Ukraine war latest: Russia 'wiping out block after block' in city - while Trump comments on invite to Europe meeting

Our military analyst Sean Bell has given some insight around comments made by armed forces minister Al Carns, who said the UK is preparing for war.

Carns believes the "shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door once more", and Bell says: "Although the number one priority for any government is defence of its nation, largely that's been kept on the back burner all of a sudden."

He adds:

"If you look at what's happened to Ukraine [it] isn't part of NATO, America seems to be less committed... than it once was, and Europe is feeling a little bit more fractured... it's a bunch of individual countries."

"If I [were] Putin, I would feel emboldened... he's now only got his country on a war footing, he's spending a lot of money," Bell said.

"That is something that should worry us."

Watch his remarks in full here...

Since the start of 2025, Russia has launched 1,800 missiles, 50,000 drones and attacked energy facilities 4,500 times, a Ukrainian minister said, according to Interfax news agency.

Ukraine's deputy energy minister Roman Andarak spoke during a briefing today, where he added:

"There are no examples in recent history of an energy system existing under such conditions - such large-scale, targeted terror. Unfortunately, this terror is intensifying every day."

Andarak said that "restoration and protection work is ongoing, including the implementation of engineering solutions" and funds were being found to proceed into the future.

"We have already finished our repair campaign and gas import plans for the end of this year. We have also contracted for about 50% of next year's gas needs," he added.

We've got more to bring you from Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov now.

In comments to Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev, he declared "all of the Donbas is Russian", referring to a region in eastern Ukraine its troops currently occupy.

We reported yesterday that Volodymyr Zelenskyy had suggested any deal must see Ukrainians have a say on any land concessions in a referendum.

He also said the US had proposed the creation of a "free economic zone" in the area of the Donbas it wants Ukraine to withdraw from.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine did not believe the plan was fair without guarantees that Russian troops would not simply take over the zone after a Ukrainian withdrawal.

Ushakov also told the Russian newspaper Kommersant:

"It is quite possible there will be no forces stationed there [Donbas], neither Russian nor Ukrainian. Yes, but there will still be the Russian National Guard, our police, and everything it takes to provide law and order and to organize daily life."

He doubled down on Moscow's view that "this area is a territory of the Russian Federation and it will be governed by [us]".

To be clear - the Donbas, which is made up of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, is internationally recognised as Ukrainian territory.

Turning to situation on the ground in Ukraine, the National Police have released pictures showing the destruction of the city of Kostyantynivka, where tens of thousands of residents once lived.

Sitting only 20km away from Kramatorsk - where Russian forces are trying to make gains - the police described the ruins with "burnt-out high-rise buildings, a destroyed kindergarten [and] a broken church".

"This is Kostyantynivka, a city where 78,179 people lived until 2022, and today the Russians are literally erasing every block, every street," the police added.

"And the pace of this destruction is a record even for this war."

Separately, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said Moscow's forces are "literally wiping out block after block every day".

Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said this morning that Moscow has not seen the revised peace plan after the recent US-Ukraine discussions - and that Russia might not like parts of the proposals.

It comes as Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that Kyiv had agreed on key points of a post-war reconstruction plan in talks with Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, as well as other top US officials.

The Ukrainian president said work on an "economic document" was continuing and his country was "fully aligned with the American side".

Ushakov told reporters that "when we see them, we may not like a lot of things, that's how I sense it".

The aide added that the Kremlin was awaiting the outcome of discussions between European and Ukrainian officials, who will hold an "active brainstorming session" over the weekend.

We reported earlier that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has protested against the EU using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine (see post at 7.47am).

His stance has often faced criticism from the bloc, with Polish justice minister Waldemar Zurek the latest to speak out.

He has accused Orban of being closer to Russia than Europe.

"It looks to me today as if Hungary's leadership is closer to the leadership in Moscow than the EU leadership, and I say this with great sadness and also with great concern," Zurek said.

"Orban, unfortunately, wants to blow up the EU from within, and his pro-Russian policies are completely unacceptable to the majority of citizens in the EU."

Orban has accused Poland of making unjust and provocative remarks about Budapest's ties with Moscow

Hungary has been a member of the EU since 2004.

Vladimir Putin has been spotted attending a wreath-laying ceremony in Turkmenistan this morning.

Foreign counterparts joined him in Ashgabat, including Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Also at the event were the leaders of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

The use of frozen Russian assets is fast-becoming a central argument in the Ukrainian conflict, as we've already touched on this morning (see 7:47).

We outlined in that post that the bloc will decide its stance on the funds - and if they will be used to back Ukraine - next week.

But there has been hesitation in the bloc, with Belgium, which is home to a big chunk of those assets, particularly concerned it could face legal retaliation.

And Russia appears to be signalling that's an avenue it will consider pursuing.

The country's central bank today said it was "illegal" and that it reserved the right to take any means necessary to protect its interests.

It also said it is suing Brussels-based company Euroclear, which holds many of the assets, in a Moscow court.

"Mechanisms of direct or indirect use of the assets of the Bank of Russia, as well as any other forms of unauthorised use of the assets of the Bank of Russia, are illegal and contrary to international law," the bank said.

"Including violating the principles of sovereign immunity of assets." 

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The war in Ukraine has had its European allies on alert ever since Russia began its full-scale invasion.

Just yesterday, NATO chief Mark Rutte warned its member states are "Russia's next target".

The bloc, he added, must make all efforts to prevent a war that could be "on the scale of war our grandparents and great-grandparents endured".

In the UK, we've heard from the armed forces minister, who says the country is "rapidly developing" plans to prepare for the possible outbreak of war.

Underlining the role civilians would have to play in a major conflict, Al Carns said armies, navies and air forces respond to crises but "societies, industries and economies win wars".

He said: "The shadow of war is knocking on Europe's door once more. That's the reality. We've got to be prepared to deter it."

Since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion, the EU has been pondering what to do with frozen Russian assets.

At a summit next Thursday, the bloc's 27 leaders will weigh whether to use the tens of billions of dollars held in Europe to fund Ukraine's defence.

Two-thirds of member states must vote in favour to give the plan the greenlight. 

Hungary will not be one of them, with the country protesting against what it calls an "unlawful" step.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban wrote on social media this morning: "Brussels will step over the Rubicon today, with a written voting starting which will cause irreparable damage to the Union."

He added: "Hungary protests the decision and will do its best to restore a lawful situation."