Reform UK leader ‘shocked’ by £10bn pledged to Ukraine and doubles down on cutting tax for crypto investors

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Nigel Farage skipped the chancellor’s first budget because he was worried he would get in a “physical altercation” with another MP in a row over seating arrangements.

The Reform UK leader was not present in the House of Commons but gave a press conference afterwards in which he said he was “shocked” by the £10bn going to support Ukraine and doubled down on his party’s policies on cutting tax for crypto investors.

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© Photograph: Zeynep Demir Aslim/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Zeynep Demir Aslim/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

© Photograph: Zeynep Demir Aslim/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

Russia plans to build own version of US billionaire’s satellite communications to help attack Ukraine

Vladimir Putin praised Elon Musk’s genius and said he was in touch with Starlink’s controlling shareholder as Russia develops its own satellite communications for its military to use against Ukraine.

The Russian president, speaking at a summit with African leaders in Moscow, was comparing the Earth-orbiting network built by Musk’s SpaceX with Russia’s gradual efforts to build its own Rassvet constellation.

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© Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/Reuters

© Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/Reuters

© Photograph: Maxim Shipenkov/Reuters

Frontline near Russian-occupied city in southern Ukraine quiet for first time in years ahead of planned evacuation

A local ceasefire in a southern Ukrainian city under Russian occupation appeared to be holding on Tuesday, with both sides ceasing drone attacks ahead of an apparent evacuation of about 2,000 trapped and desperate civilians.

The temporary truce began at 3am in Russian-controlled Oleshky. The city sits on the Dnipro River and is about 3 miles (5km) from Kherson, a larger city on the opposite bank. Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson in autumn 2022.

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© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

© Photograph: Evgeniy Maloletka/AP

The assaults on infrastructure, which cut off heat and power on bitterly cold winter days, amounted to a crime against humanity, investigators said.

© Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

Much has been said about how Ukraine should treat Russian prisoners of war. Less attention has been paid to the emotional struggle for the Ukrainians tasked with that work.

© Oksana Parafeniuk for The New York Times

Serhii Beskrestnov, a defense technology adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said long-standing restrictions on the civilian system in Ukraine made such offensive use impossible.

The comments came after the disruption in the country’s satellite service. Earlier, Ukraine said drones using Starshield, the Pentagon-funded service, were back to normal speeds.

© Lynsey Addario for The New York Times

The United States once declared that Ukraine’s fight was the front line in a global battle for freedom. Now the Trump administration is sending money to Moscow.

© David Guttenfelder/The New York Times

Elon Musk reportedly ordered SpaceX to throttle Ukraine's Starlink access.

Questions have persisted since last week about who ordered the interruptions to the Musk-made satellite internet system that Kyiv has relied on for years to counter Moscow's attacks.

Interviews and documents show a Russian energy giant secretly funded a U.S. firm. The deal has been discussed in talks to end the war in Ukraine.

© Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Friday that service remained slow from Starshield, SpaceX's military-grade version of the Starlink satellite internet service.

The charges intensified the administration’s efforts to go after the law enforcement and intelligence personnel who cast doubt on unsubstantiated claims that Joseph R. Biden Jr. engaged in corrupt dealings in Ukraine.

© Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Senators have warned the White House they will withhold confirmation votes until the administration ensures the restoration of communications capabilities used by Ukraine’s military.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

Supplies are being flown over occupied Oleshky – a lifeline for trapped civilians surviving on grass and weeds