Ukraine-Russia war – live: Kyiv could beat Putin quicker by firing British weapons, military chief says

Ukraine could win the war more quickly it if had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine’s head of navy has said.

Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told Sky News the war would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been able to use Western munitions without restrictions from the very start.

“We must have the capabilities to make sure that Russia will give up forever the thought of even looking in Ukraine’s direction, including at sea,” he said.

Earlier, it was reported that the US was preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid the growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb that devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by The Daily Telegraph.

These set out plans for a “nuclear mission” to take place “imminently” at the base. The MoD said it would not confirm or deny the presence of nuclear weapons at any location.

Key Points

• Ukraine could beat Putin quicker by firing British weapons, military chief says

• US ‘to station nuclear weapons in UK’ amid Putin threat

• Putin accused of potentially using PoWs as human shields

• Russia says it finds Ukraine IDs, tattooed body parts at plane crash site

• Kyiv opens criminal probe into downing of Russian plane

Ukraine says still no evidence POWs were on board downed Russian plane

12:01 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian officials say Russia has still not provided any credible evidence to confirm that a downed Russian transport plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

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, on Wednesday. Regional Russian officials said all onboard the plane had been killed.

Full report:

Ukraine says still no evidence POWs were on board downed Russian plane

Watch: Rishi Sunak shares Ukraine trip highlights reel

11:22 , Matt Mathers

ICYMI: Russia marks 80 years since breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad

10:51 , Matt Mathers

The Russian city of St. Petersburg on Saturday marked the 80th anniversary of the end of a devastating World War II siege by Nazi forces with a series of memorial events attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and close allies.

The Kremlin leader laid flowers at a monument to fallen Soviet defenders of the city, then called Leningrad, on the banks of the Neva River, and then at Piskarevskoye Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of siege victims are buried.

Full report:

Russia marks 80 years since breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad

ICYMI: Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

10:30 , Matt Mathers

A Russian woman has been jailed for 27 years for delivering a bomb that exploded in the hands of a pro-war military blogger, killing him on the spot.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted by a St Petersburg court of charges including terrorism in connection with the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, last April. Trepova, 26, denied the charges, saying she thought the statuette contained a listening device and claiming that she had acted on the orders of a Ukrainian contact, and was set up.

Full report:

Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

Russia launches three missiles attacks on Ukraine

10:07 , Matt Mathers

The general staff of the Ukraine armed forces said in his morning briefing that Russia launched three missiles, eight drone strikes and 82 shellings on Ukrainian troops and civilian infrastructure over the past day.

More than 100 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts came under fire, he said.

Beauty giant Avon still recruiting in Russia despite Ukraine war

09:47 , Matt Mathers

Beauty giant Avon has come under fire for continuing to operate its business in Russia despite the country’s ongoing war in Ukraine.

In a new investigation, the BBC discovered the UK based company is not only actively recruiting new sales agents in Russia but operating a significant production operation in Moscow.

Full report:

Beauty giant Avon still recruiting in Russia despite Ukraine war

Ukraine says corrupt officials stole $40 million meant to buy arms for the war with Russia

09:18 , Matt Mathers

Employees from a Ukrainian arms firm conspired with defense ministry officials to embezzle almost $40 million earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war with Russia, Ukraine’s security service reported.

The SBU said late Saturday that five people have been charged, with one person detained while trying to cross the Ukrainian border. If found guilty, they face up to 12 years in prison.

The investigation comes as Kyiv attempts to clamp down on corruption in a bid to speed up its membership in the European Union and NATO. Officials from both blocs have demanded widespread anti-graft reforms before Kyiv can join them.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, long before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Both the president and his aides have portrayed the recent firings of top officials, notably that of Ivan Bakanov, former head of the State Security Service, in July 2022, as proof of their efforts to crack down on graft.

Security officials say that the current investigation dates back to August 2022, when officials signed a contract for artillery shells worth 1.5 billion hryvnias ($39.6 million) with arms firm Lviv Arsenal.

After receiving payment, company employees were supposed to transfer the funds to a business registered abroad, which would then deliver the ammunition to Ukraine.

However, the goods were never delivered and the money was instead sent to various accounts in Ukraine and the Balkans, investigators said. Ukraine’s prosecutor general says that the funds have since been seized and will be returned to the country’s defense budget.

Ukraine could beat Putin quiker by firing British weapons, military chief says

08:57 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine could win the war more quickly it if had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine’s head of navy has said.

Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa told Sky News the course of the war would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been able to western munitions without restrictions from the very start.

“We must have the capabilities to make sure that Russia will give up forever the thought of even looking in Ukraine’s direction, including at sea,” he said.

ICYMI: Ukraine says still no evidence POWs were on board downed Russian plane

08:55 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian officials say Russia has still not provided any credible evidence to confirm that a downed Russian transport plane was carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

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, on Wednesday. Regional Russian officials said all onboard the plane had been killed.

Full report:

Ukraine says still no evidence POWs were on board downed Russian plane

Increasing attacks on Russian army enlistment offices likely due to disaffection with the war among public – MoD

08:40 , Matt Mathers

Increasing attacks on Russian army enlistment offices are likely due to disaffection with the war among the public, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.

Russian authorities reported there had been 220 attacks on enlistment offices since the war began in February 2022.

Other statistics from media outlet Mediazona reported 113 attacks recorded since 26 July 2023.

Read the MoD’s latest update in full here:

Zelensky ‘grateful’ to everyone who stands with Ukraine

08:20 , Matt Mathers

Volodymyr Zelenksy has said he is “grateful” to everyone who stands with Ukraine as he listed several achievements his army made during the war in January.

“January yielded many positive results in our work with partners,” he said. “Despite numerous challenges and obstacles, Ukraine was able to maintain international attention on our fight for independence and strengthen our country’s resilience.

“The main argument in international communication is what one is worthy of and capable of enduring and overcoming.

“The world pays attention to those who are resilient and brave. I am grateful to everyone who stands with Ukraine, as well as those who fight and work for our country, our independence, and our people.”

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

08:00 , Matt Mathers

The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid a growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by The Daily Telegraph.

Full report:

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years

Russia’s drones, missiles target Ukraine’s critical infrastructure – Ukraine

07:30 , Matt Mathers

Russia launched drone and missile attacks targeting civilian and critical infrastructure across wide areas of Ukraine, Kyiv’s Air Force said on Sunday. Preliminary information did not show any casualties in the attacks, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia and Ukraine have increased their air attacks on each other’s territory in recent months, targeting critical military, energy and transport infrastructure. The air force said Russia attacked the central Poltava region with two ballistic missiles fired from the Iskander ballistic missile system, and three surface-to-air missiles over the Donetsk region in the east.

Filip Pronin, governor of Poltava region, wrote on Telegram that the attack struck an industrial site in the city of Kremenchuk, sparking a fire. Pictures posted on social media showed emergency crews battling a blaze. Further southeast in the Zaporizhzhia region, Governor Yuri Malashko said an infrastructure site had been hit in a drone attack. Emergency crews were at the site, Malashko said, but gave no details of damage or casualties.

Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed four of eight Russia-launched drones overnight, the air force said. The reports could not immediately be independently verified. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for the Ukrainian people of Mariupol

07:00 , Tom Watling

Ukrainian documentary 20 Days in Mariupol has been nominated for Best documentary feature film at the 2024 Academy Awards.

The Independent sat down with the director a day after the nomination to discuss what it was like filming behind Russian lines and life in Ukraine since.

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for Mariupol

Russia marks 80 years since breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad

06:00 , Tom Watling

The Russian city of St. Petersburg on Saturday marked the 80th anniversary of the end of a devastating World War II siege by Nazi forces with a series of memorial events attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin and close allies.

The Kremlin leader laid flowers at a monument to fallen Soviet defenders of the city, then called Leningrad, on the banks of the Neva River, and then at Piskarevskoye Cemetery, where hundreds of thousands of siege victims are buried.

Russia marks 80 years since breaking the Nazi siege of Leningrad

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

05:00 , Tom Watling

The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid a growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by The Daily Telegraph.

They set out plans for a “nuclear mission” to take place “imminently” at the base.

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

04:00 , Tom Watling

Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Putin looks to blame Ukraine for Russian military plane crash as Kyiv calls for international investigation

03:00 , Tom Watling

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake.

Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia’s Belgorod region and killing 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian PoWs. It has not presented proof.

Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed the aircraft and said there is no proof of who was on board. It has challenged details of Moscow’s account and called for an international investigation.

Russia has sole access to the crash site and the claims could not be independently verified.

Putin blames Ukraine for Russian military plane crash as Kyiv calls for investigation

Ukraine criticises HBO for casting pro-Russia actor in season 3 of The White Lotus

02:00 , Tom Watling

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has called out HBO’s The White Lotus for casting Serbian-Russian actor Miloš Biković, who is said to have supported Russia since its full-scale invasion.

Earlier this month, the Emmy-winning drama announced that 36-year-old Biković, along with several other international stars, would be joining its forthcoming season three.

On Wednesday (24 January), Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to the news, tweeting: “Miloš Biković, Serbian actor who has been supporting Russia since the start of the full-scale invasion, is now set to star in HBO’s The White Lotus Season 3.

Ukraine criticises HBO for casting pro-Russia actor in season 3 of The White Lotus

Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

01:00 , Tom Watling

A Russian woman has been jailed for 27 years for delivering a bomb that exploded in the hands of a pro-war military blogger, killing him on the spot.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted by a St Petersburg court of charges including terrorism in connection with the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, last April.

Trepova, 26, denied the charges, saying she thought the statuette contained a listening device and claiming that she had acted on the orders of a Ukrainian contact, and was set up.

Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

Finns choose new president for NATO era with Russia in mind

Saturday 27 January 2024 23:26 , Tom Watling

Finland elects a new president on Sunday to lead the country in its new role within NATO after it broke with decades of non-alignment to join the Western defence alliance in response to Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine.

The Nordic country’s admission to NATO last year drew threats of “counter measures” from its vast Russian neighbour. In December, Finland closed its entire border with Russia to passenger traffic in response to a surge in migrants trying to cross. Moscow denied Finnish charges it was sending them there.

All nine candidates are promising a tough stance towards Russia if elected president, a role that leads on foreign and security policy in close cooperation with the government and represents the country at NATO meetings, while also acting as a Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Defence Forces.

The centre-right National Coalition’s Alexander Stubb has emerged as the frontrunner, with recent polls giving him 22-27% support in a first round, just ahead of liberal Green Party member Pekka Haavisto, who polled at 20-23%.

The nationalist Finns Party’s Jussi Halla-aho is not far behind Haavisto, at 15-18%.

Bank of Finland Governor Olli Rehn and Social Democrat European Union Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen are among the other six candidates from across the political spectrum.

If no one gets more than 50% of the votes cast on Sunday, a runoff will be held between the first and second candidates.

Russian missiles hit industrial target in central Ukraine -governor

Saturday 27 January 2024 22:34 , Tom Watling

Russian missiles have struck an industrial site in the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk, sparking a fire, the local governor has said.

Filip Pronin, governor of Poltava region, wrote on the Telegram messaging app that two Russian ballistic missiles have hit the target in the city.

Pictures posted online showed emergency crews battling a blaze, but Pronin provided no details of casualties.

Further southeast in Zaporizhzhia region, local governor Yuri Malashko said an infrastructure site had been hit in a drone attack. Emergency crews were at the site, but Malashko gave no details of damage or casualties.

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

Saturday 27 January 2024 21:37 , Tom Watling

The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid a growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by The Daily Telegraph.

They set out plans for a “nuclear mission” to take place “imminently” at the base.

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years

Man dies after being detained in Russia’s Bashkortostan: rights group

Saturday 27 January 2024 21:01 , Tom Watling

A young man has died after being detained this month in Russia’s Bashkortostan region after it was jolted by a series of rare protests, a rights group said on Saturday.

OVD-Info, which reports on freedom of assembly in Russia, quoted a relative as saying that Rifat Dautov had not taken part in demonstrations called to denounce the jailing of an activist, Fail Alsynov, defending the local language and culture.

Dautov was detained briefly in Ufa, chief town of the region in Russia’s Urals mountains, on the day of a protest and later in a town to the south where he was taken away by a group of men identifying themselves as police.

Local authorities subsequently said he had died but granted his family no access to the morgue. OVD-Info quoted local media as saying Dautov fell ill while being transported to a courthouse and medics pronounced him dead.

Police used tear gas and batons to break up a demonstration in a small town in Bashkortostan to denounce the sentencing of activist Fail Alsynov to four years in a penal colony.

Putin looks to blame Ukraine for Russian military plane crash as Kyiv calls for international investigation

Saturday 27 January 2024 20:04 , Tom Watling

Russian President Vladimir Putin said a Russian military plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine on Wednesday was shot down by Ukrainian air defences, whether on purpose or by mistake.

Moscow accuses Kyiv of downing the Ilyushin Il-76 plane in Russia’s Belgorod region and killing 74 people on board, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers en route to be swapped for Russian PoWs. It has not presented proof.

Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied that its forces downed the aircraft and said there is no proof of who was on board. It has challenged details of Moscow’s account and called for an international investigation.

Putin blames Ukraine for Russian military plane crash as Kyiv calls for investigation

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Saturday 27 January 2024 19:43 , Tom Watling

Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for the Ukrainian people of Mariupol

Saturday 27 January 2024 19:00 , Tom Watling

The Independent sat down with Ukrainian war photographer Mstyslav Chernov, who has just been nominated for an Oscar for his documentary 20 Days in Mariupol.

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for Mariupol

Russia’s Putin derides ‘Russophobia’ in Europe at World War Two memorial

Saturday 27 January 2024 18:30 , Tom Watling

Russian President Vladimir Putin has castigated Europe for “Russophobia” and criticised the Baltic States over human rights at the unveiling of a World War Two memorial.

Since he sent Russian troops into Ukraine nearly two years ago, Putin has been making comparisons with the fight against the Nazis in order to rally his nation.

“The regime in Kyiv exalts Hitler’s accomplices, the SS men … In a number of European countries, Russophobia is promoted as state policy,” Putin said in the Leningrad region for the 80th anniversary of the end of the Nazi siege.

The Germans’ aims then were to steal the Soviet Union’s resources and eliminate its people, he said.

Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union and itself suffered devastation at the hands of Hitler’s forces, rejects comparisons as spurious pretexts for a war of conquest.

In his speech, Putin also lambasted the Baltic States over human rights. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – ruled from Moscow during the Cold War but now members of the European Union and NATO military alliance – have been among the strongest critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“In the Baltic states, tens of thousands of people are declared subhuman, deprived of their most basic rights, and subjected to persecution,” Putin said, referring to migration crackdowns. Moscow has repeatedly accused the Baltic nations of xenophobia and treating Russian minorities as “second-class”.

ICYMI: Britons face call-up to fight in the armed forces if UK goes to war with Russia, top army chief warns

Saturday 27 January 2024 18:00 , Matt Mathers

Britain must be prepared to form a “citizen army” of tens of thousands in the event of war with countries such as Russia, the head of the army has warned in an ominous intervention.

General Sir Patrick Sanders said that his forces, including all reserves, would not be large enough to defend the country if there was a war, and it was now essential for Britain to lay the foundations for “national mobilisation”.

Speaking at a conference on armoured warfare in southwest London, Gen Sanders said that within three years Britain should be able to increase its army to 120,000, including regular soldiers, reserves and a “strategic reserve” group – which is understood to mean retired troops who have been recalled.

Full report:

Britons face call-up to armed forces if UK goes to war with Russia, army chief says

ICYMI: Nazi crimes will never be forgotten – Zelensky

Saturday 27 January 2024 17:00 , Matt Mathers

Nazi crimes “will never be forgotten”, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a Holocaust Memorial Day message.

“The manmade disaster that claimed the lives of millions of innocent people.

“Six million Jews were killed…Every new generation must learn the truth about the Holocaust. Human life must remain the highest value for all nations in the world.”

Is the West really looking at a Third World War?

Saturday 27 January 2024 16:00 , Matt Mathers

The chief of the general staff and head of the army, General Sir Patrick Sanders, has given a valedictory address in which he describes the current population of the UK as a “pre-war generation”, and one that must now get ready to take “preparatory steps to enable placing our societies on a war footing”.

A “national mobilisation” against Vladimir Putin’s Russia is the sort of language that would have been unthinkable, if not alarmist or satirical, only a few years ago, but the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and a consistently bellicose stance from the Kremlin has suddenly made such notions mainstream.

As the head of Britain’s army says the nation must prepare for conflict on a global scale, Sean O’Grady asks if he is right:

Is the West really looking at a Third World War?

Watch: Ukraine’s ‘rightful place’ is in Nato, says Rishi Sunak

Saturday 27 January 2024 15:31 , Matt Mathers

ICYMI: US approves F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey after it approves Sweden’s Nato entry

Saturday 27 January 2024 15:08 , Matt Mathers

The Biden administration has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey following the Turkish government’s ratification this week of Sweden’s membership in NATO.

The move is a significant development in the expansion of the alliance, which has taken on additional importance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

US approves F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey after it approves Sweden’s Nato entry

ICYMI: Ukraine says it has no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a shot down plane

Saturday 27 January 2024 14:39 , Matt Mathers

Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Lt. Col. Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane.

“We currently don’t have evidence that there could have been that many people onboard the aircraft. Russian propaganda’s claim that the IL-76 aircraft was transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs (heading) for a prisoner swap continues to raise a lot of questions,” Budanov said.

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Saturday 27 January 2024 14:04 , Matt Mathers

Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Full report:

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Biden, Germany’s Scholz to meet at White House on 9 Feb

Saturday 27 January 2024 13:37 , Matt Mathers

United States President Joe Biden will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to the White House on 9 Feb in a bid to rally support for additional assistance for Ukraine, the White House said on Saturday.

The two leaders will reaffirm their resolute support for Ukraine’s defence of its land and its people against Russia’s war of aggression, the White House said in a statement.

Biden and Scholz will discuss efforts to prevent regional escalation in the Middle East, their steadfast support for Israel’s right to self-defence, and the imperative of increasing life-saving assistance and protection of civilians from harm in Gaza.

President Biden and Chancellor Scholz will also coordinate in advance of the NATO Summit in Washington, the statement added.

The press office of the German government declined to comment.

US approves F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey after it approves Sweden’s Nato entry

Saturday 27 January 2024 13:15 , Matt Mathers

The Biden administration has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey following the Turkish government’s ratification this week of Sweden’s membership in NATO.

The move is a significant development in the expansion of the alliance, which has taken on additional importance since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Full report:

US approves F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey after it approves Sweden’s Nato entry

ICYMI: US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

Saturday 27 January 2024 12:40 , Matt Mathers

The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid a growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by the Daily Telegraph.

Full report:

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for the Ukrainian people of Mariupol

Saturday 27 January 2024 12:10 , Matt Mathers

A father crying over the body of his 16-year-old son, who was hit by a Russian missile in Mariupol while playing football with his friends. Frightened and wounded pregnant women being pulled out of a maternity ward, minutes after the building was hit in an airstrike. The first sighting of a Russian tank – the letter “Z” plastered on its side – turning its turret toward the top floor of a hospital as Moscow’s forces took over the southern Ukrainian city.

Read more here:

Oscar-nominated Mstyslav Chernov: This is not for me, this is for Mariupol

Ukraine says there’s no evidence for Russia’s claim that dozens of POWs died in a plane crash

Saturday 27 January 2024 11:50 , Matt Mathers

Officials in Ukraine said Russia has provided no credible evidence to back its claims that their own forces shot down a military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war who were to be swapped for Russian POWs.

The Ukrainian agency that deals with prisoner exchanges said late Friday that Russian officials had “with great delay” provided it with a list of the 65 Ukrainians who Moscow said had died in the Wednesday plane crash in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Ukraine’s Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of the named POWs were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. The agency’s update cited Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, as saying that Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane.

“We currently don’t have evidence that there could have been that many people onboard the aircraft. Russian propaganda’s claim that the IL-76 aircraft was transporting 65 Ukrainian POWs (heading) for a prisoner swap continues to raise a lot of questions,” Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s POW agency, said.

Nazi crimes will never be forgotten – Zelensky

Saturday 27 January 2024 11:30 , Matt Mathers

Nazi crimes “will never be forgotten”, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has said in a Holocaust Memorial Day message.

“The manmade disaster that claimed the lives of millions of innocent people.

“Six million Jews were killed…Every new generation must learn the truth about the Holocaust. Human life must remain the highest value for all nations in the world.”

Putin waiting for Trump presidency is a miscalculation, says ex-Nato chief

Saturday 27 January 2024 11:10 , Matt Mathers

Vladimir Putin’s strategy of waiting for Donald Trump to return to the White House is “another Kremlin miscalculation”, a former secretary-general of Nato has said.

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, also a former UK defence secretary, argued that, despite his Russia-friendly rhetoric, Mr Trump actually bolstered American defences and Nato contributions as US president.

Full report:

Putin waiting for Trump presidency is a miscalculation, says ex-Nato chief

Ukraine counter attacks stopping Russia from progressing in Avdiivka

Saturday 27 January 2024 10:50 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine’s counter attacks are stopping Russia from advancing in Avdiivka, Britain’s Ministry of Defence has said.

The MoD said in a statement: “Russian forces have seized the hamlets of Krokhmalne, Kharkiv on 21 January 2024 and Vesele, near Bakhmut on 18 January 2024; however, these are strategically insignificant.

“Vesele had a pre-war population of 102 and Krokhmalne, 45. This represents a continuation of Russia’s minor incremental gains whilst Ukraine focuses on active defence.

“The assessed main priority for Russian forces is the city of Avdiivka. The Russians are mounting a three-pronged attack to encircle the city from the south and north, and also fighting on the outskirts of the eastern quarter of Avdiivka city itself.

“Russian forces have suffered heavy personnel and armoured vehicle losses, frequently caused by Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle munitions.

“Russian forces are reportedly attempting to bypass Ukrainian fortifications by entering the city edges via service tunnels; this is a method of infiltration they have been attempting since October 2023.

“Ukrainian counter-attacks are holding Russian forces from progressing further within the city. As the main supply route remains intact, and Ukrainian forces make local counter-attacks, Avdiivka is likely to remain in Ukrainian control over the coming weeks.”

Biden pressses Congress on Ukraine aid

Saturday 27 January 2024 10:30 , Matt Mathers

President Joe Biden said on Friday said that the border deal being negotiated in the US Senate was the “toughest and fairest” set of reforms possible and vowed to “shut down the border” the day he signs the bill.

The bipartisan talks have hit a critical point amid mounting Republican opposition. Some Republicans have set a deal on border security as a condition for further Ukraine aid.

Earlier in the day, U.S House Speaker Mike Johnson said the deal is “dead on arrival” in its current form, according to a letter to Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

ICYMI: Russia playing with lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war, says Zelensky after deadly plane crash

Saturday 27 January 2024 10:10 , Matt Mathers

Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of “playing with the emotions” of the Ukrainian prisoners of war after a Russian military transport plane with 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers was shot down, killing all of them.

The Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft carrying 74 people was shot down near the Russian city Belgorod, just 40km north of the border with Ukraine on Wednesday. The Il-76 is a military transport aircraft designed to airlift troops, cargo, military equipment and weapons. It has a normal crew of five people, and can carry up to 90 passengers.

Full report:

Russia playing with lives of Ukrainian prisoners, says Zelensky after plane crash

ICYMI | Liquified Natural Gas: What to know about LNG and Biden’s decision

Saturday 27 January 2024 09:50 , Matt Mathers

The Biden administration said Friday it is delaying consideration of new natural gas export terminals i n the United States, even as gas shipments to Europe and Asia have soared since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision by President Joe Biden, announced as the 2024 presidential election year kicks off, aligns the Democratic president with environmentalists who fear the huge increase in exports of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, is locking in potentially catastrophic planet-warming emissions when Biden has pledged to cut climate pollution in half by 2030.

Liquified Natural Gas: What to know about LNG and Biden’s decision

Full report: US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years amid Russia threat

Saturday 27 January 2024 09:35 , Matt Mathers

The US is preparing to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in more than a decade amid a growing threat from Russia.

Under the proposals, warheads three times as strong as the bomb which devastated Hiroshima would be based at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk, according to Pentagon documents seen by the Daily Telegraph.

Kate Devlin has more details:

US nuclear weapons could be stationed in UK for first time in 15 years

ICYMI: Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

Saturday 27 January 2024 09:15 , Matt Mathers

A Russian woman has been jailed for 27 years for delivering a bomb that exploded in the hands of a pro-war military blogger, killing him on the spot.

Darya Trepova, 26, was convicted by a St Petersburg court of charges including terrorism in connection with the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name is Maxim Fomin, last April. Trepova, 26, denied the charges, saying she thought the statuette contained a listening device and claiming that she had acted on the orders of a Ukrainian contact, and was set up.

Tom Watling reports:

Russian woman jailed for 27 years for cafe bomb killing

ICYMI | Russian plane crash: Everything we know as Moscow and Kyiv dispute details

Saturday 27 January 2024 09:00 , Matt Mathers

In any war, there is the physical fighting, and then there is the information war – an aspect of conflict that can make establishing facts more difficult.

Russia has accused Ukraine of bringing down a military transport plane it says was carrying 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers to a prisoner exchange. What is worth remembering is that Moscow has a long history of disinformation. Take the annexation of Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014 – the Kremlin denied that Russian soldiers were involved before eventually acknowledging their presence. There were also the statements around the shooting down of MH17 and the novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Russian plane crash: Everything we know as Moscow and Kyiv dispute details

US nuclear weapons could be placed in UK – report

Saturday 27 January 2024 08:40 , Matt Mathers

The US is planning to station nuclear weapons in the UK for the first time in 15 years amid a growing threat from Russia, according to a report.

Warheads three times as strong as the Hiroshima bomb would be located at RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk under the proposals, The Daily Telegraph reported.

The US previously placed nuclear missiles at RAF Lakenheath, removing them in 2008 when the Cold War threat from Moscow had receded.

Pentagon documents seen by the paper reveal procurement contracts for a new facility at the airbase.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “It remains a longstanding UK and Nato policy to neither confirm nor deny the presence of nuclear weapons at a given location.”