Russia-Ukraine war – live: Kyiv targets St Petersburg oil facility in rare drone attack on Putin’s home city

As much as 40% of the cod and haddock eaten in the UK comes from Russian territory in the Barents sea, north of Russia and Norway and south of the Arctic.

Andrew Crook, president of the UK’s National Federation of Fish Friers, said the war in Ukraine had already made things difficult for businesses that rely on fish for the past two years.

The UK and Russia have a decades-long agreement that allows British ships to fish but the Russian agriculture ministry has drafted a bill that would see the deal - originally agreed in 1956 - torn up, Russian media have reported.

In a video address on Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said all Russian missiles have dozens of critical components produced abroad, and many of them are made by companies from the free world.

“We continue our communication with partners on sanctions against Russia – their full effect. All of our diplomatic representatives must step up their efforts to ensure that our partners respond more actively to every instance of Russia’s circumvention of sanctions.”

The president stated that Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Head of Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, released a report on this subject today that set out clear facts.

“So blocking the ways Russia circumvents sanctions is literally blocking terror. I am grateful to all partners who understand this and to everyone in the world who helps us in this work,” Zelensky said.

The Russian Ministry of Justice included the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and its slogan “Glory to Ukraine - glory to heroes,”.

The Russian Ministry of Justice writes that they also banned the emblem of the Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists “in the form of a stylized golden trident, the middle element of which is made in the form of a sharp sword”, and “a black equilateral triangle facing up”.

The ban on the demonstration of those symbols is explained by the fact that the OUN, the Ukrainian People’s Revolutionary Army, the UPA and the Ukrainian People’s Self-Defence were included in the list of Nazi organisations.

Fines of up to RUB 2,000 (approx. US$23) or administrative detention for up to 15 days are imposed for “propaganda or public demonstration” of these organisations’ symbols.

Ukraine is working “intensively” with partners to restore air travel suspended for nearly two years, with the main focus on Boryspil International Airport outside the capital Kyiv, a presidential official said on Thursday.

Ukraine’s airspace was abruptly closed by Russia’s invasion in February 2022 due to the security risk for civil aviation and anyone visiting has to make their way by road or rail from a neighbouring country.

Kyiv sees a restoration of air travel as a goal towards victory for the economy.

“I don’t want to create over-expectations ... but I can tell you we are working very intensively to recover the air connection in Ukraine,” Rostyslav Shurma, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said during a panel discussion in Davos.

The United States believes Russia will conduct “information operations” aimed at turning opinion in Europe against Ukraine as countries across the continent go to the polls this year, the head of the State Department’s office for disinformation said on Thursday.

Dozens of countries worldwide will elect new leaders in 2024, including votes in Britain, Austria and Georgia, as well as European parliament elections in June.

Jamie Rubin, special envoy and coordinator for the Global Engagement Center (GEC), told reporters that U.S. adversary Russia, as well as China, was working around the world to pass off state propaganda as independent journalism by hiding its true source.

Rubin did not cite specific countries where he has concerns, but said the main threats this year were in Europe, which initially united in opposition to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine and has provided Ukraine with military and other aid.

“Russia is hoping that the number of elections in Europe this year could change what has been a remarkable coalition and disciplined opposition to its war,” said Rubin.

“We do believe that the Russians will conduct information operations throughout Europe to try to change opinion on Ukraine during this election season,” he added.

“France helps Ukraine with supplies of military material and military training, in full compliance with international law, in order to help Ukraine in its fight to defend its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity,” France’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs said on Thursday.

“France has no mercenaries, neither in Ukraine nor elsewhere, unlike certain others,” it added.

It came after Russia summoned French ambassador Pierre Levy, to its foreign ministry in Moscow regarding alleged French mercenaries, Russian state news agency TASS reported.

Recruits taking part in Operation Interflex undergo an intense five-week programme learning the international laws of armed conflict, trench warfare, urban fighting, weapons handling and firing, medical training and dealing with explosives.

The courses, which are being held at sites across the UK, will harness the Ukrainians’ “offensive spirit” and give them the skills to fight effectively and survive despite coming in with little or no experience, a senior officer said.

Some 90,000 troops are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May, the alliance’s top commander Chris Cavoli said on Thursday.

More than 50 ships from aircraft carriers to destroyers will take part, as well as more than 80 fighter jets, helicopters and drones and at least 1,100 combat vehicles including 133 tanks and 533 infantry fighting vehicles, NATO said.

Cavoli said the drills would rehearse NATO’s execution of its regional plans, the first defence plans the alliance has drawn up in decades, detailing how it would respond to a Russian attack.

NATO did not mention Russia by name in its announcement. But its top strategic document identifies Russia as the most significant and direct threat to NATO members’ security.

Ukraine has targeted an oil facility in the Russian city of St Petersburg, more than 500 miles from the border, in a drone attack.

A Ukrainian military source said the assaults on Vladimir Putin’s hometown were part of a “new phase” of strikes, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky having previously pledged to hit more targets inside Russia this year, with the goal of disrupting life and increasing the pressure on Mr Putin.

Kremlin state media claimed three drones were fired toward St Petersburg in the early hours of Thursday, with the Russian ministry of defence claiming that all had been intercepted. The Ukrainian military source, however, told Reuters: “There are confirmed hits. This is a new stage of work in this region.”

Tom Watling reports:

Germany will order the development of a short-range air defence system for some 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to plug a gap in its defences that became apparent after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and replace its long-retired Gepard tanks among other equipment.

The German budget committee on Thursday approved the deal with a consortium consisting of Rheinmetall, Diehl and Hensoldt despite a five-fold price hike criticised by the federal court of auditors, several participants told Reuters.

Short-range air defence systems are meant to protect troops on the tactical level, for example during deployment operations or while they are on the move, against missile and drone attacks as well as low-flying aircraft.

The companies’ main task will be to develop an air defence system for short ranges starting from three kilometres and very short ranges below that where the threat is posed mainly by small drones.

The very short-range system is likely to be based on Rheinmetall’s Skyranger 30, a 30mm canon mounted on the Boxer APC, with the vehicles still to be procured. Targets beyond three kilometres are meant to be tackled by Diehl’s IRIS-T SLS system.

In the past, Germany had mainly relied on the Gepard anti-aircraft tank for very short-range air defence of up to three kilometres, a weapon that since has become famous in the war in Ukraine. Berlin retired its Gepards in 2010 to save money.

The companies’ second job will be to enable the linking-up of this system with Diehl’s IRIS-T SLM medium-range air defences which Berlin has already ordered, to build a broader, multi-layered protective umbrella.

Hensoldt will supply the radars for the system which is expected to be ready from 2026 or 2027.