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Vladimir Putin’s assaults on Ukraine have continued despite US and European efforts to seal a peace deal
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At least two people have been killed after Russia launched more than 130 drones on Ukraine on Christmas night, Kyiv officials have said.
Moscow’s latest aerial assault killed one man in Kharvkiv and another in Odesa, with around 35 others injured, Ukraine’s Air Force reported. Further attacks were launched overnight on Zaporizhzhia and Sumy.
The continued Russia assaults on Ukraine come despite US and European efforts to seal a peace deal.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has outlined a new peace plan that involves creating demilitarised or free economic zones in eastern Ukraine as a possible route to ending the war.
The proposal offers Kyiv Nato-style security guarantees while insisting that any demilitarised zones remain under Ukrainian administration and policing. Russia has yet to respond to the deal but the Kremlin has repeatedly insisted any agreement will not be reached quickly.
Deadly attacks between the two sides have taken place throughout the week. At least three people died in an explosion in southern Moscow at the site where a Russian general was killed earlier this week.
Ukraine has unveiled the latest 20-point peace proposal brokered by the US to bring an end to the war with Russia.
Ukrainian and US delegations reached a consensus on several critical issues in the latest round of talks in Miami.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky said sensitive issues around territorial control in the country’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), remain unresolved.
Click here to see the full 20 point proposal.
The Ukrainian military hit Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery in Russia’s Rostov region with Storm Shadow missiles, causing multiple explosions, the General Staff said.
The General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram app that the Novoshakhtinsk refinery was one of the largest oil products suppliers in southern Russia and is involved in supplying Russian troops.
Russia’s foreign ministry accused the United States of reviving piracy and banditry in the Caribbean Sea by blockading Venezuela.
“Today we are witnessing complete lawlessness in the Caribbean Sea, where long-forgotten theft of other people’s property, namely piracy, and banditry, are being revived,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said of the situation.
“We consistently advocate for a de-escalation,” Zakharova said. “We hope that the pragmatism and rationality of US President Trump will allow solutions to be found that are mutually acceptable to the parties within the framework of international legal norms.”
“We confirm our support for the efforts of the government of Nicolas Maduro aimed at protecting sovereignty and national interests, and maintaining the stable and secure development of his country,” she said.
Russia had made a proposal to France regarding Laurent Vinatier, a French researcher jailed for violating Russia’s foreign agent laws, and the ball is now in Paris’s court, the Kremlin has said.
Vinatier was sentenced in 2024 to three years in jail for failing to comply with laws requiring individuals deemed ‘foreign agents’ to register and meet a number of stipulations.
He is now facing additional espionage charges.
France has said Vinatier was arbitrarily detained and has called for his release.
President Emmanuel Macron has denied that Vinatier worked for the French state and has described his arrest as part of a misinformation campaign by Moscow.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there had been contacts with France on the issue.
The Kremlin has said it is analysing the latest US proposals on ending the war in Ukraine.
The documents were brought to Moscow by special envoy Kirill Dmitriev from the United States, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, Zelensky unveiled a revised 20 point peace plan aimed at ending the war following talks with European allies and the Americans.
Polish jets intercepted a Russian reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, which was flying close to its airspace, the NATO country’s army said.
Countries on NATO’s eastern flank have been on high alert for potential airspace incursions since September when three Russian military jets violated Estonia’s airspace for 12 minutes just days after more than 20 Russian drones had entered Polish airspace.
“This morning, over the international waters of the Baltic Sea, Polish fighter jets intercepted, visually identified, and escorted from their area of responsibility a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near the borders of Polish airspace,” the army said.
It also said that at night, objects were observed entering Polish airspace from the direction of Belarus.
“After detailed analysis, it was determined that these were most likely smuggling balloons, moving in accordance with the wind direction and speed,” the army said.
It added that part of the airspace over northeast Poland’s Podlaskie region, which borders Belarus, was temporarily closed to civilian traffic to ensure security.
Vladimir Putin has wished Donald Trump a merry Christmas and sent him a congratulatory message, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
Putin is not expected to speak with Trump on Thursday, no such call is scheduled, he added.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has appeared to wish for the death of Vladimir Putin in a Christmas message after Russia continued to bombard the country with missiles and drones.
In a video posted to X on Christmas Eve, Zelensky said that “despite all the suffering that Russia has brought, it is not capable of occupying or bombing what matters most. That is our Ukrainian heart, our faith in one another, and our unity”.
Appearing to refer to Russian president Vladimir Putin, Zelensky added: “Today, we all share one dream.
“And we make one wish – for all of us. ‘May he perish’, each of us may think to ourselves. But when we turn to God, of course, we ask for something greater. we ask for peace for Ukraine. We fight for it, we pray for it, we deserve it.”
Two people have been killed and around 35 more injured in overnight Russian attacks on Ukraine.
More than 130 drones were launched in the latest salvo, Ukraine officials said.
One man was killed in Odesa and another in Kharkiv in the Christmas night assault.
Ukraine’s military said it managed to shoot down 106 of the drones but 22 made it through, hitting 15 locations.
Ukraine has unveiled the latest 20-point peace proposal brokered by the US to bring an end to the war with Russia.
Ukrainian and US delegations reached a consensus on several critical issues in the latest round of talks in Miami.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky said sensitive issues around territorial control in the country’s eastern industrial heartland, along with the management of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), remain unresolved.
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