Ukraine war live: Trump and Zelensky’s phone call expected soon

The red carpet was laid, the prime minister was at the famous black door, and the special guest made his entrance. To a standing ovation from the new UK cabinet, Volodymyr Zelensky called on Sir Keir Starmer, the fourth British prime minister he’s met since the war began, to “show leadership” and help with the removal of restrictions on weapons supplied by Western allies.

The PM, who vowed to “double down” on support for Ukraine, described the meeting as “a real piece of history”. Zelensky, who has exchanged similar warm words with various Western leaders, may not agree that Friday’s meeting was quite so historic, but the significance of the event itself must not be overlooked.

The president of Ukraine had been invited to address a meeting of the UK cabinet – only the second foreign dignitary to be accorded this honour in recent memory.

Russia’s army claimed on Friday that it had captured another village in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Ukraine is struggling to hold the line against an endless Russian onslaught.

Russia’s defence ministry said its troops had “liberated the village of Yurivka”, a tiny settlement around 20 miles north of the regional capital, also called Donetsk.

Yurivka is the third village Russia has claimed to have taken this week.

Ukrainian forces claimed to have shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-25 fighter jet in the Donetsk region on Friday.

“Our anti-aircraft guns shot down a Russian Su-25 in Donetsk region,” Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group of Forces said on Telegram, adding that the supersonic jet was “trying to fire at the positions of units of the Defense Forces”.

“Thanks to the accuracy, skill and professionalism of our anti-aircraft fighters, today the Russian aviation has decreased by one combat aircraft,” they added.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Poland had taken a decision that would speed up the deliveries of much-needed F-16 jets to Ukraine, but did not say what it was.

Poland, which borders Ukraine and has been a close wartime ally, is not one of the countries that has pledged to supply the jets to Ukraine.

There was no immediate comment from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s office on Zelenskiy’s remark.

“Today, we have a positive decision from the Polish government on a specific issue, which will allow Ukraine to receive F-16 jets sooner,” Zelensky said on X without elaborating.

Kyiv is desperately waiting for deliveries of its first F-16s, which it hopes will enhance its air defence capabilities and help repel regular long-range Russian airstrikes.

US journalist Evan Gershkovich has been jailed for 16 years in a Russian prison on “politically motivated” charges of espionage.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, has been behind bars since his March 2023 arrest after Moscow accused him of “gathering secret information” for the CIA about a military equipment facility in central Russia.

TheWall Street Journal reporter has denied the charges and nations including the US and UK have hit out at what they see as politically motivated charges – with US president Joe Biden calling his detention “totally illegal”.

The Kremlin has said he was caught “red-handed” but has not published evidence. The court proceedings have been closed to the media, with a verdict set to be announced on Friday afternoon.

Prime minister Keir Starmer’s review of Britain’s defences comes as the West faces a “dangerous quartet” of Russia, China, North Korea and Iran, according to Nato chief Lord Robertson.

Russia remains the key threat, as it is continuing to wage war in Ukraine, including a deadly missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv last week. Relations with Russia are at their worst since the Cold War period, and military experts believe that European countries need to be prepared for conflict.

But how do Britain’s armed forces compare now to 40 years ago, in 1984, when the UK was engaged in a stand-off with Russia?

In terms of personnel and vessels, the UK’s capacity is substantially lower than in 1984, primarily because the UK is in peacetime.

Read the full article by The Independent’s data correspondent Alicja Hagopian here:

Ukraine is raising funds to build a new fleet of terrestrial robotic platforms that will roam the battlefield, delivering weapons, helping the wounded and firing guns.

The new machines will be designed to act as mobile machine gun posts, logistics devices, tow trucks, minelayers and deminers as well as self-destructive robots.

“They will fight alongside people and for people. The first robots are already proving their effectiveness on the battlefield. And we hope there will be more of them soon,” said a spokesman for United24, the Ukrainian fundraising platform behind the initiative.

Prosecutors in Poland are investigating a crime targeting leading Belarusian opposition figure Pavel Latushka under sections of the penal code covering homicide and the activities of foreign intelligence networks.

National Prosecutor’s Office spokesperson Przemyslaw Nowak told Reuters in an email that an investigation was being conducted together with officers from Poland’s Internal Security Agency based in the central city of Lodz. He declined to give specific details of the events being investigated.

According to a letter from prosecutors to Latushka seen by Reuters, the investigation falls under sections of the penal code which cover inciting others to commit a crime, the activities of foreign intelligence agencies and homicide.

The investigation into a crime against Latushka, a deputy head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus, comes at a time of heightened fears for the safety of Belarusian and Russian opposition figures after an attack on Leonid Volkov, an exiled aide to late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Russian authorities are seeking an 18-year jail sentence for US journalist Evan Gershkovich on “politically motivated” charges of spying.

Mr Gershkovich, 32, has been behind bars since his March 2023 arrest atfer Moscow accused him of “gathering secret information” for the CIA about a military equipment facility in central Russia.

TheWall Street Journal reporter has denied the charges and nations including the US and UK have hit out at what they see as politically motivated charges – with US president Joe Biden calling his detention “totally illegal”.

The Kremlin has said he was caught “red-handed” but has not published evidence. The court proceedings have been closed to the media, with a verdict set to be announced on Friday afternoon.

“Evan has done nothing wrong. He should never have been arrested in the first place. Journalism is not a crime,” US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.