Zelenskiy to speak at US Congress in person ahead of vote on bill for billions in US aid to Ukraine
If you’re just joining us, we’re waiting to hear from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in his first foreign visit since Russia’s devastating war on Ukraine started in March.
My name is Helen Sullivan, and I’ll be bringing you the latest. You can find me on Twitter here – ask a question and I’ll do my best to answer it.
Continue reading...US and Ukrainian presidents hold two-hour meeting before press conference, as Zelenskiy seeks more aid against Russia
Joe Biden has promised Volodymyr Zelenskiy that “you will never stand alone” as the Ukrainian leader visited the White House in a bid to keep American weapons supplies flowing for the war against Russia.
Zelenskiy, wearing his now trademark green military-style trousers and shirt, welcomed the US support while warning that it was difficult to see an easy end to the conflict and that there “cannot be any just peace in a war that was imposed on us”.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president makes first known foreign trip since invasion before vote on package worth $45bn
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has made his first known foreign trip since Russia invaded Ukraine more than 300 days ago, travelling to the US on a high-stakes visit to secure support for his war effort well into next year.
The Ukrainian president was filmed travelling with cars outside Przemyśl railway station in Poland.
Continue reading...Russia is expected to dramatically increase military spending over next two years, as it signals it is preparing for a long war
Vladimir Putin has pledged to give his army anything it asks for in a meeting with Russia’s top military officials as the war in Ukraine enters its 11th month.
Speaking in Moscow at the closing session of the expanded board of the ministry of defence, Putin said there were no “funding restrictions” for the military. “The country, the government will give everything that the army asks for. Everything,” the Russian president added.
Continue reading...Ukrainian president is meeting with president Joe Biden and Congressional leaders on Wednesday evening
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has undertaken a surprise trip to Beijing and held talks with the Chinese president Xi Jinping during which he said they discussed the Ukraine conflict.
Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s security council, posted a video on his Telegram channel showing him meeting Xi, smiling for photos and a meeting between Chinese and Russian officials.
Continue reading...Ben Wallace says Putin regime will supply military technology in return for drones used to attack Ukraine
Russia plans to deepen its military cooperation with Iran in return for Shahed drones that have been used to bomb Ukraine’s cities and energy network since September, according to Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace.
The west must hold Russia’s “enablers to account”, he said, in a Christmas update in which he was also forced to admit the UK had not completed a Ukraine “action plan” by the end of the year as promised.
Continue reading...This live blog has now closed, you can find our latest Ukraine coverage here
The Biden administration has crossed a new line in its support for Ukraine, by indicating its willingness to send Patriot air and missile defence systems to aid in the war against Russia.
The system – which includes powerful missile interceptors and radar – is likely to prove highly effective for Ukraine, and marks a significant step forward in the scope and complexity of the US’s support. But the gift of such prestige systems will present longer-term challenges for Nato.
Continue reading...Albin Kurti warns rising tensions only benefit Putin as ethnic Serbs set up road blocks in north of country
Kosovo’s prime minister, Albin Kurti, has warned of Russia inflaming tensions between his country and Serbia due to the war in Ukraine faltering, as Belgrade took its first step in deploying troops to the region.
Ethnic Serbs in northern Kosovo, where they are in the majority, have had barricades set up for more than a week, preventing the free movement of the Kosovan authorities, despite US and EU calls for the illegal road blocks to be dismantled.
Continue reading...Revival of pact could mean lifting sanctions on a country that is viciously suppressing protests and arming Russia
Wary western powers face an unlikely potential dilemma after a sudden push by Tehran to suggest that progress is being made to remove the last outstanding obstacles to a revived agreement to oversee Iran’s nuclear programme.
The unlikely prospect of Joe Biden reviving the dormant 2015 nuclear deal, potentially lifting sanctions and opening the way for Iran to make billions of dollars in oil exports, would be seen as a gross betrayal by supporters of three-month-long street protests, as well as a controversial signal to send to Ukraine about Washington’s priorities.
Continue reading...All 18 tanks on exercises suffer problems in blow to German contribution to January Nato force
The German government has said it will pause purchases of new Puma tanks after a mass breakdown during exercises, lamenting a “harsh setback” as Berlin seeks to overhaul its military.
The armoured infantry vehicles – which were supposed to form part of Germany’s contribution to a Nato force – suffered problems that left all 18 of those in the exercises unfit for operations.
Continue reading...Months of talks end with ‘dynamic cap’ deal after Germany persuaded by global reference-price condition
EU ministers have agreed a plan to cap the price of gas, ending months of argument over how to handle the cost of soaring energy prices after Russia cut gas supplies to Europe.
“Mission accomplished,” said the Czech minister for trade and industry, Jozef Síkela, who chaired talks between energy ministers, adding that negotiations had not been easy.
Continue reading...Government plans to seize US$26m from Granite Capital Holdings, owned by sanctioned former Chelsea FC owner
Canada plans to seize US$26m from a company owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich, the federal government said on Monday.
The pursuit of Abramovich’s Granite Capital Holdings marks a first attempt by Ottawa to seize assets belonging to a sanctioned individual and reflects a broader strategy to punish Russia and its wealthy elite for the invasion of Ukraine.
Continue reading...The PM seems undecided about delivering the big uplift in military help Kyiv needs to get ready for a possible Russian offensive
Boris Johnson’s Ukraine policy may not have always been sophisticated – “Dobryi den, everybody!” – but his enthusiasm was welcomed in Kyiv. Six months of Conservative party chaos later, his successor but one, Rishi Sunak, is yet to demonstrate he is as supportive at a time when Ukraine needs the west to dig in.
A leak at the start of the weekend said that Sunak had ordered an internal assessment of the significance of British military aid to Ukraine. Revelation of the Whitehall exercise was accompanied by a pointed briefing to the BBC, accusing the prime minister of resorting to a “Goldman Sachs dashboard” approach.
Continue reading...Antonia Guterres does not see ‘serious’ peace talks in immediate future; Russian president visits Minsk
EU countries will need to reach a compromise on a gas price cap on Monday, and the latest proposal on the table offers a good basis to do so, Malta’s energy minister, Miriam Dalli, has said.
“What the presidency is proposing is a very good step in the right direction,” Dalli said before entering a meeting of the EU’s energy ministers.
Continue reading...UK prime minister joins Nordic and Baltic leaders at summit on countering Russian aggression
Rishi Sunak will meet UK troops in Estonia and Nordic and Baltic leaders at a summit on countering Russian aggression, where he will say leaders must sustain or exceed their lethal aid support to Ukraine and their political backing.
Monday’s meeting will come after the UK prime minister was reported to have unnerved some in Whitehall by asking for a “Goldman Sachs dashboard” on the progress of the war and how UK military supplies are used, according to the BBC.
Continue reading...Volodymyr Zelenskiy proposes global peace summit; archbishop of Canterbury says Russia’s invasion has opened ‘gates of hell’
Continue reading...British ministry of defence says Russian soldiers also troubled by lack of equipment and uncertainty over war’s objectives
The time is approaching for a negotiated peace in Ukraine to reduce the risk of another devastating world war, but dreams of breaking up Russia could unleash nuclear chaos, the veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger said.
Kissinger, an architect of the cold war policy of detente towards the Soviet Union as secretary of state under Republican presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, has met Vladimir Putin multiple times since he first became president in 2000.
Continue reading...Moscow unveils plans to deploy musicians to frontline in bid to boost morale among Russian troops
Heating has been fully restored to Kyiv, the city’s mayor has said, after one of the most intense Russian bombardments of the capital last week robbed it of key civilian energy supplies and forced the national government to implement rolling blackouts.
Vitali Klitschko said on Sunday morning the capital was successfully “restoring all services after the latest shelling” and that “in particular, the capital’s heating supply system is fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally.”
Continue reading...Delta software developed to help collect and disseminate information about enemy’s movements
In a nondescript office building on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian soldiers have been honing what they believed will be a decisive weapon in their effort to repel the Russian invasion.
Inside, the weapon glows from a dozen computer screens – a constantly updated portrayal of the evolving battlefield to the south. With one click on a menu, the map is populated with hordes of orange diamonds, showing Russian deployments. They reveal where tanks and artillery have been hidden, and intimate details of the units and the soldiers in them, gleaned from social media. Choosing another option from the menu lights up red arrows across the southern Zaporizhzhia region, showing the progression of Russian columns. Zooming in shows satellite imagery of the terrain in sharp detail.
Continue reading...Military commander predicts ‘possible offensive from Belarus at the end of February’, as air raid sirens reported in several regions including Kyiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Volyn
Rockets launched by Ukrainian forces killed three civilians in the Russian-occupied town of Shchastia in Ukraine’s southern Luhansk province, according to pro-Moscow officials.
In a statement on Telegram, Russian-installed Luhansk officials claimed US-made Himars rockets had wounded five others, and destroyed four houses.
Continue reading...