Ukraine and Russia agree to prisoner swap as Putin announces ceasefire Politics Russia and Ukraine said on Saturday they had swapped hundreds of prisoners in the largest exchange since the Russian full-scale invasion started over three years ago. Russia’s ministry of defence said that 246 Russian service members were returned from territory controlled by Kyiv and that, “as a gesture of goodwill”, 31 wounded Ukrainian prisoners of [...]
Russia says it has taken another village from Ukrainian forces in Kursk region Politics Kremlin forces have pushed Ukrainian troops from one of their last remaining footholds in Russia’s Kursk region, officials said. Russia’s Defence Ministry said its forces took control of the village of Oleshnya, on the border with Ukraine. The “Units of the North military group have liberated the village of Oleshnya in the Kursk region during [...]
Russian confrontation with peacekeepers ‘would be an extraordinary escalation’ Politics Russian soldiers confronting British troops in Ukraine would be an “extraordinary escalation”, a minister has said as talks continue on a possible Western peacekeeping operation. Wes Streeting suggested on Sunday morning that the prospect of such a confrontation would be sufficient to deter Russia from breaching any ceasefire agreement reached with Ukraine. He told Sky [...]
Government could take Abramovich to court over £2bn from Chelsea sale March 7, 2025 The government is reportedly preparing to take former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to court to get their hands on £2bn from the sale of the club. The oligarch previously said that the money from the sale, currently frozen in a bank account, would go to those hit by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But ministers have [...]
FTSE 100 giants Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems surge following Ukraine defence summit March 3, 2025 UK and European defence shares rose to near-record highs on Monday morning lead by names such as Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, after the defence summit in London, at which European leaders emphasised support for Ukraine and pledged to raise defence spending. The STOXX 600 rose 0.4 per cent boost, following ten consecutive weeks of gains [...]
Bill Browder: ‘Bad bet’ to return to Russia after ceasefire February 17, 2025 Firms that choose to re-open operations in Russia after a peace agreement has been reached would be “making a bad bet” and “deserve to lose their money”, a former hedge fund manager dubbed ‘Putin’s number one enemy’ has said. Speaking to City AM from the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Sir Bill Browder launched a scathing [...]
Gloucester Rugby forced to pull Russia flag from player shirt January 8, 2025 Gloucester Rugby has been forced to remove a Russian flag from the shirt of one of their players after a complaint from a fan. The Cherry and Whites have operated a policy, since 2015, of rewarding their international stars with the flag of their Test nation on their club shirt. But Gloucester were forced to [...]
UK ‘not at war’ Starmer insists as he rebukes Putin’s ‘irresponsible rhetoric’ November 22, 2024 Sir Keir Starmer has insisted the UK is “not at war” and criticised Russian leader Vladimir Putin for his “irresponsible rhetoric”. The Prime Minister asked during a round of regional radio interviews about concerns over escalation in the conflict in Ukraine. On Thursday, Russia used a new ballistic missile in Ukraine, which Putin said was [...]
Russian Olympic champion sanctioned by UK over aiding “forced deportation” of Ukrainian children November 19, 2024 Russian former Olympic champion gymnast Nikita Nagornyy has been sanctioned by the UK Government for helping to forcibly deport Ukrainian children. Nagornyy, 27, was added to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office UK Sanctions List on Tuesday for his part in what it called the “forced deportation and re-education of Ukrainian children”. Nagornyy, described by [...]