Vladimir Putin will soon arrive in Turkey, the Turkish foreign minister announced this afternoon.
Hakan Fidan said the meeting with Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan would focus on a new way to allow Ukrainian grain exports to the Black Sea.
He did not mention a date for the visit in his comments to the A Haber private TV channel, but Turkish media has reported that Mr Putin will visit on 12 February.
Why is this significant?
It would be Putin’s first visit to a NATO country since Russia invaded Ukraine two years ago.
The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant for Putin for allegedly deporting young Ukrainians to Russia, severely restricting their opportunities abroad.
Turkey, like Russia, is not a party to the court, allowing Mr Putin to visit without fear of arrest.
Turkey has sought to improve its relations with Russia and Ukraine, its Black Sea neighbors.
While refusing to accept Western sanctions against Moscow, he also supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity and provided weapons to Kyiv.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko came to the defense of the Ukrainian army chief after Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was considering firing him (see 9:10 a. m. message).
Mr Klitschko said he “hopes the government understands the seriousness of the steps it is taking” in deciding whether to dismiss General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi.
The former professional boxer wrote on Telegram that in many ways, it was “thanks to Mr. Zaluzhnyi that Ukrainians believed in our armed forces. “
“Today is the time when politics can take precedence over common sense and the interests of the state,” he wrote.
“I hope they understand the seriousness of the measures they are taking now and the full extent of their responsibility. “
Most likely, the Kremlin will have to “increase taxes and internal debt” to fund its planned spending, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said it was “unlikely” that Russia’s projected 2024 profit target would be met as defined in its budget plan and that the government would want other policy measures.
Plans to increase spending by up to 26% this year mean that “the government will most likely have to dip into its contributions to the National Wealth Fund and increase domestic taxes and debt to finance planned spending,” he said.
This would have “negative effects” on the economy.
The National Wealth Fund is used to finance the long-term economic well-being of Russians, but it is used to finance the war in Ukraine.
In the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, troops will fire a multiple launch rocket formula at Russian forces near the front line.
Fighting is heavy in this war-torn region and both are struggling to make progress.
The Donetsk People’s Republic is one of four regions of Ukraine illegally annexed through Moscow last year.
Four more people were killed after Russian shelling of the southern port city of Kherson, the head of the city’s administration said.
Roman Mrochko said on Telegram that at around 12pm local time Russian forces shelled the region from the temporarily occupied left bank.
The shelling started a fire in the centre of the town and emergency services arrived at the scene and found the bodies of two men, aged 45 and 50, in a car.
The shelling also killed a woman who was on the street at the time and another man.
Mrochko also said a 60-year-old man was seriously injured.
Martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine could be extended for 90 days after Volodymyr Zelenskyy submitted a proposal to lawmakers, The Kyiv Independent reports.
The president first declared martial law and general mobilisation in the country after Russia launched its invasion on 24 February 2022.
The measures have been extended several times since then and last month the Ukrainian government submitted to parliament an amended edition of its bill aimed at strengthening the rules for the mobilization of the army so that the country has sufficient fighting force.
Zelenskyy’s new proposal would extend martial law and general mobilization until May 14.
Under martial law, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country because they would possibly be called up to enlist in the army.
A bipartisan US Senate group has unveiled plans for a $118bn (£93.4bn) package for Ukraine, Israel and American border security.
Both houses of Congress will have to approve it, and so far the investment for Ukraine has been blocked by top radical Republicans.
Republican Mitch McConnell, one of the most sensible members of the Senate, encouraged his party to accept the deal, saying they would not get a better one, even under a Republican White House.
It includes:
Explained: Ukraine relies heavily on two resources of monetary and military assistance: the EU and the United States.
As of December, the EU and its countries had pledged $143 billion (excluding its latest deal of $54 billion), followed by the United States with $76 billion, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.
The rest of the world contributed only $40 billion.
Most of the aid provided through the United States is in the form of military support, while the EU has presented most of its aid in the form of monetary support.
Rumours had begun to circulate after Mr Carlson was reportedly photographed in Moscow by the local media outlet Mash.
Saturday’s news published a symbol of the right-wing commentator, allegedly at the Bolshoi Theater, saying he had been in the capital since Feb. 1.
The rumors were fueled by House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who posted on X that Democrats were “stummed at the idea of Tucker Carlson interviewing Putin. “
Bill Kristol, former chief of staff to Vice President Reagan administration, later said, “Perhaps we want to totally and completely stop Tucker Carlson’s return to the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what’s going on. »
In September, Mr Peskov said the time for Vladimir Putin to be interviewed by a Western journalist “will come”.
“Whether Carlson will be among those up for an interview, well, let’s wait and see. “
The campaign of the Russian anti-war presidential hopeful Boris Nadezhdin is in doubt – after the election commission claimed 15% of the signatures he submitted in his bid to get on the ballot paper were invalid.
This figure, if confirmed, is three times higher than the allowed error rate and would justify the commission disqualifying Nadezhdin from his candidacy against Vladimir Putin in March.
Nadezhdin said on Telegram that he would appeal to the Supreme Court if the commission refused to hire him.
“We plan to collect signatures. We want to protect about 4,500 signatures out of the 9,209 declared invalid,” he said.
The commission will make a final decision on the matter on Wednesday.
Last week, Nadezhdin submitted to the committee the signatures of more than 100,000 supporters from all over Russia for his candidacy for the election.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the firing of the most sensible officer in Ukraine’s military is the first confirmation that he plans to upgrade the hugely popular figure.
Asked if he was thinking about toppling Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Zelenskyy told Italian television RAI that he was thinking about it.
He said that “a reset is needed, a new beginning” and that “it is not about a user but about the direction of the country. “
“I’m thinking about this replacement, but you can’t say here we replaced a single person,” Mr Zelenskyy said.
“When we talk about this, I mean the replacement of a number of state leaders, and only in a sector like the military.
“If we want to win we must all push in the same direction, convinced of victory, we cannot be discouraged, let our arms fall, we must have the right positive energy.”
For context: Tensions between the president and General Zaluzhnyi have risen as the country faces severe shortages of ammunition and personnel.
The need for a broad mobilization to fill the ranks would have been one of the topics of disagreement.
Zelensky said last year that he had rejected the military’s request to mobilize up to 500,000 people, which did not provide further details on how this would be organized and funded.
Reports of a rift between the general and Mr Zelenskyy first arose last year when the general acknowledged in an interview that the fighting with Russia had reached a stalemate.