette was damaged on 4 November, which was earlier reported by Ukrainian and Russian sources.
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