Vladimir Putin has threatened Finland and the wider Nato alliance, according to a US war think tank, while Russian paramilitaries based in Ukraine have claimed responsibility for a cross-border attack.

The Russian President’s interview with his country’s state TV on Sunday is indicative of the Kremlin’s “hostile intent” towards the alliance, which poses a “credible and costly threat to Western security”, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Meanwhile, the Freedom of Russia Legion – which says it was formed in spring 2022 to fight Putin’s forces from within the Armed Forces of Ukraine – claimed to have carried out a cross-border raid a few miles into Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday.

The group, designated as terrorist in Russia, alleged it had destroyed a platoon stronghold of Russian troops near Trebreno village, without specifying whether it had destroyed infrastructure or killed soldiers, and said it had left mines behind.

It comes after Ukraine and Russia launched a swarm of drones at each other's territories on Sunday as both sides step up attacks, with the Russian assault reportedly killing one person in Odesa and the Ukrainian strike targeting a Russian military airfield.

Key Points

• Putin ‘threatens Finland and wider NATO alliance’, says think tank

• Anti-Putin paramilitaries ‘destroy’ Russian squadron

• Hungary blocks £43bn EU funding for Ukraine hours after Kyiv membership talks agreement

• Putin holds first major news conference since full-scale invasion of Ukraine

WHO gives update on health situation in Ukraine

08:33 , Tom Watling

Putin threatening Finland and preparing for potential war with Nato, warns think tank

08:00 , Tara Cobham

Vladimir Putin is preparing for the possibility of “large-scale conventional war” with Nato, according to a major think tank, after moving troops towards Russia’s northwestern border and issuing a veiled threat to new alliance member Finland.

Russia has confirmed it is strenthening its military units in the northwest, where it shares borders with Finland, Estonia and Latvia, and has formed a new military zone – the Leningrad Military District (LMD) – in the wake of Finland’s decision to join Nato in April.

Speaking in an extended interview with Russian state television channel Rossiya 1 on Sunday, Mr Putin said that now “there will be problems with Finland and accused other Nato members of “dragging” Helsinki into the alliance. Finland said it had no choice but to end decades of neutrality as a result of Russia’s decision to invade Ukraine.

Arpan Rai reports:

Latest pictures from Ukraine

07:00 , Athena Stavrou

ICYMI: Polish truck drivers resume strike after third Ukrainian dies

06:00 , Athena Stavrou

Polish truckers resumed their blockade of the main crossing at the Ukrainian border on Monday, Ukraine’s border service said.

The strike action has resumed just one week after it was lifted.

“Today, after 15:00 (1300 GMT), Polish carriers began a protest action on the access roads to the Dorohusk - Yahodyn checkpoint,” the service said on Telegram messenger, citing information from the Polish border guard.

It comes after Suspline, a Ukrainian public broadcaster, reported that a third Ukrainian truck driver had died waiting a the border on Saturday.

The driver fell ill at the Krakivets-Korczowa crossing, one of the four border points between Ukraine and Poland, and died while being rushed to the hospital.

Macron and Cameron to discuss Ukraine today

05:00 , Athena Stavrou

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron are set to discuss topics including Ukraine on Tuesday, a statement from Macron’s Elysee office said.

Macron’s office also said the pair are expected to discuss how to tackle illegal immigration and he situation in the Middle East.

Ukraine forced to cut back military operations thanks to ammo shortages as Western aid delayed

04:00 , Athena Stavrou

One of Ukraine‘s top generals has warned that Ukraine is already being forced to downsize some military operations thanks to delays in Western support.

Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said troops faced ammunition shortages along the “entire frontline“, creating a “big problem” for Kyiv.

Ukraine’s military has consistently asked for more weapons, including ammunition, to fight off Russia‘s invasion, but political wrangling within both the US and EU has delayed tens of billions of pounds of military aid. That is now having an impact on the battlefield.

Read the full report from my colleague Chris Stevenson here:

Russian diplomats: New EU sanctions show measures against Moscow have failed

03:00 , Athena Stavrou

Russia’s diplomatic mission to the European Union said on Monday that new sanctions imposed by the EU showed that punitive measures against Moscow had failed.

“The Russian economy is not ‘torn to shreds’, attempts to isolate us on the international stage, including the Brussels platform, have failed miserably, the goal of ‘inflicting a strategic defeat’ has not been achieved,” the mission said in a statement posted online.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry in Moscow issued no statement, saying only that a response to the sanctions would be forthcoming.

Zelensky welcomes EU’s 12th package of sanctions against Russia

02:00 , Athena Stavrou

Ukrainian President Zelensky has welcomed the EU’s adoption of a 12th package of sanctions against Russia on Monday.

The package focuses on imposing additional import and export bans on Russia and closing loopholes, it said. It also prohibits the direct and indirect import, purchase or transfer of diamonds from Russia.

“I welcome the adoption of the 12th EU sanctions package against Russia,” Zelensky wrote on X.

“Full ban on Russian diamonds; closing loopholes in existing sanctions; import restrictions on dual-use goods and other items, which provide Russia a total of €2.2 billion in profits every year and assist it to continue its aggression against Ukraine. “

Russian soldiers sent back to frontlines with unhealed wounds

01:00 , Athena Stavrou

Russian soldiers are likely being sent back to combat duty with unhealed wounds, the UK’s ministry of defence said on Monday.

In their latest defence intelligence update, Britain said that members of Russian units are “highly likely being returned to combat duties with unhealed wounds, and even after limb amputations”.

They added that the information follows credible reports that some units have frequently received minimal or no treatment.

Ukraine scaling back military operations due to shortage of foreign aid

00:01 , Athena Stavrou

Ukraine has been forced to scale back military operations due to a shortfall of foreign aid, a senior army general said

Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi told Reuters that there is now a shortage of artillery shells and said the drop in foreign military aid was having an impact on the battlefield

“There’s a problem with ammunition, especially post-Soviet (shells) - that’s 122 mm, 152 mm. And today these problems exist across the entire front line,” he said in an interview.

“The volumes that we have today are not sufficient for us today, given our needs. So, we’re redistributing it. We’re replanning tasks that we had set for ourselves and making them smaller because we need to provide for them,” he said, without providing details.

The comments underline Kyiv’s reliance on Western military aid to fight Russian troops along a 1,000-km front nearly 22 months into the biggest conflict in Europe since World War Two.

He added:“In some areas, we moved (to defence), and in some we continue our offensive actions - by manoeuvre, fire and by moving forward. And we are preparing our reserves for our further large-scale actions.”

Russian suspected of war crimes in Ukraine arrested in Finland

Monday 18 December 2023 23:00 , Athena Stavrou

A Russian man suspected of committing war crimes in Ukraine in 2014-2015 has been remanded in custody in Finland.

Finnish authorities took Yan Petrovsky into custody in August after Ukraine issued an arrest warrant for the man who is suspected of participating in a terrorist organisation, court documents seen by Reuters showed.

Ukraine had requested extradition of Petrovsky but the Finnish Supreme Court earlier this month rejected this, citing the risk of inhumane prison conditions.

The deadline for pressing charges is May 31, 2024, the district court said on Monday.

Social media channels linked to Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries said in August that Petrovsky was a top fighter in Rusich, a far-right sub-unit affiliated to Wagner.

Rusich identified Petrovsky as a founding member and leader of the unit who has been under European Union and United States sanctions since last year, Reuters reports.

Denmark sets aside 1.8bn crowns for Ukraine

Monday 18 December 2023 22:00 , Athena Stavrou

Denmark has set aside 1.8 billion Danish crowns (£211 million) to help finance armoured combat vehicles in Ukraine.

The Danish ministry of defence said on Monday that they will be supporting a Swedish initiative to donate CV90 armoured combat vehicles to the occupied country.

Sweden has already donated 50 CV90s to the country in its war with Russia. The Danish donation would help finance production of more such vehicles, spare parts, ammunition and a multi-year maintenance agreement, the ministry said.

Thousands of German troops to be on Russian border by 2027

Monday 18 December 2023 21:00 , Athena Stavrou

Around 4,800 combat-ready German soldiers are expected to be stationed on the Russian border in Lithuania by 2027, German and Lithuanian defence ministers said on Monday.

The agreement marks the first permanent foreign deployment of German soldiers since World War Two.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius compared what he called a “historic” agreement to the stationing of allied forces in West Germany during the Cold War, deployed to defend Western Europe in case of a Soviet attack.

“The eastern flank has now moved to the east, and it’s the duty of Germany to protect it,” Pistorius told a joint press joint conference with his counterpart in Lithuania, which borders both Russia and its close ally Belarus.

Most of the units will be arriving in 2025-2026, and they and their families will get “attractive conditions”, including German-language schools, kindergartens, housing and flight connections, said Pistorius.

Ukraine’s top general criticizes Zelensky

Monday 18 December 2023 20:00 , Athena Stavrou

Ukraine‘s top general has criticised President Volodymyr Zelensky’s previous decision to fire military recruitment chiefs on Monday.

Zelensky fired all of Ukraine‘s regional military recruitment heads in August in a corruption crackdown.

He said at the time a state investigation into centres across Ukraine had exposed abuses by officials ranging from illegal enrichment to transporting draft-eligible men across the border despite a wartime ban on them leaving the country.

When asked by reporters about whether the decision affected mobilisation levels, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi criticised the recruitment chiefs’ sacking.

“These were professionals, they knew how to do this, and they are gone,” Interfax Ukraine cited him as saying.

Asked by reporters to comment on the Defence Ministry’s recent plan to boost military recruitment, Zaluzhnyi said the old system should be brought back.

He told Interfax Ukraine: “It is still a little early to evaluate recruiting. As for mobilization issues, it is not necessary to strengthen it, but to return it to those boundaries (and) to those frameworks that worked before.”

Ukraine, which initially saw tens of thousands of eager volunteers queue up to fight off Russia’s invasion, is now trying to conscript more men to replace those currently at the front.

Angry social media posts have abounded in recent weeks purporting to show army recruiters turning up at gyms and resorts to hand out draft notices.

Putin officially registers as an independent candidate in Russia’s 2024 election

Monday 18 December 2023 19:00 , Athena Stavrou

Russian President Vladimir Putin has presented documents to Russia’s Central Election Commission to register as a candidate in the 2024 presidential election.

“He submitted them,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state media.

Supporters of Mr Putin on Saturday formally nominated him to run in the 2024 presidential election as an independent candidate.

The nomination by a group of at least 500 supporters, under Russian election law, is mandatory for those running not on a party ticket.

Independent candidates also need to gather at least 300,000 signatures of support from 40 regions or more.

The group that nominated Mr Putin included top officials from the ruling United Russia party, prominent Russian actors and singers, athletes and other public figures.

US planning another aid package for Ukraine

Monday 18 December 2023 17:53 , Athena Stavrou

The United States is planning one more aid package for Ukraine later in December, the White House said on Monday.

“When that one’s done ... we will have no more replenishment authority available to us and we’re going to need Congress to act without delay,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said.

Macron and Cameron to discuss Ukraine tomorrow

Monday 18 December 2023 16:38 , Athena Stavrou

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron are set to discuss topics including Ukraine on Tuesday, a statement from Macron’s Elysee office said.

Macron’s office also said the pair are expected to discuss how to tackle illegal immigration and he situation in the Middle East.

EU adopts 12th package of sanctions against Russia

Monday 18 December 2023 15:33 , Athena Stavrou

The European Union Council has adopted a 12th package of sanctions against Russia, the European Commission said in a statement on Monday.

This package focuses on imposing additional import and export bans on Russia and closing loopholes, it said. The 12th package prohibits the direct and indirect import, purchase or transfer of diamonds from Russia.

It also introduces a new import ban on liquefied petroleum gas which would impact annual imports worth of 1 billion euros, the EU added in the statement.

Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell Fontelles wrote on X: “With the 12th package, we are putting forward a robust set of new listings & economic measures which will further weaken Russia’s war machine.

“Our message is clear: we remain steadfast in our commitment to Ukraine & will continue to support its fight for freedom and sovereignty.”

EU to hold February summit to discuss Ukraine funding

Monday 18 December 2023 15:06 , Athena Stavrou

The European Union is set to hold a summit in February to discuss its multi-annual budget, including funding for Ukraine.

EU leaders agreed last week to open membership talks with Ukraine, but they could not agree on a 50 billion euro package of financial aid for Kyiv due to opposition from Hungary.

On Monday, European Council President Charles Michel said: “We understood on Thursday and Friday that a bit more time is needed with Hungary in order to make a decision by unanimity, which is needed for an agreement on the MFF (Multi-annual Financial Framework) review.”

He said that, besides funding for Ukraine, the 27-nation EU also had proposals to provide more financial support to address migration, to cover natural disasters and for security and defence.

Polish truckers resume blockade

Monday 18 December 2023 14:13 , Athena Stavrou

Polish truckers resumed their blockade of the main crossing at the Ukrainian border on Monday, Ukraine’s border service said.

The strike action has resumed just one week after it was lifted.

“Today, after 15:00 (1300 GMT), Polish carriers began a protest action on the access roads to the Dorohusk - Yahodyn checkpoint,” the service said on Telegram messenger, citing information from the Polish border guard.

Pickup trucks and lorries bound for Ukraine have been stuck in a miles-long queue at the border with Poland for weeks.

The Polish protesters have said their livelihoods are at stake after the European Union relaxed some transport rules and say Ukrainian truckers are undercutting their business.

Ukrainian transport officials were not immediately available for comment.

Ukrainian military chief claims office was bugged

Monday 18 December 2023 13:25 , Athena Stavrou

Ukraine’s military chief says a covert listening device has been found in one of the offices where he works - and has hinted bugs have also been detected elsewhere.

Army Commander Valeriy Zaluzhnyi told local media that the device, which was not working, was found by Ukraine’s Security Service during a routine sweep.

“I have several offices where I work. This happened in one of them,” Mr Zaluzhnyi said. “We checked (the room) and found (the device).”

He added that listening devices were not only found in the office where he worked but he did not provide further details, leaving it unclear whether more than one device was found in the Ukraine General Staff premises.

Ukraine's army chief says situation at front line is not a stalemate

Monday 18 December 2023 12:21 , Tara Cobham

Ukraine's army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Monday that the situation on the front line had not reached a stalemate.

Answering a question about whether he considers the battlefield situation a stalemate, he replied "no", Ukraine's RBC media reported.

He declined to comment on whether Ukraine would continue counteroffensive operations during the winter due to the sensitivity of the matter.

How to read Putin’s poker face as he bets large on victory in 2024

Monday 18 December 2023 11:03 , Mark Galeotti

Last week Vladimir Putin held his annual marathon press conference and town hall, and he gave no hint of any give in his approach to the war. After all, he may well feel that, after a disastrous 2022, this past year has been more successful than expected, allowing him to gamble on 2024 as the year he may be able to wrest some kind of victory from the initial catastrophic blunders of the invasion.

Certainly, he expressed satisfaction with the situation on the battlefield, asserting that Russian forces were doing well all along the front line. As for this year’s Ukrainian counteroffensive, “none of it worked anywhere,” he claimed. “I don’t even know why they do this. They are just sending their men out to be destroyed. It’s a one-way ticket.” Of course, this was not above outright fabrication – such as his claim that Ukrainian losses substantially exceeded Russian – but in essence he is quite satisfied with a stalemate. For the moment.

Putin’s strategy for 2024 will not depend on some major breakthrough on the battlefield, although we can expect the Russians to continue to try. Rather, it is that he can at once maintain the pressure on Kyiv and let “Ukraine fatigue” in the United States and Europe steadily mount. As he put it, “Ukraine produces almost nothing today, everything is coming from the West, but the free stuff is going to run out some day, and it seems it already is.”

A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine's soldiers as war with Russia grinds on

Monday 18 December 2023 10:13 , Tara Cobham

A gloomy mood hangs over Ukraine's soldiers nearly two years after Russia invaded their country.

Despite a disappointing counteroffensive this summer and signs of wavering financial support from allies, Ukrainian soldiers say they remain fiercely determined to win. But as winter approaches, they worry that Russia is better equipped for battle and are frustrated about being on the defensive again in a grueling war. Some doubt the judgment of their leaders.

Discontent among Ukrainian soldiers — once extremely rare and expressed only in private — is now more common and out in the open.

In the southern city of Kherson, where Ukraine is staging attacks against well-armed Russian troops on the other side of the Dnieper River, soldiers are asking why these difficult amphibious operations were not launched months ago in warmer weather.

"I don't understand," said a commander of the 11th National Guard Brigade's anti-drone unit who is known on the battlefield as Boxer. "Now it's harder and colder."

"It's not just my feeling, many units share it," said Boxer, who spoke on condition that only his battlefield name would be used.

Russia, which illegally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, controls about one-fifth of Ukraine. After 22 months of war the two countries are essentially in a stalemate along the 1,000 kilometer-long (620 mile-long) front line.

Putin ‘threatens Finland and wider NATO alliance’, says think tank

Monday 18 December 2023 09:08 , Tara Cobham

Vladimir Putin has threatened Finland and NATO more widely in a statement supposedly aimed at dismissing concerns over the threat Russia poses to the alliance, a US war think tank has said.

The interview with Russian state TV on Sunday is indicative of the Kremlin’s “hostile intent” towards NATO, which poses a “credible – and costly – threat to Western security”, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

Ukraine-based saboteurs claim successful attack on ‘platoon stronghold’ in Russia

Monday 18 December 2023 08:00 , Tara Cobham

The Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukrainian-based paramilitary group of Russians who oppose president Vladimir Putin, claimed responsibility on Sunday for a cross-border attack into the Belgorod region.

The group said it had destroyed a platoon stronghold of Russian troops near Terebreno village, without specifying whether it had destroyed infrastructure or killed soldiers, and said it had left mines behind.

“Russia is unable to control security within its borders. Putin’s security forces cannot ensure the safety of their citizens,” a Ukrainian intelligence source was quoted as saying by the Kyiv Post.

Namita Singh reports:

In case you missed it: Putin says Biden’s comment about Russian plan to attack Nato ‘complete nonsense’

Monday 18 December 2023 07:00 , Maira Butt

Russian president Vladimir Putin has responded to Joe Biden’s claims that support for Russia could mean an attack on Nato.

Earlier this month, Biden warned that if Putin won a victory over Ukraine then Russia would attack a Nato country. Biden offered no clear evidence for his remarks.

“It is complete nonsense - and I think President Biden understands that,” Putin said in an interview published on Sunday by Rossiya state television, saying it was an attempt by Biden to justify his “erroneous policy” on Russia.

“Russia has no reason, no interest - no geopolitical interest, neither economic, political nor military - to fight with Nato countries.”

In pics: The latest from the war in Ukraine

Monday 18 December 2023 06:02 , Maira Butt

In case you missed it: Drone attacks target Putin’s air base and Black Sea coast

Monday 18 December 2023 05:08 , Maira Butt

Russia and Ukraine have launched over a dozen drones at each other’s territory for a second day straight.

Russia and Ukraine launched over a dozen drones at each other’s territory for a second straight day Sunday, one of which apparently targeted a Russian military airport while a Ukrainian civilian was killed after drone debris slammed into his house near the Black Sea.

At least 35 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over three regions in southwestern Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a post on the messaging app Telegram.

Also Sunday morning, Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched overnight by Russian troops in southern and western Ukraine, as well as one X-59 cruise missile launched from the country’s occupied south.