Closing summary
Ukrainian police said Friday its officers were conducting 200 searches nationwide as part of an ongoing probe into the illegal exit of military-aged men from the country. Kyiv has been pushing a sweeping and divisive mobilisation campaign to boost its military, which is struggling to hold back Russia’s significantly larger army that is advancing across at several sectors across the front, AFP reported.
The Group of Seven on Friday said the Kremlin had funded and directed covert efforts by state entities to undermine elected goverments around the world by using global disinformation and influence campaigns. The statement was issued by the G7’s Rapid Response Mechanism unit, which was set up to fight threats to democracy such as disinformation.
Ukraine launched an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region with six US-made Atacms missiles on Thursday, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday. The ministry said that Russia would retaliate, but that all the missiles had been intercepted, resulting in no casualties or damage.
At least four people have been killed in a Russian missile attack in the city of Kryvyi Rih, in southern central Ukraine, further to our earlier report. At least seven others were hurt, some of them seriously, Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, held talks in the Kremlin on Friday before signing a broad cooperation pact to deepen their partnership amid stinging western sanctions. Their “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas – from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture, the Kremlin said.
Russian state-linked hackers have targeted the WhatsApp accounts of government ministers and officials around the world with emails inviting them to join user groups on the messaging app. The WhatsApp tactic marks a new approach by a hacking unit called Star Blizzard. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has linked Star Blizzard to Russia’s domestic spy agency, the FSB, and has accused it of seeking to “undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states”.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that he does not expect the United States to halt military aid to Ukraine after president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated. Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Scholz said he had spoken to Trump twice since the election and that there is an “intensive” diplomatic dialogue between the two sides.
At least 12 Indians have died serving in the Russian armed forces, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday, adding that 18 more are still serving in the army, of whom Russia has categorised 16 as “missing”. India said last year that it had uncovered a major human trafficking network that was luring young men to Russia with the promise of jobs only to force them into fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A French maritime patrol aircraft was the target of Russian intimidation on Wednesday in the Baltic Sea, France’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Friday, adding that the plane was locked on to by the radar of an S400 ground-to-air defence system. “This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable,” Lecornu wrote on X.
Russian forces have retaken 63.2% of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday. Reuters could not independently verify the ministry’s statement, which said Russia had recaptured four settlements in the first two weeks of January.
The Kremlin said on Friday it does not expect the United States to soften its position on sanctions against Russian oil once president-elect Donald Trump takes office, despite his administration’s readiness for dialogue on the Ukraine war. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Trump’s choice for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, that he “100%” supports raising sanctions on Russian oil producers if Trump asks him to.
The Kremlin said on Friday that it will study the details of Ukraine’s new 100-year agreement with the United Kingdom. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the idea of British military bases in Ukraine “worrying” and said that Moscow views negatively the prospect of British cooperation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, calling it Russia’s “internal sea”.
It is time to scrap European Union sanctions against Russia, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday in an interview on state radio. Orban said the EU will have to adapt to a new era as Donald Trump returns to the White House, and should create a relationship with Russia that is “free of sanctions.”
Romania’s national airspace was breached during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine and the likely impact zone of a drone was found near the border in the south-eastern county of Tulcea, the defence ministry said on Friday. Nato member Romania scrambled two fighter jets to monitor the attack from the air.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock indirectly criticised chancellor Olaf Scholz for his reluctance to approve a further 3 billion euros ($3.09bn) in additional military aid for Ukraine. “To be honest, it hurts me a lot,” she said without mentioning the chancellor’s name in an interview with Politico released on Friday, adding that for some politicians gaining a few votes was more important than securing Europe’s peace and freedom.
Ukrainian air defences downed 33 of 50 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Friday. It said that 9 drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones, while one left Ukraine in the direction of Romania.
The Group of Seven on Friday said the Kremlin had funded and directed covert efforts by state entities to undermine elected goverments around the world by using global disinformation and influence campaigns.
The statement was issued by the G7’s Rapid Response Mechanism unit, which was set up to fight threats to democracy such as disinformation.
“The G7 RRM regards any foreign information manipulation and interference with the utmost seriousness,” said a statement issued by Canada, which is this year’s G7 chair.
The statement said Russia had used the Russia Today state media outlet and Social Design Agency marketing agency “to advance the Kremlin’s malign interests” and divert attention from its war on Ukraine.
Ukraine launched an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region with six US-made Atacms missiles on Thursday, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.
The ministry said that Russia would retaliate, but that all the missiles had been intercepted, resulting in no casualties or damage.
Additionally, the ministry said that Russian forces had taken control of four more villages in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield reports.
At least four people have been killed in a Russian missile attack in the city of Kryvyi Rih, in southern central Ukraine, further to our earlier report.
At least seven others were hurt, some of them seriously, Serhiy Lysak, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said on Telegram.
“Each such terrorist attack is another reminder of who we are dealing with. Russia will not stop on its own – it can only be stopped by joint pressure,” president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was born in Kryvyi Rih, said on Telegram.
Two five-storey buildings were also damaged and one caught fire, Lysak said.
Vladimir Putin meets Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian to sign cooperation pact
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian, held talks in the Kremlin on Friday before signing a broad cooperation pact to deepen their partnership amid stinging western sanctions.
Their “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” covers all areas – from trade and military cooperation to science, education and culture, the Kremlin said.
Pezeshkian’s visit comes ahead of Monday’s inauguration of president-elect Donald Trump, who has pledged to broker peace in Ukraine and take a tougher stance on Iran, which is grappling with growing economic problems and other challenges, including military setbacks in its sphere of influence across the Middle East.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed any link with Trump’s inauguration, saying the signing had been planned long ago.
Welcoming Pezeshkian as they sat down for talks, Putin said the new treaty will “give an additional impulse to practically all areas of our cooperation”.
Pezeshkian, who met Putin for the third time since coming to power in July, said the documents form a “solid foundation for our forward movement” and emphasised the “strategic importance” of ties with Moscow.
The Iranian president emphasised that countries in the region should resolve their own problems themselves.
“The presence of extra-regional forces will only exacerbate tensions and destabilize the situation,” Pezeshkian said, an apparent reference to the US.
Russian hackers target WhatsApp accounts of ministers worldwide
Russian state-linked hackers have targeted the WhatsApp accounts of government ministers and officials around the world with emails inviting them to join user groups on the messaging app.
The WhatsApp tactic marks a new approach by a hacking unit called Star Blizzard. The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has linked Star Blizzard to Russia’s domestic spy agency, the FSB, and has accused it of seeking to “undermine trust in politics in the UK and likeminded states”.
According to a blogpost by Microsoft, victims receive an email from an attacker impersonating a US government official, enticing the recipient to click on a QR code that gives the attacker access to their WhatsApp account. The code, instead of giving access to a WhatsApp group, connects an account to a linked device or the WhatsApp web portal.
“The threat actor can gain access to the messages in their WhatsApp account and have the capability to exfiltrate this data,” said Microsoft.
Microsoft did not state whether data had been stolen successfully from targeted WhatsApp accounts.
It said the fake email was an invitation to join a WhatsApp group on “the latest non-governmental initiatives aimed at supporting Ukraine NGOs”. As well as targeting ministers and officials in unnamed countries, the campaign has attempted to snare people involved in diplomacy, as well as workers in defence policy and international relations research related to Russia, and work related to helping Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Ukraine launched an attack on Russia’s Belgorod region with six US-made ATACMS missiles on Thursday, the Russian defence ministry has said.
The ministry said that Russia would retaliate, but that all the missiles had been intercepted, resulting in no casualties or damage.
Additionally, the ministry said that Russian forces had taken control of four more villages in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.
The Guardian could not independently confirm the reports.
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Friday that he does not expect the United States to halt military aid to Ukraine after president-elect Donald Trump is inaugurated.
Speaking at a press conference in Berlin, Scholz said he had spoken to Trump twice since the election and that there is an “intensive” diplomatic dialogue between the two sides.
“We can therefore hope that good cooperation between Europe and the USA will continue to be successful in the future, including on the issue of support for Ukraine,” he said.
“So I don’t expect the US to stop supporting Ukraine in its defence.”
At least 12 Indians have died serving in the Russian armed forces, India’s foreign ministry said on Friday, adding that 18 more are still serving in the army, of whom Russia has categorised 16 as “missing”.
India said last year that it had uncovered a major human trafficking network that was luring young men to Russia with the promise of jobs only to force them into fighting in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
A French maritime patrol aircraft was the target of Russian intimidation on Wednesday in the Baltic Sea, France’s defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Friday, adding that the plane was locked on to by the radar of an S400 ground-to-air defence system.
“This aggressive Russian action is unacceptable,” Lecornu wrote on X.
Russian forces have retaken 63.2% of the territory captured by Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia, the Russian defence ministry said on Friday.
Reuters could not independently verify the ministry’s statement, which said Russia had recaptured four settlements in the first two weeks of January.
Ukrainian troops burst across the border in a surprise incursion on Aug. 6 last year, seizing a chunk of territory that offers Kyiv a valuable bargaining chip in potential talks on ending the war.
Russian missile kills three in Ukraine's Kryvyi Rih, governor says
A Russian missile attack on Ukraine’s southern city of Kryvyi Rih on Friday killed at least three people and injured others, the regional governor said.
The attack damaged an educational facility and a residential building, he added on Telegram.
The Kremlin said on Friday it does not expect the United States to soften its position on sanctions against Russian oil once president-elect Donald Trump takes office, despite his administration’s readiness for dialogue on the Ukraine war.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was commenting on remarks by Trump’s choice for treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, that he “100%” supports raising sanctions on Russian oil producers if Trump asks him to.
Peskov said Russia could not expect the United States to fundamentally change its stance on sanctions.
Kremlin says it will study Ukraine's new agreement with UK
The Kremlin said on Friday that it will study the details of Ukraine’s new 100-year agreement with the United Kingdom.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the idea of British military bases in Ukraine “worrying” and said that Moscow views negatively the prospect of British cooperation with Ukraine in the Sea of Azov, calling it Russia’s “internal sea”.
British prime minister Keir Starmer pledged on Thursday to work with Ukraine and allies to offer Kyiv security guarantees if a ceasefire is negotiated with Russia, and offering more support through a 100-year partnership deal.
Hungary PM Orbán says time to scrap EU sanctions against Russia
It is time to scrap European Union sanctions against Russia, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said on Friday in an interview on state radio.
Orban said the EU will have to adapt to a new era as Donald Trump returns to the White House, and should create a relationship with Russia that is “free of sanctions.”
Romania’s national airspace was breached during an overnight Russian attack on neighbouring Ukraine and the likely impact zone of a drone was found near the border in the south-eastern county of Tulcea, the defence ministry said on Friday.
Nato member Romania scrambled two fighter jets to monitor the attack from the air.
Drone fragments and airspace breaches have occurred regularly over the past year and a half as Russia has attacked Ukraine’s Danube river port infrastructure.
German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock indirectly criticised chancellor Olaf Scholz for his reluctance to approve a further 3 billion euros ($3.09bn) in additional military aid for Ukraine.
“To be honest, it hurts me a lot,” she said without mentioning the chancellor’s name in an interview with Politico released on Friday, adding that for some politicians gaining a few votes was more important than securing Europe’s peace and freedom.
Earlier this week, Scholz said he had suggested expanding the currently earmarked 12 billion euros for this year, but the additional money must not be provided at the cost of cutting social spending.
UK to back Ukraine ‘beyond this terrible war’ with 100-year pact, says Starmer
Keir Starmer has announced a “historic” 100-year partnership with Ukraine, saying the UK would support the country “beyond this terrible war” and into a future where it is “free and thriving again”.
Speaking during his first trip to Kyiv as prime minister, Starmer said the unprecedented agreement reflected the “huge affection between our two nations”. He added that “right now Putin shows no signs of wanting to stop” his “unrelenting aggression”.
The point was dramatically underscored by a Russian drone flying over Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Mariinskyi Palace in Kyiv while the two leaders were in the middle of talks. Anti-aircraft fire erupted as the drone buzzed overhead.
Loud booms were heard as Ukrainian air defences tried to shoot it down. City officials said there had been no casualties, but that falling debris had damaged a car.
Ukraine police conduct raids in draft evasion probe
Ukrainian police said Friday its officers were conducting 200 searches nationwide as part of an ongoing probe into the illegal exit of military-aged men from the country.
Kyiv has been pushing a sweeping and divisive mobilisation campaign to boost its military, which is struggling to hold back Russia’s significantly larger army that is advancing across at several sectors across the front, AFP reported.
“The national police force is conducting more than 200 searches regarding cases of illegal border crossings” of Ukrainian men who are eligible for army service, the national police said in a statement.
The raids announced on Friday are just the latest step in a country-wide probe launched by law enforcement last week when Kyiv said police were searching around 600 homes, offices and other sites.
Last week, police said the operation was primarily targeting the organisers of schemes that help draft evaders to illegally cross the Ukrainian border.
Police said Friday that its searches were being conducted in 19 different regions and posted pictures of officers with weapons entering and cameras at what appeared to be private residences and offices.
Morning summary
Hello and welcome to the Ukraine live blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news from the conflict throughout today.
We start with news that Ukrainian air defences downed 33 of 50 drones launched by Russia overnight, the air force said on Friday.
It said that 9 drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine’s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones, while one left Ukraine in the direction of Romania.
In other news:
Ukraine is to receive a new, rapidly developed bespoke air defence system called Gravehawk as part of the support announced by Keir Starmer as he visited Kyiv on Thursday. The system, roughly the size of a shipping container, has been developed by Britain and Denmark to allow the Ukrainians to shoot down aerial threats using retrofitted air-to-air missiles launched from the ground – meaning, according to the British government, that it can “use Ukrainian missiles already in their armed forces’ possession” to shoot down Russian missiles and drones. The British government revealed that two prototypes of Gravehawk were tested in Ukraine in September, with 15 to be sent this year.
Ukraine’s military said on Thursday that it hit a large Russian depot for military fuel at Liskinska in the Voronezh region of Russia with drones, starting a “large-scale fire”. The governor of the Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev, confirmed that several drones “sparked a fire at an oil depot”. Videos posted by witnesses showed a substantial blaze.
A major Russian gunpowder factory in the Tambov region was attacked, a Ukrainian official said on Thursday, without directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility or specifying the consequences of the attack. “The enterprise is one of the main suppliers of explosive materials for the army of the Russian Federation,” said Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s centre for countering disinformation.
France and Norway will meet their commitments on schedule to deliver jet fighters to Ukraine, the two countries’ defence ministers said on Thursday in Oslo. Norway has promised Ukraine six US-made F-16s with deliveries spread out across 2024 and 2025, while France has said it will provide an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5s during the first quarter of 2025.
A Ukrainian brigade has used ground drones equipped with machine guns and mines to carry out what it claims is the first documented machine-only ground assault in the war with Russia. The Khartiia brigade said last month’s attack in the north-eastern Kharkiv region used assault, mine-laying and mine-clearing vehicles guided by aerial drones. The operation paved the way for a successful infantry advance, the brigade said. “They get as close to their [Russian] dugouts as possible and then explode,” a Ukrainian crew member explained to the Reuters news agency.
Ukraine said on Thursday it had sentenced a former local official to 15 years behind bars on high treason charges for aiding Russian forces. Local media identified him as Oleksandr Kurpil, a deputy of the town of Trostianets in the Sumy region, and said he had been detained in May 2022.
Russia’s rights ombudswoman said on Thursday that she had discussed with her Ukrainian counterpart the search for residents missing from Russia’s Kursk border region after Ukrainian troops seized territory there last August. Ukraine has said that about 2,000 civilians remain in territory it controls, while Russia has put the number reported missing at less than 1,000. Russian ombudswoman Tatyana Moskalkova called the talks “a big step towards strengthening trust and realising concrete joint actions”. Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets confirmed they “agreed to continue the mutual exchange of information regarding the search for missing persons among prisoners of war”.
Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to slow to 2.7% this year from probably about 3.6% in 2024, deputy economy minister Andrii Teliupa said on Thursday. The forecast is below the 3-4% expected by most Ukrainian analysts and economists. Ukrainian businesses are suffering from staff shortages as tens of thousands of Ukrainian men have been mobilised into the army and millions of refugees remain abroad. Ukraine is also battling an energy crisis as Russia bombards the sector.
A compensation scheme opened on Thursday for Ukrainians who have lost close relatives during Russia’s invasion. Thousands of requests for damages have already been received. The Register of Damages for Ukraine is based in The Hague and is designed to function as a record of all eligible claims seeking reparation for the damage, loss and injury over the Russian full-scale invasion. Created by the Council of Europe and joined by the EU, the register will ultimately work out a financial total with a view towards extracting reparations from Moscow.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, are due to meet on Friday in Russia and sign a strategic cooperation agreement. Russia’s state-owned Tass news agency quoted Iran’s ambassador to Moscow, Kazem Jalali, as saying the cooperation agreement would not include a mutual-defence clause like Moscow’s pacts with North Korea and Belarus. Ukraine said in 2024 that Russia had launched more than 8,000 Iran-developed Shahed drones since the invasion. Kyiv first accused Iran of supplying the drones to Russia in autumn 2022.
Updated
