Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv targets missile fuel factory as Moscow claims assassination attempts foiled
Four Russians accused of helping assassination plots arrested
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Your support makes all the difference.Ukraine has claimed to have struck a Russian industrial facility producing fuel for missiles, as Moscow says it has foiled several assassination plots on senior officers.
Kyiv said on Thursday that its air force had had carried out a strike in Russia’s Rostov region on a factory which was used to produce solid fuel for ballistic missiles used in attacks on Ukraine.
It did say what damage was caused in the attack or give an exact date, but said it had been struck in the past few days.
It comes as Russia claimed it had foiled several Ukrainian plots to assassinate senior officers and their families using bombs disguised as power banks or document folders.
The country’s Federal Security Service said it had arrested four Russians accused of helping plan the attack, just weeks after a high-ranking oddicer was killed outside his Moscow apartment by a bomb attached to an electric scooter.
It comes weeks after Ukraine’s intelligence service killed a top Russian officer outside his apartment building in Moscow by detonating a bomb attached to an electric scooter.
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All four Moscow airports resume work, Russia's aviation watchdog says
Russia’s aviation watchdog has said that all four Moscow airports have now resumed work after the lifting of temporary restrictions that were introduced to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights.
“Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers and airport services have taken all necessary measures to ensure flight safety - this is the main priority,” the statement from Rosaviatsia said.
Russia declares federal emergency over Black Sea oil spill
Russia has declared a federal emergency on Thursday over an oil spill caused by two Russian tankers in the Black Sea, the Emergencies Ministry said.
The tankers were hit by a storm on December 15, causing one split to in half and the other run aground.
The resulting spill has coated sandy beaches at and around Anapa, a popular resort, and caused serious problems for wildlife including seabirds, dolphins and porpoises.
More than 10,000 people have been trying to clear it up.
Russia plays down speculation over cause of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash in Kazakhstan
Russia and Kazakhstan have tried to calm speculation about the cause of the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash, following claims it had been shot down by Russian air defence systems.
On Thursday, Moscow urged calm as its foreign minister said it would be wrong to come to conclusions before an investigation into the crash was complete.
The flight had been set to travel to Grozny, the capital of Russia‘s Chechnya on Wednesday, but instead diverted and crash-landed a few kilometres short of Aktau airport in Kazakhstan.
Read the full story here:
Russia plays down speculation over cause of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
Russia plays down speculation over cause of Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash
Pope Francis calls for negotiations in Russia-Ukraine war for ‘lasting peace’ - ICYMI
In his Christmas Day address, Pope Francis called for a dialogue to end the Ukraine-Russia war and urged a ceasefire in Gaza, alongside appeals for peace in other conflict zones like Lebanon and Syria.
The Pope condemned the ongoing violence in Ukraine following a massive Russian missile and drone attack, reiterating his plea for a “just and lasting peace”. He also highlighted the humanitarian crises in Gaza, where hostages remain, and the plight of Christian minorities in Syria after rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad.
His remarks on Israel’s “cruelty” in Gaza drew sharp criticism from Israel which called which called the comments “particularly disappointing”.
Watch: Emergency Services Arrive At Azerbaijan Airlines Plane Crash Wreckage Site
Putin’s Christmas Day attacks were designed to show ruthless force – but they may backfire
Half a million were left without heating and one person was killed as Russia launched more than 70 missiles at Kharkiv.
Yet 2025 will almost certainly be the year when the war ends – and it will not be the unmitigated disaster for Ukraine that seemed likely even a few months ago.
Read our Editoral here:
How Putin’s ‘ruthless’ Christmas Day attacks on Ukraine may backfire
Editorial: Half a million were left without heating and one person was killed as Russia launched more than 70 missiles at Kharkiv. Yet 2025 will almost certainly be the year when the war ends – and it will not be the unmitigated disaster for Ukraine that seemed likely even a few months ago
Russia's security must be guaranteed by any Ukraine peace deal, Lavrov says
Russia’s foreign minister has said that “truce is a path to nowhere” as he said a peace deal must secure Russia’s future security.
Sergei Lavrov said that a weak truce would be used by the West to re-arm Ukraine as he called for a legally binding deal on lasting peace.
“We need final legal agreements that will fix all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors,” Lavrov said.
He added that Moscow wanted the legal documents drafted in such a way to ensure “the impossibility of violating these agreements.”
Ukraine strikes military industrial facility in Russia’s Rostov, military says
Ukraine said it has striked a Russian military in industrial facility in the past few days.
Kyiv’s military said on Thursday that its air force had had carried out a strike in Russia’s Rostov region on the facility in the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.
It added that the facility was used to produce solid fuel for ballistic missiles used in Russian attacks on Ukraine
It did not give a date for the attack or say what damage was caused.
Russia says forces capture village in eastern Ukraine
The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Russian forces have captured a village of Hihant in eastern Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday.
Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield reports from either side.
8 injured in Russian drone attack, Kyiv says
A Russian drone attack on a market in a Ukrainian town injured eight on Thursday morning, local authorities said.
Seven of those injured in the town of Nikopol were hospitalized after the strike damaged multiple stalls at the market, the region’s governer said on Telegram.
The drone strike comes after Russia’s Christmas Day attack on the country’s energy system killed one person in the region.
The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it shot down 20 drones out of 31 launched by Russia overnight.
Of the 31 drones, 11 “imitator drones” did not reach their targets due to active engagement from the Ukrainian military, it added
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