Ukraine-Russia war latest: Zelensky says Patriot missiles could ‘close our skies’ but are just gathering dust
Ukrainian president’s plea comes after Russian missile killed at least four people in Zaporizhzhia
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukraine would be able to completely defend its skies if it received around a dozen more Patriot air defence systems from Western allies, Volodymyr Zelensky has said, urging them not to let the systems “gather dust”.
Signalling his frustration, the Ukrainian president said: “I sometimes do not get it... Everyone understands that an additional 10-12 Patriot systems for Ukraine will ensure life for us and make the war for (Russian president Vladimir) Putin meaningless.
“We repeat again and again that air defences should save lives, not gather dust at storage bases,” he said.
His plea came after a Russian missile killed at least four people and injured 20 more, including a child, in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.
Also in the Zaporizhzhia region, a drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle from the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, on the road to the Russian-held nuclear power plant there yesterday.
While the UN team is safe, the agency’s chief Rafael Grossi repeated his calls for “utmost restraint” from both sides.
In Russia, an overnight missile attack has damaged an industrial facility and set ablaze at least 14 of cars in Taganrog in Rostov.
Pictures show Syrian diaspora raising opposition flags at embassy in Russia
Photos show members of the Syrian community in Moscow gathering outside the Syrian embassy on Monday to celebrate the toppling of former president Bashar al-Assad and to hoist the opposition flag over the building.
Assad and his family fled to Russia, where they received asylum from his longtime ally, after a lightning rebel advance ended his family’s 50 years of iron rule.
Russian missile strike kills three in Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, governor says
Three people were killed and 11 hurt in a Russian missile strike that destroyed a private clinic in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Tuesday, the regional governor said.
Rescuers were searching for people trapped under the rubble, he said on the Telegram messenger. One person was in a severe condition, and two medics were among the injured,
Explosions heard in occupied Donetsk
Russian occupation officials announced evacuations in Yenakiieve city in the occupied Donetsk region as reports of explosions spread on social media.
Local Telegram channels speculated about a possible missile attack in footage they posted allegedly showing explosions in Yenakiieve .
Ukraine has not commented on the incident, and Russian authorities did not clarify the reasons for evacuation.
China restricting drone supplies key to Ukrainian defence
China has started restricting exports to the United States and Europe of drone components vital to Ukraine’s defence, amid an escalating China-US trade war, Bloomberg reports.
The parts are used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, according to sources with knowledge of the developments.
Beijing is expected to impose broader restrictions on drone parts in the new year, the sources added.
Poland says Ukraine peace talks possible this winter
Peace talks on the war in Ukraine could possibly start this winter, Poland’s prime minister said as he outlined a series of planned meetings with Warsaw seeking to play a leading role in ending the conflict.
Poland has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
“As you can imagine, our delegation will be co-responsible for, among other things, what the political calendar will look like, perhaps what the situation will be like during the negotiations, which may, although there is still a question mark, start in the winter of this year,” Donald Tusk told a government meeting.
Mr Tusk’s comments come after he announced French president Emmanuel Macron will Warsaw on Thursday to give a rundown on talks with US president-elect Trump and Ukrainian president Zelensky in Paris last weekend.
Ukrainians have highest trust for Trump in Europe, survey suggests
Just over 44 per cent of Ukrainians trust US president-elect Donald Trump, around 10 points less than president Joe Biden, a survey by New Europe Center showed.
In comparison, a separate June poll by the Pew Research Center suggested that Hungaraians trusted Mr Trump the most at 37 percent, followed by Britain at 30 per cent and then France with 16 per cent of the population trusting him.
“This high level of support is likely due to the expectation of a clearer and more decisive policy towards Ukraine from the new US administration,” New Europe Center researchers said.
70 per cent of Ukrainians support ‘West German’ model for NATO accession, survey shows
Just over 70 per cent of Ukrainians support gradual NATO accession akin to West Germany’s model, a new survey by the Kyiv-based New Europe Center.
This invitation would cover Ukraine, but the alliance’s defensive umbrella would only extend to occupied territories after liberation.
Different NATO accession pathways are gaining traction in both the West and Kyiv as Russia holds a military advantage on the battlefield and the prospect of liberating occupied territories militarily remains slim.
China’s exports to Russia plunge for first time in four months
China’s yuan exports to Russia plunged in November, a sharp deterioration from 24 per cent growth in October and marking the first decline in four months, according to Chinese customs data.
Outbound shipments to Russia shrank 10.5 percent last month from a year earlier, the first drop since July.
Imports from Russia also fell 7.4 percent in yuan terms last month, worsening from a 4.3 percent loss in October.
It comes after Putin said that the primary challenge to Russia-China trade was mutual payment settlements, and the central banks of both countries were working to address the issue.
UK to support Cyprus in cracking down on ‘illicit Russian finance’
Britain will support Cyprus in establishing a new national sanctions implementation unit to crack down on "illicit Russian finance" flowing through Europe, the British government has said.
"Together with the Republic of Cyprus, we are stemming the flow of illicit finance through Europe to starve (Russian president Vladimir) Putin’s war machine and protect global stability," British prime minister Keir Starmer said following a visit to the island nation.
UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer met @PresidentCYP this morning in "historic" visit to #Cyprus. The Prime Minister expressed his intention for bilateral cooperation to reach even stronger levels in international issues, trade, investment, energy, health & the EU #UKCYties pic.twitter.com/uIP9iI14Xo
— UK in Cyprus (@UKinCyprus) December 10, 2024
Polish PM Tusk to discuss Ukraine with France's Macron in Warsaw
French president Emmanuel Macron will visit Warsaw on Thursday to give a rundown on talks with US president-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Paris last weekend, Poland’s prime minister said on Tuesday.
“The day after tomorrow, president Macron will be here, he will want to inform about the results of the Paris talks, where the meeting took place with president (elect) Trump and president Zelenskyy,” Donald Tusk told a government meeting.
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