Russian fighter jets intercept US bombers

Russian fighter jets have intercepted US bombers on its Baltic Sea border, according to reports citing the country’s defence ministry.

The Kremlin scrambled an Su-27 fighter jet after two US B-1B strategic bombers approached its northeastern border, defence officials cited in Russian state news agency RIA said on Tuesday.

As the fighter jet approached, the US bombers “performed a U-turn” away from the Russian border, the defence ministry said.

A similar confrontation occurred in May when Russia’s defence ministry said it scrambled an Su-35 fighter jet over the Baltic Sea after two US bombers flew in the direction of the Russian border.

The bombers returned to base after being intercepted.

03:18 PM BST

That's all for today.

Thanks for following the Telegraph’s live blog. We’ll be back tomorrow with the latest updates on the war in Ukraine.

03:16 PM BST

Russia 'relying on Storm Z convict units for human wave attacks'

Russia is relying on “Storm Z” - or human wave - units to launch fresh offensives in Ukraine, according to a British intelligence report, raising the prospect of another Bakhmut-style fight, Joe Barnes reports.

The assault units are made up of former convicts freed from jail to join Moscow’s battle-stricken forces and regular troops facing disciplinary measures.

They are often deployed in human waves, repeatedly ordered to attack with little support in a bid to overwhelm Ukrainian defences, resulting in losses of close to 1,000 men per day, according to Kyiv.

02:48 PM BST

Russian nuclear agency in joint venture with Dubai firm

Russian nuclear agency Rosatom said on Tuesday it has set up a joint venture with Dubai’s DP World to develop container shipping through the Arctic as part of an initiative heavily promoted by President Vladimir Putin.

The deal with one of the world’s top port operators is the most tangible sign yet of Moscow’s ability to attract big international partners to help it realise its ambitious plans for what it calls the Northern Sea Route.

Putin has talked up prospects for the Arctic corridor, including in a speech at China’s Belt and Road forum last week, as Russia shifts its trade eastwards in response to Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

02:40 PM BST

Kremlin: Fighter jets intercept US bombers on Baltic Sea border

Russia scrambled an Su-27 fighter jet after two U.S. B-1B strategic bombers approached its border over the Baltic Sea, Russian state news agency RIA reported on Tuesday, citing the Defence Ministry.

As the fighter jet approached, the U.S. bombers “performed a U-turn” away from the Russian border, the Defence Ministry said.

02:21 PM BST

Ukraine expects €1.4 billion from Germany

Ukraine expects Germany to provide it with an additional 1.4 billion euros to enhance its air defences and help it get through a second winter at war with Russia, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday.

“Germany is preparing a 1.4 billion euro winter aid package for Ukraine, including air defence equipment,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Kyiv has been pushing its Western partners for additional air defence systems, fearing that Moscow plans to increase the number of air strikes on energy facilities during the winter heating season.

01:45 PM BST

Moldova blocks Russian media sites

Moldova on Tuesday blocked access to more than 20 Russian media websites, saying they had been used as part of an information war against the country.

An Intelligence and Security Service decree published online listed 22 Russian news resources to be blocked, including prominent ones such as Russia Today, NTV, Ren TV, state media holding VGTRK and others.

The decree, which is likely to anger Moscow, said internet providers had been ordered to block the sites immediately. Some of them still worked when checked by a Reuters reporter in Chisinau following the announcement.

There was no immediate comment from the Russian authorities.

01:31 PM BST

EU on track to end reliance on Russian fuel

The European Union is on track towards its goal of ending Europe’s reliance on Russian fossil fuels within this decade, the European Commission said on Tuesday.

European countries are heading into their second winter with scarce Russian gas, after Moscow slashed deliveries last year following its invasion of Ukraine - inflicting an energy crisis of record-high gas prices in Europe.

In a report published on Tuesday, Brussels said the EU expected imports of Russian gas to drop to 40-45 billion cubic metres this year, compared with 155 bcm in 2021, the year before the Ukraine war. The 27-country EU has sanctioned Russian coal and seaborne oil imports.

“The worst effects of the crisis may now be behind us, but there is no room for complacency,” the Commission said.

01:16 PM BST

Scholz pledges to maintain German aid to Ukraine

Chancellor Olaf Scholz pledged to maintain Germany’s aid to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion even as Berlin supports Israel in its conflict with Hamas.

“We are backing Ukraine economically, financially, with humanitarian aid and also with weapons,” Mr Scholz said.

“This support will in no way be impacted by the fact that we of course since the horrible morning hours of October 7 have focused on Israel and the Middle East with the greatest sympathy and concern,” he said.

The German leader was speaking at a German-Ukrainian business forum in Berlin attended by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and joined virtually by President Volodymyr Zelensky.

12:48 PM BST

Pictured: Vladimir Putin listens to his trade minister

12:45 PM BST

Ukraine needs £35 billion to cover budget deficit

Ukraine will need some 42 billion euros (£36.5 billion) from international partners to cover its wartime budget deficit next year, just as it did this year, prime minister Denys Shmyhal said on Tuesday.

Shmyhal said that Ukraine’s entire peacetime budget was allocated to defence against Russia’s invasion, meaning that it needed international help to cover its social and humanitarian spending.

“We hope that the war will finish as fast as possible. We were not the initiators, and Russia can end it at any time,” he said.

12:25 PM BST

Ukraine in joint defence venture German arms manufacturer

Ukraine said on Tuesday it had set up a joint defence venture with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall AG to service and repair weapons supplied by the West to help Kyiv against Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a German-Ukrainian Business Forum in Berlin, the venture will also help with the localisation of some key equipment produced by Rheinmetall AG, he said.

Ukraine relies heavily on financial and military support from the West which has poured in tens of billions of dollars of weapons since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Germany is a key ally.

12:05 PM BST

Zelensky: Ukraine will keep up pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will keep up military pressure on Russian-occupied Crimea, he said in a video address to a security conference in Prague on Tuesday that was marred by technical glitches and a possible hack attack.

Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russian forces in the Black Sea and Crimea, which was seized and annexed by Moscow in 2014, as Ukrainian forces press on with a nearly five-month-old counteroffensive.

Mr Zelensky said the “illusion” of Russia’s domination of Crimea and the Black Sea had been shattered. “The Russian (Black Sea) fleet is no longer able to operate in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually fleeing from Crimea.”

11:49 AM BST

Alexei Navalny refuses to leave his cell

Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Monday refused to leave his cell and skipped a court hearing, protesting after prison officials took away all of his writing supplies, his allies said.

Mr Navalny, who is serving a 19-year prison term, was due to participate via video link in a court hearing on one of many lawsuits he had filed against his prison.

Ivan Zhdanov, an ally of Mr Navalny’s, said the politician refused to leave his cell after prison officials took away all of his writing supplies.

After that, “security operatives in helmets entered the cell and, using force, dragged him to the investigator,” Mr Zhdanov said, as the politician was also expected to attend unspecified “investigative procedures.”

11:09 AM BST

Ukrainian spies under the 'close control' of US and Britain, says Moscow

Russia has long known that the Ukrainian special services are under the “close control” of the United States and Britain, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

He was commenting on a Washington Post report headlined “Ukrainian spies with deep ties to CIA wage shadow war against Russia”

10:49 AM BST

Kremlin: Russia not frightened of fresh sanctions

The Kremlin is aware of a new package of Western sanctions being prepared against Moscow over its military actions in Ukraine but they cannot frighten Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

Russia has been living under sanctions for a long time and is ready to live under them for another 5-10 years, Peskov said in a regular call with reporters.

Pseskov also said the West’s resources to support Ukraine with weapons and ammunition were limited.

10:27 AM BST

Russia destroys three Ukrainian drone boats off Crimea

Russian naval forces destroyed three uncrewed Ukraine-launched boats in the northern part of the Black Sea off the Crimean Peninsula, Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday.

“Anti-sabotage missiles and bombs hit the area where the unmanned boats were detected,” the ministry said on Telegram.

It added that an anti-mining and an “anti-sabotage” operation was being carried out off Sevastopol port, which is home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

It was not immediately clear whether the incident caused any casualties or damage. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine.

10:09 AM BST

War in Pictures

09:50 AM BST

Joe Biden to discuss Ukraine on Australia trip

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will receive a lavish welcome from US President Joe Biden at the White House this week, with talks about China and Ukraine on the agenda.

The pomp-filled state visit comes as Washington looks to reinforce its ties with longtime ally Australia as part of a broader strategy to counter Beijing in the Asia-Pacific region.

Albanese, who will be honored with a gala state dinner, is meanwhile seeking to keep Biden focused on Australia’s neighborhood while the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine conflicts rage on the other side of the world.

“It will be an important visit,” Albanese said Sunday before leaving. “The alliance between Australia and the United States is central to Australia’s foreign policy.”

09:15 AM BST

Podcast: Record bomb drops on Kherson

Listen to yesterday’s segment of Ukraine: The Latest here.

08:59 AM BST

Kyiv: War empowers Ukraine to prosecute 'oligarchs'

Ukrainian authorities feel newly empowered to prosecute the once-powerful tycoons known as “oligarchs” thanks to shifting political realities and the war with Russia, Kyiv’s justice minister said.

Denys Maliuska spoke to Reuters in an interview on Monday as investigators probe several prominent billionaires for crimes like embezzlement, fraud and money laundering in cases mostly opened during the 20-month-old Russian invasion.

“Everyone was afraid of (the) consequences of indicting oligarchs, but this is no longer the case,” he said.

Ukraine had long struggled to shake off the influence of its shadowy tycoons, who used the huge industrial wealth they amassed after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union to gain political influence and power.

08:30 AM BST

MoD: Russia continues to rely on ‘Storm-Z’ units

07:58 AM BST

Grain exported through Ukraine’s Black Sea corridor

About 700,000 metric tons of grain have been exported through Ukraine’s new Black Sea export corridor since it began operating in August, the Ukrainian agriculture minister said.

Ukraine launched a “humanitarian corridor” to release ships bound for African and Asian markets, and to circumvent a de facto blockade after Russia abandoned a deal this summer that had guaranteed its exports during the war.

A senior agricultural official said later that month it was considering using the route for grain shipments.

“During the operation of the new corridor, 38 ships entered the ports and more than 30 left, not all of them with grain, of course,” the agriculture ministry quoted Mykola Solsky as saying late on Monday.

“However, we managed to export almost 700,000 tons of grain.”

07:28 AM BST

Russia and Iran shore up relations

Russia and Iran are firming up bilateral relations in a “trusting” atmosphere, Russia’s foreign ministry said early on Tuesday after its chief, Sergei Lavrov, was received by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi during a visit to Tehran.

“In a traditionally trusting atmosphere, current aspects of the bilateral agenda were substantively discussed with an emphasis on further building up the entire complex of multifaceted Russian-Iranian partnership,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Lavrov, who went to Tehran shortly after an Asia trip to China and North Korea, discussed energy and logistics projects with Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian.

As has been the Russian norm, few details of the talks, which took place amid the rising tensions in the Middle East, have been disclosed.

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