Ukraine-Russia war latest: Germany at risk of violent conflict with Putin as war enters ‘new, more dangerous’ phase

The Kremlin on Monday declined to comment on a New ⁠York Times report that US-Russia talks on ending the war in ⁠Ukraine ​have expanded ⁠to include a multibillion-dollar oil ⁠deal.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov ​said, ⁠however, that ‌energy cooperation was a topic of discussion ‌between Russian and ‌US negotiators.

The proposed deal, the New York Times ⁠reported on the weekend, would benefit Middle Eastern business executives with ties to US negotiators Steve Witkoff and ‌Jared Kushner, who ​have travelled multiple ‌times to ⁠Moscow to meet ⁠with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Massive Russian air strikes targeted industrial and port infrastructure in Ukraine’s ⁠Odesa region, governor Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app on Monday.

All ⁠of the ​fires ⁠caused have been extinguished so far, ⁠he added.

A Russian air strike ​on ⁠Kharkiv, Ukraine’s ‌second-biggest city, killed one person and injured six others, ‌Mayor Ihor Terekhov said ‌on Telegram late on Sunday.

The Russian defence ministry ⁠said on Telegram it hit Vylkove port, fuel depot facilities in Chornomorsk and cargo vessels, all in the Odesa region, as ‌well as a ​power station in ‌the Kharkiv region, ⁠which it said ⁠were used for military purposes.

“We saw documents and we know that they allow them to attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially to attack in the cities, in the villages, everywhere, roads, schools, hospitals,” Zelenskiy told Reuters in an interview. “To pressure people to leave the capital, leave different cities: this is the goal of the operation.”

Kremlin on Monday threatened that Ukraine will “pay the price” after Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would continue striking Russian oil refineries.

It came as President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukraine intends to intensify strikes against Russian oil refineries following a fresh campaign of bombardment by Moscow aimed at driving citizens out of Kyiv and major urban centres, while avoiding non-military targets.

According to Zelensky, Ukrainian intelligence gathered documentation revealing that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has authorised a “new doctrine” expanding military strikes to encompass a significantly wider selection of non-military sites before winter sets in.

“We saw documents and we know that they allow them to attack infrastructure, logistics, and especially to attack in the cities, in the villages, everywhere, roads, schools, hospitals,” Zelensky told Reuters in an interview.

“To pressure people to leave the capital, leave different cities: this is the goal of the operation.”

Germany is at risk of being drawn into a violent conflict with Russia as Moscow increasingly regards Berlin as a “main adversary”, the head of the country’s foreign intelligence service has warned.

Martin Jaeger, president of Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND), told parliament’s intelligence committee on Monday that the confrontation with Russia had entered a “new and more dangerous” phase.

“Germany is in danger of becoming embroiled in a violent conflict with Russia. The attempted attack in Leipzig is only one example of that,” Mr Jaeger said, referring to an attempted drone strike on a Ukrainian cargo plane in August.

The intelligence chief said Russia now represented the most significant direct threat facing Germany.

“No other country currently poses such a direct, comprehensive and concrete threat to Germany,” he said.

“We did not seek this confrontation. Russia is forcing it upon us and sees us as a main adversary, because we refuse to accept its revisionist, expansionist policies and its war of aggression against Ukraine.”

A Russian ⁠air strike on ⁠Kharkiv, Ukraine’s ​second-biggest ⁠city, ⁠killed ​one ⁠person ‌and injured another ‌six, mayor ‌Ihor ⁠Terekhov said on Telegram late ‌on Sunday.

Terekhov said an administrative building and vehicles were burning following the attack.

At least 10 multi-story residential buildings were damaged in the attack, and search and rescue operations are ongoing.

Russia has reportedly launched Banderol missiles, part of its growing use of jet-powered loitering munitions that combine characteristics of cruise missiles and drones.

The Banderol’s speed, manoeuvrability and ability to fly at low altitudes can make it difficult for Ukrainian air defences to detect and intercept.

South Korean president Lee Jae Myung has threatened further action against Ukraine unless Kyiv apologises for publicly revealing the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul.

Seoul and Kyiv have been locked in an escalating diplomatic dispute since Volodymyr Zelensky announced at the UN General Assembly last month that Ukraine had handed over two North Korean soldiers captured while fighting alongside Russian forces.

Lee said the transfer was covered by a confidentiality agreement and has accused Ukraine of breaching it. Kyiv has disputed Seoul’s account of the agreement.

“If the refusal to acknowledge the facts and issue a public apology continues, we will take additional measures,” Lee said on Friday, without specifying what action South Korea could take.

Zelensky addressed the transfer again on Sunday, saying Seoul had asked Kyiv to hand over the soldiers.

“South Korea asked us to give them North Korean soldiers. By the way, according to their constitution, they are their citizens … so we gave them these two guys,” he told reporters.

He did not refer to Lee’s demand for an apology or the South Korean president’s threat of further measures.

Moscow police detained around 60 people at an authorised Communist Party rally on Sunday after protesters began chanting anti-Kremlin slogans, according to the party and Russian rights group OVD-Info.

The rally marked the anniversary of Russia’s 1993 constitutional crisis, when a confrontation between then-president Boris Yeltsin and hardline lawmakers culminated in the military shelling of Moscow’s parliament building.

Authorities said 123 people were killed, although unofficial estimates put the death toll in the hundreds.

The Communist Party has held annual events to mark the anniversary as a symbol of resistance to reforms introduced during the Yeltsin era.

This year’s authorised gathering, however, took a more openly anti-Kremlin turn as demonstrators chanted slogans including “Freedom for political prisoners”, “For fair elections” and “Down with the Tsar”.

According to OVD-Info, protesters also chanted “No to political repression”, “Down with Roskomnadzor” and “Down with the party of crooks and thieves”.

Although Moscow authorities had approved the rally, detentions reportedly intensified towards the end of the gathering as participants began chanting more directly against the Kremlin.

Around 20 people were initially taken to Moscow’s Krasnopresnenskiy police station before the number of reported detainees rose to about 60, OVD-Info said.

Those detained were not all Communist Party supporters. They included 26 Communist Party participants, 30 members of the liberal Yabloko party and several other activists.

The Communist Party, Russia’s largest parliamentary opposition group, broadly aligns itself with the Kremlin on major national security and foreign policy issues, including Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

While it occasionally criticises the government over domestic policies, it does not directly challenge president Vladimir Putin’s rule.

Moscow police detained around 60 people at an authorised Communist Party rally on Sunday after protesters began chanting anti-Kremlin slogans, according to the party and Russian rights group OVD-Info.

The rally marked the anniversary of Russia’s 1993 constitutional crisis, when a confrontation between then-president Boris Yeltsin and hardline lawmakers culminated in the military shelling of Moscow’s parliament building.

Authorities said 123 people were killed, although unofficial estimates put the death toll in the hundreds.

The Communist Party has held annual events to mark the anniversary as a symbol of resistance to reforms introduced during the Yeltsin era.

This year’s authorised gathering, however, took a more openly anti-Kremlin turn as demonstrators chanted slogans including “Freedom for political prisoners”, “For fair elections” and “Down with the Tsar”.

According to OVD-Info, protesters also chanted “No to political repression”, “Down with Roskomnadzor” and “Down with the party of crooks and thieves”.

Although Moscow authorities had approved the rally, detentions reportedly intensified towards the end of the gathering as participants began chanting more directly against the Kremlin.

Around 20 people were initially taken to Moscow’s Krasnopresnenskiy police station before the number of reported detainees rose to about 60, OVD-Info said.

Those detained were not all Communist Party supporters. They included 26 Communist Party participants, 30 members of the liberal Yabloko party and several other activists.

The Communist Party, Russia’s largest parliamentary opposition group, broadly aligns itself with the Kremlin on major national security and foreign policy issues, including Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

While it occasionally criticises the government over domestic policies, it does not directly challenge president Vladimir Putin’s rule.