Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian troops launch offensive to retake Kursk as Zelensky says Kyiv committed to peace

Writing in The Independent, the Tory peer believes the threat of Mr Trump’s administration has opened the doors for Keir Starmer to have a much more profound repair of the damage of Brexit beyond the limited ambitions of his reset talks.

Read Lord Heseltine’s piece here:

The Latvian president has called for European countries to “absolutely” introduce conscription as well as up defence spending.

Edgars Rinkevics also admitted the continent is currently “quite weak” militarily, which is especially notable amid the “ups and downs” in its relationship with the US.

Latvia introduced conscription for men two years ago, while its defence spending is now four per cent of its GDP.

Mr Rinkevics told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Seeing what is happening in the world, the decision that we took – many other European countries need to follow that.

“A lot of people are a little bit nervous. People are following the news. Of course strong reassurances [are] one thing, but another thing is other European governments [have] to make sure that we all get stronger.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that it had taken the village of Konstyantynopil, in the southern part of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The King is reportedly concerned about the clashes between the US and Canada as he is set to urge global unity in his Commonwealth Day message tomorrow.

Amid global instability and discord between world leaders over Russia’s war in Ukraine, The Sunday Times reported Charles is expected to say: “In these uncertain times, where it is all too easy to believe that our differences are problems instead of a source of strength and an opportunity for learning, the Commonwealth’s remarkable collection of nations and peoples come together in the spirit of support and, crucially, friendship … The Commonwealth’s ability to bring together people from all over the world has stood the test of time and remains as ever important today.”

The 76-year-old monarch will attend the the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey alongside the Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales on Monday

It comes after the King met Justin Trudeau last Monday amid the outgoing Canadian prime minister’s ongoing clashes with Donald Trump over the US president’s imposition of tariffs.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday that it had retaken the village of Lebedevka in Russia’s Kursk region, and taken the village of Novenke, across the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region.

Russian forces had been largely absent from Ukraine’s Sumy region since April 2022, when they withdrew from the border province in order to refocus their forces on eastern Ukraine.

Countries cannot be “dragooned” into the coalition of the willing by the UK, a senior minister has said.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said that “people have to be up for it”.

Asked on the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg how many countries have said they would be willing to take part, Mr McFadden said: “These discussions are going on, I think it’s important to have European countries involved in this.

“The phrase ‘step up’ has been used quite a lot in recent weeks. The UK is stepping up.

“The Prime Minister certainly stepped up and other countries have indicated that they want to do that.

“Of course, coalition of the willing means people have to be up for it. They have to step forward themselves, they can’t be dragooned by us.

“But the UK and the Prime Minister is playing an important role in those discussions, and will continue to do that.”

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden did not say whether or not it was wrong for the US to have withdrawn satellite images and other information from Ukraine.

Asked whether it was “wrong”, Mr McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “Well, it’s their decision. It’s not something that we’ve done.

“We support Ukraine, we continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, with intelligence support, with help on the cyber front, because we believe that they’re engaged in a really important fight for their country’s freedom and the capacity to decide their own future.”

Pushed further on whether the White House bears any responsibility for casualties in Ukraine, Mr McFadden said: “With regard to the United States, what they’re trying to do is bring the war to an end. I think that aim is shared by everyone.

“What we want to secure is not just an end to the fighting, but a peace that lasts, and that has underlined every action the prime minister has taken in recent weeks, because it will do nothing to secure Ukraine’s future if we have a temporary ceasefire, which lasts only as long as president Putin wants it to.”

The UK is not considering conscription, a senior minister has said.

Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden told Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips that “Europe does have to step up in terms of its own defence”.

Asked whether conscription is something in mind, Mr McFadden said: “We’re not considering conscription, but, of course, we’ve announced a major increase in defence expenditure a couple of weeks ago, and we do have to recognise that the world has changed here.

“The phrase ‘step up’ is used a lot in recent weeks and Europe does have to step up in terms of its own defence.

“President Trump isn’t actually the first president to say that, but he said it more loudly and with more force than his predecessors. So, I think we’ve got to recognise that moment.”

Mothers of soldiers killed in Ukraine have been given meat grinders by local officials from Russia’s ruling party in a move branded “shameful”, with the appliance used to described Russian frontline tactics.

Online commentators also called the gifts from the United Russian party in the northern Murmansk region “inappropriate” as bereaved mothers were pictured on social media being visited by the officials on International Women’s Day on Saturday.

Included in the post was also a messaged thanking the “dear mums” for their “strength of spirit and the love you put into bringing up your sons”.

Russia was storming the town of Sudzha on Sunday after special forces used a gas pipeline to surprise Ukrainian units as part of a major offensive to eject Ukrainian soldiers from the western Russian region of Kursk, pro-Russian war bloggers said.

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers seized about 1,300 square km of Russia’s Kursk region in August last year in what Kyiv said was an attempt to gain a bargaining chip in future negotiations and to force Russia to shift military forces from eastern Ukraine.

Yuri Podolyaka, a Ukrainian-born, pro-Russian military blogger, said Russian special forces had walked about 15 km along the inside of a major gas pipeline and some had spent several days in the pipe before surprising Ukrainian forces from the rear near Sudzha.

Sudzha is the home of major gas transfer and measuring stations on a pipeline that used to carry Russian natural gas into the Ukrainian gas transmission system for onward transportation to Europe.

Pro-Russian war blogger Two Majors said a major battle was under way for Sudzha and that Russian forces had surprised Ukrainian soldiers by entering the town via a major gas pipeline.

Russian Telegram channels showed pictures of special forces in gas masks and lights, some using colourful Russian curses, along the inside of what looked like a large pipe.

“Fighting continued throughout the night in Sudzha,” said Podolyaka. “The fighting did not stop.”

Another war blogger, Yuri Kotenok, said that Ukrainian forces have been moving equipment away from Sudzha, closer to the border.

The reports could not immediately be independently verified.