4 h. ago Europe must go further and faster to break Russia’s war machine

Editorial: Donald Trump’s sanctions on Russian oil are a welcome shift from a changeable president – but Ukraine needs its European allies to do much more to hit Putin where it hurts

Events

9 h. ago New sanctions and weapons will not stop Russia. It’s time for Ukraine’s allies to change their flawed strategy | Christopher S Chivvis

A negotiated settlement would be unfair and frustrating. But after nearly four years of fighting, it may be the best optionOn Wednesday, President Trump imposed substantial new sanctions on Russia’s giant oil and gas companies, and lifted restrictions on the use of certain long-range missiles by Ukraine, which will now be able to strike more freely into Russia itself. These moves come on the heels of Trump’s conversations last week with Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after which the US president expressed his frustration at both side’s intransigence. Trump had hoped to end this war long ago. Will this be enough?When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US and its allies chose a strategy that aimed to use Washington’s awesome political, economic and military power to impose such high costs on Russia that the Kremlin would sue for peace on Ukraine’s terms. This “cost-imposition” strategy makes sense in theory. The problem is that, in practi...

Events

25 h. ago Trump steps up pressure on Putin to agree ‘immediate ceasefire’ as he slaps Russia with direct sanctions

PRESIDENT Donald Trump has imposed direct sanctions on Russia to pressure Vladimir Putin to agree to an "immediate ceasefire" in the Ukraine war. It is the first time in his second term that Trump slapped direct sanctions on Russia - and it comes amid his growing frustration with Moscow over the raging war. The sanctions...

Politics

3 d. ago Ukraine's Zelenskiy to attend allies meeting in London on Friday, says Macron

Ukraine's Zelenskiy to attend allies meeting in London on Friday, says Macron  Reuters

Politics

4 d. ago Ukraine cannot win against Russia, warns British Field Marshal

Field Marshal Lord Richards tells The Independent’s Sam Kiley that Ukraine has been given false hope by its Western allies and cannot triumph against Russia unless Nato forces join fight

Events

5 d. ago Ukraine cannot win against Russia, warns top British army chief

Field Marshal Lord Richards tells The Independent’s Sam Kiley that Ukraine has been given false hope by its Western allies and cannot triumph against Russia unless Nato forces join fight

Events

8 d. ago Sweden stockpiles food for first time since Cold War as threat from evil Putin looms

Sweden is pushing ahead with plans to strengthen what it calls its 'total defence' strategy by stockpiling food for the first time since the Cold War as fears of a conflict with Russia loom

Events

9 d. ago NATO seeks more arms for Ukraine as Western support fades and allied airspace concerns mount

NATO defense ministers will gather to try and drum up military support for Ukraine

Politics

1 week ago ‘Our job is to maximise their losses’: how Ukraine’s forces attempt to claw back against Russian advances

Along Donetsk’s frontline, a small counteroffensive by Ukrainian troops aims to help change perceptions about the war among Kyiv’s western alliesAs Donald Trump prepared to meet Vladimir Putin in Alaska in August, Russia launched an offensive in eastern Ukraine. Small groups of soldiers pushed forward near Dobropillia and, meeting little resistance, they advanced 15 to 20 km and seized a chain of villages.It is a small pocket of land, but one that has driven perceptions of the war in the last months. At the time of the Alaska summit, it was seen as proof that Russia had momentum; as Ukraine had taken back territory – albeit in the context of Russian advances elsewhere – it may have contributed to Trump’s dismissive assessment of Moscow’s military as a “paper tiger”. Continue reading...

Society

1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: 23 children and adolescents brought out of Russian

Rescue was carried out under Zelenskyy’s ‘Bring Kids Back UA’ programme; Trump ‘stepping up pressure’ to end war. What we know on day 1,325Twenty-three Ukrainian children and adolescents have been brought out of Russian-occupied areas of the country to territory under Kyiv’s control, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s chief of staff said on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, writing on the Telegram messaging app, said the rescue was carried out under the president’s “Bring Kids Back UA” programme aimed at bringing to safe areas children deported to Russia or confined to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.US President Donald Trump said Thursday that Washington and Nato allies were “stepping up the pressure” to end the war in Ukraine, after his outreach to Russia’s Vladimir Putin failed to achieve a ceasefire. “Yeah, we are stepping up the pressure,” Trump said in an Oval Office during a meeting with Finnish President Alexander Stubb. “We’re stepping it up together. We’re all stepping it up. Nato h...

Events

2 w. ago Vladimir Putin targets western weapons in apocalyptic bombing raid on Ukraine

Dictator Vladimir Putin launched an evil attack on a Ukrainian port, near Odesa, after one of the dictator's closest allies sent a chilling warning about the illegal invasion

Events

2 w. ago 'British parts' found in Russian drones used to attack Ukraine, says Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed Russian weapons contained components from allied countries including Britain, Germany, and the US as he called for more 'effective' sanctions on Russia

Events

2 w. ago Top Putin allies break ranks with Kremlin on state TV over Ukraine war reality

Former supporters of Russia's war on Ukraine appear to be backpeddling - with some admitting it is impossible to advance into Ukraine, as there's 'a deadlock at the front', while Russia continue to lose soldiers

Politics

2 w. ago BREAKING: Russia targeting UK military satellites in space 'every week' warns top general

The head of the UK Space Command Maj Gen Paul Tedman has revealed that Russia have been tracking UK satellites for some time, as he revealed the extent of Moscow's interference

Events

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Putin warns of ‘new level of escalation’ if Tomahawk missiles supplied to Kyiv

Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells European leaders that Moscow’s war ‘was never just about Ukraine’. What we know on day 1,318See all our Ukraine war overageRussian president Vladimir Putin has warned that supplying US Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine would lead to a “whole new level of escalation”, including in relations between Moscow and Washington. Responding to questions at a forum in Sochi, Putin said it would not change the situation on the battlefield, where the Russian army is making slow but steady advances.The Trump administration’s desire to send Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine may not be viable because current inventories are committed to the US navy and other uses, Reuters reported a US official and three sources as saying. The US may look into allowing European allies to buy other long-range weapons and supply them to Ukraine but Tomahawks were unlikely, the official said, questioning the feasibility of providing the cruise missiles with a range of 2,500km (1,550 miles) and suggesti...

Events

3 w. ago Russia’s provocations are menacing Nato. The cold war shows how it needs to respond | Sergey Radchenko

Despite the cost of shooting down fighter jets and drones, small skirmishes remind both sides of the dangers of escalationEarlier this month, a swarm of Russian drones violated Poland’s borders. Some were shot down. A few days later, another Russian drone overflew Romania en route to Ukraine. The Romanian air defence let it get away. Then, on 19 September, three Russian MiG-31 fighters intruded into Estonia’s airspace. Italian F-35s – in the area on a Nato mission – intercepted the Russians and saw them off.Although this is hardly the first time Russia has violated Nato’s airspace, the extent and the brazen nature of these latest provocations make them stand out. Incursions will end only when the intruders are shot down. Fortunately, shooting down an occasional Russian fighter jet, never mind drones, is very unlikely to lead to a broader escalation. It may even help cool down tensions by reinforcing the red lines.Sergey Radchenko is Wilson E Schmidt distinguished professor at the He...

Events

3 w. ago Hillsborough campaign not over until law on statute books – victim’s daughter

Campaigner Charlotte Hennessy said the families want to protect others and change the ‘flaw within our justice system’.

Events

3 w. ago Britain will create 'drone wall' to protect Nato and Ukraine from Russia amid rising tensions over suspected Kremlin incursions

The British made drones have been developed in collaboration with Ukraine as the countries scramble to protect the alliance's eastern flank amid threats from Vladimir Putin's jets and drones.

Events

3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: UN watchdog sounds warning after drone detonates near Ukraine nuclear plant

IAEA chief says no damage to South Ukraine nuclear facility but ‘next time we may not be so lucky’; Russia accused of ‘arbitrary killings’ of PoWs. What we know on day 1,311See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Iran snapback sanctions loom as UN security council set to vote on nuclear programme

Russian efforts to delay the return of sanctions is expected to fail during vote on FridayA final Russian attempt to defer the snapback of large-scale UN sanctions on Iran is expected to fail at the UN security council on Friday after European countries rejected last-minute Iranian offers to give UN weapons inspectors limited access to its bombed nuclear sites.Russia will call for the reimposition of the sanctions to be deferred for six months to give more time for diplomacy, but European diplomats are confident that Russia will not get the nine votes it needs on the security council for the snapback to be deferred. The last time Russia put the same issue to a vote it received only four votes. Continue reading...

Events