Ukraine-Russia battle newest: Zelensky ‘ready’ for wartime election after Trump parrots Putin criticism

Denmark faces more external threats than it has done in many years amid rising geopolitical conflicts and doubts over US commitment to Europe’s security, the Nato country’s military intelligence agency (FE) said on Wednesday.

“The world’s reat powers are increasingly prioritising their own interests and using force to achieve their goals,” FE said in its annual report, naming Russia and China among the nations posing challenges to Denmark.

Moscow’s war against Ukraine is particularly shaping the security development, the agency added.

“At the same time, uncertainty has arisen about the role of the United States as a guarantor of European security, and this will increase Russia’s willingness to intensify its hybrid attacks against,” FE said.

“The military threat from Russia to Nato will increase, even though there is currently no threat of a regular military attack against the Kingdom of Denmark,” it added.

Russia’s Syzran oil refinery was forced to halt operations 5 December sustaining damage in a Ukrainian drone attack, Reuters reported on 9 December, citing sources in the industry.

The drones hit the refinery’s crude distillation unit, which required two weeks of repair when struck in August. Repair work for the latest strike could take up to a month.

Kyiv’s military said the operation intended to “reduce the military and economic potential of the Russian aggressor”.

The oil refinery is located around 700 kilometres from the Ukrainian border, and belongs to the state-owned oil company Rosneft. Ukraine has been targeting Russia’s oil as it looks to hamper the key driver behind Moscow’s war economy.

One person was killed and two injured in Russian strikes on the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, according to regional authorities.

A man was killed in the Zelenodolsk area in the Kryvyi Rih district, according to Vladyslav Haivanenko, acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk military administration.

Two men, aged 23 and 39, were injured, he said on Telegram, adding that “the enemy attacked the settlement with an FPV drone” and “damaged a gas pipeline”.

The city of Nikopol and the Marhanets, Pokrovske and Chervonohryhorivka areas were also struck, he said.

Donald Trump has called Europe a “decaying” group of nations led by “weak” people who failed to end the war in Ukraine and control migration.

“I think they’re weak,” Trump said, refering to Europe’s political leaders in an interview with Politico. “But I also think that they want to be so politically correct.”

“I think they don’t know what to do,” he added. “Europe doesn’t know what to do,” Trump said in an interview given at the White House on Monday.

Trump offered no reassurance to Europeans on backing Ukraine and declared that Russia was obviously in a stronger position than its smaller neighbour.

Trump also said that he put little stock in the role of European leaders in seeking to end the war: “They talk, but they don’t produce, and the war just keeps going on and on.”

Europe must play a central role in efforts to end the war in Ukraine, Pope Leo said, warning that any peace plan sidelining the continent is “not realistic”.

Hours after meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, the pontiff said Europe’s unity was “significant, especially in this case,” and called on leaders to seize what he described as a great opportunity to work together for a just peace.

“The war is in Europe,” he said, stressing that security guarantees must involve Europe. He lamented that “not everyone understands this,” but insisted European countries be part of any negotiations to end the nearly four-year-old conflict.

The pope said recent remarks targeting Europe risked weakening ties that remain crucial. “I think they are trying to break apart what I think needs to be a very important alliance today and in the future,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky was forced to improvise mid-flight in order to get his message out during a whirlwind 36-hour trip across Europe this week.

For the first time since Russia’s full-scale invasion of his country, Zelensky — who usually takes reporters’ questions in person while trotting the globe — communicated with the news media via group chat.

While flying between London and Brussels, he answered a long list of questions from reporters, relaying audio clips on WhatsApp.

His chosen mode of communication was, if not unprecedented, at the very least extremely rare for a world leader.

The low drone of the aircraft blended with his hoarse, tired-sounding voice, yet his message cut through clearly: Amid uncertain negotiations to end the war, Ukraine, he said, cannot surrender land.

Sir Keir Starmer has led tributes to a member of the British armed forces who has been killed in Ukraine.

The prime minister expressed his “deepest sympathy and condolences” for the services member, who died as he watched the testing of a new defensive capability, according to the Ministry of Defence.

The ministry said: “It is with deep regret that we must announce that a member of the UK armed forces died in Ukraine this morning, Tuesday December 9.

“He was injured in a tragic accident while observing Ukrainian forces test a new defensive capability away from the front lines.

“The family has been notified and our thoughts are with them at this sad and difficult time.”

Ukraine has regained almost half of the key strategic city of Pokrovsk, the country’s military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said.

Syrskyi, quoted by public broadcaster Suspilne, said Ukrainian forces had made gains from mid-November. Russia’s military last week said its forces had captured Pokrovsk, but Ukrainian officials denied the claim.

“The defence of Pokrovsk continues,” Syrskyi said yesterday, adding that Ukrainian forces have reclaimed about 13 sq km (5 square miles) of the city’s total 29 sq km (11 square miles) since mid-November.

“We are continuing to hold the northern part of the city, approximately up to the rail line. In addition, to the west of Pokrovsk, we have cleared and controlled about 54 sq km.”

Russian troops, he said, were staging a build-up in the area under cover of rain and fog.

“Initially, in autumn, our troops were not present in Pokrovsk as our possibilities were limited. But from November 15 as a result of offensive action, we secured about 13 sq km (5 sq miles),” Syrskyi said.

Sir Keir Starmer, French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Friedrich Merz strongly backed Ukraine after their talks on Monday, with the UK leader saying that the push for peace was at a “critical stage”.

Sir Keir stressed the need for “a just and lasting ceasefire”.

Merz, meanwhile, said he was “skeptical” about some details in documents released by the US.

“We have to talk about it. That’s why we are here,” he said. “The coming days — could be a decisive time for all of us.” he said.

European leaders are working to ensure that any ceasefire is backed by solid security guarantees both from Europe and the US to deter Russia from attacking again. US president Donald Trump has not given explicit guarantees in public.

Volodymyr Zelensky and his European allies have repeatedly accused Russian president Vladimir Putin of dragging out the talks while he presses ahead with his invasion.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reaffirmed his strong refusal to cede any territory, resisting US pressure for painful concessions to Russia.

“Undoubtedly, Russia insists for us to give up territories. We, clearly, don’t want to give up anything. That’s what we are fighting for,” Zelensky told reporters in a WhatsApp chat late on Monday.

“Do we consider ceding any territories? According to the law we don’t have such right,” he said. “According to Ukraine’s law, our constitution, international law, and to be frank, we don’t have a moral right either,” he said.

In an interview with Politico released yesterday, US president Donald Trump pressed Zelensky to accept the US proposal that Ukraine cede territory to Russia, Trump has wrongfully argued Moscow has the “upper hand” in its nearly 4-year-old invasion, and that Zelensky’s government must “play ball”.

Vladimir Putin’s forces have not made any significant territorial gains, the Institute for the Study of War said.

“Russian forces have gained 0.77 percent of Ukrainian territory since the start of 2025 while suffering disproportionately high personnel costs,” the think tank said in an update last night.