“This aggressive Russian action is not acceptable,” the French defense minister said
Independent Premium
Want to bookmark your favorite articles and stories to read or watch later?Start your Standalone Premium subscription today.
At least four other people were killed in Kyiv after a fatal overnight attack in which Putin’s forces launched a barrage of drones and missiles early Saturday.
The other four people died after a missile fell in the Shevchenkivskyi district, said the head of the military administration of the city of kyiv, Timur Tkachenko. Debris also fell in the Desnyansky district, he said.
Overnight, Russia introduced 39 Shahed drones, simulator drones and four ballistic missiles, many of which were shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force.
It comes as France accused Russia of “bullying” after its air defenses blocked a French patrol over the Baltic Sea.
The French maritime patrol plane was part of a NATO operation and was detected through the radar of an S400 surface-to-air defense system, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said in X.
“This competitive action through Russia is acceptable. Our militaries will continue to act to protect freedom of navigation in foreign air and maritime space,” Lecornu added.
Three more people were killed in central kyiv on Saturday morning in a Russian attack in the middle of the night, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration.
Mr Tkachenko posted on the Telegram messaging app that the deaths had occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
He said falling debris had also hit the Desnyanskyi district on the other side of the Dnipro River that runs through the capital.
Three lawyers who represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were sentenced to years in criminal prison in a Russian penal colony, as part of Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on dissent, which has reached levels not seen since. the Soviet era.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser, already detained, were sentenced to between three and a half and five years in prison after being arrested in October 2023, accused of involvement in extremist teams, what the Russian State calls opposition. as.
Before his sudden death in a penal colony last year – which Western leaders have blamed Putin for – Mr Navalny slammed the arrests of his lawyers as “outrageous”, describing it as a plan to further isolate him in jail. Despite his imprisonment, Mr Navalny was able via his lawyers to post on social media and file frequent lawsuits over his treatment in prison, using the resulting legal hearings as a chance to keep speaking out against the government and the war.
Complete here:
Alexei Navalny’s lawyers were accused by the Russian government of passing data to him while he was in prison.
Russia hopes that a ceasefire in Gaza will lead to a long-term ceasefire in the Middle East, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian, Putin said it was important not to weaken efforts towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Pezeshkian expressed hope that the ceasefire would be implemented.
Ukraine has introduced a new counterattack in Russia’s Kursk border region as it seeks to gain as much territory as imaginable ahead of any peace talks imaginable; US President-elect Donald Trump says he needs to end the war as temporarily as possible.
The attack began over the weekend, with unverified footage posted by Russian military bloggers showing a column of Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles heading toward the village of Berdin, a small outer domain in which Ukraine was recently located in Kursk.
Tom Watling reports:
Russian military commentators are ‘worried’ about the multipronged Ukrainian attack in the border region
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia to expect the United States to stop supporting Ukraine’s defense after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Scholz has spoken to Trump twice since the election, he said, adding that there is an “intense” diplomatic discussion between Germany and the new administration.
“We can therefore hope that good cooperation between Europe and the USA will continue to be successful in the future, including on the issue of support for Ukraine,” Mr Scholz added.
“So I don’t expect the U.S. to stop supporting Ukraine in its defence.”
Ukraine must be put in the “strongest possible position” in 2025, Sir Keir Starmer said as he made his first trip to Kyiv as Prime Minister.
The stopover comes just days before Donald Trump enters the White House, which could signal a shift in the United States toward Ukraine’s war effort toward a peace deal.
In a sign of the dangers facing Ukrainians on a daily basis, reports from Kyiv indicated a Russian drone flying over the city shortly after Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelensky laid flowers at a site of remembrance for those killed since the 2022 invasion.
The Kyiv Independent reported explosions were heard during an air raid alert.
Full here:
Sir Keir Starmer’s visit to Ukraine comes ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration and a potential push for a peace deal to end the war with Russia.
At least 12 Indians were killed while serving in the Russian armed forces, the Indian foreign ministry said on Friday.
Eighteen other people are still serving in the army; Russia has classified 16 of them as “missing”.
Last year, India said it had exposed a major human smuggling network that lured young people to Russia with the promise of jobs, before forcing them to fight in Russia’s war against Russia. ‘Ukraine.
The UK should only host a state visit with Donald Trump if he “delivers” on support for Ukraine, Sir Ed Davey has said.
The Liberal Democrat leader described the concept of the state as an “influence” that the UK would have over the president-elect when he returns to force next week, in a speech delivered in central London.
Concerns have been raised about the effect of Trump’s return to the White House on U. S. aid to Kyiv. From its earliest days it had already expressed its preference for ending the conflict.
In the same speech, Sir Ed called on the Government to “negotiate this year a brand new deal with the EU” that would have “at its heart, a new UK EU customs union”.
Full here:
At least four people have been killed in a Russian strike on the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern-central Ukraine, the regional governor said.
Three people are in a serious condition in hospital with at least two others injured in the attack, Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
Two five-storey buildings were damaged, including a residential building and an educational facility, and one caught fire, Mr Lysak added.
Witnesses described on social media hearing several explosions in the city after Ukraine’s air force warned of the risk of ballistic missiles coming from Russian-occupied Crimea.
Russia has not commented on reports of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s attack on Kryvy Rih.
Russia expects the United States to ease sanctions on Russian oil when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Kremlin said.
This follows Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who said he “100%” supported expanding sanctions on Russian oil manufacturers if the new president asked him to.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov says Russia does not expect the US to fundamentally change its stance.
Three people were killed early on Saturday in the centre of Kyiv in a nighttime Russian attack, said Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration.
Mr Tkachenko posted on the Telegram messaging app that the deaths had occurred in the city’s Shevchenkivskyi district.
He said falling debris had also hit the Desnyanskyi district on the other side of the Dnipro River that runs through the capital.
Three lawyers who represented the late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny were sentenced to years of criminal imprisonment in a Russian penal colony, as part of Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on dissent, which has reached levels not seen since the Soviet era.
Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin and Alexei Liptser, already detained, were imprisoned for three to five years after being detained in October 2023, accused of involvement in extremist groups, which the Russian State designates as opposition groups.
Before his sudden death in a penal colony last year — which Western leaders have blamed on Putin — Navalny criticized the arrests of his lawyers as “outrageous,” describing them as a plan to further isolate him in prison. Despite his imprisonment, Navalny was able, through his lawyers, to post on social media and register regular demands about his treatment in prison, using the resulting legal hearings as an opportunity to continue speaking out against the government and the war.
Complete here:
Russia hopes a ceasefire in Gaza will lead to a long-term ceasefire in the Middle East, President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.
At a joint news conference with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Putin said it is vital not to weaken efforts aimed at achieving a comprehensive settlement on the conflict and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.
Pezeshkian expressed hope that the ceasefire will be implemented.
Ukraine has introduced a new counterattack in Russia’s Kursk border region as it seeks to gain as much territory as imaginable ahead of conceivable peace talks, and US President-elect Donald Trump says he needs to end the war as temporarily as possible. .
The attack started over the weekend, with unverified footage circulated by Russian military bloggers showing a column of Ukrainian tanks and armoured personnel carriers heading towards the village of Berdin, a small area outside of what Ukraine currently controls in Kursk.
Tom Watling reports:
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russia to expect the United States to stop supporting Ukraine’s defense after President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Scholz has spoken to Trump twice since the election, he said, adding that there is an “intense” diplomatic discussion between Germany and the new administration.
“We can therefore expect that intelligent cooperation between Europe and the United States will continue to bear fruit in the future, especially with regard to Ukraine,” Scholz added.
“So I don’t expect the United States to stop supporting Ukraine in its defense. “
Mr Scholz and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson hold a joint press conference after their meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin
Ukraine must be put in the “strongest possible position” in 2025, Sir Keir Starmer said as he made his first trip to Kyiv as Prime Minister.
The visit comes just days before Donald Trump enters the White House, potentially signalling a shift in US support for Ukraine’s war effort in favour of a push for a peace deal.
In a sign of the dangers facing Ukrainians on a daily basis, reports from Kyiv indicated a Russian drone flying over the city shortly after Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelensky laid flowers at a site of remembrance for those killed since the 2022 invasion.
The Kyiv Independent reported that explosions were heard as an air raid alert.
Complete here:
At least 12 Indians have been killed while serving in Russia’s armed forces, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday.
Another 18 are still serving in the army – but Russia has categorised 16 of them as “missing”.
Last year, India said it had exposed a major human smuggling network that lured young people to Russia with the promise of jobs, before forcing them to fight in Russia’s war against Ukraine.
The UK only deserves to host a state stopover under Donald Trump if he “gives in” to Ukraine, Sir Ed Davey has said.
The Liberal Democrat leader described the idea of a state visit as “leverage” the UK would have over the president-elect when he returns to office next week, in an address in central London.
There have been concerns over what Mr Trump’s return to the White House will mean for US support for Kyiv. He had previously laid out a desire to bring an end to the conflict in his first days in office.
In the same speech, Sir Ed called on the Government to “negotiate this year a brand new deal with the EU” that would have “at its heart, a new UK EU customs union”.
Complete here:
At least four more people were killed in a Russian attack in the south-central Ukrainian city of Kryvy Rih, the regional governor said.
Three other people are in serious condition in hospital and at least two others were injured in the attack, Serhiy Lysak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
Two five-story buildings were damaged, along with a residential building and a facility, and one of them caught fire, Lysak added.
Witnesses described on social media hearing several explosions in the city after Ukraine’s air force warned of the risk of ballistic missiles coming from Russian-occupied Crimea.
Russia has not commented on reports of the attack on Kryvyi Rih, which is Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown.
Russia expects the United States to ease sanctions on Russian oil when President-elect Donald Trump takes office, the Kremlin said.
This follows Trump’s pick for Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who said he “100%” supported expanding sanctions on Russian oil manufacturers if asked to do so through the new president.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia expects the United States to fundamentally replace its position.
Join thought-provoking conversations with other independent readers, and see their responses.
Refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to log in. Please refresh your browser to log in.