Russia has been accused of plotting arson attacks in two European countries. Earlier, Donald Trump said he’ll speak to Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as he pushes to end the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin has since confirmed the planned talks. Follow the latest here.
false,Monday 17 March 2025 15:29, UK
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These pictures show Ukrainian servicemen firing a 120mm mortar towards Russian troops on the frontline near the city of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces are advancing in southern Ukraine and have pushed through part of the Ukrainian lines less than 50km (31 miles) southeast of the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Moscow officials and pro-Russian military bloggers.
Moscow’s defence ministry said its forces pierced Ukrainian lines and took the village of Stepove in the region.
One of the most influential pro-Russian military bloggers, Yuri Podolyaka, said Russian forces had also pushed their way into the nearby village of Maly Shcherbaky.
„Our units have broken through the first line of defence in the Zaporizhzhia direction,“ Podolyaka said.
We’ve just heard from the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who has been speaking today following a meeting of the bloc’s foreign affairs council.
She says everyone welcomed the 30-day ceasefire proposal for Ukraine and that the „ball is in Russia’s court“ over what happens next.
„The understanding around the table is that Russia can’t really be trusted,“ she adds. „They will seize this opportunity to present all kinds of demands.“
We reported this morning that the US was planning to withdraw from a multinational group created to investigate leaders responsible for the invasion of Ukraine (see 10.11am post).
The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) was created to hold the leadership of Russia accountable for a category of crimes — defined as aggression under international law.
We’ve now received a statement from the EU’s agency for criminal justice cooperation confirming the news…
Eurojust has been informed by the US authorities that they will no longer continue their involvement in the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA). The ICPA hosted by Eurojust continues its work in support of the national investigations into the crime of aggression related to the war in Ukraine.
European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation
With Russia getting closer to removing Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region each day, what will happen to Moscow’s forces after this has been accomplished?
That question was put to military analyst Michael Clarke earlier, who said Russia would likely relocate its troops in the Kursk region to another key area on the frontline – Pokrovsk.
The city is a road and rail hub and is considered by Russia as the „gateway to Donetsk“. Its capture would severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and provide Moscow with a foothold from which to capture other key cities.
„It took 60,000 Russian troops to force Ukraine out of Kursk – good quality troops,“ says Clarke.
„As a result, the Russians haven’t been very successful elsewhere on the battlefield because they’ve put them all in Kursk.
„But now that the Russians effectively expelled Ukrainians from Kursk, and the Ukrainians are more or less safe now on their own side of the border, the question is how long will it be before the 60,000 troops, minus the North Koreans, turn up somewhere else on the battlefield?
„My guess is in Pokrovsk in two to three weeks time, and they’ll make a difference in Pokrovsk.“
A French MEP has suggested it’s time the US hands back the Statue of Liberty after Washington chose „to side with tyrants“.
„We gave it to you as a gift, but apparently you despise it. So it will be just fine here at home,“ said MEP Raphael Glucksmann, a long-time supporter of Ukraine.
Glucksmann’s comments come as Donald Trump’s perceived softness on Russia and his public humiliation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy cause alarm throughout Europe.
Glucksmann also said France was ready to welcome US government researchers and employees who were fired en masse under the new administration.
„If you want to fire your best researchers, if you want to fire all the people who, through their freedom and their sense of innovation, their taste for doubt and research, have made your country the world’s leading power, then we’re going to welcome them,“ he said.
For context: Lady Liberty was originally conceived by French politician and US Constitution expert Edouard de Laboulaye as an emblem of the friendship between the French and the Americans and a sign of their mutual desire for liberty.
She was built in France, shipped overseas in crates and assembled on a pedestal off New York City in 1886.
Over to Moscow now, where Russian President Vladimir Putin has been meeting with Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
It comes ahead of a call between Putin and Donald Trump scheduled for tomorrow.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has had a clear message for Ukrainians and the world recently.
„After the talks in Jeddah and the American proposal for a ceasefire on the frontline, Russia stole almost another week – a week of war that only Russia wants,“ the Ukrainian leader said in a video last night.
After Ukraine accepted the US proposal for a 30-day ceasefire, Zelenskyy is making it clear the Russians are the ones standing in the way of a truce.
As we’ve reported, Ukraine’s president went on to stress the country would do „everything“ to „intensify diplomacy“.
Watch Zelenskyy speaking below.
A „significant number“ of countries are willing to provide peacekeeping troops in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal with Russia, a spokesperson for Keir Starmer says.
More than 30 countries are expected to be involved in the so-called „coalition of the willing“ to support Ukraine, the spokesperson said.
That figure is up from the 26 leaders of Western countries – plus two EU leaders and NATO’s secretary general – who gathered for a virtual call hosted by Starmer on Saturday.
„The contribution capabilities will vary, but this will be a significant force, with a significant number of countries providing troops,“ the spokesperson told reporters.
The leaders involved in Saturday’s coalition of the willing call were from: Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine and the UK.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Council President Antonio Costa also joined.
We’ve been reporting today on claims from Lithuanian authorities that Russia’s military intelligence was behind an arson attack at an IKEA store in Vilnius last year.
The Lithuanian prosecutor’s office said its suspect was a minor at the time and acted „in the interests of the military structures and security services of the Russian Federation“.
The prosecutor general’s office said in a statement that the suspect and another person undertook a plan to set fire to and blow up shopping centres in Lithuania and Latvia for a reward of €10,000 and a BMW.
It added the acts were aimed at „severely intimidating the society of both countries“ and forcing them and the EU „to reduce or terminate“ their support for Ukraine.
The attacks were also hoping to „destabilise the most important political, economic and social structures of the state,“ it said.
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Ukraine war latest: Russia accused of orchestrating shopping centre arsons; Kremlin says Putin will speak to Trump – Sky News
