The new, interim leader of Austria's conservatives demanded assurances from the far right on Wednesday that they want to keep Austria free from Russian interference, laying out potential flashpoints as they head into coalition talks.

Austrian far-right Freedom Party (FPO) leader Herbert Kickl confirmed on Tuesday he plans to invite the conservative People's Party (OVP) to hold coalition talks after he was tasked with forming a coalition government.

STORY: Josef Binder may get a second chance at seeing his dream Austrian government.He voted for Herbert Kickl's far-right Freedom Party of Austria - or FPO - in the September polls.And the collapse of the country’s centrist coalition talks on Sunday (January 5) has put Kickl in the driving seat.

Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that his troops were ‘actively destroying Russian military potential’ in the Kursk region of Russia

Russia said on Monday its forces had made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.

Russia launched 64 Shahed-type attack drones and various dummy drones against Ukraine overnight, the Air Force reported. Air defenses shot down 41 drones over nine different oblasts, while 22 dummy drones were lost in the airspace,