Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
A top Russian military official who plays a major role in the country’s intelligence services has been taken to hospital after being shot in Moscow (9:36, 9:45).
Without offering any evidence, Russia has blamed Ukraine for the attack, suggesting the attack was intended to disrupt the peace negotiations over ending the Russian invasion of the country (10:19, 12:20).
Alekseyev’s shooting will be seen as the latest failure of Russia’s security services to protect key military personnel deep inside Russia (10:39).
Separately, the European Commission has put forward new sanctions against Russia amid its continuing aggression on Ukraine, urging member states to swiftly adopt the measures before the fourth anniversary of the full-scale war later this month (15:11).
The move comes amid new warnings from Norway that Russia could step up its spying activities and sabotage attempts in a bid to undermine Oslo’s support for Ukraine (14:16).
In other news,
Hundreds of protesters gathered in Milan on Friday to oppose the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents and the closure of schools and streets in the city ahead of the opening ceremony of the Milano Cortina Winter Games (11:48).
The games officially begin tonight with an opening ceremony at the iconic San Siro stadium in Milan.
US vice-president JD Vance and US secretary of state Marco Rubio are among the highest level international guests attending the games, and they met with the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, earlier today (15:43).
Finally,
Heavy rains and strong winds continued to batter parts of Spain and Portugal on Friday, causing at least one death, forcing the evacuation of more than 7,000 people and prompting calls to postpone the second-round of Portugal’s presidential election (13:14).
TikTok could be forced into changes to make the app less addictive to users after the EU indicated the platform had breached the bloc’s digital safety rules (12:45).
Norway’s economic crime police unit, Økokrim, said it has opened an investigation into former prime minister and chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, Thorbjørn Jagland after the latest release of the so-called Epstein files (11:27).
France and Canada are opening their consulates in Nuuk, Greenland as a sign of support for the territory amid continuing interest in controlling the semi-autonomous Danish territory from the current US administration (14:46).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Russian general's condition remains unclear - latest
Russian affairs reporter
Let’s go back to Moscow for the latest on the attempted assassination of Lt Gen Vladimir Alekseyev, a top Russian military official who plays a major role in the country’s intelligence services.
Alekseyev’s condition remains unclear.
Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian figure close to Alekseyev, said the general had undergone surgery and remained in a coma.
Ukraine has not officially commented on the shooting of the GRU general Alekseyev.
However, Denys Prokopenko, the commander of Ukraine’s Azov regiment, wrote on X that if Alekseyev survived the attack he would “never sleep peacefully again”.
“No war criminal who has killed and tortured Ukrainian soldiers and civilians, destroyed Ukrainian cities, abducted Ukrainian children, or committed other crimes against the Ukrainian people will ever feel safe,” Prokopenko added.
Prokopenko said Alekseyev had acted as the senior Russian representative during negotiations over captured Ukrainian soldiers during the siege of Mariupol in May 2022, and accused him of bearing responsibility for the systematic torture of captured Azov fighters.
Updated
