Britain is to develop new air defence weapons alongside the EU's four biggest military powers, deepening ties with the European defence sector. The project will invite manufacturers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Poland to submit plans to build low-cost missiles and autonomous drones. The allies are pledging a speedy process to build the weapons together, inspired by Ukraine's development of cheap drones to counter attacks from Russia. The UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) says the programme will prioritise a lightweight, affordable surface-to-air weapon, with the first project to be delivered by next year. The plan, announced at a meeting of the five countries' defence ministers in the Polish city of Krakow, marks a boost to UK-Europe ties after the failure of talks last year over UK participation in the EU's new €150bn (£130bn) defence fund.

How the US left Ukraine exposed to Russia's winter war Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? Russian forces launched 448 attacks on 34 settlements in Ukraine's front-line Zaporizhia region in a single day, injuring a six-year-old child and damaging homes, cars and other infrastructure, regional governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on the Telegram app. Russian drone, missile and artillery attacks on Ukraine's Kherson region injured five people and damaged homes, including seven high-rise buildings, the local military administration said on Telegram. Russian attacks also continued in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions, but local officials there noted that "fortunately, no people were injured".

On TikTok, Chinese manufacturers are advertising signal-blocking weapons with the breezy cadence of consumer lifestyle advertising. "Pew, pew, pew!" a woman wearing sneakers and high-waisted pink trousers says cheerfully in a video uploaded to TikTok. She is standing on what appears to be an industrial rooftop while demonstrating how to use a black device resembling an oversized laser tag gun. "Jamming gun, good," she adds, flashing a thumbs up. These days, nearly any product imaginable is available for purchase on TikTok straight from Chinese factories, ranging from industrial chemicals to mystical crystals and custom pilates reformers.

Evidence is mounting that Elon Musk's decision to deny Russian forces access to his Starlink satellite-based internet service has blunted Moscow's advance, caused confusion among Russian soldiers and handed an advantage to Ukraine's defenders. And what can Ukraine's military achieve in the meantime? The Russians lost their ability to control the field, a Ukrainian drone operator who goes by the callsign Giovanni told us. I think they lost 50% of their capacity for offence, he said. That's what the numbers show.

How the US left Ukraine exposed to Russia's winter war Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? Russian forces launched multiple attacks on Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, killing one person and injuring seven others over the past day, the region's military administration said on the Telegram messaging platform. The attacks involved 448 drones as well as 163 artillery strikes, causing damage to 136 homes, cars and other structures, the military administration said. Russian forces also continued shelling Ukraine's Donetsk region, forcing 173 people, including 135 children, to evacuate front-line areas over the past day, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram.

How the US left Ukraine exposed to Russia's winter war Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? Russia-Ukraine talks resume in Geneva as US claims'meaningful' progress Day two of the third round of trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the United States is under way in Geneva, Switzerland, as the four-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbour looms next week, with vague references to "progress" but nothing tangible yet shared. Little has been made public about the talks' contents since negotiations kicked off on Tuesday behind closed doors and continued on Wednesday morning. The thorniest of issues, territory and the yielding of it, remains the key sticking point.

How the US left Ukraine exposed to Russia's winter war Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? Three people were killed in a Russian drone attack on a civilian car in the city of Mykolaivka in the Kramatorsk district of Ukraine's Donetsk region, the state's emergency service said in a statement. The three people, as well as another person injured in the attack, were workers at the Sloviansk Thermal Power Station, the Kyiv Independent news outlet reported. A woman died after being injured in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, Governor Ivan Fedorov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

How the US left Ukraine exposed to Russia's winter war Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? The United States is set to host talks between envoys from Russia and Ukraine in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday and Wednesday, days before the fourth anniversary of the full-scale Russian invasion of its neighbour. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says diplomacy will be more effective with "justice and strength", after Russia launched a large-scale missile and drone attack at targets across Ukraine. For its part, Russia also reported dozens of Ukrainian drones were fired overnight.

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Ukrainian officials have left for Geneva, Switzerland, where another round of negotiations aimed at ending the war with Russia is set to take place. The next round of negotiations is ahead.

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Russian forces launched a drone attack on the Ukrainian city of Odesa overnight on Saturday, killing an elderly woman and damaging residential buildings, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. A Russian civilian was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's border region of Bryansk on Saturday, according to Governor Alexander Bogomaz.