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In today’s newsletter: After a week of speculation, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he was ready to replace his military chief – why, and what now?• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, First EditionGood morning. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, is perhaps the only man in Ukraine who is more popular than its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.Now, after months of speculation about his future...

Reports of one dead and 20 damaged residential buildings in Mykolaiv in country’s south, and injuries amid power outages in KyivSee all our Ukraine war coverageRussia launched a missile attack on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities on Wednesday morning, Ukraine’s air force said, killing one person in the south and triggering air defence systems in the capital, where several blasts were heard.Two loud explosions...

This live blog is now closed. For more on Biden’s address, you can read our full story:‘Show a little courage’: Biden attacks Republicans for ‘caving’ to Trump on US-Mexico border security billThis right here is what Joe Biden, most Democrats and the apparently dwindling number of Republicans who support the immigration bill are up against.The House speaker, Mike Johnson, is leading the campaign against...

Former Fox host was spotted in the Russian capital, where he says he was to interview Putin about Ukraine war for X/Twitter showThe far-right pundit and former Fox News host Tucker Carlson confirmed on Tuesday he was in Moscow to interview Vladimir Putin, and said he would air his conversation with Russia’s president to counter what he described as pro-Ukraine “fawning pep sessions” by...

Video reportedly from Ukrainian intelligence shows captured Russian saying he is from Wagner groupUkrainian special forces are reportedly operating in Sudan in support of the country’s army against Russian Wagner mercenaries aligned with the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to a video released on Monday.The Kyiv Post released a short film which it said came from sources within Ukrainian military intelligence, responsible for...

Karolina Shiino had already caused controversy when she became first European-born woman to win titleA Ukraine-born woman who was criticised for not being “Japanese enough” after winning the Miss Japan contest last month has relinquished the title after a weekly magazine revealed she had been having an affair with a married man.Karolina Shiino drew praise and criticism after she won the Miss Japan title...

GUR agency says it is working to confirm whether Oleg Sergeevich Stegachyov, ‘directly involved in missile strikes on Ukraine’, survived attackWhat we know on day 711Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been visiting Ukraine’s National Cancer Institute in Kyiv to thank staff on World Cancer Day. His pictures inside the hospital give an insight into all the ordinary medical work still taking place.Russia’s envoy in Seoul was...

Russian claims that western weapons used in attack on town in Moscow-controlled Luhansk regionRussia’s emergencies ministry said workers had retrieved the bodies of 20 people from the rubble following a Ukrainian attack on a building housing a bakery in the city of Lysychansk in the occupied eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.On Saturday, the ministry shared video of emergency workers lifting two bloodied people on...

Attack on Volgograd oil refinery comes days after Ukraine vowed to hit more Russian infrastructure Russia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 710Volgograd’s governor has now confirmed that a fire erupted at a major Russian oil refinery in the south-western region overnight after a drone attack blamed on Ukraine.Ukraine has launched drone attacks on Russia for months after Moscow’s almost two-year offensive.Last night, the...

Meeting in Brussels as heads of state try to persuade Hungarian leader to back €50bn packageAs leaders prepare for the summit, last-minute talks are ongoing to convince Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to sign off on a funding package for Ukraine.Charles Michel, the European Council president, posted a photo of talks with Orbán. Continue reading...

Member states hope to persuade Hungary to remove its block on funding at Brussels emergency summitEU leaders have returned to Brussels for a second showdown in two months with Hungary’s Viktor Orbán over his refusal to sanction a new €50bn assistance package for Ukraine.A mixture of frustration and anger prevailed in the city as leaders arrived for dinner on Wednesday night on the eve...

A dozen playwrights and directors meet in Kyiv and find comedy can be an important part of their creative processIn a studio theatre tucked into a courtyard behind Kyiv’s main Khreshchatyk Street, six playwrights and six directors were hammering out a fraught question: how to write plays about war, during the war.One unexpected outcome of their workshops was: through jokes. Continue reading...

Dmytro Kuleba to meet Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto in Ukraine on Monday; Volodymyr Zelenskiy raises prospect of third world war unless foreign aid flowsSee all our Ukraine war coverage Continue reading...

Liberal Green party is a close second and goes through to second round, while far-right Finns have been knocked outFinland’s former prime minister Alexander Stubb and the country’s former foreign minister Pekka Haavisto have progressed through to the second round of the presidential elections, knocking out a rightwing populist candidate.With all votes counted, Stubb, of the centre-right National Coalition party, had won 27.2% of...

Two ministry of defence officials among those arrested over contract for mortar shells that never arrivedRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesUkraine’s SBU security service has arrested five people who allegedly tried to steal nearly $40m (£31m) that was supposed to be used to buy shells for the country’s military in its war against Russia.The SBU said on Saturday it had arrested two senior officials...

Military says no casualties immediately apparent, while strike on industrial site in Kremenchuk sparks fireRussia-Ukraine war: what we know on day 704Russian forces attacked eight communities in the Sumy oblast overnight, causing more than 24 explosions, the Sumy regional military administration said.Shellings of the border territories and settlements of the Sumy oblast brought the Bilopolska, Shalyginska, Esmanska and Druzhbivska communities under fire. Russian mortar...

Unable to match Putin’s military might, Ukraine is engaging in ‘smart warfare’ to attack the enemy’s oil and gas supply linesLast week, a motorist driving in Russia’s Leningrad region came across something unusual. Men had blocked off the road. In front, a large olive-green military vehicle with cigar-shaped missiles on the back was reversing and then parked up on a snowy verge. “Fuck! It’s...

If the deal collapses, it could leave congressional leaders with no clear path to approving tens of billions of dollars for UkraineHere are some of the latest images coming through from Ukraine:The Biden administration has announced the approval of a $23bn deal to sell F-16 warplanes to Turkey, after Ankara ratified Sweden’s Nato membership, the state department said. Continue reading...

Republican lawmakers have tied any agreement over aid to the situation at the US border, which both parties and the White House have described as a crisisThe death toll from Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv has risen to 11, officials said on Friday.In one of the largest waves of aerial bombardments in weeks, more than 100 people were injured and at...

Russia has accused Kyiv of deliberately shooting down the Il-76 military transport which Moscow claims was carrying Ukrainian prisoners of warUkraine’s largest oil and gas company, Naftogaz, has reported that it is suffering “a large-scale cyber-attack” on one of its datacentres. It reports via its Telegram channel that “the website and call centre are currently down.”Reuters is also carrying some quotes about the apparent...

Moscow says aircraft that went down in border region of Belgorod was carrying prisoners who were to be swappedRussia has accused Kyiv of downing a large military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war to an exchange on Wednesday, after a crash in the Belgorod region that killed everyone onboard.Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied that it hit the plane but said Moscow had...

At least 130 people also injured, says president, with Kharkiv apartment block and Kyiv sports club among buildings hitRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesRussia has carried out a wave of attacks on Ukraine, killing 18 people and injuring more than 130, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said, with a sports club in central Kyiv one of several civilian buildings damaged.Making his nightly video address on Tuesday,...

Turkey’s parliament to debate Sweden’s Nato bid; US Senate works on compromise for Ukraine aid but Maga Republicans refuse supportThe Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said he had invited Sweden’s prime minister to visit and negotiate his country joining the Nato military alliance, a process that Hungary and Turkey have delayed.On X, Orban said:Today I sent an invitation letter to prime minister Ulf Kristersson...

Draft legislation allowing for confiscation of valuables has been backed by main political parties Russia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesA bill to confiscate property and valuables from Ukraine war critics convicted of, among other crimes, “discrediting the Russian army” or calling for foreign sanctions has been drawn up by the Kremlin.The draft legislation to the criminal code was registered in Russia’s State Duma on...