assignment editor tv news

• Original Voices
• Student Spotlight
• Telemundo Academy
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)

Career Spotlight: Assignment Editor

By NBCU Academy

What does an assignment editor do? A longtime assignment manager for NBC4 Washington shares how his team covers breaking news.

At the heart of every newsroom is an assignment desk, where assignment editors figure out what news stories to cover around the clock. They make constant phone calls, listen to police radios and sift through emails to get news tips and background information from officials and the public. They contribute to editorial meetings with reporters, editors and producers. But breaking news can rewrite coverage plans at any point of the day.  

Charlie Bragale, an assignment manager who has worked at WRC-TV in Washington since 1988, has seen many changes in technology , but his assignment desk has always been crucial to newsgathering. He calls his assignment editors “off-air reporters,” talking to sources and conveying updates to news crews and production staff.  

“I compare the assignment editor to a flight controller. I’m trying to land five 747s, a couple of A380s and a couple 737s in a blinding rainstorm,” Bragale said. “100% of my day is talking on the phone, networking with people, trying to get people to talk to me and check in.” 

Bragale talks about the work of an assignment editor in the video above and shares more remarks below.  

What are some tips to being a good assignment editor?

Be curious, be a risk taker and instinctively know what you’re doing right. You see something, go chase after it. We don’t run away from bad news or good news — we run towards everything. 

Success is collaborating with everybody.  We’re just a cog in the wheels of what we do every day. Collaboration is key.  

Your workspace is surrounded by walkie-talkies tuned in to a bunch of police and emergency medical scanners. Isn’t it confusing to listen to all that at once?

Don’t be intimidated by this. This is just white noise. Just listen for keywords, the intensity in the voice, the impact of the event. 

What are some memorable stories you worked on?

I covered a guy who pulled out an AR-15 and shot up the front of the White House [in October 1994] — that was a [Saturday] afternoon, we were running AFC football.  

The phone rings, a guy with a heavy accent says, “Do you speak Portuguese?” And I was like, “Yes, I’m from Brazil.” A Brazilian tourist, videotaping the White House with his family, captured the moment that guy shot at the White House. Back then, we had no cellphones, so I sent a courier to pick him up and look at the video. One of my colleagues ran over, grabbed the video and took it downstairs. They broke into AFC football to show the guy shooting the White House — that’s how important it was.  

[On 9/11,] we knew about the planes that struck the World Trade Center. But then I heard a plane hit the Pentagon. I heard that officer, the chill in his voice — we knew it was [a related attack]. We were ready, directing people everywhere, because we knew Washington.

You’ve worked at the same assignment desk for 36 years. What keeps you going?

This is gonna sound mushy, but I grew up here in Washington, two blocks from the TV station. As a child riding my bike through this park, past Channel 4 to the Catholic school on Massachusetts Avenue, I would always tell my brothers, “One day, I’m going to work at that place.” To represent the community and work at this incredible organization, in my job which I love, is an honor. 

Gallery: Scenes from Charlie Bragale’s Career

Explore More

Your first entry-level job in news, professionalism on social media, 5 safety tips from nbc news’ security team, inside the nbc page program, take our free fundamentals of journalism course, take our free bilingual journalism course.

30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112

What Does an Assignment Editor Do?

Learn About the Salary, Required Skills, & More

The Balance / Ellen Lindner

• Technology Careers
• Sports Careers
• Project Management
• Professional Writer
• Music Careers
• Legal Careers
• US Military Careers
• Government Careers
• Finance Careers
• Fiction Writing Careers
• Entertainment Careers
• Criminology Careers
• Book Publishing
• Animal Careers
• Advertising
• Assignment Editor Duties & Responsibilities

Assignment Editor Salary

• Education, Training, & Certification
• Assignment Editor Skills & Competencies

Job Outlook

Work environment, work schedule, comparing similar jobs.

• Mercer University

An assignment editor works at the assignment desk, which is the nerve center of any newsroom. This is where newsroom staff members monitor multiple sources for breaking news, including police and fire scanners. When possible news arises, the assignment editor works with reporters, photographers, producers, and other staff members to assign and develop story ideas.

Small companies sometimes have one assignment editor who is responsible for organizing the assignment desk to operate around the clock. In larger newsrooms, there may be a team of assignment editors that take turns staffing the desk.

Assignment Editor Duties & Responsibilities

The job generally requires the ability to perform the following duties:

• Monitor multiple sources for possible news stories
• Develop and propose a daily news coverage plan
• Lead newsroom staff meetings to review possible stories and assignments
• Help choose which journalists, photographers, and other staff members are assigned to cover stories
• Stay on top of all stories to ensure they're developing as planned and determine which ones are not coming together
• Be the main point of communication between reporters, production teams, and executive staff on developing stories

It's up to the assignment editor to assign people to investigate and report on news stories. The assignment editor's day is sometimes spent shifting people and equipment around so that as many stories get covered as possible, with an eye out on how to handle breaking news coverage at any moment.

When working in television, an assignment editor may also work with the tv producer to decide which crews will take live trucks or a helicopter to broadcast live during a newscast. Also, a TV news anchor who is reviewing scripts just before airtime will often turn to the assignment editor to confirm facts.

An assignment editor's salary can vary depending on location, experience, and employer. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics offers salary data for the broader editor category, but it doesn't offer separate data on the assignment editor subcategory:

• Median Annual Salary: $59,480 
• Top 10% Annual Salary: $114,460 
• Bottom 10% Annual Salary: $30,830  

Education, Training, & Certification

Most assignment editors have the same types of degrees as other editors and journalists in a newsroom.

• Education: Most employers prefer candidates that have at least a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, or English. 
• Experience: This is often key to getting this type of job, because experience is key to building a list of contacts and learning how to operate smoothly. Employers usually prefer candidates with a background in the type of media in which they specialize, whether it's television, digital, or print news.
• Training: Most training happens on the job. Aspiring assignment editors may want to find an internship position at a newsroom assignment desk.

Assignment Editor Skills & Competencies

To be successful in this role, you’ll generally need the following skills and qualities: 

• Editorial judgment: Assignment editors need to be able to quickly decide whether a story is newsworthy. And although they aren't usually writing the stories themselves, they need to know all of the components of a good news story to guide reporters on coverage.
• Interpersonal skills: Successful assignment editors form relationships with many contacts that can help bring a story together. For example, someone in this role at a local TV news station may have all the county sheriffs' home telephone numbers on speed-dial and be on a first-name basis with the current and previous mayors.
• Organizational skills: An assignment editor must be able to organize the logistics and track the details of several stories at a time and keep everything on schedule.
• Communication skills: An assignment editor must skillfully communicate with all of the staff involved in making news stories come together, including reporters, photographers, production teams, and executive staff.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment in this field will grow 6 percent through 2026, which is slightly slower than the overall employment growth of 7 percent for all occupations in the country. The BLS it doesn't offer separate data on the assignment editor subcategory.

Most of this job is done in an office working under several tight deadlines at once. Those who thrive on pressure and get an adrenaline rush when something unexpected happens may be best suited for this occupation.

An assignment editor usually arrives in the newsroom earlier than the other managers to get a handle on what's happening that day to brief the newsroom. Most assignment editors work full time, and many work long hours, which include evenings and weekends.

People who are interested in becoming assignment editors may also consider other careers with these median salaries: 

• Writers and authors: $61,820
• Reporters, correspondents, and broadcast news analysts: $40,910
• Desktop publishers: $42,350

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , 2017

How to Get the Job

Build a Contact List

Making a list of contacts is the best place to start for a budding assignment editor. That involves making personal connections with people so that you can turn to them when you need information.

Join a Professional Association

The American Media Institute offers  a list of professional associations you can join. Which one you choose may depend on your specialty or medium (websites or television, for instance). This will help you build your contact list and stay up to date on the latest tools and techniques in the industry.

Search job sites that specialize in media careers, such as MediaBistro and iHire Broadcasting .

• What Does a TV Reporter Do?
• What Does a TV News Director Do?
• What Does a Book Editor Do?
• What Does a TV News Anchor Do?
• What Does a TV News Producer Do?
• What Does a Copy Editor Do?
• What Does a Sports Announcer Do?
• What Does an Advertising Media Director Do?
• What Does a Copywriter Do?
• What Does a Screenwriter Do?
• What Does a Producer Do?
• What Does a Media Planner Do?
• What Does a Publicist Do?
• What Does a Fact Checker Do?
• What Does a Home Typist Do?
• What Does a Veterinary Practice Manager Do?

With KCBS’s ‘The Desk,’ Assignment Editors Tell The Story

Less than 25 minutes after an SUV plowed into more than two dozen sheriff’s recruits on a jog through Whittier, a city in Los Angeles County, images of the horrific scene were beamed from the KCBS chopper to the station’s airwaves . Details of the unfortunate event were scant but trickling in, with viewers learning what happened about as quickly as the KCBS newsroom was.

“This is a very chaotic scene,” Liu informed viewers. “I have been listening to this on the radio and my colleagues Esteban and Annette on the assignment desk have been calling Los Angeles sheriffs to get more information as this is unfolding.”

He was able to report that the car that struck the recruits and its driver remained on the scene, so it was not a case of hit-and-run. Liu also said first responders were shutting down lanes of nearby highways to transport the injured to local hospitals.

For around 10 total minutes Liu shared the rest of the information he had about the incident with KCBS News morning anchors before they interviewed a retired member of the fire department, who provided insight into what the scene’s first responders appeared to be doing.

The segment was one example of a new KCBS broadcast initiative, The Desk . During morning and evening news shows on KCBS and its sister station KCAL, both of which are CBS-owned, assignment desk editors Liu and Mike Rogers discuss the stories members of the newsroom are working on — breaking news and, sometimes, enterprise stories as well. When producers choose not to interrupt the broadcast, one of the assignment editors may deliver breaking stories on the KCBS website streaming channel.

The Desk is the brainchild of Mike Dello Stritto, VP and news director at KCBS and KCAL. Like so many others in the industry, Dello Stritto has bounced around the country during his career, working in newsrooms in Florida, Tennessee, Nevada and elsewhere. After taking his current position in February 2022, Dello Stritto committed himself to finding a way to further leverage what he believes is the finest assignment desk in America.

Mike Dello Stritto

He says The Desk is the “next generation” of the breaking news desk, which he recalls became in vogue about a decade ago, likely after some news consultants told stations it would add immediacy to their broadcasts.

“Still, it was filtered; [the news] had to go through a middle manager, through a process,” Dello Stritto says about the old breaking news desk feature. “Did it make things faster? Probably a few things, but really some of it was just playing a little television smoke-and-mirrors.”

With The Desk , any middlemen have been cut out of news delivery. Anchors throw to Liu or Rogers at the assignment desk, which was built into the station’s new studio, launched Jan. 5, with a camera at the ready. (In the old digs, several cameras were placed around the assignment desk for varying shot selections.) Once on the air, the assignment editors simply discuss what they know about a new story, while reporters travel to a scene and prepare their packages.

“In other worlds, the assignment editor would be telling the reporter what they’ve learned,” Dello Stritto says. “In our world, we’re telling the viewer right away instead of telling the reporter.”

At the very least, The Desk is a low-tech means of producing new content with a virtual net-zero impact on workflow. Assignment editors were already doing this job; now they’re just doing it on camera. More crucially, in this period of consumer distrust in news organizations, Dello Stritto says The Desk is an opportunity to provide viewers with critical transparency. Authenticity shines through; Liu and Rogers don’t dress like anchors, nor were they trained in news delivery — which was precisely the point.

“I don’t want them to go through a process where we’re trying to take the real person out of them and make them ‘a broadcaster,’” Dello Stritto says, inflecting his voice at the end to sound more formal. And while KCBS has several other assignment editors on staff, Dello Stritto nominated Liu and Rogers for the on-air duty based in large part on their innate ability to verbally project well, which they otherwise display when dishing out assignments to reporters and producers.

Mike Rogers

“There’s nothing more exciting than being on an assignment desk in the most unique news market in the world,” Rogers says. “Finding and gathering information — especially breaking news — has been my passion for the nearly 10 years I’ve been in broadcast journalism. When I was presented with the opportunity to do my job in a new and unique way, while maximizing the viewer experience, I immediately agreed.”

Rogers sees The Desk as an opportunity for KCBS and KCAL to “bolster” the “trust and reliability” they’ve built with consumers for years. His assignment desk peer, Liu, says the segment is a “grand experiment” that’s “pulling back the curtain on how we gather the news and putting it on the air faster and with greater depth than we have before.”

“It’s equal parts exhilarating and terrifying because there’s no template as to how this should look or feel,” Liu says. “We have evolved it every day since we started, and it’s already become this dynamic, awesome thing.”

Dello Stritto has scoured the news industry for similar programming and says, so far, he hasn’t seen anything else quite like The Desk anywhere else. He conjures the phrase “imitation is the finest form of flattery,” but observes that other stations might not have the right personnel to develop their own version of The Desk : extremely well-trained, passionate assignment editors with natural on-air reporter chops.

Though The Desk is just a few months old, Dello Stritto says the audience is taking to it. They find it “refreshing” and are developing a connection to Liu and Rogers, he says.

“The attraction is that they are regular guys doing their job and then telling people what’s happening,” he says. “People are expressing that in different ways, but there are strong indications that viewers are latching on to not only the concept, but to these guys who are delivering it. My hunch is it’s because of that transparency and authenticity, that it doesn’t look and feel like a television news anchor who’s sitting there, yet they’re delivering in a compelling, clear way.”

Editor’s Note: This is the latest of TVNewsCheck ’s “Newsroom Innovators” profiles, a series showcasing people and news organizations evolving the shape and substance of video reporting. These profiles examine the inception of their innovations, the tools they employ and how they’re reconciling experimental approaches to news storytelling within daily workflows. You can find the others here .

Comments (2)

Leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

tvn-member-9324370 says:

January 24, 2023 at 5:18 pm

Great idea…but not new. We tried this exact idea with the “News Outside the Box” concept at KIRO in Seattle in 1992. And it really depends on the ability of the assignment desk personnel to tell a story…as indicated in the KCBS example. What’s old is new again…

Former Producer says:

January 25, 2023 at 9:33 am

I presume KCBS also saves money with this approach. It’s cheaper to use an in-house assignment editor than it does to send a reporter and photographer to the scene. And, as anyone who follows the TV news business knows, CBS is in the midst of cutting costs.

This is fundamentally no different than when major-market TV stations starting using one-man-band MMJs. Managers promoted the concept as a new chapter of visual storytelling and innovation and blah blah blah, but be real: it costs less to pay one person do the jobs of two people.

Stay Connected

• Newsletters & Alerts
• Become a Member
• Join TVN Plus

What is your Alerting Strategy? Enhance Alerts with Rich, Precise Information for Weather and Beyond 20 June 2024

Virtual sets, ar and the tv news 27 june 2024.

• View more events

National Advertising Sales Account Executive

• Get After It Media

Vice President & General Manager

• Lubbock, TX

• Baton Rouge, LA

Market Manager

• Portland, Oregon
• KJYY Telemundo Portland & MeTV Portland

Director, Student Media

• Kent State University

Democracy, Technology, TV Journalism and the 2024 Election

Chasing AI: Threatening or Enhancing the News?

Adapting to a Culture of Continuous Crisis

Collaboration and the Future of Content Creation

Building a Breakout Hit in a Multiplatform World

Optimizing political advertising in a multiplatform world.

TVN Webinars

All TVN Videos

Sponsored content.

Generate more ad revenue with sponsored UGC segments

Drive audience engagement with streaming weather

Navigating the AI revolution in media sales: challenges, trust and harnessing custom AI solutions

Megaphone TV launches new interactive sponsorship platform

Elevate your media sales game: embracing data for a competitive advantage

The 4 walls of television interactive sponsorship sales

The future of cyber insurance: Navigating the complex digital landscape

Why an alerting strategy will help win customers in a multi-platform world

Future-proof compliance with AI speech-to-text technology

Applied AI: An unseen revolution in local TV advertising

Real-time news polls have never been this easy

Market share.

TV Stations Tap Stephen Arnold Music To Brand Sports Programming

May 29, 2024

WWL Louisiana Confronts Admitted Pedophile Priest About His Actions

May 28, 2024

New Jobs Posted To TVNewsCheck

May 27, 2024

Special Reports

Newstechforum: the complete videos, local tv news’ recruitment problem has a solution, in 2024, spot tv is all about political, updated top 30 station groups: nexstar retains top spot, gray now no. 2 as fcc-rejected standard general drops off.

clock This article was published more than  4 years ago

Isabelle Khurshudyan to become Moscow correspondent

Announcement from Foreign Editor Douglas Jehl, Deputy Foreign Editor Eva Rodriguez and Foreign Assignment Editor Brian Murphy:

We’re thrilled to announce that Isabelle Khurshudyan will become a Moscow correspondent. She will join Robyn Dixon, the incoming bureau chief, in the vast and vital task of helping our readers make sense of Russia and its neighbors.

Isabelle is a Russian speaker who has demonstrated her speed, agility and flair during five standout years as a reporter in Sports. Her first “foreign” assignment, she tells us, began when she was asked in the fall of 2015 to cover the Washington Capitals and a sport she knew next to nothing about. She asked questions, cultivated sources – and quickly established her mastery of the job, winning the Red Fisher Award for best NHL beat writer in 2018.

The Caps won the Stanley Cup that year, and Isabelle captured every moment, including Alex Ovechkin’s triumphal return to Russia, where he hoisted the Cup in Red Square. She also spent a month in our Moscow bureau as a mid-winter fill-in, writing memorably about why Russia hadn’t yet witnessed a #MeToo movement and also, inevitably, about the Alex Ovechkin museum .

Isabelle was born in Chattanooga, Tenn., and grew up speaking Russian at home, first in New York City and then in South Carolina. She got her start at The Post as a summer intern in 2014, after graduating from the University of South Carolina. She covered high school sports and then University of Virginia and Virginia Tech sports before moving on to the Capitals.

She will start in Foreign on Nov. 1, after wrapping up her final assignment in Sports, where she is helping to cover the World Series. We expect that she will take up her post in Moscow later in the year, once she gains the necessary accreditation.

Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez to begin rehab assignment

NEW YORK -- New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez will begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Double-A Binghamton, marking his first game action since tearing a ligament in his left thumb over a month ago, manager Carlos Mendoza announced Tuesday.

Alvarez will catch five to seven innings in the game, Mendoza said. The rehab assignment comes after Alvarez took batting practice on the field Saturday for the first time since sustaining the injury.

"Everything is moving in the right direction, and the fact that he's now ready to go in games, that's a good sign for us," Mendoza said.

Alvarez, 22, tore the ulnar collateral ligament in his thumb sliding into second base against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 19. He underwent surgery four days later. The Mets announced a recovery timeline of six to eight weeks. Tuesday marked five weeks since the surgery.

Catching pitches behind the plate will be the biggest test in Alvarez's return to games, said David Stearns, the team's president of baseball operations. Alvarez will wear a brace on the thumb when playing defense and hitting.

"You can simulate what this is going to be like from the hitting perspective in the cage with velo machines, on the field with BP," Stearns said. "The added complication here when you're a catcher with this injury is how it's going to feel to receive a baseball. That's the hurdle and we won't really know until he gets out there, but everything is going really well so far."

Alvarez, a former consensus top-five prospect, was batting .236 with one home run and a .652 OPS in 16 games at the time of the injury. He hit .209 with 25 home runs in 123 games while impressing defensively as a rookie last season.

Without him, Mets have gone 11-22 while their catchers have collectively ranked in the bottom five in the majors at the position in batting average, home runs, OPS and wRC+.

University of Idaho volleyball head coach resigns amid investigation into abuse allegations

Editor's note: The video above is from March 28, 2024, before Gonzalez's resignation.

The University of Idaho has confirmed to KREM 2 that Head Volleyball Coach Chris Gonzalez has resigned from the university amidst an investigation into alleged abuse of players. According to U of I, the investigation into alleged abuse will stop and no further action will be taken. 

The resignation comes two months after the university placed Gonzalez on leave. 

At least 13 University of Idaho volleyball players claim they suffered mental, verbal and physical abuse by Gonzalez, dating back to 2022.  Last October, a formal complaint was filed against Gonzalez with the University’s Office of Civil Rights and Investigations (OCRI). It lists alleged offenses including "body shaming," "ignoring medical advice and putting players at greater risk of injury," "withholding food," and "creating a culture of fear, humiliation, embarrassment and intimidation."

RELATED: 'Finally, we're being heard' | University of Idaho volleyball player reacts to head coach being placed on leave

Players previously told KREM 2 that Gonzalez physically pushed a girl to the ground during practice when he jumped into the drill.  Players also said Gonzalez called the girls "linebackers," implying they need to lose weight. 

"With this resolution, we look forward to the volleyball program rebuilding an environment in which our student-athletes can be comfortable and succeed both on the court and off," Assistant Athletic Director, Jerek Wolcott, said. 

WATCH RELATED: University of Idaho volleyball player details alleged abuse from head coach

KREM ON SOCIAL MEDIA:  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  YouTube  

DOWNLOAD THE KREM SMARTPHONE APP  

DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE  |  DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE  

HOW TO ADD THE KREM+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE  

ROKU: Add the channel from the  ROKU store  or by searching for KREM in the Channel Store. 

Fire TV: Search for "KREM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app  delivered directly to your Fire TV  through Amazon. 

Apple TV: Search "Spokane News from KREM" in the Apple store or  follow this link.  

To report a typo or grammatical error, please email [email protected].   

Watch CBS News

Butler County could be a bellwether to determine 2024 presidential election

depo 25 bonus 25 to 5x

depo 25 bonus 25

mndrmndr.com

bonusdeposit.net

https://www.greentourstanzania.com/wp-includes/customize/

https://temp1.novotest.biz/id/

https://sumberjo-blitar.desa.id/images

https://sumberjo-blitar.desa.id/data

https://www.greentourstanzania.com/wp-includes/js/product/

https://smpabbs.sch.id/gacor/100/

https://smpabbs.sch.id/gacor/bonus/

deposit 25 bonus 25

bonus new member 100

slot bonus new member 100

Local News Resources

• Criminal Justice & Crime
• Business & Economy

AL | AK | AZ | AR | CA | CO | CT | DE | DC | FL | GA | HI | ID | IL | IN | IA | KS | KY | LA | MD | ME | MA | MI | MN | MS | MO | MT | NE | NV | NH | NJ | NM | NY | NC | ND | OH | OK | OR | PA | PR | RI | SC | SD | TN | TX | UT | VA | VT | WA | WI | WV | WY

hariantulis

•       Featured Site
•       Airfare / Hotels / Car Rental
•       Auction Sites
•       Aviation
•       Business Magazines
•       Businesswire
•       Computer Virus Alerts
•       Cop Stuff
•       Crossword Puzzles
•       E-greeting Cards
•       Entertainment
•       Find Experts
•       Gov't Directories
•       Horoscopes
•       Int'l Pages
•       Internet Zines/News
•       Local News Resources
•       Major Locals
•       Maps
•       Money
•       Network News
•       News Magazine
•       News Wires
•       Newspapers
•       Online Local Newspapers - U.S.
•       Personal Health Site
•       Photo Search
•       Politics
•       PR News Wire
•       Radio Sites
•       Reporter Beats
•       Research
•       Reverse Directories
•       Search Engines
•       See Hear News Now
•       Send a Text
•       Senior Citizen Web Sites
•       Social Media
•       Sports News
•       Tabloids
•       Time Wasters
•       Time Zones
•       Track Packages
•       Travel Info
•       TV Network Schedules
•       TV News Sites
•       TV Sweeps Date
•       Weather
•       White Pages
•       Women's/men's Mags
•       World Papers
•       Yellow Pages
•       Your Stuff
• CenturyLink
• Yahoo! Mail
• Sliding Block
• Word Search
• Free Weather
• Weather.com
• Accuweather
• Catholic Charities
• Feeding America
• Habitat for Humanity
• Salvation Army
• Wounded Warrior
• YMCA of the USA
• ALS Association
• Alzheimer Assoc.
• American Cancer
• American Diabetes
• Cystic Fibrosis
• Make A Wish
• National Kidney
• National MS
• National Wildlife
• Parkinson’s Found.
• Ronald McDonald
• World Wildlife
• Suggest Charity
• Google Maps
• Yellow Pages
• White Pages
• Reverse Phone
• Fodor’s Travel

Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns it could go to war with NATO over US move - as Germany follows Washington in approving strikes inside Russia with its weapons

Germany has followed the US in approving strikes inside Russia using its weapons - as Moscow warns the moves could cause a war with NATO. Meanwhile, Ukraine reportedly launched a large missile and drone attack overnight.

Saturday 1 June 2024 08:31, UK

• Biden partially lifts ban on Ukraine using US arms to attack Russia, US officials say - with cross-border strikes allowed  
• Moscow warns it could go to war with NATO over US move - as Putin ally says Russia 'not bluffing' over nuclear threats
• Germany follows US in announcing Ukraine can now use its weapons to strike targets in Russia
• At least four dead in Kharkiv from overnight Russian missile strikes
• Watch: Freed Ukrainian prisoners weep as they sing on way home after two years in captivity
• Analysis: Sharp change of US policy increases chance of direct confrontation with Russia
• The big picture : What you need to know about the war right now
• Live reporting by Lauren Russell and Dylan Donnelly

We'll be back with live updates soon.

Scroll down to read today's news.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has wrapped up a flurry of negotiations in Sweden and signed long-term security deals with Norway and Iceland.

Earlier, we reported that the Ukrainian president had struck an agreement while in Stockholm (see 13.26 post).

Now, Mr Zelenskyy has signed a 10-year deal with Norway, through which Oslo will focus on supporting Ukraine's maritime and air defence needs.

Norway would be "open" to the Norwegian defence industry localising production in Ukraine under the deal. Iceland has also committed to a 10-year pact.

The new agreements mean Mr Zelenskyy now has 15 written pacts with Western nations, including all five Nordic countries - which are all NATO countries.

He previously agreed security pacts with Denmark and Finland in February and April respectively.

Sweden's agreement means Stockholm will transfer two ASC 890 surveillance aircraft as well as its entire stock of armoured tracked personnel carriers.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said earlier: "You are literally fighting not only for your own freedom but also for our freedom and our security."

A Russian-American journalist will be detained until at least 5 August ahead of an investigation and trial.

Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for the US government-funded Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty’s Tatar-Bashkir service, was taken into custody on 18 October.

She's been charged with failing to register as a foreign agent while collecting information about the Russian military.

Later, she was also charged with spreading "false information" about the Russian military.

Ms Kurmasheva told reporters she suffered from various health conditions which could not be properly treated in detention. 

She also said she had last heard her children's voices in October, and held up two children's drawings for reporters which she said had been sent to her and had lifted her spirits.

She was the second American journalist detained in Russia last year, after Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.

He was arrested on espionage charges in March. A year later, President Joe Biden said  the US was "working every day"  to secure his release.

Read more about her charges  here...

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is trying to disrupt Ukraine's peace summit in June by blackmailing world leaders.

Speaking in Stockholm after signing a security pact with Sweden, the Ukrainian president said: "The most important thing right now is the peace summit. It should become a truly global summit.

"At this moment, we already have about 100 states and international organisations that will participate in the summit, but Russia is blackmailing some leaders and trying to block the participation of some countries."

Earlier, China's foreign ministry spokesperson defended Beijing's refusal to attend the summit - held 15-16 June in Switzerland - which Russia is not invited to.

Mao Ning insisted its demands for an international peace conference that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine are "fair" and "impartial" (see 10.53 post).

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said China's decision shows Beijing understands that holding a peace summit without Russia would be futile.

Mr Zelenskyy also said it's "a question of time" before Ukraine uses Western weapons to strike targets inside Russia (see 13.26 post).

The Kremlin has dismissed France's refusal to invite Russian officials to events commemorating the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the Second World War.

Yesterday, the French presidency said Russia would not be invited next week over what Paris called "Moscow's war of aggression" against Ukraine.

Despite Vladimir Putin and officials accusing the West of trying to "erase" Russia's contributions to the war effort, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was planning for next year's Victory Day.

He said "next year, you know, is an extremely important year for us", as it marks 80 years since the Soviet Union defeated Nazi Germany.

"This is our main priority in terms of memorial actions."

Earlier this week, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Western countries of presenting D-Day as "the main event that decided the outcome of World War Two".

She said: "Of course, nothing is said in the West about the fact that no landing in Normandy would have been possible without the successes of the Red Army. 

"They are trying not only not to remember, but to erase it."

Kremlin officials have today been issuing various statements - including dire threats of war with NATO - in response to Western powers' decisions to let Ukraine use weapons they have supplied to attack inside Russia.

But Jens Stoltenberg, the military alliance's secretary-general, has dismissed the threats and insisted NATO was simply helping Kyiv defend itself.

"This is nothing new. It has… been the case for a long time that every time NATO allies are providing support to Ukraine, President Putin is trying to threaten us to not do that," he said in Prague.

"And an escalation – well, Russia has escalated by invading another country."

Citing Russia's northern offensive against the Kharkiv region in Ukraine, Mr Stoltenberg added: "Ukraine has the right for self-defence, we have the right to help Ukraine uphold the right for self-defence, and that does not make NATO allies a party to the conflict.

"That was the case back in February 2022, that was the case last year, that remains the case."

Ten foreign ministers, including Lord Cameron, are demanding North Korea stop supplying weapons to Russia.

Earlier this month, Russia dismissed claims it was working with Pyongyang on military matters and said the relationship between the countries was not a threat to others.

But the ministers say Russia is using North Korean arms transfers "to strike Ukraine's critical infrastructure, prolonging the suffering of the Ukrainian people".

They also called for North Korea to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Yesterday, North Korea fired a barrage of ballistic missile to show it is willing to strike South Korea's "gangsters' regime" pre-emptively.

Meanwhile, some of the officials are in Prague for a two-day NATO summit, where they've discussed allowing Ukraine to use weapons they have supplied to strike inside of Russia.

Germany announced it will allow Kyiv to do so, to the anger of Russian officials (see 10.30am post).

Earlier, we reported that Ukraine and Russia had carried out their first prisoner swap since February (see 13.05 post).

Now, Ukraine's defence ministry has shared a video of freed prisoners singing Ukraine, originally by Taras Petrynenko, as they're brought back home.

Leading the sing-along is Kostyantyn Myrhorodskyi, who was in Russian captivity for more than two years.

Some of the men with him on the coach can be seen weeping as they are overcome with emotion by the moment. 

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has confirmed Joe Biden approved for US weapons to be used inside Russia. 

Speaking to reporters in the Czech Republic following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Mr Blinken said Ukraine asked for authorisation to allow its forces to defend itself against Russian attacks, particularly in the city of Kharkiv.

The meeting of NATO foreign ministers comes before a summit in Washington from 9 -11 July. 

Mr Blinken said during the summit, "concrete steps" will be taken to bring Ukraine closer to NATO and the US will "ensure there's a bridge for Ukraine to NATO membership".

He said the summit is happening at a "pivotal time" when Russia is intensifying its attacks against frontline regions in Ukraine.

After last night's missile strike on a block of flats, Russia's defence ministry says it has carried out 25 attacks in Kharkiv.

According to the Interfax news agency, the strikes were carried out between 25 May and 31 May with precision-guided weapons, and targeted Ukrainian military facilities.

The ministry adds Russian troops are advancing in several directions - and have captured two villages - Berestove and Ivanivka - in the Kharkiv region.

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free