Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin launches hundreds of deadly glide bombs as Kyiv calls for better air defence

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Friday that its forces had captured the settlement of Novodmytrivka in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, their latest gain in what Defence Minister Andrei Belousov described as an accelerated advance.

Ukraine’s military made no mention of the village, north of the key town of Kurakhove. But in a late night report, the General Staff noted it was among eight villages where Russian forces were engaged in fighting and trying to advance.

More than 900 miles from London, frenetic activity is underway in the countryside of Poland, Finland, and the Baltic States: bulldozers and diggers are constructing field defences. Anti-tank ditches, tank traps, and pillboxes are being built and installed. In all these countries, laying minefields – even controversial anti-personnel minefields – is under active consideration.

Poland is spending at least €2.5bn (£2.1bn) on its border defence system, including building a sky shield system akin to Israel’s “Iron Dome” to protect its eastern border from a growing threat from Russia.

Meanwhile, in response to the “hybrid war” tactics on several Baltic fronts, hundreds of millions of euros are being invested by the Baltic states to strengthen their defence lines with another major project, planned by Nato members Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, set to begin in 2025.

And what is the UK’s response to an increasing global threat? The country is scrapping £500m worth of military equipment – ships, drones, and helicopters – and will conduct a strategic defence review to decide what to do next.

Francis Tusa has more analysis here:

A senior North Korean general has been wounded in a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Kursk region, Western officials have told the Wall Street Journal.

Washington has previously warned that the 10,000 North Korean troops reportedly deployed in Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces staged an incursion in August, could be targeted by Russian forces. But the fresh claims mark the first time Western officials have said that a North Korean military officer has become a casualty.

The officials did not disclose the identity of the senior North Korean officer or how he was wounded, the outlet reports.

Former US-Germany ambassador Richard Grenell, who Reuters reports is Donald Trump’s favoured pick for a new Ukraine war envoy post, has warned that the US media is not giving enough coverage to former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev’s claims over the prospect of World War 3.

In an insight into Mr Grenell’s thinking on the war, as reports suggest he could be tasked with playing a major role in Mr Trump’s efforts to bring the conflict to a rapid pause, he has appeared critical of outgoing US president Joe Biden’s authorisation of allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with US missiles.

In one post on X, he said: “Joe Biden authorizes Ukraine to launch missiles inside Russia - and then orders an evacuation of the U.S. Embassy in Kiev. Infuriating. Biden can’t even pick up the phone to speak to Putin.”

In another post, Mr Grenell shared a claim by Mr Medvedev, in which the Russian hawk said: “Russia’s new nuclear doctrine means Nato missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key Nato facilities, wherever they’re located. That means World War III.”

Mr Grenell wrote: “This isn’t getting enough media coverage in America.”