Russia-Ukraine war live: French foreign minister says there should be ‘no red lines’ in supporting Ukraine

No ‘red lines’ when it comes to support for Ukraine, France's foreign minister says

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”.

Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.

“The principle has been set … our messages to President Zelenskyy have been well received,” he said. France has supplied Ukraine with the Scalp missile, which is identical to the British-supplied Storm Shadow that Ukraine has reportedly already used inside Russia.

“We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometre, the threat gets one square kilometre closer to Europe,” he said.

When asked if “no limit” support could translate to French troops in combat, Barrot said: “We do not discard any option”.

Jean-Noël Barrot said there are no “red lines” when it comes to support for Ukraine. Photograph: Carl Court/AP

Here are some of the other latest developments in the war:

• Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed more than 10 Russia drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight drone attack, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack. “The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”

• Ukraine’s air defences downed 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning. In a post on Telegram, the air force said it lost track of 19 drones and four more are still in the air. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said.

• Russian media is reporting that colonel general Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the southern grouping, had been removed from his command, for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war. There has been no official confirmation from the Russian ministry of defence.

• The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the latest developments in the war with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday during his visit to Ankara, a Turkish official. They are expected to discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism.

• Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters. The source, who is on Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared two and a half years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks,” the source said.

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Russia prepared to launch cyber-attacks on UK, minister to warn

Russia is prepared to launch a series of cyber-attacks on Britain and other Nato members as it seeks to weaken support for Ukraine, a senior UK cabinet minister will warn in a speech on Monday.

Moscow will “not think twice” about exploiting defence gaps to target UK businesses, and allies must “not underestimate” the threat it poses, Pat McFadden, a senior UK minister whose portfolio includes national security, will say.

In a speech to the Nato cyber defence conference at Lancaster House, the minister is expected to say:

Military hard-power is one thing. But cyberwar can be destabilising and debilitating. With a cyber-attack, Russia can turn the lights off for millions of people. It can shut down the power grids. This is the hidden war Russia is waging with Ukraine …

Given the scale of that hostility, my message to members today is clear: no one should underestimate the Russian cyber threat to Nato. The threat is real. Russia is exceptionally aggressive and reckless in the cyber realm.

McFadden is expected to specifically call out Unit 29155, a Russian military unit that the government says was previously found to have carried out a number of attacks in the UK and Europe.

There are gangs of “unofficial hacktivists” and mercenaries not directly under the Kremlin’s control “but who are allowed to act with impunity so long as they’re not working against Putin’s interests”, he will say.

The accusations come as tensions between Russia and the west have escalated dramatically, with Vladimir Putin warning that the war in Ukraine had the characteristics of a “global” conflict.

The growing frictions have sparked fresh unease in London and other western capitals that Putin may step up cyber-attacks and other non-military measures.

No ‘red lines’ when it comes to support for Ukraine, France's foreign minister says

Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

The French foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, has told the BBC in an interview that western allies should not put any limits on support for Ukraine against Russia, and “not set and express red lines”.

Barrot’s comments are significant, coming a few days after US and UK long-range missiles were used in that way for the first time. Barrot said that Ukraine could fire French long-range missiles into Russia “in the logics of self-defence”, but would not confirm if French weapons had already been used.

“The principle has been set … our messages to President Zelenskyy have been well received,” he said. France has supplied Ukraine with the Scalp missile, which is identical to the British-supplied Storm Shadow that Ukraine has reportedly already used inside Russia.

“We will support Ukraine as intensely and as long as necessary. Why? Because it is our security that is at stake. Each time the Russian army progresses by one square kilometre, the threat gets one square kilometre closer to Europe,” he said.

When asked if “no limit” support could translate to French troops in combat, Barrot said: “We do not discard any option”.

Jean-Noël Barrot said there are no “red lines” when it comes to support for Ukraine. Photograph: Carl Court/AP

Here are some of the other latest developments in the war:

• Ukraine’s air defence units destroyed more than 10 Russia drones that were targeting Kyiv in an overnight drone attack, Ukraine’s military said on Sunday. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as a result of the attack. “The UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration, said. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”

• Ukraine’s air defences downed 50 of 73 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning. In a post on Telegram, the air force said it lost track of 19 drones and four more are still in the air. Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said.

• Russian media is reporting that colonel general Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the southern grouping, had been removed from his command, for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war. There has been no official confirmation from the Russian ministry of defence.

• The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will discuss the latest developments in the war with the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, on Monday during his visit to Ankara, a Turkish official. They are expected to discuss the removal of defence procurement obstacles between Nato allies and the military alliance’s joint fight against terrorism.

• Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that it rapidly seized in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters. The source, who is on Ukraine’s general staff, said Russia had deployed about 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv’s forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared two and a half years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. “At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometres (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks,” the source said.

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