05/12/2025 – 04:26
This liveblog is no longer being updated. You can follow our coverage on the war in Ukraine here.
04/12/2025 – 23:07
“Ukraine is prepared for any possible developments,” Zelensky says
“Our task now is to obtain complete information about what has been said in Russia and what other reasons Putin has found to prolong the war and to pressure Ukraine, to pressure us, our independence,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening address from Kyiv.
“Ukraine is prepared for any possible developments. Of course, we will work as constructively as possible with all our partners to ensure peace is achieved, and that it is a dignified peace.”
04/12/2025 – 21:09
Belgian PM hopes for ‘fruitful discussion’ on Russian frozen assets with Germany’s Merz
Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever said he hopes to have a “fruitful discussion” with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday about an EU plan to use Russian frozen assets to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
Merz has voiced support for the idea to provide Ukraine with a “reparations loan” using Russian state assets frozen in the EU, but also said the risks should be borne by all EU countries – not just Belgium, which holds the majority of the assets
“I hope it will be a fruitful conversation and that we will find a solution that we can then present to Europe over the next two weeks,” De Wever told local media outlets, adding that he would not be pushed into backing a plan.
“I can still determine my own position, even if there are large, strong neighbours whom I like very much and greatly respect politically, who might ask me (to do) something differently. I have only one responsibility: that is the interests of the Belgian taxpayers.”
04/12/2025 – 18:38
Washington suspends some sanctions on Russian oil giant Lukoil
The US Treasury Department on Thursday extended authorisation for Lukoil-branded fuel stations outside Russia to continue operating, suspending some sanctions on the Russian energy giant.
The move effectively allows Lukoil-branded stations in countries like the United States to continue serving customers while still preventing money from flowing back to Russia, which has been under sweeping US and EU sanctions since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Treasury said it extended the authorisation to “mitigate harm to consumers and suppliers seeking to engage in ordinary transactions” with retail service stations that involve the Lukoil entities.
The decision partially suspends the measures decided in October by Trump, who, in a rare effort to pressure Moscow, slapped sanctions against Russian oil majors Lukoil and Rosneft that came into force on November 21.
04/12/2025 – 18:34
‘We should engage’, not obstruct US talks on Ukraine, Putin says
Putin said that the ongoing US talks on Ukraine were “complex” but “we should engage”, not obstruct the effort, in an interview shared by an Indian broadcaster on Thursday.
“This is a complex task and a challenging mission that President Trump took upon himself,” Putin said in the remarks translated by India Today.
“Achieving consensus among competing parties is no easy task, but President Trump, truly, I believe — he sincerely tries to do this,” he added. “I think we should engage with this effort rather than obstruct it.”
04/12/2025 – 16:38
Russia sent Ukrainian children to North Korea ‘re-education’ camps, Kyiv says
Russia has sent some of the thousands of Ukrainian children it has abducted from occupied territory to North Korea for “re-education”, Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman has said.
Citing testimony published by a Kyiv-based human rights group, Lubinets said there was a network of 165 “camps” where Russia was attempting to re-educate the children – in occupied Ukraine, Belarus and Russia, as well as in North Korea.
A representative from the Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR) reported in testimony to the US Senate on Wednesday that at least some of the children were sent to the Songdowon summer camp on North Korea’s eastern coast.
There, they were taught to “destroy Japanese militarists” and met Korean veterans responsible for seizing a US spy ship in 1968.
The Ukrainian government says Russia has abducted or forcibly displaced almost 20,000 children since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022.
04/12/2025 – 16:36
Berlin deploys fighter jets to Poland after Russian drone incursions
Germany has deployed five Eurofighter jets and some 150 military personnel to the Polish town of Malbork to help secure the country’s airspace, the German air force said on Thursday, in response to Russian droneincursions in September.
Polish, Dutch, Italian and NATO aircraft scrambled in an operation to shoot down drones entering Polishairspace in mid-September, in the first instance a member of the Western military alliance is known to have fired shots during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow denied responsibility for the incident.
The German Eurofighters are operating as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission and will remain stationed in Malbork, some 60 kilometres from Gdansk and 80 kilometres from the heavily armed Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, until March 2026, according to the Luftwaffe.
04/12/2025 – 16:33
Seven more children returned to families in Ukraine, Melania Trump says
Seven more Ukrainian children have been returned from Russia to their families in a welcome sign of cooperation between the countries, US first lady Melania Trump said on Thursday.
The latest repatriation included six boys and one girl, her office said.
“I commend the leadership and persistent diplomacy of Russia and Ukraine in the pursuit of the reunification of children and families. Their bridge-building has created a tangible collaborative environment – an anchor for optimism,” she said in a statement.
In October, the first lady she said she had secured an open line of communication with Putin and that some children had been returned to their families with more to be reunited soon.
Ukraine accuses Russia of abducting at least 19,000 of its children to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
04/12/2025 – 16:29
Turkey summons Ukrainian, Russian envoys over Black Sea attacks
Turkey summoned Ukraine’s ambassador and Russia’s acting charges d’affaires to the foreign ministry to convey its concerns over a series of attacks on Russia-linked vessels inside its exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea, Deputy Foreign Minister Berris Ekinci has said.
“We are witnessing a very serious escalation in recent weeks in the Russia-Ukraine war with reciprocal attacks. And lastly, there were certain attacks in the Black Sea within our exclusive economic zone as well,” Ekinci told parliament’s foreign affairs commission.
“Yesterday and today, we summoned Russia’s acting charges d’affaires and Ukraine’s ambassador to convey our concerns.”
04/12/2025 – 16:27
Germany’s Merz postpones Norway trip to discuss Ukraine funding in Brussels
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has postponed a Norway trip Friday for talks in Brussels on using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine in its fight against Russia, Berlin said Thursday.
“The Chancellor’s trip tomorrow to Oslo, Norway has been postponed,” a government spokesman said.
Merz will instead attend a private dinner with Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he added in a statement.
04/12/2025 – 15:54
EU sets 2027 deadline to end Russian gas imports
The EU has agreed to fully phase out Russian gas by September 2027 and ban LNG imports by the end of 2025, with plans to cut Russian oil next.
While the move is hailed as a step toward European energy independence, Hungary and Slovakia are preparing legal challenges, and Russia warns of higher costs and reduced competitiveness.
04/12/2025 – 14:35
Dictated peace in Ukraine would jeopardize Europe’s security, Berlin warns
A dictated peace for Ukraine would be disastrous not only for Kyiv but also jeopardise Europe’s security, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned.
“A dictated peace would be disastrous for Europe … because a Ukraine which is militarily beaten or potentially even defeated at the negotiation table, destabilised domestically through Russian influence, would put Europe’s security at risk,” Pistorius said.
04/12/2025 – 14:21
Russia says production of Ukrainian missile fuel in Denmark poses risk of escalation
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the production of fuel for Ukrainian long-range missiles at a factory in Denmark posed a risk of escalation.
The Danish government announced the plan in September, prompting Moscow to say it would lead to more bloodshed in Ukraine.
04/12/2025 – 14:19
Ukraine’s military denies Russia holds southern village
Ukraine’s military denied on Thursday that Russian troops were in control of the southern village ofDobropillia, which is located near a part of the frontline where Moscow’s forces have recently advanced.
“An enemy sabotage and reconnaissance group infiltrated the outskirts of the village, taking advantage of the weather conditions,” Ukraine’s General Staff said on Telegram, adding that the village currently is under the control of Kyiv’s troops.
04/12/2025 – 13:09
Russia says EU seizure of frozen assets will elicit ‘harshest response’
A day after the EU presented a plan to provide Ukraine with funds using frozen Russian assets, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said any “illegal action” by the EU regarding Moscow’s frozen assets would elicit “the harshest reaction”.
Russia is already preparing its response, she added.
Zakharova also said the production of fuel for Ukrainian long-range missiles at a factory in Denmark posed a risk of escalation.
The Danish government announced the plan in September, prompting Moscow to say it would lead to more bloodshed in Ukraine.
04/12/2025 – 11:36
Germany’s Merz wants EU states to share risks of Russian asset plan alongside Belgium
Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz has come out in favour of giving Belgium assurance that the risks of a planned use of frozen Russian state assets to support Ukraine would be borne fairly by all EU countries.
In an opinion piece published by German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Merz said each country should “incur an equal share of the risk, as a function of their respective economic performance”.
04/12/2025 – 11:01
Russia says its forces struck Ukrainian transport, infrastructure facilities
Russia’s defence ministry has said its forces struck Ukrainian transport and infrastructure facilities, according to state news agency TASS.
Earlier, Ukrainian energy company DTEK said that Russia attacked a facility in the southern Odesa region overnight, leaving 51,800 households without power.
04/12/2025 – 10:01
Heat and power plant in Ukraine’s Kherson suspended after Russian attacks
Operations at a heat and power plant in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson were suspended after a series of Russian attacks, leaving 40,500 customers without heat, said the regional governor.
Kherson is a frontline city that is subjected to Russian missile, drone and artillery attacks on an almost daily basis.
04/12/2025 – 09:33
Putin calls US talks on ending Ukraine war ‘useful’ but with some points that Russia ‘cannot agree’
Russian President Vladimir Putin said his five-hour talks with US envoys on ending the war in Ukraine were “necessary” and “useful” but also “difficult work,” with some of the proposals unacceptable to the Kremlin.
Speaking to the India Today TV channel before he landed Thursday in New Delhi for a state visit, Putin said the American proposals discussed at the Kremlin meeting were based on earlier discussions between Russia and the US, including his meeting with Trump in Alaska in August, but also included new elements.
“We had to go through practically every point, which is why it took so much time,” he said. “It was a meaningful, highly specific, and substantive conversation. Sometimes we said, ‘Yes, we can discuss this, but with that one we cannot agree.’”
The Russian leader’s comments come as US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are set to meet with Ukraine’s lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov in Florida for further talks.
04/12/2025 – 07:14
Turkey told Russia, Ukraine to keep energy infrastructure out of war, minister says
Turkey is telling Russia, Ukraine, and all other parties to keep energy infrastructure out of their conflict and wants energy flows to continue uninterrupted, Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said after a series of attacks off Turkey’s Black Sea coast.
Ukraine, which is targeting Russia’s oil exports as Moscow bombards its power grid, has taken responsibility for an attack by sea borne drones on two empty tankers heading towards a Russian port last week.
But it denied any link to another incident on Tuesday in which a Russian-flagged tanker loaded with sunflower oil said it had come under drone attack.
