Ukraine war latest: Russia threatening Finland 'in same way it targeted Ukraine before invasion'; MI6 boss gives Putin verdict

Russia is developing a $5bn alternative to the Starlink satellite internet service, according to a draft seen by the Russian state-controlled news agency RBC.

The project aims to challenge Elon Musk's SpaceX company, whose Starlink devices have been playing a "crucial role" in securing Ukraine's communications during the war, as the Kyiv Independent reports.

"Several test satellites in orbit have already been inspected, and the serial models have been modified accordingly," Dmitry Bakanov, head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos said in an interview.

It is reported that the project will be carried out by a private space company called Bureau 1440.

The company is expected to launch 383 satellites by 2030.

Earlier, we told you about Russia's overnight strikes on six regions across Ukraine (see 8.10 post).

It came the day after Ukraine struck a Gazprom refinery in Russia's Bashkortostan Republic, according to a source from Ukraine's security service.

Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat is one of Russia's largest oil refining and petrochemical plants and is situated some 1,300km from the front line.

"Russia could lose $600m in just one month in just one month after Ukrainian drones struck Gazprom Neftekhim Salavat," a former chief of the National Bank of Ukraine has said.

"The refinery risks forfeiting 9-10 million barrels of processing capacity - a single strike echoing deep into the Kremlin's coffers," Kyrylo Shevchenko said.

By Alex Crawford, special correspondent, in Istanbul

The outgoing MI6 chief has said - in his final speech as head of the UK's foreign intelligence agency - that he sees "no evidence" Russian leader Vladimir Putin has "any interest in a negotiated peace short of Ukrainian capitulation". 

In a speech sometimes tinged with emotion and packed with pride about his years leading the agency, Sir Richard Moore told a small group of invited guests in Istanbul where he once served as ambassador and where one of his children was born, how he believes Putin is "stringing us along". 

His successor, Blaise Metreweli - the first woman appointed to the position as 'C' (as the agency's leader is nicknamed) - was in the audience to hear him appeal to Russian citizens to help the British spy on the Kremlin. 

"To those men and women in Russia who have truths to share and the courage to share them, I invite you to contact M16," Sir Richard implored. "You will be working to bring peace to our continent; to protect the long-term interests and redeem the honour of your country". 

Sir Richard went on to assure the Russian citizens who might be tempted that "we will do everything to keep you safe".

The decision to move into the dark web to encourage the sharing of information comes as peace in Ukraine seems as far away as ever. 

The spy chief - who has been at the helm for five years - identified Russia alongside China and Iran as the countries threatening UK security the most.

But he also added Gaza needs peace too, "for a reset to take hold in the region and to prevent further appalling suffering of innocent Palestinians," and warned the Israeli bombardment there was "fuelling radicalisation globally". 

An airport in Russia's St Petersburg has said that its website has been hacked.

Pulkovo airport, which is located in Russia's second-largest city, has not yet revealed the cause of the hack.

The airport is Russia's second-largest by passenger traffic.

While the focus remains on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, a group of leading analysts suggests the Kremlin has launched a "coordinated information" campaign targeting another of its neighbouring countries that has echoes of the rhetoric employed before the full-scale invasion in 2022.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says senior figures in Moscow, including members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle, have been making a series of statements designed to threaten Finland.

Finland, which has an 833-mile border with Russia, abandoned its longstanding policy of neutrality in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and joined NATO in 2023.

The US thinktank quotes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying yesterday that the Finnish government's "neutral veneer peeled off" and that revanchism (a policy of seeking to retaliate, especially to recover lost territory) is "literally on the rise" in Finland.

Another senior figure, Sergei Ivanov, said yesterday that Russian-Finnish relations "practically do not exist" and will not improve in the near future as Finland is a NATO member and is "actively calling for strengthening [its] eastern border".

He also claimed the Finnish population was unsatisfied with the Finnish government and alleged that the lack of Russian tourists has led to "depopulation" and a weakening economy in southeastern Finland.

Alexei Chepa, deputy head of the Russian state duma's international affairs committee, is also cited as making similar remarks yesterday.

The ISW reports Russian state media outlets "notably amplified" Lavrov's, Ivanov's, and Chepa's statements, and said this along with the similar wording in the claims "suggests that this is a concerted top-down Kremlin informational effort targeting Finland".

The thinktank's analysts continue: "High-ranking Kremlin officials have increased threats against Finland in recent weeks, including by using language that mirrors the Kremlin's false justifications for its invasions of Ukraine.

"ISW continues to assess that the playbook Russia is currently using to threaten NATO mirrors the playbook Russia previously used to set informational conditions justifying its aggression against Ukraine."

The head of MI6 has said that he sees "no evidence" that Vladimir Putin has any interest in a negotiated peace with Ukraine.

Sir Richard Moore has been speaking in Istanbul as he announces plans to use the dark web to recruit informants and receive secret information from agents in Russia and worldwide (see previous post).

He added that Putin has "bitten off more than he can chew" and underestimated Ukrainians in the war.

Back here in the UK, MI6 is launching a new dark web portal to recruit spies.

The secure messaging platform Silent Courier aims to boost national security by making it easier for the intelligence agency to recruit potential agents in Russia and around the world, the Foreign Office said.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "As the world changes, and the threats we're facing multiply, we must ensure the UK is always one step ahead of our adversaries."

Silent Courier is accessible from today and enables a secure avenue to submit sensitive information to the UK relating to terrorism or hostile intelligence activity.

Instructions on how to use the portal - including recommendations to use trustworthy VPNs and devices not linked to users - will be available on MI6's verified YouTube channel.

We can bring you more on the overnight strikes on Ukraine now, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia used nearly 90 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle drones for strikes.

"Our warriors managed to neutralise most of them," he wrote on social media.

Zelenskyy said Russia targeted the Donetsk, Kyiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Dnipro regions overnight.

He added that two people were injured in Dnipro and recovery efforts are ongoing in Kyiv.

"Once again, the Russians strike civilians at a time when the entire world – and above all the United States – is calling for peace," Zelenskyy said. 

"We hear President Trump's position on ending the killings, and we have agreed to all the proposals to unblock diplomacy. But it seems this position is not being heard in Russia."

Ukraine's president said large-scale agreements on drones and arms procurement are "on the table".

"Decisive action is needed so that Russia ultimately agrees to diplomacy as well," he added.

Fragments from a downed Russian drone caused some damage to transport infrastructure in Kyiv overnight, according to a city official.

The head of the capital's military administration said drone fragments had fallen in several locations, including on a road in the central Shevchenkivsky district.

"The trolley bus network has been damaged," Tymur Tkachenko wrote in a post on Telegram.

"According to preliminary reports, there are no injuries."

Two air raid alerts were announced in quick succession shortly after midnight, while mayor Vitali Klitschko said fragments also fell in another district.

Donald Trump said he is trying to get Bagram air base in Afghanistan back during his news conference with Keir Starmer yesterday.

Speaking during his answer on the war in Ukraine, the US president said the Soviet-built airstrip was the main base for American forces in Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks until their withdrawal in 2021.

"One of the biggest air bases in the world, we gave it to them for nothing," he told reporters.

"We're trying to get it back because they need things from us, we want that base back.

"But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it's an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."

However, an Afghan foreign ministry official said the country was not open to such a move.

"Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another... without the United States maintaining any military presence in Afghanistan," Zakir Jalal wrote in a post on X.

We're covering Afghanistan elsewhere on Paste BN today - tap below to read a piece from our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes on claims some Afghans used the fallout of British withdrawal to exaggerate their asylum applications.