Ukraine-Russia war – live: Musk ‘joins Trump’s Zelensky call’ as Putin hails ‘courageous’ US election win
Elon Musk promised to support Volodymyr Zelensky with his Starlink satellites
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Your support makes all the difference.Elon Musk reportedly jumped on Donald Trump’s first call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
The move potentially reveals how high Trump values the Tesla billionaire and foreshadows a possible role in his administration.
Axios reported that the president-elect told Zelensky he will support Ukraine, but didn’t go into details on a 25 minute phonecall.
Musk also weighed in to say he will continue supporting Ukraine through his Starlink satellites - that have become pivotal to Ukraine forces communications on the frontline.
Musk had previously mocked Zelensky on social media for his attempts to fundraise for his nation’s war effort.
It came as Russian president Vladimir Putin congratulated Trump on winning the US election and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with him.
In his first remarks since Mr Trump’s win, Mr Putin said the president-elect had acted “like a real man” during an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania in July.
Mr Trump’s win has caused concern in Ukraine, where the Russian forces have made swift advances of late, over fears that he would curtail US support for Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Russian drone strikes killed at least one person and injured 34 injured in Odesa and Kharkiv early this morning.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
What funds could Biden send to Ukraine before Trump takes office?
Pentagon responds to claims North Korean troops in Russia ‘gorging on pornography’
Europe cannot rely on Trump’s protection – it must take the lead on defence
A Trump presidency won’t necessarily be the gift for Putin that Moscow thinks it is...
Ukraine to receive $1.37billion from World Bank for humanitarian projects
Ukraine’s Minister of Finance of Ukraine Sergii Marchenko and World Bank director Bob Saum, today signed a grant agreement under the World Bank’s Public Expenditures for Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE in Ukraine) project.
The project aims to partially compensate for State Budget expenditures, including social and humanitarian expenditures not related to the security and defence sector.
The grant agreement will provide:
- USD 1.35 billion - a grant from the United States of America;
- EUR 10.8 million - funds from the Multi-Donor Trust Fund for co-financing the Second Development Policy Loan for Economic Recovery for Ukraine.
The funds will be transferred to the budget of Ukraine in the coming days.
“I am grateful to the United States Government, partner countries, and the World Bank team for their crucial financial support and partnership at a crucial time for Ukraine.
“The funds raised will make a significant contribution to the priority social expenditures of the Ukrainian State Budget,” said Sergii Marchenko.
Watch: Putin calls Trump ‘courageous’ as he congratulates future US president on election
‘I promise you will be happy with me’ Trump and Elon Musk share Zoom call with Zelensky - report
Elon Musk reportedly jumped on Donald Trump’s first call with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky.
Axios reported that the president-elect told Zelensky he will support Ukraine, but didn’t go into details on a 25 minute phonecall.
“I promise you will be happy with me” Trump reportedly told Zelensky.
Sources told Axios that Zelensky felt the call went well and that it did not increase his anxiety about Trump’s victory.
One added it “didn’t leave Zelensky with a feeling of despair.”
Musk weighed in to pledge the Ukrainian president the use of his Starlink satellites.
Russian prosecutors seek six-year prison term for paediatrician accused of criticising Ukraine war
Russian authorities are seeking a six-year prison term for a paediatrician accused of criticising the war in Ukraine in front of one of her patients and his mother, Russian independent news site Mediazona reports.
The case against Dr Nadezhda Buyanova, 68, is one of hundreds launched against Russians after Moscow invaded Ukraine in 2022, and unleashed an unprecedented crackdown on opposition activists, independent journalists and other citizens.
Dr Buyanova was arrested in February, after the mother of one of her patients reported her to the authorities, alleging that the pediatrician told her son that his father, a Russian soldier killed in Ukraine, was a legitimate target for Kyiv’s troops, and blamed Russia for the war.
The pediatrician was charged with spreading false information about the army, a criminal offence under strict laws ushered in shortly after the invasion and widely used to target critics and protesters. She has rejected the charges and denied the alleged remarks.
EU will tell US that Russia is threat to global security as a whole, says Ursula von der Leyen
Closing out today’s EU summit in Budapest, European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen said the EU would “discuss with our American friends also the fact that Russia is not only a threat to Europe, but a threat to the global security as a whole” in a bid to dissuade Donald Trump from abandoning aid to Ukraine.
“We see that technology from China and Iran is used by Russia on the battlefield,” she added. “It shows that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Europe are interconnected, and so are the European and the United States interests in this course.”
North Korean deployment is ‘dangerous expansion’ of support for Russia’s Ukraine war, Nato says
Nato members have warned that the deployment of North Korean troops is a “dangerous expansion” of the country’s support for Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In a joint statement, Nato’s 32 member states warned that “the deepening military cooperation” between Russia and North Korea “deeply impacts Euro-Atlantic security, with implications also for the Indo-Pacific”.
Australia, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Ukraine also supported the Nato statement.
Call for ‘Save Ukraine Summit’ in London before Trump enters White House
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called for a “Save Ukraine Summit” in London to allow European leaders to co-ordinate before Donald Trump enters the White House.
Having labelled Mr Trump a “dangerous, destructive demagogue” following the US election result, Sir Ed said: “I think we need to pre-empt whatever decision President-elect Trump eventually takes by showing UK leadership in Europe.
“I think by having that summit of European leaders, we would send a message to President-elect Trump, and hopefully a message that encourages him.
“He’s often said other countries need to do more – well, it will be a sign that other countries are doing more, and therefore that hopefully would encourage him to stay the course and continue the policies of President Biden when it comes to Ukraine.”
Could South Korea send troops to fight for Ukraine?
The alleged deployment of North Korean soldiers to aid Russia’s war effort in Ukraine has prompted South Korea to warn that it could send military monitors as well as weapons to Kyiv.
South Korean foreign minister Cho Tae Yul said earlier this week that all options were on the table, but experts noted that Seoul was more likely to send a variety of military support short of soldiers.
The alleged presence of around 12,000 North Korean troops in Russia, reportedly under a defence treaty that Russian president Vladimir Putin signed with Korean leader Kim Jong Un earlier this year, has set off alarm bells on the Korean peninsula.
South Korea is concerned about thousands of North Korean troops gaining fighting experience in a war theatre, and potentially using the skills they acquire against South Korea on their return.
My colleague Arpan Rai reports:
Western arming of Israel emboldens belligerents such as Russia, warns rights group
Western nations supplying weapons to Israel as it pursues conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon despite evidence of violations of international law are empowering belligerents elsewhere such as Russia and China, the head of Human Rights Watch (HRW) has warned.
Tirana Hassan, HRW’s Executive Director, said that countries like the UK, US and Germany could influence Israel’s actions and should do so by ending arms sales, particularly if they “know that these weapons are being used in the commission of war crimes”.
Ms Hassan warned that governments arming Israel were undermining their own credibility as defenders of international law.
“It sends a message that these rules apply differently to us and our allies as they do to others, and that has really serious consequences,” she said, adding: “They are very quick to point out double standards from the West and are trying to use that to undermine the system.”
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukrainian forces defending the eastern region of Donetsk are heading into the “moment of maximum tension” as Russian forces rush to take territory ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next year, war monitors have claimed.
Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Moscow has also mobilised thousands of North Korean soldiers to push back the Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk, with some success.
Our foreign affairs reporter Tom Watling reports:
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s military say the hottest fighting along the roughly 640-mile frontline is taking place on the outskirts of the eastern city of Selydove
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