Russia holds nuclear drills, Ukraine seeks Swedish jets

Russia said on Wednesday it had conducted a major training exercise involving nuclear arms, a day after the US announced a delay in plans for a second summit between presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin on the war in Ukraine.

The Kremlin released video showing General Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff, reporting to Putin on the drills.

Russia said it fired missiles from ground launchers, submarines and aircraft, including intercontinental ballistic weapons capable of striking the United States.

In a further show of strength, Russia’s Defence Ministry said its long-range Tu-22M3 strategic bombers flew over the Baltic Sea, escorted at various points by fighter jets from foreign - presumably Nato - states.

On Wednesday, Sweden said it had signed a letter of intent to export Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, as European governments act to boost Kyiv’s defences in a war that has ground on for three years and eight months since Russia’s full-scale invasion, and shows no sign of ending soon.

Ukrainian pilots have been in Sweden to test the Gripen, a rugged and relatively low-cost option compared to aircraft such as the US F-35.

Kyiv aimed to receive and start using Gripens next year and expected to acquire at least 100, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a visit to Swedish defence manufacturer Saab.

Russia and Ukraine pounded each other with heavy overnight missile attacks as renewed uncertainty enveloped the US-led peace effort.

After months of stalled diplomacy, Putin and Trump spoke last week and unexpectedly announced they would hold a summit in Hungary that the Kremlin said could take place within a couple of weeks.

But following a phone call on Monday between the two countries’ top diplomats, the White House said the next day that Trump had no plans to meet Putin “in the immediate future.”

Trump said he did not want to have a wasted meeting - something the Kremlin said Putin also wanted to avoid.

Russian officials said, however, that preparations continued for a summit.

“The dates haven’t been set yet, but thorough preparation is needed before then, and that takes time,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

A US official said the summit had not been cancelled, but the US was focusing for now on Trump’s upcoming visit to Asia.

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte said ahead of a meeting with Trump later on Wednesday he was “fairly confident” there could eventually be an agreement to end the war.

Speaking to reporters at the US Senate after meeting with lawmakers, Rutte said he had “total confidence” in Trump and that the US president “has a clear vision for bringing this war to a durable and lasting end.”

Rutte declined to comment on the prospect of a Trump-Putin summit but said US allies were “working very hard” on Trump’s initiative to have them pay for weapons for Ukraine.

Rutte praised Trump for the Gaza ceasefire and said Trump wants to do the same with Ukraine.

“I cannot now predict exactly by what steps this will all happen, but obviously it will still mean a lot of discussions. It will not end tomorrow, but I am fairly confident that we can deliver.”

European defence shares rose on the delay to the Putin-Trump summit.

Most European governments strongly back Kyiv and have pledged to raise military spending to help Ukraine meet its defence needs.

European Union leaders are due on Thursday to discuss a proposal to use frozen Russian assets to extend a $163 billion loan to Ukraine.

Ukraine’s military said late on Tuesday it used Franco-British Storm Shadow air-launched missiles to strike a chemical plant in southern Russia’s Bryansk region.

Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday Russian attacks had killed six people, including two children, in Kyiv and the nearby region, and forced power outages nationwide.

Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha appealed to international partners to mobilise “additional energy support” to prevent a humanitarian crisis as winter approaches.

Reuters