Ukraine-Russia war live: UK and Europe to ramp up efforts to help Kyiv beat Putin’s forces

A senior Whitehall source told The Times that the UK and European countries were keen to get more weapons and ammunition to the Kyiv frontline, ahead of any change in power in the White House.

The source said 2024 would be about “stretching Putin into 2025 and beyond — effectively calling his bluff and testing his resolve”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin made only passing reference in his New Year address on Sunday to his war in Ukraine, hailing his soldiers as heroes but mostly emphasising unity and shared determination.

The pre-recorded address, being aired just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones, was in sharp contrast to last year, when he stood behind grim-looking soldiers to make a stern call for sacrifice in what he cast as a fight for survival.

“To everyone who is at a combat post, at the forefront of the fight for truth and justice: You are our heroes, our hearts are with you. We are proud of you, we admire your courage,” Putin said, this time with the more traditional backdrop of the Kremlin walls.

Ukraine was not mentioned by name, nor the “special military operation”, Putin’s term for the war he unleashed in February 2022 by sending Russia’s armed forces into Ukraine.

Germany‘s chancellor used his New Year’s speech to call on his country’s citizens not to lose confidence in the future as they adapt to a world experiencing multiple crises and changing at an ever-faster pace.

“So much suffering; so much bloodshed. Our world has become a more unsettled and harsher place. It’s changing at an almost breathtaking speed,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in the prerecorded speech to be broadcast Sunday.

Scholz was referring to Russia‘s war on Ukraine, a resulting rise in energy prices, the suffering during the coronavirus pandemic, and the attack by Hamas that triggered Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

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As we approach the second anniversary of the launch of Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February, Western commentary on the war in Ukraine has become increasingly gloomy.

After the failure of the initial invasion, the friends of the Ukrainian people and the supporters of their right to defend themselves against Mr Putin’s aggression assumed that it would be possible for the Ukrainians to recover their stolen territory reasonably quickly and declare the war over. Ukrainian morale was so high and the condition of the Russian military so poor that such optimism seemed justified.

All through 2023, hopes were invested in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but they have not been realised. The war has settled into a defensive battle over entrenched front lines that can be moved, slowly, only at great cost in lives and materiel.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an election in March, made only passing reference in his New Year address on Sunday to his war in Ukraine, hailing his soldiers as heroes but mostly emphasising unity and shared determination.

The pre-recorded address, being aired just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones, was in sharp contrast to last year, when he stood behind grim-looking soldiers to make a stern call for sacrifice in what he cast as a fight for survival.

“To everyone who is at a combat post, at the forefront of the fight for truth and justice: You are our heroes, our hearts are with you. We are proud of you, we admire your courage,” Putin said, this time with the more traditional backdrop of the Kremlin walls.

Ukraine was not mentioned by name, nor the “special military operation”, Putin’s term for the war he unleashed in February 2022 by sending Russia’s armed forces into Ukraine.

Power lines and a grain storage facility in the central Ukrainian region of Kirovohrad were damaged by a Russian attack, the region’s governor reported on Sunday.

“The Kirovohrad region is again under enemy fire,” Andriy Raikovych wrote on the Telegram messaging app, adding that air defences had been engaged.