Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump sympathises with Putin’s stance on Nato as Kursk battle rages
Trump said he ‘understands’ Russia’s feelings about Ukraine in Nato bloc
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Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump says he sympathises with Vladimir Putin’s position that Ukraine should not be part of Nato, incorrectly accusing Joe Biden of changing US policy on the issue.
“A big part of the problem is, Russia – for many, many years, long before Putin – said, ‘You could never have Nato involved with Ukraine.’ Now, they’ve said that. That’s been, like, written in stone,” Mr Trump said, speaking at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach.
“And somewhere along the line Biden said, ‘No. They should be able to join Nato’ Well, then Russia has somebody right on their doorstep, and I could understand their feelings about that.”
Nato’s official position since 2008 has been that Ukraine should work towards membership, and that remains the case. No new invitation to join Nato has been offered, despite calls from Kyiv for the alliance to do so.
On the battlefront, Ukraine said its forces were “commencing new offensive actions” in Russia’s western Kursk region, finally confirming the renewed assault first reported over the weekend.
And in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv said it was still clinging on to part of Kurakhove, a strategic town that Russia claims to have captured.
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Nearly half of Russian attacks in past day staged in Kursk
Nearly half of all of Russia’s attacks in the past day were launched in its own region of Kursk as it looks to blunt a fresh Ukrainian counteroffensive in the area, Kyiv’s military has claimed.
In its latest update, the Ukrainian general staff said Russia launched 94 assaults in Kursk. In total, they launched 218 attacks across the entire, roughly 640-mile frontline.
They added that Russia launched 67 attacks at the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the Donetsk region, where Moscow has been advancing slowly over the past year.
In total, that means that 74 per cent of all Russian attacks yesterday were launched in Kursk, Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.
In pictures: On the frontline in Kharkiv
Russia says its troops improve positions, repel Ukrainian attacks
Russia’s defence ministry has claimed its central, western and eastern troop groupings had repelled Ukrainian counter-attacks in the last 24 hours and improved their positions.
Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia.
However, open-source war trackers suggest that Ukraine have made confirmed gains in Kursk.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk
Trump's Ukraine envoy postpones Kyiv trip until after inauguration
US president-elect Donald Trump's incoming Ukraine envoy has postponed a fact-finding trip to Kyiv and other European capitals until after Trump's inauguration on 20 January, according to four sources with knowledge of the trip's planning.
Retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, who is set to serve as Mr Trump's special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, had initially planned a mission to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders in early January, Reuters reported last month. His team was also setting up meetings with officials in other European capitals, including Rome and Paris.
Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kursk from multiple directions
Ukraine attacks Russia’s Kursk from multiple directions in surprise assault
Ukraine’s top presidential advisor, Andriy Yermak, says the fresh counterattack is what Russia deserves
Ukraine downs 28 Russian drones overnight, military says
The Ukrainian military shot down 28 Russian drones overnight, it said this morning.
Of the 38 drones launched, 10 did not reach their targets, the air force said.
Macron urges realism from Ukraine over territory
French president Emmanuel Macron has stressed the need for “realistic discussions on territorial questions” between Ukraine and invading power Russia saying that “such negotiations can only be conducted by Ukrainians themselves”.
Speaking on Monday in a new year’s address from the Elysee Palace, Macron called on the US to “help change the nature of the situation and convince Russia to come to the negotiating table”.
“The Europeans will have to construct security guarantees for Ukraine, which will be primarily their responsibility,” he said. Mr Macron countered Trump’s campaign pledge to reach a quick peace settlement, warning: “There is no quick and easy solution in Ukraine.
“The new American president himself knows the United States has no chance of winning anything if Ukraine loses,” he said. “The credibility of the West will be shattered if we compromise because of fatigue.”
Kyiv’s allies back new Kursk offensive: ‘Legitimate targets'
The United States, Britain and the European Union have reaffirmed their support for Kyiv in the wake of its new offensive inside Russia’s Kursk.
“Ukraine has the right to defend itself, and under international law, this right extends beyond its borders,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a statement to Reuters.
“Moscow’s unlawful war against Ukraine has included numerous Russian attacks originating from the Kursk region. So Russian military forces there are legitimate targets under international law.”
A US state department spokesperson said: “We are committed to putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield, including by surging security assistance and utilising all available resources authorised by the Congress.”
Britain said it would support Ukraine for “as long as it takes”.
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
What Kyiv stands to gain and lose in surprise counter-attack on Russian soil
Russian military commentators say they are ‘worried’ about the multipronged Ukrainian attack in the border region of Kursk
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