Surge in Russian uranium sent to China

Washington fears Russia is sending large quantities of enriched uranium to China in an effort to evade sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.

Chinese imports of enriched uranium from Russia, the world’s largest exporter of the radioactive metal, soared in 2022 and 2023, according to data released by the World Bank.

The US is now investigating whether the uranium, used as nuclear power plant fuel, is then being imported to America.

China only started to send vast quantities of enriched uranium to the US after Congress passed a ban on the import of the metal from Russia after the Ukraine invasion.

“As China may be seeking to carve out a greater role for itself in world enriched uranium markets, increased imports of Russian enriched uranium may facilitate the pursuit of Beijing’s ambitions,” said a report in March by the London-based Royal United Services Institute think tank.

03:58 PM BST

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We’ll be back soon for more updates and analysis on the war in Ukraine.

03:37 PM BST

Western countries competing to ‘spank RT the hardest’

Western countries are in competition over who can spank Russia Today (RT) the hardest, a spokesperson for the state network has said.

03:22 PM BST

Zelensky’s ‘victory plan’ will not involve freezing conflict

Volodymyr Zelensky’s victory plan, which will be presented to Ukraine’s allies next week, will not involve freezing the conflict in any way, a senior presidential adviser has said.

“The president has repeatedly stated that freezing the conflict will not result in the end of the war, but will instead allow Russia to accumulate additional resources and continue with the third stage of civilian massacres in Ukraine,” Mykhailo Podoliak said.

“Naturally, there are no plans that would entail relinquishing territories or freezing the war.”

Mr Podoliak went on to say that the Russia could be defeated with “a specific quantity of weapons”, including military, diplomatic, economic, and political pressure.

03:00 PM BST

Russia suffers 610,000 casualties since start of war, says MoD

Russia has likely suffered 610,000 casualties (killed or injured) since the war broke out in February 2022, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

The MoD also said that recruitment in 2024 has decreased compared with the previous year, meaning Russia has been increasing sign-on bonuses to attract new recruits.

“Estimates suggest military personnel payments amounted to around 8% of federal spending in the year to June 2024,” the MoD said.

02:42 PM BST

Ukraine tries to pierce two border towns in Russia

Ukraine failed to pierce Russia’s western border as it continues its fight back against the Russian counteroffensive in Kursk, Moscow has claimed.

Kyiv’s forces have been attempting to pierce the Russian border towards Veseloe and Medvezhe as it fights back against Moscow’s counteroffensive to Ukraine’s initial invasion on Aug 6.

The border towns are located around 15km (9.3 miles) to the west of the main battle in Kursk.

02:05 PM BST

Which countries have the largest active militaries?

01:45 PM BST

One million people killed or wounded in war

Around one million Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion, according to reports.

Anonymous sources, cited by the Wall Street Journal, said Kyiv’s losses had been 80,000 soldiers killed and 400,000 more wounded.

President Volodymyr Zelensky in February put the figure at 31,000, breaking a taboo over discussing casualties on the Ukrainian side.

Western intelligence estimates believe Russia has lost 200,000 troops, while a further 400,000 have been wounded in combat. This figure is close to the 635,000 estimated by Kyiv on Tuesday.

Rob Lee, a prominent military analyst, said Ukraine had a between killed to wounded ratio because it “makes a greater effort at casualty care and evacuation”.

01:32 PM BST

Ursula von der Leyen fills top EU jobs with pro-Ukraine figures

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, has announced she will fill her team in the EU’s executive arm with pro-Ukraine figures.

Von der Leyen, a vocal supporter of Kyiv herself, revealed Andrius Kubilius, the former prime minister of Lithuania, will oversee the EU’s defence policy.

Speaking to the European Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Kubilius said the EU needs to “radically ramp up production of our military industry and to integrate Ukraine’s military industry with the European one”.

“We need to remove any red lines in the defence of Ukraine,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kaja Kallas, the former Estonian prime minister, has been put in charge of foreign affairs and security policy. He has repeatedly called for more action by the West to help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion.

12:56 PM BST

Watch: Ukrainian drone rams Russian lancet drone

This is the moment a Ukrainian drone rammed a Russian lancet drone mid-air.

Air ramming is the process of hitting one aircraft with another, often a last-ditch tactic used when other attempts to take down the aircraft have failed.

12:40 PM BST

Germany: Moldova could be next after Ukraine

Russia could invade Moldova next if it manages to succeed in Ukraine, the German foreign minister has warned.

“Everything that we do to support Ukraine also means fostering stabilisation with regards to Moldova,” Annalena Baerbock said.

“It is clear what the greatest concern of the people here is: that if Ukraine falls, Moldova is the next country in line.”

11:50 AM BST

Russians attack embattled Ukrainian city ‘40 times’ in a single day

Russian forces attacked the beleaguered city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s east 40 times on Monday, Ukraine’s military said.

For weeks, Moscow’s troops have been bearing down on the key garrison city, a major logistics hub for Ukraine’s defence in the Donetsk region.

The General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Monday the heaviest fighting along the frontline took place on the Pokrovsk front where “our defenders stopped 40 attacks”.

More than 20,000 people - almost half of its population - have fled the city since August, while Russian strikes over the past two weeks have cut off water and electricity to many of its remaining residents.

Capturing Pokrovsk would be a step towards Russia’s objective of capturing the whole of the Donetsk region, which it currently controls 80 per cent of.

11:21 AM BST

Ukraine claims Russia executed prisoner with sword

Ukrainian authorities are investigating claims that a prisoner of war was executed by Russian troops with a sword in Donetsk.

Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, wrote on Telegram: “Photos appeared on social networks of how the Russians probably executed an unarmed Ukrainian prisoner of war with a sword with his hands tied with tape.

“Such actions are a gross violation of the Geneva Convention relative to the treatment of prisoners of war.

“How much longer will the world watch as Russia openly demonstrates disregard for any norms and laws?”

Ukrainian authorities said they were trying to establish the identity of the prisoner and the date of the apparent execution. The images circulated on social media have not been independently verified by The Telegraph.

11:04 AM BST

Kremlin to expand army by 180,000 ‘due to threat on Western border’

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that an order by President Vladimir Putin to transform Russia’s army into the second largest in the world was needed to address growing threats on Russia’s western borders and instability to the east.

Putin on Monday ordered the regular size of the Russian army to be increased by 180,000 troops to 1.5 million active servicemen in a move that would make it the second largest in the world after China’s.

“This is due to the number of threats that exist to our country along the perimeter of our borders,” Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin spokesman, told reporters on a conference call.

“It is caused by the extremely hostile environment on our western borders and instability on our eastern borders. This demands appropriate measures to be taken.”

10:46 AM BST

‘Nato has to cross all Russia’s red lines,’ warns Estonian president

Alar Karis, Estonia’s president, warned that Nato allies must do more to help defend Ukraine by crossing “all” of Vladimir Putin’s so-called red lines.

“We probably realize now that we have to cross all of these red lines and then start forcing Russia out of Ukraine,” Mr Karis told the Kyiv Independent at the 20th annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) Conference in Kyiv.

Mr Karis, whose country borders Russia, also backed Volodymyr Zelensky’s calls for restrictions to be lifted on striking deep inside Russia using Western-provided long-range missiles.

“We are in a very simple position, we should lift the restrictions,” he said.

10:35 AM BST

Zelensky: ‘Victory Plan’ for Ukraine 90pc complete

Volodymyr Zelensky has said his “Victory Plan” for Ukraine is over 90 per cent complete and that Kyiv is preparing to present it to allies next week.

In his nightly address on Monday, the Ukrainian president said the “necessary steps for Ukraine have already been clearly defined.

“These steps will give us the strongest possible positions to bring about peace—a real and just peace. For every step, we have a clear list of actions—what exactly is needed and what will strengthen our efforts.

“There is nothing impossible in this plan. Over 90% of it is already laid out.”

09:51 AM BST

In pictures: Returned Ukrainian POWs at rehabilitation centre

09:41 AM BST

Meta bans Russian state media over ‘foreign interference’

Facebook owner Meta said on Monday it was banning RT, Rossiya Segodnya and other Russian state media networks from its platforms over “foreign interference activity”.

The ban marks a sharp escalation in actions by the world’s biggest social media company against Russian state media, after it spent years taking more limited steps such as blocking the outlets from running ads and reducing the reach of their posts.

“After careful consideration, we expanded our ongoing enforcement against Russian state media outlets. Rossiya Segodnya, RT and other related entities are now banned from our apps globally for foreign interference activity,” the social media company said in a statement.

Enforcement of the ban will roll out over the coming days across its apps, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads.

08:08 AM BST

Russia attacks energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s Sumy region

Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, cutting power in some districts and forcing authorities to resort to back-up power systems, local authorities said on Tuesday.

The attack dealt damage in Konotop, Okhtyrka and Sumy districts of the region and the critical infrastructure facilities were using back-up power systems, regional officials said on Telegram.

Sumy water supply facilities said that the attack cut power to them at night, prompting the switch to emergency power supply.

Mayor Artem Kobzar said there were no casualties in the city and that energy workers were dealing with the attack’s aftermath.

07:36 AM BST

Ukraine says it shot down 34 out of 51 Russian drones

Ukrainian air force said on Tuesday it shot down 34 out of 51 Russian drones overnight.

The military said air defences were employed in five regions.

07:34 AM BST

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