Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky ‘confident’ Putin will lose war as Kyiv receives dozens of F-16s

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets had made him confident Ukraine could end Russia’s invasion.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine, with the initial six due to be delivered around New Year. Washington had approved the delivery of the jets ahead of Zelensky’s trip to Copenhagen.

“Today we are confident that Russia will lose this war,” Zelensky told thousands of people who gathered outside the Danish parliament to hear his speech.

Russia warned earlier that supplying the jets to Ukraine would only escalate the war, which has dragged on for almost 18 months. Russian forces are occupying almost a fifth of Ukraine’s territory and Kyiv is battling hard to push them out.

Russian artillery is within five miles of Kupiansk. Intense fighting is taking place in the outlying villages, with recently-acquired cluster ammunition used by the Ukrainians to repulse repeated enemy attacks.

More than 11,000 residents have been moved out under a mandatory evacuation order, with families with children and the elderly categorised as a priority. Some have stubbornly refused to move, despite first-hand experience of the violence.

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta has more in this special report from Kupiansk:

Pope Francis and Washington’s top general discussed the war in Ukraine and hopes for peace there during a private audience at the Vatican on Monday.

General Mark Milley, who is Catholic and is visiting several European countries, said the Pope was deeply concerned about the loss of life in Ukraine, particularly of civilians, since Russia invaded in February 2022.

A strong advocate for Ukraine’s defence against Russian forces, the general has championed sending billions of dollars in arms to Kyiv and has sharply criticised Moscow as mounting “a campaign of terror” against civilians in Ukraine

The Pope has condemned the international arms trade in general but said last year that it is morally legitimate for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to help the country defend itself against Russian aggression.

The US State Department has approved the potential sale of AH-64E Apache helicopters and related equipment to Poland in a deal valued at up to $12bn (£9.4bn), the Pentagon has said

Poland – which has prioritised boosting its military since Russia’s invasion of neighbouringUkraine – has requested 96 of the Apache attack helicopters and related equipment, including 1,844 Hellfire missiles and 508 Stinger missiles, the Pentagon said.

While the Pentagon notified the US Congress of the possible sale on Monday, this does not indicate that a contract has been signed or that negotiations have concluded.

Boeing and Lockheed Martin are the prime contractors for the weapons, according to the Pentagon.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has claimed to be in Africa as he posted the first video clip of himself in weeks on Telegram channels affiliated with the mercenary group.

Prigozhin is seen standing in a desert area in camouflage and with a rifle in his hands, with more armed men in the distance. In the distance, there are more armed men and a pickup truck.

“The temperature is +50 – everything as we like. The Wagner PMC makes Russia even greater on all continents, and Africa – more free. Justice and happiness – for the African people, we’re making life a nightmare for Isis and Al-Qaeda and other bandits,” he says in the clip.

He then says Wagner is recruiting people and the group “will fulfil the tasks that were set”. The video is accompanied by a telephone number for those who want to join the group.

Experts have suggested in the weeks since Wagner’s brief mutiny against Russia’s military leadership that the mercenary group’s activities in Africa and the Middle East will return to the fore, given their diplomatic and potentially financial value to the Kremlin.

Vladimir Putin will be the odd one out when leaders from the BRICS economic bloc of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa meet in Johannesburg this week.

While all the others are set to attend the meetings in person, Putin will dial in on a video call.

The reason? An International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for the Russian president put summit host South Africa in a sticky situation and ultimately resulted in Putin staying at home.

Gerald Imray has the full report:

Greece will take part in the training of Ukrainian air force pilots for F-16 jets, Volodymyr Zelensky has said during a joint press conference with Greek premier Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens.

Denmark and the Netherlands announced on Sunday that they would supply the first F-16s to Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president told a crowd in Denmark on Monday that promised deliveries of F-16 had made him confident Ukraine could end Russia’s invasion, and at a later conference in Athens expressed his gratitude for Greece’s involvement in the corresponding training.

He did not provide details of the training programme. Officials from a coalition of 11 nations have said F-16 training will take place in Denmark and Romania.

The head of Russia’s space agency said that the Luna-25 spacecraft crashed into the Moon after its engines failed to shut down correctly, and he blamed the country’s decades-long pause in lunar exploration for the mishap.

The pilotless Luna-25 had been scheduled to land on Monday while aiming to become the first spacecraft to touch down on the south pole of the Moon, an area where scientists believe important reserves of frozen water and precious elements may exist.

Sanctions imposed on Russia since it launched a war in Ukraine nearly 18 months ago have affected its space programme, making it more difficult to access Western technology.

Our world affairs editor Kim Sengupta reports:

The Russian force amassed near Kupiansk contains more than 100,000 troops, 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems and 375 self-propelled guns, according to Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern front.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the armed forces, has stressed the threat to the defence lines in the northeast is very real. “The enemy’s goal is to break through and go directly to Kupiansk. The fighting is extremely intense, some positions have changed hands several times. We are making all the necessary preparations,” he says.

Hanna Maliar, the deputy defence minister, says that “the hottest direction remains Kupiansk”. It is plain the Russians “want to retake the territories in the Kharkiv region that they lost”.