4 h. ago ‘An attempt to break people’: Bucha holds out amid Russia’s weaponisation of winter

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power plants as severe frost set in have been described as ‘crimes against humanity’Outside the main pumping station for Bucha, three engineers, bundled up in parkas, are working on the emergency generator keeping the Ukrainian city supplied with water.One holds a heat gun to the generator’s filter in an effort to unfreeze it, his face reddened by blowing snow and a daytime temperature of -12C (10.4F). Watching attentively is the city’s mayor, Anatolii Fedoruk. The generator in his office is also frozen when the Guardian visits and he apologises for the lack of coffee. Continue reading...

Events

6 h. ago Ukrainian robot soldier holds off Russian forces by itself in six

Russian troops were pinned down by relentless gunfire, believing they were facing multiple Ukrainian fighters.

Events

5 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv struggles to stabilise ruined power grid after major Russian attack

Residents battle bitter winter cold inside unheated apartments; Ukraine confirms UN to hold emergency meeting Monday on Russian ballistic missile attack. What we know on day 1,418Engineers in Kyiv scrambled on Saturday to stabilise a power grid brought to the brink by a campaign of Russian strikes, including one two nights ago. The city’s residents huddled against bitter winter cold inside their unheated apartments on Saturday as engineers worked to restore power, water and heat. Prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said that the power situation in the capital was still difficult, as the grid was badly damaged and people were using more electric heaters because of the cold.Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed Saturday the UN security council would hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss Russia’s latest large-scale attack on Ukraine, which used an Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile. “The meeting will address Russia’s flagrant breaches of the UN Charter,” Sy...

Events

1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Ukraine will fight on if peace talks fail, Zelenskyy vows

Ukraine’s top allies hold security talks in Kyiv; Russia condemns US attack on Venezuela. What we know on day 1,411The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says he hopes for a leaders’ summit in the US by the end of January to discuss proposals on how to end the war with Russia. Security advisers from Ukraine’s top allies met in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on a US-brokered plan to end the war, days after Kyiv announced a deal was “90%” ready. Officials from 15 countries including the UK, France and Germany as well as representatives from Nato and the EU joined the meeting. The US special envoy Steve Witkoff also joined virtually, a Ukrainian official said, although the US military attack on Venezuela earlier in the day overshadowed proceedings.Next week, the talks will continue during a European leaders’ meeting in Paris and then with US negotiators. “And after that we will be preparing for a meeting in the United States at the leadership level. We would like all of this to happ...

Events

1 week ago Moment Russian soldier holds sign pleading to be taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces in shock vid

THIS is the shocking moment a Russian soldier surrendered to Ukrainian forces after pleading for his life with a message scribbled on cardboard. The 16th Army Corps said drone pilots operating near Lyman - a city in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region - spotted the soldier signalling his desire to surrender. Drone footage shows a small building...

Events

2 w. ago Vladimir Putin orders armies to invade two more European territories in New Year

With peace talks no closer to completion, Vladimir Putin has ordered new land seizures as Russia attempts to take hold of more Ukrainian territory in the New Year

Politics

2 w. ago New Year latest: UK gears up to show off 'best of British' in NYE show

New Year latest: UK gears up to show off 'best of British' in NYE show - after UAE attempt to break firework world records  Sky News

Politics

2 w. ago Keir Starmer condemns Russian strikes on Kyiv as Zelensky holds major peace talks with Trump

Keir Starmer holds call with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of his high-stakes talks with US President Donald Trump over ending Russia's bloody conflict

Politics

2 w. ago Trump and Zelenskyy to hold talks amid heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukraine

Key topics include security guarantees from Europe and the US, with Putin yet to signal interest in latest negotiationsRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesDonald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are to meet on Sunday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine, amid continuing Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, and scepticism that Moscow is willing to drop any of its maximalist demands.Zelenskyy arrived in Florida on Saturday night with a Ukrainian delegation, before talks with the US president at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The two leaders are expected to discuss the latest iteration of a 20-point peace plan and the unresolved question of the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago Home Alone style burglar gets instant karma after his home invasion attempt is thwarted

A Home Alone style burglar's attempt to break into a home in London were thwarted after the bungling thief became caught on a door handle.

Events

3 w. ago The bleakest winter: Ukrainians face exhaustion and uncertainty as Trump demands concessions

People torn between craving for peace as conditions worsen and desire to hold strong against Russian military and diplomatic tacticsThe ammunition boxes stacked on the stage opened up to reveal figurines of angels and an infant Jesus lying in his manger. Six actors sang plaintive carols, accompanied by readings of the brooding poetry of Kharkiv writer Serhiy Zhadan. The audience sat, transfixed by the almost unbearable intensity of the spectacle.The nativity play, performed on a recent evening at Kharkiv’s puppet theatre, was a reminder that conflict has seeped into the fabric of almost everything in Ukrainian life over the past four years. “We can’t just put on comedies and escape from reality,” said Oksana Dmitrieva, the nativity play’s 48-year-old director. “The stage is a mirror, and we have to live through our emotions again, but this time from outside ourselves, together with others,” she said. Continue reading...

Politics

4 w. ago WW3 fears as Russia deploys huge nuclear missile launcher that could London in MINUTES

Russia has sent its Oreshnik missile system to Belarus - and has claimed its missiles could hit London in just eight minutes - as EU leaders hold crunch talks over freezing Russian assets

Events

4 w. ago Polish independence ‘under threat’ if EU cannot come to decision on giving Russian assets to Ukraine, says Poland’s Tusk – Europe live

Warning comes as EU leaders attempt to reduce the risks from Russian retaliation against Belgium, which holds most of the €210bn of frozen Russian assetsGermany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz confirms his support for the EU’s reparations loan, saying he sees “no better option.”He diplomatically acknowledges Belgium’s concerns, and says he hopes “we can address them together” to “send a signal of strength and resolve towards Russia.” Continue reading...

Events

4 w. ago Belgian politicians and finance bosses targeted by Russian intelligence over seized assets

Exclusive: Key figures at frozen assets depository among targets of intimidation campaign, say European intelligence agenciesBelgian politicians and senior finance executives have been subject to a campaign of intimidation orchestrated by Russian intelligence aimed at persuading the country to block the use of €185bn assets for Ukraine, according to European intelligence agencies.Security officials indicated to the Guardian that there had been deliberate targeting of key figures at Euroclear, the securities depository holding the majority of Russia’s frozen assets, and leaders of the country. Continue reading...

Politics

last month ‘Clock is ticking’: Starmer tells Roman Abramovich to transfer money from Chelsea sale to Ukraine fund

Sir Keir Starmer announced the move in PMQs with the Russian billionaire still holding on to the £2.5bn he received for the sale of the football club

Economics