Taiwan’s former president urges US to prioritise aiding Ukraine over Taiwan for now – report
Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the US should prioritise helping Ukraine over Taiwan – in the immediate future – as Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei.
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the former Taiwanese leader was quoted by Politico as saying: “They should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
Tsai, who left office in January, added: “A Ukrainian victory will serve as the most effective deterrent to future aggression.” This suggests Tsai believes that US military support for Kyiv – something that has come under threat with Donald Trump’s election victory – would help deter China from a cross-strait attack.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim that Taiwan’s government rejects. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition. China has launched major military drills around Taiwan, simulating a full-scale attack on the island.
Politico reports:
Taiwanese officials have said that the island has boosted defence spending by 80 percent in the past eight years, hitting a record $19bn in 2024.
But that hasn’t been enough to placate president-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested that Taiwan “should pay” and has also called for the island to boost defense spending to 10 percent of GDP. Tsai did not directly respond to whether Taipei should raise its budget to that level. “We would have some difficulty accepting an arbitrary figure,” Tsai said.
Taiwan’s former president urges US to prioritise aiding Ukraine over Taiwan for now, says report. Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the US should prioritise helping Ukraine over Taiwan – in the immediate future – as Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei. Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the former Taiwanese leader was quoted by Politico as saying: “They should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
n
Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits. Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000; £77,000).
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An air alert has been sounded ‘almost daily’ across Ukraine this week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says as he pleads for more air defences. Zelenskyy has posted to Telegram saying that his country needs more air defences to protect itself against relentless Russian attacks. He said that Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles over the past week.
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Russia prepared to launch cyber-attacks on UK, minister to warn. Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber-attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior UK cabinet minister will warn in a speech on Monday. Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Pat McFadden, a senior UK minister whose portfolio includes national security, will say. In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, the minister is expected to say: “Military hard-power is one thing. But cyberwar can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber-attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine.”
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No ‘red lines’ when it comes to support for Ukraine, France’s foreign minister says. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”. Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.
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Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
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According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000; £77,000). The law applies to debts for which a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings had commenced before 1 December 2024. It also applies to the spouses of new recruits.
n Russia has increased military recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives, in some cases several times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine.
n The strategy has allowed the military to boost its ranks while avoiding another mobilisation order. A “partial mobilisation” in September 2022 sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Russian men, who fled the country to avoid enlistment.
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Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the US should prioritise helping Ukraine over Taiwan – in the immediate future – as Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei.
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Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the former Taiwanese leader was quoted by Politico as saying: “They should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
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Tsai, who left office in January, added: “A Ukrainian victory will serve as the most effective deterrent to future aggression.” This suggests Tsai believes that US military support for Kyiv – something that has come under threat with Donald Trump’s election victory – would help deter China from a cross-strait attack.
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China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim that Taiwan’s government rejects. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition. China has launched major military drills around Taiwan, simulating a full-scale attack on the island.
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Ing-wen speaks with Nick Schifrin, from PBS NewsHour, after accepting the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.”,”caption”:”Tsai Ing-wen speaks with Nick Schifrin, from PBS NewsHour, after accepting the John McCain Prize for Leadership in Public Service at the Halifax International Security Forum in Halifax, Nova Scotia.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Kelly Clark/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Politico reports:
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Taiwanese officials have said that the island has boosted defence spending by 80 percent in the past eight years, hitting a record $19bn in 2024.
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But that hasn’t been enough to placate president-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested that Taiwan “should pay” and has also called for the island to boost defense spending to 10 percent of GDP. Tsai did not directly respond to whether Taipei should raise its budget to that level. “We would have some difficulty accepting an arbitrary figure,” Tsai said.
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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted to Telegram saying that his country needs more air defences to protect itself against relentless Russian attacks.
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He said that Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles over the past week.
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Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram:
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An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week.
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Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.
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As we mentioned in the opening summary, Ukraine’s air defence units said they shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over many regions. The Ukrainian military said air defence units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
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Zelenskyy has directed his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, to start talks with partners on acquiring advanced air defence systems. This is reportedly in reaction to Russia having launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile against a rocket factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week.
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As my colleague Andrew Roth notes in this story, US officials have decried Vladimir Putin’s use of the nuclear-capable warhead but denied that it is a “gamechanger” in the war, adding that Russia possessed just a handful of the missiles, which its military has named Oreshnik, or Hazel.
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Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber-attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior UK cabinet minister will warn in a speech on Monday.
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Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Pat McFadden, a senior UK minister whose portfolio includes national security, will say.
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In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, the minister is expected to say:
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Military hard-power is one thing. But cyberwar can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber-attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine …
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Given the scale of that hostility, my message to members today is clear: no one should underestimate the Russian cyber threat to Nato. The threat is real. Russia is exceptionally aggressive and reckless in the cyber realm.
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McFadden is expected to specifically call out Unit 29155, a Russian military unit that the government says was previously found to have carried out a number of attacks in the UK and Europe.
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There are gangs of “unofficial hacktivists” and mercenaries not directly under the Kremlin’s control “but who are allowed to act with impunity so long as they’re not working against Putin’s interests,” he will say.
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The accusations come as tensions between Russia and the west have escalated dramatically, with Vladimir Putin warning that the war in Ukraine had the characteristics of a “global” conflict.
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The growing frictions have sparked fresh unease in London and other western capitals that Putin may step up cyber-attacks and other non-military measures.
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Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”.
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Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.
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“The principle has been set … our messages to President Zelenskyy have been well received,” he said. France has supplied Ukraine with the Scalp missile, which is identical to the British-supplied Storm Shadow that Ukraine has reportedly already used inside Russia.
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“We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometre, the threat gets one square kilometre closer to Europe,” he said.
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When asked if “no limit” support could translate to French troops in combat, Barrot said: “We do not discard any option”.
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Barrot said there are no “red lines” when it comes to support for Ukraine.”,”caption”:”Jean-Noël Barrot said there are no “red lines” when it comes to support for Ukraine.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Carl Court/AP”}},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Here are some of the other latest developments in the war:
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Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed more than 10 Russia drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight drone attack, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack. “The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”
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Ukraine’s air defences downed 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning. In a post on Telegram, the air force said it lost track of 19 drones and four more are still in the air. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said.
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Russian media is reporting that colonel general Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the southern grouping, had been removed from his command, for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war. There has been no official confirmation from the Russian ministry of defence.
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The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the latest developments in the war with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday during his visit to Ankara, a Turkish official. They are expected to discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism.
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Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters. The source, who is on Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared two and a half years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks,” the source said.
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Taiwan’s former president urges US to prioritise aiding Ukraine over Taiwan for now, says report. Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the US should prioritise helping Ukraine over Taiwan – in the immediate future – as Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei. Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the former Taiwanese leader was quoted by Politico as saying: “They should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
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Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits. Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000; £77,000).
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An air alert has been sounded ‘almost daily’ across Ukraine this week, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says as he pleads for more air defences. Zelenskyy has posted to Telegram saying that his country needs more air defences to protect itself against relentless Russian attacks. He said that Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles over the past week.
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Russia prepared to launch cyber-attacks on UK, minister to warn. Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber-attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior UK cabinet minister will warn in a speech on Monday. Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Pat McFadden, a senior UK minister whose portfolio includes national security, will say. In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, the minister is expected to say: “Military hard-power is one thing. But cyberwar can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber-attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine.”
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No ‘red lines’ when it comes to support for Ukraine, France’s foreign minister says. The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”. Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.
Moscow offers debt forgiveness to new recruits
Vladimir Putin has signed a law granting debt forgiveness to new army recruits who enlist to fight in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
According to Russian state news agency Interfax, the new legislation allows those signing up for a one-year contract to write off bad debts of up to 10 million rubles ($96,000; £77,000). The law applies to debts for which a court order for collection was issued and enforcement proceedings had commenced before 1 December 2024. It also applies to the spouses of new recruits.
Russia has increased military recruitment by offering increasing financial incentives, in some cases several times the average salary, to those willing to fight in Ukraine.
The strategy has allowed the military to boost its ranks while avoiding another mobilisation order. A “partial mobilisation” in September 2022 sparked an exodus of tens of thousands of Russian men, who fled the country to avoid enlistment.
Taiwan’s former president urges US to prioritise aiding Ukraine over Taiwan for now – report
Former Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen has suggested that the US should prioritise helping Ukraine over Taiwan – in the immediate future – as Kyiv needs weapons more urgently than Taipei.
Speaking at the Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the former Taiwanese leader was quoted by Politico as saying: “They should do whatever they can to help the Ukrainians … We [Taiwan] still have time.”
Tsai, who left office in January, added: “A Ukrainian victory will serve as the most effective deterrent to future aggression.” This suggests Tsai believes that US military support for Kyiv – something that has come under threat with Donald Trump’s election victory – would help deter China from a cross-strait attack.
China views democratically governed Taiwan as its own territory, a claim that Taiwan’s government rejects. The US is Taiwan’s most important international backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic recognition. China has launched major military drills around Taiwan, simulating a full-scale attack on the island.
Politico reports:
Taiwanese officials have said that the island has boosted defence spending by 80 percent in the past eight years, hitting a record $19bn in 2024.
But that hasn’t been enough to placate president-elect Donald Trump, who has suggested that Taiwan “should pay” and has also called for the island to boost defense spending to 10 percent of GDP. Tsai did not directly respond to whether Taipei should raise its budget to that level. “We would have some difficulty accepting an arbitrary figure,” Tsai said.
Nearly 22,000 residents have been evacuated from Kharkiv region since last May, the oblast’s governor Oleh Syniehubov said yesterday.
“We are continuing evacuation efforts, bringing both children and adults to safety,” Syniehubo said. Russia is increasingly hitting the Kharkiv region with building-leveling glide bombs and swarms of drones and chipping away at territory there.
An air alert has been sounded ‘almost daily’ across Ukraine this week, Zelenskyy says as he pleads for more air defences
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted to Telegram saying that his country needs more air defences to protect itself against relentless Russian attacks.
He said that Russia used more than 800 guided aerial bombs, about 460 attack drones, and more than 20 missiles over the past week.
Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram:
An air alert has been sounded almost daily across Ukraine this week.
Ukraine is not a testing ground for weapons. Ukraine is a sovereign and independent state. But Russia still continues its efforts to kill our people, spread fear and panic, and weaken us.
As we mentioned in the opening summary, Ukraine’s air defence units said they shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight over many regions. The Ukrainian military said air defence units had destroyed more than 10 Russian drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight attack.
Zelenskyy has directed his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, to start talks with partners on acquiring advanced air defence systems. This is reportedly in reaction to Russia having launched an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile against a rocket factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro last week.
As my colleague Andrew Roth notes in this story, US officials have decried Vladimir Putin’s use of the nuclear-capable warhead but denied that it is a “gamechanger” in the war, adding that Russia possessed just a handful of the missiles, which its military has named Oreshnik, or Hazel.
Miranda Bryant, the Guardian’s Nordic correspondent, has spoken to Finnish women who are preparing for a potential Russian invasion or hybrid attack. Here is an extract from her piece, which you can read in full here:
It is Friday night on a forested military base in western Finland. A group of women dressed in camouflage with matching purple beanie hats are sat in a dark tent discussing how their perspectives have changed since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“I didn’t think it was a real threat that Russia would attack us,” says Sari, 42, who works in sales and lives in a nearby town. But then, she adds: “They attacked Ukraine. I saw that it is possible that we are next.”
The mother of two, who describes herself as a “realist”, was moved to join this weekend-long “surviving without electricity” course by her patriotic values, but she also wants to be more prepared with practical skills for day-to-day life. She is one of about 75 women taking part.
While a power cut is a situation that could be brought on by a storm – as happened for tens of thousands across Finland last week – they are also skills that could prove crucial in a potential Russian invasion or hybrid attack.
The training course, known as Nasta, is one of 40 put on by the Women’s National Emergency Preparedness Association around Finland. Others include cybersecurity, mental resilience, wilderness skills, snowmobile driving and information influencing. After the invasion of Ukraine, applications for the courses soared. Not only does Finland have a history of war with its neighbour, but they also share a 830-mile land border.
Russia prepared to launch cyber-attacks on UK, minister to warn
Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber-attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior UK cabinet minister will warn in a speech on Monday.
Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Pat McFadden, a senior UK minister whose portfolio includes national security, will say.
In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, the minister is expected to say:
Military hard-power is one thing. But cyberwar can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber-attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine …
Given the scale of that hostility, my message to members today is clear: no one should underestimate the Russian cyber threat to Nato. The threat is real. Russia is exceptionally aggressive and reckless in the cyber realm.
McFadden is expected to specifically call out Unit 29155, a Russian military unit that the government says was previously found to have carried out a number of attacks in the UK and Europe.
There are gangs of “unofficial hacktivists” and mercenaries not directly under the Kremlin’s control “but who are allowed to act with impunity so long as they’re not working against Putin’s interests,” he will say.
The accusations come as tensions between Russia and the west have escalated dramatically, with Vladimir Putin warning that the war in Ukraine had the characteristics of a “global” conflict.
The growing frictions have sparked fresh unease in London and other western capitals that Putin may step up cyber-attacks and other non-military measures.
No ‘red lines’ when it comes to support for Ukraine, France’s foreign minister says
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”.
Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.
“The principle has been set … our messages to President Zelenskyy have been well received,” he said. France has supplied Ukraine with the Scalp missile, which is identical to the British-supplied Storm Shadow that Ukraine has reportedly already used inside Russia.
“We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometre, the threat gets one square kilometre closer to Europe,” he said.
When asked if “no limit” support could translate to French troops in combat, Barrot said: “We do not discard any option”.
Here are some of the other latest developments in the war:
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Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed more than 10 Russia drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight drone attack, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack. “The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”
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Ukraine’s air defences downed 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning. In a post on Telegram, the air force said it lost track of 19 drones and four more are still in the air. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said.
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Russian media is reporting that colonel general Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the southern grouping, had been removed from his command, for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war. There has been no official confirmation from the Russian ministry of defence.
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The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the latest developments in the war with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday during his visit to Ankara, a Turkish official. They are expected to discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism.
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Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters. The source, who is on Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared two and a half years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks,” the source said.
