Russian forces have repelled a new Ukrainian counterattack in the Kursk region, Moscow has said. Elsewhere, a Russian politician has suggested that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin could meet as soon as this month. Follow the latest on the Ukraine war.
Thursday 6 February 2025 17:51, UK
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We’ll be back soon with more updates on the war in Ukraine.
Before we go, here is a rundown of what has been happening over the last 24 hours:
These images come from Izium, in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine, where emergency workers have engaged in a recovery effort following a Russian missile strike yesterday.
The strike killed at least five people and wounded 55.
We reported in our 13.55 post about the UK Foreign Office’s decision to strip a Russian diplomat’s accreditation – a tit-for-tat response after Moscow expelled a British diplomat it accused of spying.
Speaking in the wake of the latest development, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the move sent a clear message.
Russian ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin was summoned to the Foreign Office to be informed of the move.
Mr Lammy said: “We are unapologetic about protecting our national interests.
“My message to Russia is clear – if you take action against us, we will respond.”
In November, Russia expelled a British diplomat it claimed was a spy.
In our 12.27 post, we reported on comments from a senior Russian politician who suggested plans for summit talks between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin were at an “advanced stage” and could take place as soon as this month.
Speculation has been rife as to how the new US president plans to bring about an end to the war in Ukraine, something he previously vowed to do on “day one” of his presidency.
But comments today from Moscow’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested Washington had yet to offer any detail as to how it might secure a deal to end hostilities.
“Right now there are a lot of words, a lot of statements,” she said.
“There is no clarity or certainty about the steps being taken. Therefore, it would be premature to discuss the prospects of negotiations or anything in general in this context… We will focus on specific steps and actions.”
A popular musician has reportedly died after falling from the window of his flat during police searches over his alleged donations to the Ukrainian military.
The Mash Telegram channel, which is believed to have links to Russia’s security services, said Vadim Stroykin was facing up to 20 years in prison if charged and convicted of “participating in a terrorist organisation” for his alleged support for the Ukrainian army.
News website Fontanka reported that police officers searched his 10th-floor apartment in the central Admiralteysky district of St Petersburg yesterday.
“He was last seen alive on the 10th floor when he stepped out into the kitchen to drink water,” Fontanka said.
Stroykin then “hastily opened the window and committed the irreversible act”, according to Mash.
There was widespread scepticism as to this account of the death, however.
Anton Barbashin, the editorial director at Riddle Russia, a journal that provides analysis of Russian affairs, said this…
Russia has threatened to retaliate if the European Union decides to impose sanctions on Russian diplomats.
Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova made the statement in response to media reports suggesting that the next package of EU sanctions against Russia may limit the travel of Russian diplomats in the bloc’s member states.
It comes after Russian gas supplies to European Union states via Ukraine were halted last month, shutting down Moscow’s oldest gas route to the continent.
The five-year gas transit deal between Russia and Ukraine ended in the early hours of 1 January. The move was expected after Kyiv repeatedly said it would not extend the agreement amid the ongoing war.
Vladimir Putin has today been hosting a Kremlin reception with winners of the 2024 Science and Innovation Prize for Young Scientists.
Discussions during the event covered a range of scientific topics, which at one point moved on to that of Mars and the prospect of travel there.
The Russian president said during the meeting that there was no chance of exploring the planet today, but that doing so was possible in the future.
And in comments reported by state news agency RIA, he proceeded to make what appears to have been a bizarre joke while asking the young scientists whether modern radiation-protective materials would allow living beings to reach Mars.
“Tell me, will today’s modern radiation-protective composites allow, say, cows to fly to Mars and back? Or rabbits, or cats, or dogs?” Putin said.
You can watch video of the exchange below:
Kyiv has recieved new fighter jets from its Western allies.
Ukraine received its first French Mirage 2000 fighter jets today, France’s defence minister said online.
The French have tweaked the jets to make them more suitable for air-to-ground combat, rather than air-to-air as they had been designed.
Ukrainian defence minister Rustem Umerov later announced the Netherlands had delivered US-made F-16 fighters.
The aircraft, along with French Mirage jets, “will soon begin carrying out combat missions, strengthening our defence”, Umerov said on Facebook.
The UK government has announced it will revoke the accreditation of a Russian diplomat, in retaliation to a similar move made by Moscow last year.
Russia said in November that it was expelling a British diplomat for spying, an accusation denied by London.
But Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement today that it had summoned the Russian ambassador to announce its decision, saying it was in response to “Russia’s unprovoked and baseless decision to strip the accreditation of a British diplomat in Moscow in November”.
“Any further action taken by Russia will be considered an escalation and responded to accordingly,” the statement added.
In our previous post, we discussed the ongoing Ukrainian incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, which was launched six months ago today.
Russia’s defence ministry has said this afternoon that Ukrainian troops had attempted a counterattack in the west of the region, but that they were repelled by Russian forces.
The ministry said Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles had launched several waves of attacks near the villages of Ulanok and Cherkasskaya Konopelka, but that they were beaten back and the settlements were under Russian control.
The battlefield report could not be independently confirmed, but the fact that Ukrainian forces are still capable of launching significant attacks in Kursk region highlights the stiff challenge that Russia faces to dislodge them.
Ukraine’s foothold in Kursk has shrunk significantly since the immediate aftermath of the 6 August incursion but provides Kyiv with a useful bargaining chip in potential peace talks.
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