A Russian ultimatum for the last remaining Ukrainian troops holding out in the besieged port city of Mariupol to surrender has passed, as Moscow edged closer to full control of the city in what would be its biggest capture since it invaded Ukraine in February. The city has been facing a humanitarian catastrophe for weeks, as Russian...
Joe Biden is due to give a “significant speech” on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Saturday after arriving in Warsaw, where he will meet with the Polish president, Andrzej Duda. Biden and Duda are expected to discuss Warsaw’s wish for more US troops bolstering Nato’s eastern flank, as well as the idea of an international...
France’s President Emmanuel Macron’s phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin today has led him to conclude that “the worst is yet to come” for Ukraine. Reportedly, the Russian president was the one who initiated the call, using it to restate his determination to achieve “neutralisation and disarmament of Ukraine,” whether by diplomatic means...
The Defence Secretary has compared diplomatic efforts to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine to appeasement as he said it is “highly likely” Vladimir Putin will order an attack despite the concerted talks to avert war. Ben Wallace said there is a “whiff of Munich in the air”, in a reference to the agreement that allowed German annexation of the Sudetenland in...
Kyiv has urged the west to remain “vigilant and firm” in its talks with Russia, as Joe Biden announced a small troop deployment to eastern Europe amid fears Moscow could invade Ukraine. Washington’s top defence officials warned on Friday that the Kremlin had massed enough troops and hardware at the border to threaten the whole of Ukraine, but...
The Kremlin has said it sees “no significant reason for optimism” about diplomatic solutions for the Ukraine crisis, ahead of a meeting in Brussels between Russia and Nato’s 30 member states. As Moscow was playing down the chances for success at the negotiating table after initial US-Russian talks in Switzerland on Monday, Russian forces deployed near Ukraine conducted a...
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and stoke already heightened tensions with Moscow, which has expressed its opposition to the idea. Meanwhile, Tory MP Daniel Kawczynski – who was born in neighbouring Poland – warned Mr Putin was testing the resolve of the West by sending troops and tanks to Ukraine’s borders, as well as criticising the proposed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline...