Ukraine said Thursday its long-range drones had struck a major offshore oil platform in the Caspian Sea this week, signalling an expansion of its target list in a mounting campaign to cut off Russian energy revenues funding its war.

Poland detained a Russian archaeologist who works on an ancient site in Crimea, which Russia seized in 2014. Ukraine calls the work illegal.

Poland has detained a Russian archaeologist whom Ukraine accuses of unauthorised excavation and plundering historical artefacts in Crimea, Polish authorities said on Thursday, prompting outrage from Moscow which demanded his immediate release.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte issued a stark warning to Western allies about the reality of the threat posed by Russia, as negotiations are making slow progress to end the war in Ukraine and the U.S. pressures Kyiv to make painful compromises with the Kremlin, including on territorial concessions.

The Ukrainian leader rejected the demand, making clear that territorial issues remain unresolved as Ukraine and Europe sent a counterproposal to the United States.

Ukraine has presented the U.S. with a revised 20-point framework to end its war with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday, adding that the issue of ceding territory remains a major sticking point in negotiations.

Lance Corporal George Hooley is remembered by colleagues as a "born soldier" after the Ministry of Defence said the 28-year-old died in a "tragic accident".

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Donald Trump not to pursue a Ukraine peace deal “above Europe’s head”, as he offered to host talks with Washington on potential territorial concessions to Russia to secure a ceasefire.

Nadia Pishko, 92, was born in Ukraine and fled her home country as child during World War II, eventually building a life in Minneapolis. Despite the current war in Ukraine, she asked to return to her home country​,

BBC Book of the Year: Essays 2025 – The Lists (Списки) by Myroslav Layuk (publisher: Ukrainer, Kyiv, 2025)