Ukraine-Russia war latest: North Koreans suffering mass casualties says US as Zelensky set for £1bn arms boost - The Independent

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Vladimir Putin faces mounting pressure to admit responsibility for Azerbaijan plane crash in Kazakhstan
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Ukraine’s air defence downed 21 drones out of 43 launched by Russia in an overnight attack targeting six regions across the country, Kyiv’s air force said.
Military analysts said Ukraine was increasingly using electronic warfare to redirect or spoof Russian drones.
Drone debris damaged residential houses in the eastern Kharkiv region and in the Odesa region in the south, regional officials said.
It came as Russia vowed retaliation after the EU reportedly blocked its state media channels on Telegram in several countries. Moscow faces mounting pressure over the Azerbaijan plane crash in Kazakhstan, which killed 38 people.
The Telegram channels of Ria Novosti, Rossiya 1, Pervyi Kanal, NTV television, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta were inaccessible in France, Belgium, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, and Italy on Sunday, reports said.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev accused Russian elements of trying to obscure the crash’s cause, alleging the plane was damaged by gunfire in Russian airspace before crashing near Aktau.
The black box from the Azerbaijan Airlines crash in Kazakhstan, believed to have been caused by shots from the ground in Russia, has been recovered and is being sent to Brazil for investigation
There were 67 people on board the aircraft, including 42 Azerbaijani citizens, 16 Russians, six Kazakhs, and three Kyrgyz citizens. 38 were killed.
The government in Astana explained that the decision to send the flight recorders to Brazil was based on the fact that the Azal aircraft was manufactured there and followed “consultations with Azerbaijan and Russia.”
“In accordance with the standards of Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention, the state conducting the investigation ensures the reading of flight recorders and decides on the selection of a country to read and decode the black boxes,” the statement said, highlighting that Kazakhstan is a member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Falling Russian strike drones damaged five buildings in the Rozdilna district of the Odesa region.
Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kipe said on Telegram: “At night, Russian terrorists attacked Odesa with attack drones. Our air defense forces destroyed most of the enemy targets.
“As a result of falling debris in the Rozdilnian district, window glazing, facades and roofs of five residential buildings were damaged without subsequent burning.
“There are currently no casualties or injuries.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence says that North Korean troops are suffering heavy losses in the Kursk region and are facing logistical difficulties as a result of Ukrainian attacks
Ukraine’s air defence downed 21 drones out of 43 launched by Russia in an overnight attack targeting six regions across the country, the Ukrainian air force said.
It said that 22 other drones were “lost”. Military analysts said Ukraine was increasingly using electronic warfare to redirect or spoof Russian drones.
Drone debris damaged residential houses in the eastern Kharkiv region and in the Odesa region in the south, regional officials said.
In his evening address on yesterday, Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that a candidate for the role had been selected and would be formally announced in a presidential decree today. The new position aims to address concerns of abuse within the military ranks, ensuring servicemen and women have an avenue to report rights violations.
The Defence Ministry outlined the ombudsman’s responsibilities earlier this year, stating the office would handle appeals, provide legal assistance, conduct investigations, and inspect claims of rights violations involving servicemen and their families.
Calls for the appointment have grown louder following allegations of abuse within Ukraine’s 211th Pontoon Bridge Brigade. Senior Lieutenant Vladyslav Pastukh has been accused of abusing his authority, including beating and humiliating subordinates. Meanwhile, Colonel Oleh Poberezhniuk, his godfather, was detained yesterday for failing to address claims of torture and misconduct in his command.
“There was a request from our military, and it is an objective necessity — to create a special institution of a Military Ombudsman,” Mr Zelensky said. “We need a person who can effectively protect the rights of our warriors.”
One of the reported incidents included subordinates being tied to a wooden cross and left immobilised for hours under Pastukh’s orders.
With the new appointee, Mr Zelensky pledged to collaborate with the human rights community and the Defence Ministry to draft legislation establishing a robust institutional framework for the Military Ombudsman’s office.
Moscow’s Federal Security Service has arrested four Russians accused of helping plan the attack
Slovakia has rejected Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky’s accusation that prime minister Robert Fico had opened a “second energy front” against Kyiv on the orders of Russia as a gas transit dispute deepened between the countries.
Foreign minister Juraj Blanar said on Sunday Slovakia was closely monitoring communications from Ukraine regarding Mr Fico’s statements and said Mr Zelensky’s suggestion of an alliance with Russian president Vladimir Putin was “fabricated”.
“We fully understand that they are exposed to a long-term war conflict, but that is why they should not create new enemies and fabricate a formation of a second front because member states of the European Union, including Slovakia, support Ukraine and its people,” Mr Blanar said in a Facebook post.
Ukraine pumps Russian natural gas through its territory to several European countries including Slovakia but it is expected to halt the flow when the existing transit deal – signed before Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine – expires at the end of the year.
Mr Fico, who visited Mr Putin in Moscow a week ago, said on Friday Slovakia would consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting electricity supplies if Kyiv stops the gas transit from 1 January – spurring Mr Zelensky’s accusation that Slovakia was opening up a second energy front.
The Slovak prime minister also posted on Facebook yesterday, calling on the European Commission to pay close attention to the matter and repeating his claims that the loss of gas transit across Ukraine would hit European consumers and businesses.
“We are coming to a conclusion that must be unacceptable for the European Union and its goals,” Mr Fico wrote in an open letter. “Unilateral stoppage of transit through Ukraine towards Slovakia will cost European citizens, businesses and infrastructure tens of billions.”
Aleksei Bugayev, a former member of Russia’s national soccer team who played at Euro 2004, has been killed in the 34-month-old war in Ukraine, Russian media quoted his father and agent as saying yesterday.
“Unfortunately, the news about Aleksei’s death is true. It happened today,” Tass news agency quoted the player’s father Ivan Bugayev as telling the Sport24 news outlet.
RIA news agency quoted Bugayev’s agent, Anton Smirnov, as saying intense fighting had made it impossible to retrieve Bugayev’s body for burial.
Bugayev, dead at age 43, played two matches for the Russian national team in the 2004 European championship and also played for Moscow sides Torpedo and Lokomotiv as well as other provincial sides. He ended his career in 2010 at the age of 29.
In September, Bugayev was sentenced by a court in southern Russia to nine and a half years in prison on drug trafficking charges.
He later declared his intention to sign up to fight in the Ukraine war. Russian authorities actively recruit in prisons for the conflict.
Russia has accused the European Union of censorship after its state media channels were reportedly blocked on Telegram across several EU countries.
Yesterday, channels belonging to the Ria Novosti news agency, Rossiya 1, Pervyi Kanal, NTV television, and newspapers Izvestia and Rossiyskaya Gazeta became inaccessible in nations including France, Belgium, Poland, Greece, the Netherlands, and Italy, according to reports.
Neither Telegram nor EU officials have commented on the alleged disruptions, leaving the cause unclear.
Russia criticised the move, describing it as an “act of censorship. “The systematic cleansing of all undesirable sources of information from the information space continues,” said foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova.
The EU has previously banned the distribution of Russian state media within its borders, accusing outlets like Ria Novosti, Izvestia, and Rossiyskaya Gazeta of spreading propaganda.
Moscow has vowed to respond to what it sees as an escalating act of suppression against its state-owned media platforms.
Azerbaijan was “in favor of a group of international experts” investigating the crash, president Ilham Aliyev said.Baku had “categorically refused” Russia’s suggestion that the Interstate Aviation Committee, which oversees civil aviation in the Commonwealth of Independent States, investigate it.
“It is no secret that this organisation consists mostly of Russian officials and is headed by Russian citizens. The factors of objectivity could not be fully ensured here,” Mr Aliyev said.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media yesterday that Vladimir Putin had spoken to Mr Aliyev over the phone again but did not provide details of the conversation.
The Kremlin said a joint investigation by Russia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan was underway at the crash site near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan.
The plane was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, to Grozny when it turned towards Kazakhstan, hundreds of kilometers across the Caspian Sea from its intended destination, and crashed while making an attempt to land.
Passengers and crew who survived the crash told Azerbaijani media they heard loud noises on the aircraft as it was circling over Grozny.
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