Ukraine-Russia war latest: 10 injured in Kharkiv attack as Putin’s forces launch mass drone assault
Russian drone attack appears to be among largest of the war so far, as Ukraine targets oil depot
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Your support makes all the difference.Ten people have been injured in Kharkiv, as Vladimir Putin’s forces launched one of the largest overnight drones attacks on Ukraine of the war.
Ukraine’s military said its air defences shot down 71 of 145 drones launched by Russia – in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Odesa, Kherson and other regions – and lost track of a further 71 drones likely due to active electronic warfare.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said an attack on the northeastern city injured 10 people, caused a fire on one of the city’s central streets and damaged civilian infrastructure and cars.
The latest drone attack would be on par with an overnight assault earlier this month described by Kyiv as Russia’s largest of the war so far by Kyiv, which also saw Russia use 145 drones to attack Ukraine, a significant number of which were decoys and others Iranian-made Shahed attack drones.
Ukraine, meanwhile, said it attacked an oil depot in Russia’s western Kaluga region, along with targets in Bryansk and Kursk.
It came as Russian state media reported that a British man fighting with the Ukrainian army had been captured in Kursk.
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Kremlin claims it ‘is not familiar’ with shock Romanian presidential frontrunner’s views on Russia
The Kremlin has claimed not to be particularly familiar with the views on Russia of Calin Georgescu, the far-right Romanian presidential candidate who has emerged as the shock winner in the first round of the country’s elections.
The success of Mr Georgescu, a little-known independent candidate who has claimed that Romania’s best chance lies with “Russian wisdom” and who won 22.9 per cent of the first round vote, has surprised both pollsters and commentators alike.
Given his anti-Nato stance, one political commentator told Reuters that Russian meddling could not be ruled out. “Based on Georgescu’s stance towards Ukraine and the discrepancy between opinion surveys and the actual result, we cannot rule [that] out,” said Sergiu Miscoiu, a political scientist at Babes-Bolyai University.
But asked on Monday for the Kremlin’s take on Mr Georgescu and his electoral prospects ahead of the second round of voting on 8 December, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “I would not make any predictions yet.
“We probably cannot say that we are that familiar with the world view of this candidate as far as relations with our country are concerned. For now, we understand very clearly the current leadership of Romania, which is not a friendly country to us. We will of course watch how the electoral processes develop and who wins.”
Ukraine says it struck oil depot in Russia’s western Kaluga region
The Ukrainian military has said it had struck an oil depot overnight in a reported drone attack in Russia’s western Kaluga region, whose capital lies just 100 miles southwest of Moscow.
The military also said it had struck “a number of important targets” overnight in Russia’s Bryansk and Kursk regions, which are adjacent to Ukraine.
Unverified footage appearing to show the aftermath was shared online, including by a Ukrainian ministerial adviser.
Romania in shock after far-right populist enters presidential election's runoff with most votes
Romania’s political landscape is reeling after an obscure far-right populist secured the first round in its presidential election, beating the incumbent prime minister and threatening Romania’s pro-Ukraine stance.
Calin Georgescu, a hard-right critic of Nato who ran independently, will face off against reformist Elena Lasconi in a runoff in two weeks, after securing 22.95 per cent of the vote to her 19.17 per cent.
Ms Lasconi beat incument premier Marcel Ciolacu of the Social Democratic Party, marking the first time in Romania’s 35-year post-communist history for the party not to have a candidate in the second round of a presidential race.
Romania in shock after far-right populist enters presidential election's runoff with most votes
Romania’s political landscape is reeling after a little-known, far-right populist secured the first round in the presidential election, going from an obscure candidate to beating the incumbent prime minister and a reformist politician
Ukraine’s air force says it downed 71 drones during mass overnight attack by Russia
Ukraine’s air force claims to have shot down 71 out of 145 drones launched by Russia overnight, in what would mark one of the largest such attacks of the war so far.
The air force said that it had lost track of 71 more drones likely due to active electronic warfare, with one drone heading towards Belarus.
The latest attack would be on a par with a drone attack earlier this month described as Russia’s largest of the war so far by Kyiv, which also saw Russia use 145 drones to attack Ukraine, a significant number of which will be decoys and others Iranian-made Shahed attack drones.
Kremlin says Trump’s team talks of peace unlike Biden administration
The Kremlin has said that US president-elect Donald Trump’s circle speaks of peace in Ukraine, while the current Biden Administration – which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion – does not.
Repeating rhetoric regularly deployed by Russia throughout its war on Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed on Monday that Vladimir Putin had repeatedly said that Moscow was ready for dialogue over Ukraine.
Mr Trump is “very concerned” about an escalation in fighting between Russia and Ukraine, Trump’s pick for national security adviser, Mike Waltz, told Fox News on Sunday, saying the war must be brought “to a responsible end”.
At least 10 people injured in Russian attack on Kharkiv, mayor says
At least 10 people have been injured in a Russian attack on Ukraine’s northeastern city of Kharkiv, its mayor has said.
The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said the attack caused a fire on one of the city’s central streets and damaged civilian infrastructure and cars.
Child injured in Russian overnight attacks on energy infrastructure and industrial facilities
Russian forces have launch overnight attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region and on industrial facilities in Zaporizhzhia, authorities have said.
Mykolaiv governor Vitaliy Kim said there had been no casualties and engineers had restored power to most of the consumers facing power cuts after air defence’s downed two drones over the region.
Russia also launched “tens of drones” to attack Zaporizhzhia overnight, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television.
The attack injured one child and dealt damage to multiple industrial facilities and a residential block.
Air defences also repelled a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and the surrounding region overnight. Authorities reported no casualties or significant damage in the attack’s aftermath.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Russia has used around 460 drones and over 20 missiles to attack Ukraine in the past week.
Russia removes commander in Ukraine ‘for misleading reports'
Russia has removed a senior general in Ukraine for giving misleading reports about the progress of the war as defence minister Andrei Belousov tries to clear out poor commanders, pro-Russian war bloggers and state media said.
Ahead of winter, Russian forces advanced at the fastest rate in Ukraine since the start of the 2022 invasion, though progress was much slower in some areas - particularly around Siversk in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Russian media cited unidentified sources as saying that Colonel General Gennady Anashkin, the commander of the Southern Grouping, had been removed from his command, though there was no official confirmation.
“Only the lazy did not write about the problems there: overall, it took the system about two months to react properly,” Rybar, a pro-Russian blogger said on Telegram.
“Anashkin, was removed from office for false reports in the Seversk direction,” Rybar added.
Tulsi Gabbard’s history with Russia is even more concerning than you think
Even before Gabbard left the Democratic Party, ingratiated herself with Donald Trump and secured his nomination to become director of National Intelligence, she was known as a prolific peddler of Russian propaganda.
In almost every foreign conflict in which Russia had a hand, Gabbard backed Moscow and railed against the US. Her past promotion of Kremlin propaganda has provoked significant opposition on both sides of the aisle to her nomination.
Her journey from anti-war Democrat to Moscow-friendly Maga warrior began in Syria.
The devastating conflict was sparked by pro-democracy uprisings in 2011, which were brutally crushed by the Assad regime. It descended into a complex web of factions that drew extremist Islamists from around the world and global powers into the fray.
Richard Hall and Andrew Feinberg write.
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