Ukraine-Russia latest: Putin hails ‘courageous’ Trump after election win as president-elect says ‘we’ll speak’
Trump said he had probably spoken to 70 world leaders since his historic election - but so far Putin was not one of them
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Russian president Vladimir Putin on Thursday congratulated Donald Trump on winning the US election and said Moscow was ready for dialogue with the president-elect.
In his first public remarks since Trump’s historic win, Putin said Trump had acted like a real man during an assassination attempt on him while he was speaking at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July.
“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a real man,” Putin said at the Valdai discussion club in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi. “I take this opportunity to congratulate him on his election.”
Putin said remarks Trump had made during the election campaign about Ukraine and restoring relations with Russia deserved attention.
“What was said about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to bring about the end of the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion this deserves attention at least,” said Putin.
The incoming US president is “going to make a phone call to Putin as quickly as possible and tell Putin that he needs to stop the war, that the fighting has to stop, and that there has to be peace,” Kurt Volker, former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, said.
France summoned North Korean diplomat over troops in Russia, ministry says
France’s foreign ministry summoned North Korea’s general delegate in France last week to protest against the deployment of his country’s troops to Russia and warned there would be consequences.
“We are ready to react firmly in coordination with our partners,” French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine told reporters when asked whether sanctions were on the table after North Korea’s decision to send troops to bolster Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Lemoine said France had summoned North Korea’s general delegate in France on Oct. 28 and told him that such support for Russia’s war would not be left without a response.
France does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea, but the general delegate is accredited at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency, based in Paris.
Zelensky tells European summit ‘peace through strength’ is needed now
An approach of “peace through strength” is needed urgently as Europe confronts the danger posed by Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders at the European Political Community summit in Budapest on Thursday.
Mr Zelensky said that concessions to Russian President Vladimir Putin were unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for Europe.
Mystery surrounds death of Ukrainian journalist in Russia’s ‘hell on earth’ prison
Mystery surrounds death of Ukrainian journalist in Russia’s ‘hell on earth’ prison
Roshchyna’s loved ones now say they want her body back before Russia has a chance to erase what happened to her in custody
Pentagon responds to claims North Korean troops in Russia ‘gorging on pornography’
Pentagon responds to claims North Korean troops in Russia ‘gorging on pornography’
Internet access in Russia is not unrestricted, but is far more open than in the closed off North Korea
Ukraine's air force says it downed 74 Russia-launched drones
Ukraine‘s Air Force said on Thursday it had downed 74 Russia-launched drones overnight.
It also said on the Telegram messaging app that an additional 25 from a total of 106 drones had been “locationally lost”.
Europe must take more responsibilty for defence and support for Ukraine, says EU chief
In the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election in the US, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called on the European Union to take more responsibilty for it’s defence and for support of Ukraine.
EU officials have reportedly expressed concern privately that a second Trump administration could see the US withdraw at least some of it’s support from the continent.
Ukraine had ‘good conversations’ with Donald Trump, says Zelensky
Ukraine had ‘good conversations’ with Trump, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky revealed his country has had “good conversations” with Donald Trump, following the latter’s election victory in the US. Mr Zelensky congratulated Trump on his victory over Kamala Harris in a new video address on Wednesday evening (6 November). The Ukrainian president said: “I congratulate him on this victory. In general, it was extremely important for us in Ukraine and for all of Europe to consistently hear the words of the then-45th President of the United States about “peace through strength.” And if this becomes the policy principle of the 47th President of the United States, America and the whole world will undoubtedly benefit from it.” During his election campaign, Trump has threatened both a withdrawal of NATO commitments and a fundamental shift of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Britain hits Russia with new wave of sanctions
The UK has imposed its biggest sanctions package against Russia in nearly two years, targeting people involved in the Ukraine war, African mercenary groups and a nerve agent attack on British soil.
The foreign ministry said it had sanctioned 56 bodies and individuals, aiming to hurt Russian president Vladimir Putin’s war effort and Russia’s “malign activity globally”.
Among them were 10 entities based in China said to be supplying machinery and components for the Russian military.
“Today’s measures will continue to push back on the Kremlin’s corrosive foreign policy, undermining Russia’s attempts to foster instability across Africa and disrupting the supply of vital equipment for Putin’s war machine,” foreign minister David Lammy said.
Most of the measures were aimed at companies based in Russia, China, Turkey and Kazakhstan accused of aiding the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the supply of machine tools, microelectronics and components for drones.
Britain also said the latest sanctions would address Russian activity in Libya, Mali and the Central African Republic by targeting three private mercenary groups with links to the Kremlin, including the Kremlin-controlled Africa Corps, and 11 individuals.
Amongst the individuals sanctioned was Denis Sergeev, whom British police have charged over the murder attempt on former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in the southern English city of Salisbury in March 2018.
North Korea-Russia ties are also a threat to US security, Nato chief says
The strengthening ties between Russia and North Korea are not only a threat to European security, but also for the United States, Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on Thursday.
“Russia is delivering the latest technology into North Korea in return for North Korean help with the war against Ukraine and this is a threat not only to the European part of Nato but also to the US,” Rutte said before a meeting with European leaders in Budapest.
“I look forward to sit down with Donald Trump to discuss how we face these threats collectively.”
Kremlin doesn't rule out Putin-Trump contact before Trump's inauguration, Interfax says
The Kremlin said on Thursday it did not rule out the possibility that some form of contact could take place between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President-elect Donald Trump before the latter’s inauguration in January, Interfax news agency reported
Putin has not yet commented on Trump’s election win but is due to speak and take questions at a conference later on Thursday.
The Kremlin reacted cautiously on Wednesday after Trump was elected US president, saying the US was still an unfriendly state and that only time would tell if Trump’s rhetoric on ending the Ukraine war translated into reality.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments