Russia Ukraine war live: Putin’s forces accidentally bomb Moscow-occupied Luhansk region

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with top officials in Poland on Monday to strengthen ties with the NATO nation, which borders Ukraine.

Kamikawa conferred with Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski in Warsaw and a placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. She also was scheduled to meet President Andrzej Duda.

She began her visit to Poland on Saturday, but interrupted it to make an unannounced visit to Ukraine, where she pledged Japan’s continued support for the country as it tries to defend itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Japan announced during her visit that it would contribute $37 million to the NATO trust fund to provide Ukraine with drone detection systems.

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Britain’s defence secretary has insisted that those hoping for an announcement on further support for Ukraine “won’t be disappointed”.

Responding to concerns from his predecessor Ben Wallace that the UK could fall behind its European partners if it does not anounce new funding for the next financial year soon, Grant Shapps told the Commons: “He is absolutely right about the ongoing support for Ukraine.

“All I can say is he won’t be disappointed and he won’t need to wait too long.”

More 100 residents of the Russian border city of Belgorod have evacuated to an area further from the Ukrainian border, local officials said.

“On behalf of the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, we met the first Belgorod residents who decided to move to the safest place. More than 100 people were placed in our temporary accommodation centers,” Andrey Chesnokov, head of the Stary Oskol district, some 115 kilometers (71 miles) from Belgorod, wrote on Telegram.

Ukrainian attacks on Dec. 30 in Belgorod killed 25 people, officials there said, with rocket and drone attacks continuing throughout this week.

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The UK is to launch a £300m drive to push Vladimir Putin further out of the global energy market through an investment in hi-tech nuclear fuel.

Ministers will vow to end what they say is Russia’s reign as the only commercial producer of a type of enriched uranium needed for the next generation of reactors.

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A Ukrainian poet who was serving as a volunteer on the war frontline against Russia’s invasion has been killed, his mother said in a Facebook post.

The writers association PEN Ukraine also confirmed the death of poet Maksym Kryvtsov.

“Poet and soldier Maksym Kryvtsov died in the war. This was reported by his mother, and later by Ukrainian writers on their pages in social networks,” it said in a statement on Facebook on Sunday.

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Russia launched its latest barrage of hypersonic and cruise missiles against Ukrainian targets early Monday, striking near the front lines of fighting in the east as well as in central and western parts of the country, officials said. At least four civilians were reported killed and at least 30 injured.

Western officials and analysts had previously warned that Russia was stockpiling its cruise missiles in preparation for a strategy of winter bombardment, as bad weather keeps the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line largely static after 22 months of war.

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Pope Francis called Monday for a universal ban on the “despicable” practice of surrogate motherhood, as he included the “commercialization” of pregnancy in an annual speech listing threats to global peace and human dignity.

In a foreign policy address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, Francis lamented that 2024 had dawned at a time in history in which peace is “increasingly threatened, weakened and in some part lost.”

Citing Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, migration and climate crises and the “immoral” production of nuclear and conventional weapons, Francis delivered a lengthy laundry list of the ills afflicting humanity and the increasing violation of international humanitarian law that allows them.

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Russian air defence units downed 10 air targets approaching the city of Belgorod near the Ukrainian border on Monday and three residents were injured in shelling, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Gladkov, writing on the Telegram messaging app, also said windows were blown out in two multi-story apartment buildings and several cars were damaged.

Belgorod has come under Ukrainian attacks in recent weeks. A missile and drone attack late last month killed 25 civilians, including five children.

White House officials met on Monday with about a dozen leaders from venture capital firms and the technology and defense industries in an effort to reinforce the Biden administration’s interest in supporting Ukraine’s access to cutting-edge U.S. equipment, senior administration officials said.

“The conversation focused on a number of systems, including, unmanned aerial systems, how to counter incoming unmanned aerial systems, and then also addressing the demining challenge,” one of the officials told a group of reporters during a telephone call following the five-hour meeting.

Jake Sullivan, head of the White House National Security Council, convened the meeting to push for a “renewed emphasis on helping Ukraine overcome these key technological challenges that they have identified as inhibiting their progress and momentum on the battlefield,” a second administration official said.

Key members of the National Security Council met with industry executives from Fortem Aerospace, defense technology companies like Palantir Technologies Inc, and Anduril Industries Inc, as well as drone maker Skydio among others who were brought to the White House.

Here is more on German chancellor Olaf Scholz’s comments on EU funding for Ukraine:

“As significant as the German contribution is, it will not be enough to ensure Ukraine’s security in the long run,” Mr Scholz said at a joint news conference with Luxembourg’s new Prime Minister Luc Frieden.

“Therefore I call on allies in the European Union to strengthen their efforts regarding Ukraine. The planned weapons deliveries to Ukraine of most EU member states are not enough,” he added.