Closing summary
The Kremlin said it is preparing retaliatory measures after Ukraine twice fired US-made Atacms missiles into Russia in the last three days. Moscow said both strikes targeted air defence positions in the Kursk region and claimed on both occasions either one or two missiles reached their targets, while most were shot down.
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte underscored the need “to go further to change the trajectory of the conflict” in Ukraine. While in Athens, Grecce, on a diplomatic visit, the new Nato leader said it was vital alliance members delivered on commitments made at the alliance’s July summit in the US.
Russia said it was expelling a British diplomat that it accused of espionage and summoned London’s ambassador to the foreign ministry in Moscow. According to the FSB, Russia’s security service, the British diplomat replaced one of six diplomats expelled in August, also on espionage charges. It said the diplomat provided false information on his documents and carried out espionage and sabotage activities.
Russian forces staged their largest ever drone attack on Ukraine overnight, cutting power to much of the western city of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in Kyiv region, Ukraine’s officials said.
The EU is proposing to sanction several Chinese technology firms for aiding Russia’s war against Ukraine, according to draft documents seen by the Guardian. The EU is targeting seven companies from China and Hong Kong, as well as firms based in Russia, Serbia, Iran, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, for “supporting Russia’s military industrial complex”.
The UK government recently supplied Ukraine with dozens more Storm Shadow cruise missiles, sources have told Bloomberg. The deliveries were not publicly announced and took place several weeks ago, according to the report.
Lt Gen Alexander Sanchik has reportedly been appointed acting commander of Russia’s so-called “south” group of forces, one of the large army units involved in Moscow’s war on Ukraine.
Russian forces captured the village of Kopanky in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the Interfax news agency cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying.
Russia confirmed it has detained a British man it captured fighting for Ukraine in Kyiv’s offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region. A court in the region said it had on Monday ordered James Scott Rhys Anderson be remanded in custody, alleging he had “participated in armed hostilities on the territory of the Kursk region”.
Officials in Ukraine are preparing for Donald Trump becoming US president in January. Trump’s election victory has accelerated preparations for talks between Kyiv and Moscow after nearly three years of war. He has repeatedly said he could end the war “in a day”, without detailing how. He has also characterised US military assistance to Ukraine as a drain on American resources. My colleagues Shaun Walker, Helena Smith and Dan Sabbagh report:
Both sides are seeking to position themselves before the return of Trump, who has claimed he will be able to bring a resolution to the conflict in “24 hours”, while giving few details of how he would go about it.
Allies of Ukraine are also in heated discussions about how best to keep supporting Kyiv amid a possible change in US policy. The Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, who met Trump in Florida over the weekend, said on Tuesday that Nato allies needed to do more to help Kyiv. “Our support for Ukraine has kept them in the fight, but we need to go further to change the trajectory of the conflict,” he said during a visit to Athens.
Highlighting the importance of strengthening the bloc’s “deterrence and defence”, Rutte said it was also critical that investment and production in the arms industry was boosted.
