Ukraine has claimed to have destroyed three Russian air defence systems in just one day, worth tens of millions of pounds.
Ukrainian navy commander Oleksii Neizhpapa said they had hit two Russian anti-missile Pantsir-S1 systems and one OSA anti-aircraft vehicle in one day. The Pantsir’s have an estimated value of $15m (£12m).
“Our soldiers continue to turn Russian equipment into scrap metal,” he wrote on a Facebook post.
He shared a video apparently showing a drone hitting a Pantsir-S1 vehicle. Both Pantsir-S1’s were destroyed in occupied Kherson, southern Ukraine, he added.
It comes as Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the Russian border region of Kursk, targeting “at least three” different points of the frontline in that direction.
According to war trackers, Ukrainian troops launched a second day of multiple attacks on Sunday on the eastern and western flank of what they already control in Kursk, after partially capturing the region last August.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank mapping the frontline, said Ukraine had made advances to the northeast of Sudzha, the only city in Kusk controlled by Kyiv.
Key points
- Ukraine launches fresh offensive in Russia’s Kursk region
- Zelensky warns ‘Putin will destroy Europe’ if US exits Nato
- 3,800 North Korean troops killed or injured in Kursk, says Zelensky
- Ukraine begins ‘last resort counteroffensive’ - Russian military blogger
Russian drone kills one, injures nine in passenger bus in Kherson
05:18
Arpan Rai
A Russian drone attacked a civilian passenger bus in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson yesterday, killing at least one person and injuring nine more, the Kherson regional governor said.
The bus with shattered windows and pools of blood on its floor could be seen on a video from the site, shared by the governor alongside his statement on Telegram.
A 49-year-old man was killed, the regional prosecutor’s office said.
Civilians in Kherson region, which Russian forces partially occupy, and its capital constantly come under Russian drone attacks. Local authorities report casualties from such strikes on an almost daily basis.
Russia claims it has captured another town in eastern Ukraine but Kyiv doesn't confirm the loss
05:01
Tom Watling
Why is Ukraine fighting to keep a piece of Kursk?
04:46
Arpan Rai
Over the weekend, Ukraine began a new offensive inside Russia to extend its incursion within Kursk oblast, an attack Kyiv has not yet acknowledged.
In a brief remark alluding to the events in Kursk, a senior Ukrainian official said Russia was “getting what it deserves” there.
Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had established a buffer zone and inflicted heavy losses in Kursk, preventing Moscow from deploying its troops in key areas of the eastern front.
Ukraine’s main achievement in the past five months of fighting has been its capture of territory inside Russia’s Kursk region, something it hopes could prove a bargaining chip in possible peace talks.
Independent military analyst Franz-Stefan Gady said Ukraine was trying to hold its pocket of Kursk for as long as possible, even as Russia continued to push deeper into eastern Ukraine.
“There’s a likelihood that we haven’t seen the main thrust of this Ukrainian offensive operation just yet,” he told Reuters. “We are essentially talking about platoon-sized, company-sized assaults with fairly limited gains thus far.” It remained to be seen if Kyiv’s forces could open up another axis of advance, Mr Gady added.
Nato cannot defend Europe from Russia without the US, warn leaders
04:07
Tom Watling
Russia claims gains in eastern Ukraine as fierce fighting rages
03:51
Arpan Rai
Russia claims its forces have made important gains in eastern Ukraine while continuing to fend off a new Ukrainian offensive inside the Kursk region of western Russia, where a second day of fierce fighting was under way.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s military, in a late evening report, said Russian forces had launched 25 attacks on Ukrainian positions around Kurakhove, but said nothing about the town changing hands.
The Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the town of Kurakhove, 32km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian logistics hub toward which Russian forces have been advancing for months.
The Russian ministry said taking Kurakhove, which had held out for many weeks, would enable its forces to boost the pace of their advance in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. It also said it had captured Dachenske, a village five miles (8km) Pokrovsk.
Officials in Kyiv have denied the loss of Kurakhove. Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia group of forces, told Reuters that, as of yesterday morning, Kyiv’s forces were still engaging Russian troops inside Kurakhove.
Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow had suffered big losses in five months of fighting in Russia’s Kursk region with nearly 15,000 killed but made no mention of Kurakhove.
Ukraine Kursk offensive: What Kyiv stands to gain and lose in surprise counterattack
03:23
Arpan Rai
Ukraine has launched a fresh counterattack in the Russian border region of Kursk as it looks to gain the most territory it can ahead of possible peace negotiations – with US president-elect Donald Trump saying he wants to end the war as soon as possible.
The attack started over the weekend, with unverified footage circulated by Russian military bloggers showing a column of Ukrainian tanks and armoured personnel carriers heading towards the village of Berdin, a small area outside of what Ukraine currently controls in Kursk.
Kyiv’s military has not officially acknowledged a fresh offensive, months after an initial incursion that caught Russia off guard and allowed Ukraine to capture a swathe of Russian territory in the region. The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said: “Kursk region, good news, Russia is getting what it deserves”.
Tom Watling reports:
Nearly 15,000 Russians have been killed in Kursk region, says Zelensky
03:09
Arpan Rai
Russia has suffered heavy losses in five months of fighting Ukrainian forces in southern Russia’s Kursk region, with nearly 15,000 killed, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“During the Kursk operation, the enemy has already lost 38,000 of their soldiers in this direction alone, with nearly 15,000 of these losses being irreversible,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
His remarks come a day after he said North Korea has lost more than 3,800 soldiers fighting in Kursk.
Ukraine launched a mass incursion into the Kursk region in August and has seized chunks of territory, though Russia’s military says it has recaptured much of that.
Ukrainian and Western assessments say some 11,000 North Korean troops are fighting alongside Russian forces in the region. Russia has neither confirmed nor denied their presence.
Trump's Ukraine envoy postpones Kyiv trip until after inauguration
02:54
Arpan Rai
Donald Trump’s incoming Ukraine envoy has postponed a fact-finding trip to Kyiv and other European capitals until after the US president-elect’s inauguration on 20 January, sources said.
Retired Lieutenant-General Keith Kellogg, who is set to serve as Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, had initially planned a mission to Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian leaders in early January, Reuters reported last month. His team was also setting up meetings with officials in other European capitals, including Rome and Paris.
But the trip, which would have marked the first time incoming Trump administration officials headed to Kyiv since the 5 November election, has been pushed back, according to four sources with knowledge of the trip’s planning.
Mr Kellogg is now expected to travel to Ukraine after Trump takes office, though no date has been set, the sources requesting anonymity said.
It was not immediately clear why the diplomat was delaying the trip.
2024 was a year of triumphs and setbacks for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. Here's how it unfolded
02:34
Tom Watling
If the West gives an inch on Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
01:04
Tom Watling
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what can he show for it?
00:02
Tom Watling
Russia executes three Ukrainian POWs - report
Monday 6 January 2025 23:04
Tom Watling
Deepstate reports that Russians shot 3 Ukrainian prisoners of war near Neskuchne.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) January 6, 2025
On January 3, the Ukrainian soldiers were captured, tied up, taken in front of their position and executed with shots to the back of the head. https://t.co/AeKnhmTEr8
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains?
Monday 6 January 2025 22:09
Tom Watling
Ukraine will ask allies to boost its air defenses at a meeting in Germany, Zelensky says
Monday 6 January 2025 21:02
Tom Watling
What does Ukraine stand to gain with latest Kursk counterattack?
Monday 6 January 2025 20:05
Tom Watling
Russia makes advances in Kursk
Monday 6 January 2025 19:02
Tom Watling
Geolocated footage published on January 5 shows that Russian forces advanced in western and southern Makhnovka (just southeast of Sudzha). https://t.co/CGtTDz2fBw pic.twitter.com/H2pvuMNhsA
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) January 6, 2025
Russia-appointed officials in Crimea declare emergency as oil spill reaches Sevastopol
Monday 6 January 2025 18:02
Tom Watling
Mapped: Ukraine’s frontline
Monday 6 January 2025 17:01
Tom Watling
Russia claims to capture village in eastern Ukraine after advances
Monday 6 January 2025 16:20
Tom Watling
Hundreds of homes damaged in Russia’s weekend attacks, says UN
Monday 6 January 2025 15:48
Tom Watling
Over the weekend, Svesa in Sumy region suffered a devastating Russian attack, damaging 280 homes.
— UNHCR Ukraine (@UNHCRUkraine) January 6, 2025
UNHCR & partners were quickly on the ground, delivering emergency shelter materials to more than 550 people & offering psychosocial support + legal aid. pic.twitter.com/Uen8srUQTM
Ukraine’s frontline in maps - ISW
Monday 6 January 2025 15:16
Tom Watling
Below, you can look at the latest maps of the frontline in Ukraine, provided by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russian forces also recently advanced near Borova, Toretsk, and Kurakhove.
— Institute for the Study of War (@TheStudyofWar) January 6, 2025
Ukrainian forces recently regained positions near Chasiv Yar amid continued Russian offensive operations in the area on January 5. (1/5) https://t.co/xgio7cjbfw pic.twitter.com/4T8a064jDo
Bulgarians celebrate the feast of Epiphany with a ritual plunge into icy rivers
Monday 6 January 2025 14:39
Tom Watling
Ukraine’s wounded soldiers escape war at Putin’s favourite Greek mountain
Monday 6 January 2025 14:06
Tom Watling
Ukraine Kursk offensive: What Kyiv stands to gain and lose in surprise counter-attack on Russian soil
Monday 6 January 2025 13:42
Tom Watling
Russia says it thwarted Ukrainian breakthrough in Kursk region
Monday 6 January 2025 13:26
Tom Watling
Russian troops have thwarted attempts by Ukrainian forces to achieved a breakthrough in the Kursk region of western Russia, state news agency, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed on Monday.
The main Ukrainian force was destroyed near the village of Berdin, resulting in the loss of personnel and tanks, the ministry said.
The Independent could not independently confirm Russia’s account of the battlefield situation. Ukraine has yet to provide details of its operations in Kursk.
As Trump returns to the White House, and Putin’s forces advance – what next for Ukraine in 2025?
Monday 6 January 2025 13:04
Tom Watling
Russia claims to capture village in eastern Ukraine after advances
Monday 6 January 2025 12:37
Tom Watling
What’s happening in Kursk? An in-depth account
Monday 6 January 2025 12:01
Tom Watling
Below, you can see an in-depth account of what is happening in the Russian border region of Kursk, where Ukraine launched a counterattack over the weekend.
The thread is written by Rob Lee, a senior fellow in the Foreign Policy Research Institute’s Eurasia Program.
A number of Russian channels say that Ukraine has began an offensive operation from near Sudzha towards Bolshoye Soldatskoye in Kursk oblast with armored vehicles. They say Ukrainian EW has been effective against their UAVs and that Ukrainian units cleared mines overnight.… pic.twitter.com/jfllbH9kpj
— Rob Lee (@RALee85) January 5, 2025
Putin and Trump are deluded about one another – and Ukraine will pay the price
Monday 6 January 2025 11:24
Tom Watling
Russia claims control over another village just south of Ukraine’s Pokrovsk
Monday 6 January 2025 10:55
Tom Watling
Russian forces have reportedly captured the village of Dachenske, just south of the important Ukrainian logistics hub of Pokrovsk, the Russian defence ministry claimed on Monday.
Earlier, they claimed to have taken control of the Ukrainian town of Kurakhove to the south.
The Independent could not verify these claims, however Ukrainian war tracker DeepState, known to have close ties to the military, recorded Dachenske as at least partially under Russian control.
Ukraine is right to turn off the flow of Russian gas – whatever the cost
Monday 6 January 2025 10:33
Tom Watling
Ukraine ends Russian gas pipeline to Europe – but how much will it cost Moscow?
Monday 6 January 2025 10:02
Tom Watling
US says Ukraine’s Kursk attacks key to any negotiations with Putin
Monday 6 January 2025 09:32
Tom Watling
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken has described Ukraine’s partial control over the Russian border region as key to any possible future negotiations with Russia.
Speaking in Seoul, South Korea, Mr Blinken said: “The positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region are very important, because, of course, this is what will matter for any negotiations that may take place in the coming year.”
His comments came as Ukraine launched its second day of attacks on the eastern flank of it’s attack in Kursk on Sunday, causing some concern among Putin’s troops, according to online reports.
Russia-appointed officials in Crimea declare emergency as oil spill reaches Sevastopol
Monday 6 January 2025 08:55
Tom Watling
Ukraine will ask allies to boost its air defenses at a meeting in Germany, Zelenskyy says
Monday 6 January 2025 08:23
Tom Watling
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Monday 6 January 2025 08:00
Arpan Rai
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
But US president Joe Biden has sent the final military package of his tenure to Ukraine, ending the support (for now) of Kyiv’s most heavily-armed ally. US president-elect Donald Trump will soon re-enter the White House on the promise of ending the fighting altogether, even if that potentially means rewarding Mr Putin for his illegal land grab.
Ukraine downs two missiles, 79 drones launched by Russia overnight
Monday 6 January 2025 07:46
Arpan Rai
The Ukrainian air force said it shot down two Kh-59 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight.
Of 128 drones launched, 79 drones were shot down and 49 did not reach their targets, the air force said.
The attack damaged enterprises and private residences in five Ukrainian regions without causing any casualties, the air force added.
Russia says it captures Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine
Monday 6 January 2025 07:32
Arpan Rai
Russian forces have seized control of Kurakhove, a town in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry claimed this morning.
Gaining control over Kurakhove “has significantly hampered the logistics and technical support” of Ukrainian troops, the ministry said.
Kurakhove lies 32km (20 miles) south of Pokrovsk, an important Ukrainian logistics hub towards which Russia has been advancing for months. The two towns are also Russia’s two most prioritised sectors of the frontline.
Zelensky says Russian and North Korean troops suffered significant losses in Kursk
Monday 6 January 2025 07:00
Alex Croft
Russian and North Korean forces suffered “significant” losses in intense fighting in Russia’s southern Kursk region, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.
Speaking during his nightly video address on Saturday, Mr Zelensky cited reports from top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, saying battles near the village of Makhnovka, close to the Ukrainian border, resulted in the loss of up to a battalion of Russian paratroopers and North Korean infantry troops.
“This is significant,” Mr Zelensky said, without providing further details. A battalion typically comprises several hundred soldiers. However, the claims could not be independently verified.
Stuti Mishra reports:
Blinken backs Ukraine’s position in Kursk as ‘important’ for negotiations
Monday 6 January 2025 06:56
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s position in Russia’s Kursk is critical to any future negotiations, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said today during his trip to South Korea.
“Their position in Kursk is an important one because certainly it’s something that would factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year,” Mr Blinken told reporters in Seoul.
“Negotiations on Ukraine ceasefire should lead to a just and durable outcome,” he said today.
Mr Blinken said that the outgoing administration of president Joe Biden wants to ensure that “Ukraine has the strongest possible hand to play”.
Even if negotiations take place, Mr Blinken said Ukraine would still need “adequate security assurances” against Vladimir Putin.
“There is going to be, at some point, a ceasefire. It’s not going to be in Putin’s mind ‘game over’,” Mr Blinken said.
“His imperial ambitions remain, and what he will seek to do is to rest, refit, and eventually re-attack,” the US official said, calling for an “adequate deterrent in place so that he doesn’t do that”.
Toretsk city divided in two as fierce fighting continues
Monday 6 January 2025 06:31
Alex Croft
The city of Toretsk has been divided in two as Ukrainian forces continue to fiercely defend the city in the Donetsk region.
Russians have been using scorched earth tactics to try and destroy the city’s infrastructure and Ukrainian military positions, according to DeepState, an open source intelligence organisation.
“There are a lot of resources there. Especially everything related to FPV and attack drones. The enemy does a lot of damage with them,” the acting commander of the Tsunami Regiment is quoted as saying, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
“They also have a lot of artillery. The enemy is constantly carrying out assault operations, constantly working from different directions: from the north, from the south, and from the east.
“They use vehicles, mainly ATVs and motorcycles. So far, no armoured vehicles have been spotted. The fighting is going on in the city itself.
“The line of contact is somewhere in the centre of the city. We can say that the enemy and us cut the city in half.”
Sanctions on Russian supply chains ‘insufficient’ - Zelensky
Monday 6 January 2025 06:00
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said sanctions on supply chains for Russian military components are “insufficient”.
A Russian drone attack using 103 Shahed drones contained 8,755 foreign-made components , Mr Zelensky said. In the past week, Russia has used over 50,000 sanctioned components from around the world in hundreds of strikes on Ukraine, he said.
“The sanctions pressure on supply chains for foreign components remains insufficient. Russia continues to acquire the components and manufacturing tools it needs – almost globally – and uses them in the weapons it employs to terrorize Ukraine,” Mr Zelensky said in a post on X.
“We must continue strengthening cooperation with all our partners on sanctions, air defense systems, long-range weapons, and support for our warriors. These priorities will help protect our cities, villages, and positions on the frontline. I am grateful to every partner helping us with this.”
Photos: People stop in their way to honour a fallen Ukrainian soldier
Monday 6 January 2025 05:23
Arpan Rai
3,800 North Korean troops killed or injured in Kursk, says Zelensky
Monday 6 January 2025 05:01
Arpan Rai
North Korea has suffered nearly 4,000 casualties in its fighting against Ukrainian troops in Kursk, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
“North Korea... 12,000 have arrived [in the Russian Federation to join the war against Ukraine]. As of today, 3,800 have been killed or wounded,” he said in an interview.
“They can bring 30,000-40,000 more. Or maybe 500 [thousand]. They can bring many people. Because they have an autocracy,” he said.
In his previously shared data on 23 December, Mr Zelensky had said the number of North Korean soldiers killed and wounded in action in Russia’s Kursk oblast exceeds 3,000.
Four Russian airports reopen after drone risk
Monday 6 January 2025 05:01
Alex Croft
Four Russian airports reopened on Sunday morning after suspending flights to ensure the safety of civilian aircraft, aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia said.
Airports in the cities of Kazan, Nizhnekamsk, Izhevsk and Perm - all east of Moscow - halted flights temporarily on Sunday morning.
Rosaviatsia did not specify a reason for the pause in flights, but airports have previously closed due to the risk of Ukrainian drone activity.
All restrictions were lifted by 11am, the watchdog said.
Zelensky warns ‘Putin will destroy Europe’ if US exits Nato
Monday 6 January 2025 04:23
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has cautioned that any decision by Trump to exit Nato would weaken the military alliance and embolden Russian president Vladimir Putin in Europe.
The Ukrainian president said it was up to the US to determine Nato’s future. “I’m simply saying that if it does (quit the alliance), Putin will destroy Europe,” Mr Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said he needed to sit down with Mr Trump to determine a course of action to halt the Kremlin and that Europe’s governments also needed to have a voice in that process before Kyiv could sit down for talks with the Russian side.
He also made the case that Mr Putin was not interested in serious negotiations to end the war, and that the Kremlin leader would have to be compelled to stop and agree to a lasting peace.
Ukraine-Russia war map: Where are Putin’s forces making gains on the frontline as 2025 begins?
Monday 6 January 2025 04:01
Alex Croft
By the time February 2025 arrives, marking three years since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the situation on the front line could look very different.
Currently, Russian forces are advancing in the east, slowly but surely, and they are shrinking Ukraine’s partial hold of the border region of Kursk.
That the Russians haven’t been more successful is a testament, above all else, to the resilience of Ukraine’s troops on the ground, many of whom have been fighting continuously for years. Dysfunction in the Russian military, with Mr Putin as its de facto commander-in-chief, is another.
But US president Joe Biden has sent the final military package of his tenure to Ukraine, ending the support (for now) of Kyiv’s most heavily-armed ally. US president-elect Donald Trump will soon re-enter the White House on the promise of ending the fighting altogether, even if that potentially means rewarding Mr Putin for his illegal land grab.
Tom Watling reports:
Zelensky says Trump can be the first world leader to land in Kyiv airport
Monday 6 January 2025 03:50
Arpan Rai
US president-elect Donald Trump can be the first world leader to fly to Ukraine and land in the currently shut Kyiv airport, Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukrainian airspace has been closed since the February 2022 Russian invasion, and commercial air travel across Ukraine remains suspended.
Stating that he is looking forward to the reopening of Kyiv Airport, Mr Zelensky said: “Maybe we will open it, but only, and you must understand, if the war is over. There must be sustainable peace – and air defence systems, to be honest.”
“But there will be a moment… I think that the war will end and President Trump may be the first leader to travel here by airplane. I think it would be symbolic,” he told American podcaster Lex Fridman.
Mr Trump, the Ukrainian president added, had indicated when they spoke late last year that there would be an official Ukrainian visit to the United States soon after he takes office.
Ukraine will seek a boost in air defences at Germany meeting, says Zelensky
Monday 6 January 2025 03:27
Arpan Rai
Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will again call on allies to boost Ukraine’s air defences at this week’s meeting in Germany, as US president-elect Donald Trump takes over later this month with a vow to end the almost three-year war quickly.
Mr Zelensky said that dozens of partner countries will participate in the meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Thursday, “including those who can help boost our capabilities not only to defend against missiles but also against guided bombs and Russian aviation”.
“We will discuss this with them and continue to persuade them,” he said in his nightly address on Saturday. “The task remains unchanged: strengthening our air defence.”
Russian forces take control of eastern village
Monday 6 January 2025 03:00
Alex Croft
Russian forces have taken control of the village of Nadiya in eastern Ukraine, Russian news agencies cite Moscow’s defence ministry as saying on Saturday.
The battlefield report has not been independently verified.
Ukraine launches fresh offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, Moscow says
Monday 6 January 2025 02:55
Arpan Rai
Ukraine’s forces have launched a fresh offensive in Russia’s Kursk region yesterday, the Russian defence ministry said.
It claimed its forces pushed back Ukrainian troops, but some reports from Russian military bloggers indicated that Moscow’s forces faced significant pressure.
A ministry statement said Ukrainian forces attacked about 9am local time (6am GMT) near the village of Berdin with two tanks, a mine-clearing vehicle and 12 armoured combat vehicles with paratroopers. Two Ukrainian attacks were repelled, it said.
The attack was confirmed by Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly video address, who said Russia and North Korea suffered heavy losses.
“In battles yesterday and today near just one village, Makhnovka, in the Kursk region, the Russian army lost up to a battalion of North Korean infantry soldiers and Russian paratroopers,” he said. “This is significant.”
Mr Zelensky said last month that 3,000 North Korean troops had been killed or wounded in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched an incursion in August, dealing a blow to Russia’s prestige and forcing it to deploy some of its troops from eastern Ukraine.
The incursion didn’t significantly change the dynamic of the war, and military analysts say Ukraine has lost around 40 per cent of the land it initially captured.
IAEA reports loud blasts near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Monday 6 January 2025 02:45
Arpan Rai
The International Atomic Energy Agency reported hearing loud blasts near Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant yesterday, coinciding with reports of a drone attack on the plant’s training center, the director general of the agency said.
The agency has not yet been able to confirm any impact, said Rafael Mariano Grossi.
“The IAEA is aware of reports of an alleged attack by a drone at the ZNPP training centre today, just outside of the site perimeter,” Mr Grossi said in a statement.
“Reports state that there were no casualties and no impact on any NPP equipment.”
Russia denounces drone strike that killed reporter as ‘deliberate murder’
Monday 6 January 2025 02:04
Alex Croft
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, denounced the drone strike that killed a Russian reporter in eastern Ukraine as “deliberate murder”.
Ms Zakharova described it as “another brutal crime in a series of bloody atrocities” of president Volodymyr Zelensky’s government “which openly resorts to terrorist methods to eliminate its ideological opponents”.
Data previously provided by the Committee to Protect Journalists counted at least 15 journalists killed since Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Ten wounded in Russian attack in Ukraine’s Sumy region
Monday 6 January 2025 01:01
Alex Croft
A Russian guided bomb attack yesterday wounded 10 people, including two children, in a village in Uk