Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says US can do more to stop Putin as he cancels Davos meetings

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said ‌on Tuesday that Britain should no longer be called Great Britain as it was the only country in the world to officially name ‌itself "Great".

"I think that Britain should be called simply Britain because 'Great Britain' is the only example of a country which calls itself 'Great'," Lavrov told reporters as he spoke ‌about colonialism following comments on ​Greenland. His spokeswoman then gave Ivor Bennett, a correspondent from Britain's Sky News, a question.

"No offence," Lavrov said.

Lavrov said another example of a country which called itself "great" was the "Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya" led by Muammar Gaddafi.

"But it no longer exists."

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is usually called "Velikobritaniya", or Great Britain, in Russian.

Wayne Jordash KC, president of Global Rights Compliance, has warned of Russia’s calculated weaponisation of infrastructure during the Ukraine’s harshest winter since the start of the full-scale invasion.

He said: "Russia's widespread and systematic strikes on Ukrainian civilian energy infrastructure are creating brutal conditions inside Ukraine during the freezing winter, with temperatures more severe than usual.

“These callous attacks bear the clear hallmarks of inhumane acts constituting crimes against humanity, and they are certainly war crimes, intentionally condemning many of Ukraine's civilian population to cold, dark conditions for most of the day and night.

“Electricity, heating, and water are essential, not only for household tasks such as cooking, washing, and keeping households warm, but to ensure the safety of children, the elderly and the handicapped at home and in healthcare who are particularly at risk from the cold and the deprivation.

“Russia’s continued weaponisation of infrastructure is part of a calculated plan to fracture communities, paralyse Ukraine’s economy, and push the population to the brink. As anybody who knows Ukrainians, it will not work. But Ukraine’s European allies must ramp up their support with urgent energy aid packages to enable the country to weather these cruel attacks and avoid a catastrophic humanitarian crisis."

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has captured a Russian soldier accused of allegedly shooting and killing nine Ukrainian prisoners of war in Kursk oblast in October 2024, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky shared the report after his briefing with SBU’s first deputy chief Oleksandr Poklad yesterday.

“The Russian serviceman responsible for the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war in October of last year in the Kursk region has been taken captive,” Zelensky said. “Every Russian murderer must be held accountable for their actions. And so it will be. We are also countering Russian sabotage in the rear,” he said.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office started investigation into reports of Russian soldiers killing Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners, in violation of Geneva Convention on war crimes.

Russia is watching with glee as US president Donald Trump's threats to take control of Greenland widen a split with his European allies.

The Kremlin said Trump would "go down in history" if he took control of Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory.

"There are international experts who believe that by resolving the issue of Greenland's incorporation, Trump will certainly go down in history. And not only in the history of the United States, but also in world history," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“It's hard not to agree with these experts,” he said.

President Vladimir Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev hailed the "collapse of the transatlantic union”, while former president Dmitry Medvedev joked about Europe getting poorer.

Russia has been muted in its criticism of Trump in recent weeks as it seeks to ensure any end to the war in Ukraine is defined on Moscow's terms, even though he has carried out or threatened military activity against traditional Russian allies Venezuela and Iran.

Ukraine and Europe should create joint defence ‌forces of up to three million ‌people, President ​Volodymyr Zelensky ​said on Tuesday.

Zelensky ‍said in ‍a WhatsApp ​media ‍chat with journalists that he had ‍initially raised the ⁠issue of the need for joint defence forces last year due to the threat from Russia, which plans ‌to increase ​its armed forces to 2.5 ⁠million people by 2030.

Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russia is preparing a large-scale attack on Ukraine in the coming days.

"In the coming days, we must remain extremely vigilant – Russia has prepared for a strike, a large-scale strike, and is waiting for the moment to carry it out,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address.

“Please pay attention to all air-raid warnings, and every region must be ready to respond as quickly as possible and support people."

Donald Trump has said his European counterparts should focus their attentions on the war in Ukraine rather than his attempts to seize control of Greenland from Denmark.

“Europe ought to focus on the war with Russia and Ukraine because, frankly, you see what that’s gotten them,” Trump told NBC News. “That’s what Europe should focus on – not Greenland,” he said.

On being asked if he will implement his plans to punish European countries with his tariffs if a Greenland deal fails to go through, Trump said: “I will, 100%.”

His remarks come after Sir Keir Starmer said it was “completely wrong” for Trump to threaten tariffs against countries who oppose his attempts to take control of Greenland.

The PM said the dispute over Greenland, which Mr Trump wants to take over because of its strategic Arctic location and mineral wealth, should be resolved through “calm discussion between allies” rather than by military action or a trade war.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is staying in Kyiv following strikes, cancelling plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos. He has added his attendance at Davos is conditional on whether documents with the US are ready for signing.

Ukraine’s president said Ukraine and the US were “almost finished” preparations for prosperity package but there was room for Trump to do more in making Vladimir Putin stop the war.

He said Ukraine was invited to join Donald Trump’s “board of peace” and diplomats are working, but it was hard to imagine how Kyiv and Moscow could be on the same board.