A German citizen was arrested in Russia on charges of working for Ukraine, the Russian Federal Security Service announced on Wednesday, according to what was reported by Russian news agencies.
The agency said that the man, who had previously fought in Afghanistan and Syria, arrived in Ukraine in November 2025, and “concluded a three-year contract with the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” before fleeing its ranks due to non-payment of his dues, according to what Agence France-Presse reported.
A United Nations report released today (Wednesday) showed that global warming is now expected to exceed previous estimates, with the most optimistic forecasts predicting that average temperatures will rise to between 1.7 and 1.8 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by mid-century.
The report expects global temperature to rise by 2.8 degrees Celsius by 2100 under current policies, or 2.6 degrees Celsius if countries fully implement their current climate commitments. Both estimates are higher than last year's forecast, a reflection of the US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and revised assessments of historical emissions.
Despite the rapid expansion of renewable energy and climate policies that are working to reduce emissions in many countries, the report said that “urgent and aggressive” reductions are needed to achieve the best possible results, according to the “Reuters” news agency.
The UNEP report says greenhouse gas emissions must fall 18 percent below 2025 levels by 2030, 45 percent by 2035, and 69 percent by 2040. Current national plans limit emissions to reduce emissions by only 5 to 8 percent by 2030, and 11 to 15 percent by 2035.
As countries prepare for the next round of climate talks in Turkey, the 31st Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (COP31), UN Secretary-General António Guterres said it is essential not to abandon efforts to curb emissions that fuel floods, fires and other natural disasters.
He added: “Exceeding limits does not mean surrender. “We can still keep this overshoot to the narrowest and shortest possible range, and return temperatures to below 1.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.”
Countries agreed under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to try to keep the average temperature increase well below 2 degrees, ideally 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Considering that limiting the temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius, while not exceeding this threshold or exceeding it to a limited extent, is no longer possible, the United Nations Environment Program stated that its new possibility, which represents the “lowest possible exceedance,” provides an approximately 50 percent chance of temperatures returning to the level of 1.5 degrees Celsius or lower by 2100.
The report said that climate plans presented since last year had made almost no difference to future global warming projections, and that a return to 1.5°C would depend on widespread decarbonisation, which is uncertain.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing US officials and informed sources, that Elon Musk ordered last week to slow down a military version of the Starlink service that Ukraine relies on.
Neither Musk, SpaceX, nor the White House have yet responded to requests from Reuters for comment. Reuters has not yet been able to verify the report.
The restrictions imposed on “Starlink” hindered attacks by Ukraine and air defense missions with drones in the face of attacks by Russia.
The report stated that Musk and US President Donald Trump discussed the decision related to “Starlink” in a phone call, shortly after the issue of speed reduction came to light, while the president was campaigning last week.
The newspaper added that they also discussed the matter before making the decision to restrict the service.
Trump turned against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after the US President lifted sanctions on Russian diesel, to relieve pressure on fuel prices that have risen sharply since the start of the war on Iran in February. He asked Kiev to stop attacking Russian refineries, and urged the Ukrainians to replace Zelensky with another president.
Trump said on Friday that he does not believe that either of them - he or Musk - is responsible for Ukraine losing access to Starlink in a way that affected its military operations against Russia.
Musk had previously stated that the use of the military version of “Starlink”, known as “Starshield”, ultimately belongs to Trump in his capacity as President of the United States.
For his part, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Washington was not aware in advance of the slowdown in the services of the “StarShield” system.
Speaking from India, Rubio said that the US President “has nothing to do with the decisions made by Starlink, Starshield, and Musk,” adding: “It is a private company.” The president does not run the company, and he cannot direct the company to do anything,” he said, adding: “I assure you that there was no prior knowledge.”
