Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky appeals to Nato ‘sceptics’ as US rules out giving nuclear weapons to Kyiv
Zelensky says any invitation to join Nato must apply to all of Ukraine’s territory
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Your support makes all the difference.Volodymyr Zelensky has called on the US to convince “sceptics” in Europe that Ukraine should be invited to join Nato.
For the first time the Ukrainian president indicated that Kyiv could accept Russian control over some of its territory in order to end the “hot phase of the war”, and on the condition that Ukraine joins Nato.
Any invitation to join Nato must apply to all of Ukraine’s territory, Mr Zelensky told Sky News, but he accepted its defence “umbrella” could not apply to parts of Ukraine that remain occupied by Vladimir Putin’s forces.
This came as the US said it was not considering returning to Ukraine the nuclear weapons it gave up after the Soviet Union collapsed.
“What we are doing is surging various conventional capacities to Ukraine so that they can effectively defend themselves and take the fight to the Russians, not (giving them) nuclear capability,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
Ukraine is now entering a “potentially decisive phase” in Russia’s war which will be crucial for Britain’s future security and prosperity, Sir Adam Thomson, the UK’s former representative to Nato has said.
Ukraine ‘entering potentially decisive phase’ in Russia’s war, says ex-Nato ambassador
Ukraine is entering a “potentially decisive phase” in Russia’s war which will be crucial for Britain’s future security and prosperity, the UK’s former representative to Nato has said.
Speaking to Sky News in the wake of Volodymyr Zelensky’s interview discussing how to end the “hot phase” of the war, Sir Adam Thomson said: “This is a very significant statement by President Zelensky.
“With a new US administration coming in, we’re entering a potentially decisive phase in the Ukraine war that’s going to be crucial for the UK’s security and prosperity for years to come.
“Zelensky is addressing his own domestic audience, and is preparing them for compromises, but above all in this interview he is making opening moves in what’s likely to be an extended negotiation with the incoming Trump administration about what line Washington is going to take with the Kremlin.
“He’s moving Ukraine to a much more realistic position. Still not necessarily an achievable one, but more realistic.
“About three quarters of Nato allies, I would say, privately think that if it could be done Nato membership would be the least bad outcome in the sense of being the least expensive and the most stable outcome. But it couldn’t be done without the US president being wholly behind it and persuading two thirds of the US senate and quite a number of doubting allies.”
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine's forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia
Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia, which could put Kyiv at a clear disadvantage in future ceasefire talks.
Facing every imaginable shortage, tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops, tired and bereft, have walked away from combat and front-line positions to slide into anonymity, according to soldiers, lawyers and Ukrainian officials. Entire units have abandoned their posts, leaving defensive lines vulnerable and accelerating territorial losses, according to military commanders and soldiers.
Some take medical leave and never return, haunted by the traumas of war and demoralized by bleak prospects for victory. Others clash with commanders and refuse to carry out orders, sometimes in the middle of firefights.
Desertion threatens to starve Ukraine's forces at a crucial time in its war with Russia
Desertion is starving the Ukrainian army of desperately needed manpower and crippling its battle plans at a crucial time in its war with Russia
Russia has raised threat of nuclear weapons 200 times, former UK diplomat says
Russia has raised the threat of using nuclear weapons more than 200 times since invading Ukraine, the UK’s former representative to Nato has said.
Sir Adam Thomson told Sky News: “If Ukraine were actually inside Nato it would have the US nuclear guarantee. And this has been a very nuclear conflict.
“Over 200 times Moscow has threatened its nuclear capability as a way of deterring Western countries from helping Ukraine, and it’s perfectly logical therefore that the best way of stabilising this is giving Ukraine the Nato nuclear guarantee.”
He added: “The whole Russian behaviour and use of nuclear threat is extraordinarily dangerous because Putin is actually bluffing until he isn’t, and it’s becoming increasingly difficult to tell when that moment comes.
“But clearly at present Russia is not in a desperate situation where it would contemplate the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine and its bluff in that sense has been called by its use of British and American missiles deeper into Russian territory.”
Full report: Poland's prime minister visits defensive fortifications on border with Russia
Poland’s premier Donald Tusk has travelled to his country’s border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad to inspect progress in the construction of military fortifications along the eastern frontier, calling it “an investment in peace.”
Vanessa Gera and Rafal Niedzielski have more details in this report:
Poland's prime minister visits defensive fortifications on border with Russia
Poland’s prime minister has traveled to his country’s border with the Russian region of Kaliningrad to inspect progress in the construction of military fortifications
Putin wants ‘control not territory’, says analyst
Volodymyr Zelensky’s suggestion that Ukraine could temporarily cede territory to Russia in return for Nato assurances are “quite smart” but it is unlikely that Vladimir Putin would accept such an arrangement, an expert has suggested.
Asked about the Ukrainian president’s recent remarks on ending the “hot phase” of Russia’s war, James Nixey, of the Chatham House think-tank, told The Independent in emailed remarks: “It’s quite smart.
“Because territory can be regained – even militarily if need be (and the Ukrainians could switch to ‘deniable’ subversive warfare). Or it could be re-acquired under a post-Putin regime. It’s hard to see Ukraine ever giving up on it forever.
“However, it’s even harder to see Putin going for it,” said Mr Nixey, adding: “Putin wants control, not territory. That’s why he hasn’t invaded Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan etc. He controls them ‘enough’ and they have not been so wayward.
“So Ukraine – any part of it – in Nato as part of a deal would be unacceptable.”
Former British diplomat gives verdict on whether ceding territory would hand Putin a form of victory
Asked whether Ukraine ceding territory in a peace deal would hand a form of victory to Vladimir Putin, the UK’s former representative to Nato Sir Adam Thomson told Sky News: “The outcome that Zelensky is suggesting is agreement to disagree over who owns a chunk of Ukraine currently owned by Russia.
“Russia would claim it as its own. Zelensky is making the crucial point that this would not be internationally legally recognised – it would just be a de facto control that could change at some future stage through diplomacy.
“Putin would have seized some territory, he would have done it at extraordinary cost – billions and billions of dollars, two new Nato members already, a thousand or more Russian soldiers being killed or wounded every day at the moment.
“It’s in that sense a compromise. He’s got some territory under his control, it’s not recognised, and it’s an outcome that means he’s lost the rest of Ukraine and alienated Europe for a generation.”
Watch: Protester shoots fireworks at police during pro-EU protests in Georgia
No reason to think Russian offensive will run out of steam any time soon, says analyst
There is no reason to think Russia is going to run out of steam any time soon in its attacks on Ukraine, an analyst has warned.
Warning that a ceasefire in the conflict is “a terrible idea” which would hand Vladimir Putin time to regroup for another attack, Keir Giles of the Chatham House think-tank told The Independent that Russia’s heavy assaults in Ukraine’s east are “probably” sustainable, at least in the short term.
“Especially if there is not a Western response which dissuades Russia from expanding that North Korean group into something which is militarily significant and actually brings increased pressure to bear on the Ukrainians,” said Mr Giles, author of the recently published book Who Will Defend Europe?
“And especially if they can keep up their campaign of pressure both militarily and against Ukraine functioning as a state through these attacks on critical infrastructure.
“There’s no reason to think Russia is going to run out of steam any time soon. Eventually of course, they’ll find it is not sustainable. But that’s in the medium-term, and we have to survive the short-term in the meantime.”
Putin would not accept any part of Ukraine being in Nato, analyst suggests
James Nixey of the Chatham House think-tank has warned that any part of Ukraine being in Nato would be unacceptable to Vladimir Putin, after Volodymyr Zelensky said he could accept territory being temporarily ceded to Russia in exchange for security assurances from the alliance.
“After all, [Nato] is, for him, an abhorrence. Putin doesn’t want a pause anyway – he believes he’s on the brink of an historic and strategic victory, kindly deal-sealed by Donald Trump,” Mr Nixey told The Independent.
UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia for nearly three years, court told
A “sophisticated” UK-based spy ring passed secrets to Russia for nearly three years, a court has heard.
Bulgarian nationals Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, allegedly carried out surveillance on individuals and places of interest to Russia.
The spying activities allegedly included locations in London, Vienna, Valencia, Montenegro and Stuttgart, jurors have heard.
Read the full report from our crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin below:
Bulgarians paid ‘significant sums’ to work for UK-based Russian spy ring, trial hears
Katrin Ivanova, 33, Vanya Gaberova, 30, and Tihomir Ivanov Ivanchev, 39, deny conspiring with a Russian agent to pass information to the country
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