Ukraine-Russia war: We will fight with or without the West, says Zelensky

Volodymyr Zelensky has vowed Ukraine will fight on against Russia with or without Western support.

“In the first days of the full-scale war, on 24, February, we were really alone,” the Ukrainian president told a press conference as he visited Oslo, Norway.

“But we didn’t run away, we began to fight, so when you say if it is possible without help... It is possible like it was.”

Western support for Ukraine has wavered in the aftermath of its underwhelming summer counter-offensive.

The US Congress is refusing to approve $48bn ($61bn) in new military aid and Hungary has said it will veto accession talks and a £43bn ($54bn) aid package proposed by the European Union.

“Of course, you can’t win without help, but you can’t lose, because this is the only thing you have – your country,” Mr Zelensky added.

03:05 PM GMT

That's all for today

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03:03 PM GMT

Today’s headlines

• A Russian missile attack on Kyiv injured at least 53 civilians overnight

• Volodymyr Zelensky branded the attack a “heinous” act

• Viktor Orban said Hungary would veto the start of accession talks between Ukraine and the EU

• Mr Zelensky visited Oslo where he met the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden

• He vowed to fight on against Russia with or without additional Western aid

• A Russian hacker group claimed responsibility for a cyber attack on a Ukrainian mobile operator on Tuesday

• A declassified US intelligence report said 87 per cent of the Russian soldiers who were serving when it invaded Ukraine have since been killed or wounded

• Ukraine said 4,300 lorries remained unable to cross its border amid continuing blockades by Polish, Hungarian and Slovakian truckers

02:32 PM GMT

Norway gives Ukraine Nasams missiles

Norway has donated £24million ($30million) worth of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) missiles to Ukraine.

The missiles will be partly donated from its own stockpiles and the rest delivered in a paid-for industry order.

“This will be a major contribution to their ability to defend themselves,” defence minister Bjorn Arild Gram said.

02:08 PM GMT

Denmark plans new £861m aid for Ukraine

Denmark’s government will present a new £861million ($1.1bn) aid package for Ukraine to parliament on Wednesday.

Prime minister Mette Frederiksen announced the plan as she met Volodymyr Zelensky and the leaders of Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden in Oslo.

Denmark has already provided £2.4bn ($3bn) in military aid and £325million ($407million) in humanitarian aid since the war began.

01:44 PM GMT

Orban has 'no reason' to block Ukraine from EU, says Zelensky

Viktor Orban has “no reason” to block Ukraine from starting accession talks with the European Union (EU), Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

“I asked him to tell me one reason why,” Mr Zelensky said when asked about his meeting with Mr Orban at Javier Milei’s inauguration as Argentina’s new president on Sunday.

“Not three, not five, not 10. Tell me one reason. I’m waiting for (an) answer.”

Mr Orban has today repeated his opposition to the EU opening membership talks with Ukraine, saying it would be a “terrible mistake”.

01:30 PM GMT

German colonel sold secrets to Russia, court hears

A German colonel is being tried in court alongside a diamond dealer after being charged with selling intelligence on Ukraine to Russia for £688,000 (862,000).

The 52-year-old man, named only as Col Karsten L, is being prosecuted in Berlin’s high court and formerly led the security department of the German intelligence service (BND).

Also in the dock is a 40-year-old diamond merchant and former Bundeswehr private called Arthur E.

The men are facing life in prison for high treason. German privacy rules mean defendants’ surnames cannot be reported.

01:23 PM GMT

Slovakia: Ukraine not ready for EU talks but we will not veto

Slovakia’s prime minister has said Ukraine is not ready to start accession talks with the European Union but that it will not veto them.

Robert Fico said Ukraine was “absolutely unprepared” for the talks.

“We will not oppose the European Union’s decision to start negotiations with Ukraine,” he told the Slovak parliament’s European affairs committee.

“It is a political decision that has nothing to do with reality.”

Mr Fico’s remarks come a day before the start of a summit where member states will decide whether to begin membership talks with Kyiv.

12:28 PM GMT

Ukraine: 4,300 lorries trapped at borders

Approximately 4,300 lorries are unable to cross Ukraine’s borders because of continuing trucker blockades.

Ukraine’s border service said 3,290 trucks are blocked in Poland, 560 in Slovakia and 450 in Hungary.

Disgruntled hauliers in the three countries have blockaded checkpoints in protest against what they see as unfair competition from Ukrainians.

12:11 PM GMT

Zelensky hails Norway for new £200m aid package

Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed Norway as “one of the global leaders in supporting Ukraine” after it released £218million ($273millon) in new aid to Ukraine.

“Norway is one of the global leaders in supporting Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said.

“Your decisions and actions are not only timely and significant; they also set a good example for others and show leadership.”

11:45 AM GMT

In pictures: Aftermath of Kyiv missile attack

11:22 AM GMT

Ukraine detains priest's wife for 'assisting Russian artillery'

Ukraine has detained a priest’s wife accused of helping to aim Russian artillery fire on Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine.

The unnamed woman is a chorister married to a priest from the Russia-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

She is said to have sent Russian gunners the co-ordinates of Ukrainian positions.

“It has been established that the Russians were trying to hit the locations of the defence forces near the oblast centre using the coordinates provided to them by the detainee,” the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) said in a statement.

11:05 AM GMT

I will block Ukraine's EU talks, says Orban

Viktor Orban has vowed to block the European Union from starting accession talks with Ukraine.

Speaking to MPs at the Hungarian parliament, Mr Orban said the time for Ukraine to join the bloc had “not yet come” and the end of the war with Russia was a prerequisite for it becoming a member.

“We are interested in a peaceful and prosperous Ukraine, but this requires the establishment of peace as quickly as possible, and a deliberate deepening of the strategic partnership,” he said, adding that such a process could take “a number of years.”

“Everything has its appointed time, but the time for Ukraine’s membership in the European Union has not yet come.”

11:02 AM GMT

ISW: Russia fighting to weaken West’s support for Ukraine

The Russian army has been fighting to weaken the West’s support for Ukraine and not to achieve any operational objectives, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has said.

The ISW said American intelligence believes Russian forces have decided where, when and how to fight based on what will cause maximum damage to Western support for Ukraine.

“This assessment of high Russian losses and lack of operationally significant Russian gains is consistent with ISW’s assessment,” it said.

10:44 AM GMT

Ukraine cannot defeat Russia without more Western aid, Zelensky says

Ukraine cannot defeat Russia without additional Western aid, Volodymyr Zelensky has said on a visit to Norway.

“You can’t win without help, but you can’t lose, because you have your country,” he told reporters in Oslo following talks with prime minister Jonas Gahr Store.

10:16 AM GMT

90pc of Russian invasion force ‘dead or wounded’

Nearly 90 per cent of the soldiers who were serving in Russia’s army when it invaded Ukraine have been killed or injured, US intelligence believes.

A declassified report said Russia has suffered 315,000 casualties, representing 87 per cent of its initial invasion force.

Losses in personnel and armored vehicles have also “set back Russia’s military modernisation by 18 years,” a source told Reuters.

The Russian army began the war with 3,100 tanks, lost 2,200 of them and has had to “backfill” that force with T-62 tanks produced in the 1970s.

That has left it with only 1,300 tanks on the battlefield, the source quoted the report as saying.

“The scale of losses has forced Russia to take extraordinary measures to sustain its ability to fight,” it added.

10:00 AM GMT

EU condemns Russian elections in annexed regions

The European Union has condemned Russia’s plans to hold votes in next year’s presidential election in occupied Ukrainian territory.

Josep Borrell, its chief diplomat, said the EU would not recognise the elections because of the votes being held in Crimea, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk.

“The EU strongly condemns this new attempt by Russia to legitimise its temporary and illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories,” he said, adding “Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk are Ukraine”.

Crimea was occupied by Russia in 2014. Russia declared its annexation of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk in September 2022 despite not controlling their entire territory.

09:40 AM GMT

Watch: 53 injured in Kyiv after Russian missiles shot down

09:30 AM GMT

Russian hacker group claims responsibility for Ukraine attack

A Russian hacker group has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack on Tuesday which took Ukraine’s largest mobile operator offline.

Solntsepek claimed to have destroyed 10,000 computers, 4,000 servers and all of Kyivstar’s back-up and cloud systems in the attack.

It justified its actions by saying Kyivstar “provides communications to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as government agencies and law enforcement agencies of Ukraine”.

09:17 AM GMT

EU needs to prove it will support Ukraine for 'as long as it takes'

The European Union needs to prove that it will support Ukraine “for as long as it takes”, Ursula von der Leyen has said.

“As the war drags on, we must prove what it means to support Ukraine for as long as it takes,” said the European Commission president.

“Ukraine is not only fighting against the invader, but for Europe, and joining our family will be Ukraine’s ultimate victory.

“And for this, we have a decisive role to play.”

The remarks came as Hungary threatens to veto the start of accession talks between Ukraine and the bloc.

08:59 AM GMT

Watch: Zelensky arrives in Norway

Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed Norway’s “timely and principled support” of Ukraine’s defence against Russia as he landed in Oslo for talks with the leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

08:40 AM GMT

Von der Leyen urges EU to back Ukraine

Urusla von der Leyen has urged the European Union to back Ukraine by approving accession talks and new aid.

“We must give Ukraine what it needs to be strong today,” the European Commission president said.

“So it can be stronger tomorrow at the table when it is negotiating a long lasting and just peace.”

08:22 AM GMT

Russia disperses drone launch sites to protect against Ukraine

Russia is dispersing its drone launch sites in a bid to protect them against Ukrainian attacks, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

In its latest defence intelligence briefing, the MoD said Russia has five confirmed suicide drone – or one way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles (OWA-UAV) in official parlance – launch sites at Balaklava, Cape Chauda, Yeysk, Primorsko and Kursk.

“Russia is highly likely dispersing its OWA UAV launch capabilities across several locations as both a force protection measure and to complicate Ukrainian air defence efforts,” it said.

08:07 AM GMT

Give us £25bn and we'll support Ukraine, Orban adviser tells EU

An adviser to Viktor Orban has said Hungary will support the European Union starting accession talks with Ukraine if the bloc unblocks £25bn in withheld funding.

The funds have been blocked by the EU due to its concerns about the rule of law and anti-corruption measures in Hungary.

“Hungary’s EU funding and Ukraine’s financing are two separate issues,” Balazs Orban told Bloomberg.

“But if the EU insists that Ukraine’s financing should come from an amended EU budget, then the two issues become linked.”

Reports in recent days have claimed that the European Commission is prepared to unblock £8.6bn of the withheld funds.

07:44 AM GMT

Orban rebuffs Hungarian minority in Ukraine over EU accession

Viktor Orban has rebuffed Ukraine’s Hungarian minority after it urged him to support the country joining the European Union.

Mr Orban said in a letter that the European Commission has not laid the groundwork for Ukraine’s accession and that he instead supports “strategic partnership”.

“I can assure you that we will continue to work to ensure that the Hungarian community in Ukraine can live in a peaceful, stable and developing country,” he added.

The Hungarian prime minister opposes the EU starting membership talks with Kyiv. Every member state has to support such talks before they can go ahead.

There is a considerable Hungarian minority in western Ukraine’s Zakarpattia region.

07:31 AM GMT

'Terrorist' Russia 'heinous' for missile attack, says Zelensky

Russia’s overnight missile attack on Kyiv proves that it is a “terrorist” and “heinous” country, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

“Just yesterday, President Joe Biden and I agreed to work on increasing the number of air defense systems in Ukraine; the terrorist country demonstrated how important this decision is,” he said in a statement.

He added that Russia had “proven once again that it is a heinous country” and promised to retaliate.

07:27 AM GMT

Zelensky visits Norway

Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Norway on a previously unannounced visit.

The Norwegian government said he would meet prime minister Jonas Gahr Store.

“Norway will continue to support Ukraine’s fight to defend itself,” Mr Gahr Store said in a statement.

The visit coincides with a planned gathering of the leaders of all five Nordic countries – Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

07:22 AM GMT

In pictures: Russian missile attack on Kyiv

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