Russia ready to ‘fight to the last Ukrainian,’ Putin says amid US peace drive
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(LONDON and KYIV, Ukraine)– Russian President Vladimir Putin said a U.S. delegation is expected to arrive in Moscow in the first half of next week to discuss the latest American proposal to end the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference during a visit to Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, on Thursday, Putin said no draft peace agreement had been agreed to in recent talks between the U.S. and Ukraine, only a list of issues to be discussed.
Putin also said it was “pointless” to sign any documents with Ukraine’s current leadership, alleging that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lacked legitimacy to do so.
In a series of hardline statements — his most extensive comments on the latest U.S.-proposed peace plan to date — Putin repeated some of Russia’s most hardline demands, including that Ukrainian troops must withdraw from territory Moscow claims. Putin ruled out signing any ceasefire deal before Ukrainian troops withdraw.
“If Ukraine’s troops leave the territory occupied, then military action will stop. If they won’t leave then we will achieve that by armed force,” Putin said.
He also said recognition of Russia’s occupation of Crimea, Donbas and a swath of eastern and southern Ukraine must be part of negotiations with the U.S.
Putin projected confidence about Russia’s battlefield position, claiming there was a “positive dynamic” everywhere on the front. The president said Russia was “ready in principle” to “fight to the last Ukrainian.”
Ahead of Witkoff’s expected trip to Moscow next week, Putin said the latest American peace proposals “can be the basis for future agreements.”
“Overall, we see that the American side is taking into account our position, which was discussed before Anchorage and after Alaska,” he added, referring to his August summit with Trump. “In some areas, we definitely need to sit down and seriously discuss specific issues,” Putin said.
Putin also answered questions about a leaked recording of a purported phone call between President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and top Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, in which Witkoff appeared to be offering Ushakov advice on how Moscow could present its own peace plans to Trump.
“This may be some kind of fake news,” Putin said. “Maybe they really did eavesdrop. Actually, this is a criminal offense; eavesdropping is illegal in our country. It’s not about us. It’s about the battle of opinions between the collective West and the U.S. over what needs to be done to end the hostilities.”
(LONDON) — At least nine of the 15 people who were killed in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, have been identified.
They include a young soccer player originally from France, a rugby team manager, a great-grandfather known for his “love of life” who died while shielding others and a Holocaust survivor.
Two gunmen — believed to be a father and son — opened fire on Sunday at an event marking the first night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, according to authorities.
Here’s what we know about the victims:
Dan Elkayam, 27
Dan Elkayam, 27, a French citizen, was among those killed in the Bondi Beach shooting.
French President Emmanuel Macron posted on X, writing, “I learn with deep sadness of the death our compatriot, Dan Elkayam, during the antisemitic terrorist attack in Sydney,” according to an English translation. “I am thinking of his family and loved ones and express to them the full solidarity of the Nation.”
Elkayam was a player with the Rockdale Ilinden Football Club, a semi-professional football club in the Sydney suburb of Rockdale. Dennis Loether, president of the club, released a statement in response to Elkayam’s passing.
“To say we are shocked would be an understatement. We are [devastated] to learn that our PL1 Association Player — Dan Elkayam — was tragically and senselessly killed in the Bondi Beach massacre,” the statement read.
The statement described Elkayam as an “extremely talented midfield player,” who lived with his girlfriend in in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney.
“Those who were closest to him described him as a down to earth, happy go lucky individual who was warmly embraced by those he me,” the statement continued. “His smiling face and respectful nature will be sorely missed by his [teammates] and everyone that knew him. We pray for him and for his family.”
Alexander Kleytman, 87
Alexander Kleytman, an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor, was among those killed during the Bondi Beach attack, his wife, Larisa Kleytman, told reporters outside St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney.
“I think he was shot because he raised himself up to protect me,” Larisa Kleytman told the newspaper The Australian.
Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff
Rabbi Leibel Laaroff’s death was confirmed on X by his father, Yoosi Lazaroff.
“Please say Psalms 20 & 21 for my son, Rabbi Leibel Lazaroff … who was shot in a terrorist attack at a Chanukah event he was running for Chabad of Bondi in Sydney, Australia,” the post read. “The Chabad Rabbi he was working with Rabbi Eli Schlangerwas killed. Praying for all the victims and their families.”
Yaakov Levitan
Yaakov Levitan, secretary of the Jewish institution, the Sydney Beth Din, was killed in the attack. His death was confirmed to Guardian Australia by Sydney Beth Din senior member, Rabbi Yehoram Ulman.
”Yaakov Levitan was a profoundly beloved and active member of the Sydney Jewish community,” according to a post on the crowdfunding site Charidy being overseen by the non-profit organization Jewish House.
“He served as general manager of Chabad of Bondi, a dedicated secretary at the Sydney Beth Din, and was a key figure in educational initiatives at the BINA Centre in Sydney. He was a man of quiet devotion, known for his kindness and tireless work in assisting others, including his commitment to distributing tefillin as a sacred act of service,” the post read.
Peter Meagher
Peter Meagher, also known as “Marzo,” was a longtime volunteer at Randwick Rugby Club, which confirmed his death in a statement on Monday.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that Randwick DRUFC can confirm the tragic passing of our much loved First Grade Manager and loyal club volunteer Peter Meagher yesterday,” the statement from general manager, Mark Harrison, said.
“Peter was working as a freelance photographer at the ill-fated Hanukkah event and for him it was simply a catastrophic case of being in the wrong place and at the wrong time,” the statement read.
The statement said Meagher served for almost four decades a police officer in the New South Wales police force and retired as a detective sergeant.
“Our deepest condolences go to his wife Virginia, his brothers Greg, David, Andrew and Paul, their extended families and mountain of friends across Randwick Rugby, NSW Police, Sydney Rugby Referees and our local community,” the statement continued.
Reuven Morrison, 67
Reuven Morrison’s death was confirmed in a post on X by Chabad.org, the flagship website of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement.
Morrison, 67, emigrated from the former Soviet Union to Australia in the 1970s, according to the post.
Chabad.org reported he divided his time between Sydney and Melbourne and was a “successful businessman whose main goal was to give away his earnings to charities dear to his heart.”
Morrison leaves behind a wife and a daughter, Shaina, according to the post.
Marika Pogany
Marika Pogany’s death was confirmed in a post on X from Peter Pellegrini, president of the Slovak Republic.
“Already yesterday, I unequivocally condemned the brutal, deadly attack on innocent people during the Hanukkah celebrations at Australia’s Bondi Beach and expressed my deep solidarity with a nation plunged into grief and shock,” the statement read. “Today, that grief has reached Slovakia as well — among the victims of this senseless, violent rampage was a Slovak woman, Marika.”
“I extend my heartfelt and sincere condolences to Marika’s family and loved ones.”
Rabbi Eli Schlanger
Rabbi Eli Schlanger’s death was confirmed by his cousin, Zalman N Shterna Lewis, in a post on Instagram.
Schlanger was a 41-year-old father-of-five, according to the Instagram post.
“My dear cousin, Rabbi Eli Schlanger was murdered in today’s terrorist attack in Sydney. He leaves behind his wife & young children, as well as my uncle & aunt & siblings,” Lewis wrote on Sunday. “With confidence knowing that ‘joy breaks all boundaries,’ the positive light of Chanukah will triumph against the darkness for once and for all. I knew Eli well enough to know he’d concur.”
Tibor Weitzen, 78
Tibor Weitzen, a 78-year-old great-grandfather, was one of those killed in the attack, his granddaughter, Leor Amzalak, confirmed to Guardian Australia.
His grandson, Mendy Amzalak, told the Australian that Weitzen was a “man full of life, joy, smiles and laughter”, who died shielding others from the bullets.
COLlive.com, an Orthodox Jewish news outlet reporting on Chabad-Lubavitch communities around the world, wrote in a post on Instagram that Weitzen was known “for his warmth, kindness, and love of life. Tibor brought joy to everyone he met, especially the children at Shul, where he was famous for greeting them with lollipops and a smile.”
NATO headquarters in Haren, Brussels, Belgium. (Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — The escalating showdown between the U.S. and its NATO allies over the fate of Greenland looks set to be a dominant topic of conversation as leaders gather at this week’s World Economic Forum event in Davos, with U.S. President Donald Trump again declaring on Monday that American ownership of the Arctic island is “imperative.”
Trump said in a post to social media that, following a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, “I agreed to a meeting of the various parties in Davos, Switzerland. As I expressed to everyone, very plainly, Greenland is imperative for National and World Security. There can be no going back — On that, everyone agrees!”
Greenland is a self-governing territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. Trump first raised the prospect of acquiring the minerals-rich island in his first term. Danish and Greenlandic politicians have repeatedly rebuffed such proposals.
European leaders, meanwhile, continued to push back on Trump’s ambitions and publicize their coordination efforts on the issue.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a post to X that she met with a bipartisan congressional delegation to discuss both Russia’s war in Ukraine and recent tensions around Greenland.
Von der Leyen said she “addressed the need to unequivocally respect the sovereignty of Greenland and of the Kingdom of Denmark. This is of utmost importance to our transatlantic relationship.”
The European Union, she said, “remains ready to continue working closely with the United States, NATO, and other allies, in close cooperation with Denmark, to advance our shared security interests.”
“We also discussed transatlantic trade and investment. They are a major asset for both the EU and US economies. Tariffs run counter to these shared interests,” von der Leyen wrote.
Danish and Greenlandic ministers traveled on Monday to Brussels to meet with NATO chief Rutte.
Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said afterward that the Greenland issue poses challenges “fundamentally to Europe and, for that matter, also the future of NATO.” Poulsen said Rutte is “very aware of the difficult situation.”
Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said the meeting “achieved some important things with regard to security in the Arctic.” She added, “It is important to know how to work with security in the Arctic. That is why we are now carrying out various exercises.”
Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, meanwhile, was in the U.K. on Monday to meet with his counterpart in London. “In turbulent times, close allies are crucial — Denmark and the UK stand close together,” Rasmussen wrote on X. “We agree on the need for stronger NATO engagement in the Arctic and closer security cooperation.”
Trump has suggested that U.S. sovereignty over Greenland is necessary to ensure American security and blunt Chinese and Russian influence in the Arctic region. A 1951 defense agreement already grants the U.S. military access to Greenland, but Trump has suggested the deal is inadequate.
Denmark and its European allies have sought to ease concerns about the supposed vulnerability of the Arctic through more military spending and by sending small contingents of troops to Greenland last week.
But Trump interpreted the deployments as a provocation, and announced new 10% tariffs on all goods from the eight nations — Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the U.K., the Netherlands and Finland — that sent troops.
European leaders hit back at Trump’s decision and said the move threatened a new transatlantic trade war.
Flowers are laid after a fire broke out overnight at Le Constellation bar on January 01, 2026 in Crans-Montana, Switzerland. (Photo by Harold Cunningham/Getty Images)
(CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland) — Investigators probing the deadly New Year’s Day fire at a Swiss resort bar are looking into the possibility that it started from sparklers that were too close to the ceiling.
Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Attorney General, told reporters Friday that investigators were still conducting interviews and going through evidence from the wreckage at the Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana but she said that they are “pursuing several hypotheses,” based on the evidence they’ve gathered so far.
“We currently assume that the fire was caused by sparklers attached to champagne bottles that came too close to the ceiling,” she said at a news conference.
“Initial evidence has been secured at the scene,” Pilloud added.
Forty people were killed and 119 people were injured in the blaze, according to authorities who said the fire spread very rapidly.
Investigators are working to identify the deceased victims.
“No mistakes can be permitted. We need to give the correct remains back to the families,” Pierre-Antoine Lengen, the head of the Swiss Judicial Police, told reporters.
Of the injured, 71 were Swiss citizens, 14 were French, 11 were Italian, and others were from Bosnia, Serbia, Portugal and Belgium, according to officials.
The nationalities of the 14 other injured victims were not immediately determined.
Pilloud said that more interviews will be conducted and noted that investigators spoke with the two French managers of the bar.
“For now, there is no penal liability which has been identified,” she said when a reporter asked about any liability.
Investigators are also looking into the building’s safety measures and building regulations, according to Pilloud.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
