The World in Brief from The Economist

A British government inquiry found that Vladimir Putin authorised the attempted killing of Sergei Skripal, a former Russian spy, in Britain in 2018.

Sir Keir Starmer called Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s right-wing party, “pro-Putin or Putin-neutral”. The White House said that American and Ukrainian officials would meet in Florida on Thursday to continue discussions to end the war in Ukraine.

The European Commission put forward a controversial plan to fund Ukraine by raising up to €210bn ($245bn) backed by frozen Russian state assets.

The European Commission put forward a controversial plan to fund Ukraine by raising up to €210bn ($245bn) backed by frozen Russian state assets.

Discussions between Russia and America about an American plan to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine proved fruitless.

Vladimir Putin said Russia is ready for war if European leaders start one, and accused them of sabotaging American peace efforts in Ukraine with “unacceptable” demands.

Russia claimed to have fully captured the town of Pokrovsk, in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Also, the White House confirmed that Pete Hegseth, America’s war secretary, authorised a follow-up strike on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel from Venezuela in September.

Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, said Ukraine had his country’s “full support” amid continuing peace negotiations, in a joint press conference with Volodymyr Zelensky in Paris.