Ukraine-Russia war: ‘Former-British soldier’ captured as Putin launches glide bombs

The Kremlin has said that US president-elect Donald Trump’s circle speaks of peace in Ukraine, while the current Biden Administration – which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion – does not.

Repeating rhetoric regularly deployed by Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on Monday that Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said that Moscow was ready for dialogue over Ukraine.

Mr Trump is “very concerned” about an escalation in fighting between Russia and Ukraine, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday, saying the war must be brought “to a responsible end”.

At least 10 people have been injured in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, its mayor has said.

The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said the attack caused a fire on one of the city’s central streets and damaged civilian infrastructure and cars.

Russian forces have launch overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region and on industrial facilities in Zaporizhzhia, authorities have said.

Mykolaiv governor Vitaliy Kim said there had been no casualties and engineers had restored power to most of the consumers facing power cuts after air defence’s downed two drones over the region.

Russia also launched “tens of drones” to attack Zaporizhzhia overnight, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television.

The attack injured one child and dealt damage to multiple industrial facilities and a residential block.

Air defences also repelled a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and the surrounding region overnight. Authorities reported no casualties or significant damage in the attack’s aftermath.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia has used around 460 drones and over 20 missiles to attack Ukraine in the past week.

Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as defence minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, pro-Russian war bloggers and state media said.

Ahead of winter, Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, though progress was much slower in some areas – particularly around Siversk in the eastern region of Donetsk.

Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the Southern Grouping, had been removed from his command, though there was no official confirmation.

“Only the lazy did not write about the problems there: overall, it took the system about two months to react properly,” Rybar, a pro-Russian blogger said on Telegram.

“Anashkin, was removed from office for false reports in the Seversk direction,” Rybar added.

Even before Gabbard left the Democratic Party, ingratiated herself with Donald Trump and secured his nomination to become director of National Intelligence, she was known as a prolific peddler of Russian propaganda.

In almost every foreign conflict in which Russia had a hand, Gabbard backed Moscow and railed against the US. Her past promotion of Kremlin propaganda has provoked significant opposition on both sides of the aisle to her nomination.

Her journey from anti-war Democrat to Moscow-friendly Maga warrior began in Syria.

The devastating conflict was sparked by pro-democracy uprisings in 2011, which were brutally crushed by the Assad regime. It descended into a complex web of factions that drew extremist Islamists from around the world and global powers into the fray.

Richard Hall and Andrew Feinberg write.

British spies will seek to counter the threat of Russian cyber warfare with a new laboratory for artificial intelligence, a minister will announce.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster will say the UK and its Nato allies are “watching” Moscow and combatting its attacks both publicly and “behind the scenes” in his speech today.

In an apparent reference to the lead-up to the Second World War, he will warn that Britain “learned long ago” to not appease dictators and that Mr Putin “will not be successful” in attempting to weaken backing for Ukraine.

Mr McFadden, whose brief includes national security, will also announce a new Laboratory for AI Security Research (LAISR) aimed at helping the UK stay ahead in “the new AI arms race”.

The centre will bring together GCHQ, Oxford University, the National Cyber Security Centre, the Alan Turing Institute and numerous Government departments, and be backed by an initial £8.22m in state funding.

Russia says its air defence systems destroyed seven Ukrainian missiles and drones overnight over the border Kursk region.

A pro-Russian military analyst Roman Alyokhin, who serves as an adviser to the governor of the region, said on Telegram that “Kursk was subjected to a massive attack by foreign-made missiles” overnight.

Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba believes that Mocow’s war with Kyiv will not end quickly even after US president-elect Donald Trump takes office next year.

“I do not expect any quick ending of the war,” Mr Kuleba told CNN.

“What I know for certain is that first: [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy will not leave under pressure,” he said. “Second, Ukraine will not agree to any quick solution. And third, most importantly, I would like to remind everyone that the key to peace lies in Moscow not in Kyiv.”

The Ukrainian president earlier this month said the war will end “faster” when Mr Trump takes over as US president.

Mr Trump had claimed repeatedly that the Ukraine-Russia war would not have started if he had been president and would settle the war in one day.

The father of an alleged former British soldier has expressed his “complete shock” to hear his son had been captured by Russian troops.

“A mercenary from Great Britain, who called himself James Scott Rhys Anderson, was captured. He is now giving evidence,” a Russian source told RIA news agency.

Scott Anderson, father of the captured man, told the Daily Mail: “I’m hoping he’ll be used as a bargaining chip but my son told me they torture their prisoners and I’m so frightened he’ll be tortured.

“We spoke on WhatsApp almost every day until he went on his most recent operation. He was acting as a signalman. James last came home only a month and a half ago.

“He said his Ukrainian commander had made a promise that he’d contact me if he was ever killed or captured.”