The FSB has used ‘cyber interference’ to target MPs, journalists and others in attempt to ‘meddle in British politics’, UK says

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Four occupied regions of Ukraine that were “annexed” by the Russian Federation in late 2022 are expected to participate in Russia’s presidential election next year, after the date was set for 17 March.

Russia’s Federation council confirmed the date this morning, with Ella Pamfilova, head of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, saying a decision will be made by 12 December on whether occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson will take part. The four internationally recognised Ukrainian territories already participated in Russian regional elections in 2023.

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Vladimir Putin will make a one-day trip to both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, the Kremlin said.

The Russian president will hold talks focusing on bilateral relations, the war between Israel and Hamas and other international issues, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Issues related to oil price caps will also be on the agenda, Peskov said. The Cop28 climate summit is taking place in Dubai in the UAE, but the Kremlin did not specify whether Putin would attend any related events.

On a snowy road next to Poland, Ukrainian lorry driver Vitaliy Zemyenko pondered the long journey ahead. It would take him nine hours to get through the Medyka border crossing. Over on the other side he would drop off a consignment of vodka. The problem was getting back.

“At the moment it’s taking a minimum of eight days to re-enter Ukraine,” he said. “That’s the best case scenario. Worst case is two weeks. This is a terrible situation”. The Poles, he added, wanted to stop Ukrainian drivers from operating in the European Union. “They don’t want us,” he said.

Polish prime minister says ‘we will strongly and unequivocally’ demand restoration of permits in de-escalation of border trade blockade

It is 2pm in Kyiv and here is a summary of today’s events so far:

Maj Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of Russia’s 14th Army Corps, has been confirmed killed in Ukraine, said the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev. He said Zavadsky had died “at a combat post in the special operation zone”, but further details have not been released.

The US is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia, say the White House. Its budget director, Shalanda Young, issued the warning in a letter to the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and other congressional leaders on Monday.

Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 Russian drones and one missile. It also added that a cultural centre and a shop were hit in Kherson.

Empty cargo trucks have crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland. In the first steps towards a de-escalation of a border blockade that has crippled Ukrainian trade. Estimates of the Ukrainian trade loss so far, exceed €400m ($440m). Processing of empty trucks began at the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv checkpoint by customs services at 1am (Kyiv time), in accordance with an agreement between Kyiv and Warsaw announced on Monday.

Ukraine’s forces attacked an oil depot in Russia-controlled Luhansk on Sunday night using combat drones. A fire that broke out after the attack was extinguished and there was no information about casualties.

Russia are opening new fronts in the battle for Avdiivka, say Ukrainian officials, who have accused Russian forces of assaulting the industrial town in the eastern Donetsk region from two new directions.

The Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has restarted inbound flights to Chisinau, Moldova, in eastern Europe, having suspended flights to the country in March due to tensions linked to Russia’s war with Ukraine.

Ukraine says Russian troops committed war crime as video appears to show two men surrendering before being shot

There it is, on a wintry morning: charred masonry, gnarled metal, glass shards, rubble and dust.

Yet another ravaged building in Ukraine: each has its own story, and this violation is against Kherson’s regional library for children, a place of effervescent creativity with a wonderful collection, named Dnipro Seagull library, after the birds that soar over the city’s mighty river – a symbol of the region.

Video shows two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers being shot dead as they emerged from dugout near Avdiivka

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Ukraine is investigating the “execution” by Russian forces of two Ukrainian soldiers who emerged from their trench near the town of Avdiivka and were shot dead as they surrendered.

The public prosecutor’s office said it had launched an inquiry into the gruesome incident. Video showed the Ukrainian soldiers’ last moments. One raised his arms in the air. Next, Russian service personnel gunned both men down at point-blank range.

Russia attempting to quell dissent from wives of soldiers deployed in Ukraine; former Ukraine president Poroshenko prevented from leaving the country

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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.

Russian shelling killed one civilian and destroyed two houses in the eastern town of Chasiv Yar on Saturday, Ukraine’s interior ministry said. Chasiv Yar is less than 5km west of the frontline city of Bakhmut, which Russia claimed to have captured in May after a devastating, months-long assault.

Ukrainian border guards prevented the ex-president Petro Poroshenko from leaving the country on Friday because he planned to meet the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, Kyiv’s security services said. Ukraine’s SBU security services said the former leader – who was in power from 2014 to 2019 – was turned back due to his planned meeting with Orban, an EU leader chided by Kyiv for his pro-Russian stance.

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, Andriy Yermak said.

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant lost its power supply after the last remaining line to it from Ukrainian-controlled territory was disrupted, but it has since been repaired. Ukraine’s energy ministry said.

OSCE Conference participants have accused Moscow of undermining the Vienna-based organisation. Latvia’s representative, Katrina Kaktina, accused Russia of obstructing the OSCE agenda and of committing war crimes in Ukraine.

Ukraine is developing plans to allow spectators to attend sports stadiums. Its sports ministry is developing a system that will allow fans to attend stadiums and watch games which have been off limits to the public since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russia to increase size of armed forces by 170,000; Zelenskiy admits counteroffensive did not achieve ‘desired results’

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told the Associated Press that “winter as a whole is a new phase of war” and acknowledged that “we did not achieve the desired results” with the summer counteroffensive. The Ukrainian leader also said that “we already can see the consequences of the international community shifting [attention] because of the tragedy in the Middle East”.

Zelenskiy later said that changes were needed to improve Ukraine’s system of mobilisation as part of an overall strategy to improve the country’s military position. In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said a meeting of the military command had discussed scenarios to produce “concrete results” for 2024 in conditions of war.

Russia said its troops were advancing in every section of the Ukrainian front, despite observers seeing little movement. The frontlines have barely shifted this year but fighting has remained intense. “Our servicemen are acting competently and decisively, occupying a more favourable position and expanding their zones of control in all directions,” Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said on Friday.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the maximum number of servicemen in the Russian armed forces by 170,000, the Kremlin and the defence ministry said. The regular strength of the armed forces is now set at 1,320,000 servicemen, according to the document.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”.

The situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border remained tense, with Ukrainian truckers stuck on the border saying they planned to launch a hunger strike if their demands were not met. Polish and Ukrainian officials agreed on measures designed to help ease the situation at border crossings blocked by Polish truckers, but did not address the protesting Polish truckers’ main demands. Slovak truckers said they would start blocking a border crossing with Ukraine.

A court in Russia has extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until 5 February.