Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK condemns ‘reckless’ Kremlin after Putin’s apology over Azerbaijan Airlines crash
The UK has called for an independent investigation into the downing of an Azerbaijani plane thought to have been caused by a Russian missile
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Your support makes all the difference.The UK foreign office has criticised Russia after President Vladimir Putin apologised to his Azerbaijani counterpart over a plane crash in Russian airspace that left dozens dead.
Mr Putin said he was sorry “for the fact that the tragic incident occurred in Russian airspace” during a call with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev on Saturday.
But Mr Putin stopped short of admitting Russian responsibility for the crash, which killed 38 people.
In response, a spokesperson for the UK foreign, commonwealth and development office demanded a full independent investigation into what happened.
A spokesperson said: “President Putin’s statement fails to recognise that the reckless and irresponsible actions of the Russian state pose an acute and direct threat to the interests and national security of other states.”
Flight J2-8243 crashed on Wednesday in a ball of fire near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several cities. At least 38 people were killed while 29 survived.
The US has suggested that Russia could be responsible for the downing of the plane, while sources in Azerbaijan claimed Russian air defence missiles hit the plane.
Putin apologises for ‘tragic’ Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash but does not take responsibility
Russia claims it foiled several Ukrainian plots to kill senior officers with disguised bombs
Azerbaijan Airlines crash: was this another military shoot-down of a civil aircraft?
Russia plays down speculation over cause of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan
Zelensky urges China to put pressure on North Korea over military aid to Russia
Zelensky urges China to put pressure on North Korea over military aid to Russia
Volodymyr Zelensky has urged China to put pressure on North Korea if it “is sincere in its statements that the war should not expand.” In an address on Friday, 27 December, the Ukrainian president said North Korean troops deployed in Russia's Kursk region are "suffering many losses." "They are doing everything to make it impossible for us to capture Koreans - they are being killed by their own people... And the Russians send them to the frontlines so that they have minimal defence," he added.
Ukraine says it has recovered diary of killed North Korean soldier
Ukraine’s special operations forces say they have recovered the diary of a North Korean soldier killed while fighting in the Russian region of Kursk.
You can read one of the translated diary entries below.
US to send $1.25 billion in weapons to Ukraine, in push to get aid out before leaving office
US to send $1.25 billion in weapons to Ukraine, in push to get aid out before leaving office
U.S. officials say the United States is expected to announce it will send another $1.25 billion in military assistance to Ukraine
Zelenskyy says North Korean troops suffering ‘many losses’ in Russia’s Kursk region
Footage shows damaged in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv
Footage released by Ukraine’s emergency services shows damage sustained in the southern city of Mykolaiv following a Russian drone attack.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Air Force said they had downed 15 Russian drones overnight, while a sixteenth was lost in the air. They added that Mykolaiv had been hit.
Ukraine shoots down overnight Russian drone attack
Ukraine‘s Air Force says it has shut down more than a dozen drones launched across the country overnight.
In a statement on the Telegram Mesenger app, they wrote: “On the night of December 28, 2024 (from 11:00 p.m. on December 27), the enemy attacked with 16 Shahed attack UAVs and drones of other types (launch areas: Primorsko-Akhtarsk - Russia).”
They said all drones were either downed by electronic warfare or lost in the air. There were no casualties, though a company and apartment building in the city of Mykolaiv were partially damaged.
Russia arrests 4 suspects accused of plotting to kill top military officers on Ukraine's orders
Russia’s top security agency has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior military officers, an announcement that follows the killing of a top Russian general last week.
The Federal Security Service, a top KGB successor known under its Russian acronym FSB, said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies that it had arrested four Russians accused of making preparations to kill senior defence ministry officials.
The FSB said that the suspected organisers of the attacks were planning to kill one of the senior officers using a remotely controlled car bomb.
It added that another top military official was to be assassinated by an explosive device hidden in an envelope. The agency didn’t name the military officers who were targeted in the alleged plot.
Russia arrests 4 suspects accused of plotting to kill top military officers on Ukraine's orders
Russia’s top security agency says that it has arrested several suspects accused of involvement in an alleged Ukrainian plot to assassinate senior military officers
Ukraine sends food aid to Syria, says Zelensky
Ukraine, a global producer and exporter of grain and oilseeds, has sent its first batch of food aid to Syria, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Zelensky said that 500 metric tons of wheat flour were already on their way to Syria as part of Ukraine‘s humanitarian “Grain from Ukraine“ initiative in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Programme.
“The wheat flour is planned to be distributed to 33,250 families or 167,000 people, in the coming weeks,” Zelensky said on X, adding: “Each package weighs 15 kilograms and can feed a family of five for one month.”
After the ouster of Bashar al-Assad, a close Russian ally, Ukraine has said it wants to restore relations with Syria.
Kyiv traditionally exports wheat and corn to countries in the Middle East, but not to Syria.
Russia claims it thwarted Ukrainian plot to kill officer and a blogger
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had foiled a plot by Ukraine to kill a high-ranking Russian officer and a pro-Russian war blogger with a bomb hidden in a portable music speaker.
The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said that a Russian citizen had established contact with an officer from Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency through the Telegram messaging platform.
On the instructions of the Ukrainian intelligence officer, the Russian citizen had then retrieved a bomb from a hiding place in Moscow, the FSB said. The bomb, equivalent to one and a half kg of TNT and packed with ball bearings, was concealed in a portable music speaker, the FSB said.
The FSB did not name the officer or the blogger who was the target of the plot. Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency has not issued a comment on Russia’s claims.
Kyiv looks to open over 150 underground schools by fall 2025
Ukraine is planning to open more than 150 underground educational facilities by September of 2025, deputy education minister Nadiia Kuzmychova said at a briefing yesterday.
Officials in the war-hit country have initiated plans to build 139 underground schools and several dozen underground vocational education institutions, the minister said.
There are currently 79 underground education facilities under active construction and construction is ongoing in frontline regions and areas most affected by Russian shelling, the deputy education minister said.
“We expect the construction of absolutely all facilities to be completed by September 1, 2025,” Ms Kuzmychova said.
Ukraine had to switch to underground schools after the country came under the Russian aerial attacks, which target civilian infrastructure, including education facilities and have claimed thousands of lives so far.
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