A Russian missile hit a civilian ship in a Black Sea port, killing at least one person and injuring four others, according to Ukraine’s officials. A Ukrainian pilot on board was killed in the attack on the vessel in Odesa’s Pivdennyi port, said Yoruk Isik, head of the Bosphorus Observer consultancy. “A few” other crew members were either dead or injured, Mr Isik told Reuters. Of those injured, three were crew members from the Philippines. The other injured individual was identified as a port employee. The ship was loading iron ore in the port when it was hit, said Mr Isik. He identified the vessel as a Kmax Ruler 92,000 dwt – a Liberia-flagged bulk carrier. Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said the vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China. “The missile hit the superstructure of a civilian vessel under the flag of Liberia, at the moment of its entry into the port,” Ukraine’s southern military command said on Telegram. Russia has repeatedly targeted Ukrainian port infrastructure after pulling out of a UN-brokered deal promising safe transit of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea. Russia has carried out at least 21 such attacks on port infrastructure after pulling out from the deal in July this year. “During this time, the terrorist country damaged more than 160 infrastructure facilities and 122 vehicles,” said the minister Mr Kubrakov. Russia’s exit from the deal brokered by the UN and Turkey has brought an end to the safe export of Ukrainian grain. Moscow exited the deal because it said its demands for economic sanctions to be lifted from its grain and fertiliser exports have not been met. Ukraine is now operating a temporary humanitarian corridor to export grain as it looks to break Russia’s de facto blockade without compromising on the sanctions. Last month, war-time president Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian attacks have denied Russia’s naval fleet safe bases and secure maritime corridors in the western part of the Black Sea. Kyiv’s troops have looked to squeeze the Kremlin’s occupying forces out of the Crimean Peninsula that was illegally annexed in 2014. Read More Russia-Ukraine war: Zelensky ‘sure of’ battlefield success – live Ukraine fires drones over Black Sea and Crimea as Putin’s attacks fail in Bakhmut 2 more killed as Russian artillery keeps on battering southern Ukraine's Kherson region More than 900 of Putin’s soldiers killed in past 24 hours, claim Ukraine officials Zelensky says Ukraine’s Black Sea assault ‘will go down in history’ More than 40% of Ukrainians need humanitarian help under horrendous war conditions, UN says

There’s been an unwritten rule during the past decade of climate diplomacy: Good things can happen when the

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is certain that Ukraine will have success in its war against Russia and insisted that Kyiv has a plan for the year head, as he defended the slow pace of his country’s counteroffensive. “I am sure that we’ll have success,” the Ukrainian president told Reuters, adding: “We’ll try to show the result this year. We don’t need to surprise everybody in the world, we need this for ourselves.” His comments came as a top Donbas military official said that Russia’s “third wave” advance near Avdiivka been bogged down on sodden land, with several days of rain having for the moment ruled out any new Russian advance. “We’ve had nearly a week of heavy rain,” Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne. “The terrain is too difficult and equipment cannot move.” Elsewhere, the Kremlin has again warned of the risk of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons being used amid the war, blaming a “deterioration in global security” as a “the natural consequence of the United States’ destructive policies”. Read More Anger as Ramaswamy seems to call Jewish Ukraine leader Zelensky ‘Nazi’ at GOP debate Russia seeks an 8-year prison term for an artist and musician who protested the war in Ukraine Russia reportedly is using Ukrainian POWs to fight in their homeland on Moscow's side Ukraine takes step towards EU membership as European Commission backs negotiations to begin

Businessman and presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy appeared on Wednesday to call Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, a “Nazi” during the latest GOP presidential debate. During a line of comments in which the Republican argued Ukraine is anti-democratic and undeserving of US aid, Mr Ramaswamy claimed, “It has celebrated a Nazi in its ranks – the comedian in cargo pants, a man called Zelensky – doing it in their own ranks. That is not democratic.” However, the entrepreneur may have stumbled over his words and actually been speaking about a separate person as a “Nazi.” During the debate in September, he put it slightly differently, telling the audience, “We need a reasonable peace plan to end this, this is a country whose president just last week was hailing a Nazi in his own ranks.” The attack is an apparent reference to an incident from Canada in September. After hearing a speech from Mr Zelensky, lawmakers there gave an ovation to 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka, who fought for the Waffen-SS Galicia Division, a Nazi unit in WWII. The former soldier was invited to attend the address by then-House of Commons Speaker Anthony Rota, who has since resigned. Neither the Ukrainian delegation present nor the Canadian government was informed of the invitation, House government leader later Karina Gould told NPR. “No one in this House is above any of us. Therefore I must step down as your speaker,” Mr Rota said in Parliament in late September. “I reiterate my profound regret for my error in recognising an individual in the House during the joint address to Parliament of President Zelensky. “That public recognition has caused pain to individuals and communities, including to the Jewish community in Canada and around the world in addition to Nazi survivors in Poland among other nations. I accept full responsibility for my actions,” he added. Regardless of Mr Ramaswamy’s intended meaning, the comments generated controversy immediately, with critics arguing they played into Russian propaganda points. “Repeating offensive Kremlin talking points is an odd way to try to win votes in the USA,” retired Navy admiral James Stavridis wrote on X. Russia has repeatedly, falsely attacked the Ukrainian governments and its leaders as Nazis, and refered to its invasion of the country as “denazification.” “I’m increasingly convinced that Ramaswamy is a Ukrainian secret agent performing a parody of how stupid and cruel pro-Putin MAGA propagandists sound,” Russian chess champion and human rights activist Garry Kasparov wrote on X. “People advising Vivek Ramaswamay should be ashamed,” former Trump White House official Alyssa Farah Griffin added in a post of her own. “The paycheck is not worth propping up this ridiculous & offensive person. Antisemitism is on the rising globally & he has the gall to say this about a Jewish leader who is at war for his nation’s sovereignty. Despicable.” The Independent has contacted the Ramaswamy campaign for comment. Read More Ukraine moves step closer to EU membership as European Commission backs talks Russia-Ukraine war: Zelensky ‘sure of’ battlefield success – live Hundreds gather at vigil held for Ukrainian soldiers killed in missile attack Where the GOP presidential candidates stand on the war in Ukraine Trump challenged by Zelensky to come to Ukraine after claims he could stop war Ukraine opens criminal investigation into deadly Russian missile strike

The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed an effort to disqualify Donald Trump from appearing on ballots in the state’s

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said there’s no alternative to a two-state solution to ensure peace between

German authorities classified the Alternative for Germany in the state of Saxony-Anhalt as right—wing extremist, the second regional

Israel said its troops have entered the middle of Gaza’s main city, as they continue their operation to

The US House late Tuesday night voted to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan over her condemnation of

Virginia Democrats won majorities in the state’s two legislative chambers, defeating Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin’s effort to unify

An ex-Russian officer has said Vladimir Putin’s forces are ‘deteriorating’ in Ukraine as the Crimea was hit by up to 17 drones. Igor Girkin, an imprisoned Russian nationalist, said Putin’s forces would be “even less capable of offensive operations than they are now” by spring 2024, according to the Institute for the Study of War. In a letter published by his wife, Girkin claimed that the situation for Russian forces was “gradually deteriorating” and that Russian forces were showcasing “growing weakness compared to Ukraine’s capabilities.” He added that the Avdiivka offensive, where thousands of troops are said to have died, demonstrated the Russian Army’s inability “to achieve superiority on a very narrow sector of the front”, the ISW said. It comes as Ukraine launched up to 17 drone attacks on Crimea and the Black Sea, which Russia destroyed and intercepeted, according to the Russian defence ministry. Nine drones were destroyed by air defence systems and eight were intercepted by electronic warfare, it added. Explosions were heard near the towns of Novofedorivka and Saky, a Russian air base on the peninsula, just after 4am, according to local reports. Read More Activist hands ICC evidence he says implicates Belarus president in transfer of Ukrainian children Mapped: Has Ukraine made advances against Russia? Ukraine fires drones over Black Sea and Crimea as Putin’s attacks fail in Bakhmut

Irish chef Alan Fisher cooked for more than five days to clinch the cooking marathon world record from Hilda Baci.