Ukraine-Russia war latest: Three killed in cross-border attacks as 1,700 of Kyiv’s troops desert army
Around 1,700 soldiers of a high-profile unit have reportedly deserted the army before deployment
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.At least three people have been killed on both sides of the Russia-Ukrainian border on Friday, local officials said, as the grinding war nears its third anniversary.
One person was killed in an attack on a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, which injured five others.
A man was killed while walking down a road in Russia’s Kursk region, which Ukraine has controlled since a mass incursion in August, the regional governor said.
The governor of Russia's western Bryansk region said one person had been killed in mortar fire on a village near the border.
It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 300 attack drones and nearly 20 missiles on Ukrainian targets in the first three days of 2025. Most of the drones and missiles had been downed or intercepted, Mr Zelensky said.
Meanwhile, around 1,700 soldiers from the 155th Mechanised Brigade have reportedly deserted the army before the unit’s first deployment in eastern Ukraine, the Telegraph reported.
The brigade was part of a high-profile initiative by Mr Zelensky and French president Emmanual Macron, aimed to showcase western support. It has reportedly suffered from equipment shortages and inadequate training.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to boots on the ground: How Europe is preparing for a Third World War
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing to resume diplomatic ties with Syria
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he was preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria, less than a month after the overthrow of the Russia-backed government in Damascus.
Zelensky spoke after a visit to Syria by his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, and by Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval who said earlier Ukraine had already sent a shipment of food aid.
“We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria in June 2022 after the then government in Damascus said it recognised the “independence” of the Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since rebels overthrew Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad last month, Ukraine has been moving to build ties with the new Islamist rulers there. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, was a staunch ally of Assad and has given him political asylum.
Moscow has also said it is in contact with the new administration in Damascus, including over the fate of Russian military facilities in Syria.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
Tom Watling reports:
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk
Ukraine downs 34 Russian drones overnight
Ukrainian air defences downed 34 out of 81 Russian drones overnight, the air force said on Saturday.
Of the other drones, 46 were “lost”, referring to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Russian gas is no longer flowing to EU states through Ukraine following the expiration of a five-year deal, closing an energy route that has existed since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the move means Russia can no longer “earn billions on our blood”.
His energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the gas flows “in the interest of national security”.
“This is a historic event,” he wrote on the social media platform Telegram. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses.”
The deal had allowed for Russian gas to travel through Ukraine’s pipeline networks into European countries, primarily Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Russia will no longer transport gas to Europe via Ukraine’s pipelines, further limiting its ability to raise capital
Ukraine’s flagship brigade struggles amid mass desertions as 1,700 soldiers go AWOL
A Ukrainian brigade trained in France and equipped with advanced Western military hardware has been disbanded after mass desertions.
About 1,700 soldiers from the 155th Mechanised Brigade went absent without leave before the unit’s first deployment in eastern Ukraine, according to The Telegraph.
The brigade, a high-profile initiative announced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and French president Emmanuel Macron last year, was meant to showcase Western support but reportedly suffered from inadequate training and equipment shortages.
Around 50 members of the unit, known as the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, went missing during training in France, and the problem grew worse as over 1,700 troops eventually went absent without leave before the unit’s first deployment in eastern Ukraine, the newspaper reported.
The unit’s initial battle in Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, led to significant losses, including tanks and armoured vehicles.Analysts have criticized Kyiv’s strategy of forming new brigades instead of reinforcing experienced units.
Zelensky says Trump is 'strong and unpredictable'
President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky, facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
The Ukrainian president also said a priority was to stabilise the frontline early in the new year. Mr Putin, he said, feared negotiations as they would be tantamount to a defeat for Russia.
“He’s very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump’s unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” he said. “Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” he said in a televised interview.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
St Petersburg airport suspends flights amid reports of drone activity
Russia’s Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg temporarily halted flight operations on Saturday morning to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft, the country’s aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.
The suspension began at 7.45am (4.45am GMT), and while no specific reason was given, Russian airports have previously been closed in response to potential Ukrainian drone threats.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, which includes St Petersburg, said Russian forces had shot down two drones near Luga Bay in the Gulf of Finland.
“The airport is temporarily not accepting or dispatching flights,” a Rosaviatsia representative wrote on Telegram. “Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers, and airport services are taking all necessary measures to ensure flight safety – this is the top priority.”
US to send additional security assistance to Ukraine, White House says
The United States expects to make announcements about additional security assistance for Ukraine in coming days, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday.
Mr Kirby said future announcements were expected after Washington last week announced $5.9bn in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine and a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany will be held on 9 January.
"You can also expect additional security assistance announcements coming with respect to Ukraine ... in coming days," he said, without providing any specifics.
Russia lost 420,000 soldiers to gain 4,168sq km in Ukraine and Kursk last year, ISW says
Russian forces gained 4,168sq km of land, largely fields and small settlements in Ukraine and the Kursk region, in 2024 but suffered over 420,000 casualties in the process, an American think tank monitoring the war has claimed.
The Institute for the Study of War cited Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s remarks last week that Russian forces suffered 427,000 casualties in 2024.
“ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that the Russian forces advanced 4,168 square kilometers in 2024, indicating that Russian forces suffered approximately 102 casualties per square kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized,” it said in an assessment released on Wednesday.
Russian forces made 56.5 per cent of their 2024 territorial gains between September and November period, it added.
2,600 UK personnel to join Nato exercise
More than 2,600 UK personnel are heading to Nato's eastern flank as part of the government's "unshakeable commitment" to the military bloc, the armed forces minister has said.
According to the Ministry of Defence, Exercise Steadfast Dart 25 will showcase the alliance's readiness, capability and commitment to defend Nato territories.
The UK's 1st Division - headquartered in York - will be in command of all of the alliance's land forces while they are in eastern Europe.
The exercise marks the first deployment under the bloc's new Allied Reaction Force, which replaced the Nato Response Force last year to deal "swiftly and effectively" with "any threat in an evolving security environment" during peacetime, crisis and conflict.
Luke Pollard said: "This Government wants the UK to be Nato's leading European nation.
"Exercise Steadfast Dart demonstrates our unshakeable commitment to Nato and highlights the UK's key leadership role in the alliance.
"As we approach the three-year anniversary of Russia's illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we must continue to strengthen our collective defences together to deter (Russian president Vladimir) Putin effectively."
Along with more than 2,600 personnel, the UK government has said it will contribute 730 vehicles to the exercise.
Foxhound patrol and Jackal high mobility weapons platform vehicles will be among the deployments, and they will return to the UK once two exercises are complete at the end of February.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments