Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv strikes Russia in major drone attack 1,000km from frontline
High-rise residential buildings hit in Russian city of Kazan but no casualties reported; Zelenskyy reveals meetings with CIA chief. What we know on day 1,033
Ukraine staged a major drone attack on the Russian city of Kazan, 1,000km (620 miles) from the frontline, on Saturday, damaging residential buildings and temporarily shutting down the airport. A drone smashed into a high-rise apartment block and damaged a skyscraper in the city of more than 1.3 million but there were no casualties, local officials said. Videos posted on Russian social media networks showed drones hitting a high-rise building and setting off fireballs. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said two drones hit a 37-storey apartment block and that Ukraine had been targeting an unspecified industrial facility but that it suffered no damage.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday without specifically mentioning the strike on Kazan: “We will definitely continue to strike at Russian military targets with drones and missiles.” Some Kazan residents were evacuated – Russian authorities did not provide figures – and all major public events in the area were cancelled as a precaution after the strikes. Russian civil aviation authority Rosaviatsia temporarily closed Kazan international airport, one of the country’s busiest, but reopened it later on Saturday. Alongside the drones that hit the apartment block, three drones were shot down and three were suppressed by air defence systems, the foreign ministry said. The attack on Kazan – about 800km east of Moscow – came a day after Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, killed one person and wounded 13, and after five were killed by a Ukrainian attack on the Russian border region of Kursk.
Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he had met CIA director William Burns in Ukraine – a rare public disclosure of a meeting between the pair. The Ukrainian president said he had met Burns on multiple occasions throughout the war but their meetings had been undisclosed. “Bill Burns paid his last visit to Ukraine as CIA director,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, posting a photo of him shaking hands with Burns in front of a state crest of Ukraine. “He and I have had many meetings during this war, and I am grateful for his help. Usually, such meetings are not publicly reported, and all our meetings – in Ukraine, in other European countries, in America, and in other parts of the world – were held without official information.” Burns is set to leave the CIA post as US president-elect Donald Trump brings in his own candidate.
Russia’s defence ministry said the army captured a new village on Saturday near the key city of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have made major advances in recent months. The village of Kostiantynopolske is about 10km south-west of Kurakhove, an industrial town that is a looming Russian target.
The Russian embassy in London on Saturday described the UK’s planned transfer to Ukraine of more than £2bn ($2.5bn) backed by frozen Russian assets as a “fraudulent scheme”. Britain said in October it would lend Ukraine £2.26bn pounds as part of a much larger loan from the Group of Seven nations backed by frozen Russian central bank assets to help buy weapons and rebuild damaged infrastructure. UK defence minister John Healey said the money would be solely for Ukraine’s military and could be used to help develop drones capable of travelling further than some long-range missiles.
Continue reading...-
Five killed in strike on Russia's Kursk after deadly missile attack on Kyiv
Yahoo News - 1d -
Six killed in strike on Russia's Kursk after deadly missile attack on Kyiv
A reported attack on a Russian town comes after Ukraine said Moscow had launched a new attack on Kyiv.BBC News - 1d -
Ukraine war briefing: Russia accused of large-scale cyber-attack on Ukrainian authorities
Ukrainian deputy PM says some ministry of justice systems have been taken offline; Putin says he’s ready to meet Trump for peace talks. What we know on day 1,031. See all our Ukraine war ...The Guardian - 2d -
Ukraine war briefing: Trump blasts Biden permission for long-range strikes
US president-elect calls move by Joe Biden ‘stupid’; North Koreans killed in combat against Ukraine for first time, says Pentagon. What we know on day 1,028. See all our Ukraine war coverage ...The Guardian - 5d -
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv accuses Moscow of recklessness after oil tanker sinks in storm
One dead while second tanker in distress in Black Sea near occupied Crimea. What we know on day 1,027. Ukrainian officials accused Moscow of recklessness on Sunday after one oil tanker sank and ...The Guardian - 6d -
Ukraine war briefing: North Korean troops join Russian assaults in ‘significant’ numbers, Kyiv says
North Koreans joining assaults on Kursk front, says Zelenskyy, urging fresh allied response; Ukrainian drones hit oil facility in Russia’s Oryol region. What we know on day 1,026 Continue reading...The Guardian - Dec. 15 -
Ukrainian drones strike Russia as Kyiv reels from consecutive massive air attacks
Ukrainian drone strikes on southern Russia have killed a 9-year-old boy and set fire to a major oil terminalABC News - Dec. 14 -
Ukraine war briefing: Ukrainian drones make multiple strikes inside Russia
Attack on several regions comes after Russia hammered Ukrainian energy facilities with drones and missiles. What we know on day 1,025. Ukrainian drones made several strikes inside Russia overnight ...The Guardian - Dec. 14 -
Ukraine war briefing: Kyiv confirms Russian gains around Pokrovsk
US suspects Moscow preparing another Oreshnik ballistic missile attack; Zelenskyy hails strike on Russian airfield and fuel works. What we know on day 1,023. Russian troops destroyed or captured ...The Guardian - Dec. 12
More from The Guardian
-
Exclusive: photographs reveal first glimpse of uncontacted Amazon community
The Guardian - 2h -
US shoots down two of its own navy pilots over Red Sea in ‘apparent friendly fire’ incident
The Guardian - 36m -
Magdeburg mourns Christmas market dead
The Guardian - 11h -
‘I won that fight’: Tyson Fury rejects defeat as judges’ ‘Christmas gift’ to Oleksandr Usyk
The Guardian - 3h -
Trump appoints The Apprentice producer as US special envoy to UK
The Guardian - 9h