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Spain’s rail network under scrutiny after second deadly crash in as many days

Spain’s rail network is under scrutiny after a commuter train crashed near Barcelona just days after at least 43 people died and 152 were injured in a collision between two high-speed trains. The second crash in as many days occurred at approximately 9pm on Tuesday when a retaining wall collapsed on to the track near Gelida in the region of Catalonia in north-east Spain, derailing a local train. A trainee driver, named as 27-year-old Fernando Huerta from Seville, was killed and 41 people were injured, five of whom are in a critical condition. It is believed the wall collapsed as a result of the unusually heavy rainfall that Catalonia is experiencing. However, as a precaution the region’s network was shut down pending inspections, stranding hundreds of thousands of people and causing chaos on the roads. Earlier in the day, several people were injured, none seriously, when a train on the Maresme coast north of Barcelona struck a rock on the track. After a delay, the train was able to continue its journey. The incidents have prompted Spain’s biggest train drivers union to call for an indefinite strike to demand assurances for the profession’s safety. “We are going to demand criminal liability from those responsible for ensuring safety in the railway infrastructure,” the Semaf union said in a statement on Wednesday. It said it could not accept “the constant deterioration of the rail network” and was calling for “urgent new measures”. While the cause of Monday night’s collision at Adamuz, near Córdoba in southern Spain, is not yet clear, the train’s black box recorder revealed that the driver of the high-speed train from Málaga to Madrid had warned the control centre that he was in trouble moments before. The driver is heard saying: “I’ve got an enganchón [a snag] near Adamuz.” According to the train operator Adif, the issue referred to was related to the connection between the train’s operating system and the overhead power source. The control centre tells him to disconnect the train from the power source; the driver replies that he has already done so. He tells the controller to stop all oncoming trains and is told there aren’t any, but only moments later the high-speed train collides with a regional train heading in the other direction. The driver is then heard saying the train has been derailed and calling for emergency services. The two accidents have focused minds on the rail network – both the nearly 4,000km (2,485 miles) of the super-efficient high-speed AVE network, mostly built with EU funding, and the chronically unreliable and underfunded regional services. The transport minister, Óscar Puente, stressed during an interview with the television station Telecinco that the two accidents were “completely unrelated”. But opposition parties have seized the opportunity to pile pressure on the government. “This is too much,” the head of the rightwing Popular party, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, wrote on X as he demanded an “immediate clarification” of the state of the nation’s railways. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday before the Barcelona-area crash, the far-right Vox party’s spokesperson Pepa Millán claimed Spaniards were now “afraid to get on a train”. However, while the latest accidents raise concerns about safety, according to EU statistics Spain’s rail network is one of Europe’s safest. According to the same report, in 2024 a total of 16 passengers died in accidents on Europe’s rail networks, among them one passenger in Spain. During the same period there were 20,000 deaths on Europe’s roads.

Syrian army takes control of detention camp for Islamic State suspects

Syrian government forces have taken control of al-Hawl detention camp, which houses tens of thousands of suspected Islamic State members, after Kurdish forces withdrew. Soldiers entered the heavily fortified camp on Wednesday, part of a handover from the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which oversaw the camp for the last seven years, as the Syrian government vowed to secure the facility. Al-Hawl hosts about 24,000 people of 42 different nationalities, most of whom are family members of suspected IS fighters and alleged members of the group. For years, Kurdish authorities and humanitarians have urged countries to take back their citizens from the camps and prosecute them at home, warning that conditions there were intolerable. The camp has been the subject of international concern as security experts say it is a hotbed of extremism and in the event of a jailbreak could help IS reconstitute itself in Syria and beyond. The Syrian government accused Kurdish forces of withdrawing and leaving the prison unguarded, which it said led to the escape of some detainees. A similar scenario unfolded in Shaddadi prison as the SDF withdrew in front of advancing forces, leading to 120 prisoners escaping. The SDF denied it had let any prisoners escape at either location. The Syrian defence ministry said on Tuesday it was ready to assume responsibility for al-Hawl and other IS detainee camps, and that it was taking the proper procedures to secure the facilities. It was in contact with the US-led international coalition to defeat IS, which helps guard the camps. The SDF still controls a number of prisons and detention camps for suspected members of IS, including al-Roj camp, which hosts the London-born Shamima Begum, who was stripped of her British citizenship by the UK government in 2019. She left London as a schoolgirl and travelled in secret with two friends to live under Islamic State in 2015. The SDF has warned the international community over its ability to maintain control over IS detention facilities if it comes under attack by the Syrian government once again. Government forces have swept into north-east Syria over the last week, wresting control of vast swathes of territory. The SDF, which controlled about a third of Syria for the last seven years, lost most of the areas under its control, specifically the vast Arab-majority provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa. Fighting paused on Tuesday after the two sides reached a four-day ceasefire, which the Syrian government said was meant to give the SDF a grace period to implement a lasting agreement. The two sides had agreed to a 14-point peace plan in principle, under which the SDF would surrender most of its governing authorities to Damascus and integrate into the Syrian military while leaving Kurdish-majority areas in the north-east to be supervised by local security forces rather than the Syrian military. If the SDF fails to implement the 14-point agreement, fighting would restart between the two sides. The Kurdish force has little room to manoeuvre or to ask for more concessions as the US, its principal backer, has made it clear that it wants the Kurdish authority to be brought into the fold of the state. On Tuesday, the US Syria envoy, Tom Barrack, said the deal was an “opportunity” for Kurds in Syria to integrate into the Syrian state, and he urged the SDF to accept Damascus’s terms. The “original purpose” of the SDF as a force to fight IS had “largely expired”, Barrack said, as Damascus had become Washington’s primary partner in Syria.

Former South Korean PM jailed for 23 years for role in martial law insurrection

South Korea’s former prime minister Han Duck-soo has been sentenced to 23 years in prison for his role in an insurrection stemming from the former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration. The judge, Lee Jin-kwan, ordered Han’s immediate detention. The verdict on Wednesday marks the first judicial ruling that the 3 December 2024 martial law attempt constituted insurrection. Han has the right to appeal. The court found that Han had actively created the appearance of a legitimate cabinet meeting to rubber-stamp an unconstitutional decree. Prosecutors had sought a 15-year sentence. However, the judge rejected using precedents from past military coups as sentencing guidelines, calling this a “self-coup” by elected power that posed unique dangers to democracy. Lee said Han, as prime minister, had a constitutional duty to prevent the insurrection but instead “chose to join” it. The court found no genuine remorse, noting that Han had continued concealing evidence and lying throughout the trial. Among the most damaging evidence came from an 8 December phone call when Han told a presidential aide to destroy a backdated martial law document, saying: “Let’s make it as if my signature never existed.” The court noted that Han, 76, knew about the martial law plan hours before Yoon’s televised announcement at 10.28pm on 3 December. CCTV footage showed him nodding as Yoon explained the plan and receiving documents including the martial law proclamation. Only six cabinet ministers were summoned in advance to the presidential office. The court found that Han had helped ensure the meeting had the minimum quorum needed while preventing meaningful deliberation. The court also found Han guilty of creating false documents, destroying presidential records and perjury during Yoon’s impeachment proceedings. Prosecutors demanded 15 years by arguing that Han bore unique responsibility as the only person constitutionally positioned to block the decree by refusing to countersign it or to convene a cabinet meeting. Han is a career diplomat who served five presidents across conservative and progressive administrations. Yoon appointed him the prime minister in May 2022, making him the longest-serving prime minister under any single president in South Korean democratic history. He maintained throughout the trial that he privately opposed martial law and was in psychological shock. “I never supported it or tried to help it,” he told the court in November. Unlike Yoon and other co-defendants, Han remained free throughout his trial after a judge rejected his arrest warrant in August, citing “room for legal dispute” over his culpability. The verdict was delivered five days after a separate court sentenced Yoon to five years’ imprisonment for obstructing his own arrest. Yoon’s verdict over his insurrection trial is scheduled for 19 February. Prosecutors have demanded the death penalty.

Netanyahu to join Trump ‘board of peace’ despite previous objections

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday that he had agreed to join a US-backed “board of peace” proposed by Donald Trump, despite his office having earlier criticised the composition of its executive committee. The body, chaired by the US president, was initially presented as a limited forum of world leaders tasked with overseeing a ceasefire in Gaza. More recently, however, the initiative appears to have expanded well beyond that remit, with the Trump camp extending invitations to dozens of countries and suggesting the board could evolve into a vehicle for brokering conflicts far beyond the Middle East. Diplomats have warned that the board could harm the work of the UN. When asked by a reporter on Tuesday if the board should replace the UN, Trump said: “It might.” He said the world body “hasn’t been very helpful” and “has never lived up to its potential”, but also said the UN should continue “because the potential is so great”. Netanyahu’s office had previously objected to the makeup of the board’s executive committee, which includes Turkey, a regional rival of Israel. In a brief statement, it said the committee had been formed without coordination with the Israeli government and was “contrary to its policy”, without elaborating further. Far-right members of Israel’s governing coalition on Sunday rejected the US-backed plan for postwar governance in Gaza, criticising Netanyahu for failing to annex the Palestinian territory and establish new Israeli settlements there. However, on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office announced that he accepted the invitation of the US president’s invitations. Countries that have already agreed to participate include the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Vietnam, Belarus, Hungary, Kazakhstan and Argentina. Others, among them the UK, Russia and the EU’s executive arm, have confirmed they have received invitations but are yet to respond. A draft charter sent to about 60 countries by the US administration calls for members to contribute $1bn in cash if they want their membership to last more than three years, according to a document seen by Reuters. “Each member state shall serve a term of no more than three years from this charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the chairman,” states the document, first reported by Bloomberg News. “The three-year membership term shall not apply to member states that contribute more than $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the board of peace within the first year of the charter’s entry into force.” Diplomats warned that the proposed “board of peace” appears to take aim at existing international institutions, including the UN. The charter’s board says the committee must have “the courage to depart from approaches and institutions that have too often failed”. Trump has long been a vocal critic of the UN and earlier this month announced that the US would withdraw from 66 international organisations and treaties, around half of which are affiliated with the UN system. Under the draft charter, membership of the board would be restricted to states invited by the chair. The chair would also be granted sweeping powers, including the authority to remove member states – subject to a two-thirds veto by the board – and to appoint a successor in the event of their own departure. The Associated Press contributed to this report

Thousands of workers flee Cambodia scam centres, officials say

Thousands of people, including suspected victims of human trafficking, are estimated to have been released or escaped from scam compounds across Cambodia over recent days, after growing international pressure to crackdown on the multibillion-dollar industry. The Indonesian embassy in Phnom Penh said it had received reports from 1,440 of its nationals who had been released from scam centres, while large queues of Chinese nationals were also seen outside the Chinese embassy. Amnesty International said it had geolocated 15 videos and images, and reviewed social media posts that appear to show escape attempts and releases at least 10 scamming compounds across Cambodia. There are no exact figures for the numbers released, but Amnesty estimates it to be in the thousands. It is hard to determine what role the police are playing in the releases, said Amnesty’s regional research director Montse Ferrer, who added that in some videos police are visible, while in other footage they cannot be seen. There is concern about the lack of support for workers who have been released, Ferrer added. Some have been seen “walking around in search of assistance – and we also know that some people have managed to get to safe houses,” she said. Without support there is a risk of workers simply being moved to a new scamming location – a trend in previous releases. “We’ve seen people who are forced to move to other compounds, and it’s possible that if people have escaped but don’t know where to go, don’t know what to do next, [then they] end up in another compound.” The online scam industry has flourished across parts of south-east Asia over recent years, including in Cambodia, where the UN estimates 100,000 work inside compounds. Many workers have been duped into accepting jobs in the compounds, and are then held against their will and forced to carry out online scams, including romance-investment scams and crypto fraud. Jacob Sims, visiting fellow at Harvard University’s Asia Center, described the recent releases as unprecedented in Cambodia. “It is extremely clear that this is all being precipitated by escalating international pressure, which has been mounting for years, but really started exponentially increasing with the historic UK and US October 14 action against Chen Zhi.” Chen Zhi, a Chinese-born Cambodian tycoon, was sanctioned by the UK and the US in October last year, with the US accusing him of operating a “transnational criminal empire through online investment scams targeting Americans and others worldwide”. Chen, who chairs Prince Group, was arrested and extradited to China earlier this month, the strongest step yet to be taken against criminal syndicates inside Cambodia. The Cambodian government did not respond to a request for comment regarding the recent releases. Prime minister Hun Manet has pledged on Facebook to “eliminate … all the problems related to the crime of cyber scams”. Sims said that while the latest releases are promising, the problem will simply re-emerge if international pressure is not maintained. “This industry obviously has gotten to the point where it’s sort of too big to fail. It’s a major regime patrimonial resource,” said Sims, who is also a senior adviser on transnational crime at Inca Digital, an open-source intelligence company. “What happens from here, a lot of that is going to depend on how sustained and durable this pressure remains against the regime,” he added. The Cambodian government has repeatedly been accused of being complicit in the scam industry. The US Trafficking in Persons Report for 2024 warned of Cambodia: “Some senior government officials and advisers owned – either directly or through businesses – properties and facilities known to be utilized by online scam operators used to exploit victims in labor trafficking and financially benefited directly from these crimes.” The involvement of “officials and economic elites resulted in selective and politically motivated enforcement of laws, inhibiting effective law enforcement action against trafficking crimes,” it said. Cambodia has denied suggestions its government is complicit, saying it has “never supported, nor will it ever tolerate, cybercriminal activity” and that it “remains fully committed to integrity, transparency, and adherence to the rule of law and international norms.” According to estimates by United States Institute of Peace, in Cambodia, the return on cyber scamming is estimated to exceed $12.5bn annually, half the country’s formal GDP.

Wednesday briefing: Can we afford to be optimistic about grassroots music venues?

Good morning. The music industry has long been one of the UK’s successful export stories, whether it was the British invasion of the US spearheaded by the Beatles and the Stones in the 1960s or the contemporary success of the likes of Adele and Ed Sheeran. In recent years, however, there has been a steady drumbeat of doom in the background. Artists have concerns about artificial intelligence slop replacing them, they face dwindling earning power due to paltry streaming royalty rates, and crucially, there has been a contraction in the number of venues where musicians can hone their craft and build a fanbase. The Music Venue Trust (MVT) is a charity that works to protect, secure and improve the UK’s grassroots music venues (GMVs). Ahead of the publication of its annual report (pdf) this morning, I spoke to founder and CEO chair Mark Davyd to discuss the progress the MVT has made in safeguarding GMVs, and what he believes could be improved to keep the UK’s music scene thriving for the decades ahead. First, here are the headlines. Five big stories UK news | The government has approved the construction of a vast new Chinese embassy complex in east London despite concerns about security and its impact on political exiles in the capital. Chagos Island | Donald Trump has suggested Britain’s decision to cede the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is among the reasons he wants to take over Greenland. Social trends | Rightwing movements are struggling to gain support among graduates as education emerges as the most important dividing line in British attitudes towards politics, diversity and immigration. Middle East | Israeli crews have started bulldozing the Jerusalem headquarters of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees and fired teargas at a UN vocational school in Qalandia in the West Bank. US news | An Indiana state court judge and his wife were in stable condition on Monday as authorities continued to search for suspects who shot the couple the day before at their Lafayette home. In depth: ‘There is language from this government that suggests doors are opening’ Last night I was at the V&A in Kensington for the launch of the Music Venue Trust’s annual report. V&A director Tristram Hunt pointed out the museum would host a Lost Music Venues exhibition this year, Liberal Democrat culture spokesperson Anna Sabine pointed out nobody from Labour had come, Glenn Tilbrook did a whistle-stop Squeeze greatest hits accompanied by his son Leon, and I embarrassed myself by being too much of a fanboy when I spotted, then clumsily introduced myself, to The Anchoress. More importantly than all that, the numbers in the new MVT report suggest the live music scene could be on the verge of recovery, but Davyd is keen not to overstate the improvement in fortunes in 2025. “I wouldn’t say we’ve turned the corner,” he tells me. “But I think I would say that we are at least peering round a corner.” *** Reasons to be cheerful On the face of it, there are reasons for cautious optimism. Audiences are back, more gigs are being staged, and the rate at which venues are disappearing has slowed. Over the year covered by the report, 30 venues permanently closed and 48 stopped operating as grassroots music venues – but 69 new or revived spaces joined the network, meaning the overall decline eased. Activity across the sector is higher than it was in the bleak post-pandemic years of 2023 and 2024. But beneath that surface recovery, the financial foundations remain dangerously thin. More than half of grassroots music venues made no profit at all in 2025, and the average profit margin across the sector was just 2.5%. Live music itself is still often structurally loss-making, with many venues subsidising gigs through bar sales, food and other income streams. *** This is not a love song The sounds coming out of government, Davyd says, are more positive than they have been for years. Officials at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport have been broadly supportive since the trust was founded more than a decade ago, but he believes something has shifted politically. “There is language from this government that suggests doors are opening,” he says. “The creative industries sector plan was fantastic for grassroots venues.” Ministers, he says, now clearly recognise the role small venues play not just in developing artists – the “talent pipeline” – but also as “drivers of local community engagement and social cohesion”. The problem, he says, is turning that recognition into policy. “Has that yet resulted in government policies that are really taking the opportunity to build something on it? Not so far.” Davyd points to business rates as a case in point. “We have been saying for 10 years you need a specific category for music venues, otherwise they are assessed as more commercial entities and will eventually be forced out of the premises. The business rate review got announced, and that wasn’t done. So we are now currently trying to help the government and the Treasury understand exactly how that’s gone wrong – and what they can do to unravel it.” *** Stand by me By far the biggest shock in the 2025 report is not about rents or energy bills, but employment. The sector lost almost 6,000 jobs in a single year – a 19% contraction – after the government lowered the threshold at which employers start paying national insurance contributions. “I think if we were talking about a 19% downturn in employment in just about any other sector of industry it would be headline news,” Davyd says. “In one year 6,000 people lost their jobs. That is absolutely shocking and should never have happened.” He describes it as a classic case of the law of unintended consequences. “I don’t think anybody sat down to write a national insurance policy intended to make people lose their jobs in grassroots live music, but they took a general approach which failed to recognise the specifics of this sector.” Those specifics, he explains, are that much of the workforce is young and freelance, juggling two, three or even four low-paid jobs across different venues. “People are earning between £5,000 and £10,000 from each employer, and when the threshold dropped, suddenly all of those jobs became liable for national insurance.” What really alarms him is who was hit. “The sad part about that, and the bit that really should worry everybody, is the fact that those 6,000 jobs were almost exclusively in the 18 to 25-year-old bracket.” These are the trainees and future technicians, bookers and promoters of the industry – the people who get their first foot in the door by doing the lights, working the bar or taking tickets at a small venue. “They’re losing future skills and staff,” Davyd says. “In 10 years’ time we will have a shrunk workforce across the whole music industry because of what happened in this one sector in 2025.” *** This town ain’t big enough The report paints a picture of a sector that is busier and better organised, but also shows how the national touring circuit continues to retreat into a handful of major cities, leaving 175 towns and cities – home to about 25 million people – without regular visits from professional touring artists. Davyd calls it a map of cultural “haves and have-nots”, with local audiences and emerging musicians alike cut off from the ecosystem that once sustained them. Music Venue Trust is trying to plug those gaps through emergency grants, advice and new touring schemes. In Margate, the grassroots venue Where Else? credits the trust with helping it survive a crisis with its landlord. Its co-founder Sammy Clarke says the intervention “didn’t just solve an immediate crisis; they helped us build a more secure financial footing for the future”. Yet the NME reported the venue has recently had to resort to crowdfunding to try to stay afloat – a reminder of how little headroom most operators have. *** There is a light that never goes out For Davyd – and myself – this is not an abstract policy problem. I am an enthusiastic gig-goer myself, and while I enjoy seeing the heritage acts I loved in the 80s and 90s in big arenas, I still love discovering new artists in small rooms – Dog Race, the New Eves, and the aptly named Desperate Journalist have all deeply impressed me in recent years. Davyd traces his own life in music back to walking into the 100 Club as a teenager. “It was the first time probably my entire life I ever felt, ‘Oh yeah, I actually belong somewhere.’” He went on to open the Tunbridge Wells Forum and to build his career around live bands. “I just get such a buzz out being in a small room with 200 or 300 people. I love that moment when the band plays the song you’re all waiting for and you all start singing it together.” That, he says, is what is at stake. Despite everything, he believes the opportunity still exists to do more than simply keep venues on life support. “I think we genuinely could pick up on a huge opportunity to actually start restoring this network – not just stabilising it. So we’re pretty optimistic about 2026. But it does require some actions.” Guardian live Guardian newsroom: Year One of Trumpism: Is Britain Emulating the US? On Wednesday 21 January, join Jonathan Freedland, Tania Branigan, Anand Menon and Nick Lowles as they reflect on the first year of Donald Trump’s second presidency – and to ask if Britain could be set on the same path. Book tickets here What else we’ve been reading Iranians are still being cut off from the world with the state-enforced internet blackout. But a brave protester has been able to get their words out against the odds. Aamna Our picture desk has gathered together the 20 winning photographs from the Portrait of Britain photography awards. Martin Donald Trump made 10 key pledges a year ago. What has happened since? David Smith breaks it down. Aamna Amy Hawkins takes a long look at the morbid sounding Are You Dead? app which has become a sensation in China among lonely and isolated people. Martin Technology has changed how we live in profound ways, Tom Gill writes. For those desperate to connect, check out his tips to help us feel more human. Aamna Sport Football | Arsenal confirmed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League without the need for a playoff with an impressive 3-1 win at Inter. Kasper Høgh scored twice before Rodri was sent off as Manchester City were outclassed 3-1 by Bodø/Glimt, with Pep Guardiola admitting “everything is going wrong”. Tennis | Emma Raducanu crashed out of the Australian Open in the second round with a poor 7-6 (3), 6-2 loss to Anastasia Potapova after a tepid, error-strewn performance in Melbourne. You can follow today’s latest Australian Open action with our live blog. Golf | Luke Donald will hold talks with senior officials at the European Tour Group this week in Dubai, as the Englishman edges closer to a third stint as Europe’s Ryder Cup captain. The front pages “Europe condemns Trump threats on Greenland as ‘new colonialism’” is the Guardian’s print lead today. The Financial Times has “Rift with Europe deepens as Trump warns ‘no going back’ on Greenland”. The Times seems more relaxed: “We’ll work something out, Trump tells Nato”. Practicalities in the i paper: “RAF and Navy in talks to join Nato force in Arctic”. “Online rant stuns the world” – the Metro is talking about guess who, talking about Britain ceding Diego Garcia to Mauritius. On that topic the Telegraph runs with “Fix your country, Trump tells Starmer” while the Express goes to Kemi Badenoch for an opinion: “PM ‘out of his depth in the new world order’”. “MI5 warning to kowtow Keir” – the Mail says the PM faces “fury” over the approval of China’s London “mega-embassy”. “Moment Brooklyn snapped – this ends now” – that’s the Mirror on the Beckham feud if you’re interested. Today in Focus How we got hooked on The Traitors Elle Hunt on the success of the BBC’s hit reality show Cartoon of the day | Ella Baron The Upside A bit of good news to remind you that the world’s not all bad Britain saw a record number of archaeological and treasure finds in 2024, largely due to metal detectorists. Significant discoveries included a hoard of pennies linked to Harold II and buried around 1066, a rare Roman vehicle fitting, and early medieval objects. The British Museum reported that 94% of finds were reported by the public, demonstrating the contribution of metal detecting enthusiasts to preserving the nation’s history. The 179 silver penny hoard, containing only coins from Harold II’s short reign, is notable among discoveries from the politically tumultuous 1060s. Sign up here for a weekly roundup of The Upside, sent to you every Sunday Bored at work? And finally, the Guardian’s puzzles are here to keep you entertained throughout the day. Until tomorrow. Quick crossword Cryptic crossword Wordiply

Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv to replace Chinese-made Mavic drones

Ukraine’s new defence minister has announced troops will begin fielding a homegrown replacement for the Chinese-made DJI Mavic drone. Reliance on China for drones and components has been a major concern for Ukraine given Beijing’s close relationship with Moscow. The retail-grade Mavic is used widely for aerial reconnaissance on the frontlines by both sides, even though Ukraine already builds many of its own “suicide” attack drones – as well as defensive versions used to take down Russian drones. Mavic drones are prized by Ukrainian army units, who are often supported by volunteer groups that continuously run campaigns to source Mavics and raise funds to buy them. Mykhailo Fedorov, the defence minister, said: “We will have our own Mavic analogue: the same camera, but with a longer flight range.” Fedorov did not disclose the manufacturer of the Ukrainian version. Fedorov on Tuesday promised a sweeping data-driven overhaul of Ukraine’s military to reward commanders achieving results on the battlefield and give Ukrainian forces the upper hand. Fedorov said he would start by overhauling the vast defence ministry’s management and spending, emphasising the importance of “the mathematics of war”. He promised a mission control system for drone flights and for artillery crews to increase the data available about crews’ performance and effectiveness. Fedorov said Ukraine would establish a system allowing its allies to train their military artificial intelligence models on Kyiv’s combat data collected throughout the war including combat statistics and millions of hours of video taken by drones. Overnight Russian strikes on the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih killed a 77-year-old man and a 72-year-old woman, and wounded a 53-year-old woman, said Oleksandr Ganzha, the head of the regional military administration. The missile and drone attack also damaged several buildings, he added. Kryvyi Rih, is about 80km (50 miles) from the frontline and is the hometown of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Earlier, a Russian air attack cut power to more than a million Kyiv residents and affected substations carrying power from Ukraine’s nuclear plants on Tuesday. Ukrainian officials had warned in recent days that Moscow would target nuclear-related facilities. The UN atomic watchdog said several substations critical for nuclear safety were affected by the attack, while power lines to some other nuclear plants were affected. Drone and missile strikes killed four people: three in the south-eastern city of Zaporizhzhia and one in the Kyiv region surrounding the capital. Other regions in the east, south and north of Ukraine also came under attack. “In Kyiv alone, as of this evening, more than one million households remain without power,” said Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his Tuesday evening address. “And a significant number of buildings have no heating, more than 4,000 apartment buildings.” Authorities in the northern region of Chernihiv bordering Russia said 87% of the population was without power. All off-site power was also temporarily lost at the Chornobyl plant – where the reactor destroyed in the world’s worst civil nuclear catastrophe is entombed and requires constant monitoring for safety. “While Russian officials speak about the ‘importance’ of power lines, their forces deliberately strike substations, directly endangering nuclear safety,” said Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha. A new round of peace talks at the weekend between US and Ukrainian officials was followed on Tuesday by a meeting at Davos in Switzerland between envoys for presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Kiril Dmitriev, the Russian envoy, said their meeting on a possible peace deal to end the war had been “very positive” and “constructive” and claimed that “more and more people are realising that Russia’s position is right”. Dmitriev met Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Zelenskyy urged the US to pile more pressure on Moscow, saying it had “not yet had the strength” to stop Russia. “Can America do more? It can, and we really want this, and we believe that the Americans are capable of doing this,” said the Ukrainian president. Zelenskyy said some of the Russian missiles fired on Tuesday had been produced this year and called for tougher sanctions on Moscow to curb its production. He said he was ready to travel to Davos if Washington was ready to sign documents on security guarantees for Ukraine and a postwar prosperity plan.