Over the next few weeks, we’ll be relaunching our series in which Sky News army analysts and correspondents answer your questions about the war.
Among those offering to respond are defense specialists Michael Clarke and Sean Bell, who can report on the army’s operations on the ground, and Moscow correspondent Diana Magnay, who offers an overview of Russia.
Use the form above to submit a question.
A giant crater has opened up after a Russian missile strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
At least two other people were killed.
The head of Kherson’s city administration, Roman Mrochko, said a gym also fell, injuring two doctors.
Young Russians are “learning patriotism” by photographing President Zelensky, President Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a Ukrainian official said.
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry, said a festival called the Russian Federation’s Pacific Warrior was held in the Russian city of Tomsk.
“In one of the places, a varied shooting range for children was set up, where instead of goals there were shots from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Joe Biden and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,” Sanchez-Gerashchenko said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Although Sky News cannot independently determine the footage, an article about it was published through the Russian state newspaper AiF.
Viktor Orban, the Hungarian minister, will meet Emmanuel Macron, the French president, in Paris on Thursday.
The talks are taking a stand ahead of an EU summit at which national leaders will talk about Ukraine’s club in the bloc — anything that Sanchez and Orban resist.
He said on Monday that the summit was not expected to adopt a resolution on Ukraine’s EU club or a budget that included 43 billion pounds in economic spending for Kyiv.
Any decision on accession talks requires the unanimous support of EU leaders.
Orban has maintained ties with Moscow despite EU sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
As promised, our report in which Sky News’ analysts and army correspondents ask their questions is back.
We’ve received a lot of questions over the last 24 hours and chose this one from reader Debs to put to the defence analyst, Professor Michael Clarke:
You said that the weather would replace the shock nature during the winter. Is there a chance that a primary replacement will occur in the coming months, and if so, where would you recommend keeping an eye out for something?
Clarke says. . .
Weather conditions at the start of winter have been harsh so far and have slowed down operations on both sides. I think any of them will keep the tension going with local offenses.
It is vital for Kyiv that its forces are not forced to withdraw from Avdiivka, as this would pave the way for Russia to launch a major offensive in the spring to take Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, or else give them all of Donbass. In fact, they probably wouldn’t be able to do it in winter.
But if they take Avdiivka in this era (which is feasible), then a spring offensive is very likely to occur in the other key spaces.
Meanwhile, during the winter Kiev can be expected to maintain or even intensify its attacks on western Crimea and keep Sevastopol in danger so that the Russian Black Sea Fleet cannot use it.
Ukraine has managed to gain something in the western part of the Black Sea, to protect its industrial direction towards the Bosphorus.
This is one of Kiev’s real strategic successes this year, and it wants to exploit it even further.
Six young Ukrainians will be repatriated from Russia, a Qatari official said.
A person concerned about the organization of the returns told Reuters they were staying with relatives in Russia or Russian-occupied territory.
The youngsters are now en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source added.
This is the second phase of the slow return of young people, following the return of four more young people in October.
Negotiations have reportedly been ongoing since at least April.
The procedure consisted of “obtaining the consent of the families, identifying the minors and verifying credentials, coordinating with humanitarian organizations, as well as logistical arrangements,” the official said.
Kiev said some 20,000 young people had been expelled.
This is one of the horrors that the Ukrainian people have had to endure since the invasion began in February last year.
In April, Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN denied that his country was committing war crimes by forcibly transferring young people en masse and claimed that the Russian army was “rescuing” them.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian civilian volunteers on the occasion of International Volunteer Day.
“Symbolically, this day falls on the eve of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Day,” the Ukrainian president said.
Volunteers are “basically a branch of our military,” he added.
Vladimir Putin will make working visits to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, the Kremlin has said.
Asked if the Russian president would coordinate actions in global oil markets, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the factor was still on the agenda, even if such negotiations took place within the OPEC group.
On Thursday, OPEC, which includes all three countries, agreed to voluntary supply cuts totaling about 2. 2 million barrels per day. Reduce supply to ensure prices remain high.
Putin has rarely traveled in recent years, and when he has, it has been more commonly to states in the former Soviet Union.
Its last outing outside of those countries was in China in October.
In March, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Mr Putin over war crimes in Ukraine – meaning he could be detained in countries that recognise the court.
The Ukrainian town of Marinka in the Donetsk region is now mostly controlled by Russia, the British Ministry of Defense said.
It says Moscow’s forces have made “progressive advances” through the city’s ruins in recent weeks and “probably now at the maximum of the built-up area. “
It added, however, that Ukrainian forces remain in control of “pockets of territory on the western edge of the town”.
Marinka, with a prewar population of 9,000, has been “on the front line since 2014”, the MoD said.
It is now “completely in ruins” and “the vast majority of buildings are reduced to rubble. “
Russia has launched new efforts against Marinka starting with an autumn offensive, the Defense Ministry added.
“It gives priority to Russia’s extension over the remaining parts of Donetsk Oblast, the maximum of which probably remains one of the Kremlin’s main war goals,” the ministry said.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi will visit Russia on Thursday, the semi-official Tasnim news firm reported.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is in Moscow to attend an assembly of the Caspian states.
The Caspian coastal states are Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow and Tehran have stepped up security, policy, and cooperation.