Putin moves new nuclear-capable missiles to Europe's doorstep

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Good morning and welcome to your daily news briefing from The Independent.

Vladimir Putin deployed nuclear-capable missiles in Belarus, some 25,000 people were affected by Eurostar cancellations, and divers recovered a body from an Essex Reservoir after a small plane crashed suddenly on Sunday.

Top stories

1 | Putin raises stakes with nuclear-ready missiles at Europe's door

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2 | Thousands of Eurostar passengers face chaos as services cancelled

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3 | Divers recover body from Essex reservoir after plane crash

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4 | Britons to ring in the new year with snow, ice and gale-force winds

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5 | Nigel Farage racism claims have not harmed his reputation, poll finds

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Editors' picks

'Rip-off Britain': Readers clash over rise of illegal streaming

I just gradually gave up watching sports – cricket, Six Nations and now the Tour de France – which is all very sad, and the impact on kids' participation if they can't see top-level sport is a worry.

While piracy isn't right, if it forces a rethink to make sports more widely available, or persuades the likes of TNT to price more reasonably, that can only be a good thing.

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WATCH 

Trump reacts to claims of drone strike on Putin's home

STAT OF THE DAY

7%

The number of UK adults reporting issues with high levels of carbon monoxide in their homes in the past year alone.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Keeping the upper hand in an endless war is a good strategy for regime survival in Russia."

Vladimir Putin has a careful balance to maintain to keep Donald Trump on side as a de facto partner in geopolitics without letting him end the war in Ukraine, argues Mark Almond.

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