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Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Putin’s war can be stopped in 2025 as Kyiv destroys 400 Russian drones

Ukrainian president calls on European countries to invest in weapons production in Ukraine

Arpan Rai,Tom Watling ,Barney Davis
Thursday 10 October 2024 04:30
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Zelensky signs co-operation agreement with Croatia

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Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes Kyiv has the opportunity to end the war with Russia by next year, as long as his country receives sufficient support from its allies.

“In October, November and December we have a chance to move things toward peace and lasting stability,” he told the Ukraine-South East Europe summit in Dubrovnik.

“The situation on the battlefield creates an opportunity to make this choice for decisive action to end the war no later than in 2025.”

Zelensky also used the summit to call on southeastern European countries to invest in weapons production in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said its forces had struck a base in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region storing hundreds of Shahed drones yesterday. “According to available information, nearly 400 strike drones were stored there,” Ukraine’s General Staff said in a statement.

“Based on objective control results, a direct hit was made on the target. Secondary explosions were observed at the site,” it said.

And the Russian military is looking to make significant advances in the Donbas region before muddy ground conditions in the autumn set in, a US-based think-tank has said.

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Russian court hands ex-Marine Trevor Reed long sentence in absentia

A Russian court has found Trevor Reed, a former US Marine who was freed by Russia in a 2022 prisoner swap, guilty in absentia of serving as a mercenary for Ukraine and handed him a prison sentence of 14-1/2 years.

Russia’s Investigative Committee, which handles serious crimes, said Reed had joined Ukraine‘s army in July 2023 and “directly participated on the side of the Ukrainian security forces in combat operations” against Russian troops in Ukraine.

It said it had placed Reed on the international wanted list.

Reed could not immediately be reached for comment. The US State Department said last July that he had been injured while fighting in Ukraine and had been transferred to Germany for medical care.

Reed, born in 1991, was convicted in Russia in 2019 of endangering the lives of two police officers while drunk on a visit to Moscow. The United States called his trial a “theater of the absurd”.

He was freed in a prisoner swap in April 2022 in exchange for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who had been convicted of conspiracy to smuggle cocaine into the US.

Separately, a Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old American, Stephen James Hubbard, to nearly seven years in prison for serving as a mercenary for Ukraine.

US ex-marine Trevor Reed, charged with attacking police, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow on March 11, 2020
US ex-marine Trevor Reed, charged with attacking police, stands inside a defendants' cage during a court hearing in Moscow on March 11, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Watling9 October 2024 13:13
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Lithuania fortifies defences over bridges to Russian exclave

Lithuania has fortified a bridge crossing in the direction of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the ministry of defence has announced.

Several bridges are also being destroyed, they said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“Fortifications will be supported by firepower, in case it’s needed, to stop and destroy the enemy,” they said.

Tom Watling9 October 2024 12:40
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Young people sit on destroyed Russian tanks in Kyiv - picture

Young people sit on the ruins of Russian military equipment displayed on Mykhailivska Square in cental Kyiv
Young people sit on the ruins of Russian military equipment displayed on Mykhailivska Square in cental Kyiv (AFP via Getty Images)
Tom Watling9 October 2024 12:13
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‘Getting shot saved my life’: Escaping hell of Vladimir Putin’s war

‘Getting shot saved my life’: How I escaped hell of Vladimir Putin’s war

Exclusive: After being forced to join the Russian army in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk, Azad Yousuf Kumar did not believe he would make it back alive to his home in Kashmir. He recounts his ordeal to Shweta Sharma

Tom Watling9 October 2024 12:12
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Poland says Ukraine Ramstein meeting postponed after Biden drops out

Polish President Andrzej Duda will not travel to a summit on Ukraine in Ramstein, Germany because it will not take place as planned after US President Joe Biden decided not to attend, Duda’s aide has said.

“The (Polish) president will not go to Ramstein because this meeting will not take place in Ramstein,” Duda’s foreign policy advisor Mieszko Pawlak told Reuters. “(The meeting) is being postponed... but for now we do not have any information on when that will be.”

Tom Watling9 October 2024 11:44
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Zelensky arrives in Croatia

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Croatia to discuss “further defence cooperation”.

He will also attend the third Ukraine–South East Europe Summit.

Tom Watling9 October 2024 11:25
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Satellite image shows fire in occupied Crimea

Satellite imagery shows that an oil depot reportedly hit by Ukrainian forces was still burning a day after the strike.

The oil depot in occupied Feodosia, Crimea, was hit on 7 October. The satellite image below is from 8 October.

This morning, there were additional reports that it was still on fire.

A satellite image shows fire and smoke rising from an oil depot in Feodosia, Crimea
A satellite image shows fire and smoke rising from an oil depot in Feodosia, Crimea (via REUTERS)
Tom Watling9 October 2024 10:58
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Sweden updates its Cold War-era warning booklet to include nuclear

If Crisis or War Comes: Sweden updates its Cold War-era booklet

The booklet explains what to do in case of a nuclear attack

Tom Watling9 October 2024 10:36

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