Ukraine-Russia war latest: King Charles ‘was key influence’ in Trump changing stance on Putin

South Korea has Seoul’s “grave concern” over military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Hyun met Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov in New York on Friday, Cho’s office said on Saturday.

South Korea has opposed North Korea’s military aid to Russia for the war with Ukraine, including the deployment of troops and arms supply.

Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary have flared after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that reconnaissance drones which violated Ukrainian airspace may have flown from Hungary.

Zelensky said in his nightly video address that he had called for “thorough checks” and warned of a response if such incidents continue.

Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto mocked Zelensky on X, formerly Twitter, writing: “President Zelensky is losing his mind to his anti-Hungarian obsession. He’s now starting to see things that aren’t there.”

His statement comes as the two countries are locked in a diplomatic standoff after Hungary imposed an entry ban on Ukrainian military officials, prompting Kyiv to reciprocate with a ban on Hungarian officials.

Moldovans will head to the polls Sunday for a parliamentary election fraught with claims of Russian interference.

The vote could decide the country’s geopolitical future: a stark choice between East and West.

Landlocked between Ukraine and European Union member Romania, Moldova has pursued a westward path toward the EU in recent years, but Sunday’s ballot to elect a new 101-seat parliament will determine whether that continues or if the country of about 2.5 million people is pulled back into Moscow’s orbit.

The race pits the ruling pro-Western Party of Action and Solidarity, which has held a strong parliamentary majority since 2021, against several key Russia-friendly opponents.

If PAS fails to win a majority on Sunday, “It would mean an end to EU integration,” Igor Grosu said, the PAS leader and speaker of parliament. “It would mean dependence, halting all justice reforms, infrastructure projects, everything … there is no middle option.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Saturday that its forces had taken three more villages in eastern Ukraine, amid a grinding Russian advance in the area.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry named the captured villages as Derylove and Maiske in Donetsk region, and Stepove in neighbouring Dnipropetrovsk region.

A Russian oil pumping station has been hit by Ukrainian drones, an official has said.

Work at the station in the Russian Volga riverside region of Chuvashia was halted after the strike on Saturday, regional governor Oleg Nikolaev said.

Nikolaev said that the attack took place near the village of Konar, around 1200km from Ukrainian territory.

He said there had been no casualties and only “minor damage” inflicted.

Reform UK’s former leader in Wales has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to eight bribery charges while an elected member of the European parliament.

The charges stated that Nathan Gill, as an elected member of the European parliament for the constituency of Wales in the UK, “agreed to receive financial advantage, namely money”, which constituted “the improper performance” as the holder of an elected office.

At his last court appearance, it was alleged that the 52-year-old made statements in the European parliament and in opinion pieces to news outlets, such as 112 Ukraine, which were “supportive of a particular narrative” that would “benefit Russia regarding events in Ukraine”.

The King is said to have been a vital influence on Donald Trump’s dramatic U-turn on the war in Ukraine.

This week, Trump went from urging Kyiv to make territorial concessions to insisting it can win back all of the territory captured by Russia since 2022.

President Zelensky’s chief of staff revealed the US President’s state visit to the UK played a huge role in his change of position.

Asked whether the Ukrainian delegation had changed Mr Trump’s mind, Andriy Yermak, said: “I’d like to mention that it was a great visit of President Trump to the United Kingdom, and I know the position of His Majesty, the position of Prime Minister Starmer and the people whom President Trump met… it was very important.”

The King mentioned the war in Ukraine as he addressed the state dinner held in Mr Trump’s honour at Windsor Castle.

“Our countries have the closest defence, security and intelligence relationship ever known,” Charles said.

“In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny. Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”

Donald Trump has made a unique and sudden intellectual contribution to the future of Ukraine and European defence, shifting the debate away from an assumption that Kyiv must negotiate or die, to a belief that it could destroy the Kremlin’s army.

This remarkable volte-face is being seized upon in Europe with as much vigour as was evident in the effort to look away when Trump backed Vladimir Putin over Ukraine, or when he threatened to invade Denmark and Canada.

External power to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been cut for over three days, a record outage that has prompted major safety fears.

The plant, Europe’s largest nuclear facility, is running on emergency generators to power critical cooling systems after its last power line was severed on Tuesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called the situation “deeply concerning,” with experts warning of increased risks of a nuclear accident.

While Russian operators claim they have enough diesel to power backup generators for 20 days, the IAEA has warned that the loss of external power heightens the risk of a nuclear accident.