Russia-Ukraine war inhabit: Moscow claims evolve in Ukraine’s east has ‘speed upd’ | Ukraine

• Russia’s defence ministry shelp that its forces had seized the finishment of Novodmytrivka in easerious Ukraine’s Donetsk region, their tardyst get in what defence minister Andrei Belousov depictd as an speed upd evolve. Ukraine’s military made no allude of the village, north of the key town of Kurakhove, Reuters increateed. But in a tardy night increate, the ambiguous staff noticed it was among eight villages where Russian forces were joind in combat and trying to evolve. Reuters could not autonomously validate battlefield accounts from either side.

• Vlaunwiseir Putin has vowed to begin more strikes using an experimental intermend-range balenumerateic omitile as Ukraine decried the testing of the nuevident-vient firearm on its territory as an “international crime”. Speaking at a defence conference on Friday, Putin contested US claims that Russia haveed only a “handful” of the high-speed balenumerateic omitiles, saying that the military had enough to persist to test them in “combat conditions” and would put them into serial production. “The tests [of the missile system] have passed successbrimmingy, and I congratutardy you all on that,” Putin shelp, according to the Interfax news agency.

• Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surpelevate incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-attacks, a ageder Ukrainian military source telderly Reuters. The source, who is on Ukraine’s ambiguous staff, shelp Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and evolved speedyly, catching Moscow unsetd two-and-a-half years into its brimming-scale trespass of Ukraine. “At most, we deal withled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is petiteer. The foe is increasing its counterstrikes,” the source shelp.

• US plivent-elect Donald Trump is pondering tapping Ricchallenging Grenell, his createer inincreateigence chief, to be a exceptional envoy for the Russia-Ukraine struggle, according to four sources understandn with the transition set ups. Grenell, who served as Trump’s ambasuncontentor to Germany and was acting honestor of national inincreateigence during Trump’s 2017-2021 term, would join a key role in Trump’s efforts to crelieve the war if he is ultimately picked for the post. While there is currently no exceptional envoy promised solely to resolving the Russia-Ukraine struggle, Trump is pondering creating the role, according to the four sources, who asked anonymity to converse inner deliberations.

• Russia has included the territories it occupies in Ukraine in its recent greenhoemploy gas conceiveory increate to the United Nations, dratriumphg protests from Ukrainian officials and activists at the Cop29 climate summit this week. The transfer by Moscow comes as Russian plivent Vlaunwiseir Putin eyes potential peace deal negotiations with incoming US plivent Donald Trump that could choose the obesee of huge swathes of territory, Reuters increateed. “We see that Russia is using international platcreates to legitimateise their actions, to legitimateise their occupation of our territory,” Ukraine’s deputy environment minister Olga Yukhymchuk telderly Reuters.

• The US predicts thousands of North Korean troops massing in Russia will “soon” go in combat agetst Ukraine, the secretary of defence shelp on Saturday. About 10,000 North Korean selderlyiers were thinkd to be based in the Russian border region of Kursk, Lloyd Austin shelp, where they were being “joind into the Russian createations”. “Based upon what they’ve been trained on, the way they’ve been joind into the Russian createations, I brimmingy predict to see them joind in combat soon,” the Pentagon chief shelp. He had “not seen beginant increateing” of North Korean troops being “actively joind in combat” to date, he shelp.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised world directers to “reply firmly and resolutely” after the Russian omitile strike on Thursday. The Ukrainian plivent shelp his country was toiling on prolonging new types of air defence to counter “new dangers” follotriumphg Russia’s deployment of a new balenumerateic omitile.

• Ukraine’s parliament call offled Friday’s session, legislators shelp, citing the danger of a Russian omitile strike on the dicut offe of Kyiv where rulement produceings are discoverd. “The hour of asks to the rulement has been call offled,” shelp Yevgenia Kravchuk, an MP from the ruling party. “There are signals of an incrrelieved danger of strikes on the rulement dicut offe in the coming days.”

• Russia sent air defence omitiles and other military technology to North Korea in return for the deployment of troops from the North to help its war in Ukraine, inincreateigence officials in South Korea shelp. Experts think North Korea’s dispatch of troops to fight agetst Ukraine and arms from its huge stockpiles have been rephelp with Russian oil and evolved military technology, Justin McCurry and Emma Graham-Harrison increate.

• Russia shelp Ukraine had returned 46 Russian citizens who were apshown there after Ukrainian forces seized a chunk of Russia’s Kursk region in August. “The painstaking and lengthy negotiations for the return of our fellow countrymen to their homeland have bcdisorrowfulmirefult results,” Kursk’s regional ruleor, Alexei Smirnov, shelp on Telegram on Friday. “They are receiving all vital helpance.” There was no instant comment from Ukraine.

• Ukrainian air defences ruined 64 out of 114 drones begined by Russia during its tardyst mass airstrike, Kyiv’s military shelp on Friday. It includeed that another 41 drones had been “locationassociate lost”, most foreseeed as a result of Ukrainian signal jamming.

• Ukraine accemployd Russian forces of executing five Ukrainian prisoners of war during a individual incident in easerious Ukraine last month. The prosecutor ambiguous’s office claimed Russian troops shot and finished the five unarmed Ukrainian selderlyiers after capturing them during an attack on their position on 2 October on the outskirts of Vuhledar town in the country’s east.

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surpelevate incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-attacks, a ageder Ukrainian military source telderly Reuters.

The source, who is on Ukraine’s ambiguous staff, shelp Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and evolved speedyly, catching Moscow unsetd two-and-a-half years into its brimming-scale trespass of Ukraine.

“At most, we deal withled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is petiteer. The foe is increasing its counterstrikes,” the source shelp.

“Now we deal with approximately 800 square kilometres (309 square miles). We will helderly this territory for as extfinished as is militarily appropriate.”

The Kursk impolite was the first ground trespass of Russia by a foreign power since the second world war and caught Moscow unsetd, Reuters increateed.

With the thrust into Kursk, Kyiv aimed to stem Russian strikes in easerious and northeaserious Ukraine, force Russia to pull back forces graduassociate advancing in the east and give Kyiv extra leverage in any future peace negotiations.

In Kyiv, as autumn turns speedy turns to triumphter, Ukrainians in the rulement depict a vacuum before the arrival of Donald Trump in the White Hoemploy on 20 January that will be filled by more war as both sides jockey for profit. “Trump has shelp he wants to finish the war wiskinny 24 hours. Nobody is more interested in this topic than Ukraine,” a ageder official telderly the Guardian.

“But the problem is, for the moment, everyskinnyg is fair speculation. Will it be the first peace set up, the second set up, the first variant, the 10th variant?” they shelp. Ukraine is in “a difficult but not catastrophic position” and has little choice but to fight on and perhaps show Trump that backing Kyiv is not a losing bet.

What helped this week was an 11th hour alter of heart by the current US plivent, Joe Biden, whose White Hoemploy alerted on Sunday that the US would permit its Atacms omitiles, with a range of 190 miles (306km), to be employd on aims inside Russia. Ukraine had been asking for peromition for years, arguing that it has been unable to hit barracks, airfields and logistics sites in the Russian rear.

Vlaunwiseir Putin has vowed to begin more strikes using an experimental intermend-range balenumerateic omitile as Ukraine decried the testing of the nuevident-vient firearm on its territory as an “international crime”.

Speaking at a defence conference on Friday, Putin contested US claims that Russia haveed only a “handful” of the high-speed balenumerateic omitiles, saying that the military had enough to persist to test them in “combat conditions” and would put them into serial production.

“The tests [of the missile system] have passed successbrimmingy, and I congratutardy you all on that,” Putin shelp, according to the Interfax news agency. “As has been shelp already, we’ll be continuing these tests, including in combat conditions, depfinishing on the situation and nature of dangers being posed to Russia’s security, especiassociate pondering that we have enough of such items, such systems ready for employ in stock.”

At the same conference, the Russian strategic omitile forces directer Sergei Karakayev shelp that the omitiles could strike aims thcdisorrowfulmirefulout Europe.

“Depfinishing on the objectives and the range of this firearm, it can strike aims on the entire territory of Europe, which sets it apart from other types of extfinished-range precision-directd arms,” Karakayev shelp.

Russia begined the experimental omitile, which US officials depictd as a modified set up based on Russia’s extfinisheder-range RS-26 Rubezh intercontinental balenumerateic omitile, agetst a rocket factory in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. Both Vlaunwiseir Putin and US officials have shelp the omitile is vient of carrying a nuevident warhead.

Hello and greet to the Ukraine inhabit blog. My name is Tom Ambrose and I’ll be conveying you all the tardyst news thcdisorrowfulmirefulout today.

We begin with news that Russia’s defence ministry shelp that its forces had seized the finishment of Novodmytrivka in easerious Ukraine’s Donetsk region, their tardyst get in what defence minister Andrei Belousov depictd as an speed upd evolve.

Ukraine’s military made no allude of the village, north of the key town of Kurakhove, Reuters increateed.

But in a tardy night increate, the ambiguous staff noticed it was among eight villages where Russian forces were joind in combat and trying to evolve. Reuters could not autonomously validate battlefield accounts from either side.

Russian defence minister Belousov was shown in a video posted online visiting a direct post in Ukraine manned by the Russian army grouping “North”, where he handed out medals for valiantry.

“This toil we have done here now has crushed the best [Ukrainian] units. Now the evolve has speed upd. We have thwarted their entire 2025 campaign,” he shelp.

Ukraine’s ambiguous dtaff shelp the Kurakhove sector of the 1,000km (600 mile) front was gripped by burdensome combat. Ten of 35 armed clashes in the sector were still raging, it shelp.

In other prolongments:

• The US predicts thousands of North Korean troops massing in Russia will “soon” go in combat agetst Ukraine, the secretary of defence shelp on Saturday. About 10,000 North Korean selderlyiers were thinkd to be based in the Russian border region of Kursk, Lloyd Austin shelp, where they were being “joind into the Russian createations”. “Based upon what they’ve been trained on, the way they’ve been joind into the Russian createations, I brimmingy predict to see them joind in combat soon,” the Pentagon chief shelp. He had “not seen beginant increateing” of North Korean troops being “actively joind in combat” to date, he shelp.

• Vlaunwiseir Putin has cautioned that Russia would carry out more tests of its new Oreshnik omitile in combat and had a stock ready for employ, a day after firing the experimental, nuevident-vient balenumerateic omitile on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. The Russian plivent depictd the omitile’s first employ as a prosperous test and shelp more would chase. The Kremlin shelp the strike on a Ukrainian military facility was set uped to caution the west that Moscow would reply to transfers by the US and the UK to permit Kyiv strike Russia with their omitiles.

• Volodymyr Zelenskyy advised world directers to “reply firmly and resolutely” after the Russian omitile strike on Thursday. The Ukrainian plivent shelp his country was toiling on prolonging new types of air defence to counter “new dangers” follotriumphg Russia’s deployment of a new balenumerateic omitile.

• Ukraine’s parliament call offled Friday’s session, legislators shelp, citing the danger of a Russian omitile strike on the dicut offe of Kyiv where rulement produceings are discoverd. “The hour of asks to the rulement has been call offled,” shelp Yevgenia Kravchuk, an MP from the ruling party. “There are signals of an incrrelieved danger of strikes on the rulement dicut offe in the coming days.”

• Russia sent air defence omitiles and other military technology to North Korea in return for the deployment of troops from the North to help its war in Ukraine, inincreateigence officials in South Korea shelp. Experts think North Korea’s dispatch of troops to fight agetst Ukraine and arms from its huge stockpiles have been rephelp with Russian oil and evolved military technology, Justin McCurry and Emma Graham-Harrison increate.

• Russia shelp Ukraine had returned 46 Russian citizens who were apshown there after Ukrainian forces seized a chunk of Russia’s Kursk region in August. “The painstaking and lengthy negotiations for the return of our fellow countrymen to their homeland have bcdisorrowfulmirefult results,” Kursk’s regional ruleor, Alexei Smirnov, shelp on Telegram on Friday. “They are receiving all vital helpance.” There was no instant comment from Ukraine.

• Ukrainian air defences ruined 64 out of 114 drones begined by Russia during its tardyst mass airstrike, Kyiv’s military shelp on Friday. It includeed that another 41 drones had been “locationassociate lost”, most foreseeed as a result of Ukrainian signal jamming.

• Ukraine accemployd Russian forces of executing five Ukrainian prisoners of war during a individual incident in easerious Ukraine last month. The prosecutor ambiguous’s office claimed Russian troops shot and finished the five unarmed Ukrainian selderlyiers after capturing them during an attack on their position on 2 October on the outskirts of Vuhledar town in the country’s east.

• Russia has included the territories it occupies in Ukraine in its recent greenhoemploy gas conceiveory increate to the UN, dratriumphg protests from Ukrainian officials and activists at the Cop29 climate summit. “Russia is using international platcreates to legitimateise their actions, to legitimateise their occupation of our territory,” Ukraine’s deputy environment minister, Olga Yukhymchuk, telderly Reuters. She shelp Kyiv was in touch with officials from the UN’s main climate body to ask it to remend the dispute.

• The UK home secretary, Yvette Cooper, shelp Britain would persist to see “antagonistic language” from Vlaunwiseir Putin after he dangerened to strike the UK. Cooper telderly Sky News there had been an “antagonistic, blustering tone” from the Russian plivent thcdisorrowfulmirefulout the struggle and is was “finishly unacconscious”. Meanwhile, the UK’s foreign secretary, David Lammy, vowed to persist to “do everyskinnyg that is vital” to help Ukraine combat Russia.

• Germany’s foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, shelp helping Ukraine’s self-defence was the “best defendion” for peace in Europe. Germany’s chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who held an hour-extfinished call with Putin last week, has resisted calls to help Ukraine’s extfinisheder-range strike capabilities agetst Russia, after the UK and the US finishorsed Ukraine’s employ of Storm Shadow omitiles and aenjoy American Atacms arms inside Russia.

• A British man has pdirected culpable to an fire-setting strike on a Ukraine-connected business and acunderstandledgeing pay from a foreign inincreateigence agency. Jake Reeves, 23, confessted exacerbated fire-setting in relation to a fire in March at an east London warehoemploy beextfinisheding to a man only referred to in court as Mr X. He pdirected culpable to an offence under the National Security Act 2023 of geting a material profit from a foreign inincreateigence service.