Ukraine news latest — Crazed Vladimir Putin launches drone attacks on Kyiv in new bid to destroy energy infrastructure | The Sun
VLADIMIR Putin has launched a drone strike on Kyiv as the crazed tyrant attempts to knock out the capital's power systems.
Russia's latest attacks hit "critical infrastructure" in and around the city early this morning – but defence systems destroyed around 15 of the 20 drones directed at the capital as the Ukraine war continues.
Kyiv's mayor said preliminary information suggested there were no deaths or injuries from Putin's latest attack on the capital – but emergency services were working at the scene in the Solomyanskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts.
Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram: "As a result of the attack on the capital, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged," .
"Energy and heating engineers are working to quickly stabilize the situation with energy and heat supply.
Read our Ukraine-Russia live blog below for the latest news…
- Joseph Gamp
In pictures: Firefighters battle blazes after drones attack Kyiv
The image below shows firefighters extinguishing a blaze after Russia's Iranian-made drones attacked Kyiv.
Russian forces attacked the capital this morning with 35 unmanned aerial vehicles, 30 of which were destroyed by Ukrainian forces
No one has been reported injured or killed in the early morning raid.
- Joseph Gamp
Russia and China to hold joint naval drills this week
Russia and China will hold joint naval drills between December 21-27, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing the Russian defence ministry.
The exercises will include missile and artillery firing in the East China Sea, the ministry said.
- Joseph Gamp
Drones attack Ukrainian capital Kyiv overnight
Russia has launched a drone attack on Kyiv early this morning.
It comes days after the Ukrainian capital withstood one of the biggest missile attacks since the start of Russia's February invasion.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin travelled to Belarus, where Moscow's troops are stationed as part of a regional force are due to hold military exercises.
The Kyiv city military administration said on social media: "During the air alert, 23 enemy UAVs were recorded in the sky above the capital. Air defence destroyed 18 drones,"
It added that the Russian forces were using barrage ammunition from "Shaheds", Iranian-made weapons that have pummelled the capital in recent weeks.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukrainian general says he will win back every square inch of territory
Ukraine’s General Valerii Zaluzhnyi vowed that the Ukrainian military would win back “every square centimetre of territory”, no matter how long it takes – although he hopes its soon.
“I would like to solve all the issues this year,” the general said.
“But I believe that next year we will bring everything to a logical conclusion.”
- Joseph Gamp
Russia used 35 drones to attack Kyiv
Ukraine's Air Force has said Russia used around 35 Iranian-made Shahed drones in attacks across Ukraine early on Monday.
But it pointed out 30 of the machines were destroyed.
Oleskiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, said infrastructure and private houses were damaged by the drone attacks.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukrainian commander believes Russia planning fresh attack in 2023
Ukraine’s military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, earlier echoed his comments, warning Moscow may be plotting a 2023 attack.
He estimated around 200,000 soldiers could be on standby to storm Kyiv after launching an attack through Belarus, the BBC reports.
The fearsome forecasts saw Kovalchuk plead with the West to support Ukraine’s fight to stave off their war-hungry neighbours.
He called for allies to send in the big guns – and even deadly cluster bombs – that are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Over 100 states – excluding Ukraine and Russia – backed the treaty to veto the devastating missiles that are loaded with smaller projectiles.
The candid commander added: “There is a corresponding counteraction to the enemy’s actions.
“We are sure that our partners will help us in this matter – those who want [us] to win. Because it is not only Ukraine winning today, but the entire civilized world. And we must win.”
- Joseph Gamp
Russian conscription period to be extended to two tears
Ukraine reigned victorious over Putin’s poorly trained and badly equipped men in a matter of weeks.
But now armed with hindsight, the Russian despot is feared to have bulked up his number of troops on the frontline to six figures.
Russia’s senior military commissar, Lt-Col Mikhail Fotin, announced in a TV interview that the period of conscription would be extended to two years.
Despite later denying he said it, he explained it would come into fruition following a “transition period” for the ‘Back to the USSR’ scheme throughout spring next year.
It could potentially give Russia hundreds of thousands of additional troops for his war which is estimated to have led to the 100,000-plus of his compatriots being killed or maimed.
No such conscription plan has been officially announced yet, but there have been strong rumours that Putin wanted to wait until after the New Year holidays in Russia to unveil the bombshell.
- Joseph Gamp
Kremlin desperately attempts to increase ‘fragile morale’ of Russian troops
“Fragile morale” is a “significant vulnerability” for Russia’s soldiers, the British Ministry of Defence has reported this morning.
According to a new report by the MoD, the Kremlin is employing “soviet-era” tactics to boost morale.
These include bringing opera singers, actors and circus performers onto the front lines as part of so-called “creative brigades.”
The MoD said Russian soldiers are concerned with “very high casualty rates, poor leadership, pay problems….lack of equipment and ammunition, and lack of clarity about the war’s objectives.”
- Joseph Gamp
Top Ukrainian official calls for ‘howitzers, tanks and armoured vehicles’ to ‘end Russian terror’
Ukraine’s minister for foreign affairs has called on the west to provide his country with more weapons.
Taking to Twitter, Dmytro Kuleba said: “For each Russian missile or drone aimed at Ukraine and Ukrainians there must be a howitzer delivered to Ukraine, a tank for Ukraine, an armored vehicle for Ukraine.
“This would effectively end Russian terror against Ukraine and restore peace and security in Europe and beyond.”
This comes after the Kremlin launched a fresh barrage of missiles at Ukraine on Friday, leaving millions without electricity.
- Joseph Gamp
Heating restored across Kyiv following Russian energy strikes
Following a fresh wave of Russian strikes on Friday, millions of Ukrainians were left without power, heating and water.
Now, heating and power are slowly being restored across the country.
Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, said on Sunday heating had been fully restored in the capital city.
He wrote on Telegram: “The city is restoring all services after the latest shelling.
“In particular, the capital’s heat supply system was fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally.”
- Joseph Gamp
Top Russian official inspects Kremlin’s troops
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, yesterday took part in an inspection of Moscow’s military forces, according to the country’s Ministry of Defence.
Taking to Telegram, the Ministry wrote: “The head of the Russian military flew around the areas of deployment of troops and checked the advanced positions of Russian units in the zone of the special military operation.”
This comes just days after Putin reportedly met with the Russian army’s top generals, in a bid to turn the country’s fortunes around in Ukraine.
- Joseph Gamp
Moscow says Moldova ban on TV channels ‘political censorship’
Russia accused Moldova of “political censorship” yesterday after the small eastern European country suspended the broadcasting license of six television channels over accusations of misinformation.
Moldova on Friday said the decision was made due to the “lack of correct information” in their coverage of national events and Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine among other reasons.
Some of the suspended channels re-transmit programmes from Russian television channels that were on Friday banned in the European Union as part of a new package of sanctions on Moscow.
“We consider this ban to be an unprecedented act of political censorship, an abuse of the principle of media pluralism, and a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of access to information,” Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
The ban will come into effect on Monday and will remain in place for the duration of the nationwide emergency situation that Moldova declared after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in late February.
- Joseph Gamp
Penis-headed statue of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin installed in the village of Bell End
A PENIS-headed statue of Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin has been installed in the village of Bell End.
It commemorates the war-mongering leader as “Bellend of the Year” in protest against the invasion of Ukraine.
The effigy appeared yesterday morning in the centre of the Worcestershire village — alongside eggs which passers-by can throw at it.
The organiser of the protest, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I needed to award somebody with the Bellend of the Year award and I thought there was one person who has universally been a bellend this year — and that’s Vladimir Putin.
“You could just throw eggs at the statue, which people did so willingly.
“It’s been very well received. One person said, ‘I thought it was my boss for a second.’” Miniatures of the statue, made for the co-ordinator by two artists, will be sold in aid of a charity supporting Ukrainian refugees.
Read more here.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukrainian general says he will win back every square inch of territory
Ukraine's General Valerii Zaluzhnyi vowed that the Ukrainian military would win back "every square centimetre of territory", no matter how long it takes – although he hopes its soon.
"I would like to solve all the issues this year," the general said.
"But I believe that next year we will bring everything to a logical conclusion."
- Joseph Gamp
Russian attacks this weekend plunged the country into darkness
The volley of missiles unleashed Friday came as President Vladimir Putin held extensive meetings with the military top brass overseeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up bombardments.
In Kyiv, the metro had stopped running so that people wrapped in winter coats could take shelter at underground stations after air raid sirens rang out on Friday morning.
It comes as Russia's latest wave of attacks pitched multiple cities into darkness and forced people to endure sub-zero temperatures without heating or running water.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukrainian commander believes Russia planning fresh attack in 2023
Ukraine's military commander, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, earlier echoed his comments, warning Moscow may be plotting a 2023 attack.
He estimated around 200,000 soldiers could be on standby to storm Kyiv after launching an attack through Belarus, the BBC reports.
The fearsome forecasts saw Kovalchuk plead with the West to support Ukraine's fight to stave off their war-hungry neighbours.
He called for allies to send in the big guns – and even deadly cluster bombs – that are banned under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions.
Over 100 states – excluding Ukraine and Russia – backed the treaty to veto the devastating missiles that are loaded with smaller projectiles.
The candid commander added: "There is a corresponding counteraction to the enemy's actions.
"We are sure that our partners will help us in this matter – those who want [us] to win. Because it is not only Ukraine winning today, but the entire civilized world. And we must win."
- Joseph Gamp
Russian conscription period to be extended to two tears
Ukraine reigned victorious over Putin's poorly trained and badly equipped men in a matter of weeks.
But now armed with hindsight, the Russian despot is feared to have bulked up his number of troops on the frontline to six figures.
Russia's senior military commissar, Lt-Col Mikhail Fotin, announced in a TV interview that the period of conscription would be extended to two years.
Despite later denying he said it, he explained it would come into fruition following a "transition period" for the 'Back to the USSR' scheme throughout spring next year.
It could potentially give Russia hundreds of thousands of additional troops for his war which is estimated to have led to the 100,000-plus of his compatriots being killed or maimed.
No such conscription plan has been officially announced yet, but there have been strong rumours that Putin wanted to wait until after the New Year holidays in Russia to unveil the bombshell
- Joseph Gamp
Heating restored in freezing Kyiv says Mayor Klitschko
Heating has been fully restored to Kyiv after the latest Russian bombardment that targeted water and power infrastructure, the capital's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Sunday.
"The city is restoring all services after the latest shelling," Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.
"In particular, the capital's heat supply system was fully restored. All sources of heat supply work normally."
Ukrainian officials said Russia fired more than 70 missiles on Friday in one of its heaviest barrages since the Kremlin's Feb. 24 invasion, forcing emergency blackouts nationwide and cutting access to heat and water.
Temperatures in Kyiv and many places across Ukraine were below freezing on Sunday morning, with forecasts expecting them to dip to -6C (21.2 F) in the capital by the evening.
- Joseph Gamp
Russia says official hurt by Central African parcel bomb in ‘serious’ condition (2/2)
Russia's TASS news agency said Dmitry Sytyi, the head of the Russia House cultural centre, received an "anonymous parcel" Friday which exploded on being opened.
France rejected the claim by the boss of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that Paris was involved.
"I have already requested the Russian foreign ministry to initiate the procedure to declare France a state sponsor of terrorism," Prigozhin was quoted as saying in a statement released by his company, Concord.
France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told AFP Friday that the information is "false and is a good example of Russian propaganda".
France has dispatched up to 1,600 troops to help stabilise CAR after a coup in 2013 unleashed a civil war along sectarian lines.
In 2018, Moscow sent instructors to the country, and in 2020 followed this with hundreds of paramilitaries to help President Faustin Archange Touadera defeat rebels advancing on the capital.
France, the United Nations and others say they are mercenaries from the Kremlin-backed Wagner group, who have been linked with atrocities and looting of resources.
- Joseph Gamp
Russia says official hurt by Central African parcel bomb in 'serious' condition (1/2)
A Russian representative in the Central African Republic who was badly wounded after opening a parcel bomb is in a 'stable and serious' condition, the Russian embassy in the country said.
Moscow had said Friday that one of its representatives in the African nation was injured by an exploding parcel, an attack which a prominent pro-Kremlin figure claimed France was behind.
On Saturday, the Russian embassy in the country said his condition "remains stable and serious".
In a Facebook post the embassy said he was "the victim of a terrorist attack" and that "specialists were continuing to fight for his life".
Central Africa has been battling civil war since 2013 and is at the heart of Russia's bid for strategic influence in Africa.
The last French troops deployed in CAR left Thursday following a chill in relations caused by closer ties between Bangui and Moscow and the deployment of Russian forces, which some countries say includes Wagner mercenaries.
- Joseph Gamp
Ukraine war: Key points from this weekend
The announcement of his visit comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with top military brass overseeing the Ukraine offensive, including Shoigu.
Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Friday on multiple cities in Ukraine, plunging them into darkness, cutting water and heat supplies and forcing people to endure sub-zero temperatures.
After a series of embarrassing battlefield defeats in Ukraine, Russia since October has pursued an aerial onslaught against what Moscow says are military-linked facilities.
- Joseph Gamp
Russian defence minister inspects troops involved in Ukraine offensive
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected troops involved in what Moscow calls its special military operation in Ukraine, his ministry said Sunday.
Shoigu "made a working trip to the Southern Military District and inspected troops in the areas of the special military operation", the defence ministry said in a statement on Telegram.
It added that Shoigu spoke with servicemen "on the frontline" and listened to reports from military officials at a "command post".
The statement did not say where exactly the trip took place and whether Shoigu visited Ukraine.
A video released by the ministry with its statement showed Shoigu aboard a military helicopter as well as some aerial shots of unidentified empty stretches of land.
- Joseph Gamp
Putin's invasion of Ukraine opened 'gates of hell' says Archibishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby on Sunday said Russia's invasion of Ukraine had "opened the gates of hell" unleashing "every evil" force worldwide from murder and rape in occupied territory to famine and debt in Africa and Europe.
Welby, the highest-ranking cleric in the worldwide Anglican communion, travelled to Ukraine late last month to meet church leaders and local Christians as well as those displaced by the conflict.
He said he had been struck by the "size of the mass graves in Bucha, the photos of what had been done to the people there, the rape, the massacres, the torture by the occupying Russian forces".
And he said the repercussions of the invasion were also being felt far beyond Ukraine's borders.
"Effectively we're in the same struggle at one remove. When Ukraine was invaded at the decision of President (Vladimir) Putin, the gates of hell were opened and every evil force came out across the world," he told BBC television.
"I was in Mozambique the week before I was in Ukraine where there is famine all the way up the East African coast," he said.
"There is inflation… there's an energy crisis, there's suffering, there's shortages of drugs, everything evil has been unleashed and until there is withdrawal and ceasefire we can't make progress on reconciliation," he added.
- Joseph Gamp
One dead, several injured in strikes on Russian region near Ukraine: governor
Strikes on the Russian region of Belgorod that borders Ukraine killed one person and injured five others on Sunday, the regional governor said, two days after renewed attacks by Moscow battered the Ukrainian energy grid.
Four people were injured in the regional capital Belgorod, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media, adding that there was also "one dead and one injured" in the district near the main city.
- Joseph Gamp
Putin meets top military figures to discuss Ukraine, claims Kremlin
President Vladimir Putin has held extensive meetings with the military top brass overseeing Russia’s campaign in Ukraine, where Moscow has stepped up bombardments, the Kremlin said Saturday.
“On Friday, the president spent the whole day at the army staff involved in the special military operation in Ukraine,” a statement said.
He held a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov and held “separate discussions with commanders” from different defence branches, it said.
“I would like to hear your proposals on our actions in the short- and medium-term,” Putin was shown as saying in the meeting by Russia’s state television.
Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Friday on multiple cities in Ukraine, plunging them into darkness, cutting water and heat and forcing people to endure sub-zero temperatures.
After a series of embarrassing battlefield defeats, Russia since October has pursued an aerial onslaught against what Moscow says are military-linked facilities.
France and the European Union said the suffering inflicted on freezing civilians constitutes war crimes, with the bloc’s foreign policy chief calling the bombings “barbaric”.
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