Ukraine-Russia war latest: Trump says Putin is ‘doing what anybody would do’ before 14 killed in Russian strike

As Russian forces rushed towards the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on 24 February 2022, the comedian-turned president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky surprised the world.

“When you attack us you will see our faces – not our backs,” he said in a direct address to Vladimir Putin, making clear his nation would not back down in the face of invasion. When Mr Zelensky appeared later, he was wearing military fatigues, clothes he has worn ever since.

It was the beginning of a David versus Goliath story, not just for Mr Zelensky but for Ukraine. He was standing up to strongmen.

Fast forward three years and Mr Zelensky is facing what is proving to be a far more difficult task: appeasing a strongman.

The US government has suspended Ukraine’s access to certain satellite imagery, as part of president Donald Trump’s administration’s move to halt intelligence sharing with Kyiv, US aerospace firm Maxar Technologies said on Friday.

Maxar said it had disabled Ukrainian users’ access to satellite imagery through the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery (GEGD) program, a US government platform that provides access to commercial satellite images collected by the United States.

“The US government has decided to temporarily suspend Ukrainian accounts in GEGD,” Maxar said, referring further questions to the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

The NGA confirmed the suspension, saying: “In accordance with the administration’s directive on support to Ukraine, NGA has temporarily suspended access to the Global Enhanced GEOINT Delivery system, or GEGD, which is the primary portal for access to US government-purchased commercial imagery.”

This decision follows a broader intelligence freeze imposed by Washington, as the Trump administration seeks to pressure Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky into negotiating a ceasefire with Russia.

Appeasement towards Russia is leading to more tragedy in Ukraine, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk has said.

“This is what happens when someone appeases barbarians,” Tusk wrote on X. “More bombs, more aggression, more victims. Another tragic night in Ukraine.”

Mr Tusk was responding to a deadly Russian missile and drone attack on Ukraine which killed at least 14 people.

Britain and other European nations must be ready to take over Nato if Donald Trump carries out US threats to withdraw from the organisation.

That was the powerful message delivered on Saturday by former Conservative defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace.

“We are witnessing a new era where we cannot take for granted US security guarantees,” said Sir Ben.

Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban has said there will be a strategic partnership between Hungary and the US after the war in Ukraine ends.

Mr Orban has supported US president Donald Trump’s push for a quick ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Around 3.5 million Russian passports have been issued to Ukrainians, Moscow’s interior minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev said. This means around 700,000 have been issued since March 2024, when 2.8 million had been handed out.

Holding a Russian passport in the occupied territories has been made necessary for Ukrainians who want to access healthcare, retirement income, social services, or prove property ownership. A Russian law stipulated that anyone in the occupied territories who did not have a Russian passport by 1 July 2024 was subject to imprisonment as a “foreign citizen”.

Higher European defence budgets are the first step to building a secure Europe, Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has said.

“We will need to spend more to keep ourselves safe,” Mr Rutte told German Sunday newspaper Welt am Sonntag (WamS).

“But we also need to quickly ramp up our defence production on both sides of the Atlantic…for far too long, we have produced far too little.”

Ammunition, ships, tanks, jets, but also satellites and drones were needed, Rutte said.

European countries are scrambling to boost defence spending and maintain support for Ukraine after US president Donald Trump froze U.S. military aid to Kyiv and raised doubts about Washington’s commitment to European allies.

Sir Keir Starmer has welcomed Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese’s support for his ‘Coalition of the Willing’ peacekeeping plan in Ukraine.

After the two held a phone call on Saturday, Downing Street said Sir Keir welcomed Mr Albanese’s “commitment to consider contributing to a Coalition of the Willing for Ukraine”.

Sir Keir “reiterated the UK’s commitment to the Aukus programme”, the statement added.

Mr Albanese wrote on X: “Good to talk with @Keir_Starmer tonight reaffirming our support for AUKUS, our commitment to the brave people of Ukraine in defence of their sovereignty and international law.”