Ukraine-Russia latest: Moscow cargo ship with Syria ties sinks as North Korean troop casualties ‘exceed 3,000’
Zelensky warns of greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including sending more troops and military equipment
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A Russian cargo ship that Kyiv says was intended to collect weapons from military bases in Syria has sunk on route in the Mediterranean Sea.
Officials in Moscow said two crew members are missing after an engine room explosion sank the Ursa Major between Spain and Algeria. Fourteen other crew were rescued and taken to Spain.
The vessel left the Russian port city of St Petersburg on 11 December, according to ship tracking data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). It was last seen sending a signal at 10.04pm GMT on Monday between Algeria and Spain.
Ukraine’s military intelligence claimed on Monday that the ship had been sent to Syria to remove weapons and military materiel after the fall of Moscow-backed Bashar Al-Assad.
It comes as the North Korean troops killed and injured while fighting alongside Russian forces have surpassed 3,000, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said, as he warned about greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang.
“There are risks of North Korea sending additional soldiers and military equipment to the Russian army, and we will have tangible responses to this,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement on Telegram yesterday.
Vladimir Putin: Russia is ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war
Kim Jong Un ‘personally overseeing’ North Korean training for Ukraine amid reports of heavy losses
The huge spike in gun range openings in a country that borders Russia
Warning North Korea can produce ballistic missiles for Russia ‘in months’
What will it cost to defend Britain from a growing Russian threat?
What will it cost to defend Britain from a growing Russian threat?
Britain can hardly afford to spend more on defending itself from Vladimir Putin but, says Sean O’Grady, it may have little practical choice
Where Putin’s forces are making gains on the frontline in east Ukraine
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where Putin’s forces are making gains in eastern Ukraine
Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi says the fight to hold the eastern region of Dontesk has become ‘extremely tough’
Ukraine’s scooter bomb killing could alter the course of the war
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
Putin: I am ready to talk to Trump over Ukraine
Vladimir Putin: I am ready to talk to Trump over Ukraine
The Russian president told one reporter he was ready to meet Donald Trump, who he said he had not spoken to for years
Pope Francis calls for a ceasefire on all fronts in his prayer ahead of Christmas
Pope Francis calls for a ceasefire on all fronts in his prayer ahead of Christmas
Pope Francis has called for a ceasefire on all war fronts in his Sunday prayer ahead of Christmas celebrations, condemning the “cruelty” of bombing schools and hospitals in Ukraine and Gaza
Divers due to check if one of the Black Sea Russian tankers is still spilling oil
Volunteers helping to clean up a major oil spill along Russia’s Black Sea coast appealed in a video released on Monday for President Vladimir Putin to urgently send federal aid, saying that they and local authorities were overwhelmed.
The pollution, which has coated sandy beaches at and around Anapa, a popular summer resort, has caused serious problems for seabirds and everything from dolphins to porpoises.
The oil is from two ageing tankers hit by a storm on 15 December. One of the vessels split in half, while the other ran aground.
On Thursday, Putin called the incident an ecological disaster and officials from Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry say over 10,000 people are now involved in the clean-up.
But a group of around 30 local volunteers, who filmed their appeal on a beach strewn with sacks full of polluted sand, told Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin that they believed the scale of the disaster was too big for local authorities to cope and demanded Moscow send urgent help.
“The local authorities do not have the professional resources and technical means to neutralise the consequences of such a large-scale disaster and have been forced to compensate for the lack of manpower by using volunteers with shovels,” a spokesperson for the group said, reading out a list of demands.
He said professional clean-up workers needed to be sent in along with scientists specialising in pollution and veterinarians to treat seabirds. Russia, he said, should also appeal to other countries for help with equipment.
“This is a cry from the soul. Such a catastrophe cannot be defeated with shovels,” a female volunteer added in the same video appeal.
North Korean troops likely to march in 2025 Moscow victory day parade, Kremlin aide says
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Monday that he thought it likely that North Korean soldiers would take part in next year’s Moscow’s Red Square parade to commemorate the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
Ukraine says North Korean soldiers have fought on Russia’s side against Ukrainian troops trying to hold territory in Russia’s Kursk region. Moscow has neither confirmed nor denied the presence of North Korean troops on its soil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un signed a “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Treaty” during Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June.
The pact includes a mutual defence pact for immediate military assistance if either faces armed aggression.
Ukraine pledges to support Syria's food security
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenski said on Monday that Kyiv will support necessary allied efforts for stabilisation in Syria and had already made decisions to support its food security.
“We believe it is crucial for the security of the Syrian people and the region as a whole to remove any Russian presence from Syria,” he added on X.
Kremlin foreign policy aide says several countries have already offered to host Putin-Trump talks
Kremlin foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov said on Monday that several countries had already offered to host talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump, though he declined to say which.
Trump has said he wants to swiftly end the war in Ukraine, though he has yet to set out publicly how he plans to do so. Putin said on Thursday that he was ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks with Trump and had no conditions for starting talks with the Ukrainian authorities.
But Putin said any talks should take as their starting point a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the early weeks of the war at talks in Istanbul, which was never implemented.
Many Ukrainian politicians regard that draft deal as akin to a capitulation which would have neutered Ukraine‘s military and political ambitions and say they do not believe Putin is ready to strike a deal that would be acceptable for Kyiv too.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments