Ukraine-Russia war latest: US warns Putin could use lethal new ballistic missile in ‘coming days’ against Kyiv
Oreshnik missile is ‘just another attempt by Russia to terrorise Ukraine, which will fail’, says US official
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Your support makes all the difference.Russia could launch another hypersonic ballistic missile in Ukraine in the coming days, but Washington does not consider the Oreshnik weapon a game-changer in the war, a US official has said.
Russia first fired the Oreshnik missile at the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on 21 November, in what President Vladimir Putin cast as a response to Ukraine’s first use of US ATACMs ballistic missiles and British Storm Shadows to strike Russian territory with Western permission.
“We assess that the Oreshnik is not a game-changer on the battlefield, but rather just another attempt by Russia to terrorize Ukraine, which will fail,” the official said.
Putin has claimed that the Oreshnik, or hazel tree, is impossible to intercept and that it has destructive power comparable to that of a nuclear weapon, even when fitted with a conventional warhead.
But the US official downplayed the usefulness of the missiles, calling them “experimental” in nature and said that “Russia likely possesses only a handful” of them.
There was no immediate response from Russia.
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US Treasury transfers $20bn in Ukraine loan funds to World Bank facility
The US Treasury says it has transferred the $20bn US portion of a $50bn G7 loan for Ukraine to a World Bank intermediary fund for economic and financial aid to the war-torn country.
The disbursement prior to president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January is aimed at protecting the funds from being clawed back by his administration. Mr Trump has complained that the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine and said he will end the war quickly, without specifying how.
The Treasury said the disbursement makes good on its October commitment to match the European Union’s commitment to provide $20bn in aid backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets alongside smaller loans from Britain, Canada and Japan to help the Eastern European nation fight Russia’s invasion.
The $50bn in credit for 30 years will be serviced with the interest proceeds from some $300bn in frozen Russian sovereign assets that have been immobilised since Russia invaded in February 2022. The G7 democracies have been discussing the plan for months and agreed on terms in October, prior to Trump’s election.
UK animal sanctuary reaches half a million goal to rescue Ukraine lions
A cat sanctuary that rescues lions from war-torn areas Ukraine has successfully met its fundraising goal to offer “forever homes” for the animals.
The Big Cat Sanctuary, the Kent-based charity behind the Big Cats in Crisis campaign, raised £500,000 to help rescue five lions, Yuna, Rori, Vanda, Amani, and Lira, from Ukraine to the Lion Rescue Centre in Smarden.
The funds will cover transportation fees, veterinary treatment, and the construction of a new habitat, which the sanctuary began in July and hopes to complete by the new year.
One African lioness, Yuna, was has seen grass for the first time since being rescued by the sanctuary after significant trauma.
Russia downs 14 Ukrainian drones overnight
Russia’s air defence units destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight, all of them over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.
The ministry did not mention a missile attack on Russia’s Rostov where local officials say an industrial facility was damaged.
Ukraine peace talks possible this winter, says Donald Tusk
Peace talks on the war in Ukraine could possibly start this winter, Donald Tusk said on Tuesday as Warsaw seeks to play a leading role in ending the conflict.
Poland has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and prime minister Tusk pledged to be heavily involved in any talks when it takes up the European Union’s rotating presidency on 1 January.
Ukraine peace talks possible this winter, says Donald Tusk
Zelensky renews push for Nato-style security pledge ahead of full membership
Russia’s hypersonic Oreshnik missile explained
The silent black-and-white surveillance camera video of the Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was brief but chilling: six huge fireballs pierced the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.
Within hours of the 21 November attack on the military facility, Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the new, hypersonic missile. He warned the West that its next use could be against Ukraine’s Nato allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
Putin said the missile was called the “Oreshnik” — Russian for “hazelnut tree.”
Read more here:
What do we know about Putin’s ‘experimental’ ballistic missile?
The Russian experimental missile could be fitted to carry nuclear warheads, the US Pentagon has warned
Zelensky seeks 10-12 more Patriot systems: ‘Don’t let them gather dust'
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs 10-12 more Patriot air defence systems that he said would fully protect its skies, asking his allies to not let the systems “gather dust”.
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.
Signalling his frustration, Mr Zelensky 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.
Mr Zelensky urged allies to use frozen Russian funds to pay for more Patriots as Ukraine braces for another winter of Russian attacks on its devastated power system. “Please take the money from Russian assets – 30 billion it will cost. But it will fully close our skies,” he said, without specifying the currency.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has consistently asked its allies to supply more advanced air-defence systems.
US clears sale of F-16 sustainment services worth millions to Ukraine
The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Ukraine of F-16 sustainment services and related equipment for $266.4m (£208m), the Pentagon said.
The principal contractors will be Sabena, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Pratt and Whitney, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday.
President Joe Biden is rushing out billions of dollars more in military aid before US support for Kyiv’s defences is thrown into question under the new administration.
The US has sent a total of $62bn in military aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and officials from the outgoing administration have said more help is on the way.
Belarus has dozens of Russian nuclear weapons, says Lukashenko
Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare facilities for the planned deployment of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile.
His remarks came after he and president Vladimir Putin signed a treaty last week that gave security guarantees to Belarus, Moscow’s closest ally, including the possible use of Russian nuclear weapons to help repel any aggression.
The pact follows Moscow’s revision of its nuclear doctrine, which for the first time placed Belarus under the Russian nuclear umbrella amid the tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine.
Belarus has dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and is ready for its newest missile, its leader says
Belarus’ authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko says his country is hosting dozens of Russian nuclear weapons and will prepare facilities for the planned deployment of Moscow’s newest hypersonic ballistic missile
Drone hits UN nuclear watchdog’s vehicle near Zaporizhzhia plant
A drone hit and severely damaged an official vehicle of the International Atomic Energy Agency on the road to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine yesterday.
There were no casualties and the UN team is safe, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the nuclear watchdog. “I condemn in the most firm terms this attack on the IAEA staff,” Mr Grossi said. “We call, once again, as we have done it before, for the utmost restraint.”
Mr Grossi said attacking a nuclear power plant is a no-go and attacking those working to prevent a nuclear accident during the military conflict is “even more unacceptable.” He made no suggestion of who might have been responsible.
A picture posted alongside his statement showed a vehicle with clear IAEA markings, its rear portion badly damaged.
While it was not immediately clear which side in the conflict fired the drone, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a “deliberate” attack by Russia.
“This attack clearly demonstrated how Russia treats anything related to international law, global institutions, and safety. “The Russians could not have been unaware of their target; they knew exactly what they were doing and acted deliberately,” he wrote on X.
He called for “a clear and decisive response” from the IAEA and other international bodies.
What Russia's invasion has cost Ukraine after more than 1,000 days of war
Devastating human and material losses continue to mount, leaving Ukraine more vulnerable than at any time since the early days of the war.
As of 31 August, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine had documented at least 11,743 civilians killed and 24,614 wounded in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Ukrainian prosecutors have said 589 Ukrainian children had been killed by 15 November.
Western countries believe Russia has suffered far worse casualties than Ukraine, sometimes losing more than 1,000 soldiers killed per day during periods of intense fighting in the east.
But it is Ukraine, with around a third of Russia’s population, that is likely to be facing the more severe manpower shortages arising from battles of attrition.
Russia now occupies and claims to have annexed around a fifth of Ukraine, an area around the size of Greece.
The draft 2025 budget envisages that about 26 percent of Ukraine’s GDP, or 2.2 trillion hryvnias ($53.3 billion), would go on defence. Ukraine has already received more than $100 billion from its Western partners in financial aid.
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