Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin believes his goals are within reach, Zelensky warns allies
Ukrainian leader said that Putin was ‘taking advantage’ of a slowdown in support from partners
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Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin now believes his goals are within reach.
“Russia is clearly taking advantage of the slowdown in air defence supplies from our partners,” he wrote in a post on X on Thursday.
“It is equally clear that when some partners ease the pressure on Russia, it only reinforces Putin's belief that his goals are within reach. We need different signals and different steps – stronger ones.”
Meanwhile, Putin insisted that Russia is not preparing for war with Europe and that trilateral talks should be about ensuring the security of both countries.
Zelensky said he did not understand why Donald Trump was unhappy with him: “Congress voted for strong sanctions. He can do it – I don’t know why he is not doing it.
“Maybe they have a special relationship, maybe something else. I can’t tell you, I don’t know everything. I can only guess.”
Trump said that he had asked SpaceX billionaire Elon Musk to reinstate full functioning of Starlink in Ukraine.
Downing Street rejects American description of Vladimir Putin as ‘humanitarian’
Downing Street has rejected the characterisation of Vladimir Putin as a “humanitarian” made by Donald Trump’s chief negotiator on the Ukraine war.
Steve Witkoff, the US special envoy, made the remark as he met with the Russian leader this week.
It comes as the US president has made a new push to end the Ukraine war, and is putting pressure on Kyiv to agree to a settlement.
No 10 suggested the Government was wholly at odds with the description of Mr Putin.
Asked about it by reporters, a Downing Street spokeswoman said: “We certainly do not recognise that characterisation, and president Putin has killed thousands of people, both innocent Ukrainians and his own Russian people, who he has sent to their deaths on the frontline.”
Read the full story here.
Downing Street rejects American description of Vladimir Putin as ‘humanitarian’
Putin says eastern Ukraine's land is historically Russian
Vladimir Putin has said that the territories in eastern Ukraine claimed by Moscow were “historically Russian land” in comments made on Thursday.
He said any future trilateral talks involving Russia, the United States and Ukraine should focus on security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine, adding broader European security issues should also be discussed.
Poland detains second suspect in murder of Russian artist who criticised Putin
Polish authorities have detained a second suspect in the June murder of a Russian artist who had criticized President Vladimir Putin, secret service chief Tomasz Siemoniak said on Thursday.
Robert Kuzovkov, also known as Semyon Skrepetsky, died after he was hit by five bullets in the eastern Polish city of Biala Podlaska in June.
Kuzovkov was known for his work criticizing Russian authorities and had staged a protest in Berlin shortly before the shooting.
At the time, Polish authorities detained a 36-year-old man, who they said was using a Georgian passport.
The second man, a 22-year-old Georgian national suspected of complicity in the murder, had been placed in pre-trial detention for three months by a court, Siemoniak wrote on X on Thursday.
Trump asks Musk to lift Ukraine Starlink restrictions, WSJ reports
President Donald Trump has called SpaceX owner Elon Musk and asked him to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of Starlink, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing US officials.
The Starlink system was working more normally on Thursday, shortly after the Trump-Musk conversation, according to US and Ukrainian officials cited by the publication.
Russia hit Kyiv with missiles carrying cluster warheads, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Russia hit Kyiv overnight with three ballistic missiles carrying cluster munition warheads.
Zelensky said such missiles were designed to detonate in the air as they approach their targets, spreading damage across an area 400 meters in diameter.
He added that one of them struck Kyiv's historic district, hitting the area near the monastic buildings of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra.
He also said that Russia had kept targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructure with more than 170 strikes on critical energy facilities since October 11.
Zelensky says Starshield access is still restricted
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that access to SpaceX’s military-grade Starshield remains restricted in an interview with CNN on Thursday.
The US and Elon Musk have blamed each other for the limitation.
He added: “My attitude to Putin is very clear. I think that if we lift sanctions, we will make him stronger. It’s not something personal between me and President Trump, and of course I’m against of any lifting of sanctions.”
Danish military orders long-range missiles
Denmark said on Thursday it has agreed to buy its first long-range precision missiles as the Nordic country seeks to bolster its security to deter Russian aggression in Europe, drawing condemnation from Moscow.
Danish Defence Minister Jeppe Bruus said the new missile systems would boost Denmark's capabilities and enable strikes "behind enemy lines" if attacked.
"We're in a serious and deteriorating security situation and that is why we are building up the defence and strengthening our combat power," Bruus told reporters.
The Russian embassy in Copenhagen, in a written statement, said Denmark's missile policy aims at confrontation with Moscow and warned of "inevitable disastrous consequences".
Zelensky says 'Trump should talk about Putin the way he talks about me'
Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Donald Trump should talk about Vladimir Putin in the same critical way that he talks about him.
The US President has recently turned on Zelensky over Ukraine’s strikes on Russian oil refineries, saying he was “more difficult to deal with than Putin” in comments that have enraged Kyiv and Europe.
Trump also claimed that Russia “hasn’t been doing much” in Ukraine, despite thousands of civilian deaths the unprecedented destruction of infrastructure.
Speaking to Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast, the Ukrainian president said: “The way Trump talks about me, he needs to adopt that kind of rhetoric about Putin.”
Zelensky said he did not understand why Trump was unhappy with him: “Congress voted for strong sanctions. He can do it – I don’t know why he is not doing it.
South Korea repatriates aid worker from Ukraine over safety, Yonhap says
South Korea's international aid agency has decided to bring back one of its two staff members from its office in Ukraine's capital on safety grounds, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.
Kyiv has come under increasingly heavy Russian drone and missile attacks in recent weeks, more than 4-1/2 years after Moscow's invasion of its neighbour.
South Korea has also been caught up in a diplomatic dispute with Ukraine and withdrew its ambassador this month after accusing Kyiv of breaching a confidentiality agreement over the transfer of two captured North Korean soldiers to the South.
The decision by the Korea International Cooperation Agency to repatriate the aid agency staff member was made after a safety meeting, Yonhap said in its report.
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