1 hour ago Western troops in Ukraine would be ‘legitimate targets’, Putin says

Russian president’s threat follows French proposal for postwar support for Kyiv that would include presence of Nato countries’ forcesVladimir Putin has said any western troops placed in Ukraine would be “legitimate targets” for Russian strikes, upping the stakes as Kyiv’s allies scramble to come up with a convincing offer of postwar support to Ukraine.Speaking a day after the French president, Emmanuel Macron, announced still-vague plans for a package of support for Ukraine backed by 26 nations, Putin on Friday said any guarantees that involved boots on the ground would violate Moscow’s longstanding objections to Nato troops in Ukraine. Continue reading...

Politics

7 h. ago Vladimir Putin threatens to open fire on NATO troops in Ukraine as WW3 fears grow

Russia would see Western forces as 'legitimate targets' if Europe's 'coalition of the willing' offer security

Events

7 h. ago Putin warns he'll attack UK and other NATO troops if they're deployed to Ukraine

Vladimir Putin says Western troops would be considered a 'legitimate target' to Russia

Events

32 h. ago Leaders gather for ‘Coalition of the Willing’ talks on Ukraine security guarantees – Europe live

Emmanuel Macron says Europe ready to provide such guarantees at meeting in Paris todayRutte gets also asked about his views on Russia’s opposition to the deployment of any Nato troops to Ukraine as part of security guarantees.He says:“But why are we interested in what Russia thinks about troops in Ukraine? It’s a sovereign country. It’s not for them to decide. Russia has nothing to do with this. Ukraine is a sovereign nation. If Ukraine wants to have security guarantee forces in Ukraine to support the peace deal, it’s up to them. Nobody else can decide about it. “Do you really think if he would not have been elected president united states, that Italy, Canada, Spain, Slovenia, Belgium and Luxembourg would have committed to do 2% this year? Do you really think that the whole of Nato would have committed to 5% committed to 5% including 3.5% core defence spending at the Nato Summit in The Hague?”“He took that leadership role, and it is not easy to solve this, but he is absolutely commi...

Politics

2 w. ago UK's military chief in Pentagon talks after Donald Trump pledges a NATO

Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of the defence staff, is expected to attend talks at the Pentagon to thrash out how Ukraine would be defended from future attack in the event of a peace deal with Russia.

Events

2 w. ago Britain 'will send troops to defend Ukraine's skies and ports under security deal'

Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, chief of the defence staff, is taking part in NATO talks as military leaders from across the alliance gather to discuss what support can be offered to Kyiv.

Economics

2 w. ago White House just watered down the only concession it can claim Trump won from Putin — Ukraine security

The U.S. won’t send troops, and Russia won’t accept forces from NATO states in Ukraine, writes John Bowden. So what kind of security guarantee is it really?

Politics

2 w. ago Donald Trump says UK will put troops in Ukraine and reveals if Americans will join them

In a wide-ranging interview, Donald Trump stated firmly that Ukraine would 'not be a part of NATO' but insisted European troops, including British forces, would be sent to deter any future Russian aggression.

Politics

3 w. ago As the world hurtles ever closer to nuclear oblivion, where is the opposition? | Simon Tisdall

The puerile standoff between the US and Russia ought to alert a slumbering public to a risk that is in many ways greater than during the cold warNuclear weapons – their lethal menace, dark history and future spread – are back in the headlines again and, as usual, the news is worrying, bordering on desperate. Russia’s decision last week to formally abandon the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty banning medium- and short-range nuclear missiles completes the demolition of a key pillar of global arms control. It will accelerate an already frantic nuclear arms race in Europe and Asia at a moment when US and Russian leaders are taunting each other like schoolboys.Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, has repeatedly threatened the west with nuclear weapons during his war in Ukraine. Last November, Russian forces fired their new Oreshnik hypersonic, nuclear-capable intermediate-range missile at Dnipro. It travels “like a meteorite” at 10 times the speed of sound and can reach...

Events