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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...

French president says future security architecture of Europe could no longer be settled by the US and RussiaThe European Union has to make bold decisions to defend Ukraine, pre-empting any US decision to withhold or reduce its military support, Emmanuel Macron has said.In a speech in Sweden, which hopes to be the next country to join Nato, the French president also said the future...

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...

This live blog is now closed. For the latest news on this verdict, you can read:Full report – Donald Trump ordered to pay E Jean Carroll $83.3m in defamation trialIn her closing arguments, Donald Trump’s lead attorney Alina Habba said the former president was the real victim, because of the backlash caused by E Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit.Carroll, she said, wasn’t “accepting any responsibility...

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...

Outlook had appeared grim following reports McConnell was walking away, but now lawmakers say text could be released in coming daysCongressional negotiators said a border deal was within reach on Thursday, despite efforts by Donald Trump and his allies on Capitol Hill to derail the talks.With the fate of US aid for Ukraine hanging in the balance, the outlook for border compromise had appeared...

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...

‘Looking for a solution in the Middle East doesn’t mean that we are not continuing supporting Ukraine,’ says Josep BorrellIn an update this morning, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said that during the day yesterday, there were “68 combat engagements.”“The enemy launched a total of four missile strikes and 102 airstrikes, as well as 80 MLRS attacks at the positions of Ukrainian...

Exclusive: Report shows Russian ships loading at North Korean port, amid accusation that Pyongyang supplies missiles and shellsThe UK has provided satellite photographs of North Korean cargo shipments to Russia to a panel of UN experts as part of an attempt to trigger an official investigation into arms deals in violation of international sanctions.North Korea has been accused of supplying ballistic missiles and hundreds...

Cause of fire unknown but drones were reported in area; North Korea’s state media KCNA says Vladimir Putin wants to visit PyongyangSee all our Ukraine war coverageRussian forces have taken control of the village of Krokhmalne in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday, reports Reuters.No other information has been reported on this story by the news agency. We will update with...

Ukrainian leader invited Trump to Ukraine but says if he returns to White House he could make unilateral concessions to RussiaThe Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, fears that if Donald Trump returns to the White House next year he could make unilateral concessions to Russia that override Ukraine’s interests and branded the former US president’s claims he could stop the war in 24 hours as...

Strike on Friday targeted a Rosneft oil storage facility about 50km from the Ukrainian border, in Russian town of Klintsy, officials saidAt a glance: what we know on day 696 Continue reading...

Hard-right Republicans ensure chances of more money and weapons for Kyiv hinge on immigration reform negotiations Joe Biden on Friday signed a measure to keep the US government funded but as Washington shivered under its second major snowfall in a week, the bill did not unfreeze funding for Ukraine.Hard-right House Republicans, led by the speaker, Mike Johnson, are ensuring the chances of more money...