Putin makes jarring claims about Russian soldiers acting 'as if at the Lord's behest' during speech at Orthodox Christmas service

Zelensky himself has admitted that the chances of a peace deal are unlikely given Moscow’s refusal to accede on its demands. But a pledge by the UK and France to maintain a military presence in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal represents progress, writes Bel Trew

Nato unity put to the test as Keir Starmer and European allies warn US president he can’t decide future of Danish territory

Zelensky himself has admitted that the chances of a peace deal are unlikely given Moscow’s refusal to accede on its demands. But a pledge by the UK and France to maintain a military presence in Ukraine in the event of a peace deal represents progress, writes Bel Trew

Trilateral declaration of intent signed after ‘coalition of the willing’ summit in Paris with plan to establish military hubs

Britain and France have declared they are ready to deploy troops to Ukraine in the aftermath of a peace deal, a major new commitment that has been under discussion for months, although one which Russia is likely to block forcefully.

The announcement came after a summit in Paris hosted by the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and attended by more than two dozen leaders of the states that make up the “coalition of the willing” of Ukrainian allies, plus the US envoy Steve Witkoff and Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who said the US president “strongly stands” behind the security protocols.

Trump has argued the U.S. needs to control Greenland to ensure the security of the NATO territory in the face of rising threats from China and Russia in the Arctic.

‘We are deeply sorry. We had no indication that the checks had not been done as requested,’ Crans-Montana Mayor Nicolas Feraud told reporters

Spain is working to identify and contain its first outbreak of the deadly virus in thirty years

Cost-saving plan to transfer Antwerp museum’s entire collection to another city described as ‘simply insane’

Prominent artists have spoken out against an “arbitrary reshaping” of Belgium’s museum landscape, as the Flanders region seeks to cut public spending by dismantling the country’s oldest contemporary art museum and transplanting its entire collection to another city.

At a press conference in Antwerp on Tuesday, the directors of the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art (M HKA), which was founded in 1985, decried what they called the “flagrant illegalities” of the museum sector shake-up, which is due to be debated in Belgium’s parliament on Friday.

The alliance has no provision for the previously unthinkable: one of its members turning on another

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The idea that one Nato country could attack another – a US invasion of Greenland – is so alien that the most famous article in Nato’s founding treaty does not distinguish clearly what would happen if two of its members were at war.

Article 5, the cornerstone of mutual protection, dictates that “an armed attack against one or more” in Europe or North America shall be considered “an attack against them all”. Simple enough if the military threat comes from Russia, but more complicated when it comes from easily the alliance’s most powerful member.