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

A Cabinet minister has said he “can’t predict” whether Ukraine will become part of Nato, but added that the country 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.

Caitlin Doherty has more details in this report:

In an analysis piece for Independent Voices, historian Mark Almond writes:

After Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, Western leaders repeated constantly that they would stand behind Kyiv “as long as it takes”, first as Ukraine struck back, then as Russia counter-attacked.

But the costly bloodletting and Europe’s inability to sustain Ukraine’s munitions and monetary needs was skinning those proud commitments to the bone even before the spectre of Donald Trump’s return to the White House became a nightmarish reality. But Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky wasn’t a tap dancer for nothing. His footwork is far more deft than his European partners’. The Russians have already found that to their cost.

Zelensky’s warm words about Donald Trump are not just positioning for the new president. Trump’s talk of “peace through strength” offers the Ukrainian president a chance to profile himself as the pilot who steered Ukraine, or most of it, to safety under an American umbrella. Getting in well with Trump could buy Ukraine, and Zelensky himself, time to reconstruct its economy while hoping for things to go wrong for Putin at home or abroad.

You can read his analysis in full here:

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has claimed that Georgia is “moving rapidly along the Ukrainian path, into the dark abyss”, as a third night of protests erupted in Tblisi over the government’s decision to suspend negotiations to join the European Union.

“Usually this sort of thing ends very badly,” claimed Mr Medvedev, a former moderate who has taken an increasingly hawkish tone in recent years.

Georgia’s interior ministry said at least 44 people were taken to hospital after police deployed water cannons and tear gas against demonstrators – tens of thousands of whom gathered outside parliament in Tblisi on Saturday, throwing stones and setting off fireworks.

The ruling Georgian Dream party’s disputed victory in the 26 October parliamentary election, which was widely seen as a referendum on Georgia’s aspirations to join the EU, has sparked major demonstrations and led to an opposition boycott of parliament.

The opposition has said the vote was rigged with the help of Russia, with Georgia’s pro-Western president – who has attended this week’s protests – telling the Associated Press on Saturday that her country is becoming a “quasi-Russian” state, as she demanded fresh, fair elections.

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.”