UK hunting Putin’s submarines, says defence secretary
Defence secretary John Healey has issued a fresh warning to Vladimir Putin over operations involving Russian submarines in UK waters.
Healey told the BBC there had been a 30 per cent rise in Russian vessels threatening UK waters, presenting evidence of increased “Russian aggression right across the board”.
Asked what his message to Putin was, he said: “We’re hunting your submarines.”
According to the Ministry of Defence, Russia’s submarine activity in the North Atlantic is now back to the same levels as seen in the Cold War era.
In January this year, a Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine was used to warn off a Russian spy ship operating around UK waters.
The hunter-killer submarine was ordered to surface close to the Yantar after the Russian vessel was caught loitering over critical undersea cables.
Defence secretary John Healey arriving for a Cabinet meeting in Downing Street (PA Wire)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 06:21
Zelensky welcomes fresh EU sanctions on Russia at Brussels summit
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky attended the talks in Brussels yesterday and lauded the latest round of EU sanctions targeting Russia.
“We waited for this. God bless, it will work. And this is very important,” the Ukrainian leader said at the summit.
The sanctions are intended as part of a broadened effort to choke off the revenue and supplies that fuel Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and compel president Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war.
The EU measures especially target Russian oil and gas. They ban imports of Russian liquefied natural gas into the bloc, and add port bans on more than 100 new ships in the Russian shadow fleet – hundreds of ageing tankers flagged to third-party countries that are helping Moscow dodge sanctions.
The latest sanctions bring the total number of such banned ships to 557.
The measures also target transactions with a cryptocurrency increasingly used by Russia to circumvent sanctions; prohibit operations in the bloc using Russian payment cards and systems; restrict the provision of AI services and high-performance computing services to Russian entities; and widen an export ban to include electronic components, chemicals and metals used in military manufacturing.
A new system for limiting the movement of Russian diplomats within the 27-nation EU will also be introduced.Zelensky urged more nations to punish Russia.
“This is a good signal to other countries in the world to join the sanctions,” he told reporters in Brussels.
Volodymyr Zelensky speaks to press during the European Council meeting in Brussels (AFP via Getty Images)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 06:12
EU fails to agree deal to finance Ukraine with frozen Russian assets
The EU has fallen short of signing a deal to loan Ukraine billions of euros backed by frozen Russian assets, after Belgium threatened to block the initiative.
Leaders agreed in principle to the idea of supporting Ukraine financially with the help of €140bn (£121bn) in frozen Russian assets, according to European Council chief Antonio Costa, but stopped short of releasing any funds on Thursday night.
A text backed by all the EU’s leaders – except Hungary’s Russia-friendly prime minister Viktor Orban – was watered down from previous drafts to ask the Commission for “options for financial support based on an assessment of Ukraine’s financing needs”.
“Russia’s assets should remain immobilised until Russia ceases its war of aggression against Ukraine and compensates it for the damage caused by its war,” the declaration added. The aim is now for EU leaders to reach a deal in December.
“This is a topic that is certainly not trivial. It’s very complex,” European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after the summit yesterday. “It was also very clear that there are points to be clarified.”
Belgium has expressed reservations on the loan, seeking assurances on the usage of funds.
“If demands are met, we can go forward. If not I will do everything in my power at the European level, also at the national level, politically and legally to stop this decision,” Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever said.
De Wever said he could only support the plan if he had strong assurances that it was legal and that other EU countries would share the risks involved.
Belgium’s support is particularly important for the plan given the frozen Russian funds are held in that country.
Belgium EU Summit (AP)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 05:48
What’s included in the EU’s 19th package of sanctions against Russia?
As a 19th sanctions package has been implemented against Russia, including new additions such as restrictions on the movement of diplomats within the EU.
“It’s a significant package that targets main Russian revenue streams through new energy, financial, and trade measures,” the Danish rotating presidency of the EU said.
The package was approved by the 27 member states after Slovakia dropped its block.
“It targets Russian banks, crypto exchanges, entities in India and China, among others,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X.
It includes a ban on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and will take effect in two stages. Short-term contracts will end after six months and long-term contracts after 1 January 2027, a year earlier than the Commission’s roadmap. It is part of the EU’s plan to completely phasing out Russian energy.
“The EU is curbing Russian diplomats’ movements to counter the attempts of destabilisation,” said Kallas. “It is increasingly harder for Putin to fund this war.”
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 05:43
Watch: Children carried out of Ukraine kindergarten hit by Russian attack Children carried out of Ukraine kindergarten hit by Russian attack
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 05:14
Kim Jong Un says military ties with Russia will ‘advance non-stop’
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said military brotherhood between his country and Russia would “advance non-stop”, state media KCNA reported this morning.
Kim made the comments during a speech at the groundbreaking ceremony for a memorial for North Korean soldiers who fought alongside Russian troops in Russia’s Kursk region during Moscow’s ongoing war with Ukraine, KCNA said.
“The years of militant fraternity, in which a guarantee has been provided for the long-term development of the bilateral friendship at the cost of precious blood, will advance non-stop,” Kim said, according to KCNA.
Kim and Russian president Vladimir Putin have signed a mutual defence pact. North Korea has sent soldiers, artillery ammunition and missiles to Russia to support Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Challenges posed by what he called the forces of “domination and tyranny” – typical language to refer to the North’s enemies in the West – cannot hinder the two countries’ ties, Kim added.
The event was the latest public honouring of North Korean troops who fought in Russia to repel an incursion by Ukrainian forces.
(KCNA)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 04:57
Starmer urges Ukraine’s allies to provide more long-range weapons to strike back at Russia
Measures under consideration will include further efforts to cripple the economy supporting Vladimir Putin’s war effort by taking Russian oil and gas off the global market and seeking ways to use frozen assets to fund Ukraine’s defences.
Ukrainian president Zelensky, Denmark’s prime minister Mette Frederiksen, Dutch premier Dick Schoof, and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte will be in London, while around 20 other leaders will dial in to a meeting of the “coalition of the willing” – the initiative led by Sir Keir and France’s Emmanuel Macron.
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 04:52
On freeze of Russian assets, Belgium seeks concrete guarantees
Belgium needs concrete and solid guarantees before supporting a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a giant loan to Kyiv, pointing out that the plan is “unchartered territory”, the country’s PM Bart De Wever said.
Belgium’s position is critical, as the assets in question are held by Belgian financial institution Euroclear. The government has cautioned against seizing the assets, arguing it could expose Euroclear to litigation and ultimately create a major financial crisis.
“Can this (plan) be legal? That is a very good question… There are no clear answers,” De Wever told reporters after attending an EU summit in Brussels where it was one of the subjects being discussed with EU leaders.
“We will in any case be buried in litigation. That seems like a certainty,” he said.
EU leaders did not reach an agreement on how to handle the frozen assets during the summit. The issue will be discussed further at the next EU summit in December.
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 04:35
Starmer issues message to allies after Putin fails to end war
Prime minister Keir Starmer is set to host European leaders in London today for a critical meeting of the Coalition of Willing as Ukraine’s allies ramp up pressure on Russia heading into winter.
The PM’s office said the meeting today comes after “Putin proved yet again that he is not serious about ending his illegal war, failing to engage with president Trump’s most recent proposals for meaningful peace talks.”
Here’s the full remarks by Sir Keir:
“The only person involved in this conflict who does not want to stop the war is President Putin, and his depraved strikes on young children in a nursery this week make that crystal clear.
“Time and again we offer Putin the chance to end his needless invasion, to stop the killing and recall his troops, but he repeatedly rejects those proposals and any chance of peace.
“From the battlefield to the global markets, as Putin continues to commit atrocities in Ukraine we must ratchet up the pressure on Russia and build on President Trump’s decisive action.
“After all, Ukraine’s security matters to us all, and what happens on the frontline of Donetsk today is shaping our collective future for years to come.”
(House of Commons)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 04:17
Britain calls for strong measures against Russia as Zelensky heads to London
Britain is calling for a raft of measures against Russia to strengthen Ukraine’s hand ahead of any future peace talks, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky heads to London today.
Prime minister Keir Starmer’s office said he would press a meeting of the “Coalition of the Willing” countries that have pledged to strengthen support for Ukraine to take Russian oil and gas off the global market, use frozen Russian assets to support Ukraine, and give Kyiv more long-range missiles.
Sir Keir said Putin had shown he was not serious about proposals to end the war.
“The only person involved in this conflict who does not want to stop the war is president Putin, and his depraved strikes on young children in a nursery this week make that crystal clear,” he said in a statement this morning.
The PM said: “Time and again we offer Putin the chance to end his needless invasion, to stop the killing and recall his troops, but he repeatedly rejects those proposals and any chance of peace.”
The meeting today at No 10 is coming on the heels of US president Donald Trump hitting Russia’s two biggest oil companies with sanctions, a dramatic U-turn after he said last week that he and Putin would soon hold a summit in Budapest to try to end the war in Ukraine.
Sir Keir Starmer talks to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky (PA Wire)
Arpan Rai24 October 2025 04:11