Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces destroy power plant as Zelensky says allies ‘turning a blind eye’

Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Kyiv, as part of a major attack across five regions in Ukraine.

Up to 200,000 people have been left without power, Ukrainian officials said, after more than 40 Russian missile strikes and an equal number of drone attacks hit the regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Kyiv.

The strikes also attacked two underground storage facilities where Ukraine stores natural gas, including some owned by foreign companies, energy company Naftogaz said.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky said: “Some missiles and ‘Shahed’ drones were successfully shot down. Unfortunately, only a part of them. Russian terrorists have once again targeted critical infrastructure.”

He added: “We need air defence systems and other defence assistance, not just turning a blind eye and having lengthy discussions.”

It comes as a Russian strike on a grocery store and a pharmacy in the north-eastern Kharkiv region killed three people, including a 14-year-old girl, on Wednesday.

In Ukraine’s southern Odesa region, Russian missiles killed four people, including a girl aged 10, and injured seven more, officials said.

Major missile attack by Putin’s forces completely destroys power plant outside Kyiv

Russian missile strike targets cities across Ukraine

Up to 200,000 left without power, Kyiv says

Ukraine struck Russian aviation factory in Voronezh region, Ukrainian spy source says

Ukrainian amputees are returning to war. Soldiers know the army needs them

Ukrainian commander Odin’s lower leg was blown off in a mine explosion last year. He’s now back in the trenches.

“I had offers to go back to my local academy as a teacher or to work at a draft office in Odesa,” the 32-year-old from the 28th Separate Mechanised Brigade said from a cramped bunker on the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk.

“I said I’m not interested in these positions.”

Pryncyp, a leading human rights organisation representing military personnel, put the number of amputees from the war at between 20,000 and 50,000.

Battlefields are littered with mines, while artillery and drone attacks are a constant menace, meaning the grim number is rising steadily.

Russia ranked top of global cybercrime index in new study

Russia, Ukraine and China have been named as the world’s cybercrime hotspots in a new study ranking the most significant sources of cybercrime threats.

The World Cybercrime Index has been published in journal Plos One following three years of research by academics from the University of Oxford and the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Canberra.

The index said Russia housed the greatest cybercrime threat, followed by Ukraine, China, the US and Nigeria. The UK was eighth on the list.

‘A battle for democracy’: Ukraine bishop urges UK and US to keep supporting fight against Russia

The bishop for Ukraine in London has urged the UK and the US to “honour their pledges” and not forget that Ukraine is fighting Russia to save the “rule of law and democracy”.

In a major intervention, Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski said Ukraine was not asking for soldiers on the ground but for funding to continue fighting Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Two years ago, Russia launched a devastating full-scale invasion of Ukraine, capturing nearly a quarter of the country and displacing more than 10 million people. There are now at least six million Ukrainian refugees in Europe, including around 250,000 in the UK.

Ukraine bishop urges UK and US to keep supporting fight against Russia

IAEA's Grossi says Zaporizhzhia attacks risk shift in Ukraine war

Drone attacks on the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine are “a consequential juncture” in the war in Ukraine and must stop, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told his agency’s 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday.

“The most recent attacks ... have shifted us into an acutely consequential juncture in this war,” Grossi said in a statement to an emergency Board meeting called by Russia and Ukraine, adding that he wanted “to ensure these reckless attacks do not mark the beginning of a new and gravely dangerous front”.

Barrage of Russian missiles on Ukrainian cities leaves 200,000 people without power

Loud explosions rocked several Ukrainian cities early on Thursday as authorities reported a fresh wave of more than 40 Russian missile strikes and and equal number of drone attacks.

Ukrainian regions in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv, and Kyiv came under attack as local officials confirmed the strikes on energy infrastructure, substations, and power facilities.

Emergency power cuts for at least 200,000 people have been reported in Kyiv, officials said.

Barrage of Russian missiles on Ukrainian cities leaves 200,000 without power

Russia's FSB says British special forces operating in Ukraine

Russia‘s Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Thursday that Britain’s Special Boat Service had been operating in Ukraine and helping Ukrainian forces carry out attempted operations against Russian forces.

The Ukraine war has triggered the deepest crisis in Moscow’s relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. President Vladimir Putin has said that NATO military personnel are present already in Ukraine. The U.S. and key European allies have said they have no plans to send ground troops to Ukraine.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said it had foiled a plan by British special forces to land Ukrainian sabotage soldiers on the Tendrov Split, a sandbar in the Black Sea. It said it had captured a senior Ukrainian naval special forces soldier, and gave his name and date of birth.

The FSB said the Ukrainian special forces unit was “supervised by a unit of the Special Boat Service (SBS) which indicates the direct involvement of Britain in the conflict”.

A spokesperson for Britain’s Defence Ministry had no immediate response to a Reuters request for comment.

The SBS is a special forces regiment of the British navy that traces its history to the early days of World War Two.

The SBS has served in some of the biggest conflicts of the past 70 years including the Korean War, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine

Winged explosives weighing up to 1,500 kilograms – and nicknamed the ‘building destroyer’ – have had a devastating impact wherever they have been used, writes Tom Watling.

Kyiv is battling them as best it can but needs Western allies to step up and provide more weapons, air defences and ammunition.

‘I live in constant fear that he will die’: Mother of jailed Putin critic says time running out to save him

The mother of Russia’s most prominent opposition leader after Alexei Navalny says she lives in “constant fear” that her son, Vladimir Kara-Murza, will die in the Siberian prison in which he is currently jailed – while calling on the foreign secretary, David Cameron, to intervene and save his life.

Speaking on the eve of the second anniversary of Kara-Murza’s arrest on 11 April 2022, Elena Gordon says that her worries over her son have grown much more acute in the wake of the death of Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, Navalny, almost two months ago.

Navalny was also being held in a remote prison colony, in the Arctic, before he was declared dead by Russian authorities.

Mother of jailed Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza says time running out to save him

Ukraine will be outgunned by Russia 10 to 1 in weeks without US help, top Europe general says

The top general for U.S. forces in Europe told Congress Wednesday that Ukraine will be outgunned 10 to one by Russia within a matter of weeks if Congress does not find a way to approve sending more ammunition and weapons to Kyiv soon.

The testimony from Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, head of U.S. European Command, and Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, comes as Congress enters pivotal weeks for voting for aid for Ukraine, but there’s no guarantee funding will be improved in time.

Ukraine has been rationing its munitions as Congress has delayed passing its $60 billion supplemental bill.

What does the Ukrainian mobilisation bill entail? Part Three

The bill proposes offering financial perks for people who volunteer to fight in the army and sign an army contract. In particular, those bonuses could include a certificate to buy a vehicle and financial assistance for first mortgage payments.

The bill would abolish mandatory conscription for Ukrainian men aged 18 or older, and replace it with basic military training for all men starting from September 2025.

One new provision in the bill would allow people who have been convicted and given a suspended sentence to serve in the army. Convicts are currently banned from any type of military service.

After being mobilised, all men must undergo compulsory training before being sent to a combat area.

In some cases, authorities would be able to seize vehicles from citizens and enterprises for the army’s needs.

What does the Ukrainian mobilisation bill entail? Part Two

The bill would ban people from driving vehicles if they do not abide by the mobilisation rules. An earlier draft had proposed tough punishments such as asset freezes for such people, but that was cut after public outcry. A separate bill proposing fines for draft dodges has passed its first reading.

The bill does not set any time limit for wartime military service, meaning that soldiers who have been fighting since the beginning of the full-scale invasion still have no sense of when they will be demobilized. An earlier draft of the bill had proposed setting a time limit.

Martial law prohibits men of military age from going abroad and there is no procedure for calling up Ukrainian men who are abroad. But the bill says that receiving consular services for things like renewing passports would require Ukrainian men to present their military registration documents.

What does the Ukrainian mobilisation bill entail? Part One

Ukraine‘s parliament passed a bill on Thursday to overhaul its army mobilisation rules as Kyiv tries to generate fresh manpower to rotate its exhausted troops fighting Russian invaders.

The bill must be signed by President Volodymyr Zelensky before it becomes law. Here is an overview of what the changes entail.

The bill would oblige Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years of age to update their personal data with the military authorities, allowing draft offices to see more easily who can be called up in any given region.

Military-age men would be legally required at all times to carry the registration document they are given by the draft office. Draft officers would be allowed to ask to see the document in the street.

Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops 7 to 10 times in the east, general says

Russian forces outnumber Ukrainian troops seven to ten times in eastern regions, Ukraine‘s General Yuriy Sodol told parliament on Thursday.

“The enemy outnumbers us by 7-10 times, we lack manpower,” said Sodol, who is commanding the troops in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine.

His comments come as Ukraine‘s parliament passed a controversial law today that will govern how the country recruits new soldiers to replenish depleted forces who are increasingly struggling to fend off Russian troops.

In pictures: Flames consume power station outside of Kyiv

Russian missile kills four in Ukraine's Mykolaiv

A Russian missile attack on Ukraine‘s southern city of Mykolaiv on Thursday killed at least four people and injured five more, officials said.

“The enemy continues ballistic strikes on the south of Ukraine. Insidiously struck Mykolaiv in the middle of the day,” southern military command said on Telegram.

Private houses, cars and industrial facilities were damaged, it added.

Mykolaiv region also was targeted during Russia‘s massive overnight attack all over the country that destroyed a power plant and disrupted electricity supply for thousands of people.

Kremlin says any talks on Ukraine without Russia are meaningless

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that any negotiations on Ukraine without Russia were meaningless.

“We have repeatedly said that negotiations without Russia were meaningless... President Putin has repeatedly emphasized that we remain open to the negotiation process,” Peskov said.

The Swiss government will host a two-day high-level conference in June aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine, it said on Wednesday, although Russia has made clear it will not take part in the initiative.

Ukraine's parliament passes a controversial law to boost much-needed conscripts and fill army ranks

Ukraine‘s parliament passed a law Thursday that will govern how the country recruits new conscripts, following months of delay and after thousands of amendments were submitted to water down the initial draft.

Lawmakers dragged their feet for months over the law, which is expected to be unpopular. The law was spurred by a request from Ukraine‘s military, which wanted to mobilise up to 500,000 more troops, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in December.

Exhausted soldiers, on the front lines since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, had no means to rotate out for rest, while many thousands of Ukrainian men evade the draft.

The law brings into effect a host of changes to the current system by expanding the powers of Ukrainian authorities to issue draft notices using an electronic system.

Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Zelensky have since revised that figure after conducting an audit, saying the number needed was not as high because soldiers can be rotated from the rear.

Former army commander Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s dismissal from his post was reportedly over the mobilisation issue.

Zelensky arrives in Lithuania for summit

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Lithuania’s capital Vilnius on Thursday to attend a conference and meet with the leaders of several other European countries, he said in a post on social media platform X.

Leaders from a dozen states in central Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, are due to attend the Three Seas Summit in Vilnius on Thursday, with the war in Ukraine prominent on the agenda.

Zelensky will first meet with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and the two countries plan to sign a bilateral security agreement.

“The main task for now is to make every effort to strengthen our air-defence system, to meet the urgent needs of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, and to consolidate international support so that we can overcome Russian terror,” he said.

I arrived to Lithuania to participate in the Three Seas Summit and hold talks with the leaders of the partner countries.

Important meetings are scheduled, and a new bilateral security agreement is to be signed.

The main task for now is to make every effort to strengthen our… — Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 11, 2024

Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a senior company official as saying.

Russia staged a major missile and drone strike on Ukrainian energy infrastructure early on Thursday, damaging substations and power facilities in five regions and causing emergency power cuts for at least 200,000 people, Kyiv officials said.

Russian strikes destroyed power plant outside Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine says

Russian overnight strikes completely destroyed Trypilska thermal power plant outside Ukraine‘s capital Kyiv, Interfax-Ukraine news agency quoted a senior company official as saying.

A Russian attack on Ukraine’s eastern region of Kharkiv snapped power links to more than 200,000 consumers on Thursday, Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Loud explosions and bombings rocked several of Ukraine’s cities early today as authorities reported a fresh wave of more than 40 Russian missile strikes and 40 drone attacks.

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekho, said on Telegram, as well as in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to governor Ivan Fedorov.

David Cameron rejects Trump’s peace plan as he warns against ‘appeasing’ Putin

Cameron rejects Trump’s Ukraine peace plan as he warns against ‘appeasing’ Putin

Loud explosions and bombings rocked several Ukraine’s cities this morning as authorities reported a fresh wave of Russian missile strikes.

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, mayor Ihor Terekho, said on Telegram, as well as in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to governor Ivan Fedorov, also on the app.

The governor of the western Lviv region, Maksim Kozytskyi, said on Telegram that air defences were working in the area.

Ukrainian energy minister Herman Halushchenko said on Telegram that the attacks targeted power generation and distribution facilities in the Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lviv and Kyiv regions.

Officials in Kyiv said the attacks have damaged its power grid facilities.

Casualties and damage to residential areas is not immediately known.

Russia has penetrated US politics, says Zelensky

Russian influence has penetrated American political system, claimed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

“They have their lobbies everywhere: in the United States, in the EU countries, in Britain, in Latin America, in Africa,” Mr Zelensky told The Politico while referring to Russia.

“When we talk about the Congress – do you notice how they work with society in the United States?”

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky gestures as he attends a joint press conference with president of Finland following their meeting in Kyiv on 3 April 2024 (AFP via Getty Images)

He also warned against the Russia’s information warfare and its influence on American media and citizens.

“They pump their narratives through the media,” Mr Zelensky said. “These are not Russian citizens or natives of Russia, no. They are representatives of certain media groups, citizens of the United States. They are the ones in the media with the appropriate messages, sometimes very pro-Russian.”

The top general for US forces in Europe told Congress that Ukraine will be outgunned 10 to one by Russia within a matter of weeks if Congress does not find a way to approve sending more ammunition and weapons to Kyiv soon.

The testimony from Army Gen Christopher Cavoli, head of US European Command, and Celeste Wallander, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, comes as Congress enters pivotal weeks for voting for aid for Ukraine, but there’s no guarantee funding will be improved in time.

Ukraine has been rationing its munitions as Congress has delayed passing its $60bn supplemental bill.

Donald Trump’s plan for peace in Ukraine means no peace at all

It cannot have been a great surprise to the foreign secretary, David Cameron, that Donald Trump showed such little interest in supporting Ukraine’s war of resistance. Had Mr Trump wanted to see Ukraine receive the military assistance that Kyiv has been begging for, and which remains stalled in the House of Representatives, he’d have given it the nod months ago, and the Republican caucus would have responded with alacrity.

The fact that Trump’s puppet, speaker of the House Mike Johnson, couldn’t find time in his diary to speak to His Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office speaks volumes for the indifference America feels for its allies and the weakness of the now almost satirically-styled “special relationship”.

We’re learning, if we had not already, the full gruesome nature of what lies behind the slogan “America First”. Mr Trump, as he’s already practically admitted, is not interested in helping President Biden get his plan through Congress; nor is he much bothered about the territorial integrity of Ukraine. He plainly regards the war as a waste of money and a lost cause – indeed, a cause for which he feels little sympathy.

Editorial: Donald Trump’s plan for peace in Ukraine means no peace at all

Pictures of blackened farmland and destroyed tractors show the aftermath of a recent Russian shelling.

The civil agricultural enterprise in Novgorod-Sivers was struck with damage to buildings and the silo.

The police of Novgorod-Siversky said the event will be submitted to the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

“This is not just a battle for Ukraine,” the Catholic bishop told The Independent. “It is the battle for rule of law, democracy and freedoms that we have all taken advantage of. That we stand to lose.

Mariupol Resistance reports plans for Russian draft in Spring

Resistance fighters in Mariupol say that Russian occupying forces are mobilising a spring draft to begin in May.

Mariupol City Council said on Telegram: “The so-called military commissariat of Mariupol and the district issued an order according to which the occupation administration must provide all data on enterprises in the city for mobilisation activities by April 15. This is reported by the Mariupol Resistance.

“We remind you that the spring draft of men born in 1994-2006 is also starting in the occupied territories. Russians want to throw Ukrainian men to the front to die for Putin.”

Russia attacks Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia region as blasts heard

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv today morning as it was being attacked by Russian missiles, mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Separately, Zaporizhzhia governor Ivan Fedorov said blasts were heard in the southern Ukrainian region, and Ukrainian media reported more cruise missiles were in the air.

Switzerland to host Ukraine peace summit on June 15-16

The Swiss government will host a two-day high-level conference in June aimed at achieving peace in Ukraine.

“There is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process,” a statement said.

The conference will be held June 15-16 at the Burgenstock resort in the canton of Nidwalden outside the city of Lucerne.

It will aim to create a framework favourable to a comprehensive and lasting peace in Ukraine as well as “a concrete roadmap for Russia’s participation in the peace process.”

Swiss authorities have yet to disclose a full list of participants.

Russians flee 'very unusual' floods in boats clutching valuables, food, pets

Residents of the flood-stricken Russian city of Orenburg arrived at evacuation points on Wednesday by inflatable boat, carrying whatever they could grab from their homes in small bags.

One elderly woman in a life-jacket clutched a terrified-looking cat as she descended from a boat onto dry land.

“There was no water in the house yesterday. It came very quickly at night,” Taisiya, 71, told Reuters. “By the time I got ready, I couldn’t get out.”

Historic floods have engulfed cities and towns across Russia and Kazakhstan this week after Europe’s third-longest river burst its banks, forcing about 110,000 people to evacuate and swamping parts of Orenburg, a city with a population of 550,000 about 1,200 km (750 miles) east of Moscow.

Swiftly-melting snow has swelled several major rivers, including the Ural, which runs through Orenburg towards the Caspian Sea. Whole areas of the city were underwater on Wednesday and at least 7,700 residents were evacuated.

Russian missile attack kills four in Odesa district, governor says

An early evening Russian missile attack killed four people on Wednesday, including a 10-year-old girl, and injured seven in Odesa district in southern Ukraine, the regional governor said.

Oleh Kiper, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said one of the injured was in serious condition after having his legs amputated.

Emergency teams were at the site, he said, and “doctors are doing all they can”.

The missiles, presumed to be Iskander-M ballistic missiles, struck between 3pm and 3.30pm GMT and also damaged transport infrastructure, including nearby trucks.

Arsenal star Oleksandr Zinchenko would fight in Ukraine if called up

Thursday 11 April 2024 00:01 , Alexander Butler

Ukraine military chief’s chilling warning to the West about Russia’s threat

Wednesday 10 April 2024 23:00 , Alexander Butler

UK needs wartime defence spending in face of most dangerous time since Cold War, ex-civil service chief warns

Wednesday 10 April 2024 22:00 , Alexander Butler

Britain must spend more on defence, warns former top civil servant

Western leaders face hard choices to help Ukraine resist Putin’s aggression

Wednesday 10 April 2024 20:00 , Alexander Butler

Editorial: Western leaders face hard choices to help Ukraine resist Putin

UN warns of ‘reckless’ Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant drone attacks

Wednesday 10 April 2024 19:00 , Alexander Butler

Locked up for opposing Putin: Inside Vladimir Kara-Murza’s brutal prison ordeal

Wednesday 10 April 2024 18:30 , Barney Davis

The last time Vladimir Kara-Murza – Russia’s most prominent opposition leader after the death of Alexei Navalny – was allowed to speak to his family, his wife Evgenia declined the opportunity. It had been months since they last spoke.

Kara-Murza, who faces 25 years in a remote penal colony for speaking out against Vladimir Putin, the longest sentence handed to a Kremlin critic since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, was only allowed to use the phone for 15 minutes.

Tom Watling reports on his ordeal:

Cameron defends ‘entirely proper’ meeting with Trump

Wednesday 10 April 2024 18:00 , Alexander Butler

Cameron defends meeting with Trump and says he won’t ‘lecture anybody’ on Ukraine

Wednesday 10 April 2024 17:00 , Alexander Butler

US general warns time running out for Ukraine without US aid

Wednesday 10 April 2024 16:30 , Alexander Butler

Ukraine will run out of artillery shells and air defense interceptors “in fairly short order” without American support, leaving them vulnerable to a partial or total defeat, the top US general in Europe said.

“If one side can shoot and the other side can’t shoot back, the side that can’t shoot back loses. So the stakes are very high,” General Christopher Cavoli, the commander of European Command, told the House Armed Services Committee.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is refusing to call a vote on a bill that would provide $60 billion more for Ukraine and the White House is scrambling to find ways to send assistance to Kyiv, which has been battling Russian forces for more than two years.

Cameron admits he is meeting US politicians with ‘great trepidation’ but is passionate about Ukraine

Wednesday 10 April 2024 16:00 , Alexander Butler

Cameron admits he is meeting US politicians with ‘trepidation’ about Ukraine

Russian airstrikes kill at least three people

Wednesday 10 April 2024 15:23 , Alexander Butler

Russian air strikes on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region on Wednesday afternoon hit a clinic and a pharmacy, killing at least three people, a local official said.

Kharkiv and the surrounding region have long been targeted by Russian attacks but the strikes have become more intense over recent weeks, hitting civilian and energy infrastructure.

A 14-year-old girl, and two women were killed in the village of Lyptsi, where a pharmacy came under attack, regional governor Oleh Synehubov said on Telegram.

Wednesday 10 April 2024 15:00 , Alexander Butler

Switzerland to host Ukraine peace summit this year

Wednesday 10 April 2024 14:31 , Alexander Butler

Switzerland said in January it would host a peace summit at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and has since held talks with the EU, G7 member states and countries such as China and India to garner their support.

“There is currently sufficient international support for a high-level conference to launch the peace process,” the Federal Council said in a statement.

Zelensky slams Trump’s peace plan as ‘primitive'

Wednesday 10 April 2024 14:01 , Alexander Butler

Volodymyr Zelensky has slammed Donald Trump’s reported idea of giving up swathes of territory to Russia as “primitive”.

The US presidential candidate is said to have suggested Kyiv cede Crimea and the Donbas to Vladimir Putin to end the war.

But the Ukrainian president said such a deal would pave the way for more Russian conquest. “If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very primitive idea,” Mr Zelensky told Politico.

Zelensky slammed Trump’s reported plan as ‘primitive’ (AP)

Wednesday 10 April 2024 14:00 , Alexander Butler

Cameron: ‘Don’t listen to Putin’s lies’

Wednesday 10 April 2024 13:50 , Katy Clifton

British foreign secretary Lord Cameron has urged US politicians not to be taken in by propaganda from Vladimir Putin.

The former prime minister is in Washington DC as part of an effort to unlock US funding for Ukraine which is currently being blocked by Republicans.

Senior figures including House intelligence committee chairman Mike Turner and foreign affairs committee chairman Michael McCaul have warned that some of their fellow Republicans are being influenced by Russian propaganda.

Asked about the situation, Lord Cameron told MSNBC: “Don’t listen to Putin’s lies about Ukraine. It is a free democracy that wants to be an independent sovereign country, that wants to be our ally and our friend.

“And we should be standing by our friends, because the world will be watching if we don’t.”

British foreign secretary David Cameron (AFP via Getty Images)

Wednesday 10 April 2024 13:30 , Alexander Butler

David Cameron was quite right to drop in on Donald Trump

Wednesday 10 April 2024 12:53 , Alexander Butler

Ukraine and UK sign agreement to cooperate on arms production

Wednesday 10 April 2024 12:33 , Alexander Butler

Ukraine and Britain have signed a framework agreement to cooperate in the defence and arms production sector, officials said in Kyiv, part of a wartime effort to build up Ukraine’s domestic weapons industry by working with allies.

The document was signed at a military industry conference in Kyiv that was attended by about 30 British defence companies who visited to discuss potential joint ventures with Ukrainian weapons and defence producers.

“It is the first intergovernmental agreement on cooperation,” Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s Minister for Strategic Industries, told reporters after the signing ceremony.

“Today British companies are working with Ukrainian companies and looking for opportunities to produce more weapons jointly.”

Greg Hands, UK Minister for Trade Policy, said he hoped the agreement would bring gains for Ukraine on the battlefield and also benefit its battered economy in the longer term.

Watch as Cameron and Blinken hold joint press conference in Washington DC

Wednesday 10 April 2024 11:53 , Alexander Butler

Watch live as Cameron and Blinken hold joint press conference in Washington DC

Ukraine denies a Russian claim that it launched drone strikes on a major nuclear power plant

Wednesday 10 April 2024 10:45 , Alexander Butler

Kyiv downs 14 out of 17 Russian drones, air force claims

Wednesday 10 April 2024 10:42 , Alexander Butler

Kyiv has downed dozens of Putin’s drones and two guided missiles as Ukraine was accused of hitting a Russian-controlled nuclear power plant.

The Ukrainian Air Force claimed 14 out of 17 attack drones launched by Moscow were downed and two of several guided missiles targeting Odesa and Mykolaiv were destroyed.

Energy infrastructure in Mykolaiv was damaged as a result of the attack, disrupting power supply for several hours. There were no casualties in the attacks, the military said.

David Cameron says it’s possible for Ukraine to win war if armed with ‘what they need’

Wednesday 10 April 2024 10:01 , Alexander Butler

David Cameron says its possible for Ukraine to win war if armed with ‘what they need’

Wider war in Europe ‘no longer a fantasy’, warns EU’s top diplomat

Wednesday 10 April 2024 09:56 , Alexander Butler

A wider war in Europe is “no longer a fantasty” and the continent should prepare for war with Russia, the EU’s top diplomat warned.

“Russia threatens Europe,” both through its ongoing war in Ukraine and hybrid attacks on EU member states, Josep Borrell said.

“War is certainly looming around us,” said Mr Borrell. “A high-intensity, conventional war in Europe is no longer a fantasy.”

Josep Borrell warned a wider war in Europe was ‘no longer a fantasy’ (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Wednesday 10 April 2024 09:46 , Alexander Butler

Wednesday 10 April 2024 07:04 , Namita Singh

Volodymyr Zelensky invited US presidential candidate Donald Trump to Ukraine, saying he was open to hearing his proposal for ending the war.

The Ukrainian president, however, was sceptical about suggestions involving giving up the captured region to Russia, saying such a deal would pave the way for more Russian conquest in the future.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during a joint press conference with president of Finland following their meeting in Kyiv on 3 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine (AFP via Getty Images)

“If the deal is that we just give up our territories, and that’s the idea behind it, then it’s a very primitive idea,” Mr Zelensky told The Politico.

“I need very strong arguments. I don’t need a fantastic idea, I need a real idea, because people’s lives are at stake.”

Russians stage a rare protest after a dam bursts and homes flood near the Kazakh border

Wednesday 10 April 2024 07:00 , Barney Davis

Russians in the city of Orsk gathered in a rare protest Monday calling for compensation following the collapse of a dam and subsequent flooding in the Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan.

Protests are an unusual sight in Russia where authorities have consistently cracked down on any form of dissent following President Vladimir Putin‘s invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the administrative building in Orsk Monday, Russian state news agency Tass said, while videos shared on Russian social media channels showed people chanting “Putin, help us,” and “shame.”

Ukraine ‘hits’ aviation training center in Russia’s Voronezh Oblast

Wednesday 10 April 2024 06:30 , Namita Singh

Ukraine hit Russian aviation training center in Voronezh Oblast overnight on 9 April, a representative of Ukraine military intelligence (HUR) told Kyiv Independent on the condition of anonymity.

Two drones over Belgorod Oblast and two over Voronezh Oblast were shot down by Russian air defences, claimed Moscow.

The Ukrainian strikes on Russian military and industrial target have intensified in recent weeks, with Russia allegedly losing seven military aircraft during drone attacks, according to HUR.

US Department of Defense sees ‘huge’ increase in military sales since Ukraine invasion

Wednesday 10 April 2024 06:18 , Namita Singh

The US Defense Department set a record for sales of military equipment and hardware last year, especially among European partners and allies, said the director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

“We’ve had a huge increase in demand from our European allies and partners over the last few years since the ... invasion by the Russians in Ukraine,” James Hursch said yesterday during the 2024 Sea-Air-Space maritime exposition just outside of Washington. These include Sweden, Poland and the Netherlands.

In the fiscal year of 2023, the US did more than $80bn in business through the foreign military sales system, including grant assistance. “That is a record,” Mr Hursch said.

Wednesday 10 April 2024 06:00 , Barney Davis

Editorial: The British people want to support the Ukrainians, but they must bear the cost

David Cameron holds talks with Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago surprise meeting

Wednesday 10 April 2024 05:45 , Barney Davis

Lord Cameron has held face to face meetings with Donald Trump in Florida during his push for the US to back more funding for Ukraine.

The foreign secretary is visiting the former US president despite previously calling him “divisive, stupid and wrong”. It was the first meeting between a senior British minister and the former Republican president since he left office in 2021.

Lord Cameron is on a high profile visit to the US to press Congress to pass the blocked aid package for Ukraine and will also discuss Israel’s war in Gaza.

Editorial: David Cameron was quite right to drop in on Donald Trump

Wednesday 10 April 2024 05:44 , Namita Singh

The former president and his supporters in Congress need to hear the message that the support for Ukraine is not only just, but also in America’s interest.