Russia Ukraine war live: Putin’s forces unleash new offensive as UK sends fresh weapons to Kyiv

Minister for Children and Integration Roderic O’Gorman has said that he does not expect homelessness to rise in Ireland amid plans to pare back state supports being offered to arriving Ukrainians.

The Government has agreed to cut financial support for Ukrainians who are given state accommodation from the end of January, and will also provide state accommodation only for a maximum of 90 days.

During that period, arrivals will be paid a 38.80 euro subsistence allowance and an additional 29.80 per child per week “in recognition of the fact that accommodation has been provided”, according to the Taoiseach.

Arrivals had been entitled to a jobseeker’s allowance of 220 euro per week.

Mr O’Gorman said that the proposal is similar to one proposed at Cabinet several weeks ago, but with a “significant change” in the form of the social welfare reduction.

He also said that a number of properties around the country are to be set up solely for use as reception centres, alongside vacancies in hotel and guesthouse properties.

Meals and laundry services, integration support and access to education for children will be provided in those reception centres.

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday it would be “practically impossible” for Congress to pass a supplemental funding package including aid for Ukraine before Christmas.

McConnell told reporters that a deal will not happen until President Joe Biden and Republicans reach agreement with Republicans, who want to link funding for Ukraine to new border security measures.

US concern over the condition of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is unacceptable meddling in Russia’s domestic affairs, the Kremlin said.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said he was unaware of the whereabouts of Navalny, who has been moved from his penal colony to an undisclosed location.

It comes after the White House national security spokesperson John Kirby called for the immediate release of Navalny, saying “he should never have been jailed in the first place”.

The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency has thanked Russian state television for its “help” encouraging Russians to spy for the U.K. after it translated and broadcast part of a speech he gave earlier this year in which he called on Russians to “join hands with us.”

Anchor Maria Butina — herself a former Russian spy — included the clip at the top of a program about Richard Moore, the head of Britain‘s Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6.

Moore gave the speech in July at the British Embassy in Prague where he openly encouraged Russians faced with “the venality, infighting and sheer callous incompetence of their leaders” to spy for Britain.

On Monday, Moore tweeted that the British foreign intelligence agency had been “puzzling over how to get my message to our target audience in Russia — we never thought Russian state TV would step in to help.”

A far-right lawmaker in the Polish parliament used a fire extinguisher on Tuesday and put out a candle on a menorah that was lit for the Jewish holiday Hannukah.

All major political forces quickly denounced the incident carried out by Grzegorz Braun, and said there would be no tolerance for antisemitic and xenophobic behavior in the Sejm, the Polish parliament.

The speaker of the parliament, Szymon Holownia, called the act “absolutely scandalous” and excluded him from the day’s parliamentary proceedings. He said he was reporting him to prosecutors.

“Poland is home of all religions,” Holownia said.

“It’s not just those couple of ships, but we’re launching something called the ‘Maritime Coalition’, which is a British-led…but international plan to ensure that not only can they be-mine that part of the sea, but Ukraine can build a navy for the future,” Mr Shapps told the BBC.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov rejected any notion on Tuesday that two of the country’s top military commanders were about to be dismissed.

“On this matter, there is no such question,” Umerov told a news conference alongside his Latvian counterpart. “On this matter, I am always open and if the question is ever raised, I will say something immediately. There are no such issues.”

At issue at the news conference was the future of Commander in Chief Valery Zaluzhnyi and Joint Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev.

The possibility of change in Ukraine‘s top military ranks has been raised several times since relations cooled between President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Zaluzhnyi over the commander’s view of the conduct of the 21-month-old war against Russia.

Zaluzhnyi, in a published essay last month, said the war was entering a phase of attrition similar to World War One battles.

The president disagreed with any notion that the war was subject to a stalemate, though he has acknowledged that a counteroffensive launched in the east and south in June has moved more slowly than had been hoped.

Umerov, appointed in September, made a similar denial last month that changes in Ukraine‘s command were under consideration.

In his latest comments, Umerov said rotations of positions were a normal part of military operations “but there are no such issues, however much our enemies want to knock us off stride”.

“Everyone is subject to change, absolutely everyone,” he told reporters. “We will do everything necessary for our victory, but for today, there is no such issue.”

U.S. President Joe Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy not to give up hope in his country’s fight against Russia’s invasion, saying the U.S. Congress should fund additional aid.

Biden also announced $200 million in separate military assistance for the country.

U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday it would be “practically impossible” for Congress to pass a supplemental funding package including aid for Ukraine before Christmas.

McConnell told reporters that a deal will not happen until President Joe Biden and Republicans reach agreement with Republicans, who want to link funding for Ukraine to new border security measures.