Volodymyr Zelensky has lauded incoming US president Donald Trump saying he could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Vladimir Putin.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” the Ukrainian president said in a televised interview.“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump.
“He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
Facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, Mr Zelenksy said Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first world leaders to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
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His comments came as the Ukrainian military said it had carried out a precision strike on a Russian command post in Maryino in Russia’s Kursk region as Russian officials confirmed the attack.
“These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
Key points
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Zelensky says Trump can be decisive in helping stop Putin
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Ukraine’s military says it struck command post in Kursk
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Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
04:00 , Jabed Ahmed
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
Zelensky says Trump can be decisive in helping stop Putin
03:35 , Arpan Rai
President-elect Donald Trump could be decisive in the outcome of the 34-month-old war with Russia and help stop Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
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Mr Zelensky, facing advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine, said in an interview with Ukrainian television that Mr Trump had told him he would be one of the first to visit Washington after the presidential inauguration this month.
The Ukrainian president also said a priority was to stabilise the frontline early in the new year. Mr Putin, he said, feared negotiations as they would be tantamount to a defeat for Russia.
“Trump can be decisive. For us, this is the most important thing,” he said in a televised interview.
“His qualities are indeed there,” Mr Zelensky said of Mr Trump. “He can be decisive in this war. He is capable of stopping Putin or, to put it more fairly, help us stop Putin. He is able to do this.”
Oil spill in Black Sea smaller than first thought, Russia says
03:24 , Arpan Rai
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Russian investigators have determined that an oil spill from two tankers in the Black Sea last month was smaller than initially thought, the transport ministry said.
The oil leaked from two ageing tankers that were hit by a storm on 15 December. One sank and the other ran aground.
More than 10,000 people have been working to shovel up viscous, foul-smelling fuel oil from sandy beaches in and around Anapa, a popular summer resort. Environmental groups have reported deaths of dolphins, porpoises and sea birds.
The ministry said experts had established that approximately 2,400 metric tons of oil products had spilled into the sea.
“This is significantly less than the initial estimate, which was based on the account of one of the tanker captains,” it said.
When the disaster struck, state media reported that the stricken tankers, both more than 50 years old, were carrying some 9,200 metric tons (62,000 barrels) of oil products in total.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
02:59 , Arpan Rai
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By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Ukraine’s military says it struck command post in Kursk
02:56 , Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian military said it had carried out a high-precision strike on a Russian command post in Maryino, in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold chunks of territory after a major incursion.
The Russian military said air defence units had downed four Ukrainian missiles in the region, and the regional governor said the strikes had damaged a high-rise apartment building and other buildings in an adjacent village.
Ukrainian forces remain in the Kursk region five months after sending troops across the border, though the Russian military says much of the lost territory has been recaptured.
“These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.
Another post showed a video of what the military said was damage to a Russian base in Ivanovskoye, next to Maryino.
Kursk regional governor Alexander Khinshtein said the strike on Ivanovskoye had shattered windows in a multi-storey apartment building and in private homes. Also damaged were a school, a pharmacy and a shop.
A video showed work under way to repair damage to a facade.
Prominent scientists killed in Russian New Year’s attack on Kyiv
02:00 , Jabed Ahmed
The Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed a prominent scientist couple, education and scientist minister Oksen Lisovyi said.
Prominent neurobiologist Ihor Zyma and doctor of biological sciences Olesia Sokur were killed in the attack, the minister said.
“The family devoted almost their entire lives to science,” Lisovyi said.
The minister said Zyma was a senior researcher and associate professor at the Institute for Biology and Medicine at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, while Sokur worked at the Institute as a deputy director of scientific work and a member of the Academic Council.
“My deepest sympathies to the relatives and loved ones of those killed, as well as to all those who suffer from today’s terrorist terror. Russia – absolutely evil, bringing death and destruction. The world must react harshly and principledly,” the minister said on Facebook.
Ukraine navy says it destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones last year
Thursday 2 January 2025 23:59 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s navy has destroyed more than 37,000 Russian drones in the year 2024, it reported yesterday.
The downed platforms include Russian strike drones, operational and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, first-person-view drones, and Shahed-type attack drones, the navy said in a Facebook post. Ukrainian naval forces also destroyed five Russian ships and 458 watercraft, it added.
Russia’s drone losses included 35,670 destroyed FPV drones and 1,140 strike drones, the navy said. Ukraine’s naval units also eliminated 192 operational and tactical drones and another 164 Shahed-136/131 drones.
Watch: Russia and Ukraine swap 150 prisoners in tearful exchange
Thursday 2 January 2025 23:00 , Jabed Ahmed
War in Ukraine: A snapshot of 2024 military warfare
Thursday 2 January 2025 22:00 , Jabed Ahmed
Russian forces in 2024 advanced in Ukraine at the fastest rate since 2022, the war’s first year, and control about a fifth of the country. But the gains have come at the cost of heavy, though undisclosed, losses in men and equipment.
In 2024, Russia was invaded for the first time since the Second World War as Ukraine grabbed a slice of its western Kursk region in a surprise counter-attack on 6 August.
Russia has yet to eject Ukrainian forces from Kursk despite bringing in more than 10,000 troops from its ally North Korea, according to Ukrainian, South Korean and US assessments. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
“To sustain even the very slow advance in Ukraine, Russia has been forced to ignore the months-long occupation of part of its own territory by Ukrainian forces,” British security expert Ruth Deyermond said.
“Taking a ‘nothing to see here’ attitude to the loss of its own land is not what great powers do, particularly one so preoccupied with the idea of state sovereignty.”
Deyermond, in a long thread posted on X, suggested Putin’s efforts to portray Russia as a leading world power were also undermined by the toppling of its chief Middle East ally, former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, and its increasing dependence on China.
Mr Putin, the longest-serving ruler of Russia since Josef Stalin, said on 19 December that under his leadership the country had moved back from “the edge of the abyss” and rebuffed threats to its sovereignty.
With hindsight, he said, he should not have waited until February 2022 before launching his “special military operation” in Ukraine, the term he still uses for the full-scale invasion of Russia’s neighbour.
What is ATACMS? The US missiles being used inside Russia
Thursday 2 January 2025 21:00 , Jabed Ahmed
There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.
Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had “proven themselves.”
Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.
Families in tears as Ukrainian soldiers return home after Russia prisoner of war swap
Thursday 2 January 2025 20:01 , Jabed Ahmed
Families in tears as Ukrainian soldiers return home after Russia prisoner of war swap
‘No heating, no light’: Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies
Thursday 2 January 2025 19:00 , Jabed Ahmed
‘No heating, no light’: Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
Thursday 2 January 2025 18:31 , Jabed Ahmed
Crisis has aided the Russian strongman’s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
What 25 years of Putin has done to the world, in a presidency bookended by war
Pictured: Russian drone attack on Kyiv
Thursday 2 January 2025 17:30 , Jabed Ahmed
Comment: Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Thursday 2 January 2025 16:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Watch: Putin praises Russia’s soldiers in New Year’s address
Thursday 2 January 2025 15:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine’s military says it struck command post in Russia’s Kursk region
Thursday 2 January 2025 14:58 , Jabed Ahmed
The Ukrainian military said it carried out a high-precision strike on a Russian command post in Maryino, in the Kursk region.
“These strikes disrupt the ability of the Russian Federation to conduct terrorism against innocent Ukrainian civilians,” it said in a statement via the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Thursday 2 January 2025 14:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Zelensky says Ukraine is preparing to resume diplomatic ties with Syria
Thursday 2 January 2025 14:01 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is preparing to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria.
“We are preparing to resume diplomatic relations with Syria and cooperation in international organisations,” Zelensky said after hearing the report from Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha’s visit to Syria on Monday.
Putin orders Russian government and top bank to develop AI cooperation with China
Thursday 2 January 2025 13:29 , Jabed Ahmed
President Vladimir Putin has ordered Russia’s government and the country’s biggest bank, Sberbank, to build cooperation with China in artificial intelligence.
Putin’s instructions were published on the Kremlin’s website yesterday, three weeks after he announced that Russia would team up with BRICS partners and other countries to develop AI.
He told the government and Sberbank, which is spearheading Russia’s AI efforts, to “ensure further co-operation with the People’s Republic of China in technological research and development in the field of artificial intelligence”.
Western sanctions intended to restrict Moscow’s access to the technologies it needs to sustain its war against Ukraine have resulted in the world’s major producers of microchips halting exports to Russia, severely limiting its AI ambitions.
Sberbank CEO German Gref acknowledged in 2023 that graphics processing units (GPUs), the microchips that underpin AI development, were the trickiest hardware for Russia to replace.
Pictured: Moscow welcomes 2025 amid Ukraine invasion
Thursday 2 January 2025 12:30 , Jabed Ahmed
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
Thursday 2 January 2025 11:28 , Jabed Ahmed
What 25 years of Putin has done to the world, in a presidency bookended by war
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Thursday 2 January 2025 10:29 , Jabed Ahmed
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Russia says it struck Ukrainian energy facilities
Thursday 2 January 2025 09:49 , Jabed Ahmed
Russia has said it had attacked energy facilities in Ukraine that support Kyiv’s military-industrial complex.
The Russian Defence Ministry said that over the last 24 hours it had used its air force, drones, missiles and artillery to target energy facilities, military airfields and Ukrainian military personnel across multiple locations.
The Independent could not confirm the extent of the attacks or the damage they inflicted.
Russia regularly reports such strikes, describing recent ones as retaliation for Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied missiles to strike deep into Russian territory
The ministry also reported that Russian troops had downed a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet, 97 drones and six U.S.-supplied HIMARS missiles overnight.
Halt of gas Ukraine gas transit will have ‘drastic’ impact on EU, Slovak PM says
Thursday 2 January 2025 09:29 , Jabed Ahmed
The stoppage of gas transit through Ukraine will have “drastic” impact on European Union countries but not on Russia, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said yesterday.
The pro-Russian Slovak leader has repeatedly warned that the end of transit would cost Slovakia hundreds of millions of euros in lost transit revenue and higher fees for the import of other gas, and argued it would also lead to a rise in gas and electricity prices in Europe.
ICYMI: Two killed in Russian drone strike on Kyiv, Ukraine says
Thursday 2 January 2025 08:30 , Jabed Ahmed
Russia launched a New Year’s Day drone strike on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Wednesday, killing two people, wounding at least six others and damaging buildings in two districts, authorities said.
Explosions boomed across the morning sky as Ukraine‘s air force warned of incoming drones and Mayor Vitali Klitschko said air defences were repelling an enemy attack.
Two floors of a residential building in central Kyiv were partially destroyed in the strike, according to the State Emergency Service. Two people were killed, it said.
Photos posted by the agency showed firefighters dousing a gutted corner of a building and rescuers helping elderly victims.
The National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that one of its buildings nearby had been damaged by debris from a downed drone. Debris also damaged a non-residential building in a different neighbourhood, authorities said.
Russia lost 420,000 soldiers to gain 4,168sq km in Ukraine and Kursk last year, ISW says
Thursday 2 January 2025 07:42 , Arpan Rai
Russian forces gained 4,168sq km of land, largely fields and small settlements in Ukraine and the Kursk region, in 2024 but suffered over 420,000 casualties in the process, an American think tank monitoring the war has claimed.
The Institute for the Study of War cited Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi’s remarks last week that Russian forces suffered 427,000 casualties in 2024.
“ISW has observed geolocated evidence to assess that the Russian forces advanced 4,168 square kilometers in 2024, indicating that Russian forces suffered approximately 102 casualties per square kilometer of Ukrainian territory seized,” it said in an assessment released on Wednesday.
Russian forces made 56.5 per cent of their 2024 territorial gains between September and November period, it added.
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
Thursday 2 January 2025 07:26 , Arpan Rai
Ordinarily, it’s historians writing after the fact that identify the pivotal dates in wars when the road to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia’s war on Ukraine is different: it is clear in advance that 20 January 2025 will change the course of the conflict.
Since well before the US election, there has been no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine’s continuing ability to resist Russia’s onslaught.
It’s long been apparent that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact, not in Ukraine at all.
Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contributions to their respective war efforts are crucial. The key difference is that in Ukraine’s case, the biggest backer by volume may be about to pull the rug from under the country’s feet, crippling its ability to continue in its struggle to survive.
Keir Giles writes:
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
Ukraine downs 47 Russian drones launched overnight
Thursday 2 January 2025 07:02 , Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 47 Russian drones overnight.
Of 72 drones launched, 24 “imitator drones” had not reached their targets, the air force added. One drone remained in Ukrainian airspace this morning.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Thursday 2 January 2025 07:00 , Joe Middleton
As of January 1 2025, Russian gas is no longer flowing into Europe via Ukraine’s pipeline.
A five-year deal between Gazprom, the Russian state energy company, and Ukraine expired at 5am GMT Wednesday morning.
The deal had allowed for Russian gas to travel through Ukraine’s pipeline networks into European countries, primarily Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
Ukraine refused to renew the gas transit deal, which has existed in some form since 1991, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that Russia would not be allowed to “earn billions on our blood”.
The move will not cut off all Russian gas to Europe, but significantly reduce it. Gas can still travel from Russia to Europe via the TurkStream pipeline, but no longer through Ukraine, cutting gas imports to the EU by around 14 billion cubic meters.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Ukraine halts Russian gas supplies to Europe
Thursday 2 January 2025 06:00 , Joe Middleton
Ukraine has halted Russian gas supplies to European customers that pass through the country, almost three years into Moscow’s all-out invasion of its neighbour, after a pre-war transit deal expired.
At a summit in Brussels last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed that Kyiv would not allow Moscow to use the transits to earn “additional billions … on our blood, on the lives of our citizens”.
But he briefly held open the possibility of the gas flows continuing if payments to Russia were withheld until the war ends.
Ukraine‘s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the gas flows “in the interest of national security”.
Prominent scientists killed in Russian New Year’s attack on Kyiv
Thursday 2 January 2025 05:27 , Arpan Rai
The Russian drone attack on Kyiv killed a prominent scientist couple, education and scientist minister Oksen Lisovyi said.
Prominent neurobiologist Ihor Zyma and doctor of biological sciences Olesia Sokur were killed in the attack, the minister said.
“The family devoted almost their entire lives to science,” Lisovyi said.
The minister said Zyma was a senior researcher and associate professor at the Institute for Biology and Medicine at the Taras Shevchenko National University in Kyiv, while Sokur worked at the Institute as a deputy director of scientific work and a member of the Academic Council.
“My deepest sympathies to the relatives and loved ones of those killed, as well as to all those who suffer from today’s terrorist terror. Russia – absolutely evil, bringing death and destruction. The world must react harshly and principledly,” the minister said on Facebook.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Thursday 2 January 2025 05:00 , Joe Middleton
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
But US president Joe Biden has sent the final military package of his tenure to Ukraine, ending the support (for now) of Kyiv’s most heavily-armed ally. US president-elect Donald Trump will soon re-enter the White House on the promise of ending the fighting altogether, even if that potentially means rewarding Mr Putin for his illegal land grab.
Tom Watling reports:
Ukraine-Russia war map 2025: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline?
Watch: Putin makes three-word pledge to Russia’s soldiers in New Year address
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:56 , Arpan Rai
Vladimir Putin made a three-word pledge to Russia’s soldiers in his pre-recorded New Year address.
In his address to the nation on Tuesday, the Russian president praised his country’s military in its war against Ukraine, telling soldiers, “We believe in you.”
Mr Putin ensured Russians that everything will be fine as the country enters the third year of fighting in Ukraine.
He directly addressed Russia’s armed forces saying the country is proud of their courage and bravery.
Millions of people were expected to watch the new address when it aired on TV as each Russian time zone region counted down the final minutes of 2024.
Putin makes pledge to Russia’s soldiers in New Year address
Ukraine navy says it destroyed over 37,000 Russian drones last year
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:49 , Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s navy has destroyed more than 37,000 Russian drones in the year 2024, it reported yesterday.
The downed platforms include Russian strike drones, operational and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles, first-person-view drones, and Shahed-type attack drones, the navy said in a Facebook post. Ukrainian naval forces also destroyed five Russian ships and 458 watercraft, it added.
Russia’s drone losses included 35,670 destroyed FPV drones and 1,140 strike drones, the navy said. Ukraine’s naval units also eliminated 192 operational and tactical drones and another 164 Shahed-136/131 drones.
Zelensky backs Moldova over energy disruption
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:43 , Arpan Rai
The breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria cut heating and hot water supplies to households yesterday after Russia stopped supplying gas to central and eastern Europe via Ukraine.
The severing of the gas flow was felt immediately in the mainly Russian-speaking territory of about 450,000 people, which split from Moldova in the early 1990s as the Soviet Union collapsed. Russia has about 1,500 troops stationed there.
When Putin was presented with the Russian presidency more than 25 years ago, the annual gas transit through Ukraine to Europe totaled more than 130 billion cubic meters. Today, it equals 0. This is one of Moscow’s biggest defeats.
As a result of Russia weaponizing energy and…
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) January 1, 2025
Halt of gas Ukraine gas transit will have ‘drastic’ impact on EU, Slovak PM says
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:06 , Arpan Rai
The stoppage of gas transit through Ukraine will have “drastic” impact on European Union countries but not on Russia, Slovak prime minister Robert Fico said yesterday.
The pro-Russian Slovak leader has repeatedly warned that the end of transit would cost Slovakia hundreds of millions of euros in lost transit revenue and higher fees for the import of other gas, and argued it would also lead to a rise in gas and electricity prices in Europe.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:01 , Arpan Rai
Russian gas is no longer flowing to EU states through Ukraine following the expiration of a five-year deal, closing an energy route that has existed since the end of the Soviet Union in 1991.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said the move means Russia can no longer “earn billions on our blood”.
His energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, confirmed on Wednesday morning that Kyiv had stopped the gas flows “in the interest of national security”.
“This is a historic event,” he wrote on the social media platform Telegram. “Russia is losing markets and will incur financial losses.”
The deal had allowed for Russian gas to travel through Ukraine’s pipeline networks into European countries, primarily Hungary, Slovakia and Austria.
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
Thursday 2 January 2025 04:00 , Joe Middleton
Crisis has aided the Russian strongman’s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
What 25 years of Putin has done to the world, in a presidency bookended by war
Photos: Moscow welcomes 2025 amid Ukraine invasion
Thursday 2 January 2025 03:43 , Arpan Rai
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