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Russian troops disguised themselves as Ukrainian soldiers as they launched new attacks in the outskirts of the northeastern city of Kupiansk, Kyiv said while confirming a frontline breach.

The Russians attacked in four waves and used troops disguised as Ukrainian soldiers but were repelled from the city, Ukraine’s General Staff said.

“They partially entered the suburbs, the industrial zone, and were destroyed by our troops,” the city’s military administration chief Andriy Besedin said. “There were assault actions using heavy armoured vehicles, there were attempts to bring in infantry.”

Kupiansk was captured by Russian forces in the early days after the February 2022 invasion but liberated by Ukraine in a counteroffensive a few months later. The Russians are now making a renewed bid to recapture the region.

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A top aide of Benjamin Netanyahu has been questioned by police investigating reports of alterations made to official records of phone calls involving the Israeli prime minister on the morning of the 7 October attacks.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu’s chief of staff, Tzachi Braverman, is suspected of changing the recorded time of a conversation the prime minister held with his military secretary in the first minutes of the attack to protect the prime minister.

Netanyahu’s office has denied the allegation, accusing critics of “another complete fabrication that is also part of an unprecedented media witch-hunt against the prime minister’s office during wartime, designed to whitewash the grave failures of others on the night of October 7”, according to the Times of Israel.

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• The EU has for the first time funded member states’ joint procurement of weapons, including missiles and ammunition, which will in part be sent to Ukraine. It had previously financed arms purchases for Ukraine ad hoc and from outside its budget.

• The European Commission vice-president Margrethe Vestager said the EU was investing €300 million to help groups of up to nine member countries buy air defence systems, armoured vehicles and artillery ammunition. “Importantly, the selected projects will also increase our support to Ukraine with additional defence equipment.” The EU has been working to boost its defence industry to arm Ukraine and build up its own forces. It fell short of a promise to supply Kyiv with a million artillery shells by the end of March 2024, but the EU diplomacy chief, Josep Borrell, has vowed the goal will be reached before the end of the year.

• The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, on Thursday said he hoped Marco Rubio, Donald Trump’s nominee for US secretary of state, would pursue a policy of “peace through strength”. Rubio in the past advocated an assertive US foreign policy with respect to America’s geopolitical foes, but has recently aligned more closely with Trump’s “America First” approach. In April, Rubio was one of 15 Republican senators to vote against a big military aid package to Ukraine and other US partners. In recent interviews, he has said that Ukraine should seek a negotiated settlement rather than focus on regaining its territory.

A skirmish involving Israel fans broke out in the stands of the Stade de France during a tense match between Israel and France’s men’s football teams, but a heavy police presence ensured a repeat of the serious violence in Amsterdam was avoided.

The game had been designated as “high risk” after the hooliganism and antisemitism witnessed in the Netherlands before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv last week.

The Israeli national anthem was booed by some in the crowd before kick-off and, within 10 minutes of the game starting, a small number of fans clashed on a high stand in the stadium.

The clash was quickly dealt with by the security guards, with riot police seen at the edge of the stands ready to intervene. The authorities in Paris had been on high alert.

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• The Ukrainian foreign minister, Andrii Sybiga, said Ukraine has a “clear picture” of forthcoming military aid as he held talks with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, who was in Brussels on Wednesday. “We have a clear picture – a clear timeframe, clear volumes – of what will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of the year. This helps us strategically to plan our actions on the battlefield,” he said. The assistance, he added, would include weapons and funds for arms production deals. Sybiga said he was “cautiously optimistic” after discussing with Blinken the possibility of conducting deep strikes on Russia, as well as Euro-Atlantic integration.

• Blinken said in Brussels on Wednesday: “President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and Jan 20” when president-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in. Nato countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilised forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength”, Blinken said during the flying visit. The US will “adapt and adjust” with the latest equipment it is sending, Blinken said, without providing details. He also reiterated the call for others to step up. “We’re counting on European partners and others to strongly support Ukraine’s mobilisation,” Blinken said – calling for more artillery, more air defences, more munitions as well as training for Kyiv’s forces.

The U.S. will not change its policy on arms transfers to Israel even though the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip remains dire, the State Department said Tuesday, the deadline the White House set for Israel to ramp up access to aid in the besieged Palestinian enclave.

State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters the decision came as "Israel has taken a number of steps" outlined in a letter from Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Israeli counterparts last month. "We continue to be in discussion with Israel about the steps they took and other steps they need to take," he said.