Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces ready for ‘large missile attack’

A Russian court has ordered the arrest in absentia of a judge at the International Criminal Court, Russian outlets report, after it issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled that Reine Alapini-Gansou should be extradited to Russia on charges of “unlawful detention”, the second such charge it has levelled against in ICC judge in less than a week, the Moscow Times reported.

The US can do what it wants with Taiwan’s decommissioned HAWK anti-aircraft missiles, the island’s defence minister has said without ruling out their transfer to Ukraine.

HAWK is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system used for air defence, which is one of Ukraine’s top security needs right now.

“If the US side requests that we transfer them back to them, we will do so in accordance with the relevant regulations and return them to the US, and then the US will decide what to do with them,” Wellington Koo said while answering a reporter’s question on whether the old American weapons system could be given to Kyiv.

The war in Ukraine could be on the agenda as US president Joe Biden hosts his successor-to-be Donald Trump at the White House on Wednesday.

In a traditional courtesy which Mr Trump failed to extend to Mr Biden in 2020, the current president will welcome Mr Trump into the Oval Office, in a process designed to demonstrate a smooth transition between administrations – despite Trump’s team not yet having signed documents to start the handover process.

The outgoing president may urge Mr Trump to back Ukraine in its war with Russia, as Washington’s support for Kyiv hangs in the balance since Mr Trump’s victory last week, with US secretary of state Antony Blinken vowing to bolster Kyiv as much as possible in the months prior to Mr Trump reassuming office.

A Ukrainian drone attack triggered a fire in Russia’s southern Belgorod region and firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control, the regional governor said on Tuesday.

Vyacheslav Gladkov said one of the tanks at the depot had caught fire in the Starkooskolsky District near the Ukrainian border. Ten fire crews were dispatched to the site and put out the blaze.

US and Polish officials have inaugurated a Nato missile defence base in northern Poland, with Polish officials welcoming it as a significant security boost.

The base was originally planned under US president George Bush as a way to protect Europe from ballistic threats from Iran. Poland, however, has always seen it as a form of US protection in case of Russian aggression, anxiety over which has sharply increased since the invasion of Ukraine.

The Kremlin has long protested against the plans, and on Tuesday it denounced the base as a challenge to its own military potential that would require measures “to ensure parity”.

The deployment of North Korean troops to help Russia in the Ukraine war “demands and will get a firm response”, US secretary of state Antony Blinken has said during a visit to Brussels.

Washington has said North Korean troops have been engaging in combat operations alongside Russian forces in Kursk, and Mr Blinken warned that the United States has concerns over what Russia may be doing to strengthen Pyongyang’s forces, including their nuclear capacity.

Russia’s military has trained the North Korean soldiers in artillery, drone skills and basic infantry operations, including trench clearing, Pentagon deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said on Tuesday. However, language barriers and cooperation between militaries pose significant challenges, the Pentagon said.

“At the best of times, a battlefield is confusing and complex place,” historian Mark Galeotti, author of Forged in War: A Military History of Russia, told The Independent.

“To throw in troops who are used to different equipment, speak a different language, and have no experience of the Russian way of war really is asking for trouble.”

Dr Galeotti added: “There’s talk that they have one interpreter for 30 soldiers. Given how much the war is being fought at the small unit level, that really isn’t enough.”

Vladimir Putin’s forces are ready to launch a massive attack on Ukraine, the head of Kyiv’s national security and defence council has warned, as the country braces for large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.

Blasts were heard over Kyiv on Wednesday as Ukraine accused Russia of launching its first missile attack on the capital since August and urged residents to take cover as air raid sirens blared in multiple regions.

But Ukraine security chief Andrii Kovalenko warned the the attacks on Wednesday – involving cruise and ballistic missiles – were less intense than those Moscow was equipped to carry out in the future, as it continues to stockpile cruise missiles.

Russia’s plans are known and understood, and Ukraine will counter, Mr Kovalenko insisted.

Earlier this week, air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine as Russia launched multiple bomber jets. However, the Kyiv Independent later reported that the flights appeared to have been military exercises.

At the time, Mr Kovalenko warned: “The Russians are ready for massive strikes. There are enough missiles, they are accumulated at strategic aviation airfields and continue to accumulate.

“Aviation is also ready. Rehearsing the tactics of simulated launches by the Russians is also part of maintaining the readiness of aviation for action.”

The future of transatlantic and global security is now being decided in Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha has warned.

Speaking as he met US secretary of state Antony Blinken in Brussels, Mr Sybiha warned that the war in Ukraine was at a critical moment.

“Ukraine’s defence cannot be put on hold … We need to speed up all critical decisions,” he said.