Polish prime minister Donald Tusk says the EU has made a breakthrough on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine’s war effort at a key EU summit in Brussels.
Speaking to reporters in the Belgian capital, Mr Tusk said the EU will look at a type of reparation loan which would be based on the £185bn frozen assets.
Earlier, he warned that the EU must choose between “money today or blood tomorrow” as they met to vote on the proposal. The assets may be used to secure a reparations loan for Ukraine but Belgium, where they are stored, has shared concerns about the plan’s legality.
Russia has previously hit out at the scheme as “theft”.
“Now we have a simple choice - either money today or blood tomorrow,” Tusk said on Wednesday. “And I am not talking about Ukraine only I am talking about Europe. This is our decision to make and only ours.”
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky attended the summit in person and called on Ukraine's allies to show a united front against Russia.
Key Points
- Tusk says Europe must choose between 'money today or bloody tomorrow' over frozen Russian assets
- Putin's spymaster spoke with new MI6 chief over phone, Tass reports
- Orban says Russian frozen asset loan is 'dead' and won't pass
- EU faces crunch decision at high-stakes Brussels summit today
- Three people killed in Ukrainian drone attacks overnight
- British man jailed in Russia for 13 years accused of fighting for Ukraine
War will not end if Ukraine runs out of funding, says military analyst
22:01 , Alex CroftThe war will not end immediately if Ukraine finally runs out of funding, a leading military expert has said.
The crunch vote in Brussels on funding Ukraine is set to determine whether Ukraine will secure two-thirds of its funding needs through 2026 and 2027.
“Ukraine relies on economic assistance as well as military assistance in order to continue to function as a state,” said Chatham House analyst Keir Giles, who is an expert on the Russian military.
“But it would be misleading to think that as soon as the as soon as Ukraine goes into the red, the war will end. For Ukraine, just as for Russia, there is no direct and immediate linkage between economic crisis and inability to continue fighting.
“In both cases, it would just make it very much harder and would speed up defeat. But it is not an immediate result.
“So if the European leaders once again fail to meet the challenge at today's talks, there are still options for ensuring that their front line of defense in Ukraine continues to hold through other means of redirecting finance, in order to ensure that Ukrainian society and the economy can continue to function, and in order to continue to defend Europe.”
Nato on alert after Russian border guards ‘illegally cross border into Estonia’ on hovercraft
21:00 , Alex CroftEstonia has accused three Russian border guards of illegally crossing into Nato territory on a hovercraft without permission.
The country’s interior minister Igor Taro said the border guards had entered Estonia after crossing the Narva River on the vessel at around 10am on Wednesday morning.
The Estonian foreign ministry will summon the Russian Chargé d’Affaires after the alleged intrusion.
“Today, the Estonian Police and Border Guard detected an illegal crossing of a temporary control line between Estonia and Russia on the Narva River breakwater by three border guards of the Russian Federation,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Estonian border guard patrols responded to the border incident. After a short time, the Russian border guards returned to Russian territory.”
Read the full report here:
Nato on alert after Russian border guards ‘illegally cross border into Estonia’
Russia's central bank says it will sue European banks over Russian frozen asset loan
20:01 , Alex CroftRussia's central bank said on Thursday that it will sue European banks in a Russian court over attempts to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine.
Under international law, sovereign assets cannot be confiscated, so the European Commission has put forward a plan to allow EU governments to use up to 165 billion euros - most of the 210 billion euros worth of Russian sovereign assets currently frozen in Europe - without confiscating them.
Why the frozen Russian asset loan carries financial risk for EU
19:00 , Alex CroftEU countries have to share the risk of the entire frozen Russian asset loan project, if it is approved.
The main risk is a scenario under which the EU has to return the cash to Russia but Russia has not yet paid the war reparations to Ukraine. Kyiv only needs to pay back the loan if Russia pays reparations.
Under this scenario, the EU would be left liable for the amount that has been transferred to Ukraine.
EU governments agreed on December 12 that the immobilised Russian assets will stay frozen indefinitely, removing a serious risk that during one of the votes that take place every six months to keep the money frozen, which requires unanimity, one country could break ranks with others and force the EU to release the money to Moscow.
With the risk of an "accidental" lifting of the sanctions removed, the risk to EU governments is very small because their guarantees would only be called upon if EU governments themselves decide to unfreeze the Russian assets before Russia pays war damages to Ukraine.
Paratrooper killed in Ukraine told family to ‘be proud’ of what he died doing
18:58 , Alex CroftA British paratrooper killed serving in Ukraine said he "went out doing what I trained to do".
The body of Lance Corporal George Hooley, 28, was repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in west Oxfordshire on Wednesday after his death in what the Ministry of Defence called a "tragic accident" last week.
An extract from a letter written by L/Cpl Hooley to be opened in the event of his death said "don't remember me with sadness and loss" because he died "doing what I believed in".
A private, family-only ceremony was held at Brize Norton before L/Cpl Hooley's body was carried past Carterton Repatriation Memorial Garden.
People paid their respects along the route, some in tears, and members of the armed forces and police also turned out to honour the soldier.
Mourners gathered at the garden, designed by the Oxfordshire community as a space for people to honour fallen military personnel.
Putin calls European leaders 'little pigs' amid ongoing peace talks - ICYMI
18:26 , Alex CroftRussian president Vladimir Putin has lashed out at European leaders calling them “little pigs” amid ongoing US-brokered peace talks.
In a bizarre rant against the West, the leader said: “Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country.”
He added that Russia would “liberate its historical lands on the battlefield” or through diplomacy but would achieve its territorial aims in the end. Putin had previously accused Western countries of “hysteria” adding that claims Russia wanted war with Europe were “a lie”.
Russia preparing talks with US, says Kremlin
17:53 , Alex CroftRussia is preparing talks with the US to find out what changes have been made to Washington's Ukraine peace plan after talks with Kyiv and Europe, the Kremlin has said. Tass state news agency quoted the Kremlin as saying on Thursday.
"In order to understand how much it has changed, we are now preparing the relevant contacts with the Americans," spokesman Dmitry Peskov said according to Tass state news agency.
Tass did not say on what level the contacts would take place although Kirill Dmitriev, Putin's special envoy for investment, is expected to hold talks in Miami in the coming days with US negotiators.
Putin's spymaster spoke with new MI6 chief over phone, Tass reports
17:21 , Alex CroftRussian president Vladimir Putin's foreign intelligence director, Sergei Naryshkin, said that he had recently spoken by telephone to the chief of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), TASS reported on Thursday.
"A few days ago, I had a rather lengthy telephone conversation with the newly appointed chief of MI6, [Blaise] Metreweli," said Naryshkin, the director of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Naryshkin said that Russian intelligence officers worked officially in London and that SIS officers worked officially in Moscow, Tass reported. He gave no further details.
EU to propose loan using Russia's frozen assets under conditions, says draft document
16:49 , Alex CroftEuropean Union leaders will ask EU institutions to urgently begin establishing a reparations loan backed by cash balances linked to Russia's frozen assets, according to a draft document which is still subject to change.
The draft, seen by Reuters news agency, lists several conditions for the loan, including full respect for the contractual obligations of asset holders, equal treatment, compliance with bilateral investment treaties, and a requirement that the funds support both EU and Ukrainian defence industries.
The draft also said EU leaders want the reparations loan to provide financial support for Ukraine starting in the second quarter of 2026, including its military needs.
In the document, the text about the reparations loan was in square brackets which means the proposal had not yet been adopted and may still change as talks go on.
Zelensky: No need to change Ukraine's constitution over Nato membership
16:20 , Alex CroftUkrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he saw no need to change Ukraine's constitution, which enshrines its aim to become a Nato member state, days after offering to drop that ambition in exchange for hard security guarantees.
A block on Ukraine joining the military alliance has consistently been a core Russian demand to end its nearly four-year war against its neighbour.
Zelensky said on Sunday that Ukraine could compromise on Nato membership if given bilateral security guarantees with protections similar to Nato's Article 5, which considers an attack on one member as an attack against all.
"To be honest, I don't think we need to change our country's constitution," Zelensky said on Thursday when asked about it by a reporter, adding that the Ukrainian people should make decisions about their constitution.
"Certainly not because of calls from the Russian Federation or anyone else," he said.
Russia forms military brigade equipped with hypersonic missile
15:53 , Alex CroftRussia has formed a military brigade which is equipped with its new hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov said according to state news agency Tass.
Russia fired the Oreshnik at Ukraine for the first time in November 2024. President Vladimir Putin has boasted that it is impossible to intercept and has destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.
Some Western experts have said those claims are exaggerated.
Merz to make frozen Russian assets in Germany available for use by Ukraine
15:31 , Alex CroftGerman chancellor Friedrich Merz plans to comply with Belgian demands and make available assets held in Germany belonging to the Russian central bank to support Ukraine, German news agency dpa reported on Thursday.
It cited negotiating sources on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels.
Tusk: EU leaders have agreed to work on the frozen Russian asset proposal
15:12 , Alex CroftEU leaders have agreed in Brussels to work on the option of financing Ukraine in 2026 band 2027 through the use of frozen Russian assets rather than joint EU borrowing, Poland's prime minister Donald Tusk said.
"We are certainly after a breakthrough and the breakthrough means that everybody agrees that it is worth trying and that the use of Russian assets for Ukraine would be justified and good for Europe, but some countries will fight until the end to maximise guarantees for themselves," Tusk told reporters.
"This declaration that we all want to use Russian assets for Ukraine was made and I don't think anybody is going to go back on it," Tusk said during a break in summit talks.
Zelensky: Ukraine ready for any proposal to use Russian assets - but loan preferred
14:51 , Alex CroftUkraine is ready for any proposal which allows it to use Russian sovereign assets frozen by its allies, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
But the current proposal of a loan would be preferred, he added, as EU leaders gear up to vote on the proposal.
Zelensky said he had discussed the issue with Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, an opponent of the current proposal to use the assets to secure a large loan for Ukraine.
During the press conference, the Ukrainian president also said Ukraine is facing a foreign aid shortfall of 45-50 billion euros ($53-59 billion) in 2026.
If Kyiv did not receive a first tranche of a loan secured by Russian assets by next spring, he said, it would have to significantly cut drone production.
This would mean that Ukraine would have far fewer drones than Russia, and would not be able to conduct vital long-range strikes on Russian energy facilities, he added.
Six injured in central Ukraine's Cherkasy after Russian attack
14:30 , Alex CroftAt least six people have been injured after Russia launched a "massive" drone attack on Ukraine’s central Cherkasy region, officials said.
"A difficult night for our Cherkasy region," local governor Ihor Taburets said on his Telegram channel.
The attack targeted critical infrastructure and part of the region's main Cherkasy city was without power, he said. He also reported damage to more than a dozen of private houses.
The military said Russia launched at least 82 drones at Ukraine overnight, and Ukrainian forces destroyed 63 of them.
More attacks were reported in the southern Mykolaiv region by the governor there, who said Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure, leaving settlements in the Voznesensk and Mykolaiv districts without power.
The power supply has been since reportedly restored.
Russia has sharply increased the number and intensity of its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent months, targeting gas, energy and distribution facilities and plunging entire cities into darkness.
An attack over the weekend left more than a million households across Ukraine without power.
Watch: Zelensky says Russia is preparing for 'year of war'
14:10 , Alex CroftWar will not end if Ukraine runs out of funding, says military analyst
13:48 , Alex CroftThe war will not end immediately if Ukraine finally runs out of funding, a leading military expert has said.
The crunch vote in Brussels on funding Ukraine is set to determine whether Ukraine will secure two-thirds of its funding needs through 2026 and 2027.
“Ukraine relies on economic assistance as well as military assistance in order to continue to function as a state,” said Chatham House analyst Keir Giles, who is an expert on the Russian military.
“But it would be misleading to think that as soon as the as soon as Ukraine goes into the red, the war will end. For Ukraine, just as for Russia, there is no direct and immediate linkage between economic crisis and inability to continue fighting.
“In both cases, it would just make it very much harder and would speed up defeat. But it is not an immediate result.
“So if the European leaders once again fail to meet the challenge at today's talks, there are still options for ensuring that their front line of defense in Ukraine continues to hold through other means of redirecting finance, in order to ensure that Ukrainian society and the economy can continue to function, and in order to continue to defend Europe.”
Why can’t the EU agree on using £80bn of frozen Russian assets for the Ukraine war?
13:26 , Alex CroftThe European Union is set to vote on a historic proposal to use billions in frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine on Thursday.
It comes at a critical juncture in peace talks, after president Vladimir Putin called European leaders “little pigs” on Wednesday and US president Donald Trump accused the continent of showing weakness.
Europe has floated an unprecedented plan to raise £80bn out of a total of £250bn in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine to support its war effort and, in turn, put pressure on Putin to end the war.
Our foreign news reporters James Reynolds and Maira Butt report:
Why can’t the EU agree on using £80bn of frozen Russian assets for the Ukraine war?
Zelensky: We must not let Russian assets be used against us
13:06 , Alex CroftVolodymyr Zelensky has now warned that frozen Russian assets must not be allowed to be used by Moscow to its political advantage.
“Money is needed so that Russia and anybody else doesn’t use these Russian assets as a leverage against us,” he said.
He adds that it is vital to stop these assets being used as a part of Russia’s negotiation tactics, such as by offering access to the US.
Zelensky also spoke on the importance of security guarantees.
“I believe that the end of the war in general is connected with security guarantees, because without security guarantees it doesn’t mean there will be an end.”
Russia “will come” again without guarantees that “speak to everybody”, including Ukrainian people who want to return, investors, tourists, and so on.
Zelensky: Kyiv will need to cut funding for drones without EU loan
13:01 , Alex CroftUkraine will be forced to cut funding for drones if it does not receive a tranche of EU funding by Spring, Zelensky has warned.
Drones are a critical element of Ukraine’s defence, used for both attack and reconaissance purposes.
Drone warfare has been a central feature of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Zelensky: Ukraine is counting on a positive decision from the EU
12:59 , Alex CroftZelensky is now speaking to a media conference in Brussels.
Ukraine is counting on a positive decision from the EU on the frozen Russian assets, he says.
The signals from Russia, he says, show that Moscow is definitely not interested in peace with Europe.
He says there is a unified position that Ukraine needs to understand what Kyiv’s financing situation will be next year - and says that as it stands the foreign aid deficit will be at 45 billion to 50 billion Euros next year.
In pictures: Zelensky arrives at EU summit
12:56 , Alex Croft
Russia's central bank says it will sue European banks over Russian frozen asset loan
12:35 , Alex CroftRussia's central bank said on Thursday that it will sue European banks in a Russian court over attempts to use frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine.
Under international law, sovereign assets cannot be confiscated, so the European Commission has put forward a plan to allow EU governments to use up to 165 billion euros - most of the 210 billion euros worth of Russian sovereign assets currently frozen in Europe - without confiscating them.
Why the frozen Russian asset loan carries financial risk for EU
12:13 , Alex CroftEU countries have to share the risk of the entire frozen Russian asset loan project, if it is approved.
The main risk is a scenario under which the EU has to return the cash to Russia but Russia has not yet paid the war reparations to Ukraine. Kyiv only needs to pay back the loan if Russia pays reparations.
Under this scenario, the EU would be left liable for the amount that has been transferred to Ukraine.
EU governments agreed on December 12 that the immobilised Russian assets will stay frozen indefinitely, removing a serious risk that during one of the votes that take place every six months to keep the money frozen, which requires unanimity, one country could break ranks with others and force the EU to release the money to Moscow.
With the risk of an "accidental" lifting of the sanctions removed, the risk to EU governments is very small because their guarantees would only be called upon if EU governments themselves decide to unfreeze the Russian assets before Russia pays war damages to Ukraine.
Recap: What is the froze Russian asset loan?
11:51 , Alex CroftThe EU froze €210bn (£184bn) of Russian assets following Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Nearly four years on, the EU wants to use this money to generate a loan for Ukraine.
Under the plan, the EU would borrow from Euroclear - a Brussels-based financial company where the assets are held - to provide a €90bn (£79bn) loan, covering around two-thirds of Kyiv’s funding needs for 2026 and 2027.
Ukraine’s other allies would provide the rest, the EU expects.
The money would be repaid to the EU by Ukraine only if Russia agreed to pay reparations for the war. The EU would then repay the money back to Euroclear. Moscow, meanwhile, would still be the legal owner of the assets.
EU imposes sanctions on 41 ships in Russia's shadow fleet
11:29 , Alex CroftThe European Union imposed sanctions on 41 more ships in Russia's shadow fleet, taking the total of designated vessels to almost 600.
The ships are now banned from entering EU ports and can no longer receive a broad range of services related to maritime transport, the EU Council said.
The EU has imposed 19 packages of sanctions against Russia so far, but Moscow has managed to adapt to most measures and is still selling millions of barrels of oil to India and China, albeit at discounts to global prices.
Much of this is shipped using a so-called shadow fleet of vessels operating outside of the Western maritime industry.
The EU on Monday already adopted sanctions targeting Russia oil traders Murtaza Lakhani and Etibar Eyyub for enabling Moscow to circumvent Western sanctions on crude exports that help to fund Russia's war in Ukraine.
Frozen Russian asset loan a ‘test’ for Europe after previous failures
11:11 , Alex CroftThe frozen Russian asset loan is the “latest test” on whether Europe can respond appropriately after previous failures to take the Russian threat seriously, an analyst has warned.
The frozen assets no longer have any economic significant to Russia and are now “an instrument by which Russia can demonstrate Europe's inability to take its security challenges seriously”, said Keir Giles, an expert on the Russian military and associate fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House.
“This is the latest test for Europe in terms of whether they can respond appropriately to the looming threats that an increasing number of European leaders and defense chiefs are describing from Russia, or whether they will once again fail to respond appropriately to the challenge that they are describing,” he added.
“Unless and until Europe addresses this problem, it will be yet another means by which it has let down not only Ukraine, but also the future of its own populations.”
British man captured by Russian forces while ‘fighting for Ukraine’ jailed for 13 years
10:55 , Alex CroftA British man has been jailed for 13 years in a Russian maximum security prison camp after being convicted for fighting with the Ukrainian army, Russian prosecutors said.
Hayden Davies, 30 was accused by Moscow of being a “paid mercenary” who fought in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where fierce fighting continues.
The office of Russia's Prosecutor General said he had been tried by a court in a part of Russian-controlled Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions which Moscow illegally claimed as its own in 2022. It did not say how Davies had pleaded.
Full report here:
British man captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine jailed for 13 years
Kyiv delegation heading to US for peace talks on Friday and Saturday - Zelensky
10:42 , Alex CroftUkrainian peace negotiators are en route to the United States and plan to meet the US negotiating team on Friday and Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday.
The Ukrainian president told reporters in a WhatsApp media chat that there were no final aligned peace proposals for now, reiterating his plea to partners to strengthen Ukraine in case Russia refuses to stop its war.
Moscow also said on Thursday that Russia was preparing for contacts with the United States to get details about US talks with European powers and Ukraine on a possible peace settlement to end the Ukraine conflict.
180,000 Ukrainians left without power after Russian drone attack
10:27 , Alex CroftAround 180,000 consumers were left without electricity supplies across five Ukrainian regions after a Russian attack overnight, Ukraine's acting energy minister Artem Nekrasov said on Thursday.
Nekrasov said on the Telegram messenger that the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, the central regions of Cherkasy and Dnipropetrovsk, and the north-eastern region of Sumy were attacked during the night.
In pictures: EU leaders gather for critical summit
10:13 , Alex Croft
Zelensky touches down in Brussels
09:53 , Alex CroftVolodymyr Zelensky has touched down in Brussels, where he will join EU talks aimed at finding a solution to fund Ukraine.
This is according to Dmytro Lytvyn, Zelensky's communications adviser, who told European Pravda that the Ukrainian president had “landed”.
EU leaders are expected to make a final decision on the ‘reparations loan’ today.
British man jailed in Russia for 13 years accused of fighting for Ukraine
09:47 , Alex CroftA British man who Moscow says fought for Ukraine against the Russian army has been sentenced to 13 years in a maximum security prison camp after being convicted of being a paid mercenary, Russian prosecutors said on Thursday.
The office of Russia's Prosecutor General named the jailed Briton as 30-year-old Hayden Davies and said he had been tried by a court in a part of Russian-controlled Donetsk, one of four Ukrainian regions which Moscow claimed as its own in 2022.
The Russian statement did not say how Davies had pleaded.
It said Davies had arrived in western Ukraine in August 2024, signed a contract to fight for the International Legion for the Defence of Ukraine, undergone military training, and then fought against the Russian army in Donetsk.
Davies had been captured by Russia in winter 2024 carrying a US-made assault rifle and ammunition, it said.
EU council chief vows bloc will reach funding solution for Ukraine
09:37 , Alex CroftEU council chief Antonio Costa has now echoed comments by commission chief Ursula von der Leyen that European leaders will not leave this summit without a solution on financing Ukraine.
It falls short of being a promise not to leave before countries vote in favour of the €90bn (£79bn) loan, however.
"We will never leave the council without a final decision to ensure the financial needs of Ukraine," Costa told reporters on Thursday, after arriving at the EU headquarters in Brussels, where talks will shortly get underway.
EU leaders express hope - but not confidence - that frozen Russian asset loan will pass
09:26 , Alex CroftEU leaders have been speaking to the press as they arrive in Brussels for crunch talks on the Russian frozen asset proposal.
Several have expressed “hope” that they can get the proposals over the line - but there doesn’t appear to be a great deal confidence that it will definitely happen.
"My impression is that we can come to an agreement. I understand the concerns by some member states, particularly by the Belgian government, but I hope that we can address them together," said German chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU had addressed concerns that Belgium - where the frozen assets are located - has raised.
"So I hope that we get this over the finishing line," she told reporters at an EU summit on Thursday.
But Sweden’s prime minister Ulf Kristersson said there was no sign yet of agreement among the EU nations on the use of frozen Russian assets.
Von der Leyen: We will not leave until there is an agreement
09:04 , Alex CroftWe’ve now heard from European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, who issued a combatively declared that she will not leave the Brussels summit without a solution for financing Ukraine.
She was speaking to reporters after arriving at the meeting, where EU leaders are currently arriving en masse.
Countries such as Belgium have opposed using frozen Russian assets to finance Ukraine unless the other member countries accept to share the financial risk of such a move.
"I totally support Belgium," she said.
Orban says Russian frozen asset loan is 'dead' and won't pass
08:43 , Alex CroftThe idea for the European Union to use Russian frozen assets, which are mostly located in Brussels, in order to finance Ukraine, is "dead", Viktor Orban said on Thursday.
The pro-Moscow Hungarian prime minister said there is a blocking minority against the proposal, meaning it won’t pass.
Arriving at the EU summit in Brussels, Orban said financing Ukraine from a common EU loan was not acceptable for Hungary.
Polish PM says Europe must choose between 'money today or bloody tomorrow' over frozen Russian assets
08:25 , Maira ButtPolish prime minister Donald Tusk has warned that the European Union must choose between “money today or blood tomorrow” as EU leaders meet to vote on the use of £185bn of frozen Russian assets.
The European Commission has proposed that the assets be used to secure a reparations loan for Ukraine, however Belgium, where the majority of the assets are stored, has shared concerns about the plan’s legality. Russia has previously hit out at the scheme as “theft”.
“Now we have a simple choice - either money today or blood tomorrow,” Tusk said on Wednesday. “And I am not talking about Ukraine only I am talking about Europe. This is our decision to make and only ours.”
Watch: Zelensky says Russia is preparing for 'year of war'
07:45 , Maira ButtThree people killed in Ukrainian drone attacks overnight
07:25 , Maira ButtThree people have been killed, including two members of a cargo vessel, in overnight Ukrainian drone attacks on the port of Rostov-on-Don and the town of Bataysk in Russia’s southern Rostov region.
The region’s local governor, Yuri Slyusar, confirmed the news in a post on Telegram. The cargo ship reportedly caught fire as a result of the strikes, which has now been put out.
Three more crew members were injured while seven people were injured in Bataysk.
Six injured in central Ukraine's Cherkasy after Russian attack
06:54 , Arpan RaiAt least six people have been injured after Russia launched a "massive" drone attack on Ukraine’s central Cherkasy region, officials said.
"A difficult night for our Cherkasy region," local governor Ihor Taburets said on his Telegram channel.
The attack targeted critical infrastructure and part of the region's main Cherkasy city was without power, he said. He also reported damage to more than a dozen of private houses.
The military said Russia launched at least 82 drones at Ukraine overnight, and Ukrainian forces destroyed 63 of them.
More attacks were reported in the southern Mykolaiv region by the governor there, who said Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure, leaving settlements in the Voznesensk and Mykolaiv districts without power.
The power supply has been since reportedly restored.
Russia has sharply increased the number and intensity of its attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure in recent months, targeting gas, energy and distribution facilities and plunging entire cities into darkness.
An attack over the weekend left more than a million households across Ukraine without power.
What to expect at Brussels summit today as European leaders rally for Kyiv
06:36 , Arpan RaiSenior European leaders are expected to press for tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets to be used to meet Ukraine's economic and military needs in Brussels today.
The European Union leaders are gathering in the Belgian capital today for a summit aimed at agreeing on a massive loan to cover Ukraine's financial needs for the next two years.
A decision to use Russia's assets to support the nation it is invading would be unprecedented, and comes with legal and financial risks.
The European Central Bank has warned that if Europeans appear willing to grab other countries' money, it could undermine confidence in the euro.
Some member nations are also concerned about inviting retaliation from Russia.
Belgium, where most of the frozen assets are held at a financial clearing house, is the main opponent of the plan. It fears that Russia will strike back and would prefer that the bloc borrow the money on international markets.
Hungary and Slovakia oppose EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen's plan for a "reparations loan”.
Some €90bn ($105bn) would be lent to Ukraine until Russia ends its war and pays for the damage it has caused over almost four years.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says that totals more than €600bn ($700bn).
Paratrooper killed in Ukraine told family to ‘be proud’ of what he died doing
06:11 , Arpan RaiA British paratrooper killed serving in Ukraine said he "went out doing what I trained to do".
The body of Lance Corporal George Hooley, 28, was repatriated to RAF Brize Norton in west Oxfordshire on Wednesday after his death in what the Ministry of Defence called a "tragic accident" last week.
An extract from a letter written by L/Cpl Hooley to be opened in the event of his death said "don't remember me with sadness and loss" because he died "doing what I believed in".
A private, family-only ceremony was held at Brize Norton before L/Cpl Hooley's body was carried past Carterton Repatriation Memorial Garden.
People paid their respects along the route, some in tears, and members of the armed forces and police also turned out to honour the soldier.
Mourners gathered at the garden, designed by the Oxfordshire community as a space for people to honour fallen military personnel.
Trump administration readies new Russia sanctions if Putin rejects peace deal – report
05:48 , Arpan RaiThe US is preparing a further round of sanctions targeting Russia's energy sector to increase pressure on Moscow should it reject a peace deal with Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
"It is the role of agencies to prepare options for the president to execute," the official said.
The US was considering options including targeting vessels in what is known as Russia's shadow fleet of tankers used to transport exported oil, as well as traders who facilitate such transactions, according to an earlier report by Bloomberg.
The new measures could be announced as early as this week, the report said, adding that treasury secretary Scott Bessent discussed the move with a group of European ambassadors this week.
“It is explicitly false to conclude any decisions have been made regarding future sanctions against Russia. As we have said for months, all options remain on the table in support of President Trump’s tireless efforts to stop the senseless killing, and to achieving a lasting, durable peace," a US Treasury Department spokesperson said.
A White House official told Reuters that US president Donald Trump had made no new decisions regarding Russian sanctions.
Putin claims speculation of war with the West is ‘hysteria’after threatening Europe
04:52 , Arpan RaiVladimir Putin dismissed fears of conflict with Europe as “hysteria” stoked by Ukraine’s allies on Wednesday – just two weeks after issuing his own threats against the West.
In a rambling speech, the Russian president claimed that Europeans had been “indoctrinated with fears about an inevitable clash with Russia” despite Moscow escalating its campaign of hybrid attacks in recent months.
“I have repeatedly stated: this is a lie, nonsense, pure nonsense about some imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But this is being done quite deliberately,” he said.
Earlier this month, Putin caused alarm after saying Russia was “ready to fight” against Nato. Russian officials have repeatedly threatened Europe with military action since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
Putin says talk of war with West is ‘hysteria’ – two weeks after threatening Europe
EU faces crunch decision at high-stakes Brussels summit today
04:38 , Arpan RaiAt a summit starting today in Brussels, many of the leaders will press for tens of billions of euros in frozen Russian assets held in Europe to be used to meet Ukraine’s economic and military needs for the next two years.
The crunch decision comes at a critical time as Ukraine is on the verge of bankruptcy.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that it will require a total of €137bn ($160 billion) in 2026 and 2027. It must get the money by spring. The EU has pledged to come up with the funds, one way or another.
“One thing is very, very clear," European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told EU lawmakers yesterday. "We have to take the decision to fund Ukraine for the next two years in this European Council.”
European Council president António Costa, who will chair the summit, has vowed to keep the leaders negotiating until an agreement is reached, even if it takes days.
Putin calls European leaders 'little pigs' amid ongoing peace talks
04:27 , Arpan RaiRussian president Vladimir Putin has lashed out at European leaders calling them “little pigs” amid ongoing US-brokered peace talks.
Putin's forces invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago and have gradually seized around 19 per cent of the country, suffering huge numbers of casualties in the process.
Yet in a bizarre rant yesterday, Putin blamed the Joe Biden administration in the US for the war, saying it had “deliberately steered the situation towards an armed conflict”.
He claimed that Washington believed Russia could be weakened or even destroyed in a short period of time and European leaders joined in the Biden administration on this.
“Europe’s little pigs immediately joined in the work of the previous American administration, hoping to profit from the collapse of our country,” Putin said in a bizarre rant.
He added that Russia would “liberate its historical lands on the battlefield” or through diplomacy but would achieve its territorial aims in the end.
Putin had previously accused Western countries of “hysteria” adding that claims Russia wanted war with Europe were “a lie”.
Watch: Zelensky says Russia is preparing for 'year of war'
03:33 , Arpan RaiUS and Russian officials to hold talks in Miami this weekend on Ukraine war
03:13 , Arpan RaiUS and Russian officials are expected to hold talks in Miami, Florida, this weekend about a possible deal to end the war in Ukraine, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and president Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to be part of the US delegation, according to Politico.
Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia's sovereign wealth fund, will be part of the Russian delegation.
Ukrainian drones hit tanker in Russia's Rostov port
02:56 , Arpan RaiAn unspecified number of people have been killed and injured after Ukrainian drones hit a tanker in the southern Russian port of Rostov-on-Don, the city's mayor said.
“Emergency teams are extinguishing the fire on the tanker that was struck while docked in a drone attack," Russian news agencies quoted Skriabin as saying.
"A leak of oil products was avoided. Unfortunately, there are dead and injured,” he said.
Regional governor Yuri Slyusar had initially reported the Ukrainian strike on the vessel in the port and the casualties among the ship's crew.
Slyusar also said parts of a high-rise apartment block under construction were damaged in the city and two private homes burned down in a nearby town.
