Donald Trump has said that Vladimir Putin “fears the US” but not Europe in his latest attack on Washington’s closest allies.
In comments likely to cause concern in Europe, Trump said that a mission to capture the Russian President mirroring the operation to seize Nicolas Maduro would “not be necessary”.
Trump told reporters: “Putin is not afraid of Europe. He’s afraid of the United States of America as led by me. There’s no fear of Europe.”
He also repeated claims that Europe had “fallen behind” with areas that were “not recognisable” due to immigration. Trump and his MAGA allies have frequently backed far-right parties in Europe.
Elsewhere, at least four people were killed in Kyiv as Russia fired total of 278 missiles and drones overnight, according to Ukraine’s military, which said it downed 244 of them in flight.
Just hours earlier, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky alerted the nation about Russia’s intention to launch a large-scale offensive and urged people to take shelter when asked.
Ukraine treating Oreshnik strike as a war crime, says security serviceUkraine’s domestic security service said on Friday it was treating Russia’s overnght strike with an Oreshnik missile on the western Lviv region as a war crime.
In a statement, the SBU said Russia had attempted to destroy critical infrastructure near Ukraine’s border with the European Union amid a sharp deterioration in the weather conditions.
Alex Croft10 January 2026 03:00
Meloni says it is ‘premature’ to consider allowing Russia into G8Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni said on Friday it was “absolutely premature” to talk about the possibility of Russia being allowed back into the G8 group of leading nations.
Ms Meloni added, however, that she agreed with French President Emmanuel Macron on the need for Europe to reopen a dialogue with Russia.
Alex Croft10 January 2026 02:02
Alex Croft10 January 2026 01:00
Kyiv mayor calls on residents to leave as homes left without powerKyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko has advised residents to “temporarily leave” the city while they do not have heating and electricity, with temperatures set to drop well below zero.
Half of Kyiv’s apartment buildings, around 6,000, do not have heating following a large-scale Russian attack on energy infrastructure. There are also disruptions to the water supply.
“City services are operating under emergency conditions. And unfortunately weather conditions are forecast to be difficult in the coming days,” Mr Klitschko said.
“I also appeal to residents of the capital who have the opportunity to temporarily leave the city and go where there are alternative sources of power and heat, to do so.”
He said last nights attack was the most painful one Kyiv has see on its critical infrastructure facilities.
A woman walks inside a damaged residential complex following a Russian attack in Kyiv (AFP/Getty)Alex Croft10 January 2026 00:00
Germany condemns Russian use of OreshnikGermany has condemned Russia’s firing of a powerful hypersonic missile at Ukraine and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Kyiv, a government spokesperson said.
“Russia is continuing to escalate the situation without provocation,” said the spokesperson, adding that Russia’s justification for using the missile has already been refuted.
Moscow said it had fired the Oreshnik missile in response to what it has described as an attempted drone attack on one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences last month, which Ukraine has denied and the United States has said did not happen.
Meanwhile, German foreign minister Johann Wadephul will travel to the United States next week for talks with his US counterpart, Marco Rubio, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Friday.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 23:03
Russia claims control over village in Zaporizhzhia regionRussian troops have taken control of the village of Zelenyi in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, Moscow’s Defence Ministry said on Friday.
The ministry also said that between January 3 and 9, it had carried out four massive group strikes on Ukraine’s military and energy facilities, drone launch sites and ammunition depots.
The Independent could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 22:01
Trump says Putin ‘fears the US but not Europe’Donald Trump has said that Vladimir Putin “fears the US” but not Europe in his latest attack on Washington’s closest allies.
In comments likely to cause concern in Europe, Trump said that a mission to capture the Russian President mirroring the operation to seize Nicolas Maduro would “not be necessary”.
Trump told reporters: “Putin is not afraid of Europe. He’s afraid of the United States of America as led by me. There’s no fear of Europe.”
Daniel Keane9 January 2026 21:32
Europe must take immediate action, says Ukrainian foreign ministerWe can bring you more from Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, who earlier warned Russia’s use of an Oreshnik missile marked a “grave threat” to Europeean security.
He has also called on international partners to take immediate action increasing pressure on Moscow following the latest attack.
“New rounds of tough sanctions to deprive Russia of resources for terror and war,” Mr Sybiha wrote in a post on X. “New packages of defence assistance for Ukraine to better protect our people and push back the invaders. New steps to ensure accountability for Russian crimes.”
He also called for “strong” public condemndation of the attack, “especially from those who recently responded with concerns to the fake ‘Putin residence attack’.”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Czech Republic’s Foreign Minister Petr Macinka visit the site of a Russian drone strike (Reuters)Alex Croft9 January 2026 21:02
What is the Oreshnik missile?The Oreshnik, whose name means Hazel Tree, is an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile that Russia has fired only once before against Ukraine, in November 2024.
On that occasion it was equipped only with dummy warheads and therefore caused limited damage, Ukrainian sources said, in what was effectively a test.
If the overnight attack carried explosive warheads, it would mark the first time that Russia has used the Oreshnik with full destructive intent. The strike targeted what Russia called critical infrastructure in Ukraine, though the extent of the damage was not immediately clear.
Experts say the novel feature of the Oreshnik is that it can carry multiple warheads capable of simultaneously striking different targets – usually associated with longer-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
The missile is based on the RS-26 Rubezh, which Russia had originally developed as an intercontinental missile.
Like many Russian weapons systems, it is capable of carrying nuclear as well as conventional warheads, but there was no suggestion of any nuclear component to the overnight attack.
Alex Croft9 January 2026 20:00
Watch: Kyiv and Lviv struck by drones and missiles after Zelensky warns of ‘massive’ attackKyiv and Lviv struck by drones and missiles after Zelensky warns of ‘massive’ attackAlex Croft9 January 2026 19:01
