57 h. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian attack destroys Kharkiv energy facility as UK pledges emergency support

Response crews at work following strikes in Ukraine’s second city as Britain commits £20m after Zelenskyy declares energy emergency. What we know on day 1,423Russian forces destroyed a large energy facility in Ukraine’s second-biggest city, Kharkiv, the mayor said on Thursday, the latest target of a winter air campaign by Moscow that has plunged millions of Ukrainians into darkness and cold. Kharkiv mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram that emergency crews were working around the clock, while he did not specify what sort of facility had been hit. Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said officials were assessing the extent of damage.Volodymyr Zelenskyy proceeded with a drive to tackle the damage inflicted by Russian strikes, chairing a meeting aimed at securing quick decisions from regional leaders. The Ukrainian president said there had been new strikes on the capital into the evening. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said about 300 apartment buildings remained without heat after a 9 Janua...

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4 d. ago ‘They want to break us’: Russian energy grid strikes give freezing Kyiv some of its darkest days

Impact of raid on infrastructure rivals early weeks of war when tanks tried to force their way into Ukrainian capitalOn the night of 9 January, amid warnings from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of massive and imminent Russian airstrikes, Tetiana Shkred began cooking for her children at midnight.Concerned that the power was once again about to be knocked out in her apartment block on Kyiv’s left bank – the side of the city that has been most affected by Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure – she cooked until 3am, when her flat was plunged into freezing darkness. Continue reading...

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4 d. ago ‘I think they want to break us’: Russian strikes on energy grid give freezing Kyiv some of its darkest days

Impact of raid on infrastructure rivals early weeks of war when tanks tried to force their way into Ukraine’s capitalOn the night of 9 January, amid warnings from Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, of massive and imminent Russian airstrikes, Tetiana Shkred began cooking for her children at midnight.Concerned that the power was once again about to be knocked out in her apartment block on Kyiv’s left bank – the side of the city that has been most affected by Moscow’s attacks on energy infrastructure – she cooked until 3am, when her flat was plunged into freezing darkness. Continue reading...

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6 d. ago Ukraine war briefing: Nightfall – Britain races to develop ballistic missile for Kyiv

UK government starts contest to have deep-strike prototypes delivered within 12 months; heat-starved Kyiv under Russian attack again. What we know on day 1,419Britain is to develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, the government has announced. Under the project, named Nightfall, the British government said on Sunday that it had launched a competition to rapidly develop ground-launched ballistic missiles that could carry a 200kg (440lb) warhead to a range of more than 500km (310 miles).“Nightfall missiles will be capable of being launched from a range of vehicles,” said the UK defence ministry (MoD), “firing multiple missiles in quick succession and withdrawing within minutes – allowing Ukrainian forces to hit key military targets before Russian forces can respond.”Three industry teams would each get £9m to design, develop and deliver their first three Nightfall missiles within 12 months for test firings, said the MoD. Ukraine’s current ballistic missiles include Atac...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian strikes kill two and trigger hospital fire ahead of Paris peace talks

Overnight attacks trigger evacuations ‘under fire’ at Kyiv medical facility while European leaders gather to seek peace plan breakthrough. What we know on day 1,413Russian strikes on Ukraine early on Monday killed two people and forced night-time evacuations into freezing temperatures, a day ahead of Ukrainian allies meeting in France to revive diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting. Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner will attend the Paris meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing” on Tuesday – being hosted by French president Emmanuel Macron – to discuss security guarantees as part of a peace proposal. Russia’s overnight strikes triggered a fire at a private medical facility in Kyiv, killing one person and wounding three others, authorities said. “Doctors and nurses were forced to evacuate the wounded under fire,” Ukraine’s prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, said on X. The attack also killed a man in his 70s in the neighbouring city of Fastiv, ...

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1 week ago Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv escalating drone attacks on Russia, Moscow claims

Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine had targeted Moscow with drones every day of 2026 so far. What we know on day 1,412Russia’s defence ministry claimed that Ukraine has targeted Moscow with drones every day of 2026 so far, in what would mark an escalation from earlier, more sporadic attacks on the Russian capital. By midnight on Sunday alone, Russian air defence systems had destroyed 57 drones over the Moscow region out of 437 downed over Russia, the ministry said. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine, but Kyiv has increasingly used long range drones to strike targets deep inside Russia. Ukraine says such attacks aim to disrupt military logistics and energy infrastructure, raise costs for Moscow’s war effort and respond to repeated Russian missile and drone attacks in the war that Russia launched nearly four years ago.Three out of four of Moscow’s airports shut to air traffic on Sunday after Ukraine launched dozens of drones, authorities said. The attacks led to multiple ...

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2 w. ago Russia puts death toll from Ukrainian strike on occupied village at 27. Kyiv rejects accusation

Russian authorities say a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine's Kherson region has killed 27 people

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2 w. ago Russia accuses Ukraine of killing 24 people in drone strike on a hotel and café

Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-installed governor of Kherson, has made currently unverified claims about the attack. Pictured: Ukrainian strikes on Russia's energy infrastructure.

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2 w. ago Ukraine war live: Trump greets Zelenskyy in Florida for peace talks and says he thinks Putin is serious about peace this time

Call with European leaders is also slated to take place during meetingThe Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight drone attack.The strike caused a fire and damages were still being assessed, Kyiv’s General Staff said. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Keir Starmer condemns Russian strikes on Kyiv as Zelensky holds major peace talks with Trump

Keir Starmer holds call with Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of his high-stakes talks with US President Donald Trump over ending Russia's bloody conflict

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2 w. ago Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy lands in Florida for Trump peace talks; call with European leaders to take place during meeting

Ukrainian president will meet US president at his Mar-a-Lago home later today for their first in person meeting since OctoberThe Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight drone attack.The strike caused a fire and damages were still being assessed, Kyiv’s General Staff said. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Ukraine war live: Zelenskyy lands in Florida for Trump peace talks; call with European leaders to take place after meeting

Ukrainian president will meet US president at his Mar-a-Lago home later today for their first in person meeting since OctoberThe Ukrainian military said on Sunday that it hit the Syzran oil refinery in Russia’s Samara region in an overnight drone attack.The strike caused a fire and damages were still being assessed, Kyiv’s General Staff said. Continue reading...

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2 w. ago Trump and Zelenskyy to hold talks amid heavy Russian airstrikes on Ukraine

Key topics include security guarantees from Europe and the US, with Putin yet to signal interest in latest negotiationsRussia-Ukraine war – latest news updatesDonald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy are to meet on Sunday to discuss a plan to end the war in Ukraine, amid continuing Russian attacks on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, and scepticism that Moscow is willing to drop any of its maximalist demands.Zelenskyy arrived in Florida on Saturday night with a Ukrainian delegation, before talks with the US president at his Mar-a-Lago residence. The two leaders are expected to discuss the latest iteration of a 20-point peace plan and the unresolved question of the future of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Kyiv strikes are Putin’s ‘answer to peace,’ Zelensky tells Canadian PM ahead of crunch Mar

BRUTAL strikes on Kyiv are Putin's "answer to peace", Zelensky tells Canada's Prime Minister ahead of crunch Mar-a-Lago talks with Trump. Russian forces unleashed hell on the Ukrainian capital, hitting the city with almost 500 drones and 40 missiles in a 10-hour onslaught which has killed two and wounded dozens. President Zelensky said it was...

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3 w. ago Zelenskyy heads to Florida for talks with Trump amid fresh strikes on Kyiv

Attacks leave hundreds of thousands without heating as Ukrainian leader readies for intense weekend of diplomacyA third of Kyiv is without heating after a Russian drone and missile barrage on the Ukrainian capital cut off power supplies, leaving hundreds of thousands of people facing freezing temperatures.Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Moscow had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the overnight attack. “The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on X. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Zelenskyy to hold talks with European leaders amid fresh strikes on Kyiv

Attacks leave hundreds of thousands in city without heating as Ukrainian leader prepares for flurry of weekend diplomacyA third of Kyiv is without heating after a Russian drone and missile barrage on the Ukrainian capital cut off power supplies, leaving hundreds of thousands of people facing freezing temperatures.Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Moscow had used nearly 500 drones and 40 missiles, including ballistic missiles, in the overnight attack. “The primary target is Kyiv – energy facilities and civilian infrastructure,” he said in a post on X. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Zelenskyy to meet European leaders and Trump for Ukraine peace talks amid fresh strikes on Kyiv

Attack on Kyiv injures five, says mayor, amid flurry of weekend diplomacy that will see Ukrainian president meet Trump in FloridaEuropean leaders are to take part in a call with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump on Saturday as part of a growing push for a peace deal that will see the Ukrainian president head to Florida on Sunday.The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, is to join a call on Saturday, a commission spokesperson told Reuters, ahead of the Ukrainian president’s trip to Florida for a Sunday meeting with Trump that Zelenskyy said would focus on some of the most sensitive parts of the peace talks. Key sticking points include Ukrainian security guarantees and reconstruction, plus territorial discussions regarding the Donbas region and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Continue reading...

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3 w. ago Zelensky wishes death on Putin in Christmas speech after Vlad demands changes to peace plan & sends new wave of strikes

PRESIDENT Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to wish death upon Vladimir Putin in his Christmas message after the Russian forces blitzed Ukraine with fresh strikes. Zelensky's address came just hours after Kyiv offered to freeze the front line while allowing for the creation of demilitarised zones in hopes of a Christmas peace breakthrough. Speaking to the Ukrainian...

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4 w. ago Ukraine war briefing: Russian oil rig hit in Caspian Sea over 700km from Ukraine

Kyiv continues campaign of attacks on Russia-linked maritime targets; latest US idea is three-way peace talks. What we know on day 1,397 Ukrainian drones hit an oil rig at Russia’s Filanovsky field in the Caspian Sea – more than 700km (435 miles) from Ukraine’s nearest border, as well as the military patrol ship Okhotnik and other facilities, Ukraine’s military general staff said in a statement on Saturday. It said the ship was patrolling near the platform. The extent of the damage was being assessed. The attack continues Kyiv’s recent campaign of strikes on Russia-linked maritime targets far from Ukrainian territory.Ukrainian drones struck a radar system in the Krasnosilske area of Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Ukraine’s SBU security service claimed two Russian fighter jets were also destroyed at an airfield in occupied Crimea.Since Thursday, Russian forces have at least five times hit a bridge on the Dniester River near the village of Mayaky, south-w...

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