Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kremlin responds to claim Kyiv may be given nuclear weapons after huge drone attack
Ukraine’s military says Russia fired record number of drones for single attack in overnight blitz on most regions of country
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Your support makes all the difference.The Kremlin has called the claim that Ukraine may be armed with nuclear weapons “absolutely irresponsible”.
The New York Times reported last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested that US President Joe Biden could give Ukraine nuclear weapons, though there were fears such a step would have serious implications.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the anonymous sources making the comments do not feel “a shred of responsibility”, warning the West to listen carefully to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Earlier, senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev said that if the West supplied nuclear weapons to Ukraine then Moscow could consider such a transfer to be tantamount to an attack on Russia, providing grounds for a nuclear response.
The remarks come after Ukraine’s military said Russia fired a record number of drones for a single attack in an overnight blitz on most regions of the country, with 76 out of the total of 188 being shot down by air defences.
Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko warned of drones approaching the Ukrainian capital in multiple waves this morning, as most of the country sounded air raid alerts.
The air force said it lost track of 96 of the drones, likely due to active electronic warfare, and five drones headed towards Belarus.
Former British soldier ‘fighting for Ukraine is captured by Russian forces’
A Russian charged with sending video of military equipment to Ukraine gets 14 years in prison
Joe Rogan accused of pushing Russian propaganda by Ukrainian boxer Wladimir Klitschko
Russian threats will not ‘dictate our decisions’ on Ukraine, minister tells Nato
Turkey’s Erdogan and Nato chief discuss ways to end Ukraine war, Ankara says
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan and Nato chief Mark Rutte discussed possible ways to end Russia’s war in Ukraine during talks in Ankara on Monday, the Turkish presidency has said.
“During the meeting, what can be done to end the Ukraine-Russia war and the massacre in Palestine were discussed,” the presidency said on X.
Watch: Ukrainian boxer Klitschko accuses Joe Rogan of pushing Russian propaganda
Russia progressing in Donetsk ‘significantly faster’ than in whole of last year, analysts say
On the battlefield, Ukrainian forces are straining to hold back Russian offensives in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russian forces recently have gained ground at “a significantly quicker rate” than they did in the whole of last year, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War think-tank.
The Russians have detected and are exploiting weaknesses in the Ukrainian defenses, the think-tank said.
Russian charged with sending video of military equipment to Ukraine jailed for 14 years
A Russian man has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of high treason for a video he allegedly sent to Ukraine’s security services showing russian military equipment.
The Volgograd District Court said Nikita Zhuravel had been “in disagreement with the political course of the Russian Federation” and entered into correspondence with a representative from Ukraine’s security services online and carried out tasks for him. It did not give details on the tasks.
Mr Zhuravel is already serving a 42-month sentence for burning a Quran in front of a mosque, which was handed down in February.
Prosecutors said he filmed a trainload of military equipment and warplanes in 2023 and sent the video to a representative of Ukraine’s security agency.
But rights activists say Zhuravel is a political prisoner who was beaten while in custody, by the 15-year-old son of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-backed strongman leader of the Muslim-majority region of Chechnya. The warlord posted the video on social media and praised his son, causing public outrage.
Treason and espionage cases have skyrocketed after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with cases targeting a wide range of suspects, from Kremlin critics and independent journalists to scientists.
Putin showing ‘no sign of wanting to negotiate’, says Lammy
Speaking at the G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Italy, foreign secretary David Lammy told reporters he was “announcing the biggest sanctions package of the Russian shadow fleet” and warned that Vladimir Putin was showing “no signs at all” of wanting to negotiate over Ukraine.
“We are supporting them by £3bn a year every year for as long as it lasts to support them militarily, and of course with both economic and humanitarian aid we continue to support Ukraine,” said Mr Lammy.
“It’s hugely important at this G7 that all colleagues across the G7 continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it lasts and we are confident that Ukraine can have the funds and the military equipment and kit to get through 2025.
“Our assessment is that Putin shows no signs at all of wanting a negotiation. We have to ensure that Ukrainians are equipped for the fight.”
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