Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky vents anger at long-range missile delay as Putin ‘burns down our cities’
Putin has warned Nato will be directly at war with Moscow if the UK and US allow Kyiv to use longer-range weapons inside Russia
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Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is “difficult to repeatedly hear” Western allies say they are working on a decision to lift limits on the use of long-range missiles as Vladimir Putin “burns down our cities and villages”.
Mr Zelensky has pleaded with allies for months to allow his military to fire long-range US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles at Russian targets used to launch devastating daily attacks on Ukraine.
On Friday, UK prime minister Keir Starmer met with US president Joe Biden at the White House were they discussed Ukraine and the Middle East. There was no announcement on the use of long-range weapons.
“Putin interprets delays in helping us and in making strong decisions for Ukraine as permission to do whatever he wants,” Mr Zelensky wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin warned Nato will be directly at war with Moscow if the US and UK allow Kyiv to use the weapons.
The Russian president claimed the programming of Western missiles would have to be done by Nato military personnel - bringing the organisation into direct confrontation with the Kremlin.
Putin warns that Nato will be ‘at war’ with Russia if Ukraine missile restrictions lifted
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon banned from use in Russia by Ukrainian troops
What Starmer’s Washington visit could mean for Ukraine- Starmer stares down Putin as he and Biden prepare to escalate Ukraine war with missiles
Six Indians fighting for Russia in Ukraine war set to return home after release from front line
Putin has laid out many red lines about Ukraine – are long-range missiles targeting Russia the last one?
The West cannot back down from supportng Ukraine with long-range missiles to use on targets deep inside Russia despite Vladimir Putin’s fresh threats of possible war with Nato, Kremlin critics, military leaders and Ukrainian officials have toldThe Independent.
The Russian president would regret a direct confrontation with the alliance, Kremlin critics said, but senior military figures have warned that due to the unpredictable nature of the Russian president and the “immense risks” involved, his threats “can’t be dismissed out of hand”.
With prime minister Keir Starmer in Washington to meet Presiddent Biden, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said it is “difficult to repeatedly hear” Western allies say they are “working on” a decision permit the use of long-range missiles into Russia while “Putin continues to burn down our cities and villages”.
Read the full article here:
Starmer stares down Putin as he and Biden prepare to hand Ukraine missiles
Prime minister set to hold intensive talks with US president to thrash out victory plan for war in Ukraine as Putin threatens war with Nato
Russia warns Nato of consequences if Ukraine allowed to do long-range strikes at UN Security Council
Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has told the United Nations Security Council that if Western countries allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes in Russia then Nato countries would be “conducting direct war with Russia.”
“The facts are that Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power, I think you shouldn’t forget about this and think about the consequences,” Mr Nebenzia told the 15-member council.
Pictured: Ukrainian Prisoners of War embraced by family after swap with Russia
Nato condemns Russia’s missile strike on civilian grain vessel
Nato has said it strongly condemned a Russian missile strike on a civilian grain ship in the Black Sea on Thursday.
“There is no justification for such attacks. Yesterday’s strike shows once again the reckless nature of Russia’s war,” Nato spokeswoman Farah Dakhlallah said.
Zelensky says Russian counterattacks in Kursk region so far unsuccessful
Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that Russian counter-attacks in the Kursk region, partially held by Ukrainian troops after they staged a major incursion last month, had so far seen “no serious success”.
He also told a charity conference in Kyiv that the situation around the strategic hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine remained difficult. Russian forces have been making steady gains in the region.
Zelensky says his ‘victory plan’ is path to peace
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the “victory plan” he wants to present to US leader Joe Biden later this month is a way to reach a reliable peace in the more than two-and-half-year-old Russian full-scale war in Ukraine.
“(It) can pave the way for a reliable peace and for the full implementation of the peace formula,” he said at a conference organised by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation charity.
Russia steps up attacks near Ukraine's Kurakhove in east
Russian forces have focused their assaults in eastern Ukraine near the embattled town of Kurakhove as Ukrainian troops tried to hold the line at a critical juncture of the war, Kyiv said.
The Russians also pressed towards Ukraine‘s rail hub of Pokrovsk, about 20 miles north of Kurakhove, in an attempt to open new lines of attack, disrupt Ukrainian logistics, and take control of the rest of the eastern Donetsk region two-and-a-half years on from Russia’s invasion of its neighbour.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has praised his troops for holding their positions in Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, the two most difficult sectors in the east.
Ukraine‘s forces are stretched thin but the military said they had repelled 64 assaults near Kurakhove in the past day, the most intense fighting there this month.
The Ukrainian military also reported repelling 36 attacks near Pokrovsk on the same day.
Ukraine secures return of 49 people from Russian captivity, Zelensky says
Ukraine has secured the return of 49 Ukrainians from Russian captivity, President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
“We must bring home all our soldiers and civilians,” he said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that servicemen from the armed forces, the national guard, the police and the border guard service were included in the latest swap.
Breaking: Boris Johnson meets Zelensky in Ukraine as Putin threatens war with the West
Read the full story below:
Russia produces new kamikaze drone with Chinese engine, report says
Russia started producing a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 last year using Chinese engines and parts, which it has deployed in the war in Ukraine, according to sources and documents seen by news agency Reuters.
The intelligence - which included a production contract for the new drone, company correspondence on the manufacturing process and financial documents - indicated that IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned weapons maker Almaz-Antey, produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas from July 2023 to July 2024.
The existence of the new Russian drone incorporating Chinese technology has not been previously reported.
The two intelligence sources said that the Garpiya, which means Harpy in Russian, has been deployed against military and civilian targets in Ukraine, causing damage to critical infrastructure as well as both civilian and military casualties.
IEMZ Kupol and Almaz-Antey did not respond to requests for comment.
Russia’s defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment for this story. The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement to Reuters that Beijing strictly controls the export of items with potential military applications, including drones.
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