Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces launch ‘largest missile attack’ in months on vital energy supplies
Putin’s forces have targeted Ukraine’s energy supplies for months as a difficult winter approaches for Kyiv
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Your support makes all the difference.Russian forces have unleashed the “largest air attack” on Ukraine in months, targeting vital energy infrastructure as temperatures hit sub-zero in the war-torn country.
Blasts were heard across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities early on Sunday morning, in what Ukrainian officials have described as the biggest missile attack since August.
"Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure," foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.
Putin’s forces have inflicted repeated and sustained attacks on Ukraine’s power grid, in an attempt to cripple key infrastructure and cause long blackouts.
It comes as temperatures in Kyiv and other areas of Ukraine reach below freezing, as the winter months begin to take hold.
"Another massive attack on the power system is under way. The enemy is attacking electricity generation and transmission facilities throughout Ukraine," Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko wrote on Facebook.
The scale of the damage across Ukrainian cities is not immediately clear, but power supplies were cut by officials in multiple city districts to prevent a surge in case of damage. Officials often remain tight-lipped on the state of power infrastructure due to the war.
At least two people were killed overnight.
Russia strikes Ukraine's capital
Ukraine's air defence units were trying to repel a Russian air attack on Kyiv, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said this morning.
Ukraine is facing a ‘hammer blow’ of 50,000 Russian troops in Kursk – can they hold out?
After months spent occupying a swathe of territory in Russia in the wake of a daring summer assault, Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed that Ukraine is now engaged against a force of 50,000 troops amassed by Vladimir Putin in the border Kursk region.
The Ukrainian incursion was the largest on Russian soil since the Second World War and succeeded in taking Moscow – and even Kyiv’s closest allies – by surprise.
Tom Watling and Andy Gregory report:
Analysis: Ukraine is facing 50,000 Russian troops in Kursk – can they hold out?
Experts tell Andy Gregory and Tom Watling that the real question is how much Kyiv’s troops are able to inflict casualties on the Russians as the price for taking the territory back
Why did Russia attempt to capture Kharkiv city of Kupiansk?
Russian forces have breached the outskirts of Ukraine’s northeastern city Kupiansk, part of a region it briefly held after first invading Ukraine, military officials said.
Moscow’s forces attacked the region in four waves and used soldiers disguised as Ukrainian troops but were repelled from the city by Kyiv’s forces, Ukraine’s General Staff said. But why does the control of Kupiansk, a significant rail hub in the area, matter?
Kupiansk was captured by Russian forces in the early days of the February 2022 invasion and then liberated by Ukraine in a counteroffensive months later.
Vladimir Putin’s forces deployed 15 pieces of hardware in their assault on Kupiansk, including tanks and armoured vehicles, as they attempt to expand offensive operations on a sprawling more-than-1,000km front, Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
The Russian attack looked opportunistic and Kyiv appeared to have isolated and destroyed most of the Russian forces that penetrated the outskirts of Kupiansk, Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Black Bird Group, said.
“However, a penetration like that certainly signals confusion and weakness in Ukrainian defences in that area, which could prompt the local Russian commanders to increase their efforts to squeeze or cut off the Ukrainian salient,” he added.
He said the coming days would likely indicate whether the Kremlin was going to react to this by ramping up attacks there further.
Ukraine fights to liberate all its territory, defence minister says
Ukraine is fighting to liberate all territory captured by Russia in the last decade, and any claim that Kyiv is shifting its focus in the war to prioritise security over land is false, the country’s defence minister has said.
“Territorial integrity is part of our values,” Rustem Umerov told a joint press conference with his Norwegian counterpart in Oslo.
When asked about reports that Ukraine is shifting its focus in the war, Mr Umerov said this was false and part of Russian propaganda efforts.
“Our priority is still to protect people, protect the nation, to liberate people from almost 10 years of temporary occupation, so Crimea and Donbas [are] part of Ukraine,” he said, adding that people living in territories held by Russia are all waiting to be liberated.
A France-trained and armed force aims to strengthen Ukraine's defenses at critical juncture in war
A French military task force with a festive name — “Champagne” — is wrapping up a mission that’s no party: Training a whole new brigade of several thousand Ukrainian troops who will be joining the fight against Russia‘s invasion armed with France-supplied tanks, artillery canons and other heavy weaponry.
The approaching return to Ukraine of the “Anne of Kyiv” brigade, after more than two months of intense military training in eastern and southern France, comes at another critical juncture in the almost three-year war.
Read the full report:
A France-trained and armed force aims to strengthen Ukraine's defenses at critical juncture in war
A French military task force with the festive name “Champagne” is wrapping up a mission that’s no party
Putin tells Scholz that Russia is willing to look at energy cooperation, Kremlin says
Vladimir Putin has told Germany’s Olaf Scholz that Russia is ready to look at energy deals if Berlin is interested, the Kremlin has said, following their first phone conversation since December 2022.
A readout from the Kremlin claimed: “It was emphasised that Russia has always strictly fulfilled its treaty and contractual obligations in the energy sector and is ready for mutually beneficial cooperation if the German side shows interest in this.”
Germany was heavily reliant on Russian gas before the war, but direct shipments ceased when the Nord Stream pipelines under the Baltic Sea were blown up in 2022.
Germany and other European Union countries have imposed successive waves of sanctions on Russia over the war and taken steps to wean themselves off their dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Sanctions on Russia will ‘destroy’ EU economy, Orban claims
Hungary’s Viktor Orban has claimed that European Union sanctions against Russia will “destroy” the bloc’s economy.
Mr Orban, widely seen as having the warmest relations with the Kremlin in the EU, has broken with the majority of European leaders and vocally opposed such sanctions.
Speaking on state radio on Friday, the hard-right leader claimed the EU’s sanctions regime “should be reviewed, because with such a policy of sanctions, energy prices will not come down”.
He added: “It will be painful for those who argued for sanctions. Not for us, because we will see this as a victory, but the other camp has to change because otherwise it will destroy the European economy.”
Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin seriously underestimate what the other is capable of and that carries far-ranging risks for Ukraine over Russia’s invasion, Britain’s former spy chief and ex-diplomats have told The Independent.
Trump’s US election victory last week has upended Europe’s plan to back Kyiv for “as long as it takes”. His focus is on ending the war quickly, even if that potentially means pushing Kyiv to cede territory currently occupied by Russia.
Sir Alex Younger, former chief of MI6 from 2014 to 2020, believes both the incoming president and his Russian counterpart overestimate their ability to influence the other.
Tom Watling reports:
Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
With Donald Trump vowing to the end war in Ukraine quickly, Tom Watling speaks to American and British former officials about the overconfidence of both the US president-elect and the Russian leader
Zelensky ‘deeply grateful’ to G7
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked leaders of the G7 major democracies.
In a post on X, he said: “The leaders of the G7 have once again demonstrated unwavering support for Ukraine as we approach the 1,000th day of Russia’s full-scale aggression.
“I am deeply grateful to President of the Council of Ministers Giorgia Meloni and all G7 leaders for their united voice in standing with Ukraine. Their support helps Ukraine protect its people against terror, ultimately saving countless lives.
“At a time when Russia remains the sole obstacle to a just and lasting peace, it’s vital to send a clear message: aggression and violations of the international order, as outlined in the UN Charter, will not be tolerated, and those responsible will face consequences.
“Now is the time for the global community to deepen its efforts and make decisive decisions to ensure stability and peace for all our nations.”
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