It would be “insane” for the West to give Ukraine nuclear weapons, Russia’s foreign ministry has said, in response to reports suggesting such a move is possible. Listen to The World podcast while you scroll as our hosts ask: what is the endgame for Putin and Zelenskyy?
Wednesday 27 November 2024 16:23, UK
Nordic and Baltic states and Poland have jointly vowed to step up support for Ukraine in the coming months.
The support includes contributing to Ukraine’s defence industry and investing in making more ammunition available.
“We are committed to strengthening our deterrence, and defence, including resilience, against conventional as well as hybrid attacks, and to expanding sanctions against Russia as well as against those who enable Russia’s aggression,” the leaders of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Sweden said.
North Korea has transferred at least 100 ballistic missiles and more than 18,000 containers of munitions and other material to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine – and is planning more deliveries, a US diplomat has said.
Robert A Wood, US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, said the arms aid has been used by Russian forces to strike populated areas including Kyiv and Zaporizhzhia.
“The DPRK [North Korea] is preparing to transfer even more ballistic missiles,” he told a UN meeting in New York today.
“We also have information a large number of DPRK-origin, 170mm long range self-propelled artillery pieces and 240mm long range multiple rocket launchers are being introduced into the conflict,” Mr Wood said.
Russia, meanwhile, has transferred air defence systems to North Korea, he added, as well as “free and subsidised fuel”.
The US is calling on China to use its “influence and capacity” over Pyongyang to “prevent a further escalation of the conflict”, said Mr Wood.
The ambassador also called on UN members to “stand by Ukraine” as it continues to fight the Russian invasion.
“Our future is at stake. Russia’s war threatens our NATO allies, European security and the fundamental rights enshrined in the UN charter,” he said.
A retired general who previously presented Donald Trump with a plan to end the Ukraine war is being considered to serve as special envoy for the conflict, sources have said.
The president-elect is mulling handing Keith Kellogg the new role when he returns to the White House in January, three sources told Reuters.
Kellogg, former chief of staff for the White House National Security Council during Trump’s first presidency, would likely have a key role in attempting to resolve the conflict if he is selected.
His plan for ending the war, which he presented to Trump back in July, involves telling Ukraine it will only get more US weapons if it enters peace talks.
The US would also warn Russia that if it refused to negotiate, Washington will ramp up support for Kyiv.
The plan also proposes freezing battle lines at their prevailing locations – an idea both sides have rejected.
Trump’s spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt refused to comment on Kellogg’s possible selection.
It would be “insane” for the West to give Ukraine nuclear weapons, Russia’s foreign ministry has said, in response to reports suggesting such a move is possible.
The New York Times reported last week that Western officials had suggested Joe Biden could hand Kyiv nuclear weapons – though there were concerns it could have serious implications.
Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said such a scenario would be “insane” and “suicidal” – and that preventing a situation like this was one of the reasons for Moscow’s invasion.
She warned “irresponsible actions” by Ukraine and its Western backers could bring the world to “the brink of catastrophe.”
Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the UK says there is an “obsessive speculation” surrounding his country’s purchasing of British luxury vehicles and denies those cars are making their way to Russia.
UK carmakers have pledged not to send cars to Russia, with sanctions formally banning the export of “dual use” items which could be repurposed as weapons in the Ukraine war.
But data from HM Revenue & Customs shows that while direct car exports to Russia remain at zero, in January 2024 some £43m worth of cars were sent to Azerbaijan, the former Soviet state neighbouring Russia.
Sky News analysis found this year that over precisely the same period as British car exports to Azerbaijan rose sharply, there was a near-simultaneous rise in car exports from Azerbaijan to Russia.
The average value of cars sent from the UK to Azerbaijan in January was just over £115,000.
Speaking on The World with Yalda Hakim, Azerbaijan’s ambassador to the UK, Elin Suleymanov, said his country is simply a poplar destination for UK vehicles, which he says he owns himself.
“Azerbaijan is a very popular destination for UK vehicles,” he said.
“British cars are very popular in Azerbaijan. I own a British car in Azerbaijan. It’s a very good market for British cars.”
Mr Suleymanov instead pointed to countries like Armenia, who he said had seen its trade with Russia multiply seven-fold since the war in Ukraine began in 2022.
He said that “not one single car” has been exported from Azerbaijan to Russia.
When told that many cars are being sent to Georgia from Azerbaijan and then moving into Russia, Mr Suleymanov said he wasn’t aware of this.
Asked by Yalda if it was Azerbaijan’s responsibility to know where cars end up after arriving in the country, he said: “Not necessarily.
“We have a land border with Russia, it’s one of the longest borders, and none of these cars are being exported from Azerbaijan.”
He continued: “UK officials are concerned with other counties. It has never been a subject of concern from UK or USA official in terms of sanctions. We just don’t do that.
“There’s a bit of obsessive speculation trying to connect Azerbaijan.”
A French news network has “strongly” condemned a Russian arrest order against one of its journalists.
A Russian court ordered the arrest of the France 24 journalist over allegations she “illegally” crossed into Russia from Ukraine.
Catherine Norris Trent and other Western journalists were given access to Ukrainian-occupied areas of the Kursk border region after Ukraine’s surprise invasion in the summer, the network said.
France 24 said the order “violates the rights guaranteed to journalists under the Geneva Conventions and international law”.
It reiterated its “commitment to providing free, verified, and independent information”.
Russia used a powerful new missile against Ukraine in order to make Moscow’s voice heard, deputy Russian foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said, according to state media.
Russian forces fired the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile into Ukrainian territory for the first-time last Thursday. Vladimir Putin said it was in response to Kyiv’s use of US and British long-range missiles against Russia.
The RIA news agency cited Ryabkov as saying although Moscow does not think the time for negotiations with the West has passed, it needed to use stronger methods to get its point heard clearly.
Some experts believe Putin’s new missile strike on Ukraine pointed to sabre-rattling by the Russian president.
Independent nuclear weapons expert Stephen Schwartz told Axios that Putin is “running out of things to do, apart from puffing up his chest and making a lot of noise”.
“He’s done and said any number of things, and they have not stopped what the United States and NATO and Ukraine are doing,” he said.
As the number of people killed in the Ukraine war rises, what is the endgame for Vladimir Putin and Vololdymyr Zelenskyy?
On this week’s episode of The World, Richard and Yalda discuss the possibility of World War III and dissect an alleged Iranian assassination attempt in the UAE.
To get in touch or to share questions, email theworld@sky.uk.
We’ve more detail to bring you now on the meeting between South Korea’s president and a Ukrainian envoy in Seoul today.
Yoon Suk Yeol expressed hope that the two countries would work out effective ways to tackle the security threat posed by military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, according to a statement released by his office.
Pyongyang recently dispatched around 10,000 soldiers to join Russian forces in combat against Ukraine.
The Ukrainian delegation, led by defence minister Rustem Umerov, also met separately with South Korea’s national security adviser Shink Wonsik, and its defence minister Kim Yong Hyun.
During the meetings, Umerov gave an update on the status of the conflict and said he hoped Kyiv and Seoul would strengthen their cooperation.
A statement said the two sides had agreed to continue sharing information on North Korea troops in Russia and any weapons transfers between the two countries.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free