Closing summary
This blog will be closing shortly. Here is an overview of today’s developments:
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, floated the idea of nominating the US president, Donald Trump, for the Nobel peace prize in a briefing to reporters, two days ahead of the announcement of this year’s winner, who would have been selected earlier in the autumn. Zelenskyy said in comments released on Thursday: “If Trump gives the world – above all, the Ukrainian people – the chance for such a ceasefire, then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel peace prize. We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine.”
Strikes on Russian oil facilities by Ukraine’s newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, while on the battlefield a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive has derailed Russia’s plans to capture parts of the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. Ukraine’s new Palianytsia missile has hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskyy said. The Ruta missile drone, meanwhile, recently struck a Russian offshore oil platform more than 150 miles (250km) away in what Zelenskyy called “a major success” for the new weapon.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow “chaos” in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country’s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on Thursday. Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, have in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck the Korobkovsky gas processing plant and oil transport infrastructure in Russia’s Volgograd region overnight. The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had struck port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region that were used by the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine’s prime minister, the head of presidential office, and a senior sanctions adviser will go to the US early next week for talks with US officials, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media: Topics include air defence, energy, and sanctions steps, as well as the negotiation track. The issue of frozen assets will also be discussed with the US.
A man formerly employed by Warsaw city council in its registry of births, marriages and deaths was charged with espionage for allegedly providing Russia with false identities its spies could use. The man, identified only as Tomasz L. in line with Polish privacy laws, was indicted on charges of espionage and abuse of power, the Polish Internal Security Agency wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Keir Starmer has said the UK will back India taking its “rightful place” on the UN security council as he met Narendra Modi in Mumbai at the end of his two-day trip, saying both he and Modi had discussed the need for a “just and lasting” peace in Ukraine. He said both had agreed the need to “break away from fossil fuels” as he praised the “remarkable” speed of India’s growing economy.
US sanctions on Serbia’s majority-Russian-owned oil company, which operates the country’s sole refinery, took effect on Thursday after months of delay. The US sanctioned the company, Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), in January as part of its crackdown on the Russian energy sector following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister by Friday evening, his office has said, hinting at the French president’s hopes that a sixth prime minister in less than two years will manage to steer a budget through the country’s deeply fragmented parliament. “This might be the last chance,” government spokesperson Aurore Bergé told RTL radio on Thursday. “I believe this is the last chance for politicians to regain credibility … all of this is only strengthening the chances and capabilities of the far right to take power.”
The French state prosecutor has called for the jail term of an unemployed builder to be increased after he contested his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot after she had been drugged unconscious by her husband. Dominique Sie, the lead state prosecutor, told the court of appeal in Nîmes that Husamettin Dogan’s claims of innocence were an example of how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”.
A man formerly employed by Warsaw city council in its registry of births, marriages and deaths was charged with espionage for allegedly providing Russia with false identities its spies could use, Polish authorities said on Thursday according to the Associated Press (AP).
The man, identified only as Tomasz L. in line with Polish privacy laws, was indicted on charges of espionage and abuse of power, the Polish Internal Security Agency wrote in a statement on Thursday.
Authorities allege the man provided Russia with intelligence between 2017 and 2022, while he was working in the archives of the Warsaw municipality’s civil registry.
The man is believed to have copied civil records of Polish and foreign citizens, allowing foreign intelligence services to create fake identity papers for their agents abroad, according to Polish prosecutors.
Tomasz L. was detained by Polish authorities in March 2022. According to Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, his arrest provided authorities with information which contributed to the expulsion of Russian diplomats in the same month.
Polish authorities have accused dozens of individuals of espionage or sabotage on behalf of Moscow since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in 2022.
France’s outgoing economy minister sought to reassure EU partners on Thursday by vowing Paris would respect its European commitments and agree on a 2026 budget despite the current political crisis, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Roland Lescure told reporters before meeting his eurozone counterparts in Luxembourg:
We’re going to have a new prime minister by tomorrow and we’re going to be making sure that we put a budget together so that France has a budget in 2026.
The commitments to Europe are not just words, they are also reality.
France was plunged into renewed political turmoil after president Emmanuel Macron’s third prime minister since snap elections last year, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned on Monday within hours of announcing his government.
Macron is now racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline.
Angelique Chrisafis is the Guardian’s Paris correspondent.
The French state prosecutor has called for the jail term of an unemployed builder to be increased after he contested his conviction for raping Gisèle Pelicot after she had been drugged unconscious by her husband.
Dominique Sie, the lead state prosecutor, told the court of appeal in Nîmes that Husamettin Dogan’s claims of innocence were an example of how rape culture was still widespread in society as part of “archaic” forms of “male domination”.
Sie said: “Now we must change rape culture to a culture of consent.”
Dogan, 44, a married father, was sentenced to nine years in prison last year for raping Pelicot in her bed when she was in a comatose state in June 2019. He is the only one of 51 men found guilty in a high-profile trial last year to have appealed against his conviction and is undergoing a retrial in southern France.
Sie recommended the jury should find Dogan guilty and increase his sentence to 12 years, because he “absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
You can read Angelique Chrisafis’ full piece here: Increase sentence for Gisèle Pelicot rapist, prosecutor tells court of appeal
Zelenskyy says he will nominate Trump for peace prize if he secures Ukraine ceasefire
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, floated the idea of nominating the US president, Donald Trump, for the Nobel peace prize in a briefing to reporters, two days ahead of the announcement of this year’s winner, who would have been selected earlier in the autumn, Reuters reports.
Zelenskyy said in comments released on Thursday:
If Trump gives the world – above all, the Ukrainian people – the chance for such a ceasefire, then yes, he should be nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
We will nominate him on behalf of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has worked hard to win Trump’s support, and appears to be making some headway.
Tomahawk missiles top Kyiv’s wishlist of US weapons it believes can inflict serious damage on Russia and force it to the table.
Trump, who has expressed frustration with Russia’s Vladimir Putin, has signalled he is open to providing them.
The US president has said he deserved the Nobel award, given to four of his White House predecessors, for what he has described as his efforts in securing numerous peace deals.
Updated
Ukraine announced on Thursday it was ordering the evacuation of children and their guardians from towns and villages in and around the eastern frontline city of Kramatorsk, citing an increase in Russian drone attacks, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
“Due to the deterioration of the security situation in certain areas of the Kramatorsk city community, the mandatory evacuation of families with children has been announced,” the city council announced in a statement on social media.
Afternoon summary
Here is an overview of today’s developments so far:
Strikes on Russian oil facilities by Ukraine’s newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, while on the battlefield a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive has derailed Russia’s plans to capture parts of the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. Ukraine’s new Palianytsia missile has hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskyy said. The Ruta missile drone, meanwhile, recently struck a Russian offshore oil platform more than 150 miles (250km) away in what Zelenskyy called “a major success” for the new weapon.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow “chaos” in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country’s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on Thursday. Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, have in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck the Korobkovsky gas processing plant and oil transport infrastructure in Russia’s Volgograd region overnight. The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had struck port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region that were used by the Ukrainian army.
Ukraine’s prime minister, the head of presidential office, and a senior sanctions adviser will go to the US early next week for talks with US officials, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media: “Topics include air defence, energy, and sanctions steps, as well as the negotiation track. The issue of frozen assets will also be discussed with the US.”
Keir Starmer has said the UK will back India taking its “rightful place” on the UN security council as he met Narendra Modi in Mumbai at the end of his two-day trip, saying both he and Modi had discussed the need for a “just and lasting” peace in Ukraine. He said both had agreed the need to “break away from fossil fuels” as he praised the “remarkable” speed of India’s growing economy.
US sanctions on Serbia’s majority-Russian-owned oil company, which operates the country’s sole refinery, took effect on Thursday after months of delay. The US sanctioned the company, Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), in January as part of its crackdown on the Russian energy sector following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister by Friday evening, his office has said, hinting at the French president’s hopes that a sixth prime minister in less than two years will manage to steer a budget through the country’s deeply fragmented parliament. “This might be the last chance,” government spokesperson Aurore Bergé told RTL radio on Thursday. “I believe this is the last chance for politicians to regain credibility … all of this is only strengthening the chances and capabilities of the far right to take power.”
French prosecutors on Thursday sought a 12-year jail term for the only man among 50 who claims he is innocent after being convicted of sexually abusing Gisèle Pelicot. The 72-year-old’s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.
Finnish prosecutors said on Thursday they were appealing against a Helsinki court’s decision to dismiss a case against three crew members from Russia’s “shadow fleet” suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables. In a trial that took place in August and September, crew members of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker were accused of dragging their anchor on the seabed for about 56 miles (90km), damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland on 25 December 2024.
Updated
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, told Azerbaijan’s leader that two Russian missiles had detonated beside an Azerbaijan Airlines plane last year after Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace, and promised compensation to those affected, Reuters reports.
Flight J2-8243, en route from Baku to the Chechen capital Grozny, crash-landed on 25 December near Aktau in Kazakhstan after diverting from southern Russia, where Ukrainian drones were reported to be attacking several targets. At least 38 people were killed.
Video footage on Thursday showed Putin and the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, shaking hands and smiling before a bilateral meeting in Tajikistan at which Putin spoke about the plane crash.
Putin last year issued a rare public apology to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a “tragic incident” over Russia in which the plane crashed after Russian air defences were deployed against Ukrainian drones.
He said on Thursday:
Of course, everything that is required in such tragic cases will be done by the Russian side on compensation and a legal assessment of all official things will be given,” Putin told Aliyev.
It is our duty, I repeat once again … to give an objective assessment of everything that happened and to identify the true causes.
Putin told Aliyev that two Russian air defence missiles had detonated several metres away from the plane after Ukrainian drones entered Russian airspace.
Updated
Lorenzo Tondo is an international correspondent for the Guardian, based in Italy
Staff at Venice’s La Fenice opera house have voted to strike over the appointment of a conductor with ties to Giorgia Meloni’s far-right government.
The strike will be held on Friday 17 October, the date of the opera house’s first performance of a run of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, which will close its 2024-25 season.
The theatre’s musicians and staff have for months called for Beatrice Venezi’s appointment as music director to be revoked, claiming she does not have enough experience for the high-profile role and was picked only because of her government connections.
Venezi, 35, whose father is a former member of the neofascist Forza Nuova party, was appointed as a music adviser at the culture ministry shortly after Meloni came to power three years ago and has been praised by the Italian prime minister on several occasions, also receiving an award from her far-right Brothers of Italy (FdI) party.
Venezi has conducted orchestras across Europe and beyond. However, critics of her recruitment argue she lacks the calibre expected for such a post, noting that she has never directed at La Fenice – except for a brief promotional event – nor at any major international opera house.
You can read Lorenzo Tondo’s full piece here: Venice opera house staff to strike over hiring of Meloni-linked conductor
The Czech election winner, Andrej Babiš, said on Thursday he spoke with Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing support and hope of a quick end to its war with Russia.
Babiš, who had pledged before the election to end a Czech scheme sourcing ammunition for Ukraine, said on X:
I am glad that he contacted me and described the current situation.
We also agreed that if everything works out I will visit Ukraine next year.
The win earlier this month marks a political comeback for Babiš, who was prime minister from 2017 to 2021.
Updated
Ashifa Kassam is the Guardian’s European community affairs correspondent
Emmanuel Macron will name a new prime minister by Friday evening, his office has said, hinting at the French president’s hopes that a sixth prime minister in less than two years will manage to steer a budget through the country’s deeply fragmented parliament.
“This might be the last chance,” government spokesperson Aurore Bergé told RTL radio on Thursday. “I believe this is the last chance for politicians to regain credibility … all of this is only strengthening the chances and capabilities of the far right to take power.”
The country’s longstanding political crisis deepened earlier this week after the prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, resigned after 27 days in office. Lecornu’s decision left Macron with few options; call snap legislative elections, resign as president or attempt to find a new prime minister.
Soon after, Macron asked Lecornu to stay on for two more days to hold last-ditch talks aimed at charting a way out of the spiralling political crisis that has gripped the EU’s second-largest economy.
After hours spent speaking to parties across the political spectrum – save the far right and hard left who declined to take part – Lecornu appeared cautiously optimistic that a solution could be found. His impression was that a majority of parliamentarians were not keen on new elections, he told public broadcaster France 2 on Wednesday.
You can read the full piece from Ashifa Kassam here: New French PM to be named by Friday as Macron resists pressure to call snap elections
Here are some of the latest images from the events unfolding in Europe coming to us through the wires.
Updated
Finnish prosecutors said on Thursday they were appealing against a Helsinki court’s decision to dismiss a case against three crew members from Russia’s “shadow fleet” suspected of cutting Baltic Sea cables, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
In a trial that took place in August and September, crew members of the Cook Islands-registered Eagle S oil tanker were accused of dragging their anchor on the seabed for about 56 miles (90km), damaging five undersea cables in the Gulf of Finland on 25 December 2024.
In early October, the Helsinki district court ruled that the case was beyond Finnish jurisdiction, and it would be up to the vessel’s flag state or the defendants’ home countries to try them – the ship captain is Georgian, and its two senior officers are Georgian and Indian.
In a statement published on Thursday, the prosecution said the court ruling had concluded that “restrictions arising from the United Nations convention on the law of the sea” made the Finnish criminal code inapplicable, “even though Finland could be considered the place where the alleged crimes were committed”.
It said the deputyprosecutor general would appeal against the Helsinki district court’s decision to rule inadmissible the charges of cable breaches outside Finnish waters.
According to the European Union, the Eagle S belongs to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet” – old oil tankers used by Moscow to dodge sanctions imposed by Western allies over the Ukraine war.
Updated
Ukrainian counteroffensive derails Russia's plans to capture Donetsk cities, Zelenskyy says
Strikes on Russian oil facilities by Ukraine’s newly developed long-range missiles and drones are causing significant gas shortages in Russia, while on the battlefield a recent Ukrainian counteroffensive has derailed Russia’s plans to capture parts of the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Ukraine’s new Palianytsia missile has hit dozens of Russian military depots, Zelenskyy said. The Ruta missile drone, meanwhile, recently struck a Russian offshore oil platform more than 150 miles (250km) away in what Zelenskyy called “a major success” for the new weapon.
Also, swarms of Liutyi and Fire Point long-range drones – up to 300 units in one operation – have hit Russian energy facilities, and Ukrainian forces recently fired Neptune and Flamingo missile systems at Russia, the Ukrainian leader said.
Russian fuel shortages and higher imports indicate that Ukraine’s attacks are working, Zelenskyy said at a news briefing on Wednesday. His remarks were embargoed until Thursday.
“The main thing is that [Russia is] now importing gasoline – that’s a signal,” he said. Ukrainian intelligence reports show Russia has boosted imports from Belarus sixfold and removed import duties, while also bringing in fuel from China.
On the battlefield, Zelenskyy said the most intense fighting remains around Pokrovsk and Dobropillia in the eastern Donetsk region, where Ukrainian troops have launched a counteroffensive operation he described as “very difficult but very timely – and successful.”
“This operation derailed Russia’s summer offensive campaign,” he said, adding that what he said was Moscow’s plan to occupy much of the Donetsk region by November had failed.
Russian commanders have been ordered “to take Pokrovsk at any cost”, he said, citing intercepted Russian military communications.
Zelenskyy also said Ukraine has contingency plans to protect its natural gas infrastructure, which has been the target of heavy Russian attacks in recent weeks as winter approaches.
He said:
We have Plan A and Plan B.
Plan A is to rely more on our own extraction. Plan B … is to switch to imports. We understand the volumes, the cost of those imports, and where to get the necessary funds.
Updated
The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, survived two no-confidence votes she faced in the European parliament on Thursday, Reuters reports.
The motion of censure proposed by the far-right Patriots for Europe group was rejected, with 378 EU lawmakers voting against it compared with 179 in favour.
The second motion of censure, proposed by parliament’s hard-left group, was also rejected, with 383 EU lawmakers voting against it compared with 133 in favour.
Updated
Elsewhere in Europe, French prosecutors on Thursday sought a 12-year jail term for the only man among 50 who claims he is innocent after being convicted of sexually abusing Gisèle Pelicot, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The 72-year-old’s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.
Gisèle Pelicot allowed the public into the courtroom during the months-long trial last year to raise awareness about sexual violence, saying it was time for perpetrators – not victims – to be ashamed.
A lower court last year sentenced Husamettin Dogan, 44, to a nine-year prison sentence after prosecutors also requested 12 years.
Public prosecutor Dominique Sie said he was asking for three extra years in view of “Dogan’s stance, in all its rigidity, as he absolutely refuses to take any responsibility”.
Dogan has said he never intended to rape her and was “trapped” by her ex-husband Dominique Pelicot in 2019 into thinking he would be taking part in a couple’s sexual game.
Sie said:
As long as you refuse to admit it, it’s not just a woman, it’s an entire sordid social system that you are endorsing.
There needs to be an evolution for you, and for society, from rape culture to a culture of consent.
Below is a video published by the Guardian showing Ukrainian firefighters tackling blazes in burning shipping containers after a Russian drone attack injured at least five people in Odesa.
The attack cut power to 30,000 people and damaged the city’s port infrastructure.
Ukraine has recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory in a campaign Zelenskyy said was showing ‘results’ and that has also increased fuel prices in Russia.
Updated
Russia strikes port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region
The Russian defence ministry said on Thursday that its forces had struck port facilities and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region that were used by the Ukrainian army, Russian news agency Interfax reported, according to Reuters.
The region’s governor had earlier said the overnight drone attack injured five people.
The attack cut power to 30,000 consumers and set containers with vegetable oil and wood pellets on fire in the port, Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
Updated
The EU expects to mobilise over €400bn ($464.5bn) by 2027 in investments for Global Gateway, its programme to boost investments in the Global south, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Thursday, Reuters reports.
Global Gateway was originally designed to invest €300bn, half of it in Africa, from 2021 to 2027, as an alternative to China’s rival scheme.
The projects are in areas such as energy, transport, education and research, along with partnerships to help the EU secure minerals critical for its green transition and reduce reliance on China.
She added that today the EU is launching a Global Gateway Investment Hub, a single-entry platform for companies to propose investments.
Updated
US sanctions on Serbia’s majority-Russian-owned NIS oil company, which operates the country’s sole refinery, took effect on Thursday after months of delay, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
The United States sanctioned the company, Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS), in January as part of its crackdown on the Russian energy sector following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
After the sanctions came into force on Thursday morning, NIS said it “had not yet been granted an extension of the special licence from the United States Department of the Treasury”.
“NIS is working to overcome this situation,” it said in a statement, adding it would work with the US Treasury to seek its removal from the sanctions list.
The company said it has “sufficient crude oil reserves for processing at this time, while petrol stations are fully supplied with all types of petroleum products”.
President Aleksandar Vučić warned on Monday that the sanctions would have a serious impact and hit the banking sector first.
“There is no bank in the world that would risk violating US sanctions,” Vučić said.
NIS confirmed it expects foreign payment cards to “cease functioning”, with petrol stations accepting only Serbia’s domestic card or cash.
Updated
North Korea expressed firm solidarity with Russia’s stance on the Ukraine crisis and full support for Moscow’s military operations, North Korea’s state-run news agency KCNA reported the two countries as saying in a joint statement on Thursday, according to Reuters.
The statements come ahead of the 80th anniversary on Friday of the founding of North Korea’s ruling Workers of Korea party.
Updated
Ukraine hits Russian gas plant overnight
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it had struck the Korobkovsky gas processing plant and oil transport infrastructure in Russia’s Volgograd region overnight.
The region’s governor, Andrey Bocharov, said earlier on Thursday that strikes from Ukrainian drones has caused fires at “fuel and energy facilities”.
Ukraine’s general staff recorded explosions and a fire at the gas processing plant and Yefimovka station, according to the statement on Telegram.
The military was working to verify the scale of damage at the facilities.
Separately, the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, was quoted on Thursday by Russian state news agency Tass, according to Reuters, as saying Ukraine was counting on positive developments on the frontline of the war, but the real situation suggested otherwise.
Updated
Ukraine’s prime minister, the head of presidential office, and a senior sanctions adviser will go to the United States early next week for talks with US officials, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday.
Zelenskyy wrote in a post on social media:
Topics include air defence, energy, and sanctions steps, as well as the negotiation track. The issue of frozen assets will also be discussed with the US.
The president added that he believes the US president, Donald Trump, “very much wants” to see a ceasefire and end to Ukraine’s war with Russia.
He said:
I believe this was his goal from the very beginning. We are grateful for that. I believe our meeting, combined with the actual facts, has given him a broader understanding that the Russians are “selling” him something they are not capable of delivering.
Updated
Jessica Elgot is the Guardian’s deputy political editor.
Keir Starmer has said the UK will back India taking its “rightful place” on the UN security council as he met Narendra Modi in Mumbai at the end of his two-day trip, saying both he and Modi had discussed the need for a “just and lasting” peace in Ukraine.
He said both had agreed the need to “break away from fossil fuels” as he praised the “remarkable” speed of India’s growing economy.
Speaking at the state governor’s residence in Mumbai, Starmer said:
The prime minister and I also discussed the need for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, the need for stability and security in the Indo-Pacific, and the need to cooperate in critical areas like climate and energy, including breaking away from dependence on fossil fuels.
We sit together in the Commonwealth, the G20, and we want to see India taking its rightful place on the UN security council too.
It is significant that we’re meeting here in Mumbai, as India’s economic and financial capital, because India’s growth story is remarkable.
Modi did not echo the language of the prime minister on Ukraine but said they had discussed the “ongoing conflict in Ukraine” during their face-to-face meeting.
India continues to buy Russian fossil fuels, which helps to fund Moscow’s war effort in Ukraine, which is subject to western sanctions.
“In the Middle East and Ukraine, India supports all efforts for restoring peace through dialogue and diplomacy,” Mr Modi said.
He added that India is “totally committed to increasing maritime security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region”.
Modi praised Starmer directly for restarting the talks on the trade agreement: “Under prime minister Starmer’s leadership the relationship between the UK and India have significantly progressed.”
He added:
Your visit to India within just a few months of concluding the agreement and the fact that you have been accompanied by the biggest ever business delegation pay testament to the new energy in the UK-India relationship.
Updated
Russian strikes causing 'chaos' in Ukrainian energy and railway infrastructure
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow “chaos” in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country’s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on Thursday, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reports.
Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, have in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.
Zelenskyy told journalists, including AFP, in embargoed comments made in Kyiv on Wednesday:
Russia’s task is to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways.
The recent attacks mirror similar Russian bombing campaigns in the winters of 2022, 2023 and 2024 when attacks left millions of Ukrainian without energy or heating for long periods.
Zelenskyy said that Russian attacks this year had already put Ukrainian gas infrastructure under “heavy pressure” and that more strikes on gas infrastructure could force his country to ramp up imports.
A Russian overnight drone attack injured five people and damaged port and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, its governor said on Thursday.
The attack cut power to 30,000 consumers and set containers with vegetable oil and wood pellets on fire in the port, Oleh Kiper said on Telegram.
Ukraine has also recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory in a campaign that Zelenskyy said was showing “results” and that have also increased fuel prices in Russia.
“We believe that they’ve lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply – directly as a result of our strikes,” Zelenskyy said, adding there was evidence Russia had stepped up imports from China and Belarus.
Ukraine recently struck a power station in the Russian border region of Belgorod, causing power outages.
Fires also broke out at fuel and energy facilities in Russia’s Volgograd region as a result of a drone attack, Governor Andrei Bocharov said on Thursday.
Updated
Opening summary
Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of Europe.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of wanting to sow “chaos” in Ukraine by launching strikes on his country’s energy grid and railway infrastructure, in comments published on Thursday.
Moscow, whose forces invaded Ukraine in 2022, have in recent weeks escalated aerial attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and rail systems.
Zelenskyy told journalists, including Agence France-Presse (AFP), in embargoed comments made in Kyiv on Wednesday:
Russia’s task is to create chaos and apply psychological pressure on the population through strikes on energy facilities and railways.
The recent attacks mirror similar Russian bombing campaigns in the winters of 2022, 2023 and 2024 when attacks left millions of Ukrainian without energy or heating for long periods.
Zelenskyy said that Russian attacks this year had already put Ukrainian gas infrastructure under “heavy pressure” and that more strikes on gas infrastructure could force his country to ramp up imports.
Ukraine has also recently stepped up its own drone and missile strikes on Russian territory in a campaign that Zelenskyy said was showing “results” and that have also increased fuel prices in Russia.
“We believe that they’ve lost up to 20% of their gasoline supply – directly as a result of our strikes,” Zelenskyy said, adding there was evidence Russia had stepped up imports from China and Belarus.
Ukraine also recently struck a power station in the Russian border region of Belgorod, causing power outages.
In other developments:
Russian strikes killed three people and wounded two in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, its military administration said. The attacks came after Russia said on Wednesday that momentum towards reaching a peace deal in Ukraine had largely vanished, after Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump’s presidential summit in Alaska, dimming hopes for a quick end to the three-and-a-half year war.
A Russian overnight drone attack injured five people and damaged port and energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa, its governor said on Thursday. The attack cut power to 30,000 consumers and set containers with vegetable oil and wood pellets on fire in the port, Oleh Kiper said on Telegram. It came as fires broke out at fuel and energy facilities in Russia’s Volgograd region as a result of a drone attack, Governor Andrei Bocharov said on Thursday.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Nato on Wednesday urged European allies to step up purchases of US weapons for Kyiv, as only Washington can supply key capabilities required to counter Russia’s assaults. “European Nato member states are not able to substitute either by types or by volume or speed of delivery,” ambassador Alyona Getmanchuk told AFP.
French president Emmanuel Macron was on Thursday racing to find a new prime minister within a two-day deadline after the resignation of outgoing premier Sebastien Lecornu tipped the country deeper into political crisis. The presidency said late on Wednesday Macron will name a new prime minister within the next 48 hours, indicating the appointment will come by Friday evening at the latest.
A French appeal court is to rule on Thursday in the case of the only man among 50 who claims he is innocent after being convicted of sexually abusing Gisèle Pelicot. The 72-year-old’s former husband has admitted to drugging her with sedatives and inviting dozens of strangers to rape and abuse her over nearly a decade in a case that shocked the world.
US sanctions on Serbia’s Russian-owned NIS oil company, which runs the country’s sole refinery, came into force Thursday after months of delays. The US sanctioned the Petroleum Industry of Serbia (NIS) in January as part of its crackdown on Russian energy, aiming to curb the sector following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Germany’s parliament has rescinded a fast-track citizenship programme, reflecting the rapidly shifting mood on migration in Europe’s labour-hungry economic powerhouse. Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservatives pledged in this year’s election campaign to rescind the legislation, which let people deemed “exceptionally well integrated” gain citizenship in three years instead of five.
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