Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces suffer ‘second day of record casualties’ as Kursk fight intensifies
Ukraine’s military claims Russia suffered nearly 2,000 casualties in past 24 hours as fighting rages on
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia has suffered record losses for a second consecutive day, Ukraine has claimed, as Vladimir Putin’s forces seek to advance in Donbas and repel Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk.
Just 24 hours after Ukraine claimed Russia had suffered a record 1,770 losses, Kyiv’s military claimed this grim total had been surpassed by 1,950 casualties on Monday – which would mark Russia’s worst single day since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The totals given by Ukraine’s military do not specify between troops killed, wounded or captured. Ukraine now claims to have inflicted a total of 712,610 casualties upon Russia – which is broadly in line with estimates given by Ukraine’s Western allies. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv provide statistics on their own losses.
Russia appears to be stepping up its efforts to claw back territory in Kursk, after Ukraine’s daring cross-border raid in August. With reports of North Korean troops also being deployed to the Russian region, war monitors said on Monday that both Kyiv and Moscow appeared to have made recent gains in the region.
Zelensky expresses gratitude to Ukrainian rescue officials
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed his gratitude to rescue officials in Ukraine responding to daily Russian attacks.
In a post on X, Mr Zelensky said: “No rescue service has ever faced challenges like those our rescuers, police, medics, and everyone helping them tackle every day—often under fire or under threat of renewed Russian attacks. Every day, there is a necessary and immediate response, no matter the challenges.
“I thank everyone who saves lives after Russian strikes, clears rubble, provides first aid, extinguishes fires, and eliminates the consequences to save people’s lives.”
EU top diplomat nominee strongly backs Ukraine and underlines China's links to the war
The European Union must back Ukraine against Russia for as a long as it takes and persuade the United States that its strategic interests in China are tied up in the outcome of the war, the nominee to become the bloc’s top diplomat for the next five years has warned.
“Ukraine’s victory is a priority for us all. The situation on the battlefield is very difficult,” Estonia’s ex-prime Minister Kaja Kallas told EU politicians, during a hearing she must pass to be appointed as the bloc’s foreign policy chief.
“That is why we must keep on working every day. Today, tomorrow and for as long as it takes and with as much military, financial and humanitarian aid as needed,” she said, adding that “this must be underpinned by a clear path for Ukraine to join the European Union”.
Lorne Cook has more in this report:
EU top diplomat nominee strongly backs Ukraine and underlines China's links to the war
The nominee for the European Union's next top diplomat says the bloc must commit to Ukraine for the long-haul even as the war's costs mount
Moldova condemns Russia over alleged interference in presidential elections
Moldova has handed Russia’s ambassador to Chisinau a protest note over alleged interference by Moscow in its presidential elections and a referendum on joining the European Union.
The Moldovan foreign ministry accused Russia of seeking to delegitimise the democratic process of the country’s presidential election, won by pro-Western president Maia Sandu, and a referendum on inserting a clause in the constitution defining EU membership as a goal. Moscow has denied the allegations.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs presented today to the Ambassador ... a note of protest in connection with the illegal and deliberate interference of the Russian Federation in the electoral process of the Republic of Moldova,” Moldova’s foreign ministry said.
Russian ambassador Oleg Ozerov said of the meeting: “The conversation made it possible to clarify issues related to our acute and complex bilateral relations.” Russia has claimed the election – voting in which concluded on 3 November – was unfair and that it does not see Ms Sandu as the legitimate president.
Moldova’s foreign ministry also used Tuesday’s meeting with Russia’s ambassador to condemn a violation of its airspace by two drones which it said crashed on its territory on Sunday.
Full report: Liz Truss spent final days in office ‘preparing for Putin to fire nuclear weapons’
Vladimir Putin was so close to using nuclear weapons in October 2022 that Liz Truss spent the dying days of her premiership preparing for the potential fallout, an updated version of her biography has claimed.
The former prime minister reportedly spent her last days in office studying weather maps and preparing for cases of radiation poisoning in the UK amid US intelligence that a strike was imminent.
Our political correspondent Archie Mitchell has the full report:
Liz Truss spent final days in office ‘preparing for Putin to fire nuclear weapons’
Truss spent hours studying weather data and wind directions amid fears the wrong weather conditions could have a ‘direct fall-out effect on Britain’, book claims
Liz Truss ‘held crisis meetings in 2022 over fears Putin could launch nuclear weapon'
Liz Truss held crisis meetings in her final days as prime minister after US intelligence suggested there was a 50 per cent chance Vladimir Putin could deploy a tactical nuclear weapon on the battlefield in Ukraine or test a larger bomb over the Black Sea, it has been reported.
Citing the biography of Ms Truss’s brief premiership, Out of The Blue, The Sun reports that Ms Truss spent “numerous hours studying satellite weather data and wind directions” over fears the “wrong weather patterns” could have a “direct fall-out effect on Britain”.
Earlier this month, it was also reported that the new book War by US journalist Bob Woodward claimed US intelligence in September 2022 had revised the prospect of Mr Putin using nuclear weapons, up from between 5 and 10 per cent, to 50 per cent.
Responding to the latest report, Phillips O’Brien of St Andrew’s University said the stories about the Biden Administration believing there was a 50 per cent chance of Mr Putin using nuclear “proves a few things – none of which is that he was ever close to actually doing it”.
Professor O’Brien said: “They had bad intelligence analysis, like they did when they were told Kyiv would fall in a week”, adding: “They didnt have the capacity to learn from this mistake, and realise that Putin’s nuclear sabre rattling was a sham.
“It’s a sign of failure that is being dressed up to scare people. Plus you can be sure it will be based on intelligence that can never be released.”
Russia suffers record losses for second consecutive day, Ukraine claims
Russia has suffered a second consecutive day of record losses, Ukraine’s military has claimed, as Moscow seeks to advance in the Donbas and to repel Kyiv’s incursion into Kursk.
A day after Ukraine claimed Russia had suffered a record 1,770 losses, Kyiv’s military claimed this had been surpassed on Monday with a total of 1,950 casualties – which would mark Russia’s worst single day since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The totals given by Ukraine’s military do not specify between troops killed, wounded or captured. Ukraine now claims to have inflicted a total of 712,610 casualties upon Russia – which is broadly in line with the estimates of Ukraine’s Western allies. Neither Moscow nor Kyiv provide statistics on their own losses.
It comes days after the head of the British armed forces, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin told the BBC that Russia had lost more troops in October than any other month in the war, with “on average over 1,500 people either killed or wounded every single day”.
Russia and China must counter any US attempt at containment, Shoigu says
Russia and China must counter any attempt by the United States to contain their countries, the head of Moscow’s powerful security council has said during a visit to Beijing.
With US president-elect Donald Trump threatening steep tariffs on China and other nations, Sergei Shoigu – formerly Russia’s defence minister – told China’s foreign minister Wang Yi that the strong relations between Moscow and Beijing were a stabilising influence on the world.
“I see the most important task as countering the policy of ‘dual containment’ of Russia and China pursued by the United States and its satellites,” Mr Shoigu was quoted as saying by Russian state news agencies.
Ukraine claims to shoot down 46 out of 110 drones fired by Russia in overnight attacks
Ukraine claims to have shot down 46 out of 110 drones fired in overnight attacks by Russia.
The Ukrainian air force said 60 Russian drones were lost in Ukrainian air space and two other left Ukraine’s airspace in the direction of Belarus.
Russian forces also used three missiles during the overnight attack, the air force added.
Finland’s capital to take over Helsinki Arena from Russian owners
The city of Helsinki will initiate a forced takeover of the Finnish capital’s biggest sports and events arena from its sanctions-hit Russian owners, officials have said.
The Helsinki Arena, a major concert venue and ice hockey arena, has been closed since 2022 after sanctions were imposed on Russian investors following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Helsinki said last year that Russian-Finnish businessmen Gennady Timchenko and Roman Rotenberg – who control the company that owns the arena – would face expropriation unless they voluntarily sold the property.
The city board said on Monday that moving forward with the expropriation was necessary to stop the building from deteriorating and to prevent damage to Finland’s reputation from not being able to cater for large international events.
The process could potentially take years to complete and will require a permit from the government and compensation to the owners, the city added. Helsinki authorities estimated in 2023 that up to €400m of income per year was being lost for hotels, restaurants and other businesses as a result of the arena going unused.
Moldova summons Russian ambassador over drones coming down in its territory
Moldova’s foreign ministry has summoned Russia’s ambassador over two Russian drones which came down in Moldovan territory on Sunday.
Russia regularly sends waves of strike drones to hit targets in Ukraine, and these craft have in the past occasionally strayed into Moldovan territory.
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