Vladimir Putin trying to starve Ukrainians into giving up in the war but he will fail, says UK’s foreign secretary
Vladimir Putin is trying to freeze and starve Ukraine’s people into giving up this winter by attacking power and water supplies but he will fail, the foreign secretary has told Sky News.
James Cleverly, on his first visit to Ukraine, said he had never seen such devastation before and said it was vital for the UK and other allies to keep up their support until Kyiv “prevails”.
Revealing how he had even briefly experienced a sense of the basic hardship endured by most Ukrainians, the minister said there had been no power or water at the British ambassador’s residence in the capital when he arrived on Wednesday after a barrage of Russian missile strikes against the energy grid.
Putin’s warning for Russian mothers – war latest
“By lunchtime the following day, the water had been repaired and was back up and running,” Mr Cleverly said.
“The speed and the resilience of the people of Kyiv and the people of Ukraine is a wonder to behold, which is why I am confident, with the continued support of the international community, the Ukrainians will prevail.”
The foreign secretary was speaking on Friday in the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of the capital, which was heavily bombarded when Russian forces attempted to storm Kyiv in the first weeks of the full-scale invasion.
The Ukrainian military, helped by British and other Western weapons, pushed them back, paving the way for efforts to rebuild the shattered lives of civilians – even as the war rages on in the east and the south and with the persistent threat of airstrikes.
Mr Cleverly visited a school, damaged in the onslaught, that is due to reopen next week thanks in part to UK funds.
He also announced further civilian support – on top of weapons – for Ukraine, including 24 ambulances and six armoured vehicles.
The foreign secretary pressed ahead with his Ukraine trip – which included a meeting on Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy – even though he was entering the country as Vladimir Putin’s forces struck missiles against energy and water infrastructure.
“I think it is incredibly important that the UK demonstrates to the Ukrainian people – who are bearing the brunt of this brutality from Russia – that we are standing shoulder to shoulder with them,” he said.
Read more:
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Mr Cleverly said the Russian tactic to hurt civilians was a mark of desperation at its failure to succeed on the battlefield.
“Vladimir Putin is targeting their energy infrastructure, their water infrastructure, he is trying to starve and freeze the Ukrainians into submission,” he said.
Mr Cleverly with Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba
He added: “What I’ve also seen is those same Ukrainians forcing themselves to go about their lives as normally as possible. These students here in this college were desperate to come back to the classroom, to mix with their friends, to learn.
“There is a resilience and there is a toughness here in Ukraine that we are happy to support and seeing it leaves me in no doubt that the Ukrainians will prevail and that Vladimir Putin will fail in this invasion.”
World
US blocks Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials from United Nations’ annual meeting in New York
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and 80 other officials have been blocked from attending September’s annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio has revoked the US visas of delegates from the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), and denied others from applying for one.
It is the latest step by Donald Trump’s administration to target Palestinians with visa restrictions, and follows the suspension of a programme to allow injured children from Gaza to receive treatment in the US.
Mahmoud Abbas addressed the general assembly in 2024, but is barred from next month’s meeting. Pic: Reuters
“It is in our national security interests to hold the PLO and PA accountable for not complying with their commitments, and for undermining the prospects for peace,” a statement from the US State Department said.
It added that, to be considered partners for peace, both groups “must consistently repudiate terrorism, and end incitement to terrorism in education, as required by US law and as promised by the PLO”.
Offensive will cause ‘intolerable deaths’
Several US allies, including France, Malta, and Australia have announced plans to recognise Palestine as a state at September’s United Nations General Assembly. Canada and the UK will too, unless Israel meets certain conditions.
Israel declared Gaza’s largest city a dangerous combat zone on Friday.
The army launched a planned offensive that has drawn international condemnation.
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Thick smoke rises from Gaza City after Israeli strikes
Foreign ministers from Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Slovenia and Spain released a joint statement saying the military operations in Gaza City will cause “intolerable deaths of innocent Palestinian civilians”.
Gaza latest: Israel’s Gaza City offensive condemned
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are sheltering in Gaza City while enduring famine.
An Israeli armoured vehicle in northern Gaza on Friday. Pic: AP
Palestinians ride a truck carrying humanitarian aid in Gaza City. Pic: AP
The Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Riyad Mansour, said Mr Abbas had planned to lead the delegation to the UN meetings and was expected to address the general assembly at the general debate, which begins on 23 September.
He was also expected to attend a high-level meeting co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia on 22 September about a two-state solution, a broad idea involving Israel coexisting with an independent Palestinian state.
The State of Palestine is an observer member of the UN, meaning it can speak at meetings but not vote on resolutions.
The State of Palestine cannot vote on UN resolutions. Pic: AP
US decision ‘contravenes international law’
The Palestinian Authority “expressed its deep regret and astonishment” at the visa decision, calling it “a violation of US commitments” as the host of the UN, and claiming it “contravenes international law”.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the world body would be seeking clarification in the “hope that this will be resolved”.
Hundreds of diplomats left when Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu began speaking at the general assembly in 2024. Pic: Reuters
The State Department said that the Palestinian Authority’s mission to the UN, comprising officials who are permanently based there, would not be included in the restrictions.
Under a 1947 UN agreement, the US is generally required to allow access for foreign diplomats to the UN in New York.
But Washington has said it can deny visas for security, extremism and foreign policy reasons.
Read more from Sky News:
Analysis: Israel is killing a lot of journalists
Hospitals ‘overwhelmed’ by malnutrition cases
Tony Blair meets Trump over Gaza
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
The death toll in Gaza has now risen to 63,025, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
It also reported five more malnutrition-related deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number during the war to 322, with 121 of them children.
World
Brazil implores businesses to attend major climate summit, despite ‘second thoughts’ amid Trump backlash
The Brazilian hosts of the biggest climate meeting of the year have implored businesses to attend in November, amid concerns some are backing away from the climate agenda into the shadow of Donald Trump.
In an interview with Sky News, Ana Toni, chief executive of the COP30 climate summit in November, admitted some companies were having “second thoughts” about the global switch to green economies because policymakers were creating uncertainty.
The US President Donald Trump has been attacking wind farms and waging tariff wars that could slow the transition to green energy.
Banks including HSBC and Barclays have ditched a net zero alliance set up just four years ago by Mark Carney, now the Canadian Prime Minister.
Ana Toni, Brazil’s climate secretary, is chief executive of the COP30 climate talks. Pic: Reuters
But even before Trump took office, tech companies were quietly dropping climate targets to prioritise energy-hungry AI, and other businesses were “greenhushing” their climate initiatives for fear of backlash.
In this environment, there are fears fewer business leaders will attend the annual talks, which are also being hosted in a city on the edge of the Amazon that hasn’t enough hotel rooms.
On Friday, the COP30 team wrote to business leaders urging them to “step forward, not back” and travel to Belem, despite “logistical challenges” and the “background of systemic uncertainty”.
Ana Toni told Sky News: “We are very concerned that the enabling conditions must be there so that the private sector can also deliver where they do best, which is bringing in technology, bringing innovation and accelerating the process of decarbonisation.”
In August the share price of Danish wind farm developer plummeted after the US halted its Rhode Island wind farm, while the British Tories and Reform parties are also attacking net zero.
Ana Toni met with King Charles and leaders of other COP summits at Clarence House last year. Pic: Reuters
But Ms Toni there is “nothing to panic [about], because we can see that the transition is inevitable,” citing major progress in China, India and Europe and Brazil.
Referring to the US’s withdrawal from the COP process, she said: “198 countries minus one is not zero. And we will put all our efforts of working with the 197 countries that want to go forward and want to protect their population.”
“Climate action is not only [still] cool, it is necessary,” Ms Toni said.
“We all need to face reality. We are going through a huge climate crisis… If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem. Companies understand that.”
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