Ukraine-Russia war latest: Biden gives Zelensky go ahead to use US long-range missiles against Russia
Vladimir Putin warned the decision to allow US long-range missiles to strike targets deep within Russia would be an act of war
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike hundreds of miles inside Russia for the first time, according to reports.
The decision is a major US policy shift and comes after Russia warned that Moscow would see the move to allow the use of US-made missiles “as a major escalation”.
With Biden leaving office in two months President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
In September, Vladimir Putin warned the decision would be an act of war back when reports emerged that Joe Biden was “working out” the possibility of US long-range missiles being used inside Russia.
It came as a “massive” Russian missile attack, dubbed the largest air attack on Ukraine in months, has killed at least seven people and injured at least 19, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes targeted vital energy infrastructure as temperatures hit sub-zero in the war-torn country.
Russian missile strike kills 10, including two children, in Ukraine’s Sumy
A late-night attack devastated a residential block and left the city without power, officials confirm.
A Russian missile strike on a residential building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy has killed 10 people, including two children, and injured 55 others, local authorities reported. Among the injured were eight children, according to a statement by the Sumy city council shared on Telegram.
The attack, which struck a nine-storey apartment block late on Sunday, left the city’s administrative centre without power after a separate missile hit critical infrastructure. Photographs shared by Ukraine’s State Emergency Service showed widespread devastation, with cars engulfed in flames, rescuers assisting survivors, and a building with shattered windows and a heavily damaged facade.
“Sunday evening for the city of Sumy became hell, a tragedy that Russia brought to our land,” said Volodymyr Artyukh, head of the Sumy military administration, in a statement. Emergency responders continued rescue efforts at the scene, with over 400 people evacuated from the affected area. Psychologists were also on-site to provide support to survivors.
The State Emergency Service of Ukraine described the scene as a massive operation, with photographs showing firefighters battling flames and rescuers navigating the wreckage to carry survivors to safety.
There has been no response from Moscow regarding the strike. Reports from local prosecutors and emergency services have corroborated the details, with Reuters verifying the location through imagery analysis.
The long-range missiles Ukraine could use to strike Russia after Biden decision
Joe Biden has sensationally granted Kyiv permission to use “long-range “ missiles to strike targets deep within Russia, despite Vladimir Putin describing such a move as an act of war.
The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and comes after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
He argued the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.
My colleague Barney Davis looks closer at the weapons that could mark a turning point in the war:
ATACMS: Long-range missiles Ukraine could use to strike Russia after Biden decision
Should Putin be afraid of Kyiv using Army Tactical Missile System rockets?
In pictures: Ukraine reels from largest drone attack in months
Ukraine responds cautiously to US approval for long-range missile use
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky struck a measured tone in response to the United States’ recent decision to permit the use of long-range missiles.
In his nightly video address, he downplayed public declarations about the development, saying, “Today, much is being said in the media about us receiving permission for the relevant actions. But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”
The remarks come amid intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine. Earlier, Mr Zelensky revealed that Russia had unleashed 120 missiles and 90 drones in a large-scale assault across the country. The operation included Iranian-made Shahed drones alongside various types of cruise, ballistic, and aircraft-launched missiles.
Ukraine’s air force reported intercepting 144 of the 210 air targets, but significant damage was still inflicted. Mr Zelensky confirmed strikes on energy infrastructure and civilian casualties. “In Mykolaiv, as a result of a drone attack, two people were killed and six others were injured, including two children,” he said.
Russia launches one of its fiercest missile and drone attacks at Ukraine's infrastructure
A Russian strike on a nine-story building in the city of Sumy in northern Ukraine killed eight people and wounded dozens, an official said on Sunday, as Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack described by officials as the largest in recent months.
Among the eight killed in Sumy, 40km from the border with Russia, were two children, said Ukraine’s minister of internal affairs Ihor Klymenko.
More than 400 people were evacuated from the building.
The rescuers were checking every apartment looking for people who might be still in the damaged building.“Every life destroyed by Russia is a big tragedy,” said Mr Klymenko.
The drone and missile attack, which targeted Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, came as fears are mounting about Moscow’s intentions to devastate Ukraine’s power generation capacity ahead of the winter.
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukrainian forces defending the eastern region of Donetsk are heading into the “moment of maximum tension” as Russian forces rush to take territory across Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration next year, war monitors have claimed.
Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.
Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.
Tom Watling reports:
Mapped: Where has Russia made advances on the frontline in Ukraine?
Ukraine’s military say the hottest fighting along the roughly 640-mile frontline is taking place along multiple points in Donetsk
Biden urges Xi to dissuade North Korea from supporting Russia’s war
US president Joe Biden urged his Chinese counterpart to dissuade North Korea from further deepening its support for Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The leaders, with top aides surrounding them, met at a Lima hotel on the sidelines of the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
Mr Biden wants Mr Xi to step up Chinese engagement to prevent an already dangerous moment with North Korea from further escalating, officials said.
White House officials have expressed frustration with Beijing, which accounts for the vast majority of North Korea’s trade, for not doing more to rein in Pyongyang.
The North Koreans also have provided Russia with artillery and other munitions, according to US and South Korean intelligence officials.
Putin’s forces intensify assaults across Ukraine: ‘They don’t care how many men they lose’
As Russian forces intensify attacks against hard-pressed Ukrainian soldiers along much of the 600-mile front line, a senior Ukrainian military source has told The Independent that Moscow will keep up the assaults until the moment of Donald Trump’s inauguration – despite the huge troop losses Vladimir Putin’s forces are suffering.
The colonel, who has requested not to be named, says both Ukraine and Russia have to take seriously Trump’s campaign promises to quickly end the war, although the president in waiting has not explained how he plans to bring about a ceasefire.
“What is clear,” says the colonel, “is that the Russians want to take as much Ukrainian territory as possible and clear Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk [Russian border] region we occupied in August before any negotiations begin.”
Askold Krushelnycky reports
Putin’s forces intensify assault on Ukraine: ‘They don’t care how many men they lose’
Ukrainian soldiers are under pressure, from Donetsk in the east to Kharkiv in the north – while Vladimir Putin also wants to reclaim the territory taken in Russia’s Kursk region before Donald Trump takes office. Askold Krushelnycky talks to officers about the fight to stop Russia’s troops
Two children among 8 dead in strikes on Sumy
Eight people were killed and at least 20 were injured in a Russian missile strike on Sumy on Sunday evening.
A 9-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl were killed in the strikes which led to 20 local residents sought medical help, including three children.
The rocket attack on a densely populated residential neighborhood in the city of Sumy saw at least ten high-rise buildings damaged, as well as vehicles.
Prosecutors in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies are documenting the consequences of the shelling.
Young Ukrainian refugees ‘thriving’ and fluent in English after joining Scouts
Two young Ukrainian refugees who were “scared to talk” when starting school in the UK have said joining their local Scout group has helped them to learn English.
Artem Horchuck and Yehor Kremnov, both six, arrived in Gosport, Hampshire, in 2022 after their families fled Ukraine when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.
Since their arrival the pair have started school, joined their local Squirrels group, a younger branch of the Scouts, and are now integrated and thriving in the UK.
“When I started school I was scared to talk as I didn’t know how to talk English,” Artem told the PA news agency.
Artem, who came to Gosport from Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine, met Yehor, from Kyiv, at 6th Gosport Squirrels after their families were both referred by their Ukrainian family support worker.
“England is really quiet. It’s safe here,” Yehor told PA.
“We don’t have rockets or shooting here. I can sleep more here.
“I like the Squirrels as I can learn more English, make friends and have fun.”
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