Ukraine-Russia latest: Moscow responds to Trump ultimatum as 1,000 North Koreans killed in Kursk
Russia says it will see what Trump thinks a ‘deal’ to end Ukraine war means
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia has given its first response to Donald Trump’s ultimatum calling on Vladimir Putin to engage in peace talks or see his Ukraine invasion end “the hard way”.
Writing on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said: “We can do it the easy way, or the hard way - and the easy way is always better. It’s time to ‘MAKE A DEAL.’”
The US president said he would be forced to put “high levels of Taxes, Tariffs, and Sanctions” on anything sold by Russia if Putin refused to negotiate an end to his war.
Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said Moscow will have to see what Mr Trump thinks a “deal” to end the war in Ukraine means, and that the Kremlin sees it as a “question of addressing the root causes of the Ukrainian crisis”.
This comes as Western officials said that North Korea has suffered nearly 40 per cent casualties among its forces fighting alongside Russia in the western Kursk region.
Out of the estimated 11,000 troops sent from North Korea, 4,000 were battle casualties in just three months of fighting – including at least 1,000 killed – the officials said on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine claims to have repelled nine Russian attacks in Kursk
Ukrainian soldiers defending their gains in the Russian border region of Kursk repelled nine Russian attacks on Wednesday, the Ukrainian military has said.
Russia also launched 21 air strikes in the region and fired close to 400 artillery shells at Ukrainian positions, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in its daily update.
Putin ‘suffers 1,340 casualties’ as 115 clashes reported in frontline update
Vladimir Putin’s troops suffered 1,340 casualties over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military has claimed, down from nearly 2,000 the previous day – which would amount to one of the deadliest days of the war so far.
In its daily update, as Mr Putin’s troops seeks to maximise its gains in eastern Ukraine, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said there had been 115 combat clashes along the front line, with Russia firing more than 5,200 artillery shells and deploying close to 2,500 kamikaze drones.
Russia also carried out airstrikes, particularly in Sumy, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, the Ukrainian military said.
What has Trump previously said about ending war in Ukraine?
Donald Trump repeatedly claimed throughout his campaign and after his White House victory that he could end Russia’s war in Ukraine in one day.
“They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours,” Trump said at town hall in May 2023.
After Trump won the election, incoming White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also told Fox News that his plan included “on day one, bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to end this war.”
While the US has now had several days of the Trump administration, and the war continues, Mr Trump did take a step forward on Wednesday as he threw down an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin on bringing the war to an end.
Katie Hawkinson reports from Washington DC on how Mr Trump has delivered so far on his promises.
Ukraine destroys 57 Russian drones during overnight strike: air force
Ukraine's military shot down 57 out of 92 drones launched by Russian forces in their latest overnight attack, Kyiv's air force has said.
A further 27 drones were “locationally lost” and did not cause any damage, the air force said, which is typically a reference to electronic jamming.
Captured North Korean soldier refused to drop sausage at gunpoint, Ukrainian says
A North Korean soldier found wounded in a trench by Russian soldiers risked his life by refusing to drop his sausage at gunpoint, the Ukrainian paratroopers who captured him have said.
“He was lying there, with his head and an arm wounded. He had a grenade, a knife and a sausage on him,” a soldier from Ukraine’s 95th Air Assault Brigade said in a clip published by Ukraine’s military press service.
“I asked him to drop everything, but he refused to drop the sausage because it was food, so we let him keep it.”
The footage also descrbes how another captured North Korean soldier initially tried to kill himself by running into a pillar, but after receiving medial treatment and being fed eventually asked to watch Korean romance films.
The Ukrainian soldier said: “He calmed down. Other soldiers treated his wounds and fed him. Later, he even asked to turn on romance movies for him in Korean.”
Nato chief warns military alliance in ‘crisis mode'
The need for Nato member states to increase their spending on defence has put the military alliance in a “crisis mode”, its secretary general Mark Rutte has warned.
Speaking to a panel dealing with the topic of Ukraine at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Nato chief said: “We are really in crisis mode here.”
“On industry production, we are really in a bad place,” he added.
Russia could sustain its war in Ukraine for at least another year, Belgian PM warns
Russia could keep its war effort against Ukraine going for at least one more year, Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo has warned.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr de Croo said was vital that a 16th package of sanctions targeting Russia included gas, energy and fertilisers.
“Our analysis is that the Russian economy can sustain the war for another year,” said Mr de Croo.
Nato chief reaffirms need to step up support for Ukraine
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has warned that a Russian victory in Ukraine would result in Vladimir Putin “high fiving” the leaders of North Korea and China.
“We really have to step up and not scale back our support for Ukraine,” Mr Rutte told an event at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
“The frontline is moving in the wrong direction,” Mr Rutte said.
Russian president believes war goals in Ukraine have been met
Vladimir Putin believes key war goals in the “special military operation” in Ukraine have already been met, sources aware of the matter inside the Kremlin said.
These key war goals, according to Mr Putin, include the control of land that connects mainland Russia to Crimea, and weakening Ukraine’s military, the source said, reported Reuters.
Last year, Russia made its most significant territorial gains since the early days of the war and it now controls nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
Mr Putin has said that Russia can fight on as long as it takes and that Moscow will never bow before another power over key national interests.
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