Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin ‘dragging Asia into war’ as North Korea troops join marine and air forces

Volodymyr Zelensky has urged that there is still time for the United States to convince “sceptics” in Europe that Ukraine should be invited to join Nato.

Reasserting his remarks to Sky News, he Ukrainian president told a news conference in Kyiv that any invitation to join the military alliance must apply to all of Ukraine’s territory, but said he accepted that Nato’s defence umbrella could not apply to the occupied parts of Ukraine with the war ongoing.

Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed a “symbolic start” to Antonio Costa’s presidency of the European Council, as he and the bloc’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas visited Kyiv a day into assuming their roles.

The Ukrainian president said he and Mr Costa “discussed our vision for European and global affairs – current challenges and prospects”, adding: “This symbolic start to the new leadership’s work reflects the key priorities for all of us in Europe.

“Peace is the foundation, and we will continue to do everything possible to end this war, which Russia has unleashed not only against Ukraine but also against a united Europe, as soon as possible and to strengthen Europe – both the EU institutions and the policies that support every European nation.

“I am grateful for the support Ukraine has received since the very first day of Russia’s full-scale invasion.”

A new editorial, written in the wake of Volodymyr Zelensky’s remarks about ending the war the Ukraine, sets out The Independent’s view on ending the conflict. It states:

“The Independent recognises that resolute support for the Ukrainian people in resisting Putin’s aggression needs to be tempered by realism. But that resolute support is essential to put pressure on Mr Trump, who will not want to lose face in a contest of wills against Putin.

“The more that Britain and other European allies are prepared to step up, the more Mr Trump can tell his voters that he has persuaded the Europeans to take responsibility for their own backyard, and the more that he and Mr Zelensky can negotiate from a position of strength.”

Ukraine and Vladimir Putin’s forces have exchanged heavy drone attacks once again overnight on Saturday.

Kyiv’s military said it had shot down shot down 32 of 78 Iranian-made Shahed and dummy drones fired overnight by Russia at Kyiv, Cherkasy, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Poltava, with a further 45 “lost” over various areas, likely due to being electronically jammed.

Moscow said it had shot down 29 Ukrainian drones in four regions of western Russia, while a child was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Bryansk region, governor Alexander Bogomaz alleged.

UN aid workers were among those providing emergency aid as four people were killed in a missile strike on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, with 24 people injured.

A further three people died and seven more were injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus in the southern city of Kherson on Sunday morning, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

A British government minister has said he “can’t predict” whether Ukraine will become part of Nato, but added that Kyiv has “got to be free to make its choices”.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said the UK does not want to see “Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal” it does not want after Russia’s invasion.

Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “I don’t know whether Ukraine will be part of Nato or not in the future, I can’t predict that. What I do know is that I want the country to be free to make decisions about its own future.”

He added that any application would “have to be considered properly by Nato in the future”.

Asked if the UK would back a deal that would see Russia keeping control of areas such as Crimea if the Ukrainians agreed, Mr McFadden said: “The principle that we would approach anything around that would be that Ukraine’s got to be free to make its choices.

“We don’t want to see Ukraine coerced into accepting a deal that it doesn’t want, and we want them to be free to make their own choices.

“And that’s the stance we’ve taken all the way through because we understand the stakes here. If President Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is rewarded with the country being totally under his thumb in the future, what signal does that send out to the other countries in eastern Europe?”

A child was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Russia’s Bryansk region, governor Alexander Bogomaz has alleged.

Russia’s defence ministry said 29 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight into Sunday in four regions of western Russia – 20 over the Bryansk region, seven over the Kaluga region, and one each over the Smolensk and Kursk regions.

Russia has suffered another day of heavy losses, with 1,730 casualties in the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military has claimed.

As Moscow continues its push for territory in Ukraine’s east, where its troops are making some of the fastest gains of the war so far, albiet at great cost, the general staff Ukraine’s armed forces said it had recorded nearly 225 combat clashes along the front line on Saturday.

It comes after Ukraine said Russia had inflicted a similar number of casualties – which does not distinguish between those killed and inured – on Saturday, and more than 2,000 on Thursday, which would mark the worst single day Russia has suffered in its 33-month invasion.

Russian losses have for weeks been consistently among the highest of the war so far, with around 1,500 casualties each day, Ukrainian and Western military chiefs have said.

Three people have died and seven more were injured when a Russian drone struck a minibus in the southern city of Kherson on Sunday morning, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin has said.

Meanwhile, the number of people injured in a missile strike in Dnipro in central Ukraine on Saturday rose to 24, with seven in a serious condition, governor Serhiy Lysak said. Four people were killed in the attack.

Ukraine’s air force said it had shot down 32 of 78 drones fired overnight by Russia, with a further 45 “lost” over various areas, likely due to being electronically jammed.

Vladimir Putin has approved plans which raise 2025 military spending to record levels, with 13.5trn roubles £99.5bn) – nearly a third of the budget posted on a government website – allocated for national defence.

Politicians in both houses of the Russian parliament have already approved the plans over the past 10 days.

The increase in military spending – from a reported 28.3 to 32.5 per cent of Russia’s budget – comes despite discussions over US president-elect Donald Trump’s desire to bring the war to a rapid end.

European Council president Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, have arrived in Kyiv, using the first day in their new roles to send a message of support for Ukraine.

“From day one of the war, the EU has stood by the side of Ukraine,” Mr Costa posted on X alongside an image of himself, Kallas and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos arriving via train.

“From day one of our mandate, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people.”

“In my first visit since taking up office, my message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war,” Kallas wrote on X. “We will do whatever it takes for that.”

As prime minister of Estonia, which borders Russia, Ms Kallas emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Russia, and Moscow has since put her on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments.

Mr Costa, a former prime minister of Portugal, said at a ceremony in Brussels on Friday that everyone, “especially the embattled and heroic Ukrainian people”, is yearning for peace after more than 1,000 days of the Ukraine-Russia war, but said: “Peace cannot mean capitulation. Peace must not reward the aggressor.”