Russian army chiefs torturing and executing soldiers who refuse to fight in Ukraine, report says

Investigation lists 101 superiors accused of tactics such as using drones to ‘finish’ off retreating troops and sending soldiers on death missions

Ukraine deploys special forces to Pokrovsk in effort to hold key city

Escalating battle for city comes as overnight Russian drone and missile strikes kill six people, including two children, age 11 and 14

Ukrainian computer game-style drone attack system goes ‘viral’

System rewards soldiers who achieve strikes with points that can be used to buy more weapons in an online store

EU could admit new members by 2030, says its foreign policy chief

Kaja Kallas tells reporters more countries could join 27-country bloc, including Montenegro, Albania and Ukraine

Russian forces appear to tighten grip on strategic city of Pokrovsk

Ukraine’s general staff denies claims its troops have been encircled but military analysts say situation has deteriorated sharply in recent days

British military announces first delivery of Ajax armoured vehicles – eight years late

First 50 vehicles, costing nearly £10m each, finally ready to deploy to Nato’s eastern flank, where drones now dominate

Ukraine faces ‘forever war’ unless Europe steps up pressure on Russia, says ex-Nato chief

Anders Fogh Rasmussen calls for air shield on Nato territory and deployment of European protection force for Ukraine

South Africa launches investigation into 17 citizens fighting in Ukraine

Men aged 20-39 ‘lured to join mercenary force’ in conflict-ridden Donbas region have requested assistance to return home

Orbán to visit White House to try to broker Trump-Putin summit for peace in Ukraine

Hungary’s prime minister also seeking an exemption on US sanctions on Russian oil after Trump’s Kremlin frustrations

Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities kill at least four

Volodymr Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions on Moscow after 45 missiles and 450 drones launched at Ukraine

‘Loophole’ in sanctions allowing Russian oil to be imported to Australia through port part-owned by Macquarie Bank

Australia stopped buying fuel directly from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine but has imported more than 3m tonnes of its oil products since 2023

Ukraine facing widespread power cuts after generating capacity reduced to ‘zero’ by Russian attacks

Power to be cut for as much as 16 hours a day across most of Ukraine while repairs are carried out

Ukraine’s anti-corruption agency investigates country’s energy sector

Bureau alleges kickbacks in transactions involving the state nuclear power operator, Energoatom

Willing states must act to save international legal order, warns top academic

Yale professor says wars in Ukraine and Gaza and threats from Donald Trump risk the ‘total collapse’ of the global courts system

The EU invited Ukraine to join the club, but will it ever happen?

Zelenskyy wants admission before 2030, but with a growing far-right, anti-enlargement contingent and budgetary fears mounting, some countries are hiding behind a Hungarian veto . Don’t get This Is Europe delivered to your inbox? Sign up here

Russian opposition figures criticise EU ban on multi-entry visas for country’s citizens

Restrictions for entry to Schengen zone announced last Friday because of sabotage attacks linked to Russia

Russia attacks ‘every district’ of Kyiv, sparking fires across the capital

Pictures posted on social media showed different sites in flames and residents gathering in rubble-strewn streets outside apartment buildings

First Thing: Jeffrey Epstein advised Steve Bannon during 2018 pro-Trump media campaign

Text messages released by US House show convicted sex offender coaching Maga influencer on political messaging. Plus, readers’ favourite photo booth moments 100 years after its invention

Russia increasingly targeting trains as attacks on Ukraine’s rail network intensify

Ukrainian minister says more than 800 attacks recorded since start of year as Moscow seeks to destroy country’s logistical capabilities

Viktor Orbán begins ‘anti-war roadshow’ as Hungary gears up for 2026 elections

PM makes opposition to support for Ukraine central to Fidesz campaign as it loses ground over cost of living crisis