Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin threatens to target Kyiv with new missile after energy grid attack
Russia’s second big attack on Ukraine’s energy system this month left 1 million without power
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Your support makes all the difference.Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to strike “decision-making centres” in Kyiv with Moscow’s new intermediate-range ballistic missile.
Putin boasted Moscow’s production of advanced missile systems exceeds that of the NATO military alliance by 10 times, as he vowed to respond to the use of Western missiles by Ukraine.
Russian attacks have not so far struck government buildings in the Ukrainian capital. Kyiv is heavily protected by air defences, but Putin says Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile is incapable of being intercepted.
“At present, the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff are selecting targets to hit on Ukrainian territory,” Putin told the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) in Kazakhstan.
“These could be military facilities, defence and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centres in Kyiv.”
It comes as Russia’s “massive” aerial attack on energy infrastructure across Ukraine left at least one million people without power.
In Russia’s second big attack on Ukraine’s energy grid this month, damage to the energy and other critical infrastructure was reported by officials across the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia used cruise missiles with cluster munitions in Thursday’s attack, calling it a “vile escalation”.
Russia kills five Ukrainian prisoners of war, prosecutor general says
Russian forces have killed five Ukrainian prisoners of war in Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general.
In a statement on Facebook, the prosecutor general said an investigation has been launched after Russian forces shot five out of six captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Investigators also received a video of the moment the shooting was recorded, the prosecutor said.
Russia and Ukraine return children to families after mediation by Qatar
Russia and Ukraine have agreed to return to each other a total of nine children to be reunited with family members, according to a senior Russian official.
The transfers were agreed following mediation by Qatar, which has brokered several similar deals since the start of the full-scale war in February 2022.
Russia’s commissioner for children, Maria Lvova-Belova, said on Thursday that six boys and one girl, aged six to 16, were being returned to relatives in Ukraine.
Ms Lvova-Belova said on Wednesday that Qatari mediation had also enabled the repatriation of two young Russian boys, aged seven and nine, from Ukraine.
Ukraine says about 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since the war began, calling the abductions a war crime that meets the U.N. treaty definition of genocide.
Moscow says it has protected vulnerable children from the war zone.
Angela Rayner and Rachel Reeves among 15 cabinet ministers banned from entering Russia in new sanctions
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Pictured: Russian overnight attacks on Odessa, Ukraine
A Ukrainian video game set in Chernobyl is the target of a Russian misinformation operation
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Polish company denies that it broke the law in sending Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine
A Polish company has strongly denied any laws were broken when it sent Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine.
Switzerland’s government said last week it was barring exports to Polish military hardware supplier UMO after concluding that some 645,000 rounds of Swiss-made small-calibre ammunition ended up in Ukraine.
The issue is sensitive because Swiss laws on neutrality and the export of war material ban the export or re-export of Swiss-owned or Swiss-made military hardware to countries in conflict.
Poland, in contrast, is one of neighbouring Ukraine‘s staunchest allies and has sought to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia’s invasion with arms supplies.
UMO, which specializes in hardware for the military and police, said it purchased ammunition in 2023 from a Swiss ammunition provider, SwissP Defence, and later exported the ammunition to Ukraine “in accordance with the Polish law.”
It argued that it did not break Swiss law either, saying that “the Swiss government handed over control of the goods to Polish law.”
Putin says Ukrainian infrastructure attack was revenge for Kyiv's strikes on Russia
President Vladimir Putin has said that a massive Russian overnight attack on Ukrainian infrastructure was a response to Kyiv’s attacks on Russian regions using longer-range Western missiles.
Russia had unleashed its second big attack on Ukraine‘s energy infrastructure this month on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said. This cut power to more than 1 million people in the west, south, and centre of the country.
Speaking in Astana, Kazakhstan, Putin told members of a security alliance made up of ex-Soviet states:
“Tonight we conducted a comprehensive strike using 90 missiles of similar classes and 100 drones. Seventeen targets were hit.
“These are military facilities, defence industry facilities and their support systems. Let me repeat once again: these strikes on our part also took place in response to the ongoing strikes (by Ukraine) on Russian territory with American ATACMS missiles. As I have already said many times, there will always be a response from our side.”
Putin says Russia could strike 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv
Russia is selecting targets in Ukraine that could include “decision-making centres” in Kyiv in response to Ukrainian long-range strikes on Russian territory with Western weapons, President Vladimir Putin has said.
Russian attacks have not so far struck government buildings in the Ukrainian capital. Air defences heavily protect Kyiv, but Putin says Russia’s Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which it fired for the first time at a Ukrainian city last week, is incapable of being intercepted.
“Of course, we will respond to the ongoing strikes on Russian territory with long-range Western-made missiles, as has already been said, including by possibly continuing to test the Oreshnik in combat conditions, as was done on November 21,” Putin told a meeting of a security alliance of ex-Soviet countries in Kazakhstan.
“At present, the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff are selecting targets to hit on Ukrainian territory. These could be military facilities, defence and industrial enterprises, or decision-making centres in Kyiv,” he said.
Russian court sentences defence lawyer to seven years in prison over Ukraine war comments
A Russian court sentenced a defence lawyer who has represented critics of Moscow's war in Ukraine to seven years in prison on Thursday under two statutes, spreading false information about the Russian army and "inciting hatred", the court said.
Prosecutors had sought a 12-year sentence for Dmitry Talantov, 63, who plead not guilty, after he wrote Facebook posts which condemned the actions of Russian soldiers in Ukraine.
The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Russia had called on Wednesday for Talantov's acquittal.
"Talantov must be released immediately and exonerated of all criminal responsibility, as acts such as expressing a non-violent opinion or peaceful dissent against the war are protected by international human rights law," Mariana Katzarova said.
In pictures: Ukrainian rescuers work to extinguish fire at energy infrastructure facility
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