The UK has announced it will give £4.5 million to help Ukraine’s efforts to seek justice for war crimes committed during Russia’s all-out invasion.

The funding is designed to support the documentation, investigation and prosecution of Ukrainian war crimes and complements the UK’s work with US and EU partners through the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy said: “While in Kyiv, I saw firsthand the inspiring courage of the Ukrainian people. I am very proud of the support this administration is giving them as they resist Russia’s full-scale illegal aggression.

The atrocities we witnessed in Ukraine are unspeakable – there can be no lasting peace without accountability and UK support will help Ukraine as it pursues justice for the victims and survivors of these atrocities.

As we look to 2025, our message is clear: we will stand by you in war, we will stand by you in peace, and we will stand by you as you fight for your security and for all of Europe. stood up

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev announced on Sunday that the passenger plane that crashed in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people, was damaged by gunfire from the ground in Russia, Azerbaijan state television reported.

Aliyev said that he was sorry that “some circles” in Russia tried to hide the truth about the crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane by revealing false narratives about the causes of the crash.

On Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin apologized to Aliyev for what the Kremlin called a “tragic incident” over Russia, in which an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed after Russian air defenses fired at Ukrainian drones.

Rescue teams in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region came under repeated shelling from Russian forces Sunday as they responded to a fire in a residential area in Pokrovsk.

“Before [on Sunday]Russian forces targeted a private residential area in the city and attacked a residential building. This collision caused a fire that spread to about 120 square meters, which the rescuers managed to contain.

However, due to frequent hostile fire and threats to the lives of personnel, fire fighting had to be suspended.

Fortunately, there were no victims.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday that Russia will lift the moratorium on the deployment of intermediate and shorter-range nuclear missiles because the United States has deployed such weapons in various parts of the world.

Russia’s long-heralded move would destroy all that remains of one of the most important Cold War arms control treaties, amid fears that the world’s two biggest nuclear powers are entering a race with China. get new weapons

Asked by state news agency RIA whether Russia could withdraw from the New Start treaty before it expires in February 2026, Lavrov said there were currently “no conditions” for strategic talks with Washington.

“Today it is clear that, for example, our moratorium on the deployment of medium- and short-range missiles is no longer practical and should be abandoned,” Lavrov said.

He added: “America has arrogantly ignored the warnings of Russia and China and in practice has moved towards deploying weapons of this class in different regions of the world.”

Mark Fogel, a history teacher from Pennsylvania, is serving a 14-year prison sentence after being arrested in August 2021 at a Russian airport for possession of what his family and supporters said was medically prescribed marijuana.

He was excluded from the August prisoner swap that freed Wall Street Journal reporter Ivan Gershkovich and corporate security director Paul Whelan.

The State Department said in a statement: “The United States has been working for some time to secure the release of Mark Fogel.”

We have been calling for his humanitarian release for a long time and tried to include him in the August 1st agreement, but we could not.

“The Minister determined that Mark was wrongfully detained in October.”

Fogle’s wife, Jane, and sons, Ethan and Sam, said in a statement that they were grateful that the State Department “finally acknowledged what we’ve always known — that our husband and father, Mark Fogel, was and continues to be wrong.” are He was arrested.”

“At 6:00 p.m. in the village of Dvorichna, a civilian man was killed when an explosive device was dropped by a drone,” Oleh Sinihobov, head of the Kharkiv regional military administration, said via telegram.

Sinihobov said that Ukrainian positions near Vochansk repulsed three enemy attacks in 24 hours.

He added: “A battle continues in this area.”

26 civilians have been evacuated from Kopianske and Burioske due to the clashes.

More than 500,000 consumers in the Kharkiv region were left without heat after a massive Russian attack.

The Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it has responded to a new package of EU sanctions by significantly expanding the list of EU officials and EU member states banned from entering Russia.

The European Union on Monday imposed a 15th package of sanctions against Russia, including tougher measures against Chinese entities and more ships from Moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that in response to this action, it added “representatives of security agencies, government and business organizations of EU countries and citizens of EU member states who are responsible for providing military aid to Kiev” to its blacklist.