Ukraine war latest: Russia open to resuming nuclear tests for first time since Soviet era (2024)

More on our exclusive interview with Volodymyr Zelenskyy now.

The Ukrainian president's discussion withSky News' chief correspondent Stuart Ramsayhasalready caused a stir internationally.

In this article, our correspondents and experts analyse what Zelenskyy's comments mean...

The Kremlin has lifted a temporary ban on fuel exports for those producing it, it has announced.

"The decision was taken to maintain a stable situation in the domestic fuel market, support the economy of oil refining, and counteract grey exports of motor gasoline," a government statement said.

At the same time, the temporary restrictions on fuel exports for non-producers has has been extended until the end of January - having been set to expire at the end of the year.

Those restrictions were put into place as Russia sought to keep its domestic supply stable amid seasonal demand and heavy Western sanctions.

Russia has used a number of routes in order to bypass the sanctions, which our economics and data editor Ed Conway has been looking at extensively.

By Michael Drummond, foreign news reporter

While the era of the Soviet Union and America going to war over the chessboard to establish intellectual dominance is over, chess is still a big deal in Russia.

So when reigning the Russian champion, grandmaster Nikita Vitiugov, denounced the war in Ukraine along with several other high profile players in 2022, it was a big deal.

One of the best players in the world, he now plays for England.

We're sitting in a cafe in north London, where the 37-year-old has made his home with his wife and young son over the last year.

"There was a show on Russian TV about chess players who changed their flags," Nikita says. "They paid special attention to my case."

"In Russian propaganda they consider London to be the capital of hell," he says with a smile.

Now settled into his new home, he is grateful for the freedoms it affords him and his family.

Next year, the British championships beckon - will a Russian be the new king of English chess?

Read more here.

NATO protection for part of Ukraine?

Asked about NATO,Volodymyr Zelenskyysaid "no one has offered" Ukrainea place in the alliance, but he suggested that if an invitation was extended to the parts of the country that his military controls, this could end the "hot stage" of the war.

This would be under the condition that the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally-recognised borders - including Crimea and areas in the east of the country currently occupied by Russia.

He appeared to accept that occupied parts of the country would fall outside of such a deal for the time being, and that their possible return would be negotiated diplomatically at a future date.

Working with Trump

Mr Zelenskyy said he had not spoken to the president-elect since September, but added that he wants the pair to exchange ideas.

"We had a conversation. It was very warm, good, constructive... It was a very good meeting and it was an important first step - now we have to prepare some meetings," he said.

He also spoke of the need for bipartisan support from both Democrats and Republicans, saying there are "a lot of voices from both parties which are on our side".

'People more important than land'

The Ukrainian leader said it was "difficult" to talk about the morale of soldiers at the front, amid reports that it is low.

He spoke of the primary importance of his country's people, more so than territory.

"This war (is) for independence of the people, not of the land," he said. "The land is very important, it's a part of of identity. But the people are the most important."

Draft age

Mr Zelenskyy brushed off a question about the draft age in Ukraine, after recent suggestions in some quarters that it should be lowered to 18 to ease Kyiv's manpower shortage.

"I believe we have a lot of soldiers, but the limitation is that, frankly, we must save as many lives as possible," he said.

"And if in European or American offices there is an idea that we need to do something differently about the draft age, I want to just ask our partners to do their part of the job, and we will deal with our job."

Putin a 'terrorist'

Mr Putin "he thinks that we are part of Russia", Mr Zelenskyy said, saying that nobody can change the Kremlin chief's mind.

In a big development, he suggested that he would be open to speaking with the Russian leader.

But he added: "Not to give him a chance to give us an ultimatum... because he's a killer, and he is a terrorist, and he is alone."

Violence again broke out in Georgia's capital yesterday after protesters took to the streets near parliament over the suspension of EU membership talks.

Police used water cannon and pepper spray as thousands gathered in Tbilisi to demand the government change its stance.

Some protesters hurled fireworks at police and pushed a burning industrial bin towards officers.

There werealso protests on Thursdayafter Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced accession talks were being put off until 2028 due toEU"blackmail".

It followed the European Parliament adopting a resolution condemninglast month's electionas neither free nor fair and criticising the ruling Georgian Dream party.

The party won almost 54% of votes, but opponents claim Russia helped rig the vote to halt the country's move towards the West.

There were allegations of ballot box stuffing, intimidation and civil servants being forced to vote for the status quo.

The previous Ukrainian position of not conceding an inch of territory to Russia may be proving too costly for Kyiv, says our chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested a ceasefire deal could be struck if Ukrainian territory he controls could be taken "under the NATO umbrella" in an interview with Ramsay yesterday.

The Ukrainian president said NATO membership would have to be offered to unoccupied parts of Ukraine to end the "hot phase of the war", as long as the NATO invitation itself recognises Ukraine's internationally recognised borders.

"They're in an awful lot of trouble, to be absolutely frank," Ramsay says, reflecting on the interview.

"They're running out of infantry and they don't have enough arms - that's not just hearsay - that's from talking to actual commanders on the ground."

He notes that the Ukrainian position since the start of the war has been not to give up land at any cost.

"The cost is now getting too high - and if he wants to keep the country that he has left and to protect the people, then giving up land is better than giving up the nationhood, if you like."

Watch highlights from Ramsay's interview here...

An airport in southern Russia has temporarily shut due to a drone threat, according to state media.

TASS said the main airport at Makhachkala would shut until 8.30am local time "due to the threat of drone attacks", citing the airports general director.

It's not clear who was behind the drone attacks.

Makhachkala is the capital of Russia's Dagestan region.

By Stuart Ramsay, chief correspondent

In the freezing mist, heavily-armed soldiers checked our passports and press accreditation. We're in an exclusive district of Kyiv, home to the city's presidential palace.

We waited on a near-deserted street until an adviser to the president arrived and led us to another set of guards, who checked our papers again.

Eventually, we were taken to the rear of the palace where our paperwork was scrutinised for the third time.

We had been told to come early so that our equipment and bags could be scanned and checked by sniffer dogs.

We had come to meet and interview Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hence the security.

Read more from Ramsay here.

The resumption of Russia's nuclear tests remains an open question amid hostile American policies, a senior Moscow diplomat has suggested.

Russian has not conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1990, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

"This is a question at hand," deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS news agency when asked whether Moscow was considering a resumption of tests.

"And without anticipating anything, let me simply say that the situation is quite difficult. It is constantly being considered in all its components and in all its aspects."

The minister had previously indicated that Putin would not carry out nuclear tests unless the US did.

Putin last year withdrew Russia's ratification of the global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests, saying the move brought him in line with the US - who signed but never ratified it.

This month, the Russian leader lowered the threshold governing the country's nuclear doctrine, meaning now Moscow could consider a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack on Russia or Belarus that "created a critical threat to their sovereignty and [or] their territorial integrity".

Vladimir Putin has promised Syria's Bashar al Assad more military aid to help thwart a rebel takeover.

Russia is one of Syria's closest allies, and Damascus expects military hardware from Moscow in the next 72 hours, according to sources cited by Reuters.

Aleppo airport and a number of major roads have been closed by Syrian authorities - after anti-regime rebels claimed to have reached the heart of the city.

It comes after opposition fighters, led by the Islamist militant group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns earlier in the week.

Ukrainian figure doubts Putin can spare arms

Former Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has cast doubt over whether Putin has the military hardware to spare in Syria, given the ongoing war in Ukraine.

"With Putin's army being decimated in Ukraine, he likely can't spare sufficient forces to save Assad," he said.

There's been no suggestion that Russian troops could be sent to the Middle East, but it remains unclear what hardware Moscow will supply Syria.

Russia has been forced to use Soviet-era tanks and and other older hardware as Putin's "special military operation" has dragged on.

However, Russia's arsenal is undoubtedly vast, so supplying its ally may not prove too costly.