Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces ready for ‘large missile attack’ as US vows North Korea troop response
US secretary of state Antony Blinken warns North Korean troops deployment ‘will get a firm response’
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Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin’s forces are ready to launch a massive attack on Ukraine, the head of Kyiv’s national security council has warned, as the country braces for large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Blasts were heard over Kyiv on Wednesday as Ukraine accused Russia of launching its first missile attack on the capital since August and urged residents to take cover as air raid sirens blared in multiple regions.
But Ukraine security chief Andrii Kovalenko warned the the attacks on Wednesday – involving cruise and ballistic missiles – were less intense than those Moscow was equipped to carry out in the future, as it continues to stockpile cruise missiles. Russia’s plans are known and understood, and Ukraine will counter, he insisted.
It came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken travelled to Brussels, meeting Nato chief Mark Rutte and Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
Vowing that the Biden administration will bolster Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Mr Blinken also warned that Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops “demands and will get a firm response”.
Polish security services detain Belarusian suspected of attempted arson
Polish special services have detained a Belarusian citizen suspected of committing acts of sabotage by attempting to set fire to a building in Gdansk.
Poland believes its role as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a key target for spies who are trying to gather information on support for Kyiv’s war effort and engage in acts of sabotage.
In January and May, Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested citizens of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus whom it accused of carrying out arson attacks on buildings in Gdansk, Gdynia and Marki, and preparing similar attacks in Wroclaw.
“This is another arrest in the investigation into the activities of an organised criminal group that, at the request of foreign special services, carried out acts of sabotage, in particular arson,” the agency said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office has charged the detained Belarusian citizen with participation in an organised criminal group and committing acts of sabotage, diversion or terrorist crimes on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. A court ordered his detention for three months.
Ukraine cannot trademark anti-Russian insult, EU court says
Ukraine’s border guard force cannot register a trademark in the European Union on its wartime insult “Russian warship, go f*** yourself” because it is a political slogan, the EU’s General Court has ruled.
The phrase comes from the early days of Russia’s invasion, when the Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva radioed Ukrainian guards stationed on the outpost of Snake Island and ordered them to surrender or die. The reply came back: “Russian warship, go f*** yourself!”
The phrase quickly became a national slogan, featured on billboards, T-shirts, office mugs and even a postage stamp.
But the EU court upheld a lower tribunal’s decision this week, saying: “The Court observed that a sign is incapable of fulfilling the essential function of a trade mark if the average consumer does not perceive, in its presence, the indication of the origin of the goods or services, but only a political message.”
Biden administration to ‘send every dollar at our disposal’ to Kyiv ahead of Trump return
Joe Biden’s administration will send “every dollar we have at our disposal” to Ukraine before Donald Trump returns to the White House, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said.
Speaking during a visit to Brussels where he met with Nato chief Mark Rutte, Mr Blinken said: “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20”, when Mr Trump is due to be sworn in.
Mr Blinken warned that Nato countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilised forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength”.
The US will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Mr Blinken said.
Russia ‘asking for trouble’ if it deploys North Korean troops, expert warns
Any decision by Moscow to deploy North Korean troops on the battlefield in either Ukraine or Kursk is “asking for trouble”, a leading expert on Russia has warned.
“At the best of times, a battlefield is confusing and complex place,” historian Mark Galeotti, author of Forged in War: A Military History of Russia, told The Independent.
“To throw in troops who are used to different equipment, speak a different language, and have no experience of the Russian way of war really is asking for trouble.
“I think much more likely at least for moment they’re going to be involved in rear area security essentially to free up Russian troops for the front line.”
Dr Galeotti added: “There’s talk that they have one interpreter for 30 soldiers. Given how much the war is being fought at the small unit level, that really isn’t enough.”
Pentagon leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years behind bars for releasing secrets about Ukraine war
Pentagon secrets leaker Jack Teixeira sentenced to 15 years behind bars
Prosecutors had originally requested a 17-year sentence for Teixeira, saying he “perpetrated one of the most significant and consequential violations of the Espionage Act in American history”
Watch: Putin calls Trump ‘courageous’ as he congratulates future US president on election
Trump picks new US defence secretary from his favourite talent pool – Fox News
Donald Trump has stunned the Pentagon and the broader defence world by nominating Fox News host Pete Hegseth to serve as his defence secretary and in effect helm the world’s largest and most powerful military.
The news was met with bewilderment and worry among many in Washington, as Mr Trump bypassed a number of established national security heavy-hitters in favour of a US Army National Guard captain who is best-known as a co-host of Fox News Channel’s Fox & Friends Weekend.
If confirmed, Mr Hegseth would face a daunting array of global crises, from the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and the expanding alliance between Russia and North Korea to the growing competition with China.
On air, Hegseth has complained the US is spending too much supporting Ukraine’s fight against Russia and has been an outspoken advocate for Israel.
Our US reporter Josh Marcus has more details here:
Trump selects Fox News’ Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense in latest cabinet pick
Fox host served in Army National Guard and lobbied Trump to pardon accused war criminals
Ukraine’s grid operator to temporarily limit power supply for businesses
Ukraine’s national power grid operator Ukrenergo has introduced limits on electricity supply for businesses on Wednesday due to “significantly” lower imports and lower generation, the company said.
“The restrictions will be in place during the day. In the evening, after the equipment is fixed, the restrictions will be lifted,” Ukrenergo said.
The last time massive restrictions on electricity supplies to both businesses and households were imposed was after a massive Russian missile and drone attack in late August.
Ukraine’s largest private power generator and distributor DTEK said restrictions would apply to Kyiv, the Kyiv region, Odesa, Dnipro and the Donetsk regions.
“The reasons: a shortage (of electricity) in the power grid due to previous shelling by Russia and a drop in temperature,” DTEK said on the Telegram.
Officials have said Ukraine has lost around half of its generating capacity as a result of Russian attacks and now relies mainly on energy generated by three nuclear power plants.
Russian doctor jailed for 5 years for ‘anti-war comments to patient’s family’
A doctor accused of criticising the war in Ukraine in front of a patient was convicted Tuesday of spreading false information about the Russian military and sentenced to five and a half years in prison, part of an unrelenting Kremlin crackdown on dissent.
Dasha Litvinova reports:
Russian doctor jailed for 5 years for ‘anti-war comments to patient’s family’
A doctor accused of criticising Russia's war in Ukraine in front of a patient was convicted of spreading false information about the military
Indonesia and Australia hold joint military drills after signing new defence agreement
Indonesia and Australia hold joint military drills after signing a new defense agreement
The Indonesian and Australian militaries are holding joint combat drills off Indonesia’s main island of Java with about 2,000 troops training in air, maritime, amphibious and land operations
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