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.
Macron vows to continue to push for aid to be sent to Ukraine for as long as necessary
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to continue to push for aid to be sent to Ukraine for as long as necessary.
"It is the only way towards negotiations and I want to be clear, when the time comes, nothing should be decided on Ukraine without the Ukrainians and on Europe without the Europeans," he said.
China needs to feel ‘higher cost’ for its Russia support, Kallas says
The nominee to be the European Union’s next top diplomat has warned that China should feel a “higher cost” for lending support to Russia that helps Moscow pursue the war in Ukraine.
Speaking at her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament, former Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas said: “Without China’s support to Russia, Russia would not be able to continue its war with the same force. China needs to also feel a higher cost.”
Rutte calls for continued support for Ukraine
Kyiv is now battling to put itself in the strongest position for any negotiations, including by securing more arms and holding out on the battlefield, with a senior Ukrainian official telling Reuters the next four to five months will be pivotal.
"We must recommit to stay the course of the war and we must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said on Tuesday.
"We need to raise the cost for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and his enabling authoritarian threats by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict."
Russia’s Medvedev says Europe is trying to escalate Ukraine conflict after Trump win
Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused European leaders of seeking to dangerously escalate the Ukraine conflict following the re-election of former US president Donald Trump.
In his latest post on Telegram, Mr Medvedev – once viewed as a moderate – claimed that European politicians were aiming to “push the conflict with Russia into an irreversible phase” while they could and warned against allowing Kyiv to use Western long-range missiles to fire at targets inside Russia.
Mr Medvedev dismissed what he called “ultimatums” issued by German opposition leader and possible next chancellor Friedrich Merz about Ukraine’s use of such weapons as “electioneering in nature”.
With Sir Keir Starmer and France’s Emmanuel Macron having also reaffirmed their support for Kyiv during talks in Paris on Monday, Mr Medvedev added: “Generally speaking, it is surprising to what extent the current generation of European politicians wants to drag the war into their territory.”
Recap: Watch as Zelensky reveals Ukraine’s ‘good conversations’ with Trump in video address
Ukraine military chief details Kursk battle
Ukraine’s armed forces commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi said he travelled to the front in Russia’s Kursk region where a surprise Ukrainian incursion carved out a chunk of land in August that president Volodymyr Zelensky said could be used as a bargaining chip.
“(Russian forces) are trying to dislodge our troops and advance deep into the territory we control,” he said on Telegram.
Ukraine says Russia has deployed 11,000 North Korean troops to the Kursk region and that they have already been involved in clashes, urging the West to respond robustly.
Moscow neither denies nor confirms their presence.
Syrskyi said the Kursk operation had drawn in crack Russian fighters and relieved pressure that would have been brought to bear on several important outposts in the east where Russia has been making gains at its fastest clip since 2022.
“These tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian shock units would have stormed our positions in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhove or Toretsk directions, which would have significantly worsened the situation at the front,” he said.
John Healey defiant over US support for Ukraine after Trump re-election
The defence secretary has struck a defiant tone on US support for Ukraine amid fears Donald Trump will force Volodymyr Zelensky to do a deal with Russia.
John Healey said he expects the Americans to stand with Ukraine for “as long as it takes to prevail over (Vladimir) Putin’s invasion”.
He said that the former president, who will return to the White House in January after a sweeping election win, “recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like Nato do”. And Mr Healey stressed that America’s determination to support Ukraine in its campaign against Russia is “just as strong” as before voters in the US went to the polls.
Political correspondent Archie Mitchell reports:
John Healey defiant over US support for Ukraine after Trump re-election
Defence secretary insists US will stand with Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes to prevail over Vladimir Putin’s invasion’
North Korean soldiers joining Russia in combat, US State Dept says
North Korean troops have begun engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces, the US State Department has said, expressing concern that Russia had turned to North Korea for soldiers to fight in its war with Ukraine.
"Over 10,000 DPRK (North Korean) soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia, and most of them have moved to the far western Kursk Oblast, where they have begun engaging in combat operations with Russian forces," State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.
Wath: Putin calls Trump ‘courageous’ as he congratulates future US president on election
Surprising alliance of Trump, Orban and Pope that could derail support for Ukraine
A surprising trinity of Donald Trump, Hungary’s right-wing prime minister Viktor Orban and Pope Francis could spell the end to hopes for continued support for Ukraine in fighting the war against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
The Independent has spoken to Hungary’s ambassador to the Vatican, Eduard Habsburg-Lothringen, who has been critical in attempting to create an international coalition to find a “peace deal” to end the war.
He has spoken about how Pope Francis has played an important role in supporting a deal that will probably see Mr Trump push for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky to cede territory to Russia.
Political editor David Maddox reports:
How surprising alliance of Trump, Orban and Pope could force Ukraine into Putin deal
Exclusive: The Pope has shown backing for Hungary’s so-called ‘peace deal’ between Kyiv and Moscow – while Trump’s election puts US aid at risk
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