Wars 2022 02/24 Monitoring Russian and Ukraine War.

[Saif]

Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine before Zelenskiy-Trump meeting

Explosions sounded in Kyiv as Ukraine's air defence units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed.

en.prothomalo.com

Russian drones, missiles pound Ukraine before Zelenskiy-Trump meeting
Reuters
Published: 27 Dec 2025, 14: 08

Smoke rises from a burnt car at the site of a repair workshop damaged during Russian missile and drone strikes, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine on 27 December 2025. Reuters

Russia attacked Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine with missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a key meeting with US President Donald Trump to work out a deal to end nearly four years of war.

Before the attacks, Zelenskiy said his talks in Florida on Sunday would focus on the territory to be controlled by each side after a halt to the fighting that began in February 2022 with President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Russia's smaller neighbour, Europe's deadliest conflict since World War Two.

Explosions sounded in Kyiv as Ukraine's air defence units went into action, and the military said on the Telegram messaging app that missiles were being deployed. The air force said Russian drones were targeting the capital and regions in the northeast and south.

The attack was continuing at 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) and an air raid alert remained in effect in the capital, Reuters eyewitnesses said. At least eight people were wounded, Kyiv authorities said.

Controlling territory is diplomatic stumbling block

Russia's strikes prompted the temporary closure of Rzeszow and Lublin airports in southeastern Poland, to the west of Ukraine, after the Polish armed forces scrambled fighter jets, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency posted on X.

Russia made no immediate comment on the attacks.

On Thursday night, Russia struck Ukraine's energy infrastructure and stepped up attacks on the southern region of Odesa, the site of Ukraine's main seaports, Ukrainian authorities said.

Amid the continued fierce fighting, territory remains the main diplomatic stumbling block. A 20-point draft in the U.S.-driven campaign to clinch a peace plan is 90 per cent complete, Zelenskiy told journalists in Kyiv.

He said a security guarantee agreement between Ukraine and the U.S. was almost ready - a key element after guarantees in earlier post-Soviet years proved meaningless.

"A lot can be decided before the New Year," Zelenskiy posted on social media.

Trump said the United States was the driving force behind the process.

"He doesn't have anything until I approve it," Trump told Politico. "So we'll see what he's got."

Before their meeting, Trump and Zelenskiy will have a call on Saturday, joined by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders, a commission spokesperson said.

Zelenskiy told Axios the U.S. had offered a 15-year deal on security guarantees, subject to renewal, but Kyiv wanted a longer agreement with legally binding provisions to guard against further Russian aggression.

Trump said he believed Sunday's meeting would go well. He also said he expected to speak with Putin "soon, as much as I want."

Nuclear plant, free economic zone also at issue

In addition to territory, a critical point is control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, seized by Russia in the opening weeks of the war.

Moscow demands that Ukraine withdraw from the areas of the eastern region of Donetsk that Russian troops have failed to occupy in their drive to secure all of the Donbas, which also includes the Luhansk region.

Kyiv wants the fighting halted at the current lines.

Under a U.S. compromise, a free economic zone would be set up if Ukraine leaves parts of the Donetsk region, though details have yet to be worked out.

Axios quoted Zelenskiy as saying that if he is not able to push the U.S. to back Ukraine's "strong" position on the land issue, he was willing to put the 20-point plan to a referendum - as long as Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire to allow Ukraine to prepare for and hold the vote.

He said he wanted more pressure applied to Russia.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Kyiv's version of the 20-point plan differed from what Russia had been discussing with the U.S., according to Interfax-Russia news agency.

But he expressed optimism that matters had reached a "turning point" in the search for a settlement.

Putin's foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, spoke with members of the Trump administration after Moscow received U.S. proposals about a possible peace deal, the Kremlin said on Friday. It did not disclose how Moscow had viewed the documents.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky looks to close out Ukraine peace deal at Trump meet

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sit down Sunday with Donald Trump and seek to secure the US president's stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia. The 20-point plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, lacks...

en.prothomalo.com

Zelensky looks to close out Ukraine peace deal at Trump meet
AFP Palm Beach, United States
Published: 28 Dec 2025, 14: 48

Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump AFP file photo

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will sit down Sunday with Donald Trump and seek to secure the US president's stamp of approval for a new proposal to end the nearly four-year conflict with Russia.

The 20-point plan, which emerged from weeks of intense US-Ukraine negotiations, lacks Moscow's approval, and the face-to-face in Florida comes in the wake of a massive Russian missile and drone attack on Kyiv.

The meeting, to be hosted by Trump at his opulent Mar-a-Lago residence at 1:00 pm (1800 GMT) Sunday according to the White House, will be the pair's first in-person encounter since October, when the US president refused to grant Zelensky's request for long-range Tomahawk missiles.

During a stopover in Canada on Saturday, Zelensky said he hoped the talks would be "very constructive" and said Russian leader Vladimir Putin had shown his hand with the latest assault on the Ukrainian capital.

"This attack is again, Russia's answer on our peace efforts. And this really showed that Putin doesn't want peace," he said.

Europeans vow support

While in Canada, Zelensky held a conference call with European leaders who, according to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, pledged their full support for his peace efforts.

Russia has accused Ukraine and its European backers of trying to "torpedo" a previous US-brokered plan to stop the fighting.

EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa, who participated in the conference call, said the European Union's backing for Ukraine would never falter and vowed to maintain pressure on the Kremlin to come to terms.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told state news agency TASS that Moscow would continue its "engagement with American negotiators" but criticized Europeans saying: "After the change of administration in the US, Europe and the European Union have become the main obstacle to peace."

"They are making no secret of their plans to prepare for war with Russia," Lavrov added.

"The ambitions (of European politicians) are literally blinding them: not only do they not care about Ukrainians, but they also don't seem to care about their own population."

Trump has so far been non-committal on the new peace proposal.

Zelensky "doesn't have anything until I approve it," the president said in an interview with Politico on Friday. "So we'll see what he's got."

The talks will address a plan that would stop the war along its current front lines and could require Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, allowing the creation of demilitarized buffer zones.

As such, it contains Kyiv's most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions.

But is does not envisage Ukraine withdrawing from the 20 percent of the eastern Donetsk region that it still controls -- Russia's main territorial demand.

Trump has made ending the Ukraine and Gaza wars the centerpiece of his self-proclaimed second term as a "president of peace."

But the Ukraine war has, by his own admission, proved far harder than he expected, and the president has repeatedly voiced his frustration with both sides for failing to secure a truce.

Security guarantees

In Canada, Zelensky told reporters that security guarantees would be a key focus of the talks in Florida.

"Security guarantees must be simultaneous with the end of the war, because we must be confident that Russia will not start aggression again," he stressed.

"We need strong security guarantees. We will discuss this and we will discuss the terms."

Ukraine insists it needs more European and US support in terms of funding and weaponry -- especially drones.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who met with Zelensky during his stopover on Saturday, announced CAN$2.5 billion (US$1.82 billion) in fresh economic assistance to help Ukraine rebuild once the war ends.

The latest Russian attack, which saw 500 drones and 40 missiles pummel the Ukrainian capital and its infrastructure, knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of Kyiv region residents during freezing temperatures.

Just south of the capital, Kherson city military administration said Russia launched an attack that left part of the city without electricity.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine deal closer but no talks breakthrough: Trump

Trump said it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people.

en.prothomalo.com

Ukraine deal closer but no talks breakthrough: Trump

AFP Palm beach, United States
Published: 29 Dec 2025, 09: 32

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky listens as U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference following their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club on 28 December, 2025 in Palm Beach, Florida. AFP

US President Donald Trump said Sunday that a deal was closer than ever to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine but reported no apparent breakthrough on the flashpoint issue of territory after new talks with the warring countries' leaders.

Trump, who had promised a peace deal on day one of his nearly year-old presidency, said it would become clear within weeks whether it was possible to end the war that has killed tens of thousands of people since February 2022.

In a pre-New Year's diplomatic sprint, Trump brought Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Florida, where the two met with top aides over lunch, a day after Russia unleashed major new attacks on residential areas of the capital Kyiv.

Much like when Zelensky last met Trump in October, Russian president Vladimir Putin also spoke shortly beforehand by telephone with the US leader, who immediately insisted that Moscow was "serious" about peace despite the assault.

"I really believe we're, Mr. President, probably closer than -- far closer than -- ever before with both parties," Trump said with Zelensky at his side in the tea room of his Mar-a-Lago estate.

"Everybody wants it ended," Trump said.

After their talks, Zelensky and Trump spoke jointly by telephone with key European leaders, who have been particularly alarmed about any decisions that would embolden Russia.

Zelensky said that he and European leaders could return jointly for talks with Trump in Washington in January.

The Ukrainian president stayed studiously polite throughout his visit, mindful of his disastrous White House meeting on February 28 where Trump and vice president JD Vance publicly berated him for not being sufficiently grateful.

Territory impasse

Trump, for all his stated optimism, gave few details on the progress he cited, instead digressing into familiar grievances about his predecessor Joe Biden, who committed billions of dollars for Ukraine's defense and speaking of his own friendly rapport with Putin.

Trump acknowledged continued disagreement between Kyiv and Moscow on territory. The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarised area, while Russia has long demanded territorial concessions.

"It's unresolved, but it's getting a lot closer. That's a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved," Trump said.

Trump offered to address the Ukrainian parliament to promote the plan -- an idea, however unlikely, that Zelensky was quick to welcome.

Zelensky has voiced an openness to the revised US plan, marking Kyiv's most explicit acknowledgement yet of possible territorial concessions, although Ukrainians voters would need to approve it in a referendum.

By contrast, Russia has shown no signs of compromise, as it sees hope in the grinding gains it has made over four years against tough Ukrainian defenses.

The Kremlin in its readout of talks between Putin and Trump called on Kyiv to make a "brave decision" and immediately withdraw troops from Donbas, casting European leaders as the impediment to peace.

"Russia and the United States share the same position which is that the Ukrainian and European proposal for a temporary ceasefire (...) would only prolong the conflict and lead to a resumption of hostilities," the Kremlin's diplomatic advisor Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

'90 per cent' agreed by Ukraine

Trump's advisors have previously floated the idea of offering NATO-like security guarantees to Ukraine, meaning in theory that the alliance's members would respond militarily if Russia attacks again.

Zelensky said that the peace framework laid out by Trump was "90 per cent agreed" and that "US-Ukraine security guarantees: 100 percent agreed."

Zelensky said the two sides were still finalizing a "prosperity plan" for Ukraine as well as the sequencing of the various actions.

Russia had adamantly rejected any entrance of the former Soviet republic into NATO.

In its latest assault with drones and missiles, Russia knocked out power and heating to hundreds of thousands of residents during freezing temperatures.

"If the authorities in Kyiv don't want to settle this business peacefully, we'll resolve all the problems before us by military means," Putin said on Saturday.​

 

[Saif]

US offered Kyiv 15 years of security guarantees: Zelensky

The US has offered Ukraine ‘solid’ security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday after meeting Donald Trump.

www.newagebd.net

US offered Kyiv 15 years of security guarantees: Zelensky
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 30 December, 2025, 01:32

The US has offered Ukraine ‘solid’ security guarantees for 15 years with a possibility of an extension but Kyiv is seeking a longer period, president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday after meeting Donald Trump.

Zelensky held talks with Trump in Florida, where the US leader said a deal to end almost four years of war with Russia was closer than ever.

The wartime president said the issue of territory and the future of Ukraine’s Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant were the remaining unresolved parts of a plan to end the war.

But Zelensky added that he considered the presence of international troops in Ukraine a necessary part of the guarantees, which Russia has rejected in the past.

Still, the Kremlin agreed with Trump’s assessment that talks were in their final stages, while repeating its maximalist demand for Kyiv to withdraw from eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv was hoping for a meeting with European and American officials in Ukraine in the ‘coming days’ to work on documents to end the conflict, Zelensky said.

Any deal to end Europe’s worst conflict since WWII ‘must be signed by Ukraine, Russia, the US and Europe’, he said.

Security guarantees were a priority for Kyiv.

‘Without security guarantees, this war cannot be considered truly over. We cannot acknowledge that it has ended, because with such a neighbour there remains a risk of renewed aggression,’ Zelensky said.

He had told Trump the 15-year offer was too short a period for Kyiv.

‘I told him that we really want to consider the possibility of 30, 40, 50 years,’ he added. ‘The president said he would think about it.’

Zelensky spoke as Russia continued its relentless attacks into the holiday season and pressed on with its maximalist demands in Ukraine.

Zelensky repeated that Kyiv was ready for ‘any’ format of meetings — including with Putin if necessary — but said he still did not think the Kremlin chief wanted peace.

He accused Putin of misleading Trump.

‘On the one hand, he tells the president of the United States that he wants to end the war and that this is his desire,’ Zelensky said.

‘And on the other hand he strikes us with missiles and gives instructions to his generals about where to advance.’

Putin has for weeks told Russians Moscow was intent on achieving its aims in Ukraine by force if diplomacy fails.

Moscow wants to keep all the territory it occupies in Ukraine as well as be handed lands in eastern Ukraine still controlled by Kyiv.

The Kremlin on Monday again called for Ukraine to withdraw from unoccupied parts of Donbas, warning that ‘Ukraine is losing territory and will continue to do so.’

It said it expected Putin and Trump to speak by phone in the ‘very near future.’

Trump on Sunday acknowledged the issue of territories were unresolved between the warring countries, showing little sign of a breakthrough.

‘It’s unresolved, but it’s getting a lot closer. That’s a very tough issue, but one that I think will get resolved,’ Trump said.

Zelensky also said it was a remaining issue and offered little detail, only saying:

‘We will act in accordance with the interests of Ukraine.’

The current plan, revised after weeks of intense US-Ukrainian negotiations, would stop the war at the current frontlines in the eastern Donbas region and set up a demilitarized area, while Russia has long demanded territorial concessions.

But the Kremlin has shown no sign of compromise, with Putin repeatedly saying his troops will seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian.

Outnumbered and exhausted Ukrainian troops have struggled to hold back a Russian advance, which picked up pace since autumn.

Moscow on Monday said it took another village, Dibrova, in the Donetsk region.​

 

[Saif]

Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin's home, Kyiv calls this 'lie'

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's claim "a complete fabrication" designed to undermine the peace process, but Donald Trump directed his criticism at Kyiv.

en.prothomalo.com

Russia says Ukraine attacked Putin's home, Kyiv calls this 'lie'

AFP Kyiv, Ukraine
Published: 30 Dec 2025, 10: 36
​

​

Vladimir Putin Afp

Russia accused Ukraine on Monday of having fired dozens of drones at one of president Vladimir Putin's residences, an accusation that Ukraine called a "lie" aimed at undermining US-led efforts to end the war.

Russian Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov, who does not typically announce drone strikes, said Ukraine had fired "91 long-range unmanned aerial vehicles" at Putin's home in the Novgorod region between late Sunday and early Monday, all of which were shot down.

"Given the complete degeneration of the criminal Kyiv regime, which has shifted to a policy of state terrorism, Russia's negotiating position will be reconsidered," Lavrov said, without elaborating or providing evidence for Russia's assertions.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called Russia's claim "a complete fabrication" designed to undermine the peace process, but US president Donald Trump -- who held a call with Putin earlier Monday -- directed his criticism at Kyiv.

"I don't like it. It's not good," Trump told reporters of the alleged attack at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida. "You know who told me about it? President Putin told me about it."

"It's a delicate period of time. This is not the right time," Trump added.

Russia's accusation comes at a pivotal moment in the peace process.

Ukraine says it has agreed to 90 per cent of a US-drafted peace plan -- including the issue of post-war security guarantees.

But the issue of territory remains unresolved and Russia -- which has been advancing on the battlefield for months -- has repeatedly rejected plans that do not yield to its maximalist demands.

In his call with Trump on Monday, Putin said he was still committed to the peace process but would "revise" Russia's negotiating position in light of the alleged drone attack, according to the Kremlin.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a "special military operation" to demilitarise the country and prevent the expansion of NATO.

Kyiv and its European allies say the war, the largest and deadliest on European soil since World War II, is an unprovoked and illegal land grab that has resulted in a tidal wave of violence and destruction.

Territory main sticking point

Trump said a peace deal was "very close" following talks with Zelensky on Sunday.

Zelensky announced on Monday the United States had finally promised security guarantees in a post-war settlement -- albeit for 15 years, with the possibility of an extension.

But the key issue of territory and the future of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine remains unresolved.

Putin has been pushing for full control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region as part of a post-war settlement and said Monday that his army still aimed to take it and three other Ukrainian regions Moscow claims as its own by force.

In Kyiv, where residents have been living under relentless Russian attacks for almost four years, few were hopeful of a breakthrough.

"Security guarantees have already been signed before -- and what did that give us? Absolutely nothing," photographer Anastasiia Pashchenko told AFP.

In Moscow, where criticism of Russia's invasion is banned, residents told AFP they wanted the fighting to end, but on the Kremlin's terms.

"Only Russia can put forward some conditions," said 53-year-old engineer Alexei.

Nikita, a 23-year-old who fought in Ukraine for a year, lauded Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine, even if it came "at a cost".

"Russia is a superpower that still needs to be reckoned with," he said.​

 

[Saif]

Russia's Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West. US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia's Putin, in New Year address, voices confidence in victory in Ukraine

REUTERS
Published :
Dec 31, 2025 23:58
Updated :
Dec 31, 2025 23:58

Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with Deputy Minister of Defence and Chair of Defenders of the Fatherland Foundation Anna Tsivileva in Moscow, Russia, Dec 30, 2025. Photo : Sputnik/Mikhail Metzel/Pool via REUTERS

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West.

US President Donald Trump is trying to broker an end to the nearly four-year-old conflict, Europe's bloodiest conflagration since World War Two, with both sides' negotiating stances still far apart.

Dressed in a black coat, Putin - whose forces are advancing slowly but steadily in Ukraine - spoke about Russia's destiny and the unity of its people, which he said guaranteed the sovereignty and security of the "Fatherland".

He paid tribute in particular to his forces fighting in Ukraine, calling them heroes.

"Millions of people across Russia — I assure you — are with you on this New Year's Eve," said Putin.

"They are thinking of you, empathising with you, hoping for you. I wish all our soldiers and commanders a happy coming New Year! We believe in you and our Victory!"

His speech, which was first broadcast in Russia's far east, came as Russia released video footage of what it said was a downed drone, presenting it as evidence that Ukraine had tried this week to attack a presidential residence. Kyiv has dismissed Russia's allegation as a lie designed to derail peace talks.

In another video released on Wednesday, Russia's top general told troops to keep carving out buffer zones in Ukraine's Sumy and Kharkiv regions and said Moscow's forces had advanced faster in December than in any other month in 2025.

Reuters could not verify his battlefield assertion.​

 

[Saif]

Zelensky says deal to end war '10 per cent' away

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday his country was "10 per cent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but cautioned that the most important issues were unresolved and warned against rewarding Moscow. US-led efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II...

en.prothomalo.com

Zelensky says deal to end war '10 per cent' away

AFP Kyiv, Ukraine
Updated: 01 Jan 2026, 09: 56

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky talks during a media conference after a meeting of the 'coalition of the willing' international partners on Ukraine in London on 24 October, 2025. AFP

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday his country was "10 per cent" away from a deal to end the war with Russia, but cautioned that the most important issues were unresolved and warned against rewarding Moscow.

US-led efforts to end Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, but both sides remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

Russia, which occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country's eastern Donbas region as part of a deal -- but Kyiv has warned ceding ground will embolden Moscow.

In his New Year's Eve address, Zelensky said his country wanted an end to the war but not at "any cost", and that any agreement needed strong security guarantees to deter Russia from invading again.

"The peace agreement is 90 per cent ready. Ten per cent remains. And that is far more than just numbers," Zelensky said in the address, posted on his Telegram account.

"Those are the 10 per cent that will determine the fate of peace, the fate of Ukraine and Europe," he added.

Zelensky's speech came just hours after US officials, including top envoy Steve Witkoff, held a call with Ukrainian and European security advisers on the next steps to end the nearly four-year conflict.

The war, now entering its fifth calendar year, has resulted in a tidal wave of destruction that has displaced millions and left entire Ukrainian cities in ruins.

'Believe in victory'

President Vladimir Putin urged Russians to believe in victory in Ukraine during his annual New Year's Eve address, his fourth since the war began.

The Russian leader has consistently told his citizens that the military intends to seize the rest of Ukrainian land he has proclaimed as Russian by force if talks fail.

Addressing soldiers, whom he called "heroes", Putin said in his address: "We believe in you and our victory."

The Kremlin said this week it would "toughen" its negotiating position on ending the war, after accusing Ukraine of launching dozens of drones at Putin's lakeside residence in the Novgorod region between Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

Moscow on Wednesday published footage of a drone it said Kyiv had sent toward the residence.

Russia has called it a "personal" and "terrorist attack" and against Putin, saying it will toughen its negotiation stance in the Ukraine war talks.

The video, shot at night, showed a damaged drone lying in the snow in a forested area. The defence ministry said the alleged attack was "targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages."

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which documents the Ukraine-Russia conflict, said Tuesday it had not seen any "footage or reporting that typically follows Ukrainian deep strikes to corroborate the Kremlin's claims of Ukrainian strikes threatening Putin's residence in Novgorod Oblast".

Putin has not publicly commented on the attack -- aside from the Kremlin saying he had informed Trump about it in a call -- and Moscow has not said where the Russian leader was at the time.

Putin's residences and private life are shrouded in secrecy in Russia.​

 

[Saif]

Ukraine denies targeting civilians in Russia

The Ukrainian army said Friday it only hit ‘military targets’, a day after Russia accused Kyiv of firing drones at a hotel and cafe in Ukraine’s occupied south, killing 27 people.

www.newagebd.net

Ukraine denies targeting civilians in Russia
Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 03 January, 2026, 01:10

Ukrainian firefighters extinguish a fire in a residential building following a Russian air strike in Kharkiv on Friday amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. | AFP photo

The Ukrainian army said Friday it only hit ‘military targets’, a day after Russia accused Kyiv of firing drones at a hotel and cafe in Ukraine’s occupied south, killing 27 people.

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region said those killed were revellers celebrating the New Year and that two of the dead were children, describing the incident as a ‘terrorist act’.

A source in Ukraine’s defence forces confirmed a strike took place, but said the attack targeted a military gathering that was closed to civilians.

AFP was not able to verify either account.

The hotel where Moscow says the strike took place lies in Khorly, a Black Sea resort town the Russian army has occupied since early 2022.

The region’s Russian-installed governor, Vladimir Saldo, published images on Thursday that appeared to show the burned-out interior of a building as well as fragments of charred bodies.

In comments to AFP, Ukrainian army spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy accused Russia of repeatedly resorting to ‘disinformation and false statements’.

‘Ukraine’s defence forces adhere to the norms of international humanitarian law and strike exclusively at enemy military targets,’ he said.

Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service said in a statement earlier Friday that Russia was preparing to orchestrate a ‘large-scale provocation with human casualties’, without providing immediate evidence.

The accusations come at a crunch moment in the nearly four-year conflict, the deadliest on European soil since World War II.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said in a New Year’s Eve address that a US-brokered peace deal was ‘90 per cent’ ready, though the most important issue of territory remains unresolved.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, describing it as a ‘special military operation’ to prevent the expansion of NATO—a war aim that Kyiv has called a lie.

Moscow has since captured large swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, while firing on Ukrainian towns and cities in daily drone and missile attacks deadly for civilians.​

 

[Saif]

Patient killed in Russian strike on Kyiv clinic

Russia bombarded Ukraine early Monday with strikes that hit a medical clinic in Kyiv, forcing night-time evacuations into freezing temperatures and killing two people, including a patient at the facility.

www.newagebd.net

Patient killed in Russian strike on Kyiv clinic

Agence France-Presse . Kyiv, Ukraine 06 January, 2026, 01:19

Russia bombarded Ukraine early Monday with strikes that hit a medical clinic in Kyiv, forcing night-time evacuations into freezing temperatures and killing two people, including a patient at the facility.

The barrage comes on the eve of a diplomatic summit in France involving Ukraine and its security allies — the latest in a US-led push to end the Russian invasion, which began four years ago next month.


The Russian strikes triggered a fire at a private medical clinic in the capital, killing one person and wounding three others, the authorities said.

Emergency services released images of rescuers removing people on stretchers from a gutted building.

‘Doctors and nurses were forced to evacuate the wounded under fire,’ Ukraine’s prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on X.

‘It was a terrible night for us,’ Margaryta Maliovana, the clinic’s CEO, said.

‘One person died. A young man, 30-year-old, was killed,’ she said, adding that there were 26 patients in the clinic at the moment of the strike.

The pre-dawn attack also killed one man in his 70s in the neighbouring city of Fastiv, the Kyiv regional governor said.

The strikes caused power outages in the area, with backup systems activated to maintain water and heating supplies, the official said, as temperatures dropped to —8C.

Russia launched a total of 165 drones and at least nine missiles overnight, the Ukrainian air force said.

European leaders are set to meet in Paris on Tuesday, seeking a breakthrough on a plan to end the fighting that Kyiv says is ‘90 percent’ ready.

‘This week, we will be working with our European and American partners to ensure that Ukraine has the assistance it needs,’ Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday.


To lay the groundwork, security advisers from 15 countries, including Britain, France and Germany as well as representatives from NATO and the European Union, gathered in Kyiv over the weekend.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff joined the talks virtually, a Ukrainian official said, though the United States’ large-scale military attack on Venezuela earlier in the day overshadowed proceedings.

Another preparatory meeting, between chiefs of staff, is scheduled for Monday.

Diplomatic efforts to end Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II have gained pace in recent weeks, though both Moscow and Kyiv remain at odds over the key issue of territory in a post-war settlement.

Russia, which occupies around 20 per cent of Ukraine, is pushing for full control of the country’s eastern Donbas region as part of a deal.

But Kyiv has warned that ceding ground will embolden Moscow and said it will not sign a peace deal that fails to deter Russia from invading again.

On Monday, Russia said it had seized the village of Grabovske in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, from where Kyiv had last month accused Moscow of forcibly relocating dozens of residents.

Bombarded daily and losing ground, Ukraine has responded with its own drone attacks launched towards Russian territory, targeting in particular energy infrastructure that funds the war effort.

US president Donald Trump on Sunday dismissed claims by Moscow that Kyiv had launched a drone at one of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s residences.

‘I don’t believe that strike happened,’ Trump said in response to a reporter’s question aboard Air Force One. Kyiv has also rejected the accusation.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a conflict that has killed tens, if not hundreds, of thousands, devastated eastern Ukraine and forced millions to flee their homes.

Putin has vowed to press on with his military campaign if his hard-line demands are not met at the negotiating table.

Russia in 2025 gained the most ground on the battlefield since the first year of its offensive, according to AFP analysis.​

 

[Saif]

Russia attacks two Ukrainian ports, Kyiv says

Russia attacked two seaports in Ukraine's Odesa region on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring eight others, Ukrainian officials said. Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's ports and foreign-flagged vessels sailing from them in recent weeks, after President Vladimir Putin vowed to cut Ukr

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Russia attacks two Ukrainian ports, Kyiv says

REUTERS
Published :
Jan 08, 2026 00:25
Updated :
Jan 08, 2026 00:25

Russia attacked two seaports in Ukraine's Odesa region on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring eight others, Ukrainian officials said.

Russia has repeatedly attacked Ukraine's ports and foreign-flagged vessels sailing from them in recent weeks, after President Vladimir Putin vowed to cut Ukraine off from the sea in retaliation for Kyiv's strikes on unregulated oil tankers sailing to Russia.

Ukraine's seaport administration said the attacked ports were Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, both key export arteries for Ukraine's commodity-heavy economy.

"This is yet another attack by a terrorist country on port infrastructure that is involved in ensuring global food security," deputy prime minister Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Moscow attacked the Odesa region seaports 96 times in 2025, Ukraine's seaports authority told Reuters on Wednesday, nearly triple the number of attacks in 2024.

Port facilities, administrative buildings and tanks containing vegetable oil were damaged in Wednesday's attacks, Kuleba said, adding that the ports were continuing to operate even as the damage was being cleared.

Russia escalated strikes on Ukrainian ports in December after Ukraine conducted strikes on empty "shadow fleet" tankers, which Moscow uses to ship its oil to buyers despite Western sanctions. Kyiv has long sought to curtail this revenue stream, which it says is funding Russia's war in Ukraine.​