Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns UK ‘playing with fire’ over plans to help Kyiv produce missiles

The head of the CIA told his Russian counterpart to make a deal with Ukraine as Moscow ’s position deteriorates during a secretive visit this week, according to a report.

US officials told the New York Times that CIA director John Ratcliffe presented FSB chief Aleksandr Bortnikov with evidence of the enormous price Russia has paid for relatively small gains in Ukraine, attributed to Kyiv ’s “mastery” of drone technology.

The CIA boss urged that Russia should enter serious negotiations with Ukraine to end the war given their difficulties on the ground and mounting economic woes, the sources claimed in comments to the newspaper.

Mr Ratcliffe flew to Russia on Tuesday to meet briefly with his intelligence counterparts in the first visit by a CIA director since 2021, when William Burns warned Russia against sending troops into Ukraine.

Two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that Ratcliffe also brought up the possibility of a Russian operation against a Nato member and Russia’s continued support for Iran during the meeting.

Russia nonetheless on Thursday warned that British military installations and equipment in and outside of Ukraine could be targeted in response to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory carried out using British weapons, after the UK offered Kyiv access to technology to make missiles .

Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that he has ordered his military to increase its long-range drone strikes against Russia to 1,000 per day, up from around 300 currently.

"There needs to ⁠be more: there is a concrete goal, and we will fulfil ‌this task," ​the Ukrainian president ‌said ⁠in his ⁠evening address.

The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross intensified a joint appeal on Tuesday for countries to enact bans and restrictions on autonomous weapons systems — often called killer robots — warning that "the risks have intensified."

Building on a proposal first issued three years ago and years of multilateral discussions, the stance stops short of requesting a complete ban.

It highlights that such systems are currently under development, though neither the U.N. nor the Red Cross has confirmed their deployment on the battlefield. Still, protections for civilians are urgently required for when that moment comes...

War’s timeless ache — death, captivity, the agonizing wait and the pull of home — has found a new stage in wartime Kyiv , with Homer’s epic reimagined as a contemporary Ukrainian odyssey.

The play “Odysseus, Maeotis” is ready to open in the Ukrainian capital as the ancient tale enjoys a global moment with Christopher Nolan’s IMAX spectacle and box-office hit “The Odyssey” starring Matt Damon.

In Kyiv, the story is performed by professional actors and active-duty soldiers, including Daniil Mireshkin, a serviceman who plays the warrior king Odysseus...