A Russian helicopter was shot down by an uncrewed Ukrainian naval drone, in what Kyiv’s spy agency says was the first such strike in history.
In a battle near Cape Tarkhankut, on Crimea’s western coast, a missile-armed Magura V5 maritime drone struck a Russian Mi-8 helicopter. Dramatic video footage appears to show the moment the chopper was downed into the sea.
It is the first time an aerial target was destroyed by an uncrewed vessel, Ukraine’s GUR spy agency said in a post on Telegram.
Another Russian helicopter was damaged but managed to reach an airfield, the agency said. The reports have not yet been independently verified.
It comes as the Ukrainian military said it attacked an oil depot in Russia’s western Smolensk region, which it says was used for military purposes. Powerful explosions and tanks with oil products caught fire.
Local governor Vasily Anokhin said earlier that wreckage from one of the 10 Ukrainian drones shot down by Russian air defences fell on the oil facility. The situation is now “under control”, he said, offering no further detail.
Meanwhile, Kyiv brought home 189 former captives in a prisoner exchange with Moscow on Monday, in which 150 Russian soldiers were also freed.
Key points
- Ukrainian drone attack causes oil spill and fire in Russia, local governor says
- Russian helicopter downed by Ukrainian naval drone, Kyiv says
- Zelensky hails return of Ukrainian POWs as ‘very good news’
- Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
- Biden announces almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine
Ukraine military confirms strike on Russian oil depot
15:13
Alex Croft
The Ukrainian military has confirmed its forces struck a Russian oil depot in the Smolensk region.
The depot was used for military purposes, Ukraine’s general staff said on Telegram. Powerful explosions and tanks with oil products were among the things which caught fire.
Earlier today, Smolensk governor Vasily Anokhin said debris from a Ukrainian drone that had been shot down caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in the region, but that the situation was “under control”.
Italy allocates €13 million for Ukraine’s energy sector
14:54
Alex Croft
Italy has announced a €13 million allocation to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund, the Italian Foreign Ministry has announced.
The ministry said it was an “important step in efforts to restore energy systems” damaged by Russian attacks.
The contribution, which it says is one of the largest by a single country, will “help stabilise electricity supplies to millions of war-affected Ukrainians at this difficult time”, it added.
“Italy’s commitment to contribute to the Fund comes at a crucial time as attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure continue. The contribution also recognises the Fund’s ability to quickly provide the equipment the country desperately needs to restore energy supplies,” the statement added.
Russian man arrested for running LGBTQ+ travel agency found dead
14:39
Alex Croft
A Russian man arrested for allegedly running a travel agency for gay customers was found dead in custody in Moscow, rights group OVD-Info reported Sunday, amid a crackdown on LGBTQ+ rights in Russia.
According to OVD-Info, which tracks political arrests, Andrei Kotov — director of the “Men Travel” agency — faced charges of “organizing extremist activity and participating in it.”
OVD-Info said an investigator told Kotov’s lawyer that her client had died by suicide early Sunday while in pretrial detention and was found dead in his cell.
Prior to Kotov’s death, independent media outlet Mediazona reported earlier this month that Kotov had rejected the charges and said in court that law enforcement officers beat him and administered electric shocks during the arrest, even though he didn’t resist.
Read the full report:
Ukraine downs six out of 21 Russian drones
14:16
Alex Croft
Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday it had downed six out of 21 Russia-launched missiles overnight.
Russia attacked the country with 40 drones, 16 of which were shot down, the air force said on Telegram.
The remaining drones failed to reach their targets, it added.
Russia will ‘move forward’, Putin says in New Year address
13:53
Alex Croft
In a New Year’s address to the Russian people, president Vladimir Putin said Russia will “move forward” in 2025.
The seasonal message is being broadcast at midnight in each of the 11 time zones across Russia.
Russia has strengthened its unity in the first quarter of the 21st century, Putin said, achieving significant goals.
"And now, on the threshold of the new year, we are thinking about the future. We are confident that everything will be fine, we will only move forward. We know for sure that the absolute value for us was, is and will be the fate of Russia, the well-being of its citizens," he said.
Putin described Russian soldiers fighting in the war in Ukraine as “true heroes”, but did not make specific predictions for the battlefield situation in 2025.
Report: Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
13:27
Alex Croft
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people.
The reason for the discrepancy in numbers wasn’t immediately clear.
Read the full report:
‘We can help restore Syria’, says Zelensky
13:07
Alex Croft
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has thanked his delegation for visiting the Syrian capital of Damascus, and calls for the countries to “renew our economic cooperation”.
He said in a post on X: “We can help restore stability in Syria after years of Russian interference, and this will undoubtedly help us restore peace for ourselves as well. It would be the right step to re-establish our diplomatic relations with Syria and renew our economic cooperation.
“We are counting on post-Assad Syria to respect international law in a way that Assad neither could nor wanted to. He was neither independent nor sovereign and simply failed to understand what it means to respect his own people and the international community.”
Today, I want to express my gratitude to the teams at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine for our delegation’s visit to Damascus – to the new Syria. I am looking forward to the ministers’ reports on the negotiations… pic.twitter.com/IIkfwvoXn8
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 30, 2024
ICYMI: Biden announces almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine
12:47
Alex Croft
The Biden administration has announced almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
“I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
This includes $2.5bn more in weapons and $3.4bn in economic assistance to help pay for other government services.
Comment | Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
12:27
Alex Croft
When Boris Yeltsin suddenly resigned as Russia’s first post-communist president on New Year’s Eve, 1999, his country seemed to be spiralling downhill into economic and political disintegration. Few gave his largely unknown successor as acting president much chance of reversing the economic implosion or remaining in office for long.
The then prime minister Vladimir Putin’s media operation had already begun to portray the ex-KGB operative in stark contrast to the moribund Yeltsin as an action man. That same year the second Chechen war on the country’s southern border raged. Twenty-five years later, Vladimir Putin is still in the Kremlin but Russia is again in the grip of war on its post-Soviet periphery after last week’s downing of an airliner over Chechen airspace.
Mark Almond writes:
In pictures: Ukrainians reunite with family in prisoner swap
12:07
Alex Croft
Ukrainian drone attack causes oil spill and fire in Russia, region says
11:46
Alex Croft
A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in Russia’s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasily Anokhin said.
Russian air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones but the wreckage of one of them fell on the oil facility, Anokhin wrote on Telegram according to Reuters.
The situation is now “under control”, he added, but no further details were issued.
China and Russia have moved ‘hand in hand’ on right path, says Xi
11:26
Alex Croft
China and Russia have always moved “hand in hand” on the right path, Chinese president Xi jinping said according to the Xinhua news agency.
It comes months after the two countries struck together a “new era strategic partnership” on several issues, including Taiwan, Ukraine and rivalling the United States.
Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported Moscow’s ambassador to Beijing as saying that Mr Xi will visit Russia in 2025.
Mr Xi expressed his desire to maintain close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an exchange of New Year greetings.
In Focus | How 2025 could bring Putin closer to victory over Europe
11:06
Alex Croft
Ordinarily, it’s historians writing after the fact that identify the pivotal dates in wars when the road to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia’s war on Ukraine is different: it’s clear in advance that 20 January 2025 will change the course of the conflict. Since well before the US election, there has been no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine’s continuing ability to resist Russia’s onslaught.
It’s long been apparent that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact not in Ukraine at all. Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contributions to their respective war efforts are crucial. The key difference is that in Ukraine’s case, the biggest backer by volume may be about to pull the rug from under the country’s ability to continue the struggle to survive.
Military expert Keir Giles writes:
Ukrainian forces release footage of helicopter strike
10:46
Alex Croft
Ukrainian forces have released footage which they say shows the historic strike by a naval drone on a Russian helicopter.
“A historic strike: Defence intelligence of Ukraine warriors destroyed an aerial target using a Magura V5 naval drone,” the Ukrainian military’s official X account says.
“A Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed using R-73 ‘SeeDragon’ missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.
“Another enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to the airfield.”
A historic strike: @DI_Ukraine warriors destroyed an aerial target using a Magura V5 naval drone.
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 31, 2024
A russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed using R-73 “SeeDragon” missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Another enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to… pic.twitter.com/AMOiuVEzWe
'No heating, no light': Moldovans fear looming energy shortage as Russia halts gas supplies
10:25
Alex Croft
On a frigid morning in Moldova’s capital, 39-year-old postal worker Petru Murzin braces for a difficult winter as he fears a looming energy shortage could leave many Moldovans with “no heating, no light.”
His concerns aren’t unfounded.
On Jan. 1, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom is set to halt gas supplies to the European Union candidate country over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies, a figure fiercely disputed by Moldova’s pro-Western government, that has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy as a political tool to destabilize the country.
“I feel that we’ve entered a crisis that is quite difficult to resolve … which worries me greatly,” Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. “Price increases are one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that’s something entirely different.”
Read the full report:
Twelve residential buildings damaged in Russian strikes
10:05
Alex Croft
A missile attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region has damaged 12 multi-storey residential buildings, including educational institutions and social facilities, the region’s military administration has said.
"Today, on 31 December, the enemy launched a missile attack on infrastructure facilities in the Shostka hromada. The aftermath of the Russian attack is being established,” the administration wrote on Telegram according to Ukrainska Pravda.
Mykola Noha, head of Shostka city administration, said: "Some infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Twelve multi-storey residential buildings, two educational institutions, and other social facilities were damaged. Emergency rescue units are responding. Damage and losses are being assessed."
In pictures: Kyiv residents take shelter in metro station amid air alerts
09:44
Alex Croft
Explosions heard in Kyiv amid ballistic missile alerts
09:23
Alex Croft
Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight amid a Russian missile attack.
A ballistic missile threat was reported by Ukraine’s air force at 3am, and at least two explosions were heard in Kyiv just minutes later.
Another alert was issued at 8am, before another explosion in the capital. Missile debris fell in the Darnytskyi district but there have been no reports of casualties or damage, the local administration said.
Russian helicopter downed by Ukrainian naval drone, Kyiv says
08:54
Alex Croft
One Russian helicopter has been destroyed and another damaged by Ukrainian naval drones, Kyiv’s military intelligence said on Tuesday.
In a battle on Crimea’s west coast, a Magura V5 maritime drone armed with missiles hit a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, Ukraine’s GUR spy agency said on Telegram.
It is the first time a Ukrainian naval drone has downed an air target, the spy agency said.
There has been no comment from Russia and the report has not been independently verified - but it was also reported by prominent Russian military blogger Voenny Osvedomitel.
Editorial: If the West gives an inch when it comes to Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
08:30
Alex Croft
It is 25 years since Vladimir Putin was handed power on 31 December 1999 when Boris Yeltsin resigned, and it is something he has kept an increasingly iron grip on ever since.
While the Russian leader has repeatedly clashed with the West, Putin’s near three-year invasion of Ukraine – and the staunch support allies like Britain and the US have given Kyiv – has only intensified his threats and bellicose rhetoric.
As we move into 2025, the West has to be prepared to keep drawing Putin’s ire. Donald Trump, the US president-elect, has suggested he wants a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine once he takes office in January, and both Kyiv and Moscow have opened the door to peace talks. The UK and nations across Europe are aware that if Putin is given an inch, he will try to take a mile – so continued support for Ukraine on the battlefield is crucial.
Read The Independent’s editorial:
Watch: Families in tears as Ukrainian soldiers return home after Russia prisoner of war swap
08:08
Holly Patrick
Ukrainian families sobbed as they reunited with loved ones in a prisoner of war (POW) swap with Russia on Monday, 30 December.
Among them were soldiers captured by Russia from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, Snake island and other parts of the front line, as well as two civilians.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the two countries exchanged 189 prisoners of war each in an exchange mediated by the United Arab Emirates.
China and Russia always moving forward ‘hand in hand’, Xi tells Putin
07:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
China’s president Xi Jinping said China and Russia have always moved forward “hand in hand” along the right path of non-alliance, non-confrontation, and not targeting any third party, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua said on Tuesday.
In an exchange of New Year greetings with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Mr Xi also said that mutual trust and strategic coordination between both countries continues to reach higher levels under their leadership.
--Reuters
Editorial: If the West gives an inch when it comes to Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
07:00
Maroosha Muzaffar
If the last 25 years have taught us anything, it is exactly who the Russian president is – and what he is capable of:
Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
06:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people.
Read more here:
-- AP
Explosions heard in Kyiv
06:11
Maroosha Muzaffar
Explosions were heard in Kyiv, Ukraine, during an air raid alert on Tuesday, according to a Reuters witness.
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what can he show for it?
06:03
Tom Watling
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years – but what has he really got to show for it?
05:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
When Boris Yeltsin suddenly resigned as Russia’s first post-communist president on New Year’s Eve, 1999, his country seemed to be spiralling downhill into economic and political disintegration. Few gave his largely unknown successor as acting president much chance of reversing the economic implosion or remaining in office for long.
The then prime minister Vladimir Putin’s media operation had already begun to portray the ex-KGB operative in stark contrast to the moribund Yeltsin as an action man. That same year the second Chechen war on the country’s southern border raged. Twenty-five years later, Vladimir Putin is still in the Kremlin but Russia is again in the grip of war on its post-Soviet periphery after last week’s downing of an airliner over Chechen airspace.
Add to the tension that Putin’s Russia has been engaged in a covert war against Ukraine since 2014, which he had turned into a full-scale invasion by early 2022 – a conflict that remains at an impasse today. As with his earlier war against Chechnya, Putin’s obduracy turned an opening military fiasco into a brutal war of attrition which Russia’s resources could win at a huge price.
But Putin’s rise over the years owed more to bureaucratic infighting skills than any dark espionage arts, or even the judo skills which he would at one time display in front of loyal cameras.
Born in post-war Leningrad amid the grim legacy of the Nazi siege, the young Vladimir Putin learnt survival arts more appropriate to the chaotic post-Soviet dog-eat-dog society of the 1990s than the shining utopian future promoted by communist propaganda.
Read the full piece by Mark Almond here:
Russia's Gazprom says it will halt gas supplies to Moldova starting Jan. 1
05:07
Tom Watling
Oil depot in Smolensk region catches fire following drone attack, Russian authorities claim
04:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
An oil depot in Russia’s Smolensk region reportedly caught fire following a drone attack overnight on 31 December, according to regional authorities.
“A Ukrainian drone attack targeted a fuel and energy facility, resulting in fires,” the head of the Yartsevo district, Roman Zakharov, wrote on his Telegram channel.
The claims could not be verified independently.
North Korea's Kim vows the toughest anti-US policy before Trump takes office
04:03
Tom Watling
Hundreds of soldiers freed in the latest prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine
03:30
Maroosha Muzaffar
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged prisoners of war in the latest such swap that saw the release of hundreds of captives and was brokered with the help of the United Arab Emirates, officials said Monday.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 189 Ukrainian prisoners, including military personnel, border guards and national guards — along with two civilians — were freed. He thanked the UAE for helping negotiate the exchange.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that 150 Russian soldiers were freed from captivity as part of the exchange in which each side released 150 people.
Read more here:
- AP
Biden announces almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine
03:25
Maroosha Muzaffar
The Biden administration has announced almost $6bn in military and budget aid for Ukraine before president-elect Donald Trump takes office next month.
“I’ve directed my administration to continue surging as much assistance to Ukraine as quickly as possible,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
“At my direction, the United States will continue to work relentlessly to strengthen Ukraine’s position in this war over the remainder of my time in office.”
This includes $2.5bn more in weapons and $3.4bn in economic assistance to help pay for other government services.
If the West gives an inch on Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
03:01
Tom Watling
The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war in Ukraine
02:05
Tom Watling
Behind enemy lines: Ukraine’s deadly assassins have terrorised Russia
01:03
Tom Watling
Finnish investigators find anchor drag mark on the Baltic seabed following cable damage
Monday 30 December 2024 23:02
Tom Watling
Catholic priest in Belarus sentenced to 11 years as crackdown on dissent continues
Monday 30 December 2024 22:03
Tom Watling
Sweden is searching for cemetery space that it hopes it never needs
Monday 30 December 2024 21:05
Tom Watling
Nato cannot defend Europe from Russia without the US, warn leaders
Monday 30 December 2024 20:02
Tom Watling
Putin and Trump are deluded about each other, and Kyiv will pay for it
Monday 30 December 2024 19:00
Tom Watling
As Trump returns to the White House – what next for Ukraine in 2025?
Monday 30 December 2024 18:07
Tom Watling
Russian man arrested for running LGBTQ+ travel agency found dead
Monday 30 December 2024 17:05
Tom Watling
Putin has ruled Russia for 25 years - but what can he show for it?
Monday 30 December 2024 17:01
Tom Watling
Newly released Ukrainian POWs pictured for first time
Monday 30 December 2024 16:31
Tom Watling
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has posted the first pictures of Ukraine’s latest POWs to be released from Russia in an exchange.
The return of our people from Russian captivity is always very good news for all of us. Today is one of those days – our team has managed to bring 189 Ukrainians back home.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 30, 2024
These are military personnel: defenders of Azovstal and Mariupol, Chornobyl NPP, Zmiinyi Island, and… pic.twitter.com/9z7WLIh5Iu
Finnish investigators find anchor drag mark on the Baltic seabed following cable damage
Monday 30 December 2024 16:29
Tom Watling
Zelensky thanks US for latest aid package
Monday 30 December 2024 15:58
Tom Watling
Ukraine deeply appreciates the United States’ steadfast support, especially as we approach the end of this challenging year. The nearly $2.5 billion in security assistance is a crucial contribution that will strengthen our defenders on the frontlines.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 30, 2024
This support comes at a…
Russia and Ukraine exchange 150 prisoners each in UAE-mediated swap, Moscow says
Monday 30 December 2024 15:27
Tom Watling
Russia and Ukraine conducted a prisoner swap on Monday, with each side freeing 150 prisoners of war, Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a statement.
It said that the Russian captives had been released on Belarusian territory and would be transferred to Russia. The United Arab Emirates had served as a mediator in the swap, the statement added.
If the West gives an inch on Ukraine, Putin will take a mile
Monday 30 December 2024 14:54
Tom Watling
First Ukrainian aid shipments to Syria to arrive tomorrow, says Zelensky
Monday 30 December 2024 14:33
Tom Watling
The first Ukrainian aid package to Syria will arrive in the country tomorrow, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.
The leader said 500 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat flour will arrive in Syria tomorrow. “And there will be more deliveries, as well as more mutually beneficial cooperation in many areas,” he added.
The support comes just weeks after a Syrian rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) overthrew the Russian-backed dictator Bashar al-Assad in a stunning offensive earlier this month. Mr al-Assad flew to Moscow upon invitation from the Kremlin, where he now lives in exile, to avoid the advancing HTS.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha recently led a delegation to the Syrian capital of Damascus to speak with the new administration.
“We support the Syrian people in overcoming decades of dictatorial rule and restoring stability, security, and normal life in Syria,” said Mr Zelensky.
Ukraine’s frontline mapped - ISW
Monday 30 December 2024 14:05
Tom Watling
Below, you can see the latest updates on the frontline in Ukraine, according to The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank.
MORE: Russia reportedly continues to face labor shortages that Russian military recruitment and persistent demographic problems are likely exacerbating.
Russian