Ukraine war latest: Kremlin reacts negatively to end of nuclear treaty with US - as peace talks enter second day

Ukraine's military said today it had carried out a series of "successful" strikes in January on a launch site for Russian intermediate-range ballistic missiles.

Ukraine's general staff said some buildings were damaged to varying degrees, one hangar was "significantly" damaged and some personnel were evacuated from the Kapustin Yar test range near the Caspian Sea.

In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, the General Staff said the strikes had hit a complex of hangar-type buildings used for the pre-launch preparation of intermediate-range and intercontinental ballistic missiles.

In January, the Ukrainian air force said Russia had fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile from the Kapustin Yar site.

Russia fired the Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, at a target in western Ukraine in January, in response to what it described as an attempted Ukrainian drone strike Vladimir Putin's residences.

Ukraine and Western countries have dismissed Russia's account of the alleged attempted strike.

Ukraine's military added that it used its long-range capabilities to carry out the strikes, including the Ukrainian-made Flamingo missile. The statement has not been independently verified.

Below is Paste BN' report on Russia's use of the Oreshnik last month:

Following on from our previous post, it is being reported that Russia and Ukraine have now exchanged 157 prisoners of war each.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti cited the defence ministry as revealing the news.

Three civilians from the Kursk region were returned to Russia as part of the swap, the ministry added.

Ukraine and Russia have agreed to exchange 314 prisoners, Donald Trump's envoy has announced.

"Today, delegations from the United States, Ukraine, and Russia agreed to exchange 314 prisoners, the first such exchange in five months," Steve Witkoff said in an online post.

"This outcome was achieved from peace talks that have been detailed and productive.

"While significant work remains, steps like this demonstrate that sustained diplomatic engagement is delivering tangible results and advancing efforts to end the war in Ukraine."

Witkoff added that discussions would continue, with additional progress anticipated in the coming weeks.

The envoy did not give details on how many prisoners each country would exchange. 

Starlink internet terminals used by Russian forces in Ukraine have been deactivated, Kyiv's defence minister has said.

Defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov reported on the Telegram app that Ukraine would continue to compile a list of verified terminals that are authorised for operations and the first batch on that list was already operational.

"Our team, together with partners, is promptly processing all cases," he added.

"Thank you to the military and commanders who promptly verified their terminals. Continuity and stability of communication is critically important for the front."

SpaceX founder Elon Musk was previously praised by Ukrainian officials for his efforts to stop Russia from using Starlink satellites for drone attacks.

The drones had been linked to a number of recent deadly Russian attacks on Ukraine.

"Looks like the steps we took to stop the unauthorised use of Starlink by Russia have worked," Musk wrote on X earlier this month. "Let us know if more needs to be done."

Serbia's president has said the country is looking to diversify its energy supply away from Russia as talks are underway to buy natural gas from an EU purchasing mechanism.

The Balkan country wants to join the EU and is one of the last few countries still buying Russian natural gas, with more than 80% of its supplies coming from Moscow.

In a bid to reduce cash flows to Vladimir Putin amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU has put pressure on Serbia to find alternatives.

The Balkan country failed to secure a new long-term deal with Russia's Gazprom last year, and the short-term deal the country did sign will expire at the end of March.

President Aleksander Vucic told Reuters: "We have to adjust our energy policies to certain demands and requests."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has also been commenting on media reports that late billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein was working for Russian special services.

Peskov insisted that such statements could not be taken seriously.

He added that he would "like to joke a lot about such" claims.

We return now to the discussion surrounding the expiration today of the New START nuclear weapons treaty (see 9.00 post).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been commenting on the matter during his daily briefing, saying: "We assess this negatively and express our regret in this regard. Our initiative to maintain the existing limits for another year, even after the expiration of this document, has remained unanswered.

"Yesterday, this topic was indeed mentioned in terms of the negative consequences for the international system of control over nuclear weapons and strategic stability."

He referred to China's stance that it will not be part of any nuclear disarmament talks because, Beijing claims, its nuclear forces are not comparable with those of the US and Russia.

"We respect this position," Peskov said.

"As for what comes next, everything will depend on how events develop. 

"In any case, the Russian Federation will maintain its responsible and attentive approach to issues of strategic stability in the field of nuclear weapons and, as always, will be guided first and foremost by its national interests."

Russian media is citing a French source as saying France's President Emmanuel Macron plans to call Vladimir Putin, but that significant planning is required in advance.

State news agency TASS quoted the source as saying: "Preparing for a meaningful conversation will take more than a day, definitely several days. The French leader is focused on results."

It was previously reported by L'Express magazine that Macron's diplomatic adviser Emmanuel Bonne was in Moscow this week to meet with Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov.

Macron said in December that it was time for Europe to resume dialogue with Russia, saying the fact that existing negotiations on Ukraine involved the US discussing the terms of a settlement with Russia without the Europeans, "is not optimal."

The last remaining nuclear arms pact between Russia and the United States has expired today - removing any caps on the world's two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than half a century.

The end of the New Start Treaty could set the stage for what many fear could be an unconstrained nuclear arms race.

Vladimir Putin last year declared readiness to stick to the treaty's limits for another year if Washington agreed, but Donald Trump has been noncommittal about extending it.

Putin discussed the pact's expiration with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Wednesday, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said, noting Washington had not responded to his proposed extension.

Russia "will act in a balanced and responsible manner based on thorough analysis of the security situation", Ushakov said.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said in a statement last night that "under the current circumstances, we assume that the parties to the New Start Treaty are no longer bound by any obligations or symmetrical declarations within the context of the treaty, including its core provisions, and are fundamentally free to choose their next steps".

New Start, signed in 2010 by then-US president Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev, restricted each side to no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads on no more than 700 missiles and bombers - deployed and ready for use.

It was originally supposed to expire in 2021 but was extended for five more years.

Read more on the story below:

As we touched upon a little earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shared an insight into today's trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi after receiving a report by Ukraine's delegation.

"We discussed the interim results of the negotiations," he says on Telegram.

"They will continue tomorrow. There will also be a significant step: we expect an exchange of prisoners of war in the near future." 

Zelenskyy adds that the prisoners "need to return" to Ukraine before stating Kyiv's position that "the war must be ended realistically".

"It is Russia that must be ready for this. And the partners must also be ready to ensure this realistically with their real guarantees - security guarantees - with their real pressure on the aggressor," he adds. 

"And so that now it is felt - so that people in Ukraine feel it - that the situation is really moving towards peace, towards the end of the war, and not towards the fact that the Russians will use everything to their advantage and continue to strike."