A child has been killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine as Vladimir Putin warned the West of “serious consequences” over reports Kyiv may receive seized Kremlin assets.
The child was killed along with three other civilians in strikes on Kherson Oblast over the last day, the region’s governor said.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said nine others were injured and the region had been attacked 88 times with missiles striking medical facilities, residential areas, and educational institutions.
It comes as the Kremlin warned Europe and the US over the possibility of Russian assets held abroad being given to aid the Ukrainian war effort. A response could include tit-for-tat financial seizures or even a break in diplomatic relations.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force said it had shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter bombers over the south of the country.
The Soviet-origin aircraft, which are armed with guided bombs and Kh-59 missiles, are used to carry out long-distance attacks.
The Dutch government also announced it was preparing to give 18 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, in a boost for the embattled nation that is growing increasingly anxious about aid from its Western allies.
The Russian death toll has reached just over 350,000 since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has claimed.
According to their estimates, Russia has also lost 5,858 tanks, 10,888 armored fighting vehicles and 8,314 artillery systems since 24 February 2022.
The figures, provided by Ukraine’s armed forces, have not been independently verified.
Ex-Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a bomb plot orchestrated by Vladimir Putin’s oldest ally, a Russian intelligence officer has claimed.
Mr Prigozhin, who was killed when his plane crashed over Russia on 23 August this year, launched a mutiny against the Russian ministry of defence in June following a long-running feud with officials over the direction of the war in Ukraine.
At the time, the Kremlin denied any involvement with his death and characterised western intelligence assessments of Putin’s culpability as an “absolute lie”.
A Russian intelligence officer has now said former KGB officer and long-time Putin ally Nikolai Patrushev personally oversaw the planning of the operation which involved planting a bomb under the wing of Prigozhin’s aircraft.
Nikolai Patrushev was accused by a Russian intelligence officer of personally overseeing the death of Yevgeny Prigozhin
A child and three other civilians have been killed as nine others were injured in Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast over the last day, the region’s governor said.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the region was attacked 88 times with targets including medical facilities, residential areas, and educational institutions.
Russia regularly attacks Kherson from the east of the Dnipro, after Ukrainian forces liberated the city in November 2022.
There is a growing sense of alarm among Ukraine’s frontline forces at dwindling supplies of arms and ammunition and signs that the commitment of international partners is faltering, according to multiple senior Ukrainian military officials, Arpan Rai reports.
Ukraine’s military fears Vladimir Putin’s forces could break through its defensive lines and secure victory for Russia within days if the US does not commit to more aid, with intense fighting still taking place and hourly assaults targeting the key industrial town of Avdiivka despite the onset of the country’s bitter winter.
“It is a very difficult situation, very difficult, but the guys from the defence forces are holding their ground,” says Vitaliy Barabash, the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, in an interview with The Independent.
Commanders in the key battle for Avdiivka in Donetsk fear the town will be lost in a matter of days if more international aid cannot be secured – and that huge casualties will be suffered in the process. Arpan Rai reports
European countries are behind the curve on military production and capacity compared to Russia, Poland’s foreign minister warned.
“As the west, we are 20 times richer than Russia, but if Russia puts its economy on a wartime footing and we continue on a peacetime basis, they can outproduce us,” Radosław Sikorski said.
“Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve.”
Ukrainian refugees have expressed their shock at spending their second Christmas in the UK and shared their hopes for 2024, including overcoming the trauma of war and building better lives for their children.
Earlier this year, Ukraine officially changed the day it celebrates Christmas from the Orthodox Church date of January 7 – as is traditional in Russia – to December 25, in a government move designed to distance themselves from their invaders.
Ukrainians living in the UK have said the move makes “complete sense” and will match their government’s plans, while others said they plan to have two celebrations.
Russia launched 15 drones at Ukraine, mostly in the south of the country, overnight with air defences destroying 14 of them, Ukrainian military said on Sunday.
“As a result of air combat, Ukraine’s Air Force and defence forces destroyed 14 shaheds in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi regions,” the Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.
The drones were launched from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov in Russia, it said.
Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.
No damage or casualties have been reported by military and civilian authorities.
When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees.
The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one.
“There are fewer (bionic) arms available than lost ones,” Cholas said.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has created a massive need for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians have had amputations since the war started in February 2022, many of them soldiers who lost arms or legs due to blast wounds.
