Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin troops desert Donetsk frontline

Russia’s foreign ministry has said it has lodged a formal protest with the Finnish ambassador in Moscow over the closure of four busy border crossings between Russia and Finland.

On Saturday, Finland closed crossings on the shared border in a bid to halt the flow of asylum seekers that it says was instigated by Moscow.

Only four crossing points remain open, which the Russian foreign ministry said has impacted tens of thousands of people in both countries.

Russian drones targeted Kyiv on Sunday as the British Defense Ministry said there were “few immediate prospects” for major change along the Ukrainian front line as the war enters its second winter.

Russia launched 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight, targeting the Ukrainian capital and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions, according to a military statement. Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems shot down 15 of the drones.

The overnight strike on Kyiv is the second attack on the Ukrainian capital in 48 hours, said the city’s Military Administration spokesperson, Serhii Popko.

NATO supports Bosnia‘s territorial integrity and is concerned by “malign foreign interference,” including by Russia, in the volatile Balkans region that went through a devastating war in the 1990s, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday.

Sarajevo is the first stop on Stoltenberg’s tour of Western Balkan countries that will also include Kosovo, Serbia and North Macedonia.

“The Allies strongly support the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bosnia-Herzegovina,” Stoltenberg told reporters. “We are concerned by the secessionist and divisive rhetoric as well as malign foreign interference, including Russia.”

Russia is holding at least 11,000 Ukrainian children across 43 “re-education” camps, the UK ministry of defence said.

“At least 11,000 Ukrainian children are reportedly being detained at 43 re-education camps across Russia, thousands of miles from home. Their simple right to life and liberty is being impacted,” the ministry said on X.

Russia barred entry to a number of officials from Moldova on Monday and complained about moves by its pro-European government to block Russian media outlets ahead of local elections earlier this month.

The moves were the latest in a series of acerbic exchanges between the two sides and allegations by Moldova that Russia has been exerting pressure on the ex-Soviet state’s affairs and President Maia Sandu’s drive to join the European Union.

A Russian foreign ministry statement said Moldovan Ambassador Lilian Darie was summoned to be told of the decision.

“The Moldovan side was presented with a decisive protest in connection with the continuing politically motivated persecution of Russian media in Moldova, including the blocking of access to their Internet sites,” a ministry statement said.

The US has pledged a further $100m in defence assistance to Ukraine, which is set to include air defence interceptors and anti-tank weapons.

There have not been any further details, but it comes on the same day as US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Kyiv.

US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said the country remains behind Ukraine as it continues its war with Russia. It comes after announcing a further package of defensive aid worth $100m.

“The message that I bring you today is that the United States of America is with you. We will remain with you for the long haul,” Mr Austin said.

He added: “I think they are prepared for combat in the winter. They did a great job last year. This year we expect them to be, just based on what President Zelensky has said, them to be even more aggressive.”

A Ukrainian sniper claims to have broken the world record by killing a Russian soldier almost 2.5 miles away, with a custom rifle called ‘Lord of the Horizon’, Holly Evans reports.

The previous record was held by a Canadian special operations sniper at a distance of 2.2 miles in Iraq in 2017.

In a press statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said: “The SBU sniper set a world record for a successful shot.

“He hit a Russian soldier from an incredible distance.

“SBU snipers are changing the rules of world sniping, demonstrating the ability to work effectively at fantastic distances.”

Russia has placed a Ukrainian singer who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest on its wanted list, state news agencies reported Monday.

The independent news site Mediazona said singer Susana Jamaladinova was charged under a Russian law adopted last year which outlaws spreading so-called fake information about the war in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky has met Fox Corp chief executive Lachlan Murdoch in the Ukrainian capital, in what Kyiv described as a “very important signal” of support at a time when global media attention has shifted from the war in Ukraine.

“The Head of State thanked Lachlan Murdoch for his visit and emphasised that it is a very important signal of support at the time when the world’s attention is blurred by other events,” the Ukrainian president’s office said.

Mr Zelensky was quoted by his office as saying it was vital to keep the world’s attention focused on the war in Ukraine, adding: “For us, for our warriors, this is not a movie. These are our lives. This is daily hard work. And it will not be over as quickly as we would like, but we have no right to give up and we will not.”

Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall, who was badly wounded covering the war in Ukraine last year, and Sun journalist Jerome Starkey were also invited to the meeting with Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son, who was named the sole chair of News Corp in September.