Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv launches massive drone and missile attack on Russian airbase and key targets

Ukraine has launched a "massive attack" that hit multiple targets in Russia's Engels, Saratov, Kazan, Bryansk, and Tula, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine's official Centre Against Disinformation, told Ukrainian TV that the strikes had targeted weapon production plants, oil refineries and warehouses.

A source in the Security Service of Ukraine told Reuters a drone attack struck a munitions storage facility holding guided bombs and missiles at the Engels airbase in Russia’s Saratov region.

The attack caused a large fire at the Aleksinsky chemical plant in the Tula region, a fire at the Saratovsky oil refinery and the Bryansk chemical plant was also hit, the source told Reuters.

Russia said it had shot down six US-made ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine over the Bryansk region and eight British Storm Shadow missiles, state news agencies reported.

It comes as the Kremlin said it is open to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Trump, which the Republican said on Monday would take place “very quickly”.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow was ready to study Trump’s ideas for ending the conflict in Ukraine once he takes office.

Key points

• Russia is ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine, Lavrov says

• Ukraine launched 'massive attack' that hit multiple targets in Russia, Kyiv official says

• Russia downs 14 Ukrainian-launched Western missiles over last 24 hours

• German defence minister arrives in Ukraine to discuss aid

• North Korean soldiers used as bait, diary reveals

Full report | Ukraine launches one of the largest missile and drone attacks of war into Russia

16:57 , Jabed Ahmed

Ukraine launches one of the largest missile and drone attacks of war into Russia

Everything we know about ‘North Korean soldiers’ captured by Ukraine

16:44 , Jabed Ahmed

Everything we know about ‘North Korean soldiers’ captured by Ukraine

French and Danish shipyards ‘fixing Russian gas tankers’

16:14 , Jabed Ahmed

French and Danish shipyards ‘fixing Russian gas tankers’

Putin adviser says only Russia and US should participate in Ukraine talks

15:45 , Jabed Ahmed

Nikolai Patrushev, a hawkish adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, has said that only Russia and the United States should be involved in any negotiations on a settlement for Ukraine.

“I believe that negotiations on Ukraine should be conducted between Russia and the United States without the participation of other Western countries. There is nothing to talk about with London and Brussels,” Patrushev told the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

One Indian national killed and another wounded while serving in Russian army

15:14 , Jabed Ahmed

One Indian national supposedly recruited by the Russian army has been killed while another was receiving treatment for injuries at a hospital in Moscow, the Indian foreign ministry has said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has “strongly taken up” the matter with Russian authorities in Moscow and with the Russian Embassy in New Delhi while reiterating its demand for the early discharge of remaining Indian nationals serving in the Russian army, the ministry said in a statement.

“We are working with the Russian authorities for early transportation of the mortal remains to India,” the ministry said. “We have also sought the early discharge and repatriation to India of the injured person.” Both came from the southern state of Kerala, it said.

Indian police in May arrested four people linked to a network of human traffickers on suspicion of luring young men to Russia with the promise of lucrative jobs or university places only to force them to fight in the war with Ukraine.

After the deaths of Indian nationals last year in the war, New Delhi demanded that there be a verified halt to the recruitment of Indian nationals by the Russian army and urged Indians to exercise caution while seeking employment in Russia.

About 45 Indian nationals were discharged from the Russian army and efforts were underway to get a further 50 released, India’s foreign ministry said in September.

Slovakia’s PM rejects offer to discuss gas transit in Kyiv, TASS reports

14:46 , Jabed Ahmed

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico has rejected a Ukrainian invitation to visit Kyiv this week to discuss gas transit deals, Russia’s TASS news agency reported, amid a spat over the end of Russian gas deliveries.

Russia’s gas flows to Europe ended at the start of the year after the expiration of a transit agreement between Kyiv and Moscow. Ukraine refused to extend the deal, seeking to stop energy revenue going to Moscow to fund its nearly three-year invasion. Fico says the move has damaged Slovakia’s economy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday extended an offer to Fico to visit Kyiv to try and resolve their spat.

The Kyiv visit “is not possible,” lawmaker Tibor Gaspar, part of a Slovak delegation currently visiting Moscow, told TASS. “I don’t think it will happen,” he added, without elaborating.

Fico says the end of the transit deal has hurt Slovakia by pushing up gas prices and also terminating transit fees it had earned in sending the Russian gas further into Europe.

He has tried to restore the flows, and travelled to Moscow last month to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin, a move which angered Ukraine.

Russian forces capture two settlements in eastern Ukraine, agencies say

14:15 , Jabed Ahmed

Russian troops took control of the settlements of Neskuchne and Terny in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region, Russian state news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.

Russia downs 14 Ukrainian-launched Western missiles over last 24 hours, agencies say

13:46 , Jabed Ahmed

Russian forces shot down six US-made ATACMS missiles fired by Ukraine over the Bryansk region and eight British Storm Shadow missiles, including two over the Black Sea, over the last 24 hours, Russian state news agencies said, citing the defence ministry.

The ministry said Russia would respond to the attacks, the Interfax news agency reported.

Vietnam and Russia sign agreement to boost co-operation on nuclear energy

13:16 , Jabed Ahmed

Vietnam and Russia have signed an agreement to boost co-operation on nuclear energy as Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin makes a two-day visit to Hanoi.

The Southeast Asian country has been trying to revive its nuclear energy plans after shelving the construction of two nuclear power plants in 2016 due to ballooning costs and concerns around safety. It hopes to become energy-sufficient and reach its goal of curbing additional greenhouse emissions by 2050.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday between Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom and Vietnam’s state-owned power utility EVN.

Mr Mishustin also held bilateral talks with his counterpart, Pham Minh Chinh, and met Vietnam’s Communist Party chief, To Lam, and the chairman of Vietnam’s National Assembly, Tran Thanh Man.

“Vietnam is an important partner of Russia in Southeast Asia,” Mr Mishustin said. “Today we plan to discuss with you a comprehensive plan for co-operation between Russia and Vietnam, which runs until 2030.”

He is set to meet President Luong Cuong on Wednesday.

Rosatom’s general director, Alexey Likhachev, arrived in Hanoi earlier on Monday.

Explained | Why does Russia want to capture strategic Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk?

12:46 , Jabed Ahmed

Russian forces are closing in on the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk after capturing a string of villages to its south, and Ukraine has halted production at its only coking coal mine nearby due to the advance.

Pokrovsk is a road and rail hub in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which had a pre-war population of some 60,000 people. While most people have fled, Ukraine estimated last month that up to 11,000 still remain in the city.

It lies on a key road used by the Ukrainian military to supply other embattled eastern outposts including the towns of Chasiv Yar and Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine's only mine that produces coking coal - used in its once vast steel industry and vital for the country's pre-war economy - is just a 20-minute drive to the west of Pokrovsk, and open source data shows Russian forces are less than 2 km (1.24 miles) from one of the mine shafts.

Moscow says it has annexed Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and sees taking control of Pokrovsk as an important stepping stone to incorporating the entire region into Russia. Kyiv and the West reject Russia's territorial claims as illegal and accuse Moscow of prosecuting a war of colonial conquest.

Control of the city, which the Russian media call "the gateway to Donetsk", would allow Moscow to severely disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the eastern front and boost its campaign to capture Chasiv Yar, which sits on higher ground offering potential control of a wider area.

Squeezing the Ukrainian military's access to the road network in the vicinity would make it harder for Kyiv's troops to hold pockets of territory either side of Pokrovsk, which could allow Russia to advance the front line.

Zelensky and Macron discuss Western troop deployment in Ukraine before German defense chief visits

12:16 , Jabed Ahmed

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that he has held further discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron about the possibility of Western troops deploying in Ukraine.

Zelensky's disclosure came before an official visit to Kyiv on Tuesday by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. He arrived in Kyiv on an unannounced visit following a meeting in Warsaw on Monday with his counterparts from France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland.

Germany and the four other countries are Europe's five top military spenders.

Macron prompted an outcry from other leaders, and he appeared isolated on the European stage, after his remarks almost a year ago floated the possibility of putting Western troops in Ukraine.

Zelensky has said that Ukraine needs security guarantees to bolster any peace agreement — an issue he said late Monday that he discussed with the French leader.

"As one of these guarantees, we discussed the French initiative to deploy military contingents in Ukraine," Zelensky said. "We considered practical steps for its implementation, possible expansion and involvement of other countries in this process."

Russia's Lavrov says Moscow is ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine

11:44 , Jabed Ahmed

Russia is ready to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine as part of negotiations aimed at clinching a wider settlement to end the fighting, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The Kremlin said on Monday that the issue of security guarantees for both Russia and Ukraine would be an integral part of any possible settlement between the warring sides.

"We are ready to discuss security guarantees for the country that is now called Ukraine," Lavrov told a news conference.

North Korea’s suicide soldiers pose a new risk on the Ukraine battlefield

11:16 , Jabed Ahmed

North Korea’s suicide soldiers pose a new risk on the Ukraine battlefield

Russia says it is ready to study Trump's Ukraine peace initiatives

10:46 , Jabed Ahmed

Russia is prepared to study US President-elect Donald Trump's peace initiatives on Ukraine when he takes office next week, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.

Lavrov cautioned that Trump's comments on the war - which he previously said he could end within 24 hours of entering the White House - were being made before his inauguration, but said Russia welcomed the fact that Trump's team was starting to speak of "the reality on the ground" when discussing Ukraine.

Lavrov said this was reflected in comments from both Trump and incoming national security adviser Mike Waltz.

Waltz told ABC on Sunday that it was clear the war must end somehow by diplomatic means.

He added: "I just don't think it's realistic to say we're going to expel every Russian from every inch of Ukrainian soil, even Crimea. President Trump has acknowledged that reality, and I think it’s been a huge step forward that the entire world is acknowledging that reality. Now let's move forward."

Pictured: Russian drone strike in Kyiv

10:14 , Jabed Ahmed

Ukraine launched 'massive attack' that hit multiple targets in Russia, Kyiv official says

09:42 , Jabed Ahmed

Ukraine has launched a “massive attack” that hit multiple targets in Russia’s Engels, Saratov, Kazan, Bryansk, and Tula, a senior Ukrainian official said.

Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine‘s official Centre Against Disinformation, told Ukrainian TV that the strikes had targeted weapon production plants, oil refineries and warehouses.

Russia’s Sovcomflot says new US sanctions create operational difficulties

09:16 , Jabed Ahmed

Russia's leading tanker group, Sovcomflot, said that new US sanctions would create additional operational difficulties and accused the West of undermining the global system of merchant shipping.

"The company's vessels do not belong to the 'shadow fleet'", Sovcomflot said.

"The sanctions against Sovcomflot are not motivated by violations on the part of the company and have no legal basis, they are motivated solely by the political interests of individual countries, including the United States."

Sovcomflot is the largest shipping company in Russia, and a major tanker operator.

"The introduction of new sanctions against Sovcomflot vessels creates additional operational difficulties," it said.

"Sovcomflot continues to work systematically to minimise the negative impact of the sanctions on its operations. At the same time, the company will continue to adhere to high standards of safety and quality of maritime operations and comply with all applicable laws and requirements," it said.

US President Joe Biden's administration imposed its broadest package of sanctions so far targeting Russia's oil and gas revenues on Friday.

The US Treasury identified 69 Sovcomflot vessels - including 54 oil and product tankers and four liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers - that are blocked.

Watch live: Russian foreign minister holds news conference as Moscow reports Ukrainian strikes

08:42 , Jabed Ahmed

Watch live: Russian foreign minister speaks as Moscow reports Ukrainian strikes

German defence minister arrives in Ukraine to discuss aid

08:32 , Jabed Ahmed

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has arrived in Kyiv for talks with the Ukrainian government to discuss further aid and assess the military situation.

"It is important for me to show with this trip that we continue to actively support Ukraine," Pistorius, a member of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats, told news agency DPA.

The German defence ministry confirmed the visit.

Germany is among Ukraine's top military backers in its war against Russia.

There is debate over Berlin's support for Ukraine ahead of Germany's snap election on 23 February, particularly as the incoming US presidency of Donald Trump puts pressure on Europe to boost its own defences.

Pistorius's trip to Kyiv comes a day after he visited Warsaw, where he met his counterparts from Germany, Poland, Britain, France and Italy.

"It is a signal that Germany, as the largest NATO country in Europe, stands by Ukraine. Not alone, but with the Group of Five and many other allies," he was quoted as saying upon arriving in Kyiv.

Ukraine launches big strikes on Russian cities

08:02 , Jabed Ahmed

Ukraine struck Russian regions with a major drone and missile attack overnight, damaging factories in at least three cities, officials and media said.

The Shot Telegram channel said that Russia had downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones and five U.S.-made ATACMS ballistic missiles.

"The enemy has organized a massive combined strike on the territory of the Russian regions," the Two Majors war blogger said.

Roman Busargin, governor of the Saratov region about 450 miles southeast of Moscow, said the cities of Saratov and Engels, on opposite banks of the Volga River, had been subjected to a mass drone attack and there was damage to two industrial sites. Schools had shifted to remote learning, he said.

Ukraine attacked the same region last week and claimed to have struck an oil depot serving an airbase for Russian nuclear bomber planes, causing a huge fire that took five days to put out.

The independent Astra news outlet reported a fire at an industrial site in the city of Kazan, east of Moscow, as a result of a drone attack.

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region in western Russia, said Ukraine had launched a major missile attack but did not say which missiles had been used.

Flight restrictions were imposed at airports in Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Nizhnekamsk, Russia's aviation watchdog said.

Nizhnekamsk, in Russia's republic of Tatarstan, is home to the major Taneco refinery. Shot said attack sirens were sounded at the refinery.

Ukraine halts production at coal mine as Russian troops draw near

07:28 , Arpan Rai

An important coking coal mine in Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine has stopped production amid reports of advancing Russian forces nearby, officials in Ukraine said.

Pokrovsk is the only mine in Ukraine that produces coking coal and Ukrainian military analyst DeepState said Russian troops were less than 2km (1.24 miles) from the facility.

The mine, which is key for Ukraine’s steel industry, stopped operations because of the proximity of advancing Russian forces, two Ukrainian industry sources told Reuters yesterday. “They have all stopped working now,” one was quoted as saying.

Ukrainian drone hits air base city housing Russian nuclear bombers

07:10 , Arpan Rai

A Ukrainian drone attack on Russia has hit and damaged an industrial enterprise in Saratov oblast, Russian officials said.

The attack on the Russian city of Engels, home to an air base where Russia’s nuclear bombers are housed, was confirmed by Saratov governor Roman Busargin this morning.

Mr Busargin said schools in Saratov and Engels would be closed, with classes held remotely.

Air raid sirens were also heard at the Taneco refinery in Nizhnekamsk, in Russia’s republic of Tatarstan.

Neither Kyiv nor the Russian defence ministry have yet commented on what appears to be a major Ukrainian air attack overnight.

Pictured: North Korean PoWs

07:00 , Alexander Butler

Flights cancelled as Ukraine strikes Russia in major drone and missile attack

06:25 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine has struck multiple Russian regions in a major drone and ballistic missile attack overnight, Russian officials and media are reporting.

Flight restrictions were imposed in the southern Russian cities of Kazan, Saratov, Penza, Ulyanovsk and Nizhnekamsk, Russia’s aviation watchdog said.

The attack damaged at least two factories and forced schools to close in a major southern Russian city.

The Shot Telegram channel said that Russia had downed more than 200 Ukrainian drones and five US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles.

“The enemy has organised a massive combined strike on the territory of the Russian regions,” the Two Majors war blogger said.Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region in western Russia, said Ukraine had launched a major missile attack but did not say which missiles had been used.

There was no immediate comment from Kyiv or from the Russian defence ministry.

Missile aiming ‘towards Washington’ displayed in St Petersburg

05:37 , Arpan Rai

A mock-up of a missile threatening an attack on the US has been displayed in a public square in St Petersburg.

The dummy projectile was placed on the roof rack of a small car in front of Saint Isaac’s Cathedral in the Russian port city on the Baltic Sea on Sunday.

Writing on the side reads: “Towards Washington – threatening US territory is the path to victory”. It is not immediately clear who organised – or authorised – the display of the missile.

Tensions between Russia and Washington have picked up again as a Kremlin spokesperson accused outgoing president Joe Biden of creating “the risk of triggering a nuclear confrontation with Russia”.

North Korean soldiers ‘used as bait'

05:00 , Alexander Butler

North Korean soldiers are being used as bait by Russian troops to lure out Ukrainian drones on the battlefield, a diary has revealed.

The last written notes of a North Korean soldier described how Pyongyang’s troops are ordered to stand within seven metres of Kyiv’s drones as covering soldiers try to shoot them down.

On one notebook page, a crude drawing shows a stickman soldier breaking cover to attract the attention of a drone, while his two comrades lie in wait to shoot it down.

“When the bait stands still, the drone will stop and it will be shot down,” the soldier wrote in scrawled handwriting, translated by The Wall Street Journal.

US officials reached out to Putin over fears of attack

04:51 , Arpan Rai

Aides to president Joe Biden sent a warning to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after they feared that the Russians may attempt to bring the war in Ukraine to the US, according to a New York Times report.

This summer, cargo shipments began to catch fire at German, British, and Polish airports and warehouses. Both Washington and the Europeans believed that the Russians were responsible.

In August, the White House grew concerned that the Russians were also planning to bring their sabotage to the US, according to secretly obtained intelligence.

The problem was simply how to get a warning to Putin, who hasn’t spoken to Biden since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

US officials reached out to Putin over fears of possible attack, report says

Sweden to test new drone swarm technology

04:00 , Alexander Butler

Nato’s newest member Sweden will test new drone swarm technology developed by defence equipment group Saab and the Nordic country’s armed forces, defence minister Pal Jonson said.

Mr Jonson said the army would test the technology, which was developed over the past year, during the upcoming Arctic Strike exercise.

“We will need to take some risks to build a stronger defence capability faster than we normally do,” Mr Jonson said.

He added that the technology allows swarms of drones of different sizes to form and then solve tasks autonomously.

“With these drone swarms it is possible to conduct both reconnaissance, positioning and identification,” he said.

Nato chief says Ukraine must be strengthened before talks with Russia

03:36 , Arpan Rai

Nato secretary general Mark Rutte has called on the alliance to solidify Ukraine’s position before any potential peace talks with Russia.

“At this moment, clearly, Ukraine is not there,” Mr Rutte told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs and defence committees yesterday.

“Because they cannot, at this moment, negotiate from a position of strength. And we have to do more to make sure, by changing the trajectory of the conflict, that they can get to the position of strength.”

The peace talks, he said, have to grapple with Ukraine’s future relationship with Nato. “But it’s too early now to exactly sketch out what that exactly will mean, also something we have to discuss with the incoming US administration,” he said. “But let’s hope that we will get to that point as soon as possible.”

His remarks come just a week before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House, with questions over continued American support for Kyiv.

“We all want this war to end, but above all, we want peace to last. Peace will not last if Putin gets his way in Ukraine, because then he will press ahead… I am convinced that peace can only last if Ukraine comes to the table from a position of strength,” he said.

Zelensky and Macron discuss deploying foreign boots in Ukraine war

03:19 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he discussed the battlefield situation and deployment of foreign troops in the Ukraine war with French president Emmanuel Macron over a phone call last night.

“We had a detailed discussion about the situation on the battlefield and the progress of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk operation,” he said in a post on X.

“We also agreed to work closely with key allies on achieving peace and developing effective security guarantees. As one such guarantee, we discussed the French initiative to deploy military contingents in Ukraine. We addressed practical steps for its implementation, potential expansion, and the involvement of other nations in this effort,” Mr Zelensky said.

The French leader has floated the idea of sending Western troops to Ukraine before, including last month when he and Polish prime minister Donald Tusk discussed the possibility of stationing peacekeepers there in the event of a ceasefire.

Biden jokes about Putin capturing Kyiv as he defends Ukraine policy

03:03 , Arpan Rai

The outgoing US president Joe Biden took a swipe at Russian president Vladimir Putin as he joked about his Moscow counterpart’s failed ambition to capture Kyiv.

“When Putin invaded Ukraine, he thought he would capture Kyiv in a matter of days. In fact, after the war started, I was the one who visited the centre of Kyiv, not him. Putin did not,” the president joked.

“It was a long train ride, but I’m the only (US) commander-in-chief to visit a war zone not controlled by US forces,” he added, touting the visit as historic.

In response, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Mr Biden’s address confirmed Moscow’s suspicion that the “US support for Kyiv created the risk of triggering a nuclear confrontation with Russia”.

“Today’s statement by Biden is an admission of a deliberately executed provocation,” Ms Zakharova wrote on her Telegram channel. “The Biden administration knew it was pushing the world toward the brink and still chose to escalate the conflict.”

German police investigate suspected Russian espionage at military bases

03:00 , Alexander Butler

German police have launched an investigation into suspected cases of Russian espionage after drones were spotted over several military installations in Bavaria, according to a statement on Monday.

Against the backdrop of Russia’s war on Ukraine, it could not be ruled out that German military installations and defence companies were being spied on by drones, Bavaria’s State Office of Criminal Investigation said.

The latest incident occurred late on Sunday when a drone was spotted over a military base near Manching, police said, referring to a vast facility where the German forces test new manned and unmanned aircraft.

Trump says he will meet 'very quickly' with Putin

02:52 , Arpan Rai

Donald Trump has said he is going to meet Russian president Vladimir Putin “very quickly” after he takes office next week.

When asked about his strategy to end the war, Mr Trump told Newsmax: “Well, there’s only one strategy and it’s up to Putin and I can’t imagine he’s too thrilled about the way it’s gone because it hasn’t gone exactly well for him either.”

“And I know he wants to meet and I’m going to meet very quickly. I would’ve done it sooner but... you have to get into the office. For some of the things, you do have to be there,” he said.

The American president-elect, who vowed to end the war within a day, did not provide a timeline for the meeting.

If confirmed, this would be the first meeting between leaders from the two countries since Russia’s war with Ukraine started in February 2022.