Ukraine-Russia war latest: MI6 chief to issue Putin warning after Zelensky offers to drop Nato ambitions

Key Points

• Britain will not abandon Ukraine, MI6 chief to say
• Ukraine drops Nato goal as Trump envoy sees progress in peace talks
• Russian air defence units destroy Moscow-bound drone, mayor says
• German defence minister says involvement of Trump's envoys is 'good sign' for talks

Who is Ales Bialiatski? Human rights activist released after four years in prison in Belarus

Ales Bialiatski was arrested in 2021 came as part of a large-scale crackdown on dissent that Lukashenko had unleashed in response to mass protests that engulfed the country after a 2020 presidential election.

That vote handed Lukashenko his sixth term in office and was denounced by the opposition and the West as rigged. Tens of thousands of people were arrested in the aftermath, with many brutally beaten, and hundreds of thousands have fled abroad.

Bialiatski was convicted of smuggling and financing actions that violated the public order – charges widely denounced as politically motivated – and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The veteran advocate, who founded Belarus' oldest and most prominent human rights group, Viasna, was imprisoned at a penal colony in Gorki in a facility notorious for beatings and hard labor.

Medical assistance in the penal colony where he served his 10-year sentence was very limited, he said in his first sit-down interview after release. There was only one option of treating dental problems behind bars – pulling teeth out, he said.

Bialiatski recalled how in the early hours of Saturday he was in an overcrowded prison cell in the Penal Colony no 9 in eastern Belarus when suddenly he was ordered to pack his things.

Blindfolded, he was driven somewhere: "They put a blindfold over my eyes. I was looking occasionally where we were headed, but only understood that we're heading toward west."

Bialiatski won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, while in jail awaiting trial, along with the prominent Russian rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties.

Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski describes Belarus prison ordeal in first interview after release

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski recalled his time in the Belarusian prison in a tell-all interview with the Associated Press.

Pale, visibly tired and emaciated, 63-year-old veteran human rights advocate said "When I crossed the border, it was as if I emerged from the bottom of the sea and onto the surface of the water.

“You have lots of air, sun, and back there you were in a completely different situation — under pressure," he told the AP.

Bialiatski was one of 123 prisoners released by Belarus in exchange for the US lifting sanctions imposed on the Belarusian potash sector, crucial for the country's economy.

A close ally of Russia, Belarus has faced Western isolation and sanctions for years.

Its authoritarian president Alexander Lukashenko has ruled the nation of 9.5 million with an iron fist for more than three decades, and the country has been repeatedly sanctioned by the West for its crackdown on human rights and for allowing Moscow to use its territory in the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

In an effort at a rapprochement with the West, Belarus has released hundreds of prisoners since July 2024.

Britain will not abandon Ukraine, MI6 chief to say

The new head of MI6 is expected to declare that Britain will not abandon Ukraine.

“Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine‘s behalf will be sustained,” Blaise Metreweli will say in her first speech at MI6 headquarters.

“The export of chaos is a feature, not a bug, in the Russian approach to international engagement and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus,” she is expected to say, according to advance extracts of her speech.

Warning that “the frontline is everywhere”, she is also say that the spy agency’s “mastery of technology must infuse” all areas under MI6.

“We must be as comfortable with lines of code as we are with human sources, as fluent in Python [the programming language] as we are in multiple languages.”

Ukraine drops Nato goal as Trump envoy sees progress in peace talks

President Volodymyr Zelensky offered to drop Ukraine's aspirations to join the Nato military alliance as he held five hours of talks with US envoys in Berlin on Sunday to end the war with Russia, with negotiations set to continue on Monday.

Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff said "a lot of progress was made" as he and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met Zelensky in the latest push to end Europe's bloodiest conflict since the Second World War, though full details were not divulged.

Zelensky's adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said the president would comment on the talks on Monday once they were completed. Officials, Lytvyn said, were considering the draft documents.

"They went on for more than five hours and ended for today with an agreement to resume tomorrow morning," Lytvyn told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

Ahead of the talks, Zelensky offered to drop Ukraine's goal to join Nato in exchange for Western security guarantees.

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join Nato as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution.

It also meets one of Russia's war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

"Representatives held in-depth discussions regarding the 20-point plan for peace, economic agendas, and more. A lot of progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning," Witkoff said in a post on X.

The talks were hosted by German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who a source said had made brief remarks before leaving the two sides to negotiate. Other European leaders are also due in Germany for talks on Monday.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join Nato, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction," Zelensky said in answer to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

"Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries [like Canada and Japan] are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion," Zelensky said.

"And it is already a compromise on our part," he said, adding the security guarantees should be legally binding.

US security experts say Ukraine's abandonment of Nato goal will not alter peace talks

Ukraine’s offer to forgo joining the Nato military alliance probably will not significantly change the course of peace talks, two security experts said on Sunday.

During negotiations with US envoys over a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal, president Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday offered to drop Ukraine's Nato aspirations.

Zelensky had said security guarantees from the United States, Europe and others instead of joining Nato was a compromise from Ukraine.

"This doesn't move the needle at all," said Justin Logan, director of defence and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute.

"It’s an effort to appear reasonable."

Nato membership for Ukraine has not been realistic in a long time anyway, said Logan and Andrew Michta, a professor of strategic studies at the University of Florida. Michta called Ukraine's Nato admittance a "non-issue" at this point.

There are other ways for nations to try ensuring Ukraine's security, Logan said.

US president Donald Trump, in response to Zelensky's offer, may commit to the same things the United States has already done to support Ukraine, such as sending weapons and sanctioning Russia, Logan said.

Not everyone dismissed Zelensky's offer.

Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration and now head of the Global Situation Room consultancy, called Ukraine's concession "significant and substantive”.

"It's a way for Zelensky to contrast Ukraine's willingness for significant concessions for peace at a time when Moscow has been short on any significant concessions," Bruen said.

"The question is what did Zelensky get in return for backing off a pretty ironclad promise to the Ukrainian people?"

Comment: Any Ukraine peace deal without Belarus risks Russian annexation

Belarus is a corridor through Europe that Russia could take over and use to invade Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, as well as Ukraine, write Valery Tsepkalo and Dmitry Bolkunets. President Lukashenko’s friendship with Putin is a loophole that needs to be closed.

Any Ukraine peace deal without Belarus risks Russian annexation

Obama's former foreign policy aide says Ukraine's Nato concession is 'significant'

Brett Bruen, a former foreign policy adviser in the Obama administration and now head of the Global Situation Room consultancy, has called Ukraine's concession not to join Nato "significant and substantive."

"It's a way for Zelensky to contrast Ukraine's willingness for significant concessions for peace at a time when Moscow has been short on any significant concessions," Bruen said.

"The question is what did Zelensky get in return for backing off a pretty ironclad promise to the Ukrainian people?"

Bruen speculated Trump may have promised to patrol Ukraine's skies or respond to aircraft incursions. The United States may also increase supplies of military aid if Russia were to re-launch a large-scale military offensive, he said.

Russian air defence units destroy Moscow-bound drone, mayor says

Russian air defence units destroyed a drone heading for Moscow late on Sunday, Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin, writing on Telegram, said emergency crews were examining fragments where they hit the ground.

Ukrainian forces periodically send drones toward the Russian capital. Some 40 were shot down over the Moscow region within a few hours on one occasion last week.

US security experts say Ukraine's abandonment of Nato goal will not alter peace talks

Ukraine’s offer to forgo joining the Nato military alliance probably will not significantly change the course of peace talks, two security experts said on Sunday.

During negotiations with U.S. envoys over a potential Ukraine-Russia peace deal, President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday offered to drop Ukraine's Nato aspirations.

"This doesn't move the needle at all," said Justin Logan, director of defence and foreign policy studies at Cato Institute. "It’s an effort to appear reasonable."

Nato membership for Ukraine has not been realistic in a long time anyway, said Logan and Andrew Michta, a professor of strategic studies at the University of Florida.

Michta called Ukraine's Nato admittance a "non-issue" at this point.

How Belarus is using cigarette-stuffed balloons to sow chaos in Lithuania

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko has vowed to stop the balloons from flying into Lithuania after pressure from the US. But experts tell Isabella Redmayne that they form a vital part of a wider campaign to destabilise the Baltic country.

How Belarus is using cigarette-stuffed balloons to sow chaos in Lithuania

German defence minister says involvement of Trump's envoys is 'good sign' for talks

Germany's Defence Minister said it was a "good sign" Donald Trump had sent his special envoys for Ukraine peace talks in Berlin.

Boris Pistorius was asked by ZDF whether Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two businessmen, were suitable people to conduct negotiations on how to end the war.

"It's certainly anything but an ideal setup for such negotiations. That much is clear,” he said.

“But as they say, you can only dance with the people on the dance floor.”

Witkoff says 'progress was made' during peace talks

Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has said that “a lot of progress was made” at peace talks with Volodmyr Zelensky.

Talks between Ukrainian and US officials on a peace plan lasted for five hours on Sunday. They will continue tomorrow.

READOUT FROM U.S.-UKRAINE TALKS IN BERLIN, GERMANY:

The meeting in Berlin between President Zelenskyy, Special Envoy Witkoff, Jared Kushner, and delegations from the United States and Ukraine lasted over five hours. Representatives held in-depth discussions regarding the… pic.twitter.com/G7breh5Gab

— Special Envoy Steve Witkoff (@SEPeaceMissions) December 14, 2025

Ukraine and US peace talks in Berlin end and will resume tomorrow, Zelensky adviser says

Talks between Ukrainian and U.S. officials on proposals for a settlement of the war in Ukraine ended after more than five hours on Sunday and are set to resume on Monday, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said.

"They went on for more than five hours and ended for today with an agreement to resume tomorrow morning," adviser Dmytro Lytvyn told reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

Lytvyn said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky would comment on the talks on Monday once they were completed. Officials, Lytvyn said, were considering the draft documents.

Comment: Ukraine can and will win – if its allies get serious about defence

Ukraine can and will win – if its allies get serious about defence

How was Nato formed?

Originally born of the Treaty of Dunkirk signed by Britain and France on 4 March 1947, Nato was created to contain any future military threat from a revived Germany or the USSR at a time when the Marshall Plan was attempting to bring economic deliverance to a continent still in recovery from a war that had killed 36.5 million people.

Nato was soon expanded to include Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg and then the US, Canada, Portugal, Italy, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.

Holding firm throughout the Cold War and evolving its approach in response to such tense diplomatic episodes as the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War and the USSR’s invasion of Afghanistan, the alliance was given a new lease of life with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

It gradually added former Soviet satellites states to its ranks: first the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland in 1999 and then Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia in 2004.

Nobel laureate Ales Bialiatski tells of Belarus prison ordeal in first interview

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski has spoken out for the first time since his release from prison in Belarus.

The 63-year-old veteran human rights advocate, from Belarus, was suddenly released on Saturday after more than four years behind bars,

When back in Vilnius, he hugged his wife for the first time in years.

"When I crossed the border, it was as if I emerged from the bottom of the sea and onto the surface of the water”, he told the Associated Press.

“You have lots of air, sun, and back there you were in a completely different situation — under pressure.”

What is Nato and will Ukraine become a member?

Ukraine is not currently part of Nato, but Zelensky has consistently called for his country to be welcomed into the alliance.

Mr Putin insists - without any basis - that Russia and Ukraine are really one nation. Through his act of aggression against Ukraine, he appears to be seeking to reintegrate the country into his vision of a greater Russia, just as he annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.

For its part, Ukraine wants the defensive protection of the alliance as part of its bid for recognition as a free western democracy, shielded from the malign influence of Moscow but Trump has insisted Kyiv cannot be a member.

Read our full explainer below.

What is Nato? Zelensky says Ukraine will give up ambition of membership

Zelensky ditches hopes of Ukraine joining Nato ahead of crunch peace talks in Berlin

President Volodymyr Zelensky has relinquished Ukraine’s bid to join Nato ahead of crunch peace talks with the US and European allies in Berlin.

The Ukrainian president ditched his hopes to join the military alliance in what he said was a “compromise” to end the war with Russia.

In a major shift, Zelensky said Ukraine will instead ask for Western security guarantees, which he said should be legally binding.

Read the full story:

Zelensky ditches hopes of Ukraine joining Nato ahead of crunch peace talks in Berlin

Zelensky meets Witkoff and Witkoff

President Zelensky greeted Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner warmly in Berlin.

The Ukrainian president and US envoys are beginning crunch peace talks.

Smiles and a warm embrace. President Zelensky greets Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as peace plan talks get under way in Berlin. 📸 via Ukrainian Presidential Office pic.twitter.com/kNK1Dgarwv

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) December 14, 2025

Zelensky begins crunch peace talks with Trump envoy and European leaders in Berlin

Volodymyr Zelensky has arrived in Berlin for the latest round of Ukraine peace talks with Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and German chancellor Friedrich Merz.

A source told Reuters that the negotiations, which also include Trump’s son Jared Kushner and Ukraine’s head of national security Rustem Umerov, were underway as of 4pm local time on Sunday.

It comes just hours after Zelensky said that he would abandon his ambition for Ukraine to join Nato in order to secure a peace deal, indicating that Kyiv would be flexible with one of its previous red lines in negotiations. He said the move was a “compromise” but that separate security guarantees would be essential in an agreement.

Comment: Ukraine can and will win – if its allies get serious about defence

We have the shadow of war knocking at Europe’s door, the armed forces minister Al Carns, the much-decorated Royal Marines veteran, explained in glorious mixed metaphor to assembled defence correspondents. He was opening the new military intelligence hub at RAF Wyton. Experts from seven different branches of the service confirmed that aggressive cyber and information operations by Russia on UK interests have gone up 50 per cent in the last year alone.

The message has been underscored by Nato’s civilian boss, secretary general Mark Rutte, the hugely experienced Dutch statesman. He said Europe and Nato must be ready for conflict with Russia “on a scale our grandparents and great-grandparents endured”.

Russia’s leadership is repeating that it does not want to “go to war with Europe, but is prepared for war” if it is provoked. The words are eerily similar to what the Kremlin said through the winter of 2021 about not intending to invade Ukraine, unless circumstances changed. The similarity in language and information tactics has alarmed UK defence intelligence and its sister agencies.

Robert Fox writes:

Ukraine can and will win – if its allies get serious about defence

Russia downs hundreds of Ukrainian drones

Russia's Defense Ministry said that air defences downed 235 Ukrainian drones late Saturday and early Sunday.

In the Belgorod region, a drone injured a man and set his house ablaze in the village of Yasnye Zori, the regional governor said.

Authorities also said Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Uryupinsk in the Volgograd region, triggering a fire.

In the Krasnodar region, Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Afipsky, where an oil refinery is located. Authorities said that explosions shattered windows in residential buildings, but didn't report any damage to the refinery.

High security presence in Berlin ahead of crunch peace talks

European allies describe 'critical moment' for Ukraine ahead of peace talks

Britain, France and Germany have been working to refine the US proposals, which, in a draft disclosed last month, called for Kyiv to cede more territory, abandon its ambition to join Nato and accept limits on its armed forces.

European allies have described this as a "critical moment" that could shape Ukraine's future, and sought to shore up Kyiv's finances by leveraging frozen Russian central bank assets to fund Kyiv's military and civilian budget.

Thousands still without power in Ukraine

Ukraine and Russia have continued to exchange fire ahead of crunch talks in Berlin.

Ukraine's air force said that Russia launched ballistic missiles and 138 attack drones overnight.

The air force said 110 had been intercepted or downed, but missile and drone hits were recorded at six locations.

Zelensky said on Sunday that hundreds of thousands of families were still without power in the south, east and north-east regions and work was continuing to restore electricity, heat and water to multiple regions following a large-scale attack the previous night.

The Ukrainian president said that in the past week, Russia had launched over 1,500 strike drones, nearly 900 guided aerial bombs and 46 missiles of various types at Ukraine.

Kremlin says Nato's Rutte is irresponsible to talk of war with Russia

The Kremlin has said on Sunday that Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte's remarks about preparing for war with Russia were irresponsible and showed that he did not really understand the devastation wrought by World War Two.

Rutte, in a speech in Berlin on Thursday, said that Nato should be "prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured" and asserted that "we are Russia's next target”.

The Kremlin has repeatedly dismissed claims by NATO and some European leaders that it plans to attack a NATO member as "nonsense" used by European leaders to whip up anti-Russian hysteria.

"This seems like a statement by a representative of a generation that has managed to forget what World War Two was actually like," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin.

"They have no understanding, and unfortunately, Mr Rutte, making such irresponsible statements, simply does not understand what he is talking about."

Zelensky says US not yet responded to revised peace proposals

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has had no US reaction yet to revised peace proposals.

Zelensky and US envoys arrive in Berlin for crunch peace talks

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoys have arrived in Berlin for another round of talks intended to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine as Moscow and Kyiv stuck to their sharply opposite views of a prospective peace deal.

US president Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted entering a hotel in central Berlin on Sunday.

Mr Zelensky said that Ukrainian, US and European officials would hold a series of meetings in the German capital.

"Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace - a political agreement to end the war," Mr Zelensky said in an address to the nation late on Saturday.

Ukraine military says it has struck Russian oil facilities

Ukraine’s military has said it has struck Russian oil facilities.

It said it had hit a Russian oil refinery in the Krasnodar region as well as a Russian oil depot in the Volgograd region.

Russia captures another eastern Ukrainian village, defence ministry says

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had captured the village of Varvarivka in Ukraine's eastern Zaporizhzhia region.

The battlefield reports cannot be independently verified.

Zelensky ditches Nato ambition ahead of peace talks

Ukraine has relinquished its ambition of joining the Nato military alliance in exchange for Western security guarantees as a compromise to end the war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said ahead of talks with US envoys in Berlin.

The move marks a major shift for Ukraine, which has fought to join NATO as a safeguard against Russian attacks and has such an aspiration included in its constitution. It also meets one of Russia's war aims, although Kyiv has so far held firm against ceding territory to Moscow.

Zelensky said on Sunday that the US, and European and other partners' security guarantees instead of NATO membership was a compromise on Ukraine's side.

"From the very beginning, Ukraine's desire was to join Nato, these are real security guarantees. Some partners from the US and Europe did not support this direction," he said in answer to questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat.

"Thus, today, bilateral security guarantees between Ukraine and the US, Article 5-like guarantees for us from the US, and security guarantees from European colleagues, as well as other countries, Canada, Japan, are an opportunity to prevent another Russian invasion," Zelenskiy said.

"And it is already a compromise from our part," he said, adding that the security guarantees should be legally binding.

Issue of territory remains unresolved as Zelensky says ceasefire along current frontlines would be fair

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia along the current frontline would be a fair option.

Russia has demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Ukraine still holds. Answering questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat, Zelensky reiterated that option would be unfair, adding that the issue of territory remained unresolved and very sensitive.

Watch: Trump says US will attend Ukraine peace talks with Europe but doesn’t want to ‘waste time’

Zelensky says services working to restore electricity, heating and water supply

Volodymyr Zelensky has said services have been working to restore electricity, heating and water supply to regions.

It comes after Russian strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure over the weekend.

Germany to host Zelensky as European leaders seek to steer peace negotiations

Germany is set to host Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday for talks as peace efforts gain momentum and European leaders seek to steer negotiations.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will also meet with the Ukrainian President in Berlin.

For months, American negotiators have tried to navigate the demands of each side as US President Donald Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war while growing increasingly exasperated by delays.

The search for possible compromises has run into a major obstacle over who keeps Ukrainian territory currently occupied by Russian forces.

Russia downs 235 Ukrainian drones overnight, defence ministry says

Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 235 Ukrainian drones overnight.

An oil depot caught fire in Uryupinsk in Volgograd region due to fallen drone debris, a regional governor said.

At least ten Russian airports, including in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, imposed temporary flight restrictions during the night, according to the aviation regulator.

Zelensky prepares for meeting with Trump's peace representatives

A high-level meeting between Volodymyr Zelensky and US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner is set to take place in Berlin tomorrow.

The top officials will be joined by the leaders of Germany, France and the UK to try and reach an agreement over the US plan for peace in Ukraine, two White House officials told Axios.

Confirming the meeting, Zelensky last night said: “I will have meetings with representatives of president Trump, as well as with our European partners, with many leaders about the foundation of peace – a political agreement on ending the war.”

“The chance is significant now… We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is worthy and that there is a guarantee – a guarantee, first of all, that Russia will not return to Ukraine with a third invasion,” he said.

In photos: Ukraine's Odesa plunges into darkness after Russian attacks

Who is freed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski?

Human rights campaigner Ales Bialiatski became a globally recognised symbol of resistance to the authoritarian rule of Lukashenko when he was awarded a share of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, only the fourth person to win the award while detained.

Many activists and opposition figures fled the country when Lukashenko used his security forces to crush mass pro-democracy protests in 2020, but Bialiatski decided to stay.

He was arrested in 2021. In April 2023, he was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony after being found guilty of finance and smuggling charges related to the funding Viasna, the rights organisation that he founded.

He denied the accusations, insisting they were politically motivated.

More than one million lose power in Ukraine after Russian attack

In Ukraine, Russia launched overnight drone and missile strikes on five Ukrainian regions, targeting energy and port infrastructure. Ukrainian interior minister Ihor Klymenko said that over a million people were without electricity.

An attack on the Black Sea city of Odesa caused grain silos to catch fire at the port, Ukrainian deputy prime minister and reconstruction minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Two people were wounded in attacks on the wider Odesa region, according to regional head Oleh Kiper.

Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call "weaponising" the cold.

On the front lines, Ukrainian forces said yesterday that the northern part of the critical city of Pokrovsk was under Ukrainian control, despite Russia's claims earlier this month that it had taken full control of the city.

Danish intelligence report warns of US military threat under Trump

The United States is using its economic power to “assert its will" and threaten military force against friend and foe alike, a Danish intelligence agency said in a new report.

The Danish Defence Intelligence Service, in its latest annual assessment, said Washington's greater assertiveness under the Trump administration also comes as China and Russia seek to diminish Western, especially American, influence.

Perhaps most sensitive to Denmark — a Nato and European Union member country, and a US ally — is growing competition between those great powers in the Arctic.

US president Donald Trump has expressed a desire to see Greenland, a semiautonomous and mineral-rich territory of Denmark, become part of the United States, a move opposed by Russia and much of Europe.

“The strategic importance of the Arctic is rising as the conflict between Russia and the West intensifies, and the growing security and strategic focus on the Arctic by the United States will further accelerate these developments,” said the report.