Ukraine Russia news – live: Russian missiles strike Kherson region 51 times in one day

Russian missiles have hit the Kherson region 51 times in the past day, killing two civilians and injuring another, said the head of the region’s military administration.

Yaroslav Yanushevych posted on Telegram: “The Rashists [Russians] hit the peaceful settlements of the region with artillery, MLRS, tanks, and mortars.”

According to him, civilian infrastructure objects and residential buildings were damaged due to Russian shelling.

The attack on Kherson comes amid a fresh wave of missile attacks from the Russian side. The attacks arrived shortly after explosions at two Russian airfields on Monday, with Ukraine penetrating hundreds of kilometres into Russia's air space.

A third Russian airfield was attacked by a drone strike on Tuesday setting ablaze an oil storage tank in the Kursk region.

Russian forces continued the shelling of towns and villages in the region, the Ukrainian military said late on Tuesday, killing six in Donetsk.

Key Points

• Air raid sirens heard at Russian air base in Engels

• US not preventing Ukraine from developing long-range strike capabilities - Pentagon

• Zelensky meets soldiers engaged in Ukraine’s ‘toughest battle’

• Russian forces trench digging in Belgorod likely fearing Ukrainian invasion - MoD

• Russians hit Kherson region 51 times in past day, killing two civilians

Putin warns army could be fighting in Ukraine for a ‘long time'

17:08 , Sam Rkaina

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday his army could be fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but he saw “no sense” in mobilising additional soldiers at this point.

“As for the duration of the special military operation, well, of course, this can be a long process,” Mr Putin said, using his preferred term for Russia’s invasion, begun in February.

In a televised meeting of his Human Rights Council that was dominated by the war, Mr Putin said Russians would “defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal”, asserting that Russia was seen in the West as “a second-class country that has no right to exist at all”.

He said the risk of nuclear war was growing - the latest in a series of such warnings - but that Russia saw its arsenal as a means to retaliate, not to strike first.

“We haven’t gone mad, we realise what nuclear weapons are,” Mr Putin said. “We have these means in more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country ... But we aren’t about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor.”

He said there was no reason for a second mobilisation at this point, after a call-up of at least 300,000 reservists in September and October.

Mr Putin said 150,000 of these were deployed in Ukraine: 77,000 in combat units and the others in defensive functions. The remaining 150,000 were still at training centres.

“Under these conditions, talk about any additional mobilisation measures simply makes no sense,” he said.

Mr Putin has rarely discussed the likely duration of the war, although he boasted in July that Russia was just getting started.

Ukraine jails priest accused of assisting Russian troops

16:20 , Aisha Rimi

A Ukrainian priest from a church affiliated with Russia has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of assisting Russian, the Prosecutor General’s Office said.

Ukraine‘s government has been tasked with drawing up a law on banning churches affiliated with Russia under moves portrayed by President Volodymyr Zelensky as necessary to prevent Moscow being able to “weaken Ukraine from within.”

The priest, from the eastern Luhansk region, had been collecting information on equipment and weapons held by the Ukrainian military since mid-April, the state prosecutors said.

“The enemy used the information to establish the location and fire on targets,” they wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has carried out a series of raids on parishes that Kyiv says could be taking orders from Moscow as Russia wages war on Ukraine.

Kremlin calls US defence bill ‘extremely confrontational’

15:55 , Aisha Rimi

Moscow has said a US military aid spending bill providing at least $800m (£657) in additional security assistance to Ukraine was “extremely confrontational” towards Russia and may lead to further destabalisation of the situation.

The Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) will allow for additional spending for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, an increase of $500m (£410m) over US President Joe Biden’s request earlier this year.

Aisha Rimi has the full story:

Kremlin calls US defence bill ‘extremely confrontational’

Russia being influenced by 'false belief' Ukraine could invade, says MoD

15:32 , Aisha Rimi

The Ministry of Defence has suggested that Russia's military is being influenced by “false belief” that Ukraine could invade.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence tweeted on Wednesday: “There is a realistic possibility that the Russian authorities are promoting defensive preparations within internationally recognised Russian territory to burnish patriotic feeling.

"However, it probably illustrates some Russia decision-makers' genuine (but false) belief that there is a credible threat of invasion by Ukrainian forces."

Russia has recently started building up its defences along the border with Ukraine and deep inside the Belgorod region after three attacks on Russian air bases in two days.

Putin: Russia will defend its interests with all available means

14:50 , Aisha Rimi

President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Russia would fight to defend its interests using all available means.

Putin was speaking at a televised session of his Human Rights Council where he complained that the West treated Russia as a second-class country with no right to exist.

Suspicious packages sent to Ukrainian missions came from Germany

14:28 , Aisha Rimi

A series of suspicious packages sent to Ukrainian embassies all bore the address of a Tesla car dealership in Germany and were usually sent from post offices without video surveillance, said Ukraine‘s foreign minister.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Facebook that 31 Ukrainian missions in 15 countries had received such packages in what he called a “campaign of terror against Ukrainian diplomats”.

Ukraine said last week that “bloody packages” containing animal eyes had been sent to some of its missions in Europe, soon after a letter bomb detonated at its embassy in Spain and police defused others sent to, among others, Spain’s prime minister.

“All the envelopes have the same sender address: the Tesla car dealership in the German town of Sindelfingen. Usually, the shipment was made from post offices that were not equipped with video surveillance systems,” Kuleba wrote.

“Criminals also took measures not to leave traces of their DNA on the packages. This, in particular, indicates the professional level of implementation.”

German authorities and electric carmaker Tesla’s dealership in Sindelfingen in southern Germany did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

President Zelensky named Time’s 2022 ‘Person of the Year’

14:07 , Aisha Rimi

Time magazine named Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 2022’s “Person of the Year”, saying he inspired Ukrainians and won global accolades for his courage in resisting Russia’s devastating invasion.

Refusing to leave Ukraine’s capital of Kyiv at the outbreak of the war as Russian bombs rained down, the former comedian rallied his compatriots in broadcasts from the capital and traveled across his war-torn nation, the publication noted in bestowing its annual title.

“Zelensky’s success as a wartime leader has relied on the fact that courage is contagious. It spread through Ukraine’s political leadership in the first days of the invasion, as everyone realised the president had stuck around,” Time wrote in acknowledging the 44-year-old leader.

If Russia feels backed into a corner, it has only itself to blame, says Zelensky

13:28 , Aisha Rimi

Ukraine and the free world should not change their goals and make compromises to please the Russian aggressor, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Speaking through a video address at the Madeleine K. Albright Democracy Awards ceremony, Zelensky said: “If Russia feels backed into a corner, it has only itself to blame.

“Ukraine and the free world should definitely not change their goals and exchange their values for some compromises if the dictatorship is afraid to admit a mistake and tempts with a break in their battles. We must fully protect freedom and guarantee the security of our democracy.”

He added that whoever started an unprovoked and criminal war must lose and bear responsibility and that Ukraine and the world must receive guarantees of peace, stability and security.

“Apart from the Ukrainian victory, any other option will be a mistake, and this must be honestly admitted,” Zelensky said.

Pope Francis compares Russian invasion to Nazi operation

13:07 , Aisha Rimi

Pope Francis compared the war in Ukraine to a Nazi operation that killed some two million people, mostly Jews, in the first years of World War Two.

Speaking to Polish pilgrims at his weekly general audience, Francis noted that the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland, had recently commemorated the anniversary of Operation Reinhard.

It was the code name for a secret operation in a part of occupied Poland which the Germans called the “General Government” area, that included territory now in Ukraine.

“May the memory of this horrible event arouse intentions and actions of peace in everyone,” he said, specifically mentioning the operation, saying it was one of “extermination”.

He then went off script to add: “And history is repeating itself. We see now what is happening in Ukraine.”

More than 1,000 cultural sites in Ukraine destroyed , says Ministry of Culture

12:40 , Aisha Rimi

Over 1,000 cultural sites in Ukraine have been destroyed since Russia’s invasion, said the Ministry of Culture.

Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko said that the figure included mostly libraries and clubs that were “either damaged or completely destroyed”.

The nation’s main challenge is the decline of production in the creative industries, he added, as people are forced to look elsewhere for work.

‘No question of Russian involvement’ in alleged German coup, says Kremlin

12:23 , Aisha Rimi

Russia has denied any involvement in an alleged coup in Germany.

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the incident was nothing to do with them.

They were drawn to comment after German police carried out raids across the country and arrested 25 members of a group called the Reich Citizens movement.

The group allegedly planned to storm the parliament building, the Reichstag, and seize power, said officials.

David Harding has the full story:

‘No question of Russian involvement’ in alleged German coup, says Kremlin

More than 92,000 Russian soldiers so far, says Ukraine

12:01 , Aisha Rimi

Ukraine said that more than 92,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since 24 February.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said 92,740 Russian soldiers have died, including 540 troops over the past day.

In addition, 2,935 tanks had been destroyed and 5,909 armoured combat vehicles.

Vietnam seeks to reduce reliance on Russian arms

11:40 , Aisha Rimi

For decades, Russia has been Vietnam's main suplier of weapons and defence systems, making the Southeast Asian nation one of the top buyers of Russian arms.

But that is changing as Vietnam strives to become more self sufficient, obtain advanced gear that Russia can't provide, and faces Western pressure to reduce arms purchases from Moscow amid its invasion of Ukraine, analysts said.

Now Vietnam is looking to suppliers from Europe, East Asia, India, Israel and the US.

It has also boosted its domestic military industry with support from Israel and other partners, and hopes to export weapons, analysts and officials said.

Nguyen The Phuong, a former defence researcher at Vietnam National University, said there had even been internal discussions in October about whether the country should sell weapons to Russia - although no decision on that was seen as imminent.

The Russian embassy in Hanoi and Vietnam’s defence and foreign ministries had no comment.

Vietnam is one of the world's 20 biggest buyers of weapons amin on-and-off tensions with China, with an annual budget for arms imports estimated at $1bn and set to grow, according to GlobalData, a provider of military procurement intelligence.

Kremlin says US defence budget “confrontational” towards Russia

11:20 , Aisha Rimi

The Kremlin said that a US military aid spending bill providing $80m (£657m) to Ukraine approved by US lawmakers on Tuesday was “confrontational” towards Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “The document that has been adopted is of an extremely confrontational nature in relation to our country.”

The Fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, authorises the additional spending for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, an increase of $500m (£410m) over US President Joe Biden’s request earlier this year.

The bill also suspends some restrictions on contracts for munitions to support Ukraine.

It is expected to pass the Senate and House of Representatives this month, and be sent to the White House for Biden to sign into law.

Reuters

Watch: Zelensky gives state medals to wounded soldiers in Kyiv

10:31 , Aisha Rimi

Over 300 children considered missing in Ukraine

10:12 , Aisha Rimi

A total of 333 children are considered missing in Ukraine since Russian invaded the country on 24 February.

“The Children of War children’s search portal data as of 7 December 2022: 333 children – missing, 13,112 – deported, 8,017 – found,” the Ombudsman’s Office posted on Facebook.

Russians hit Kherson region 51 times in past day, killing two civilians

09:33 , Aisha Rimi

Russian forces hit the Kherson region 51 times in the past day, killing to civilians and injuring another, said the head of the region’s military administration.

Yaroslav Yanushevych posted on Telegram: “The Rashists hit the peaceful settlements of the region with artillery, MLRS, tanks, and mortars.”

According to him, civilian infrastructure objects and residential buildings were damaged due to Russian shelling.

Belarus moves military gear amid fears of attack on Ukraine

08:47 , Aisha Rimi

Belarus plans to move military equipment and forces on Wednesday and Thursday in what it said was a counter-terrorism exercise, amid fears that Russia may mount a new attack on Ukraine from the territory of its Belarusian ally.

“During this period, it is planned to move military equipment and personnel of the national security forces,” the state BelTA news agency cited the country’s Security Council as saying.

“The movement of citizens (transport) along certain public roads and areas would be restricted and the use of imitation weapons for training purposes is planned.”

There was no information on what parts of the country could be affected.

Belarus has said it will not enter the war in neighbouring Ukraine, but President Alexander Lukashenko has in the past ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing threats to Belarus from Kyiv and the West.

Three people injured after Russian missile attack in Zaporizhzhia district

08:26 , Aisha Rimi

Russian missiles and drones hit two communities in the Zaporizhzhia district overnight, according to officials.

In one of the villages, two houses were destroyed and eight more were damaged, while three people were injured, including a 15-year-old girl, Oleksandr Starukh, the Head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration wrote on Telegram.

another village, one house was destroyed and another 10 were damaged as a result of a rocket explosion. Nobody was injured.

Starukh added that there could have been more casualties and destruction if Ukrainian troops had not shot down half a dozen drones.

Norway to contribute €14.5m to train and equip Ukrainian forces

08:16 , Aisha Rimi

Norway has signed an agreement with the EU for a voluntary financial contribution of €14.5m to the EU Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine).

"Today's signature formalises this resolution and ensures that the agreement can enter into force and Norway can effectively contribute to train and equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the framework of the EU Military Assistance Mission," read a statement by the European Council.

Josep Borrell, the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said: "Norway’s financial support to the EU Military Assistance Mission for Ukraine will give an additional boost to train and equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces as they continue their courageous fight against the Russian aggression.

"With our partners, we will continue to assist Ukraine in every way we can, for as long as it takes."

The Council added that this is the first time ever that a third country has made a financial contribution to the European Peace Facility.

Ukraine seeks help with energy equipment from former Soviet states

07:37 , Aisha Rimi

Ukraine is working with international partners, including former Soviet states, to help restore the energy sector after a wave of Russian missile attacks in the last few weeks.

The Minister of Energy of Ukraine Herman Galuschenko said in a statement that a “large delivery” of equipment from France was expected today.

He added that the production of new energy equipment is a long process, so Ukraine was willing to accept aid in the form of used equipment that is in “working condition”.

“We are conducting negotiations with the former republics of the USSR. In particular, I had a conversation with the Minister of Energy of Azerbaijan,” he said.

“The Baltic countries also help us significantly. I would like to highlight Lithuania, which has already transferred a large amount of equipment, and another part is on its way to us now.”

Russian forces trench digging in Belgorod likely fearing Ukrainian invasion - MoD

07:10 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry says Russia has recently started to extend defensive positions along its international border with Ukraine, including deep inside its Belgorod region.

The governor of Belgorod announced he was establishing local “self-defence units”, the ministry said.

“Trench digging has been reported in Belgorod since at least April 2022, but the new constructions are probably more elaborate systems, designed to rebuff mechanised assault,” the defence ministry said.

It added that while there is a realistic possibility that the Russian authorities are “promoting defensive preparations within internationally recognised Russian territory to burnish patriotic feeling”, this could also illustrate some “Russia decision-makers’s genuine (but false) belief that there is a credible threat of invasion by Ukrainian forces”.

“Paucity in strategic assessment is one of the critical weaknesses in the central Russian government architecture: as highlighted by Russia’s original decision to invade Ukraine,” the ministry said.

It added that “impartial official analysis is almost certainly frequently undermined by a tendency toward group-think and politically expedient conclusions.”

Explosion rock Bakhmut overnight

06:58 , Arpan Rai

Fresh visuals showed intense explosions going off in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, indicating a fierce battle in the region last night.

A video shared by the Ukrainian defence ministry showed more than a dozen explosions going off in sequence and was shared with the caption “Bakhmut”.

The latest intelligence update from the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russian sources claim it has made marginal territorial advances near Bakhmut, but have not succeeded in their efforts to surround the city.

The oblast in Donetsk and the area around the town has become the epicentre of fierce fighting after Ukraine took over Kherson in the southern region last month.

Eight Russian drones downed in central Ukraine

06:54 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine’s air defence has downed eight Russian drones overnight – including suspected Iranian Shahed-136s – in Dnipropetrovsk oblast, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said.

The official said Russia attacked the Marhanetska and Nikopolska communities at least seven times using Uragan multiple rocket launchers and heavy artillery, reported The Kyiv Independent.

No casualties have been reported so far. The attacks on central Ukraine were all carried out overnight.

Ukraine says ‘Russians smoke in forbidden places’ after airbase attack

06:21 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine continued its long-held silence on attacks on Russian airbases and blamed callous Russian smoking for the latest explosion in the military base yesterday.

On being asked about the strikes, defence minister Oleskiy Reznikov made a longstanding joke blaming carelessness with cigarettes.

“Very often Russians smoke in places where it’s forbidden to smoke,” he said.

At least three Russian service members were killed after an airfield was set ablaze by a drone strike yesterday. An oil storage tank at an airfield in Russia‘s Kursk region was set ablaze.

The attack came just 24 hours after Moscow accused Ukraine of similar attacks on two air bases at Ryazan and Saratov, emphasising the vulnerability of some of Russia’s most important military sites closest to the Ukraine border.

Ukraine never publicly acknowledges responsibility for attacks inside Russia.

Belarus to move military equipment, forces amid terrorism response drill

06:01 , Arpan Rai

Belarus will observe security checks on its response to possible acts of terrorism and move military equipment and security forces today and tomorrow, reported its state news agency.

“During this period, it is planned to move military equipment and personnel of the national security forces,” Belarus’s security council said.

“The movement of citizens (transport) along certain public roads and areas would be restricted and the use of imitation weapons for training purposes is planned.”

It is not immediately clear what parts of the country are being used and which roads could be affected.

While Belarus has said it will not enter the war in Ukraine, president Alexander Lukashenko has in the past ordered troops to deploy with allied Russian forces near the Ukrainian border, citing threats to Belarus from Kyiv and the West.

Ukrainians are suffering ‘colossal’ torment, says UN aid chief

05:36 , Arpan Rai

The UN humanitarian chief underlined the “colossal” torment Ukraine is suffering from "senseless war” and Russian destruction of its infrastructure.

“In Ukraine today, the ability of civilians to survive is under attack,” top UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said, pointing to strikes on power stations and heating plants that have left millions of people without access to heat, electricity and water in sub-freezing temperatures, families deprived of health care, and children unable to go to school.

He urged the world leaders to look at the urgent need to help Ukrainians get through the winter in the broader context of “a world gone mad,” saying the number of people globally needing humanitarian assistance next year is projected to rise by nearly 24 per cent to 339 million at a record high of $51.5b.

Read the full story here:

UN aid chief: Ukrainians are suffering `colossal' torment

US not preventing Ukraine from developing long-range strike capabilities - Pentagon

05:16 , Arpan Rai

The United States is not stopping Ukraine from developing its own capabilities to carry out long-range strikes, the US defence secretary Lloyd Austin said yesterday.

“We are not working to prevent Ukraine from developing their own (capability),” the top Pentagon official said.

This comes a report said that the US modified the HIMARs it has been providing to Kyiv so they wouldn’t be able to fire long-range missiles into Russia itself, avoiding a wider conflict or the perception that the US is an active combatant.

The tweaks mean the truck launchers can’t fire long range US Army ATACMs missiles, and foreclose the use of other long-range weapons systems Ukraine might acquire from other countries or companies.

This is likely a move by Washington to avoid getting into a direct conflict with Moscow. Russia has warned the Kremlin would consider giving Ukraine long-range missiles a deliberate provocation.

Zelensky meets soldiers engaged in Ukraine’s ‘toughest battle’

04:43 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky visited Ukrainian troops close to the frontline in eastern Ukraine yesterday.

“Thousands of Ukrainians have given their lives so that the day might come when not a single occupying soldier will remain in our land and when all our people will be free,” Mr Zelensky, seen in his signature khaki green, told the gathering of forces.

He visited Donbas – theatre of the heaviest battles between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers, and the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainians have retaken swathes of territory from Russian forces.

Mr Zelensky thanked the medical staff and the parents of servicemen. He also welcomed home 60 prisoners of war returned in a swap with Russia earlier this week.

“Thank you for this resilience and strength. You are an outpost of our independence,” the wartime president wrote in a Telegram post.

“I believe that next time we will meet in our Ukrainian Donetsk and Luhansk,” he said, referring to regional capitals in eastern Ukraine seized by Moscow-backed proxies in 2014.

“I am sure in Crimea as well,” he said, mentioning the peninsula illegally annexed by Moscow in 2014.

US tweaked missiles given to Ukraine to prevent strikes inside Russia

04:20 , Arpan Rai

The US secretly modified a powerful rocket-launcher system it provided to the Ukrainian military to prevent it from firing missiles into Russia and escalating the nearly year-long conflict.

According to a Wall Street Journal report, the US modified the HIMARs so they wouldn’t be able to fire long-range missiles into Russia itself, hoping to head off a wider conflict or the perception that the US is an active combatant.

The tweaks mean the truck launchers can’t fire long range US Army ATACMs missiles, and foreclose the use of other long-range weapons systems Ukraine might acquire from other countries or companies.

This is likely a move by Washington to avoid getting into a direct conflict with Moscow. Russia has warned the Kremlin considers giving Ukraine long-range missiles would be considered a deliberate provocation.

Read the full story here:

US tweaked missiles given to Ukraine to prevent strikes inside Russia, report says

Air raid sirens heard at Russian air base in Engels

04:06 , Arpan Rai

Officials activated air raid sirens at an airfield in the Russian city of Engels late last night, just hours after Ukraine attacked two more air bases in Moscow.

The sirens were sounded on the territory of a military unit and “there is no threat to civilian infrastructure”, said Yevgeny Shpolsky, first deputy head of the Engels district, reported Russian state news agency TASS.

03:33 , Arpan Rai

Good morning, welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war on Wednesday, 7 December.