Russia Ukraine war latest: Putin suffers record losses in 2024 as Kyiv warns Trump against early peace talks

Ukrainian air defences downed 93 of 141 drones launched by Russia overnight, Ukraine‘s air force said this morning.

The air force said 47 of the drones were “lost”, in reference to Ukraine‘s use of electronic warfare to redirect Russian drones.

Two of the lost drones returned to Russia, it said.

Russian forces used ammunition equipped with chemical agents at least 434 times in Ukraine in December 2024, the Ukrainian general staff said yesterday.

The use of chemical agents banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) added to a total of 5,389 documented cases since February 2023, the general staff said.

“Ukrainian officials have previously reported on increasingly common instances of Russian forces using chemical substances in combat that are banned by the CWC, to which Russia is a signatory, and the Ukrainian General Staff noted that such violations have been systematic in the Russian military since February 2023,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

As he takes office today, the incoming American president Donald Trump is set to change the way the Ukraine war is being handled by the US – exactly how remains to be seen.

He has been critical in the past of the billions spent on US support for Ukraine since Russia invaded in 2022, and has said he will end the war in 24 hours once in power – although advisers concede it will likely take months if not longer.

Mr Trump has also suggested Ukraine may have to yield some of its territory if a peace deal is to be struck. And both he and his pick for national security adviser, US representative Michael Waltz, have criticised the Biden administration’s decision in November to allow Ukraine to use US-provided missiles to strike within Russian territory.

While the Republican leader signalled in April last year that he would be open to sending additional aid to Ukraine in the form of a loan, he remained mostly silent on the issue during contentious congressional negotiations over a $61bn aid package later that month.

Mr Trump has also said that under his presidency the US would fundamentally rethink Nato’s purpose and Nato’s mission.

Since Russia’s invasion in 2022, Britain has been a vocal supporter of Ukraine, with prime minister Keir Starmer’s predecessors visiting Kyiv in the early days of their tenure.

As the war against Russia approaches its three-year mark, Ukraine is on the backfoot on the frontlines. Ukrainian forces are suffering from manpower shortages and losing ground in the eastern Donetsk region as Russia’s troops continue their advance.

It took a little longer for Sir Keir to make the trip, but he comes armed with a 100-year partnership with Kyiv to deepen security and cultural ties.

The treaty and political declaration aims to boost military cooperation to strengthen security in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov and deter Russian aggression.

The treaty will also cover areas such as energy, critical minerals and green steel production, the prime minister’s office said.

“Putin’s ambition to wrench Ukraine away from its closest partners has been a monumental strategic failure,” Sir Keir said in a statement. “Instead, we are closer than ever, and this partnership will take that friendship to the next level.”

Britain has provided £12.8bn in support to Ukraine since in 2022, a sum dwarfed by Washington’s $63.5bn in security assistance, underscoring the importance of Donald Trump’s actions over Ukraine.

The partnership announced on Thursday, which provides £40m for Ukraine’s economic recovery, includes additional support around grain verification and trade with Ukraine’s thriving technology sector that has produced battle-ready equipment.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has thanked the outgoing US secretary of state Antony Blinken for his role at a “watershed moment in history”.

“In a farewell call, I thanked @SecBlinken for his crucial role at a watershed moment in history that helped ensure Ukraine’s survival as an independent, free, and European nation. We value our strategic partnership and rely on continued support from the new U.S. administration,” he said on X.

The Biden administration marks its final day in power today as it hands over the control to the incoming Trump administration in the evening.

There are several variants of Army Tactical Missile Systems, a long-range missile system that often carries varying amounts of cluster bomblets.

Ukrainian forces used the US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time in October 2023, with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy saying the weapons had “proven themselves.”

Ukraine likely has what are known as M39A1 Block IA ATACMS that are guided in part by Global Positioning System and have a range of 40 to 190 miles. They can carry a payload of 300 bomblets. The M39 Block IA were used in Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to Army documents, and were added to the US arsenal in 1997.

When outgoing president Joe Biden was asked if he or Donald Trump deserved credit for the Gaza ceasefire deal struck in Qatar he shot back: “Is that a joke?” It wasn’t. Trump’s claim of having secured the “EPIC” deal was comic, but his contribution was real.

Biden’s team worked in tandem with Trump’s incoming administration – and his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff – to deliver the agreement which had taken many months to thrash out.

It was no accident that it was struck in the dying days of the Biden years, less than a week before Trump was due to move back into the White House. Israel’s prime minister knew that involving Trump would set him up to warm relations with the 47th president.

Hamas knows he’ll always be an enemy, but one who might actually make good on a threat to “rain hell” on the movement if no deal was made.

Just over 70 per cent of Ukrainians support gradual Nato accession akin to West Germany’s model, a survey by the Kyiv-based New Europe Center showed.

This invitation would cover Ukraine, but the alliance’s defensive umbrella would only extend to occupied territories after liberation.

Different Nato accession pathways are gaining traction in both the West and Kyiv as Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield and the prospect of liberating occupied territories militarily remains slim.

Officials in Kyiv are warning the incoming Trump administration that it would be a catastrophic mistake to force negotiations between Ukraine and Russia before Ukrainian forces have gained the territorial advantage on the battlefield.

“The bottom line is that there are no simple, quick decisions to be made here,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky. “The initiative has to be controlled. It must not be given away to Russia.”

The war-time president’s aides have said that failure to make Vladimir Putin “feel pain” before negotiating would embolden the Russian president, weaken Ukraine and ultimately damage the West’s reputation and interests.

Mr Podolyak said 46 per cent of the Russian refinery sector, a key sector of Russia’s economy, is under attack from Ukraine and several key Russian military infrastructure are also being hit.

“We need to be able to keep up this kind of pressure if we are to enter negotiations from a position of strength. Only if Russia is suffering losses will it be willing to negotiate meaningfully,” he said.