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2 hours ago

Ukraine-Russia latest: Putin’s forces claim capture of strategic town as Zelensky makes Trump appeal

Ukrainian brigade confirms withdrawing strategically from some areas to avoid encirclement

Tara Cobham,Namita Singh,Andy Gregory
Monday 27 January 2025 13:36 GMT
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Trump describes Ukraine war as ‘bullets whacking and hitting men’

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Russia claims to have captured the strategically important Ukrainian town of Velyka Novosilka, as Vladimir Putin’s forces continue their push in the Donetsk region.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern forces confirmed on Monday that Russian troops had entered the town, but said that fighting continued on the outskirts.

With concerns that Russia could advance further towards Pokrovsk, president Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Sunday that he had replaced the commander of military formation responsible for defending the key city for the third time in a year.

Mr Zelensky has also made a demand for Kyiv to be included in talks to end Russia’s war in Ukraine that he believes could happen under Donald Trump’s US presidency.

The Ukrainian president said that the terms of any deal that might arise under the new US president were still unclear – and might not even be clear to Mr Trump himself – because Vladimir Putin had no interest in ending the war.

Meanwhile, Russia claimed its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 32 Ukrainian drones overnight.

13 hours ago

Recap: Watch as emergency workers battle huge Russian drone attack on Kyiv last week

Emergency workers battle huge Russian drone attack on Kyiv as three people confirmed dead
Tara Cobham27 January 2025 03:00
13 hours ago

Russia supporting Lukashenko wins seventh term in Belarus election

President Alexander Lukashenko has won a seventh term in office in Belarus, according to the country’s Central Election Commission.

According to a statement by the Central Election Commission, the 70-year-old leader took nearly 87 per cent of the vote in Sunday’s election after a campaign in which four token challengers all praised his rule.

Mr Lukashenko has been in power since 1994 and has ruled the country of nine million people with an iron hand. He relies on subsidies and political support from Russia. He allowed Moscow to use the country’s territory to invade Ukraine in 2022 and later hosted some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko attending a press conference after he votes in the presidential elections
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko attending a press conference after he votes in the presidential elections (EPA)

He still campaigned with the slogan “peace and security”, arguing he has saved Belarus from being drawn into war.

His opponents, many of whom are imprisoned or exiled abroad by his unrelenting crackdown on dissent and free speech, called the election a sham – much like the last one in 2020 that triggered months of protests.

Namita Singh27 January 2025 02:53
1 day ago

Russian forces capture village of Velyka Novosilka in eastern Ukraine, state news agency reports

Russian troops have taken control of the village of Velyka Novosilka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Sunday, citing the defence ministry.

Earlier on Sunday, Russia said it had seized the town of Zelene in Ukraine's Donetsk Region.

The battlefield reports could not be independently verified.

Tara Cobham26 January 2025 15:00
1 day ago

Zelensky says Trump can end war, but only if Ukraine included in talks with Russia

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that US president Donald Trump could fulfil his promise to end the war but only if Kyiv is included in talks.

“Otherwise it will not work. Because Russia does not want to end the war, while Ukraine wants to end it,” he said, addressing journalists earlier alongside the visiting Moldovan president, Maia Sandu, reported Reuters.

“As for what the set-up of the talks will be: Ukraine, I really hope Ukraine will be there, America, Europe and the Russians.”

“I believe President Trump himself does not know all the details. Because I would say so much depends on what sort of just peace we can achieve. And whether Putin wants, in principle, to stop the war. I believe he doesn’t want to,” Zelensky said in a different interview with Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, broadcast on Saturday.

Shahana Yasmin26 January 2025 04:19

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