Vladimir Putin has hailed Donald Trump as “courageous” for his response to an assassination attempt as he congratulated the next US president.
Mr Trump won a decisive victory in the 2024 election – comfortably clearing the 270 Electoral College votes needed to secure the presidency and clinching five battleground states.
Throughout his campaign, Mr Trump said he would end the war between Russia and Ukraine in just 24 hours – without explaining how he would do so.
Speaking in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Thursday, the Russian leader also noted the president-elect’s “desire to restore relations,” but added he has “no idea” what to expect from Mr Trump’s second term in office.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already congratulated the Republican on his win, he raised concerns that his plan to end the war with Russia quickly means “losses for Ukraine”.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump told Sky’s partner network NBC News that he has not spoken to Mr Putin yet, but said “I would think that we’ll speak”.
After giving a speech at an international forum in Sochi, Mr Putin said Mr Trump’s “behaviour at the time of the attempt on his life made an impression on me”.
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“He turned out to be a courageous man,” the Russian president said. “And it’s not just about the raised hand and the call to fight for his and their common ideals…
“He behaved, in my opinion, in a very correct way, courageously, like a man.”
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Putin won’t be popping champagne corks just yet
It was a classic curveball from Vladimir Putin.
Initially, the Kremlin played it cool. “No plans to congratulate Donald Trump,” it said, “the US is a hostile nation”.
But halfway through another one of Putin’s marathon Q&As, that suddenly changed.
It felt like the start of a courtship – an attempt by Russia’s president to rekindle their bromance.
He praised Trump’s bravery and called him a real man. Flattery of a man who sees himself as a tough leader.
As for the claim Russia is “open to dialogue”? Read that as “call me”.
This was an overture from Putin, no doubt, but he doesn’t want to make the first move.
I think that’s because Moscow is still cautious about another Trump term. The first failed to live up to their expectations.
Despite warm words from Trump, sanctions increased and the US sent weapons to Ukraine.
So unlike 2016, Russia’s not popping any champagne corks just yet.
Mr Putin said he felt Mr Trump was “hounded from all sides” when he was last president, and added: “I do not know what is going to happen now.
“I have no clue. For him, this is his last term. What he will do, these are questions for him.”
The Russian president added what Mr Trump has said “about the desire to restore relations with Russia, to help end the Ukrainian crisis, in my opinion, deserves attention at least”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Sky News that if the new Trump administration seeks peace rather than “continuation of war” then it will “be better in comparison with the previous one”.
But when asked about Kamala Harris’s debate suggestion that Mr Putin will “eat Donald Trump for lunch”, he bizarrely responded: “Vladimir Putin does not eat people.”
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‘Putin doesn’t eat people’
It came as the president-elect told NBC News that he has spoken to about 70 world leaders after winning the 2024 election, but not Mr Putin.
It comes as Mr Zelenskyy said in Budapest on Thursday he was not aware of any details of Mr Trump’s plan to end the Ukraine war quickly – but fears a quick resolution would mean major concessions for Kyiv.
“If it’s just fast, it means losses for Ukraine,” he said. “I just don’t yet understand how this could be in any other way. Maybe we do not know something, do not see.”
Mr Trump and Mr Zelenskyy met at Trump Tower in New York in September – days after the future president complained at a rally that “we continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal” to end the war.
Arrest warrants have been issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence secretary Yoav Gallant by the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The warrants are for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza that Israel launched following the 7 October attacks by Hamas.
The prime minister’s office said the warrants against him and Gallant were “anti-semitic” and said Israel “rejects with disgust the absurd and false actions”.
Another warrant was issued for the arrest of Hamas leader Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al Masrifor alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Al Masri, also known as Mohammed Deif, was the mastermind behind the 7 October attacks.
Neither Israel nor the US are members of the ICC. Israel has rejected the court’s jurisdiction and denies committing war crimes in Gaza.
Former Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said the warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant were a “mark of shame” for the ICC.
The court originally said it was seeking arrest warrants for the three men in May for the alleged crimes and today announced that it had rejected challenges by Israel and issued warrants of arrest.
In its update, the ICC said it found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Netanyahu and Gallant “bear criminal responsibility” for alleged crimes.
These, the court said, include “the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare; and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts”.
The ICC also said it has issued an arrest warrant for Hamas leader Al Masri, saying it has “reasonable grounds to believe” that he is responsible for crimes against humanity including murder, extermination, torture, rape, as well as war crimes including taking hostages.
Discussing the 7 October attacks, the court said: “In light of the coordinated killings of members of civilians at several separate locations, the Chamber also found that the conduct took place as part of a mass killing of members of the civilian population, and it therefore concluded that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the crime against humanity of extermination was committed.”
In its statement, the ICC said the prosecution was not in a position to determine whether Al Masri is dead or alive, so was issuing the arrest warrant.
The court previously said it was seeking an arrest warrant for Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Hamas who was subsequently killed in July.
This will never leave Netanyahu
Three arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) but the two most significant are those against Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.
The court in their statement said that they have reasonable grounds to believe that those two men, have been carrying out the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution and other inhumane acts.
Ever since the arrest warrants were first sought there have been a lot of legal challenges. But the court has rejected all that and has now issued these arrest warrants.
So what does it mean? Well, practically, it would mean that Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant couldn’t travel to any state that is a signatory of the ICC – about 120 countries around the world, including the UK and many European countries.
Were Netanyahu to travel to any of those countries, he should be arrested by the police forces of those countries. And it’ll be very interesting to see what Sir Keir Starmer’s reaction is to this.
But the US, Israel’s closest ally, is not a signatory of the ICC. I think Netanyahu will have support on the other side of the Atlantic.
Also, these ICC arrest warrants don’t always get carried out. We saw President Vladimir Putin, who had an arrest warrant issued for him after the invasion of Ukraine, travel to Mongolia a couple of months ago and nothing was done about that.
But in terms of the reputations of Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, in terms of that legacy, they are now wanted suspects, wanted to be put on trial for war crimes. And it is a label that will never leave them.
Four people have died and a number of others are in hospital after allegedly being served drinks laced with methanol.
According to reports, six British travellers are among those being treated in Laos, after falling ill last week.
Two Danish women in their 20s and a 56-year-old US citizen are reported to have died in what authorities fear was a mass poisoning.
On Thursday, it was confirmed an Australian woman – named as Bianca Jones, 19, from Melbourne – had become the fourth person to die.
Her friend Holly Bowles is being treated in hospital after calling for medical help at their accommodation, Nana’s Backpackers Hostel.
In a statement given to the Herald Sun, Ms Jones’s family said: “It is with the heaviest of hearts that we share the news that our beloved daughter and sister, Bianca Jones, has passed away.
“She was surrounded by love, and we are comforted by the knowledge that her incredible spirit touched so many lives during her time with us.
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“We want to express our deepest gratitude for the overwhelming support, love, and prayers we’ve received from across Australia.”
One of the British travellers being treated in hospital has been named as Simone White, 28, from Orpington, Kent.
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According to The Times newspaper, she became ill last week in Vang Vieng – a resort popular with backpackers.
Ms White’s friend, Bethany Clarke, a healthcare worker also from Orpington, posted on a Laos Backpacking Facebook group to warn other travellers.
“Urgent – please avoid all local spirits. Our group stayed in Vang Vieng and we drank free shots offered by one of the bars,” she wrote.
“Just avoid them as so not worth it. Six of us who drank from the same place are in hospital currently with methanol poisoning.”
New Zealand’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed one of its citizens was also unwell in Laos and could be a victim of methanol poisoning.
The UK had previously said that British tanks, anti-tank missiles and other military equipment could be used inside Russia as part of Ukraine’s defence – but had kept restrictions on the use of long-range missiles.
A Russian state news agency cited the ministry as saying the missiles caused no casualties.
Missiles will have a ‘marginal effect’
Sky News’ security and defence editor Deborah Haynes says Ukraine’s allies have been pursuing a strategy of ambiguity and “it remains to be seen whether we get official confirmation on this from the UK or from Ukraine”.
“There is also the uncomfortable reality that Ukraine’s stockpile of Storm Shadow missiles is severely limited, so their use will only have a marginal effect.”
Meanwhile, Sky’s military analystSean Bell says he would be amazed if this attack really marks the first time such a missile has been used by Ukraine to hit inside Russia.
“I would be quite surprised if they haven’t been used for selected targets further on [into Russia] because they are… very, very effective at striking Russian logistics hubs, headquarters, ammunition dumps,” he said.
The same missiles are also used by French forces, using the alternative name SCALP, and are made by the Anglo-French arms manufacturer, MBDA.
What are storm shadow cruise missiles?
The air-to-air missile has a strike capability of nearly 200 miles (300km) – meaning it would potentially allow Ukraine to hit further into Russian territory.
The missile weighs 1.3 tonnes and is just over 5m long.
It is launched from the air, and in theory can be used from Ukraine’s Soviet-made jets.
UK-owned Storm Shadow missiles are made in Stevenage by MBDA. Each cruise missile costs an estimated £2m.
The Storm Shadow was originally developed as a project between the UK and France in the mid 1990s.
It was used in Iraq in 2003, while France, Italy and the UK used it in Libya in 2011.
The missiles have also been used to bomb Islamic State targets in Syria and Iraq.
Embassies shut over air attack fears
Earlier, the US and some other Western embassies in Kyiv closed amid fears Russia was preparing a major air attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been asking Kyiv’s allies to give his troops the capability to strike deeper behind Russian lines for over a year.
Mr Biden’s change of policy is linked to changing tactics by the Russians, which began deploying North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces.
The White House is set to announce more military aid for Ukraine worth up to $275m (£217m), the US defence secretary has said.
Lloyd Austin said the support would “meet critical battlefield needs” and would include munitions for rocket systems, artillery and tank weapons, along with anti-personnel landmines.
Russian politician Maria Butina and Donald Trump Jr, the son of US President-elect Donald Trump, both warned that Mr Biden’s decision over Ukraine’s usage of long-range missiles could spark the start of a third world war.