Russia has launched a massive aerial attack against Ukraine, firing 93 missiles and almost 200 drones, as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky described it as one of the heaviest bombardments of the country’s energy sector since Russia’s full-scale invasion almost three years ago.
Ukrainian defenses shot down 81 missiles, including 11 cruise missiles that were intercepted by F-16 warplanes provided by Western allies earlier this year, Mr Zelensyy said.
Russia is “terrorizing millions of people” with such assaults, he said on his Telegram channel, renewing his plea for international unity against Russian president Vladimir Putin.
“A strong reaction from the world is needed: a massive strike – a massive reaction. This is the only way to stop terror,” Mr Zelensky said.
It comes as Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte warned that Vladimir Putin wants to “wipe Ukraine off the map” and could come after other parts of Europe next as he called for the alliance to adopt a wartime mindset.
Talking to security experts and analysts in Brussels, Mr Rutte warned of the prospect that Russia might try to use “swarms of drones” in Europe after seeing their deadly impact in Ukraine.
Moscow is preparing for a long-term confrontation with Ukraine and Nato, he said, adding that the Russian president “is trying to crush our freedom and way of life”.
British ex paratrooper unlawfully killed in Ukraine by someone claiming to be his friend, coroner finds
Tom Watling13 December 2024 12:45
Topless anti-Russia protesters damage monument outside UN in Geneva
Topless members of the Ukrainian feminist protest group Femen took chainsaws to a giant wooden sculpture outside the United Nations in Geneva on Friday, prompting police to intervene, witnesses said.
The two women wearing the Ukrainian flag as garters shouted “Keep Russia out of the UN” and “Fuck Russia” as they sawed into a monument known as the Broken Chair, leaving over a dozen gashes.
The three-legged structure, a work by Swiss artist Daniel Berset erected on the Place des Nations in 1997, has become a landmark in the city of Geneva. It was designed to raise awareness about the impact of landmines on civilians in conflict zones.
A Geneva police spokesperson confirmed that four people had been brought in for questioning in relation to the incident.
Since it was founded in Kyiv in 2008, the Femen movement has won fame and notoriety in Europe for its protests – usually topless – against sex tourism, homophobia and religious institutions.
Tom Watling13 December 2024 12:32
Russia signs $13bn-a-year oil deal with India in blow to sanctions
Tom Watling13 December 2024 12:05
More than half of Ukraine’s nuclear reactor units affected by Russian attacks, says UN nuclear watchdog
More than half of Ukraine’s nine working nuclear reactor units have “reduced power output due to renewed attacks on energy infrastructure” the United Nation nuclear watchdog has reported.
A statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency said that five of Ukraine’s 9 reactor units had been affected.
Tom Watling13 December 2024 11:45
Russia drones fly into Belarusian airspace – monitor
Russian drones intended for Ukraine crossed into Belarusian airspace overnight, a monitor tracking Belarus has reported.
Belarusian Hajun project said eight drones flew across the Ukrainian border into Belarus.
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Tom Watling13 December 2024 11:21
Kremlin praises Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian strikes deep into Russia
The Kremlin has praised US president-elect Donald Trump’s criticism of Ukrainian strikes with US missiles deep into Russian territory and said the position was fully in line with Moscow’s own position.
Trump criticised Ukraine‘s use of US-supplied missiles for attacks deep into Russian territory in a Time magazine interview published on Thursday, comments that suggest he could alter US policy toward Ukraine.
“The statement itself completely coincides with our position,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said Mr Trump’s statement was in line with “our vision of the causes of escalation”.
“It appeals to us,” he added.
Tom Watling13 December 2024 11:01
Trump calls North Korean troops in Russia a ‘complicating factor’ and boasts of relationship with Kim Jong Un
Tom Watling13 December 2024 10:22
In pictures: Ukrainians on the frontline
Tom Watling13 December 2024 09:32
