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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces launch huge drone attack as Keir Starmer visits Kyiv

Starmer to sign treaty today pledging a century of support and security guarantees

Arpan Rai,Alexander Butler
Thursday 16 January 2025 08:57 GMT
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Vladimir Putin’s troops have launched a massive overnight drone attack at Ukraine as UK prime minister Keir Starmer visited the country.

Russian forces launched 55 drones at Ukraine overnight, with Kyiv’s airforce able to down around 34 of them over 11 regions across the country.

It comes as Sir Keir slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “monumental failure” during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” he said.

The prime minister announced a “100-Year partnership” between the UK and Ukraine as he pledged more support for the country.

“We are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level,” he said on his first visit to the war-torn country since taking office in July 2024.

The announcement includes more military and economic aid, as well as increased military collaboration on maritime security and drone technology, and healthcare.

5 minutes ago

Analysis: Starmer’s last ditch attempt to shore up support for Ukraine pre-Trump

Sir Keir Starmer has ramped up support for Ukraine, in a last-ditch attempt to show solidarity with the war-torn nation in the final days before Donald Trump takes office.

The agreement set to be signed between London and Kyiv has been in the works since the previous Conservative administration – but it speaks volumes that Sir Keir has travelled to Ukraine to get it over the line the week before Trump’s inauguration.

His first trip to Ukraine since entering Downing Street comes amid concerns over the president-elect’s commitment to Nato and indications that he would encourage Ukraine to make concessions as part of a deal with Russia – threats that made a marked contribution to No 10’s ramped up effort to put Ukraine in “the strongest possible position” this winter.

Millie Cooke16 January 2025 08:57
29 minutes ago

Putin’s troops launch massive drone attack

Vladimir Putin’s troops have launched a massive overnight drone attack at Ukraine as UK prime minister Keir Starmer visited the country.

Russian forces launched 55 drones at Ukraine overnight, with Kyiv’s airforce able to down around 34 of them over 11 regions across the country.

It comes as Sir Keir slammed Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as a “monumental failure” during a visit to Kyiv on Thursday.

Alexander Butler16 January 2025 08:33
1 hour ago

Zelensky and Starmer to discuss foreign boots in Ukraine in meeting today

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and British prime minister Keir Starmer will discuss a plan proposed by French president Emmanuel Macron that would see troops from France and other Western countries stationed in Ukraine to oversee a ceasefire agreement.

Mr Zelensky has said any such proposal should go alongside a timeline for Ukraine to join Nato.

The alliance’s 32 member countries say that Ukraine will join one day, but not until after the war. Donald Trump has appeared to sympathise with Russian president Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato.

Arpan Rai16 January 2025 07:31
2 hours ago

Photos: Keir Starmer heads to Ukraine today

Prime minister Keir Starmer is on his way to Ukraine today as he boarded a train to reach the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.

Donning a black t-shirt, Sir Keir was seen being briefed by his military adviser ahead of the bilateral outreach to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.

On a gray and frosty morning, the British prime minister was greeted at Kyiv railway station by the UK ambassador to Ukraine, Martin Harris and Ukraine’s envoy to London, Valerii Zaluzhnyi.

Keir Starmer is briefed by his military assistant on a train bound for Kyiv
Keir Starmer is briefed by his military assistant on a train bound for Kyiv (Getty Images)
Sir Keir and his military assistant seen as they leave on a train bound for Kyiv
Sir Keir and his military assistant seen as they leave on a train bound for Kyiv (Getty Images)
Sir Keir looks at documents as he is briefed by his military assistant on a train bound for Kyiv
Sir Keir looks at documents as he is briefed by his military assistant on a train bound for Kyiv (Getty Images)
Keir Starmer arrives at Kyiv train station in Ukraine
Keir Starmer arrives at Kyiv train station in Ukraine (Getty Images)
Arpan Rai16 January 2025 07:01
2 hours ago

North Korea’s suicide soldiers pose a new risk on the Ukraine battlefield

North Korea’s suicide soldiers pose a new risk on the Ukraine battlefield

‘Self-detonation and suicides: that’s the reality about North Korea’

Jabed Ahmed16 January 2025 07:00
2 hours ago

Russian gunpowder factory attacked, says Ukraine

A major Russian gunpowder factory in the Tambov region was attacked, a Ukrainian official said today, without directly claiming responsibility or specifying the consequences of the attack.

“The enterprise is one of the main suppliers of explosive materials for the army of the Russian Federation,” Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation, wrote on Telegram.

“With the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine, production at the plant increased significantly,” he added.

Arpan Rai16 January 2025 06:52
2 hours ago

What do we know about Britain’s 100-year pledge to Ukraine?

British prime minister Keir Starmer is meeting president Volodymyr Zelensky to sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv, covering areas including defence, science, energy and trade.

But what is behind the British pledge to the war-hit country?

Britain says the treaty is designed to offer a century of security assurances, and will help ensure Ukraine is “never again vulnerable to the kind of brutality inflicted on it by Russia”. Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and began a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The deal commits the two sides to cooperate on defence – especially maritime security against Russian activity in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov – and on technology projects including drones, which have become vital weapons for both sides in the war.

The treaty also includes a system to help track stolen Ukrainian grain exported by Russia from occupied parts of the country.

Arpan Rai16 January 2025 06:30
2 hours ago

Keir Starmer arrives in Ukraine for surprise visit to sign ‘100-year partnership’

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has been a “monumental strategic failure”, Sir Keir Starmer said as he travelled to the country to sign a new long-term partnership deal with Volodymyr Zelensky.

The 100 Year Partnership includes defence and scientific collaboration but will also forge new community links between the UK and Ukraine.

The agreement will bolster military collaboration on maritime security and will bring together experts in areas including drone technology.

The prime minister, visiting Ukraine for the first time since entering No 10, said the deal showed Mr Putin’s attempts to pull Ukraine away from the West had backfired.

Keir Starmer arrives in Ukraine to sign ‘100-year partnership’ with Zelensky

Starmer says the 100-Year Partnership would cement the friendship between the two countries for the next century

Arpan Rai16 January 2025 06:18
3 hours ago

Russian missile attack forces Ukraine to shut down power grid

Russian missile attack forces Ukraine to shut down power grid

Ukrainian officials say Russia has launched a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine

Jabed Ahmed16 January 2025 06:00
3 hours ago

Starmer arrives in Ukraine for security talks with Zelensky

Prime minister Keir Starmer arrived in Ukraine today with a pledge to help guarantee the country’s security for a century, days before Donald Trump is sworn in as US president.

The government says Mr Starmer and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky will sign a “100-Year Partnership” treaty in Kyiv, covering areas including defence, science, energy and trade.

“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure. Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level,” Mr Starmer said ahead of the visit.

“This is not just about the here and now, it is also about an investment in our two countries for the next century, bringing together technology development, scientific advances and cultural exchanges, and harnessing the phenomenal innovation shown by Ukraine in recent years for generations to come,” he said.

Mr Starmer’s unannounced visit is his first trip to Ukraine since he took office in July. He visited the country in 2023 when he was opposition leader, and has twice held talks with Mr Zelensky in 10 Downing Street since becoming prime minister.

(Getty Images)
Arpan Rai16 January 2025 05:45

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