The Russian city of Kazan suffered a major drone attack from Ukrainian forces on Saturday, despite being 1,000km (620 miles) from the frontline
Residential buildings were damaged and the airport was temporarily shut down, after the drone smashed into a high-rise building and damaged a skyscraper.
Videos posted on Russian social media networks showed the damage and a fireball emerging from the building, while local authorities said there were no casualties.
Ukraine’s air defences downed 52 of the 103 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday. The military said on Telegram that it had lost track of 44 drones, and another had left the territory of Ukraine to Belarus.
Meanwhile, Putin’s forces have captured the village of Kostiantynopolske in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, just six miles from the city of Kurakhove, which they have stormed and are threatening to encircle.
Earlier this week, Russian president Vladimir Putin has said he should have invaded Ukraine earlier as he used an end-of-year press conference to double down on his decision to start the war.
Key points
- Russia fires ballistic missiles at Kyiv in morning commute attack
- Russia should have sent troops to Ukraine earlier, says Putin
- Five injured in Russian missile attack in Kryvyi Rih
- Russia conducted mass cyberattack on Ukraine’s state registries
- Moscow charges Uzbek man for killing of Russian general
Putin holds talks with Slovakian PM Fico
03:02
Namita Singh
Russian president Vladimir Putin yesterday hosted Slovakia’s prime minister, Robert Fico, in a rare visit to the Kremlin by an EU leader since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Mr Fico arrived in Russia on a “working visit” and met with Mr Putin one-on-one on yesterday evening, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russia’s RIA news agency.
According to Mr Peskov, the talks were expected to focus on “the international situation” and Russian natural gas deliveries.
Russian natural gas still flows to some European countries, including Slovakia, through Ukraine under a five-year agreement signed before the war that is due to expire at the end of this year.
At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky told EU leaders that Kyiv has no intention of renewing the deal, something Mr Fico insisted will harm his country’s interests.
Russian oil refinery engulfed in flames after ‘Ukrainian drone strike’
02:00
Holly Evans
Zelensky admits Ukraine does not have military strength to reclaim lost territories from Russia
00:00
Holly Evans
Ukraine lacks the military capability to retake all the territories occupied by Russia since 2014, president Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged, as he urged the West to take stronger action to confront Moscow.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien, Mr Zelensky made it clear that Kyiv would not formally recognise Russian control over any Ukrainian territory.
“Legally, we cannot give up our territories. This is prohibited by the constitution,” the Ukrainian president said. “But let’s not use such big words. Russia actually controls part of our territory today.”
Read the full article here:
UK may send British troops to Ukraine to train soldiers, defence secretary suggests
Sunday 22 December 2024 23:00
Holly Evans
The one battle President Zelensky looks set to win
Sunday 22 December 2024 22:00
Holly Evans
Not so very long ago, Vladimir Putin, the would-be reincarnation of Joseph Stalin, had some cause for satisfaction. True, his ill-fated “special military operation” in Ukraine had spectacularly failed in its initial stated aim of subsuming the country into a Greater Russia, resistance supposedly crumbling in days, with Volodymyr Zelensky skulking off into exile.
However, the Kremlin’s “meat-grinder” strategy has succeeded in occupying roughly a third of what was left of Ukrainian territory after the 2014 invasion. Russian troops were advancing, albeit at a glacial pace and an obscene cost in human lives.
The attacks on civilians, homes and energy infrastructure were helping to demoralise and exhaust the Ukrainians, brave as they were. Some 40,000 fresh troops were promised by North Korea – Kim Jong Un’s elite squads, according to reports. Mr Kim and Russia’s other allies in the Middle East were assisting with the sanctions-busting; and the Iranians and Syrians (and, to a lesser degree, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas) shared Russia’s agenda.
Read the full article here:
Ukraine strikes in heart of Russia with drone attack 1,000km beyond frontline
Sunday 22 December 2024 21:00
Holly Evans
Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia on Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line.
The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city. Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.
It comes as Moscow’s troops continue to slowly advance in eastern Ukraine, with their defence ministry stating they had taken control of the village of Kostiantynopolske in the Donetsk province.
Read the full article here:
The huge spike in gun range openings in a country that borders Russia
Sunday 22 December 2024 20:00
Holly Evans
Unsettled by Russia’s expansionism and emboldened by its accession to NATO, Finland is rallying to strengthen its national self-defense.
The popularity of weapons training in the Nordic country has soared in recent months. Few places tell the story of the rise in Finnish affinity for self-defense more than shooting ranges that are riding a boom of interest.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s order for a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine — another big Russian neighbor — in February 2022 continues to resonate in many Finnish minds, and partially explains the ballistics binge.
Read the full article here:
Putin praises Boris Johnson’s hair as he peddles baseless Ukraine army theory
Sunday 22 December 2024 19:00
Holly Evans
Putin vows retaliation after Ukrainian drones struck Kazan
Sunday 22 December 2024 18:00
Holly Evans
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday vowed retaliation after Ukrainian drones the day before struck residential buildings in the city of Kazan, in the Tatarstan region over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line.
Speaking to Tatarstan’s regional governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, Putin asserted that anyone attacking Russia has to reckon with Moscow inflicting “many times greater damage” in return, but did not elaborate.
His remarks were carried by Russian state news agencies.
Minnikhanov’s press service on Saturday said that eight drones attacked Kazan. Local authorities said there were no casualties.
Russia to start humanitarian supplies of electricity to breakaway Georgian region
Sunday 22 December 2024 17:20
Holly Evans
Russia will start humanitarian supplies of electricity to Abkhazia, a breakaway Georgian region backed by Moscow, from Monday, Russian news agencies quoted local officials as saying.
Electricity shortages, common in Abkhazia in the winter months, began in early December when low water levels at the Enguri hydroelectric dam forced an emergency shutdown.
The region appealed to Russia for assistance, saying it was facing a “humanitarian catastrophe” due to a critical shortage of power.
“In response to Abkhazia’s appeal, the Russian leadership has once again extended a helping hand to us and is starting to carry out a humanitarian transfer of electricity to the republic,” Interfax news agency cited Badra Gunba, Abkhazia’s self-styled president, as saying on Sunday.
Abkhazia broke from Georgia’s control in a war after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, during which hundreds of thousands of ethnic Georgians fled the region.
Moscow has long supported it and another breakaway Georgian region, South Ossetia, and recognised them as independent after winning a five-day war against Georgia in 2008.
Ukraine says Russian forces executed five POWs
Sunday 22 December 2024 16:30
Holly Evans
Russian forces executed five Ukrainian prisoners of war, Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, said on Sunday.
Lubinets said on the Telegram messenger app that Russian troops shot the five unarmed soldiers after capturing them. He gave no details, but will report this fact to the UN.
“Russian war criminals who shoot Ukrainian prisoners of war should be brought before an international tribunal and punished with the most severe punishment provided for by law,” Lubinets said.
Russia did not immediately comment on the incident, but has previous denied committing war crimes.
Zelensky says Ukraine’s membership of NATO is ‘achievable’
Sunday 22 December 2024 15:45
Holly Evans
Ukraine’s membership of NATO is “achievable”, but Kyiv will have to fight to persuade allies to make it happen, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Ukrainian diplomats in a speech on Sunday.
Ukraine has repeatedly urged NATO to invite Kyiv to become a member. The Western military alliance has said Ukraine will join its ranks one day but has not set a date or issued an invitation.
Moscow has cited the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO as one of the principal justifications for its 2022 invasion. Kyiv says membership in the Western alliance’s mutual defence pact, or an equivalent form of security guarantee, would be crucial to any peace plan to ensure that Russia does not attack again
“We all understand that Ukraine’s invitation to NATO and membership in the alliance can only be a political decision,” Zelensky told diplomats at a gathering in Kyiv. “Alliance for Ukraine is achievable, but it is achievable only if we fight for this decision at all the necessary levels.”
Zelensky said allies needed to know what Ukraine can bring to NATO and how its membership in the alliance would stabilise global relations.
Last week Zelensky urged European countries to provide guarantees to protect Ukraine after the war with Russia ends and said Ukraine would ultimately need more protection through membership of the alliance.
42 Ukrainian drones intercepted by Russian forces overnight
Sunday 22 December 2024 14:25
Holly Evans
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, Russia launched 103 Iranian-made Shahed drones at its neighbor overnight into Sunday. Ukrainian air defense shot down 52 of the drones while another 44 failed to reach their targets, the force said in a statement, in a likely reference to electronic jamming.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that its forces had intercepted 42 Ukrainian drones launched overnight at Russian territory.
According to the ministry, 20 of those were over the Oryol region, where the local governor said a blaze tore through the oil terminal.Separately, Russian forces have continued grinding forward in Ukraine’s northeast, in addition to eking out gains near the eastern town of Kurakhove.
On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that its troops had captured two northeastern settlements: Lozova in the Kharkiv region and Krasne in the Luhansk province. There was no immediate confirmation from Kyiv.
Two civilians killed in drone attack in Kherson region
Sunday 22 December 2024 13:47
Holly Evans
Two civilians died after Russia late on Saturday launched drones at Ukraine’s southern Kherson province, local Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin reported.
He said a man in his late 40s suffered fatal injuries after a Russian drone dropped explosives nearby. Hours later, a woman was found dead under rubble after another drone slammed into her house.In the Kharkiv region in the northeast, a Russian drone strike Sunday severely injured a 56-year-old man as he walked down a road in the city of Kupiansk, local Gov. Oleh Syniehubov reported. He said the man would need to have at least one limb amputated as a result, but gave no further detail.
In the Kyiv suburb of Brovary, debris from a Russian drone sparked a fire late on Saturday on the roof of a 25-story tower block, according to regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko. There were no immediate reports of any casualties.
Ukrainian drones hit a Russian fuel depot for the second time this month
Sunday 22 December 2024 13:01
Holly Evans
Ukrainian drones struck a major Russian fuel depot for the second time in just over a week on Sunday, according to a senior Russian regional official, as part of a “massive” cross-border attack on fuel and energy facilities that Kyiv says supply Moscow’s military.
The strikes came days after Russia launched sweeping attacks on Ukraine’s already battered energy grid, threatening to plunge thousands of homes into darkness as winter tightens its grip over the region, and as Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor nears the three-year mark.
A fire broke out at the Stalnoy Kon oil terminal in Russia’s southern Oryol region, local Gov. Andrey Klychkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging app, adding Russian forces downed 20 drones targeting “fuel and energy infrastructure” in the province.
Russian independent news outlet Astra shared video of what it said was an explosion at the site, showing a massive orange blaze lighting up the night sky. While the clip could not be independently verified, it was later shared by a Ukrainian security official who described it as footage from Oryol.
According to Klychkov, the local governor, the fire was extinguished hours later and did not cause casualties or “significant” damage.
Russian central bank holds rates steady at 21% amid criticism from key business figures
Sunday 22 December 2024 11:35
Holly Evans
Russia’s central bank has left its benchmark interest rate at 21%, holding off on further increases as it struggles to snuff out inflation fueled by the government’s spending on the war against Ukraine.
The decision comes amid criticism from influential business figures, including tycoons close to the Kremlin, that high rates are putting the brakes on business activity and the economy.
The central bank said in a statement that credit conditions had tightened “more than envisaged” by the October rate hike that brought the benchmark to its current record level.
Read the full article here:
Ukraine's air defence downs 52 out of 103 Russian drones, air force says
Sunday 22 December 2024 10:15
Holly Evans
Ukraine’s air defences downed 52 of the 103 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
The military said on Telegram that it had lost track of 44 drones, and another had left the territory of Ukraine to Belarus.
The military gave no information on the fate of the remaining drones.
However, they said that in Kherson, Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Zhytomyr and Kyiv regions, private businesses and apartment buildings have been damaged by the Russian attack.
“Tentatively, without casualties,” the military added.
Two villages captured by Russian forces in Ukraine
Sunday 22 December 2024 09:32
Holly Evans
The Russian Defence Ministry said on Sunday that Russian forces had captured two villages in Ukraine - Lozova in Kharkiv region and Sontsivka in Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported.
These battlefield reports have not been independently confirmed.
Warning North Korea can produce ballistic missiles for Russia ‘in months’
Sunday 22 December 2024 09:00
Athena Stavrou
North Korea has demonstrated that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months, an expert said on Wednesday.
Jonah Leff told the U.N. Security Council that researchers on the ground examined remnants of four missiles from North Korea recovered in Ukraine in July and August, including one that had marks indicating it was produced in 2024.
“This is the first public evidence of missiles having been produced in North Korea and then used in Ukraine within a matter of months, not years,” he said.
Read the full article here:
42 drones downed by Russia overnight
Sunday 22 December 2024 08:01
Athena Stavrou
Moscow said it had downed 42 Ukrainian drones over five Russian regions overnight.
Twenty drones were shot down over the Oryol region, eight drones each were destroyed in the Rostov and Bryansk regions, five in the Kursk region and one over Krasnodar Krai, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.
One attack triggered a fire at a fuel infrastructure facility in the village of Stalnoi Kon, said Andrei Klychkov, the governor of Oryol.
“Fortunately, thanks to the quick response, the consequences of the attack were avoided - the fire was promptly localised and is now fully extinguished. There were no casualties or significant damage,” he said.
It was the second week in a row where fuel infrastructure facilities in Oryol have been attacked.
The heads of the Rostov and Bryansk regions said there were no casualties or damage after the latest drone attacks.
Two AP journalists in Ukraine and the Mideast break down the wars they covered in 2024
Sunday 22 December 2024 07:00
Holly Evans
For the world, 2024 was riven by — and in some ways defined by — conflict on two fronts.
The ripples after the previous year’s Hamas attacks in Israel left Gaza a shambles and tens of thousands dead, and an adjacent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is playing out across the Lebanon landscape as the year ends.
A continent away, the Russia-Ukraine war, which began with Russia’s invasion in early 2022, rages on and evolves, claiming more casualties as it goes.
Read the full article here:
Moscow sends 113 drones into Ukraine
Sunday 22 December 2024 06:00
Stuti Mishra
Moscow sent 113 drones into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 57 drones were shot down during the attacks.
A further 56 drones were “lost,” likely having been electronically jammed.
The governor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said eight people were wounded Friday night in drone attacks on the regional capital, also called Kharkiv.
In the city of Zaporizhzhia, four people were wounded when a nine-story residential building was damaged by falling drone debris on Friday night, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
The one battle President Zelensky looks set to win
Sunday 22 December 2024 05:00
Holly Evans
Not so very long ago, Vladimir Putin, the would-be reincarnation of Joseph Stalin, had some cause for satisfaction. True, his ill-fated “special military operation” in Ukraine had spectacularly failed in its initial stated aim of subsuming the country into a Greater Russia, resistance supposedly crumbling in days, with Volodymyr Zelensky skulking off into exile.
However, the Kremlin’s “meat-grinder” strategy has succeeded in occupying roughly a third of what was left of Ukrainian territory after the 2014 invasion. Russian troops were advancing, albeit at a glacial pace and an obscene cost in human lives.
The attacks on civilians, homes and energy infrastructure were helping to demoralise and exhaust the Ukrainians, brave as they were. Some 40,000 fresh troops were promised by North Korea – Kim Jong Un’s elite squads, according to reports. Mr Kim and Russia’s other allies in the Middle East were assisting with the sanctions-busting; and the Iranians and Syrians (and, to a lesser degree, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Hamas) shared Russia’s agenda.
Read the full analysis:
Ukrainian drones strike deep inside Russian territory
Sunday 22 December 2024 04:11
Stuti Mishra
Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line.
The press service of Tatarstan's governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city. Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.
A video posted on local Telegram news channel Astra shows a drone flying into the upper floors of a high-rise building.
The attacks, which Ukraine didn't acknowledge in keeping with its security policy, come after a Ukrainian attack Friday on a town in Russia's Kursk border region using US-supplied missiles killed six people, including a child.
Zelensky admits Ukraine does not have military strength to reclaim lost territories from Russia
Sunday 22 December 2024 03:00
Holly Evans
Ukraine lacks the military capability to retake all the territories occupied by Russia since 2014, president Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged, as he urged the West to take stronger action to confront Moscow.
In an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisien, Mr Zelensky made it clear that Kyiv would not formally recognise Russian control over any Ukrainian territory.
“Legally, we cannot give up our territories. This is prohibited by the constitution,” the Ukrainian president said. “But let’s not use such big words. Russia actually controls part of our territory today.”
Read the full article here:
Government criticises Russia’s ‘gangster threat’ against Times journalists
Sunday 22 December 2024 01:00
Holly Evans
The Government has criticised Moscow’s “desperate rhetoric” after a senior ally of Vladimir Putin threatened The Times newspaper over its coverage of the assassination of a Russian general.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current deputy security council chair, said journalists at The Times were “legitimate military targets” and should “be careful” as “anything goes in London”.
His comments followed a Times editorial in which the newspaper described the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov as “a legitimate act of defence” by Ukraine, which has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Read the full article here:
Russian opposition figure says fears of his mother's poisoning in Berlin proved false
Saturday 21 December 2024 23:00
Holly Evans
Warning North Korea can produce ballistic missiles for Russia ‘in months’
Saturday 21 December 2024 22:00
Holly Evans
North Korea has demonstrated that it could produce ballistic missiles and supply them to Russia for use against Ukraine in a matter of months, an expert said on Wednesday.
Jonah Leff told the U.N. Security Council that researchers on the ground examined remnants of four missiles from North Korea recovered in Ukraine in July and August, including one that had marks indicating it was produced in 2024.
“This is the first public evidence of missiles having been produced in North Korea and then used in Ukraine within a matter of months, not years,” he said.
Read the full article here:
UK announces new funding for Ukraine amid ‘critical’ situation
Saturday 21 December 2024 21:00
Holly Evans
The UK has pledged a new £225 million package of support for Ukraine after the Defence Secretary said the situation in the country is “critical”.
On a trip to Kyiv, John Healey said that the UK will “step up” on international leadership on Ukraine in 2025, after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urged allies to maintain their support.
The package announced on Thursday involves £186 million for military equipment through the International Fund for Ukraine, including £92 million for Ukraine’s navy and £68 million for air defence equipment.
Read the full article here:
Ukrainian missile attack disrupts gas network in Russia
Saturday 21 December 2024 20:00
Holly Evans
Ukraine’s missile attack in Kursk has disrupted heating and gas networks, region’s governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram.
The attack that killed six people, including a child, also disrupted the work under way to restore supplies to more than 80 residences.
Mr Khinshtein accused Kyiv of deliberating targeting civilians in the strike.
US spending millions of dollars maintaining seized $230m yacht linked to sanctioned Russian oligarch
Saturday 21 December 2024 19:00
Holly Evans
The U.S. has spent tens of millions of dollars over more than two years maintaining a $230 million mega-yacht it seized as part of efforts to crack down on oligarchs linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin during the war in Ukraine, newly unearthed documents reveal.
Ever since U.S. authorities captured the Amadea in May 2022 in Fiji, American taxpayer funds have gone to payments like $52,717.08 on food and groceries for crewmembers, $277,200 for fuel, $1,000 on iPhone 11s for the bridge captains, and $1,216.24 for special toilet brushes, among other expenses uncovered by The Washington Post, which sued the federal government to release information about the seizure.
Authorities believe the yacht, which has a pool, wine cellar, and outdoor cinema, belongs to Russian billionaire Suleyman Kerimov, who was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2018 and has been accused of money laundering.
Read the full article here:
Two AP journalists in Ukraine and the Mideast break down the wars they covered in 2024
Saturday 21 December 2024 18:00
Holly Evans
For the world, 2024 was riven by — and in some ways defined by — conflict on two fronts.
The ripples after the previous year’s Hamas attacks in Israel left Gaza a shambles and tens of thousands dead, and an adjacent conflict between Israel and Hezbollah is playing out across the Lebanon landscape as the year ends.
A continent away, the Russia-Ukraine war, which began with Russia’s invasion in early 2022, rages on and evolves, claiming more casualties as it goes.
Read the full article here:
Government criticises Russia’s ‘gangster threat’ against Times journalists
Saturday 21 December 2024 17:00
Holly Evans
The Government has criticised Moscow’s “desperate rhetoric” after a senior ally of Vladimir Putin threatened The Times newspaper over its coverage of the assassination of a Russian general.
Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president and current deputy security council chair, said journalists at The Times were “legitimate military targets” and should “be careful” as “anything goes in London”.
His comments followed a Times editorial in which the newspaper described the assassination of Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov as “a legitimate act of defence” by Ukraine, which has claimed responsibility for the killing.
Read the full article here:
UK may send British troops to Ukraine to train soldiers, defence secretary suggests
Saturday 21 December 2024 15:58
Holly Evans
British troops may be sent to Ukraine to train up soldiers in its war against Russia, the defence secretary has hinted.
John Healey has said Britain needs to “make the training a better fit for what the Ukrainians need” and left the door open to it taking place in the war-torn country.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) sources have previously told The Independent discussions are ongoing about whether to send troops to the country to support it amid Russia’s invasion.
Read the full article here:
Ukraine strikes in heart of Russia with drone attack 1,000km beyond frontline
Saturday 21 December 2024 15:00
Holly Evans
Ukraine brought the war into the heart of Russia Saturday morning with drone attacks that local authorities said damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, over 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) from the front line.
The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city. Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.
A video posted on local Telegram news channel Astra, verified by The Associated Press, shows a drone flying into the upper floors of a high-rise building.
Read the full article here:
Watch: Drone strikes high-rise building in Russian city of Kazan
Saturday 21 December 2024 14:18
Holly Evans
Airport in Kazan reopens after Ukrainian drone attack
Saturday 21 December 2024 13:44
Holly Evans
The airport in the Russian city of Kazan reopened on Saturday after temporarily closing earlier in the day following a Ukrainian drone attack, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.
Russian state news agencies reported the drone attack on a residential complex and other areas in Kazan, some 500 miles (800 km) east of Moscow.
The Defence Ministry said the city had been attacked by three waves of drones between 7:40 a.m. and 9:20 a.m. (0440 and 0620 GMT). It said three drones were destroyed by air defence systems and three others by electronic warfare systems.
There were no casualties reported, agencies said, citing local authorities. The mayor of Kazan said on Telegram that all planned mass events in the city would be canceled over the weekend and that authorities would offer temporary accommodation to evacuees.
The Baza Telegram channel, which is close to Russia’s security services, published unverified video footage showing an aerial object crashing into a high-rise building, producing a large fireball.
Kim Jong Un ‘personally overseeing’ North Korean training for Ukraine
Saturday 21 December 2024 12:48
Holly Evans
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is personally overseeing training of soldiers to be sent to support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to South Korean intelligence reports, after Pyongyang’s inexperienced forces were said to have suffered a high number of casualties.
South Korean MP Lee Seong-kweun claimed at least 100 North Korean soldiers had been killed in the war, citing a briefing to parliament by the National Intelligence Service.
“There was a report that there have been at least 100 deaths and the injured are approaching 1,000,” he said.
Read the full article here:
113 drones sent into Ukraine overnight
Saturday 21 December 2024 11:40
Holly Evans
Moscow sent 113 drones into Ukraine overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian officials said.
According to Ukraine’s Air Force, 57 drones were shot down during the attacks while further 56 drones were “lost”, likely having been electronically jammed.
The governor of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region, Oleh Syniehubov, said eight people were wounded on Friday night in drone attacks on the regional capital, also called Kharkiv.
Russia is ready to compromise with Trump on Ukraine war, Putin says
Saturday 21 December 2024 11:03
Holly Evans
During boasts about Russia’s military achievements in his annual marathon televised news conference, Vladimir Putin says he is ready to compromise over Ukraine in possible talks on ending his war and has no conditions for starting discussions.
The Russian president told one reporter he was ready to meet Donald Trump, who he said he had not spoken to for years.
The US president-elect has vowed to swiftly end the Ukraine war, without giving any details on how he might achieve that.
Read the full article here:
Drone attacks damage residential buildings 600 miles from frontline
Saturday 21 December 2024 10:23
Holly Evans
Ukraine has brought the war into the heart of Russia with drone attacks that damaged residential buildings in the city of Kazan in the Tatarstan region, more than 600 miles from the front line.
The press service of Tatarstan’s governor, Rustam Minnikhanov, said that eight drones attacked the city.
Six hit residential buildings, one hit an industrial facility and one was shot down over a river, the statement said.
