Poland is expected to access some additional European Union financing by the end of the year, as opposition

Russia’s military personnel losses in its invasion of Ukraine have crossed 300,000, showed estimates by the UK that also said thousands more have deserted the battlefield. James Heappey, minister of state for the armed forces, revealed the UK’s estimates of losses faced by Vladimir Putin since the start of the invasion in February last year. “We estimate that approximately 302,000 Russian military personnel have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands more have already deserted since the start of the conflict,” he said on Tuesday in response to queries from John Healey, the shadow secretary of state for defence. The UK’s estimate of casualties is similar to the assessment made by Kyiv, that said Russia had lost a total 313,470 military personnel in combat as of Tuesday. It comes as two Russian state media agencies withdrew reports of military operations. The agencies – TASS and RIA Novosti – said that the Russian Ministry of Defence had announced relocations of troops to an unspecified “more advantageous positions” east of the Dnipro river. The potentially significant bulletins were available for about 10 minutes, after which two state news outlets withdrew them without any follow-up. Read More Why Russia retracted state media reports on its Ukraine frontline movements Giuliani ally in Ukraine charged with treason Russian convicted of Kremlin critic’s murder pardoned after fighting in Ukraine A man convicted in the 2006 killing of a Russian journalist wins a pardon after serving in Ukraine

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The captain of Israel's soccer team on Tuesday displayed the shoe of a young boy he said was kidnapped by Hamas militants during their deadly Oct. 7 raid, an act of solidarity with Israelis held captive in Gaza ahead of the team's game in Hungary. Team captain Eli Dasa was addressing a news conference in Felcsut, the small Hungarian village where Israel's team is set to face Switzerland on Wednesday in a Euro 2024 qualifying match, when he raised the small athletic shoe and displayed it to reporters. “It is hard to speak at the moment, but I don’t think that any of you can guess what is the story behind this shoe," Dasa said. “This kid is in Gaza Strip at the moment with seven, seven people from his family.” “That’s all what’s left from his house. This left shoe. We wait for him here,” he continued, before standing up and leaving the news conference. The shoe was taken from Be’eri kibbutz, the small community in Israel from which 8-year-old Nave Shoham was kidnapped along with seven of his relatives on Oct. 7, according to the Israeli team's press officer, Eitan Dotan. Three members of the boy's family were killed during the raids, Dotan said. The news conference took place as Israel's team held training sessions on Tuesday in Pancho Arena, the 3,500-seat stadium where they will face Switzerland on Wednesday and Romania on Saturday. In the stadium, a banner lining the field read in both Hebrew and English: “Bring them home!” The team is chasing a qualifying place in the Euro 2024 continental championship, which would be its first since joining the European soccer confederation UEFA in 1994. The match against Switzerland had been set for Oct. 12 in Tel Aviv, but UEFA suspended all games in Israel due to security concerns. The match against Romania had been set for Tel Aviv on Nov. 18. On Tuesday, the Israeli team's head coach, Alon Hazan, said he expects a tough and emotional game against Switzerland, saying that “we represent our country, not only the national team." Hazan commented on statements from Hungarian Jewish organizations that they would attend the matches in Felcsut, saying, “In this part of our life, wherever we play, even if one Jew sits on the stand to support us, we feel at home." Israel’s chances of reaching the European Championship finals suffered a blow on Sunday after their 1-0 loss to Kosovo in their delayed qualifying game. Israel are third in Group I of Euro 2024 qualifying, five points behind group leaders Romania - who have played one more game - and four points behind second-placed Switzerland. The top two teams of the group qualify directly for the 2024 European Championship in Germany.

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Ukrainian forces say they repelled a total of eight attacks on the strategic city of Avdiivka in the past 24 hours - as Putin makes an embarrassing third attempt to capture the area. It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before. Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration said Mr Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka. “Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk... from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. Some of the remaining civilians in Avdiivka include doctors and nurses. The town still has a shop and functioning hospital operating under every day shelling. War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky, in a speech on Monday, said fighting along the frontline has been “challenging”. He named Avdiivka, Maryinka, Bakhmut front, Lyman front, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as the areas where fighting has been the fiercest. Read More Russian UN envoys shoot back at Western criticism of its Ukraine war and crackdown on dissidents Zelensky tells Ukrainians to brace for ‘enemy’ Putin’s winter attacks From Gaza to Ukraine, China to the EU: The major issues piling high in David Cameron’s in tray

War-time president Volodymyr Zelensky has revealed the areas where Ukraine’s forces are facing a “challenging” time repelling Russian troops as air bombardments intensified over a strategic city in the east. Ukrainian forces repelled a total of eight attacks on the battered, strategic city of Avdiivka by Vladimir Putin’s troops in the past 24 hours, said Ukraine’s military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun. It was earlier reported that Mr Putin was going to make a third attempt at capturing the city known for its large coking plant after failing twice before. “Fighting is still going on. Over the last two days, the occupiers have increased the number of air strikes using guided bombs from Su-35 aircraft,” said Mr Shtupun. “The enemy is also bringing in more and more infantry. But when they tried to deploy armoured vehicles the day before yesterday two tanks and 14 other vehicles were burned out,” he said. Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, also revealed Russia’s losses in its current drive for Avdiivka. A minimum 3,000-4,000 Russian troops were killed and a further 7,000-8,000 were wounded, he told state news agency Ukrinform. Russia has not commented on the claims of the casualties made by Kyiv. “Quite simply, Avdiivka and its strategic position is geographically located on heights and you can see Donetsk... from here,” he said, referring to the Ukrainian area occupied by Russia. He said Mr Putin’s troops “need” Avdiivka. “Not a single building” was intact in the city that now has just over 1,500 people remaining from its pre-war population of 32,000, Mr Barabash said. Some of the remaining civilians in Avdiivka include doctors and nurses. The town still has a shop and functioning hospital operating under every day shelling. In an evening update on the frontline on Monday, the Ukrainian General Staff of the Armed Forces said its troops repelled 15 Russian attacks near the long-contested town of Maryinka, east of Avdiivka. Kyiv said its troops also repelled another 11 strikes near Bakhmut to the northeast and six near Kupiansk in the northeast. Mr Zelensky, in a speech on Monday, said fighting along the frontline has been “challenging”. He named Avdiivka, Maryinka, Bakhmut front, Lyman front, Kupyansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson as the areas where fighting has been the fiercest. He said he was grateful “for the fact that Ukraine knows and will know the enemy’s plans and how to respond to them – properly and powerfully”. “Both on the ground and in the Black Sea,” he said, referring to the area where Russia has concentrated its naval fleet. This was further corroborated by Ukrainian commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhnyi, who said Avdiivka, Kupiansk, and Maryinka fronts remain the “most intense”. “The situation is complicated, but remains under control,” he said. The top commander spoke with his American counterpart, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, on Monday. He discussed Ukraine’s plans for the winter and urgent needs of the Ukrainian troops, such as ammunition, air defence and drones. In an interview earlier this month, Mr Zaluzhnyi said the war was entering a phase of attrition, leading to Mr Zelensky dismissing any notion that the conflict was headed towards a stalemate. Russian accounts said Moscow’s forces had repulsed five Ukrainian attempts to advance on villages outside Bakhmut that was captured by Moscow’s troops in May after months of fighting. Read More South Korea and members of the US-led UN command warn North Korea over its nuclear threat Russia-Ukraine war: Mystery as Putin’s state media removes update on forces - live South Korea's Yoon will warn APEC leaders about the risks of a Russia-North Korea arms deal Russian UN envoys shoot back at Western criticism of its Ukraine war and crackdown on dissidents From Gaza to Ukraine, China to the EU: The major issues facing Cameron in new role What has David Cameron been doing since resigning from government?