Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says invitation to join Nato is ‘only way’ to end Putin’s war
Zelensky says Putin ‘only understands power’ and a formal Nato invitation would boost Ukrainian morale
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A formal invitation for Ukraine to join Nato is “the only way” to end Russia’s war, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“We cannot be very strong without having an invitation [which] strengthens our diplomatic ways to end the war,” he told the Financial Times. “This war will finish when Putin will be isolated, and pushed by other partners to diplomacy.”
Earlier, Mr Zelensky said his spy agency has information that 10,000 troops from North Korea are being readied to join Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
“From our intelligence we’ve got information that North Korea sent tactical personnel and officers to Ukraine,” he said during a visit to Nato’s headquarters. “They are preparing on their land 10,000 soldiers, but they didn’t move them already to Ukraine or to Russia.”
A third nation wading into the hostilities would be “the first step to a world war”, Mr Zelensky said.
On the frontline, Ukrainian forces repelled 36 of 45 ground attacks near the strategic city of Kurakhove over the past 24 hours and nine clashes were still going on, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Friday morning.
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Trump blames Zelensky and Biden – but not Putin – for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
Donald Trump held Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and President Joe Biden responsible for the Russia-Ukraine war in an interview — but made no reference to Vladimir Putin.
Two and a half years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump pinned the blame squarely on Zelensky and Biden for the conflict during an interview with podcaster Patrick Bet-David, which aired Thursday.
“I think Zelensky is one of the greatest salesmen I’ve ever seen,” Trump said, grumbling about how much aid the US has given Ukraine.
“And that doesn’t mean I don’t want to help them because I feel very badly for those people. But he should never have let that war start,” the former president added. “That war’s a loser.”
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Ukraine has already cleared 35,000 sq km of landmines
Ukraine has already cleared 35,000 square kilometers of landmines since Russia’s full-scale invasion began, first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko has told journalists at a conference in Switzerland.
The country’s prime minister Denys Shmyhal told the event that Ukraine’s National Mine Strategy will aim to clear his country – currently the most heavily mined on the planet – of landmines by 2033.
In Pics: Biden lands in Germany, to talk about Ukraine with allies today
Joe Biden landed in Germany today where he will seek to cement cooperation with key European partners on issues from the Ukraine war.
In the afternoon, prime minister Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron are set to jet into Berlin to join him for talks focused largely on how to end the fighting in Ukraine as Moscow’s forces advance in the east and a bleak winter of power cuts looms.
“The key question is the nature of security guarantees and so that’s what we will talk about tomorrow,” Macron told reporters last night.
A sense of urgency is engulfing the US with next month’s presidential election, given Trump has signalled he would be much more reluctant to continue to support Kyiv.
“It’s a thank-you tour but it’s also a message to say, ‘please stay the course on Ukraine no matter what happens’,” said, Sudha David-Wilp of the German Marshall Fund of the United States.
Nato invite for Ukraine is only way to stop Russia’s war, says Zelensky
A formal invitation to Ukraine to join Nato is “the only way” Kyiv can end Russia’s invasion, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“We cannot be very strong without having an invitation [which] strengthens our diplomatic ways to end the war,” he told the Financial Times. “This war will finish when Putin will be isolated, and pushed by other partners to diplomacy.”
Zelensky presented his five-point victory plan to Ukraine’s parliament on Wednesday, and listed key points that included an invitation for Ukraine to join Nato along with permission to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit Russia.
He told the FT: “The invitation to Nato will raise up the morale of our people and our soldiers. Invitation means one more step to Nato, which means their children will not die. Never, because we will be a member of Nato. If we will not get a Nato invitation, morale will decrease.
“The war will not finish until Putin feels like he has to finish. And he only understands power,” Mr Zelensky said.
Belarus should be present at talks to end Ukraine war, Lukashenko claims
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has insisted that Belarus should be present at talks on ending Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Tass news agency reported.
Nato chief says support for Ukraine will not waver
Nato members will not lose their shared will to support Ukraine and Russian president Vladimir Putin would be wrong to think otherwise, the alliance’s chief Mark Rutte said.
“Ukraine will be member of Nato, there is no doubt about and until that happens we will make sure that Ukraine has everything it needs to prevail,” he said during a press conference alongside Volodymyr Zelensky.
Ukraine says Russia has transformed nuclear plant into 'military base'
Russian forces have turned the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station into a military base, endangering global safety, Ukraine has warned.
The Zaporizhzhia facility, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, is located in southern Ukraine and was captured by Russia in the early stages of the war.
Andriy Yermak, a senior Ukrainian official, spoke virtually at a meeting in France on nuclear safety. “[Russia’s] seizing of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station... has become an unprecedented violation of international law and the norms of nuclear safety,” Mr Yermak said in remarks posted to the Ukrainian presidential website.
The capture of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station, which no longer produces power, underscored Moscow’s “large-scale militarisation of nuclear power”, he warned.
“The station has been transformed into a military base and its personnel work under constant pressure and threats.”
His concerns were echoed by the French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot, who said the talks were important to deal with continuing security risks at the plant, made up of six reactors.
“There is a risk and that is the reason why, with the Ukrainians, we wanted to convene this conference in Paris, in order to discuss the situation in terms of nuclear security and safety today in Ukraine,” he told LCI television.
Biden to discuss Ukraine with allies on swansong Berlin trip
Joe Biden will seek to cement cooperation with key European partners on issues from the Ukraine war to conflict in the Middle East during a swift swansong trip to Berlin today.
Biden, who sought to improve ties with Europe after the 2017-2021 presidency of Donald Trump, will be greeted with military honours before receiving Germany’s highest order of merit from president Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
The distinction honors the 81-year-old’s “contributions to both the German-American friendship and the transatlantic bond” in all the offices he has held over the last five decades, according to the German presidential office.
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Russia claims it has captured a village in eastern Ukraine
Russian forces have taken control of the village of Maksymilianivka, less than 10 km (6 miles) from the key city of Kurakhove in Donetsk.
The Kurakhove sector, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk, is one of the focal points of Russia’s steady advance through the region. Russia has been pressing to reach the logistical hub of Pokrovsk, about 50 km to the north.
Ukrainian forces had repelled 36 of 45 battles near Kurakhove over 24 hours and nine clashes were still going on, Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said.
Popular Ukrainian military blog DeepState showed control of Maksymilianivka to be contested. The report said 35 of 45 attempted Russian advances had been repelled in the Pokrovsk sector.
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