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Vladimir Putin has called the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile strike a successful test
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Ukrainian officials say an experimental new ballistic missile fired by Russia at Dnipro last week carried multiple warheads but no explosives. The missile caused minor damage upon hitting its targets in Ukraine’s east, two officials said, because it was carrying dummy warheads.
Vladimir Putin has called the Oreshnik intermediate-range ballistic missile strike a successful test and claimed it reached its target – a missile and defence facility.
Earlier, Downing Street rejected Russia’s “baseless” allegations that an expelled British diplomat in Moscow was a spy.
The Russian FSB security service named the diplomat, whose photo was splashed across TV news bulletins, as Edward Wilkes and alleged he had intentionally provided false information when he entered Russia – a claim disputed by the UK Foreign Office as “malicious and baseless”.
And Ukraine is withdrawing around 100,000 faulty 120mm mortar shells from the frontline after multiple reports of them misfiring. The supply of defective shells is being investigated by an interdepartmental commission, Ukraine’s defence ministry said.
A Ukrainian delegation led by defence minister Rustem Umerov is visiting South Korea this week to ask for weapons aid, according to reports.
Seoul, which has emerged as a leading arms producer, has been under pressure from some Western countries and Kyiv to provide Ukraine with lethal weapons – but has so far focused on non-lethal aid including demining equipment.
However, South Korea’s foreign minister Cho Tae-yul said earlier this month that all possible scenarios were under consideration as thousands of North Korean troops were deployed to Russia, with Moscow expected to share military technology with Pyongyang in return.
The Ukrainian delegation met with South Korea’s national security adviser Shin Won-sik to exchange views on the conflict in Ukraine, the DongA Ilbo newspaper reported on Wednesday.
The South China Morning Post also reported this week that a Ukrainian delegation was due to visit South Korea to request weapons aid, citing an informed source.
The delegation was expected to meet with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol as early as Wednesday, the Yonhap news agency reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Asked for comment, an official at Yoon’s office declined to confirm the reports.
In an interview with South Korean broadcaster KBS in October, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv would send a detailed request to Seoul for arms support including artillery and an air defence systems.
A Russian drone attack on Kyiv has wounded three people, officials in the Ukrainian capital have said.
Falling debris from a destroyed drone damaged a non-residential building in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said that air defence units were operating in the city after midnight on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian military said its air defences downed 36 of 89 Russian drones launched overnight. The military said it had lost track of 48 drones, and another five had left Ukraine’s airspace in the direction of Russia and Belarus.
The strikes come after Russia launched a record number of drones targeting Ukraine on Tuesday, cutting power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in the Kyiv region.
Ukraine’s air defences downed 36 of 89 Russian drones launched overnight, the Ukrainian military said this morning.
The military said on Telegram it had lost track of 48 drones, and another five had left the territory of Ukraine to Russia and Belarus.
The overnight attack comes a day after Russia fired its biggest aerial attack with 188 drones on Kyiv yesterday.
Nato’s new secretary general Mark Rutte said the alliance “needs to go further” to support Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion and accused Moscow of dangerously escalating the conflict by bringing in thousands of North Korean troops.
“In pursuing its illegal war in Ukraine, Russia makes use of North Korean weapons and troops, Iranian drones and Chinese dual use goods for its defense industry,” Mr Rutte said while on a visit to Greece yesterday. “This is a dangerous expansion of the war and a challenge to global peace and security.”
Mr Rutte, a former Dutch prime minister who took over as Nato chief last month, met Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Athens and thanked him for Greek support for Ukraine that includes weapons and ammunition, as well as training for F-16 pilots and technicians.
NATO’s new Secretary General Mark Rutte emphasized the need for increased support for Ukraine and condemned Russia’s use of North Korean troops and weapons, Iranian drones, and Chinese dual-use goods on a visit to Athens
Russia has been hammering civilian areas of Ukraine with increasingly heavy drone, missile and glide bomb attacks since the middle of the year.
At the same time, Russia’s army has largely held the battlefield initiative for the past year and has been pushing hard in the eastern Donetsk region where it is making significant tactical advances, according to Western military analysts.
Ukraine faces a difficult winter, with worries about the reliability of the electricity supply amid Russia’s attacks and how much US support it can count on next year after President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.
Russian air defence systems destroyed 22 Ukrainian drones overnight, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.
Of these, 10 of the drones were destroyed over the territory of the southern Rostov region, while the rest were in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Kursk, Bryansk, and Smolensk regions, the ministry said on Telegram.
Dozens of British soldiers have been drafted in to help the US find out who is responsible for flying more mystery drones over three air bases in England.
A small number of drones were spotted overnight flying over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, United States Air Force (USAF) confirmed on Tuesday.
Sources told the PA news agency around 60 troops have been deployed to help USAF in its investigation of the incident.
USAF confirms drones spotted overnight flying over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk
Nato members reaffirmed their support for Ukraine during talks with the country’s officials yesterday, held in response to Russia’s launch of an experimental intermediate-range ballistic missile.
“The chief of the defence intelligence of Ukraine and acting commander of the air force joined the meeting online and briefed the allies on the details of the attack and its possible consequences,” Nataliia Galibarenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Nato, said in a statement.
Ambassadors representing Nato’s 32 member countries were briefed by senior Ukrainian officials after Kyiv called a meeting of the Nato-Ukraine Council, a forum for cooperation.
“They emphasised to the partners that this outrageous attack was a blatant demonstration of force by Russia and a fruitless attempt to intimidate the allies,” she added.
Vladimir Putin said Moscow struck a Ukrainian military facility with a new intermediate-range, hypersonic ballistic missile in response to the US and UK’s allowing Kyiv to strike Russian territory with advanced Western weapons.
Locals in Kyiv go about their days, shortly after Russia launched 188 drones against most regions of Ukraine in a nighttime blitz.
The Ukrainian air force said it was a record number of drones deployed in a single attack. Many of the drones were intercepted, according to the air force, but apartment buildings and critical infrastructure such as the national power grid were damaged.
No casualties were immediately reported in the 17 targeted regions.
A Russian drone attack on Kyiv wounded three people, two of whom were hospitalised, officials in the Ukrainian capital said today.
Falling debris from a destroyed drone damaged a non-residential building in Kyiv’s Dniprovskyi district, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said that air defence units were operating in the city after midnight.
The scale of the attack was not immediately clear. The strikes come after Russia launched a record number of drones targeting Ukraine yesterday, cutting power to much of the western region of Ternopil and damaging residential buildings in the Kyiv region.
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