Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukrainian air defence systems destroy Russian drones and cruise missile – as it happened

12/02/2024 15:00 The Guardian

Ukrainian air force says 14 out of 17 drones and one Kh-59 cruise missile destroyed after Russia launched themGerman chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said defence companies could count on his government ramping up military spending and that it would meet its commitment to spend 2% of GDP on Nato defence.Scholz was speaking after former US president Donald Trump sparked outrage among US allies by suggesting the United States might not protect fellow Nato members who are not spending enough on defence against a potential Russian invasion.Ukraine’s air defence systems destroyed 14 out of 17 drones that Russia launched overnight and one Kh-59 cruise missile, Ukraine’s Air Force said. The air force said on the Telegram messaging app that Russia also launched missiles from S-300 long-range surface-to-air missile systems, but it did not say how many or whether they hit any targets, Reuters reported.Oleh Synehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine’s northeast, said late on Sunday that Russia attacked his region with missiles launched from the S-300 systems in Russia’s Belgorod region that borders Ukraine. He said that according to preliminary information, there were no casualties, but the facades of some non-residential buildings were damaged.Serhiy Lisak, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, said late on Sunday that Russia attacked the region’s city of Pavlohrad with drones. There were no casualties, but some parts of the city lost electricity. Reuters was not able to independently verify the reports.Russian forces in occupied Ukraine are using Starlink terminals produced by Elon Musk’s SpaceX for satellite internet in what is beginning to look like a “systemic” problem, Kyiv’s main military intelligence agency has claimed. Starlink terminals were rushed in to help Ukraine after Russia’s February 2022 invasion and have been vital to Kyiv’s battlefield communications. Starlink says it does not do business of any kind with Russia’s government or military.Russian forces are obtaining Starlink terminals illicitly from third countries and they are increasing their use on the front line, the Ukrainian military spy agency’s spokesperson told Reuters on Monday, without explaining how he knew. Andriy Yusov, the military official, also said that work was underway to counter Russia’s use of the terminals in occupied parts of Ukraine as the full-scale war with Russia nears the two-year mark.The Kremlin has said that Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite internet system was neither certified for use in, nor officially supplied to, Russia, and therefore could not be used. Ukraine, which has used Starlink for military communications throughout its conflict with Russia, said on Sunday that Russian troops were using Starlink in parts of Ukraine they control, Reuters reported.Russia on Monday imposed sanctions on 18 British citizens for what Moscow said was demonising Russia and escalating the war in Ukraine. Russia imposed what it called personal sanctions against deputy defence minister James Cartlidge, and a number of other officials and academics including historians Orlando Figes and Norman Davies and Russia specialist James Sherr.The US Senate on Monday will attempt to steer a $95.34 billion package containing aid for Ukraine and Israel to passage this week following months of delays, even as it lacked any guarantee that the House of Representatives will support the measure. On Sunday, the bill got a boost when the Senate voted 67-27 to move it past an important procedural hurdle. Also over the weekend, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer set a course for passage by Wednesday.Polish prime minister Donald Tusk said on Monday that France and Poland are on the same page as regards the geopolitical situation and support for Ukraine, Reuters reported. “We want us to send a common signal that we are ready for solidarity in all the most difficult situations ... we are rebuilding the Weimar Triangle,” Tusk said during a joined press conference in Paris with president Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading...

Continua a leggere su "The Guardian"

Altre notizie da "The Guardian"

Many Nato countries not spending enough to support Ukraine, says Rutte – Europe live

Nato chief delivers speech in Sweden as he hints at further changes to US military commitments to EuropeJust as Pavel was speaking in Prague, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova told reporters that Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy was pursuing escalation of the conflict betw...

21/05/2026 14:34 The Guardian

NHS trust sacks staff who illegally accessed records of Nottingham attack victims

Nottingham university hospitals trust says 11 members of staff dismissed and 14 others given written warningsAn NHS trust has sacked 11 staff members who illegally accessed the medical records of the victims of the Nottingham stabbing attacks.Valdo Calocane killed two 19-year-old students, Barnaby W...

21/05/2026 14:18 The Guardian

San Diego shooting shows disturbing trend of shooters copying acts of violence

Experts say hate-motivated extremists being radicalized online and adopting ideologies of shooters before themThe killing of three men at a San Diego mosque on Monday is the latest example of a disturbing trend in recent decades: hate-motivated shooters learning from – and copying – each other i...

21/05/2026 14:00 The Guardian

Trump health officials issue advisory on children and teens’ excessive screen time

HHS advisory says high screen time among youths can be linked to poor sleep and weakened in-person relationshipsHealth officials in the Trump administration have issued an advisory about children and adolescents’ excessive screen time, warning that negative impacts on sleep and mental functioning...

21/05/2026 13:51 The Guardian

Republicans could abandon $1bn proposal for Trump’s ballroom – US politics live

Republican senators have queried the timing and lack of detail in secret service bid to add money to the Department for Homeland security billSign up for the Breaking News US emailOn Capitol Hill today we are expecting votes in the House and in the Senate.Lawmakers in the lower chamber could vote fo...

21/05/2026 13:30 The Guardian

Reeves cuts VAT on summer days out to 5% as part of cost of living support

Chancellor says she will raise tax on global oil firms to help meet costs of plans and confirms freeze on fuel duty increasesBusiness live – latest updatesRachel Reeves will cut VAT to 5% on summer attractions such as theme parks and soft play centres during the school holidays as she aims to ease...

21/05/2026 12:53 The Guardian

UK service sector activity slumps in one of sharpest declines for a decade

Firms hit by ‘perfect storm’ of uncertainty about Labour leadership and impact of Iran warBusiness live – latest updatesCompanies in the UK’s dominant services sector have reported one of the sharpest declines in business activity in a decade, according to a closely watched index.Businesses...

21/05/2026 11:55 The Guardian

Student sues University of Michigan over alleged surveillance tied to Gaza protests

Lawsuit says university and private investigators conspired to intimidate, terrorize and retaliate against Josiah WalkerA University of Michigan student is suing the school, accusing it of violating his constitutional rights when it waged a vast undercover surveillance operation against him in respo...

21/05/2026 11:00 The Guardian

EasyJet summer holiday bookings down on last year amid Iran war uncertainty

Airline, which took £25m hit on jet fuel in March, says passengers are waiting later to book tripsBusiness live – latest updatesThe airline easyJet has said its summer holiday bookings are lagging behind last year’s, as the Middle East conflict weighs on consumer confidence and passengers appea...

21/05/2026 10:49 The Guardian

Girl, two, dies after being left in car as extreme heat sweeps Spain

Authorities in Galicia declare two days of mourning after toddler dies during exceptionally high May temperaturesEurope live – latest updatesA two-year-old girl has died of heatstroke in north-west Spain after being accidentally left in her father’s car during an unseasonably hot spell that coul...

21/05/2026 10:39 The Guardian

One Nation reveals gas policy – as it happened

This blog is now closedPauline Hanson announces Norway-inspired gas policy as she decries 25% export tax as ‘economic vandalism’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastAlbanese leaves door open to extending fuel excise cutThe prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has not ruled out...

21/05/2026 07:59 The Guardian

England must harvest rainfall and take action on water usage, Lords warn

Without urgent intervention England faces water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, peers tell governmentRainwater harvesting, the use of grey water in homes and an urgent campaign to reduce water usage across society are vital to prevent water shortages of 5bn litres a day by 2055, the governmen...

21/05/2026 05:01 The Guardian

Migratory bird numbers fall in Britain despite last year’s warm spring

British Trust for Ornithology says 2025 breeding season was especially disastrous for warbler species After a mild, wet and stormy winter in the UK, spring 2025 was one of the warmest and driest ever, while the summer was the hottest since records began, most particularly in England and Wales.Good...

21/05/2026 05:00 The Guardian

Toxic chemicals in pet flea treatments harming wildlife, UK study warns

Flea treatment chemicals fipronil and imidacloprid also implicated in lower cognitive scores in children with autismToxic chemicals found in pet flea treatment are devastating wildlife in rivers, parks and special conservation areas and the government should take urgent action to limit their use, ac...

21/05/2026 05:00 The Guardian

Papua New Guinea warns against fishing in New Ireland after mystery deaths of marine life

Initial testing found evidence of metals in water samples, months after province’s residents began reporting unusual numbers of dead fish washing ashorePapua New Guinea’s government has warned communities not to fish from parts of the New Ireland coastline as preliminary tests show evidence of m...

21/05/2026 00:52 The Guardian

‘We will not go back to Jim Crow’: thousand of Mississippians rally for voting rights

Demonstration, held at historic location where the ‘Mississippi Plan’ was enacted, comes as southern states race to dilute Black voting powerThousands of Mississippians, along with allies from other southern states, gathered at the state’s War Memorial Building auditorium on Wednesday in suppo...

20/05/2026 21:36 The Guardian

Bolivia rocked by protests as US warns of ‘coup d’état’

Clashes between demonstrators and police in La Paz have entered second week, shaking centre-right presidentProtests blocking roads across Bolivia and turning the centre of the capital, La Paz, into a battleground between demonstrators and police have entered a second week.It is the most turbulent mo...

20/05/2026 20:28 The Guardian

Canada faces calls for investigation into death of woman after plasma donation

International student Rodiyat Alabede, 22, died due to a ‘perfect storm’ of lax safety protocols, advocates sayPatient advocates in Canada have called for a new investigation into the death of a young woman who was donating blood plasma, describing a “perfect storm” of lax safety protocols a...

20/05/2026 19:06 The Guardian

Badenoch says Labour ‘just want a better salesman’. It would be a good start

Starmer has a reasonable list of achievements in power but has undermined himself with a lack of political storytellingNet migration down by three-quarters, the biggest fall in NHS waiting lists for 17 years, knife crime cut by 10%, the economy growing the fastest in the G7, rising wages, energy bil...

20/05/2026 18:14 The Guardian

Trump says no rush to end Iran war; anger grows over video of Gaza flotilla activists – Middle East crisis live

Trump plays down need to end war; Meloni among leaders to criticise treatment of flotilla group in video shared onlineThe Jordanian military announced it had shot down a drone of unknown origin in its airspace on Wednesday, AFP reports.No casualties were reported. Continue reading...

20/05/2026 17:38 The Guardian

Russian jet causes ‘dangerous’ near miss after flying close to RAF spy plane

UK calls incident ‘unacceptable’ after Su-27 jet comes within six metres of unarmed RAF plane over Black SeaA Russian jet flew within six metres of an RAF spy plane flying at 500mph over the Black Sea, one of two mid-air incidents last month described as “dangerous and unacceptable” by the d...

20/05/2026 17:00 The Guardian

Are Xi and Putin still ‘best friends’? – The Latest

Xi Jinping welcomed Vladimir Putin to Beijing with pomp and pageantry, just days after hosting Donald Trump. But as Russia’s war in Ukraine makes Moscow increasingly dependent on China, and western leaders thaw relations with Beijing, what does the power imbalance mean for Xi and Putin’s relatio...

20/05/2026 16:17 The Guardian

Rachel Reeves to protect ‘critical’ clean energy projects from legal challenges

Chancellor’s planning shake-up in England and Wales would ‘reduce exposure from judicial review on all but human rights grounds’Rachel Reeves is poised to fast-track clean energy projects in England and Wales with planning reforms to curb the use of judicial reviews against new infrastructure,...

20/05/2026 15:56 The Guardian

US and Israel ‘hoped to install Ahmadinejad as Iran’s leader’

Airstrike at the start of the war was aimed at freeing populist ex-president from house arrest, US newspaper claimsMiddle East crisis – live updatesFresh questions have been raised over the US and Israeli effort to depose the Iranian regime after it was claimed that Israel wanted to put the populi...

20/05/2026 14:40 The Guardian

US puts pressure on Palestinian leaders to withdraw bid for UN vice-presidency role

Jerusalem embassy told to issue protest to Palestinian Authority leaders, warning ‘consequences will follow’ if they do not complyThe US has ordered its Jerusalem embassy to press the Palestinian leadership into dropping a bid for a senior position at the UN general assembly, anxious that the ro...

20/05/2026 14:24 The Guardian

Brexit may be back, but Britain needs to know what it wants

A decade after the referendum, EU leaders would welcome closer ties – once the UK has understood the ‘European deal’• Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereBrexit’s back. Well, sort of. If it ever really went away. At any rate, an awful lot of ink has been spilled...

20/05/2026 14:20 The Guardian

Russian threats against Baltics ‘unacceptable’ and danger to ‘our entire union’, EU’s von der Leyen says - as it happened

This blog is now closedIn Brussels, Rutte begins by stressing the importance of Nato ministers meeting in Sweden, the alliance’s “newest ally” who joined in 2024.“This says a great deal about how fundamentally our security environment has changed, especially when it comes to Europe. It is mo...

20/05/2026 14:11 The Guardian

Texas storms prompt canceled flights as north-east heatwave comes to a close

Flash flood warnings and school closures in Texas as the US north-east breaks heat records before a dramatic cooldownHundreds of flight cancellations have been reported in Texas as storms roll over the state, leading to flash flood warnings and school closures, while punishingly high temperatures in...

20/05/2026 13:57 The Guardian

Same but different: how Xi and China welcomed Trump and Putin

Choreography of back-to-back visits appeared deliberately mirrored but China made sure the differences were noticedDays after Donald Trump was greeted in Beijing with a military band, an honour guard and dozens of youths waving American and Chinese flags, Vladimir Putin arrived in China to an almost...

20/05/2026 13:44 The Guardian

Lithuanian leaders rushed to bunkers as drone violates country’s airspace

Vilnius residents urged to take shelter during alert, after Nato and EU warn that Russia is diverting Ukraine’s dronesEurope live – latest updatesLithuania’s president and prime minister were rushed to underground bunkers and residents of the capital, Vilnius, urged to take shelter during a wa...

20/05/2026 13:43 The Guardian