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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky admits Kyiv is too weak to reclaim land as Putin’s oil refinery set ablaze

Zelensky seeks support from international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table

Tom Watling ,Namita Singh
Thursday 19 December 2024 06:30 GMT
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Zelensky says Ukraine could temporarily cede territory in exchange for Nato membership

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted that the country’s military is not capable of recovering the territory currently occupied by Russia without diplomatic pressure from Kyiv’s allies.

Speaking to French newspaper Le Parisien, Mr Zelensky said: “We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so. [But] we do not have the strength to recover them.

“We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”

It comes as Britain pledged a new £225m package of support for Ukraine, including military, navy and air defence equipment.

On Thursday an oil refinery in the Rostov region of southern Russia has caught fire after being attacked by Ukrainian drones, confirmed local governor Yuri Slyusar.

And earlier Ukraine unveiled a laser weapon capable of downing drones from more than a mile away in a bid to combat Russian aerial attacks.

Colonel Vadym Sukharevsky, the commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, said the laser would be capable of downing aircraft at distances of more than 2km.

What's known about the brazen bombing that killed a top Russian general in Moscow

What's known about the brazen bombing that killed a top Russian general in Moscow

The killing of a senior Russian general in a bombing outside his apartment building in Moscow was the boldest assassination yet of a top military officer and it again brought the war in Ukraine to the streets of the capital

Tom Watling18 December 2024 15:41

Watch: Two Russian tankers wrecked in Black Sea

Two Russian tankers wrecked in Black Sea
Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 15:06

Ukraine and Australia’s foreign minister meet in Kyiv

(AP)
(AP)
(AP)
Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 14:35

Russia ready to discuss ‘normal’ relations with US, says foreign ministry

Russia’s foreign ministry has said it is ready to consider US proposals to bring relations back to “normality”.

Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments on Wednesday, adding that Moscow has not yet received a response to its request asking Washington to approve Russia’s new ambassador to the United States.

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 13:59

Ukraine’s scooter bomb assassination could change the war… but not for the reasons you might think

The audacious killing of Putin’s chemical weapons chief by Ukraine’s special forces – in the heart of Moscow – is a blow to the president’s personal prestige, designed to alter the roadmap to peace talks, says Mark Almond

Read the Premium comment here:

Ukraine’s scooter bomb killing could alter the course of the war

The audacious killing of Putin’s chemical weapons chief by Ukraine’s special forces – in the heart of Moscow – is a blow to the president’s personal prestige, designed to alter the roadmap to peace talks, says Mark Almond

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 13:37

Kyiv Zoo receives humanitarian aid

(REUTERS)
(REUTERS)
(REUTERS)
Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 13:22

Behind enemy lines: Ukraine’s deadly assassins have terrorised Russia with nuclear general their latest victim

Ukraine’s military intelligence has said it is behind the killing of a senior Russian general in Moscow - the latest in a string of assassinations claimed by Kyiv’s security forces.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of nuclear, chemical and biological protection of Russian troops, was killed outside an apartment building in Moscow along with his assistant, when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter went off, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Sources say the Ukrainian security service, known as the SBU, was responsible. The killing came just a day after the SBU officially accused Kirillov of war crimes and issued a warrant in absentia for him over alleged use of banned chemical weapons against Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline.

Read the full story by Tom Watling here:

Behind enemy lines: Ukraine’s deadly assassins have terrorised Russia

Ukraine’s security service spy chief says they have killed ‘very many’ Russian conspirators

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 12:44

Russia detains man who carried out Kirillov’s assassination - recap

Russia has detained an Uzbek citizen who investigators believe placed the bomb inside an electric scooter which killed General Igor Kirillov on the instructions of Ukraine’s security service, the Investigative Committee said.

The top Russian general accused by Ukraine of being responsible for the use of chemical weapons against Ukrainian troops was assassinated in Moscow by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service yesterday in the most high-profile killing of its kind.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, didn’t name the suspect, but said he was born in 1995. According to a statement by the FSB, the suspect said himself that he was recruited by Ukrainian special services.

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 12:13

Russian volunteers tackle oil spill

Around 4,000 volunteers descended to clean a long stretch of sandy beaches along the Russian Black Sea shoreline after it was contaminated by an oil spill from damaged tankers.

A local taskforce said the two tankers near the resort city of Anapa were damaged by a storm on Sunday, polluting the sit and threatening wildlife in one of the worst ecological disasters to hit the region in years.

Numerous videos posted on social media showed birds floundering in oil, flapping their wings and struggling to fly. Black oil spots were also visible along the beaches.

(via REUTERS)

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 11:38

Ukraine denies Russia’s white phosphorus allegations

Ukraine has denied Russian allegations that its drones droppped white phosphorus in September, calling the claims “false and nonsensical”.

Kyiv said it is fully compliant with its international arms control obligations and foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said: “We are confident that by making such false accusations, Moscow seeks to shift blame for its own actions and deceive foreign audiences.”

Athena Stavrou18 December 2024 11:11

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