9 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Crimea oil refinery burns as Russia feels effects on fuel supply

Glide bombs knock out power supply and hit hospital in Kharkiv; Zelenskyy lining up Trump meeting with Tomahawks hot topic. What we know on day 1,329An oil terminal at Feodosia in the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula was burning on Monday after an attack by Ukrainian drones. A Ukrainian security official told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the drones, launched by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service and military special forces, hit at least five reservoirs. The source said drones also hit at least two Russian electrical substations on the peninsula, which Russia took from Ukraine in 2014.Large heat signatures around the Feodosia terminal were visible on Nasa’s satellite fire monitoring service, Firms, and Crimea’s Moscow-installed governor confirmed the fire. The Feodosia terminal also came under attack last week. Ukraine has launched more than 30 strikes on Russian energy sites since the beginning of August, aiming to hamper funding of the Kremlin’s war machine and also tri...

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34 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Moscow voices ‘extreme concern’ at Trump threat to send Tomohawk missiles to Kyiv

US president says he may warn Russian counterpart ‘look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’. What we know on day 1,328Donald Trump has threatened to send longe-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin does not end his invasion. “I might talk to him [Putin]. I might say, ‘look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,’” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the Middle East. The US president said Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy had asked for Tomahawks in a call on Saturday when they were discussing a fresh supply of weapons for Kyiv. “Tomahawks are a new step of aggression,” added Trump. “Do they [Russian forces] want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.” Trump has been mulling potential supplies of the long-range missiles to Kyiv via European allies ever since his meeting with Putin in Alaska in August failed to produce a peace deal. Putin has pre...

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34 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Moscow voices ‘extreme concern’ at Trump threat to send Tomahawk missiles to Kyiv

US president says he may warn Russian counterpart ‘look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks’. What we know on day 1,328Donald Trump has threatened to send longe-range Tomahawk missiles to Ukraine if Vladimir Putin does not end his invasion. “I might talk to him [Putin]. I might say, ‘look, if this war is not going to get settled, I’m going to send them Tomahawks,’” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on his way to the Middle East. The US president said Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy had asked for Tomahawks in a call on Saturday when they were discussing a fresh supply of weapons for Kyiv. “Tomahawks are a new step of aggression,” added Trump. “Do they [Russian forces] want to have Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.” Trump has been mulling potential supplies of the long-range missiles to Kyiv via European allies ever since his meeting with Putin in Alaska in August failed to produce a peace deal. Putin has pre...

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57 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Latest refinery strike shows ‘no safe places in Russia’s deep rear’

Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa is 1,400km from Ukrainian border; Zelenskyy says Trump can repeat Middle East peace success in Ukraine. What we know on day 1,327Ukrainian drones have struck Russia’s Bashneft oil refinery in Ufa, 1,400km from Ukraine, causing explosions and a fire, a source in Ukraine’s SBU security service told Reuters on Saturday. “This is the third SBU deep strike in Bashkortostan in the last month Such strikes demonstrate that there are no safe places in the deep rear of the Russian Federation.”Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Donald Trump to broker peace in Ukraine “[like in] the Middle East” during a phone call on Saturday. “If a war can be stopped in one region, then surely other wars can be stopped as well, including the Russian war,” Zelenskyy said, hailing Trump’s “outstanding” Gaza ceasefire plan and calling for the US president to pressure the Kremlin into negotiations.Russian attacks on Ukraine killed at least five people on Saturday and cut power to parts of Ukra...

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3 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Power restored to Kyiv after Russia drone attacks

Zelenskyy says attacks targeted energy infrastructure as winter looms; boy killed as drones and missiles hit Zaporizhzhia. What we know on day 1,326Power was restored to 270,000 consumers in Kyiv after attacks from Russia knocked it out, Ukraine’s energy minister Svitlana Hrynchuk wrote on Facebook on Friday. People in Kyiv heard blasts throughout Thursday night and many woke up without power on Friday after the huge air attack targeted Ukraine’s energy system. Images posted online showed firefighters working to tackle burning blocks of flats. Hrynchuk did not say how many people had lost power. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said the Russian strikes targeted civilian and energy infrastructure as Ukraine prepares for winter temperatures.Russian drones and missiles damaged 12 apartment buildings in the south-eastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, killing a seven-year-old boy and injuring four people, according to the regional governor. The Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, sa...

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4 d. 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...

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5 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Analysts flag Kremlin scare campaign against use of Tomahawks

Russian lawmaker says of US missiles: ‘We will hurt those who cause us trouble’; Ukrainian counteroffensive causing heavy losses for Russia. What we know on day 1,324 Continue reading...

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7 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Trump says he would want to know Kyiv’s plans for Tomahawk missiles before supplying them

US president says he has ‘sort of made a decision’ on whether to supply long-range missiles; Denmark to step up checks on oil tankers after drone sightings. What we know on day 1,322See all our Ukraine war overage Continue reading...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: ‘Political will’ needed to restore external power to Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, UN watchdog says

Rafael Grossi says ‘security situation’ around plant must improve for repairs to be carried out; French photojournalist Antoni Lallican killed by Russian drone strike. What we know on day 1,319See all our Ukraine war overageThe head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog said on Friday he was discussing proposals with Russia and Ukraine to restore off-site power to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, calling it a “question of political will”. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant has been cut off from external power since 23 September, with the fuel in its reactors being cooled by emergency diesel generators. The International Atomic Energy Agency director general, Rafael Grossi, said: “Both sides say they stand ready to conduct the necessary repairs on their respective sides of the frontline. But for this to happen, the security situation on the ground must improve so that the technicians can carry out their vital work without endangering their lives.”French photojournalist Ant...

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1 week 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...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Attack cutting power to Chornobyl nuclear plant a ‘global threat’, says Zelenskyy

Emergency diesel generators brought online after Russia accused of shelling substation supplying power to scene of 1986 disaster. What we know on day 1,317See all our Ukraine war overage Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy urges west to cut off Russia’s energy revenues, saying decisive action ‘long overdue’

President’s plea comes after Russia bombards Kyiv and elsewhere in one of its most sustained attacks of the war. What we know on day 1,314See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageVolodymyr Zelenskyy has again urged the international community to act decisively to cut off Russia’s energy revenues that fund its Ukraine war after Moscow carried out one of its worst attacks on Kyiv of the war. “The time for decisive action is long overdue, and we count on a strong response from the United States, Europe, the G7 and the G20,” the Ukrainian president said on Telegram. While the United Nations was holding general assembly sessions, Russia had “literally used every day, every hour, to strike at Ukraine”, he said in his nightly video address. Ukraine has so far failed to convince US president Donald Trump to impose punitive sanctions on Moscow.The onslaught on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine killed at least four people in what Zelenskyy called a described as a “vile and cowardly” attack, Luke ...

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2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russia’s latest offensives have failed, say Zelenskyy and his top commander

Ukrainian president says heavy battlefield losses inflicted on Russia while Oleksandr Syrskyi says Kyiv has disrupted Moscow’s spring and summer campaign. What we know on day 1,312See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverage Continue reading...

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2 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...

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2 w. ago Trump changed position on Putin after ‘briefing on planned Ukrainian offensive’

In the lead up to his meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, the US president met with officials advocating a tougher stance on Moscow

Politics

2 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Trump ‘growing incredibly impatient’ with Russia over war, warns Vance

US vice-president says if Moscow doesn’t negotiate in good faith it will be ‘very, very bad for their country’ as Zelenskyy appeals to world leaders to stop Putin. What we know on day 1,310See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUS vice-president JD Vance has warned that Donald Trump is “growing incredibly impatient” with Moscow amid stalled efforts to resolve the Ukraine war. Trump “doesn’t feel like they’re putting enough on the table to end the war”, Vance said in North Carolina. “If the Russians refuse to negotiate in good faith, I think it’s going to be very, very bad for their country. That’s what the president made clear.” In a meeting earlier on Wednesday in New York, US secretary of state Marco Rubio apparently clashed with his Russian counterpart, calling for the “killing to stop” and demanding Moscow “take meaningful steps toward a durable resolution”.Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov fired back and “stressed the unacceptability of the schemes promoted by Kyiv and som...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy heads to the UN as US envoy vows to defend Nato territory

Ukrainian president is expected to meet Trump on the sidelines of the UN general assembly in New York; Washington’s new UN envoy convenes emergency meeting. What we know on day 1,308See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has landed in New York where he will attend the United Nations general assembly and try to drum up support for a US-led peace effort to end the war in Ukraine. “We are doing everything to stop the war,” he wrote on X on Tuesday, adding that he had two dozen meetings scheduled. The Ukrainian leader is expected to meet US president Donald Trump and other world leaders on the sidelines of the UN meeting, and deliver an address on Wednesday.Zelenskyy said he would also attend the first leaders’ summit of the Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, which would for the first time be held on a global stage. The meeting, he said, underlined “the global nature of the changes brought about by this war, the war that Russia began ...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Drones blast Russia’s Saratov refinery for second time in a week

Ukrainian leadership continues to talk up recapture of territory in counteroffensive; EU moves to phase out Russian gas faster. What we know on day 1,305 Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Zelenskyy claims ‘important success’ as troops push back on Russian advances

President says Ukrainian forces in east have reclaimed 160 sq km of land and cleared another 170 sq km as counteroffensive ‘achieving results’. What we know on day 1,304See all our Russia-Ukraine war coverageUkrainian forces have pushed back some of the gains Russia made over the summer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, calling the operation an “important success” after months of battlefield setbacks. The Ukrainian president said his troops had reclaimed 160 sq km (62 sq miles) of land near the eastern coalmining town of Dobropillia, where Russia pierced Ukraine’s defences in August. Russia did not immediately comment on the claims. Zelenskyy said after meeting troops in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday that his army was “achieving results” in an ongoing counteroffensive there. In addition to reclaiming the 160 sq km, Ukrainian forces had “cleared” Russian troops from an additional 170 sq km of land but had not yet formally taken the territory, he said in a video address. Zelensk...

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3 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil system struggling under Ukrainian attacks – report

Transneft has told producers they may have to cut their output because of attacks on pipelines and ports, Reuters says. What we know on day 1,302Russia’s oil pipeline monopoly Transneft has warned producers they may have to cut output following Ukraine’s drone attacks on critical export ports and refineries, Reuters has reported, citing industry sources. Ukrainian drones have frequently hit Russia’s oil plants, cutting refining capacity by up to a fifth, and damaged ports including Ust-Luga and Primorsk, Ukrainian military officials and Russian industry sources have said. Ukraine’s military said on Tuesday it had struck the Saratov oil refinery in Russia during an overnight attack.Transneft, which handles more than 80% of all the oil extracted in Russia, has in recent days restricted oil firms’ ability to store oil in its pipeline system, two industry sources close to Russian oil firms told Reuters. Transneft has also warned producers it may have to accept less oil if its infrastruc...

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