Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin’s forces ready for ‘large missile attack’ as US vows North Korea troop response
US secretary of state Antony Blinken warns North Korean troops deployment ‘will get a firm response’
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Your support makes all the difference.Vladimir Putin’s forces are ready to launch a massive attack on Ukraine, the head of Kyiv’s national security council has warned, as the country braces for large-scale missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.
Blasts were heard over Kyiv on Wednesday as Ukraine accused Russia of launching its first missile attack on the capital since August and urged residents to take cover as air raid sirens blared in multiple regions.
But Ukraine security chief Andrii Kovalenko warned the the attacks on Wednesday – involving cruise and ballistic missiles – were less intense than those Moscow was equipped to carry out in the future, as it continues to stockpile cruise missiles. Russia’s plans are known and understood, and Ukraine will counter, he insisted.
It came as US secretary of state Antony Blinken travelled to Brussels, meeting Nato chief Mark Rutte and Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
Vowing that the Biden administration will bolster Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Mr Blinken also warned that Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops “demands and will get a firm response”.
South Korea says North Korean soldiers are fighting Ukraine forces
South Korea's spy agency has warned that North Korean soldiers deployed to Russia are engaging in combat against Ukraine.
Following reports of 10,000 North Korean soldiers arriving in Russia, some are claimed to have been stationed in Kursk, the region attacked by Ukraine in August.
Experts have told The Independent that they believe Vladimir Putin may now be amplifying his efforts to take back territory in Kursk ahead of Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
Polish security services detain Belarusian suspected of attempted arson
Polish special services have detained a Belarusian citizen suspected of committing acts of sabotage by attempting to set fire to a building in Gdansk.
Poland believes its role as a hub for supplies to Ukraine has made it a key target for spies who are trying to gather information on support for Kyiv’s war effort and engage in acts of sabotage.
In January and May, Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) arrested citizens of Poland, Ukraine and Belarus whom it accused of carrying out arson attacks on buildings in Gdansk, Gdynia and Marki, and preparing similar attacks in Wroclaw.
“This is another arrest in the investigation into the activities of an organised criminal group that, at the request of foreign special services, carried out acts of sabotage, in particular arson,” the agency said on Wednesday.
The prosecutor’s office has charged the detained Belarusian citizen with participation in an organised criminal group and committing acts of sabotage, diversion or terrorist crimes on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. A court ordered his detention for three months.
Blinken meets Nato chief in Ukraine talks ahead of Trump transition
US secretary of state Antony Blinken has met Nato chief Mark Rutte in Brussels as the outgoing Biden administration seeks to cement support for Ukraine ahead of Donald Trump’s return.
Mr Blinken is expected to discuss in Brussels how US allies can take greater leadership over support for Ukraine with Washington’s future role uncertain.
Following his meeting with Mr Rutte at the alliance’s headquarters, Mr Blinken is later expected to meet Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha.
He will also meet top EU officials and British foreign secretary David Lammy in Brussels on Wednesday.
Ukraine claims to shoot down missiles and 37 Russian drones launched in overnight attacks
Ukraine’s air force said it has shot down two cruise missiles, two ballistic missiles and 37 Russian drones as regions across Ukraine were targeted in overnight attacks.
A further 47 Russian drones were lost in different regions of Ukraine, while two left Ukraine’s airspace oin the direction of Belarus and Russia, Kyiv said.
Kyiv, Poltava, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv were among the regions targeted, Ukraine’s air force said.
Blasts in Kyiv as Russia stages first missile attack since August, Ukraine says
Blasts rang out over Kyiv on Wednesday morning after officials said Russia launched its first missile attack on the Ukrainian capital since August and urged residents to take cover.
The scale of the strike and extent of any damage were not immediately clear. The attack involved missiles launched by strategic bombers as well as ballistic missiles, the military said. No casualties or damage have been reported so far.
“Putin is launching a missile attack on Kyiv right now,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the president’s office wrote on Telegram.
The missile strike came after what officials said was a drone attack. Kyiv has faced Russian drone attacks almost nightly for weeks. Vitali Klitschko, the city’s mayor, said a drone was still flying over central Kyiv in the morning.
“Explosions in the city. Air defence forces are working. Stay in shelters!” the Kyiv city administration wrote on the Telegram messenger.
Nato’s Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte has called on Western allies to provide Ukraine with further support “to change the trajectory of the conflict” with Russia.
Speaking ahead of a meeting in Paris with French president Emmanuel Macron, Rutte said: “We must do more than just keep Ukraine in the fight.”
He added: “We need to raise the cost for Putin and his enabling authoritarian friends by providing Ukraine with the support it needs to change the trajectory of the conflict.”
Rutte, who did not provided details about the military equipment and weapons needed for that purpose, said it was “very concerning” that Russia was getting “closer to its allies, China, Iran and North Korea.”
NATO's Rutte calls for more Western support for Ukraine, warns of Russian alliances
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte called on Western allies to provide further support to Ukraine “to change the trajectory of the conflict.”
Europe is in immense danger if Trump hands any kind of victory to Putin in Ukraine
According to anonymous sources quoted in The Washington Post, one of Donald Trump’s first actions on being re-elected was to call Vladimir Putin. That call was immediately denied by the Kremlin. As Trump moves back into power, we should get used to confusion and mixed messaging – between him and Vladimir Putin, it’s always going to be hard to tell which, if either, might actually be telling the truth on any given occasion.
In fact, Russia’s response to the return of Trump has been a similarly confusing mixture of shameless flattery and blatant trolling. Putin’s comments on “courageous” Trump were accompanied by Russia’s prime-time television propaganda show welcoming Trump to the White House by airing nude photographs of his wife from a quarter-century ago while its presenters smirked.
That’s led to speculation over how the relationship might have moved on since Trump’s first term in office. But long-term, Russia analysts consider this kind of power play “normal for Putin” – particularly when the target of the information campaign has shown himself as easy to manipulate as Trump.
Europe is in immense danger if Trump hands any kind of victory to Putin on Ukraine
The president-elect has said he’ll end the bloody Ukrainian conflict ‘in one day’ when he returns to the White House. But, says Keir Giles, whatever action is taken could have profound consequences for Europe
Full story: EU top diplomat nominee strongly backs Ukraine and underlines China’s links to war
The European Union must back Ukraine against Russia for as a long as it takes and persuade the United States that its strategic interests in China are tied up in the outcome of the war, the woman nominated as the bloc’s top diplomat for the next five years said Tuesday.
Questions have been raised about whether the 27-nation EU’s commitment to Ukraine would remain firm with Russia appearing to have an edge in the war, which began on Feb. 24, 2022, and following the reelection of Donald Trump, who has vowed to end the conflict as U.S. president.
“Ukraine’s victory is a priority for us all. The situation on the battlefield is very difficult,” Estonia ex-Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told EU lawmakers during a hearing she must pass to be appointed as foreign policy chief.
Read the full story here:
EU top diplomat nominee strongly backs Ukraine and underlines China's links to the war
The nominee for the European Union's next top diplomat says the bloc must commit to Ukraine for the long-haul even as the war's costs mount
Isolationism has never worked for America, EU’s Kallas says
Kaja Kallas, the nominee to be the European Union’s next foreign policy chief, has warned against making assumptions about what US president-elect Donald Trump would do in Ukraine and said isolationism had never worked for the United States.
The former Estonian prime minister told her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament on Tuesday that she did not think anybody knew what Mr Trump would do and that the EU would need to hear directly from his team.
“If we look to the history, then isolationism has never worked well for America ... If America is worried about China, they should first be worried about Russia, and we will have these dialogues with the United States,” Ms Kallas said.
Blasts heard in Kyiv
Loud blasts have been heard in Kyiv in the early hours today amid reports on missiles heading for the Ukrainian capital.
“A rocket in Chernihiv region heading for Kyiv region!” the Ukrainian air force said on Telegram. “Rocket to Kyiv, take cover immediately,” it said.
“Russia’s winter campaign against Ukraine’s civil energy infrastructure appears to be starting. Some cruise missiles are headed Kyiv’s way,” said Oliver Carroll, a journalist based in Kyiv.
“Ballistic missiles reported headed to Kyiv right now. The sound of air defence is very audible in centre of capital,” he said in another tweet.
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