Ukraine-Russia conflict newest: Zelensky admits Kyiv is simply too weak to reclaim land as Putin’s oil refinery set ablaze

Sir Keir Starmer has spoken to US president-elect Donald Trump and “reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine,” Downing Street has said.

The two men spoke on Wednesday afternoon amid rising concerns about whether the US will maintain its level of support for Ukraine when Mr Trump re-enters the White House in January.

The incoming president has said that he wanted to end the conflict on “day one” of his term in office.

A statement released by Number 10 on Wednesday evening said that Sir Keir began the call by “congratulating president-elect Trump on his recent team appointments”.

A Downing Street spokesperson said that during the call, “the prime minister reiterated the need for allies to stand together with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and to ensure Ukraine is in the strongest possible position”.

“On the Middle East, the prime minister underscored the need to work together to ensure peace and security in the region,” the spokesperson said

“They agreed to keep in touch and looked forward to seeing one another at the earliest opportunity.”

Mr Trump said that he disagreed “very vehemently” with Ukraine firing US-made missiles into Russia in a recent interview with Time magazine, but insisted that he would not abandon Kyiv.

The House of Commons cleared the Financial Assistance to Ukraine Bill yesterday without any opposition on Wednesday afternoon.

The Bill allows the UK government to provide loans and other financial assistance to Ukraine.

The UK’s contribution to the G7 group of nations loan package is £2.26bn. Other contributors include the United States, the European Union, Canada and Japan.

The Bill passed its third reading from MPs and will now move to be scrutinised and voted on by the House of Lords.

Treasury minister Darren Jones said: “The House has today, and throughout the Bill’s passage so far, made clear its strong feelings towards the plight of the Ukrainian people.

“Members of all political stripes have spoken eloquently in favour of continued support for Ukraine in their ongoing fight against Russia’s tyrannical, unprovoked and illegal invasion.”

The UK has pledged a new £225m package of support for Ukraine after the defence secretary said the situation in the country is “critical”.

On a trip to Kyiv, John Healey said that the UK will “step up” on international leadership on Ukraine in 2025, after prime minister Sir Keir Starmer urged allies to maintain their support.

The package announced this morning involves £186m for military equipment through the International Fund for Ukraine, including £92m for Ukraine’s navy and £68m for air defence equipment.

The announcement comes after Mr Healey met with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov and also includes £39m for counter-drone systems and protective equipment for Ukraine’s armed forces.

Announcing the new funding, Mr Healey said: “Nearly three years after (Russian President Vladimir) Putin launched his illegal full-scale invasion, the depths of his miscalculation are clearer than ever, as the brave people of Ukraine continue to defy all expectations with their unbreakable spirit.

“But they cannot go it alone – which is why the UK will step up our international leadership on Ukraine throughout 2025.

“We will enhance our offer of training to Ukraine and provide battle-winning capabilities, such as the drones and munitions included in our new £225 million package today.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday admitted that his forces “do not have the strength” to remove Russian troops occupying their territory in the east of the country or Crimea.

The comments came as he sought more support from allies.

Speaking to the French paper Le Parisien, he said: “We cannot give up our territories. The Ukrainian constitution forbids us to do so,” he said.

“De facto, these territories are now controlled by the Russians. We do not have the strength to recover them.

“We can only count on diplomatic pressure from the international community to force Putin to sit down at the negotiating table.”

An oil refinery in the Rostov region of southern Russia has caught fire after being attacked by Ukrainian drones, confirmed local governor Yuri Slyusar.

Emergency crews have been dispatched to the fire at the Novoshakhtinsk refinery and details on casualties were being clarified, he said.

It came as Russian air defence systems repelled 10 Ukrainian missiles targetting the region, he said on Telegram.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s official Centre Against Disinformation, wrote on Telegram that the missile attack focused on the Kamensky chemical plant “which produces rocket fuel specialising in solid fuel components for rocket engines”.

The plant, he said, also produced explosive materials and components for ammunition.

Mr Kovalenko posted a brief video showing a fire and smoke outside a fenced compound.

Mr Slyusar said fragments from one missile triggered a fire in a house in the village of Malenkaya Kamenka and smashed windows in others, adding that there were no casualties and emergency services were at the scene. He made no mention of any industrial target.

North Korea demonstrated this year that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months, the head of a research organisation that traces weapons used in the war said yesterday.

Jonah Leff told the UN Security Council that researchers on the ground examined remnants of four missiles from North Korea recovered in Ukraine in July and August, including one that had marks indicating it was produced in 2024.

“This is the first public evidence of missiles having been produced in North Korea and then used in Ukraine within a matter of months, not years,” he said.

Mr Leff also had briefed the Security Council in late June, telling members that the organisation he heads, Conflict Armament Research, had “irrefutably” established that ballistic missile remnants found in Ukraine early this year were from a missile manufactured in North Korea.

Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia objected to the second appearance of Mr Leff at the council meeting, chaired by ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield of the United States, which holds the council’s rotating presidency this month.

He claimed Mr Leff represents Nato and the European Union, and questioned whether his organisation could provide impartial assessments. And he accused Ms Thomas-Greenfield of violating Security Council practices and transforming its meetings “into a politicized act of buffoonery.”

The US ambassador retorted that Russia had vetoed a resolution that ended the monitoring of sanctions against North Korea by UN experts, which she said makes organisations like Conflict Armament Research and its independent, well-regarded experts all the more critical.

At least 100 North Korean troops deployed to Russia have been killed and another 1,000 have been injured in combat against Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, a South Korean lawmaker said this morning, citing the country’s spy agency.

The heavy losses are attributed to the lack of experience of North Korean troops in drone warfare and unfamiliarity with the open terrain where they are taking part in the battle, member of parliament Lee Seong-kweun told reporters.

Mr Lee was speaking after a closed-door briefing by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to parliament.

The discrepancy in the estimate of the troops killed from that made by a US military official, who earlier cited “several hundred” casualties, is because of the relatively conservative analysis by the NIS, Mr Lee said.

“There was a report that there have been at least 100 deaths and the injured are approaching 1,000,” he said.