Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russia ‘drafts 180,000 convicts’ as Zelensky says decisive Trump can stop Putin
Trump ‘capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin’, says Zelensky
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia has enlisted between 140,000 and 180,000 prison inmates to fight in the war against Ukraine, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) said, according to the Kyiv Independent.
A Russian government decree abolishing the one-time payment of £2,842 to prisoners for signing a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to participate in the war against Ukraine came into effect on 1 January.
“The legislative abolition of the one-time payment is evidence of the deepening crisis in the Russian economy and the shortage of financial resources,” Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service claimed.
The Independent could not verify these claims.
It comes as Volodymyr Zelensky auded incoming US president Donald Trump saying he could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Vladimir Putin.
“He can be decisive in this war,” the Ukrainian president said. “He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
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Ukraine's military says it struck command post in Russia's Kursk region
The Ukrainian military said it carried out a high-precision strike on a Russian command post in Maryino, in the Kursk region.
“These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” it said in a statement via the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
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
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing to resume diplomatic ties with Syria
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria.
"We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations," Zelensky said after hearing the report from Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha's visit to Syria on Monday.
Putin orders Russian government and top bank to develop AI cooperation with China
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s government and the country’s biggest bank, Sberbank, to build cooperation with China in artificial intelligence.
Putin’s instructions were published on the Kremlin’s website yesterday, three weeks after he announced that Russia would team up with BRICS partners and other countries to develop AI.
He told the government and Sberbank, which is spearheading Russia’s AI efforts, to “ensure further co-operation with the People’s Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence”.
Western sanctions intended to restrict Moscow’s access to the technologies it needs to sustain its war against Ukraine have resulted in the world’s major producers of microchips halting exports to Russia, severely limiting its AI ambitions.
Sberbank CEO German Gref acknowledged in 2023 that graphics processing units (GPUs), the microchips that underpin AI development, were the trickiest hardware for Russia to replace.
Pictured: Moscow welcomes 2025 amid Ukraine invasion
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Crisis has aided the Russian strongman’s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
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
Russia says it struck Ukrainian energy facilities
Russia has said it had attacked energy facilities in Ukraine that support Kyiv’s military-industrial complex.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that over the last 24 hours it had used its air force, drones, missiles and artillery to target energy facilities, military airfields and Ukrainian military personnel across multiple locations.
The Independent could not confirm the extent of the attacks or the damage they inflicted.
Russia regularly reports such strikes, describing recent ones as retaliation for Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russian territory
The ministry also reported that Russian troops had downed a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet, 97 drones and six U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles overnight.
Halt of gas Ukraine gas transit will have 'drastic' impact on EU, Slovak PM says
The stoppage of gas transit through Ukraine will have “drastic” impact on European Union countries but not on Russia, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said yesterday.
The pro-Russian Slovak leader has repeatedly warned that the end of transit would cost Slovakia hundreds of millions of euros in lost transit revenue and higher fees for the import of other gas, and argued it would also lead to a rise in gas and electricity prices in Europe.
ICYMI: Two killed in Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine says
Russia launched a New Year’s Day drone strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday, killing two people, wounding at least six others and damaging buildings in two districts, authorities said.
Explosions boomed across the morning sky as Ukraine‘s air force warned of incoming drones and Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defences were repelling an enemy attack.
Two floors of a residential building in central Kyiv were partially destroyed in the strike, according to the State Emergency Service. Two people were killed, it said.
Photos posted by the agency showed firefighters dousing a gutted corner of a building and rescuers helping elderly victims.
The National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that one of its buildings nearby had been damaged by debris from a downed drone. Debris also damaged a non-residential building in a different neighbourhood, authorities said.
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