Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says North Korea suffers losses as ‘last resort counteroffensive’ begins
Ukrainian and Western sources estimate about 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Kursk
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Your support makes all the difference.Russian and North Korean forces suffered heavy losses in Russia’s southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said, as a Kyiv’s forces begin a counter attack.
“In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroops,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address yesterday, calling the losses “significant.”
Ukrainian and Western sources estimate about 11,000 North Korean troops are stationed in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces gained territory after a cross-border incursion in August.
Russian troops repelled two Ukrainian counter-attacks in Kursk on Sunday, the Russian defence ministry said according to state media.
A Russian military blogger has described Ukraine’s movements in Russia’s Kursk region as part of a “last resort counteroffensive”, according to the Telegraph.
The direction of the main counteroffensive is not yet clear and movements in Kursk may be a “diversionary” attack, the Rybar Telegram channel, another Russian military blog, said.
Ukrainian forces are possibly planning wider a counteroffensive on other areas of the frontline, such as in the Donetsk region, where Russia has steadily advanced for months.
The Ukrainian Center for Countering Disinformation confirmed the Kursk attacks.
Zelensky says Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in Kursk
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
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Zelensky says Trump can be decisive in helping stop Putin
President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky, facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
The Ukrainian president also said a priority was to stabilise the frontline early in the new year. Mr Putin, he said, feared negotiations as they would be tantamount to a defeat for Russia.
“He’s very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump’s unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” he said. “Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” he said in a televised interview.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
Analysis | From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to boots on the ground: How Europe is preparing for a Third World War
More than 1,500km (900 miles) from London, frenetic activity is underway in the countryside of Poland, Finland, and the Baltic States: bulldozers and diggers are constructing field defences. Anti-tank ditches, tank traps, and pillboxes are being built and installed. In all these countries, laying minefields – even controversial anti-personnel minefields – is under active consideration.
Poland is spending at least €2.5bn (£2.1bn) on its border defence system, including building a sky shield system akin to Israel’s “Iron Dome” to protect its eastern border from a growing threat from Russia.
In May, during a meeting with European leaders in Warsaw, Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk stated: “Creating an iron dome against missiles and drones is necessary ... There is no reason for Europe not to have its missile defence shield,” confirming that work on the project had begun. He added that it requires little imagination to understand that Europe, like Israel, is also in the danger zone.
Francis Tusa writes:
From Poland’s ‘iron dome’ to troops: How Europe is preparing for World War III
In 2024 much of Europe was busy preparing for an act of war that would demand a Nato response. Here, defence expert Francis Tusa explains what is being planned for and how Britain is lagging dangerously behind
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing to resume diplomatic ties with Syria
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he was preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria, less than a month after the overthrow of the Russia-backed government in Damascus.
Zelensky spoke after a visit to Syria by his Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, and by Agriculture Minister Vitaliy Koval who said earlier Ukraine had already sent a shipment of food aid.
“We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations,” Zelenskiy said.
Ukraine cut diplomatic ties with Syria in June 2022 after the then government in Damascus said it recognised the “independence” of the Russia-occupied territories in Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Since rebels overthrew Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad last month, Ukraine has been moving to build ties with the new Islamist rulers there. Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, was a staunch ally of Assad and has given him political asylum.
Moscow has also said it is in contact with the new administration in Damascus, including over the fate of Russian military facilities in Syria.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
Tom Watling reports:
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
Ukraine downs 34 Russian drones overnight
Ukrainian air defences downed 34 out of 81 Russian drones overnight, the air force said on Saturday.
Of the other drones, 46 were “lost”, referring to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Russian gas is no longer flowing to EU states through Ukraine following the expiration of a five-year deal, closing an energy route that has existed since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the move means Russia can no longer “earn billions on our blood”.
His energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the gas flows “in the interest of national security”.
“This is a historic event,” he wrote on the social media platform Telegram. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses.”
The deal had allowed for Russian gas to travel through Ukraine’s pipeline networks into European countries, primarily Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Russia will no longer transport gas to Europe via Ukraine’s pipelines, further limiting its ability to raise capital
Ukraine’s flagship brigade struggles amid mass desertions as 1,700 soldiers go AWOL
A Ukrainian brigade trained in France and equipped with advanced Western military hardware has been disbanded after mass desertions.
About 1,700 soldiers from the 155th Mechanised Brigade went absent without leave before the unit’s first deployment in eastern Ukraine, according to The Telegraph.
The brigade, a high-profile initiative announced by Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and French president Emmanuel Macron last year, was meant to showcase Western support but reportedly suffered from inadequate training and equipment shortages.
Around 50 members of the unit, known as the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, went missing during training in France, and the problem grew worse as over 1,700 troops eventually went absent without leave before the unit’s first deployment in eastern Ukraine, the newspaper reported.
The unit’s initial battle in Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, led to significant losses, including tanks and armoured vehicles.Analysts have criticized Kyiv’s strategy of forming new brigades instead of reinforcing experienced units.
Zelensky says Trump is 'strong and unpredictable'
President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Mr Zelensky, facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
The Ukrainian president also said a priority was to stabilise the frontline early in the new year. Mr Putin, he said, feared negotiations as they would be tantamount to a defeat for Russia.
“He’s very strong and unpredictable, and I would really like to see President Trump’s unpredictability apply to Russia. I believe he really wants to end the war,” he said. “Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” he said in a televised interview.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
St Petersburg airport suspends flights amid reports of drone activity
Russia’s Pulkovo Airport in St Petersburg temporarily halted flight operations on Saturday morning to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft, the country’s aviation authority Rosaviatsia said.
The suspension began at 7.45am (4.45am GMT), and while no specific reason was given, Russian airports have previously been closed in response to potential Ukrainian drone threats.
Alexander Drozdenko, governor of the Leningrad region, which includes St Petersburg, said Russian forces had shot down two drones near Luga Bay in the Gulf of Finland.
“The airport is temporarily not accepting or dispatching flights,” a Rosaviatsia representative wrote on Telegram. “Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers, and airport services are taking all necessary measures to ensure flight safety – this is the top priority.”
US to send additional security assistance to Ukraine, White House says
The United States expects to make announcements about additional security assistance for Ukraine in coming days, White House spokesperson John Kirby said on Friday.
Mr Kirby said future announcements were expected after Washington last week announced $5.9bn in additional military and budget assistance for Ukraine and a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany will be held on 9 January.
"You can also expect additional security assistance announcements coming with respect to Ukraine ... in coming days," he said, without providing any specifics.
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