The Polish prime minister has thrown his support behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Donald Trump and the Kremlin blamed him for delaying peace. Follow the latest.
Thursday 15 January 2026 18:46, UK
The Spanish defence minister has expressed doubt that a ceasefire agreement can be reached between Ukraine and Russia.
Moscow would not accept foreign troops on a peace mission there, Margarita Robles said.
The US and the coalition of the willing have backed plans for an international peacekeeping force in Ukraine should a ceasefire take place, with the UK and France already pledging troops.
“Putin does not seem to want peace,” Robles told an event in Madrid.
Spain has allocated just under £1.3bn in bilateral humanitarian, military and financial aid to Ukraine, plus another £5.9bn via the EU, making it the 12th biggest donor.
France has largely replaced the US in providing intelligence to Ukraine, President Emmanuel Macron says.
Paris is now supplying two-thirds of the information received by Kyiv, he said, but this appears at odds with the sentiment of the head of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
Kyrylo Budanov said just last month that Kyiv was critically dependent on Washington for intelligence ranging from satellite imagery to early warning systems after ballistic missile launches.
Nonetheless, Macron told the French military: “Where Ukraine was extremely dependent on American intelligence capacity, [a] huge majority [of it] a year ago, in a year, two-thirds is today provided by France.”
Macron also praised Europe’s efforts in taking over major strands of weapons support to Ukraine, with 35 countries now providing all of the support, including financial, to Kyiv after Washington ceased funding or directly sending weapons to Ukraine.
Washington delivered the bulk of intelligence services until suspending them last March in an effort to put pressure on Volodymyr Zelenskyy during peace talks.
Russia’s budget revenues from oil and gas dropped by 24% in 2025, new data from its finance ministry shows.
It is the country’s lowest level of revenue from the industries since 2020.
Oil and gas revenue has been the leading source of cash for the Kremlin in efforts to fund its so-called special military operation in Ukraine, making up a quarter of federal budget proceeds.
The figure comes after EU member states and the US imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s oil industry last year.
Earlier, the European Commission also confirmed its price cap on Russian crude oil would be lowered next month to further constrain the Kremlin’s oil revenues (see 10:25 post).
Ukrainians are facing bitterly cold temperatures with no power to warm them as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would declare a state of emergency in the energy sector.
Emergency repair crews are working tirelessly to restore power in the Kyiv region, officials said on Wednesday, as the area is among the worst-affected by power cuts caused by Russia’s sustained attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Kyiv residents Mykhailo, 39, and Hanna, 43, said the temperature in their five-year-old daughter’s room has dropped to -15C, so the family huddles in one bed at night under heavy blankets.
Zinaida Hlyha, 76, said she heats water on her gas stove and puts it in bottles that she tucks into bed.
Ukraine’s defence minister has urged European allies to impose sanctions on Russia’s “shadow grain fleet”.
Moscow stole more than million tonnes of Ukrainian grain from occupied territories in 2025, Andrii Sybiha said on social media.
The harvest was then shipped to markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe by a fleet of 45 vessels using ports in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, he claimed.
Ukraine has already sanctioned 43 of the ships along with 39 captains.
Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, Ukraine established itself as a key global grain supplier due to its ability to export the majority of what it grows.
“It is important to deploy all possible instruments, both national and international,” Sybiha said.
“All Russian infrastructure engaged in the theft of Ukrainian grain, as well as its buyers, must face European sanctions as soon as possible.
“We already have experience in countering Russia’s shadow tanker fleet. Now it is time to stop the expansion of Russia’s shadow grain fleet as well.
“After all, this is not only a threat to global food security but also another source of funding for the Kremlin regime and its war machine.”
We’ve been getting pictures this morning from the aftermath of a Russian drone strike on an apartment building in Kyiv.
A large hole is visible on the building’s top floor, while other parts of its exterior are charred black from the strike.
One resident can be seen carrying away a part of a Russian drone while others clean shattered glass and debris.
Vladimir Putin has been speaking after a ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors at the Kremlin.
He says Russia is ready to restore relations with European countries and is open to cooperation with all countries without exception, according to the Russian state-owned Tass news agency.
Moscow’s relations with Europe leave much to be desired, he says, but he expressed hope for a return to normal relations once security interests are taken into account.
Russia hopes that Kyiv will understand the need for sustainable peace, and it will continue to consistently pursue its goals until this happens, he says.
Putin adds that diplomacy is increasingly being replaced by unilateral, dangerous actions, when countries try to impose their will and begin to lecture others on how to live.
His comments come after the Kremlin agreed with Donald Trump that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was holding up a peace deal in Ukraine (see 10:20 post).
One person was injured after a Russian ballistic missile struck a Ukrainian port on the Black Sea, Kyiv’s deputy prime minister said.
The missile hit port infrastructure in the city of Chornomorsk in the southern Odesa region, with the injury caused by a strike on a pier, Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram.
An oil leak occurred and several containers were damaged in the attack, he added.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
These days, few British diplomats come to Moscow expecting to see out the full duration of their posting.
Being “PNG-ed” (diplo-speak for getting kicked out and declared Persona Non Grata) has almost become routine.
The expulsions began after a mass eviction of Russian diplomats from London in 2018, following the Novichok poisonings in Salisbury, and they’ve been happening on both sides ever since.
But after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the expulsions in Moscow have become more frequent and taken on greater significance.
The Kremlin uses them to reinforce its narrative that Britain is the principal enemy, out to attack Russia.
That’s why there was a crowd of television crews from Russian state media waiting for the British deputy head of mission, Danae Dholakia, outside the foreign ministry after she’d been summoned.
There was even a ‘protest’ (clearly staged), with dozens of people holding up placards with messages like “Britain is a terrorist country” and “London sows death”, in reference to the UK’s support of Ukraine.
It was classic Kremlin choreography – designed to create a spectacle – and the footage is now dominating the news bulletins and websites here.
It’s how Moscow shapes public opinion, and tries to ensure that Russians continue to see the war against their neighbour as a worthy one.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has thrown his support behind Volodymyr Zelenskyy and insisted Russia is to blame for stalling peace negotiations.
“It is Russia who rejected the peace plan prepared by the US, not [Zelenskyy],” the former EU Council president said on social media, after Donald Trump and the Kremlin blamed the Ukrainian president for delays in securing a ceasefire.
“The only Russian response were further missile attacks on Ukrainian cities,” Tusk added:
“This is why the only solution is to strengthen pressure on Russia. And you all know it.”
It is unclear who Tusk was referring to by “you”.
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