Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has pushed back against Western pressure to lower his country’s conscription age, vowing not to sacrifice young soldiers to fill gaps in equipment and training.
Mr Zelensky emphasised that Ukraine’s focus should remain on equipping its existing brigades while allies work to decisively end Russia’s full-scale invasion.
In a post on X on Monday, he seemed to reject calls from the US to lower Ukraine’s draft age from 25 to 18, saying Ukraine will not use “the youth of soldiers” to make up for its gaps in military equipment and training.
The post continued: “The priority should be providing missiles and lowering Russia’s military potential, not Ukraine’s draft age. The goal should be to preserve as many lives as possible, not to preserve weapons in storage.”
His remarks followed reports that the US had tied additional military support to Ukraine’s willingness to mobilise more troops.
Mr Zelensky also expressed gratitude to French president Emmanuel Macron and US president-elect Donald Trump after a “productive conversation” in Paris, adding that “only decisiveness” would bring the war to a just conclusion.
Key Points
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Kremlin says Ukraine war will go on until Putin’s goals are met on battlefield
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Ukraine peace talks possible this winter, says Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk
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Zelensky open to idea of Western troops in Ukraine
Missile hits industrial facility in Russia’s Taganrog
03:53 , Arpan Rai
An overnight missile attack has damaged an industrial facility and scores of cars in Russia, officials said. The industrial facility is in the southwestern Russian port of Taganrog.
“According to preliminary information, no one was hurt,” the acting governor of Rostov region Yuri Slyusar said on his Telegram channel.
Russian officials rarely disclose the scale of damage and losses in Ukrainian strikes on its land.
Belarus has dozens of Russian nuclear weapons, says Lukashenko
03:14 , Arpan Rai
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare facilities for the planned deployment of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile.
His remarks came after he and president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty last week that gave security guarantees to Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel any aggression.
The pact follows Moscow’s revision of its nuclear doctrine, which for the first time placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella amid the tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.
Belarus has dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and is ready for its newest missile, its leader says
Drone hits UN nuclear watchdog’s vehicle near Zaporizhzhia plant
03:02 , Arpan Rai
A drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle of the International Atomic Energy Agency on the road to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine yesterday.
There were no casualties and the UN team is safe, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the nuclear watchdog. “I condemn in the most firm terms this attack on the IAEA staff,” Mr Grossi said. “We call, once again, as we have done it before, for the utmost restraint.”
Mr Grossi said attacking a nuclear power plant is a no-go and attacking those working to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict is “even more unacceptable.” He made no suggestion of who might have been responsible.
A picture posted alongside his statement showed a vehicle with clear IAEA markings, its rear portion badly damaged.
While it was not immediately clear which side in the conflict fired the drone, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a “deliberate” attack by Russia.
“This attack clearly demonstrated how Russia treats anything related to international law, global institutions, and safety. “The Russians could not have been unaware of their target; they knew exactly what they were doing and acted deliberately,” he wrote on X.
He called for “a clear and decisive response” from the IAEA and other international bodies.
Full report: Trump calls for Putin to reach ceasefire with Ukraine after Syrian government falls to rebel assault
03:00 , Steffie Banatvala
President-elect Donald Trump publicly urged Russian president Vladimir Putin to reach an “immediate ceasefire” deal with Ukraine’s oresident Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a late-night social media post Saturday evening amid reports that Syria’s capital of Damascus had fallen to a rebel attack.
Read the full report here:
Trump calls for Putin to reach ceasefire with Ukraine after Syrian government falls
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
02:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Moscow has also mobilised thousands of North Korean soldiers to push back the Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk, with some success.
And in the Kharkiv region, Russian forces are staging an attack on the city of Kupiansk, which is key to that area’s wider defence.
Read more:
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
What are ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
01:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Army Tactical Missile Systems are a long-range guided missile that gives operational commanders immediate firepower to strike deep inside Russia.
Produced by US global security and aerospace company Lockheed Martin, the missiles carry a 500lb (227kg) class blast fragmentation warhead.
These missiles can reach up to 300km (186 miles) and are tough to intercept due to their high speed.
The weapons are fitted with a specialised GPS system and carry cluster munitions.
When fired, the clusters open in the air, releasing hundreds of bomblets rather than a single warhead.
What Russia’s invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
00:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26 percent of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
Fellow soldiers mourn the loss of a compatriot (Global Images Ukraine via Getty)
70 per cent of Ukrainians support ‘West German’ model for NATO accession, survey shows
Tuesday 10 December 2024 23:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Just over 70 per cent of Ukrainians support gradual NATO accession akin to West Germany’s model, a new survey by the Kyiv-based New Europe Center.
This invitation would cover Ukraine, but the alliance’s defensive umbrella would only extend to occupied territories after liberation.
Different NATO accession pathways are gaining traction in both the West and Kyiv as Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield and the prospect of liberating occupied territories militarily remains slim.
Ukrainians have highest trust for Trump in Europe, survey suggests
Tuesday 10 December 2024 22:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Just over 44 per cent of Ukrainians trust US president-elect Donald Trump, around 10 points less than president Joe Biden, a survey by New Europe Center showed.
In comparison, a separate June poll by the Pew Research Center suggested that Hungaraians trusted Mr Trump the most at 37 percent, followed by Britain at 30 per cent and then France with 16 per cent of the population trusting him.
“This high level of support is likely due to the expectation of a clearer and more decisive policy towards Ukraine from the new US administration,” New Europe Center researchers said.
Ukrainians have the highest trust for US president-elect Donald Trump in Europe, survey suggests (Getty Images)
Zelensky open to idea of Western troops in Ukraine
Tuesday 10 December 2024 21:00 , Steffie Banatvala
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he is open to the potential deployment of Western troops in Ukraine to guarantee the country’s security as part of an effort to end the almost three-year war with Russia.
Mr Zelensky stressed that even with an invitation to the NATO military alliance, long-term protection would still be uncertain in the face of future Russian aggression.
Read more here:
Zelensky open to idea of Western troops in Ukraine
Kitten named Peach saves life of Ukrainian man fleeing war
Tuesday 10 December 2024 20:00 , Steffie Banatvala
A Ukrainian man was rescued fleeing his war-torn country from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach.
The cat has even been said to have saved his life.
More than a dozen rescuers worked in a harsh blizzard to save Vladislav Duda, 28, who was found “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-meter (437-yard) deep ravine in the northern Maramures region on Romania last week, according to the region’s mountain rescue service.
“The cat was warm and was warming him … so he saved his life,” Dan Benga, the director of the Maramures mountain rescue service, told The Associated Press. “The only thing we saw he is caring about is the cat. He doesn’t care about himself.”
Romania Ukrainian Rescue
Poland protests over damage to monuments in Russia
Tuesday 10 December 2024 19:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Poland will send a note to Russian authorities to demand an inquiry into the devastation of monuments commemorating Polish Home Army soldiers in the town of Yogla in eastern Russia, the Polish foreign ministry has said.
Relations between Poland and Russia are tense, especially since Moscow invaded neighbouring Ukraine in 2022.
“This is a place where former prisons, gulags were located, to which people from different parts of the world were sent, including Polish soldiers,” Polish foreign ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski said.
“And there were monuments commemorating prisoners, but they were not just monuments, they stand on the graves of people who died there from hunger, exhaustion, repression and diseases.”
Wronski added that Poland is asking Russia whether an inquiry will be launched and if perpetrators would be punished.
Politico lists Yermak, Zelenskyy among Europe’s most influential people
Tuesday 10 December 2024 18:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and chief of staff Andriy Yermak have been listed amongst Politico’s annual list of the most influential people in Europe.
The list was divided into “dreamers”, “doers” and “disrupters”.
Mr Zelenskyy topped the dreamers for “changing the course of history…. with the power of words” and Mr Yermak as a runner-up doer as “the mastermind behind Kyiv’s push to engage with developing countries”.
Chief of staff Andriy Yermak (centre) with president Zelenskyy (right), who both featured on Politico’s list of most influential people in Europe (via REUTERS)
Injury toll from Russian missile attacks in Kharkiv rises to 11
Tuesday 10 December 2024 17:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv injured at least 11 people, officials said having previously reported 10 injured.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov stated that Russian soldiers launched two missile attacks on the village of Zlatopil.
The first strike harmed non-residential structures and cars, while the second struck an administration facility.
Russia has bombarded the border region with numerous attacks since the beginning of Moscow’s full-fledged invasion in February 2022.
EU envoys to discuss first sanctions targeting Russian hybrid threats
Tuesday 10 December 2024 16:40 , Steffie Banatvala
EU envoys are set to discuss on Wednesday the first potential sanctions targeting Russian hybrid threats such as undermining elections, cyber attacks and economic sabotage, EU diplomats said, as the bloc is struggling to contain Russian influence.
A list of 16 individuals and 3 entities could be added to a new sanctions framework agreed in October in response to a rise in such attacks across the 27-member bloc since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine nearly three years ago.
Most of the sanctions targets proposed by the EU Commission are Russian. The listing also identifies three people from Moldova, Ivory Coast and Georgia and one entity based in Togo.
EU envoys are set to discuss on Wednesday the first potential sanctions targeting Russian hybrid threats (Getty Images)
Belarus has dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and is ready for its newest missile
Tuesday 10 December 2024 16:36 , Steffie Banatvala
Belarus’ president Alexander Lukashenko has said his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare facilities for the planned deployment of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile.
“I have warned all my enemies, ‘friends’ and adversaries: If you step on the border, the answer will be momentary,” Mr Lukashenko said.His remarks came after he and Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty last week that gave security guarantees to Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel any aggression.
File image of Iskander short-range missile as Belarus says its hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service)
Russian troops sabotage boats to avoid Dnipro crossing, Ukraine partisans claim
Tuesday 10 December 2024 16:20 , Steffie Banatvala
Russian troops sabotage their boats and equipment to storming the Dnipro River islands on the southern front, Ukrainian resistance group Atesh has claimed.
“There are increasing cases of sabotage among Russian soldiers to avoid being sent to storm the islands in the Dnipro delta,” Atesh said on their Telegram channel, without providing evidence.
The post follows reports of Russia amassing 300 boats for an assault on strategic islands across the Dnipro.
Ukraine hikes railway freight tariffs in fresh blow to farmers
Tuesday 10 December 2024 16:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Ukraine‘s national railway has said it will hike freight tariffs by 37 per cent to meet significant price rises for fuel, electricity and equipment repairs in a fresh blow to farmers.
The hike comes as the embattled country tries to cope with the effects of Russian attacks.
Railways transport half of all Ukrainian goods and are vital for exports of grain and metallurgical products.
Earlier this year, the agrarian lobby UCAB said an increase in freight tariffs would hurt struggling farmers and damage production and export volumes.
The traders’ union UGA said it could only worsen the situation for farmers already suffering from falling global food prices.
Ukraine’s hike in railway tariffs is a fresh blow to farmers (REUTERS)
Ukraine MoD shows losses since Russia’s invasion
Tuesday 10 December 2024 15:40 , Steffie Banatvala
Pictures show Syrian diaspora raising opposition flags at embassy in Russia
Tuesday 10 December 2024 15:20 , Steffie Banatvala
Photos show members of the Syrian community in Moscow gathering outside the Syrian embassy on Monday to celebrate the toppling of former president Bashar al-Assad and to hoist the opposition flag over the building.
Assad and his family fled to Russia, where they received asylum from his longtime ally, after a lightning rebel advance ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.
Members of the Syrian diaspora raise the Syrian opposition flag at the Syrian embassy in Moscow, Russia (AP)
Members of the Syrian diaspora prepare to raise the Syrian opposition flag at the Syrian embassy in Moscow, Russia (AP)
The Syrian opposition flag is installed on the building of the Embassy of Syria in Moscow (AFP via Getty Images)
Russian missile strike kills three in Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, governor says
Tuesday 10 December 2024 15:15 , Steffie Banatvala
Three people were killed and 11 hurt in a Russian missile strike that destroyed a private clinic in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, the regional governor said.
Rescuers were searching for people trapped under the rubble, he said on the Telegram messenger. One person was in a severe condition, and two medics were among the injured,
Explosions heard in occupied Donetsk
Tuesday 10 December 2024 15:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Russian occupation officials announced evacuations in Yenakiieve city in the occupied Donetsk region as reports of explosions spread on social media.
Local Telegram channels speculated about a possible missile attack in footage they posted allegedly showing explosions in Yenakiieve .
Ukraine has not commented on the incident, and Russian authorities did not clarify the reasons for evacuation.
China restricting drone supplies key to Ukrainian defence
Tuesday 10 December 2024 14:40 , Steffie Banatvala
China has started restricting exports to the United States and Europe of drone components vital to Ukraine’s defence, amid an escalating China-US trade war, Bloomberg reports.
The parts are used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to sources with knowledge of the developments.
Beijing is expected to impose broader restrictions on drone parts in the new year, the sources added.
File image of Chinese phantom drone, as Beijing restricts US exports (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
Poland says Ukraine peace talks possible this winter
Tuesday 10 December 2024 14:20 , Steffie Banatvala
Peace talks on the war in Ukraine could possibly start this winter, Poland’s prime minister said as he outlined a series of planned meetings with Warsaw seeking to play a leading role in ending the conflict.
Poland has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“As you can imagine, our delegation will be co-responsible for, among other things, what the political calendar will look like, perhaps what the situation will be like during the negotiations, which may, although there is still a question mark, start in the winter of this year,” Donald Tusk told a government meeting.
Mr Tusk’s comments come after he announced French president Emmanuel Macron will Warsaw on Thursday to give a rundown on talks with US president-elect Trump and Ukrainian president Zelensky in Paris last weekend.
Polish PM Donald Tusk says Ukraine peace talks possible this winter (EPA)
Ukrainians have highest trust for Trump in Europe, survey suggests
Tuesday 10 December 2024 14:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Just over 44 per cent of Ukrainians trust US president-elect Donald Trump, around 10 points less than president Joe Biden, a survey by New Europe Center showed.
In comparison, a separate June poll by the Pew Research Center suggested that Hungaraians trusted Mr Trump the most at 37 percent, followed by Britain at 30 per cent and then France with 16 per cent of the population trusting him.
“This high level of support is likely due to the expectation of a clearer and more decisive policy towards Ukraine from the new US administration,” New Europe Center researchers said.
Just over 44 per cent of Ukrainians trust US president-elect Donald Trump (Getty Images)
70 per cent of Ukrainians support ‘West German’ model for NATO accession, survey shows
Tuesday 10 December 2024 13:40 , Steffie Banatvala
Just over 70 per cent of Ukrainians support gradual NATO accession akin to West Germany’s model, a new survey by the Kyiv-based New Europe Center.
This invitation would cover Ukraine, but the alliance’s defensive umbrella would only extend to occupied territories after liberation.
Different NATO accession pathways are gaining traction in both the West and Kyiv as Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield and the prospect of liberating occupied territories militarily remains slim.
China’s exports to Russia plunge for first time in four months
Tuesday 10 December 2024 13:20 , Steffie Banatvala
China’s yuan exports to Russia plunged in November, a sharp deterioration from 24 per cent growth in October and marking the first decline in four months, according to Chinese customs data.
Outbound shipments to Russia shrank 10.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the first drop since July.
Imports from Russia also fell 7.4 percent in yuan terms last month, worsening from a 4.3 percent loss in October.
It comes after Putin said that the primary challenge to Russia-China trade was mutual payment settlements, and the central banks of both countries were working to address the issue.
Russia-China trade is faltering (AP)
UK to support Cyprus in cracking down on ‘illicit Russian finance’
Tuesday 10 December 2024 13:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Britain will support Cyprus in establishing a new national sanctions implementation unit to crack down on “illicit Russian finance” flowing through Europe, the British government has said.
“Together with the Republic of Cyprus, we are stemming the flow of illicit finance through Europe to starve (Russian president Vladimir) Putin’s war machine and protect global stability,” British prime minister Keir Starmer said following a visit to the island nation.
Polish PM Tusk to discuss Ukraine with France’s Macron in Warsaw
Tuesday 10 December 2024 12:40 , Steffie Banatvala
French president Emmanuel Macron will visit Warsaw on Thursday to give a rundown on talks with US president-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris last weekend, Poland’s prime minister said on Tuesday.
“The day after tomorrow, president Macron will be here, he will want to inform about the results of the Paris talks, where the meeting took place with president (elect) Trump and president Zelenskyy,” Donald Tusk told a government meeting.
French president Emmanuel Macron with US president-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine‘s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris (AFP via Getty Images)
German ministry trying to gain access to Russian sabotage suspect
Tuesday 10 December 2024 12:20 , Steffie Banatvala
Germany’s foreign ministry has said it is trying to gain access to a dual Russian-German citizen detained in Russia on suspicion of preparing an act of sabotage on a railroad in Nizhny Novgorod, a city some 280 miles (450 km) east of Moscow.
Russia treats dual nationals exclusively as Russian and therefore generally refuses consular access, a foreign ministry source in Berlin said.
The German embassy in Moscow is working to gain access to the person concerned after learning of the arrest of a suspected German citizen, the source added.
Unrelated image of the Nizhny Novgorod area, where a suspected sabotage of a railway has taken place (TELEGRAM / @glebnikitin_nn/AFP v)
Russia detains German citizen on suspicion of railway sabotage
Tuesday 10 December 2024 12:00 , Steffie Banatvala
Russia’s Federal Security Service has said it had detained a dual Russian-German citizen on suspicion of preparing an act of sabotage on a railroad in Nizhny Novgorod, a city some 280 miles (450 km) east of Moscow.
The FSB did not name the man, but said he was born in 2003. It said authorities had found an improvised explosive device at his home, as well as evidence he had corresponded with a member of Ukrainian special services.
Russian officials have linked pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups with numerous attacks on railways aimed at disrupting supplies to the battle front in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.
Tuesday 10 December 2024 11:40 , Steffie Banatvala
Kristen Michal, Estonia’s prime minister, has arrived in Kyiv to meet with Volodymyr Zelensky and other top officials, including Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.
Friedrich Merz, the German opposition leader, is also making a diplomatic visit to the Ukrainian capital today.
Michal succeeded Kaja Kallas as Prime Minister in July. She resigned to become the EU’s foreign policy leader after becoming one of the political bloc’s and NATO’s most outspoken critics of Russia and backers of Ukraine. It is her first trip to Ukraine as head of the Estonian government.
Ukraine to raise NATO invite at European meeting
Tuesday 10 December 2024 11:20 , Steffie Banatvala
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will raise Ukraine’s invitation to join the NATO military alliance as well as security guarantees at a meeting with European partners this month, Kyiv has said.
Ukraine announced the meeting on Monday and said it would help coordinate a joint position and ensure Kyiv was in a strong position for potential talks and on the battlefield.
“One of the issues on the agenda of such a meeting will certainly be the issue we are discussing now of obtaining a membership application and the issue of security guarantees for Ukraine until it joins NATO,” said Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office.
He said there would also be discussions about military aid for Ukraine.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)
Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s Kharkiv region injures 10, governor says
Tuesday 10 December 2024 10:56 , Rachel Hagan
Russian missile attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern region of Kharkiv injured ten people and destroyed an administrative building, according to the governor on Tuesday.
Governor Oleh Syniehubov stated that Russian soldiers launched two missile attacks on the village of Zlatopil.
The first strike harmed non-residential structures and cars, while the second struck an administration facility.
Russia has bombarded the border region with numerous attacks since the beginning of Moscow’s full-fledged invasion in February 2022.
Russia seizes eastern Ukraine village of Zhovte, state media says
Tuesday 10 December 2024 10:30 , Rachel Hagan
Russian state media reports that its forces have captured the village of Zhovte in eastern Ukraine.
The TASS state news agency cited the defence ministry as its source but Reuters could not independently confirm the report.
Kremlin says Ukraine war will go on until Putin’s goals are met on battlefield
Tuesday 10 December 2024 09:46 , Rachel Hagan
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the Ukraine war would continue until president Vladimir Putin’s goals were met, either through military action or negotiations.
Putin has asked that Ukraine forsake its aspirations to join NATO and withdraw completely from four regions of the country that Russia claims as its own, proposals that Kyiv has rejected as akin to capitulation.
“The special military operation will end when all of the objectives set by the president and commander-in-chief have been achieved,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, using Moscow’s euphemism for the fight.
“These goals can be achieved as a result of the special military operation or a result of relevant negotiations.”
Peskov said no talks between Moscow and Kyiv were currently underway because “the Ukrainian side refuses any negotiations”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday made the case for a diplomatic settlement to the war and raised the idea of foreign troops being deployed in Ukraine until it could join NATO.
Five deported Ukrainian children return home, officials say
Tuesday 10 December 2024 09:30 , Rachel Hagan
As part of an ongoing effort to repatriate more than 20,000 deported children, officials announced Monday that five Ukrainian children who had been sent abroad or placed in foster care since February 2022 have returned home.
Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, said those brought home on Monday included three young people who in the course of their movements had reached the age of 18.
One girl has long yearned to return home, Zarivna said on the Telegram chat platform, despite being exposed to Russian propaganda.
Another youngster was reunited with his whole family after he and his mother escaped to Russia at the beginning of the war.
While another family with two children had to face searches and interrogations at their home before being transported to a secure region, a third person sought assistance in navigating his way out of Russian-occupied portions of Ukraine.
Kitten named Peach saves life of Ukrainian man fleeing war
Tuesday 10 December 2024 09:04 , Rachel Hagan
A Ukrainian man was rescued fleeing his war-torn country from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach.
More than a dozen rescuers worked in a harsh blizzard to save Vladislav Duda, 28, who was found “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-meter (437-yard) deep ravine in the northern Maramures region in Romania last week, according to the region’s mountain rescue service. Duda had fled Ukraine to avoid being drafted into his country’s armed forces fighting Russia.
“The cat was warm and was warming him … so he saved his life,” Dan Benga, the director of the Maramures mountain rescue service, told The Associated Press. “The only thing we saw he is caring about is the cat. He doesn’t care about himself.”
When the rescue team located and found the Ukrainian, they unzipped his jacket and discovered Peach snuggled up inside. Benga recalls asking Duda if he was OK, to which he replied: “I’m happy because my cat is alive. I got a chance from God for a new life. The happiest moment is because the cat is here with me,” Benga recalled Duda saying.
“The cat was warm and was warming him … so he saved his life” (Romania Ukrainian Rescue)
Russia holds the strategic initiative in Ukraine, Russia claims
Tuesday 10 December 2024 08:34 , Rachel Hagan
Russia is close to accomplishing its military objectives in Ukraine and has the strategic advantage in all sectors, according to Moscow’s foreign intelligence chief, as reported by Russian media on Tuesday.
“The situation on the front is not in Kyiv’s favour,” RIA quoted Sergei Naryshkin as saying in Razvedchik, the foreign intelligence agency’s official newsletter.
He continued: “The strategic initiative in all areas belongs to us.”
Pentagon says North Korean troops still in Kursk, have not engaged in combat
Tuesday 10 December 2024 07:57 , Arpan Rai
North Korean troops in Russia are yet to engage in combat but have been seen in Kursk, the Pentagon said in its latest assessment.
“…DPRK troops are still in that Kursk region. Haven’t seen them engaged in combat. But, you know, we know they’re there. We know that they’re staged to engage in combat and, you know, we’re continuing to monitor that,” Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing last night.
The official said that the US is watching a “deepening cooperation” between Russia and the DPRK.
“You know, we’re seeing certainly a trading of information and capabilities between these two countries including North Korea providing soldiers on the battlefield,” Ms Singh said.
How Kyiv plans to boost its negotiating power against Putin
Tuesday 10 December 2024 07:56 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine plans to call a critical meeting of its key European allies this month to work out a joint position for the new year.
The aim of the talks will be to ensure Kyiv is in a strong position on the battlefield and in any potential peace talks, the presidential spokesperson said.
Ukraine has intensified calls for help from its supporters, particularly in the build-up to the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, who has said he wants to end the Ukraine-Russia war quickly.
“Ukraine is gathering key European partners who, together with the United States, are able to ensure the maximum strengthening of our state,” spokesperson Sergiy Nykyforov said.
The meeting is needed to coordinate a joint position and guarantee that Ukraine is “strong in any scenario, both in negotiations and on the battlefield”, he added. The final list of participants was still being decided, he said.
It should include countries which possess long-range weapons, invest in Ukrainian arms production and can decide on Ukraine‘s future in the Nato alliance, he added.
Volodymyr Zelensky seen in the main courtyard of the Élysée Palace in Paris after a series of trilateral talks (Getty Images)
After the fall of Assad in Syria, what is the threat to Europe from Isis?
Tuesday 10 December 2024 07:10 , Arpan Rai
Four hundred years ago, Sir John Harington explained, “Treason doth never prosper. What’s the reason? If treason prosper, none dare call it treason.” Maybe, terrorism is never successful – as Western governments insist – for much the same reason.
The rebranding of Syria’s new strongman, Abu Mohammad al Jolani, from internationally outlawed terrorist to international partner, is well underway.
On Sunday, Sir John Sawers – Tony Blair’s guru in the run-up to the Iraq War, as well as MI6’s boss – led the choir of Whitehall’s most far-sighted mandarins singing the praises of Al Jolani as “the leader of a liberation movement, not a terrorist organisation”; and calling for his HTS group’s designation as a terrorist group to be reviewed.
Pat McFadden, the Cabinet Office minister, told Sky News that a review was in order in “the new situation”. Now, No 10 says the review is “proceeding quickly”.
After the fall of Assad in Syria, what is the threat to Europe from Isis?
Kitten named Peach saves life of Ukrainian man fleeing war
Tuesday 10 December 2024 07:02 , Arpan Rai
A Ukrainian man was rescued from a deep mountain ravine in subzero temperatures while fleeing his war-torn country with an unlikely companion: his months-old kitten named Peach.
More than a dozen rescuers worked in a harsh blizzard to save Vladislav Duda, 28, who was found “soaked and frozen” and severely hypothermic in a 400-metre (437-yard) deep ravine in the northern Maramures region of Romania last week, according to the region’s mountain rescue service.
Peach is said to have saved Mr Duda’s life. Read more on that here:
Kitten named Peach saves life of Ukrainian man fleeing war
EU countries approve new 4.2 billion euros payment for Ukraine
Tuesday 10 December 2024 07:00 , Rachel Hagan
Ukraine will soon get another 4.2 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in funds after the European Union’s member states approved the planned payment of the money, said the EU Council on Monday.
The money, which forms part of the EU’s Ukraine facility, will help Ukraine’s economy, as the country continues to fight against Russia.
The G7 group of the world’s biggest economies have earmarked an overall loan of $50 billion for Ukraine, serviced by profits generated by Russian assets immobilised in the West.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Tuesday 10 December 2024 06:43 , Arpan Rai
Ukrainian forces defending the eastern region of Donetsk are heading into the “moment of maximum tension” as Russian forces rush to take territory across Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next year, war monitors have claimed.
Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Putin’s spy chief claims Russia holds strategic initiative in Ukraine
Tuesday 10 December 2024 06:38 , Arpan Rai
Russia is close to achieving its military goals in Ukraine and holds the strategic initiative in all areas, Moscow’s foreign intelligence chief was cited as saying by Russian media this morning.
“The situation on the front is not in Kyiv’s favour,” RIA cited Sergei Naryshkin as saying to Razvedchik, the official publication of the foreign intelligence agency. “The strategic initiative in all areas belongs to us”.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory after launching its invasion in 2022, and has been making slow but steady gains in the Donbas region in recent months.
Will not sacrifice soldiers’ youth, says Zelensky
Tuesday 10 December 2024 06:36 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has reacted to calls from Western allies for Ukraine to reduce its mobilisation age from 25 to 18, saying that he will not sacrifice Ukrainian youths to the war.
“We must not compensate the lack of equipment and training with the youth of soldiers. The priority should be providing missiles and lowering Russia’s military potential, not Ukraine’s draft age,” he said in a post on X.
He added: “The goal should be to preserve as many lives as possible, not to preserve weapons in storages.”
In his remarks, Mr Zelensky thanked Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron for their talks in Paris, saying they were working to secure peace in Europe and maintain the international order.
“I told President Trump that Putin fears only him and, perhaps, China. And that’s the truth – only decisiveness can bring this war to a just end and ensure lasting peace,” he wrote.
Almost 800,000 Russian troops in Ukraine, Zelensky says
Tuesday 10 December 2024 05:50 , Rachel Hagan
Almost 800,000 Russian troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Monday, citing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader said on Sunday that 43,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and 370,000 injured, of whom about half had been able to return to service after treatment. He also claimed that 198,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and a further 550,000 injured. We have not been able to independently verify any of these figures yet.
Russia facing high costs to prolong Ukraine war, says ISW
Tuesday 10 December 2024 05:48 , Arpan Rai
Russia is bearing staggeringly high costs to maintain its war effort against Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said.
It pointed to mounting economic strain, labour shortages, and systemic corruption threatening the sustainability of the Russian defence industrial base (DIB).
The Washington-based think tank monitoring the war cited US defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s remarks that Russia has spent over $200bn on its war in Ukraine and suffered at least 700,000 casualties since February 2022, with recent losses averaging 1,000 soldiers per day.
According to the Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation, Russia’s liquid assets in its National Welfare Fund dropped from $140bn in February 2022 to $53.8bn by 1 December, 2024.
“Russia’s mounting economic pressures stemming from the war, paired with widespread corruption, labor shortages, and inefficiencies in Russia’s DIB, will likely compound the cost of Russia’s war and further undermine its ability to effectively sustain DIB operations while maintaining economic stability,” the ISW said in its assessment.
Russia says it has returned bodies of plane crash POWs
Tuesday 10 December 2024 05:31 , Arpan Rai
Officials in Russia say they have returned the bodies of dead Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) who were on board a Russian Il-76 military plane that crashed in Belgorod in January this year.
Russian human rights ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova claimed the bodies had been transferred to Ukraine on an unspecified date.
In Kyiv, the Ukrainian coordination headquarters for the treatment of POWs said the remains were transferred in the latest POW exchange on 29 November. However, they said they were still working to confirm if the remains belonged to the POWs involved in the Belgorod crash.
Russia claims the Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft was carrying 74 people – six crew members, three Russian soldiers and 65 POWs being readied for prisoner exchanges with Ukraine – when it was shot down near the Russian city Belgorod, 40km north of the border with Ukraine. Regional Russian officials said all those on board the plane had been killed.
The plane was shot down on 24 January. Watch the video here:
Moment Russian plane believed to be carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war crashes
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the fall of the Assad regime in Syria was also a ‘humiliation for Russia’
Tuesday 10 December 2024 04:50 , Rachel Hagan
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK Government has “long hoped” to see Bashar Assad gone, telling MPs: “We welcome the opportunity this brings the people of Syria.
“Assad’s demise is not just a humiliation to him and his henchman, it is a humiliation for Russia and Iran. Iran’s so-called axis of resistance is crumbling before our eyes.”
Mr Lammy said Russian president Vladimir Putin has attempted to “prop up Assad for more than a decade”, adding: “All that he’s got for this is a fallen dictator, filing for asylum in Moscow.
“He says he wants to return to Russia to its imperial glory, but after more than 1,000 days he has not subjugated Ukraine. Putin’s fake empire stops short just a few miles out of Donetsk.”
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the fall of the Assad regime in Syria was also a “humiliation for Russia and Iran.
Zelensky discusses freezing war lines with Macron and Trump
Tuesday 10 December 2024 04:49 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky said he had discussed a “freezing” of the lines in the war when he met Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump over the weekend.
The Ukrainian president has made the case for a diplomatic settlement to Russia’s war in Ukraine and raised the idea of foreign troops being deployed in his country until it could join the Nato military alliance.
Russia controls nearly a fifth of Ukrainian territory after launching the 2022 invasion that unleashed the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.
Mr Zelensky said he told the two leaders that he did not believe Putin actually wanted to end the war and that the Russian president had to be forced to make peace.
“You can only exert force if Ukraine is strong. A strong Ukraine before any diplomacy means a strong (Ukraine) on the battlefield,” he said, implying Kyiv needed help to become stronger.
Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Donald Trump leave after a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris (AFP via Getty Images)
Zelensky boosts funding for drone deployment
Tuesday 10 December 2024 04:35 , Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has issued orders to increase funding for equipping the country’s brigades with new drones.
The Ukrainian president said he had received a report from Pavlo Palisa, a former military commander and the president’s newly-appointed deputy chief of staff, to provide additional funding for drones.
“We recently approved a decision about the amount of such direct funds. But now I see that the amount is insufficient,” Mr Zelensky said.
“I instructed the prime minister to increase financing for brigades in the coming days, to increase several times over.”
The Ukrainian leader has increasingly focused on the deployment of drones in the war, which has extended over 33 months since Russia invaded in February 2022.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi (L) speak next to the first batch of Ukrainian made drone missiles “Peklo” (Hell) delivered to the Defence Forces of Ukraine in Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)
Five deported Ukrainian children return home, officials say
Tuesday 10 December 2024 04:06 , Arpan Rai
At least five Ukrainian children sent away or placed in care since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion returned to their homeland.
Daria Zarivna, an adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, said those brought home yesterday included three young people who in the course of their movements had reached the age of 18.
One girl had long sought to come home despite being subjected to Russian narratives of the war, Ms Zarivna said. Another boy who fled to Russia with his mother at the start of the war was reunited with his entire family.
A third sought help to find his way out of Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine while another family with two children endured searches and interrogations in their home before being taken to a safe area.
“These stories are not just facts, but real tales of fate and rescue thanks to the efforts of the state, volunteers and our international partners,” Ms Zarivna wrote.
Ukraine has brought at least 1,029 children home since the outbreak of war, according to Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.