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Russian strikes on two cities in southeastern Ukraine have killed 12 and injured more than 40, local officials have said.
A strike on a car repair shop in Zaporizhzhia turned the facility into a giant fireball and killed 10 people, the regional governor said. Some 24 people were injured, including two children, a local official said.
Some settlements experienced power supply problems after the attack, the governor added.
In Kryvyi Rih, president Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown, also in the southeast, a missile strike on an administrative building killed two people.
It comes as Ukraine showed off a new locally-produced “rocket-drone” which it said could fly 700 km – more than twice the longest range attributed to missiles supplied by Western allies.
The unmanned craft, called “Peklo” – which means hell in Ukrainian – is the second “rocket drone” unveiled by Kyiv as it tries to increase its ability to strike deep into Russia.
On Saturday, Mr Zelensky also met with US-president elect Donald Trump as the pair attended the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Mr Zelensky said: “We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace.”
Trump talks ending Ukraine war with Zelensky in ‘good and productive’ meeting
Volodymyr Zelensky has described his first in-person talks with US-president elect Donald Trump since November’s US election as “productive” as the pair discussed ending the war as soon as possible.
Mr Trump arrived in Paris for a ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre-Dame cathedral, destroyed by a fire in 2019, in a return to the world stage at a time leaders are jostling for his attention.
The meeting with Mr Zelensky was brokered and attended by French president Emmanuel Macron, who played a key role in the service at the cathedral amid turmoil in French politics.
Mr Trump has previously pledged to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours of his 20 January inauguration, although his officials have floated the idea of forcing Kyiv to cede territory to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to achieve that aim.
On the 35-minute three-way meeting on Saturday night, Mr Zelensky described it as “good and productive”, adding: “We all want this war to end as soon as possible and in a just way. We spoke about our people, the situation on the ground, and a just peace.”
Alex Ross8 December 2024 01:02
Top Estonian tech firm to test AI-guided anti-drone missiles in Ukraine
A leading Estonian defence firm has said it will start testing anti-drone missiles in Ukraine in 2025.
The tests intend to check the system’s effectiveness in real combat conditions, Frankenburg Technologies said.
Recognised as Europe’s top technology startup, Frankenburg Technologies has developed missiles to intercept Iranian Shahed dronesat altitudes of two kilometres using artificial intelligence for autonomous targeting.
“The technology is promising, and we will start testing it in Ukraine in the new year,” the company’s CEO Kusti Salm told Estonia’s public broadcaster ERR.
Production will start increase from a few dozen units per week to hundreds by the third quarter of 2025.
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 23:58
ICYMI: Putin signs agreement offering Russia’s security guarantees to ally Belarus
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 23:02
Russia puts out feelers to Trump despite ‘red lines’
Russia is open to talks with US President-elect Donald Trump but will use “any means” to prevent Washington and its allies from defeating it in Ukraine, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov told US journalist Tucker Carlson.
In an 80-minute interview released late on Thursday, Mr Lavrov spoke positively of Mr Trump, who returns to the White House next month, despite urging the West to take Russia’s “red lines” seriously.
Mr Lavrov said Mr Trump was “a very strong person, a person who wants results” and said he saw no reason why the two countries could not “cooperate for the sake of the universe”.
Mr Lavrov’s comments were part of a pattern of Russian signals designed to deter Washington from further escalation in support of Ukraine while displaying openness to negotiations.
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 22:01
Zelensky says Putin ‘does not need real peace’ after Russian strikes kill 12
Volodymyr Zelensky slammed Vladimir Putin over strikes that at least 12 in southeastern Ukraine.
At least 10 people were killed in Zaporizhzhia, while two were killed in Zelensky’s hometown Kryvyi Rih, regional officials said.
“Thousands of such strikes carried out by Russia during this war make it absolutely clear that Putin does not need real peace,” Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. “Only by force can we resist this. And only through force can real peace be established.”
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 21:03
Full report: Ukraine confirms second Danish delivery of F-16s as Zelensky seeks support in Paris
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 19:02
Russia says it has taken another village in Ukraine’s Donetsk region
Russia’s Defence Ministry has said that its forces had taken Berestky, a small village close to the embattled town of Kurakhove in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
The Independent could not verify this claim.
Jabed Ahmed7 December 2024 18:01
