Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian helicopter shot down in historic sea drone strike as Kyiv attacks oil depot
The Ukrainian strike on a Russian chopper is the first time an unmanned sea drone has shot down an aerial target, Kyiv said
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Your support makes all the difference.A Russian helicopter was shot down by an uncrewed Ukrainian naval drone, in what Kyiv’s spy agency says was the first such strike in history.
In a battle near Cape Tarkhankut, on Crimea’s western coast, a missile-armed Magura V5 maritime drone struck a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. Dramatic video footage appears to show the moment the chopper was downed into the sea.
It is the first time an aerial target was destroyed by an uncrewed vessel, Ukraine’s GUR spy agency said in a post on Telegram.
Another Russian helicopter was damaged but managed to reach an airfield, the agency said. The reports have not yet been independently verified.
It comes as the Ukrainian military said it attacked an oil depot in Russia’s western Smolensk region, which it says was used for military purposes. Powerful explosions and tanks with oil products caught fire.
Local governor Vasily Anokhin said earlier that wreckage from one of the 10 Ukrainian drones shot down by Russian air defences fell on the oil facility. The situation is now “under control”, he said, offering no further detail.
Meanwhile, Kyiv brought home 189 former captives in a prisoner exchange with Moscow on Monday, in which 150 Russian soldiers were also freed.
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Ukraine downs six out of 21 Russian drones
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday it had downed six out of 21 Russia-launched missiles overnight.
Russia attacked the country with 40 drones, 16 of which were shot down, the air force said on Telegram.
The remaining drones failed to reach their targets, it added.
Russia will ‘move forward’, Putin says in New Year address
In a New Year’s address to the Russian people, president Vladimir Putin said Russia will “move forward” in 2025.
The seasonal message is being broadcast at midnight in each of the 11 time zones across Russia.
Russia has strengthened its unity in the first quarter of the 21st century, Putin said, achieving significant goals.
"And now, on the threshold of the new year, we are thinking about the future. We are confident that everything will be fine, we will only move forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is and will be the fate of Russia, the well-being of its citizens," he said.
Putin described Russian soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine as “true heroes”, but did not make specific predictions for the battlefield situation in 2025.
Report: Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people.
The reason for the discrepancy in numbers wasn’t immediately clear.
Read the full report:
Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that released hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates
‘We can help restore Syria’, says Zelensky
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked his delegation for visiting the Syrian capital of Damascus, and calls for the countries to “renew our economic cooperation”.
He said in a post on X: “We can help restore stability in Syria after years of Russian interference, and this will undoubtedly help us restore peace for ourselves as well. It would be the right step to re-establish our diplomatic relations with Syria and renew our economic cooperation.
“We are counting on post-Assad Syria to respect international law in a way that Assad neither could nor wanted to. He was neither independent nor sovereign and simply failed to understand what it means to respect his own people and the international community.”
ICYMI: Biden announces almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine
The Biden administration has announced almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
“I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
This includes $2.5bn more in weapons and $3.4bn in economic assistance to help pay for other government services.
Comment | Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
When Boris Yeltsin suddenly resigned as Russia’s first post-communist president on New Year’s Eve, 1999, his country seemed to be spiralling downhill into economic and political disintegration. Few gave his largely unknown successor as acting president much chance of reversing the economic implosion or remaining in office for long.
The then prime minister Vladimir Putin’s media operation had already begun to portray the ex-KGB operative in stark contrast to the moribund Yeltsin as an action man. That same year the second Chechen war on the country’s southern border raged. Twenty-five years later, Vladimir Putin is still in the Kremlin but Russia is again in the grip of war on its post-Soviet periphery after last week’s downing of an airliner over Chechen airspace.
Mark Almond writes:
What 25 years of Putin has done to the world, in a presidency bookended by war
Crisis has aided the Russian strongman’s regime stability far more than any index of economic success, writes Mark Almond
In pictures: Ukrainians reunite with family in prisoner swap
Ukrainian drone attack causes oil spill and fire in Russia, region says
A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in Russia’s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasily Anokhin said.
Russian air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones but the wreckage of one of them fell on the oil facility, Anokhin wrote on Telegram according to Reuters.
The situation is now “under control”, he added, but no further details were issued.
China and Russia have moved ‘hand in hand’ on right path, says Xi
China and Russia have always moved “hand in hand” on the right path, Chinese president Xi jinping said according to the Xinhua news agency.
It comes months after the two countries struck together a “new era strategic partnership” on several issues, including Taiwan, Ukraine and rivalling the United States.
Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported Moscow’s ambassador to Beijing as saying that Mr Xi will visit Russia in 2025.
Mr Xi expressed his desire to maintain close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an exchange of New Year greetings.
In Focus | How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
Ordinarily, it’s historians writing after the fact that identify the pivotal dates in wars when the road to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia’s war on Ukraine is different: it’s clear in advance that 20 January 2025 will change the course of the conflict. Since well before the US election, there has been no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine’s continuing ability to resist Russia’s onslaught.
It’s long been apparent that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact not in Ukraine at all. Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contributions to their respective war efforts are crucial. The key difference is that in Ukraine’s case, the biggest backer by volume may be about to pull the rug from under the country’s ability to continue the struggle to survive.
Military expert Keir Giles writes:
How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
With a Russian apologist preparing for his inauguration, Keir Giles plots out how he believes Putin will use the new American president, Ukraine’s defenselessness and the chill of life without a US security blanket to proceed with his long-term goals of domination
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