Russian troops have reached the Ukrainian city of Toretsk, an anchor of Kyiv’s defences in the eastern Donetsk region. Its capture could bring closer the prospect of Moscow securing the entire Donbas. Meanwhile, the MI5 boss has warned Russia wants to create “mayhem” on UK streets.
Tuesday 8 October 2024 15:14, UK
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said that it is impossible for Ukraine to win against Russia on the battlefield, as he stressed the need for a ceasefire.
Hungary is among the most supportive European nations of Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, consistently opposing sanctions and frustrating the European Union, NATO and as (recently as today) the G7 (see 1.46pm post).
Speaking at a news conference in Strasbourg, Mr Orban added that both direct and indirect communication is needed between Kyiv and Moscow – and suggested a third party mediates between them.
Sir Keir Starmer will head to Berlin on Saturday for talks with leaders from the US, France and Germany.
Number 10 said the prime minister, Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholz will discuss the war in Ukraine and worsening conflict in the Middle East.
The meeting will send a strong signal of continued military support for Ukraine, a German government source told the Reuters news agency.
The summit promises to drive home the message that Russian President Vladimir Putin cannot hope to play for time and wait for Western support to cease, the source added.
The Middle East is also on the agenda.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
An American pensioner has been sentenced to nearly seven years in a Russian prison after being convicted of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine.
Stephen Hubbard, 72, was accused of signing a $1,000-per-month contract with a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in the city of Izyum in February 2022.
He was captured by Russian forces in April that year, shortly after the war began.
It is unclear when or how he arrived in Moscow.
After a trial was held behind closed doors in Moscow’s highest city court, journalists were allowed to witness the verdict – which was delivered yesterday.
Read more of Bennett’s report here:
Hungary will hold up a $50bn (£38bn) G7 loan for Ukraine until after the US presidential election next month, its finance minister has said.
Budapest is able to indirectly hold up the deal by delaying its own decision on the timing of the renewal of EU sanctions against Russia.
That’s because Washington needs the EU to revise its timeframe for the renewal of sanctions to every three years for it to contribute some $20bn (£15bn) to the G7 loan, matching the European Union’s contribution, EU officials have said.
“We believe that this issue, the prolongation of the Russian sanctions, should be decided after the US elections. We have to see in which direction the future US administration is going with this issue,” finance minister Mihaly Varga said.
Hungary is among the most supportive European nations of Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia, consistently opposing sanctions and frustrating the European Union and NATO over aid for Ukraine and accession of Kyiv and other neighbours to the alliance.
Viktor Orban, the country’s leader, is also a close ally of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, who has signalled a massive drawback of American financial and military assistance to Ukraine if he wins the race for the White House next month.
By Jason Farrell, home editor
The UK is at risk from an increased threat from “Putin’s henchmen” who want to see “mayhem” on British streets, the head of MI5 has warned.
Ken McCallum, its director-general, said his team had “a hell of a job on its hands” and painted a picture of a multifaceted threat facing the UK, with resurgent terrorist organisations such as Al Qaeda and IS, in addition to state terrorism from countries such as Iran and Russia.
More than 750 Russian diplomats, many of them spies, have been expelled from Europe since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
While this has dented Russian intelligence services, Mr McCallum said they are on a “sustained mission to generate mayhem on British and European streets” with “arson, sabotage and more”.
He had a message to criminals considering taking on work for hostile states, saying: “If you take money from Iran, Russia or any other state to carry out illegal acts in the UK, you will bring the full weight of the national security apparatus down on you. It’s a choice you’ll regret.”
Read more here:
Vladimir Putin turned 72 yesterday.
In Donetsk, one of the regions the Russian president and his regime have illegally annexed in Ukraine, some pro-Russian locals came out to celebrate.
Some waved Russian flags, while others posed with posters with slogans that read: “Why would we want such a world if Russia is not there?”
Ukraine is investigating another case of alleged Russian abuse and execution of prisoners of war, human rights officials have said.
Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian human rights commissioner, sent letters to the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) yesterday over aerial footage which allegedly showed Russian forces torturing and executing three unarmed Ukrainian POWs in the Donetsk region.
He highlighted that the highest levels of the Russian military command appear to be tolerating Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The head of the Ukrainian department for combating crimes in conditions of armed conflict, Yuri Bilousov, said last week that Ukraine had evidence indicating that Russian forces have executed 93 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) on the battlefield since the start of the full-scale invasion – and that 80% of the recorded cases occurred this calendar year.
The UK has sanctioned troops in a Russian unit and their commander for the use of “barbaric chemical weapons” on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The Foreign Office said Moscow’s forces have “openly admitted to using hazardous chemical weapons on the battlefield”, with “widespread use of riot control agents and multiple reports of the use of the toxic choking agent chloropicrin”, which was first used during the First World War.
“Among those sanctioned today are the Radiological, Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Russian Armed Forces and its leader Igor Kirillov, responsible for helping deploy these barbaric weapons,” it said.
David Lammy, the foreign secretary, said: “Kirillov has also been a significant mouthpiece for Kremlin disinformation, spreading lies to mask Russia’s shameful and dangerous behaviour.”
Also sanctioned are two Russian defence ministry laboratories for “providing support for the development and deployment of these inhumane weapons for use on the frontlines”.
The UK should be “out in front” in terms of supporting Ukraine, Boris Johnson has said, adding he would approve the use of British weapons against Russian targets by Kyiv.
Mr Johnson was one of Kyiv’s strongest allies while leading the UK, visiting Ukraine several times and approving a number of key weapons, aid and financial packages to aid its fight against Russia.
Speaking to presenter Wilfred Frost, the former prime minister discussed a number of angles of the conflict, from leaders to weapons.
Discussing the start of the war, Mr Johnson said Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine was partly down to “Western feebleness”, particularly in the handling of Russia’s previous invasion of Kyiv’s territory in 2014.
“Having got away with that… he thought we wouldn’t take sides in the way that we did,” he said.
He also praised the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“He has recruited the rest of the world, a huge proportion of the rest of the world [to the Ukrainian cause],” Mr Johnson said.
He said as a result comparisons could be made between the embattled Mr Zelenskyy and Winston Churchill – one he has made in the past.
Turning to Western weapons, Frost asked him whether he would allow the use of British munitions against targets inside Russia.
“I would if it was technically possible to give him the ability to do what he needs to do,” he said.
“The UK should be out in front, should be breaking the taboos,” he added, citing his administration’s decision to give Ukraine NLAW anti-tank weapons as an example.
Finally, he added that Ukraine joining NATO would be “game over” for Russia, who he believes would not continue to attack it if it was in the defensive alliance.
You can watch his full interview – in which he discusses the crisis in the Middle East, Brexit, the pandemic and partygate, among other topics, with Sky News here:
Russian troops are continuing their advance in eastern Ukraine, according to Moscow.
Soldiers captured the small village of Zolota Nyva in the Donetsk region, according to the defence ministry.
Ukraine has not commented on the claim.
The village is 20km west of Vuhledar, which was captured last week.
Further north in the region, Russian troops are said to have reached the outskirts of the key city of Toretsk (see 8.07am post).
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free