Russia-Ukraine war live: blasts heard in Kyiv city centre; mayor says 10 Iran-made drones shot down - The Guardian

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Head of neighbouring portion warns determination whitethorn beryllium 2nd question of drone attacks

Vitaliy Bunechko, the caput of Zhytomyr region, which is adjacent to Kyiv, has warned connected Telegram that determination whitethorn beryllium a 2nd question of drone attacks, pursuing this morning’s attacks connected Kyiv.

Bunechko advised radical to stay successful weaponry shelters.

Ten Shahed drones changeable down successful Kyiv region

Kyiv politician Vitali Klitschko has posted connected Telegram saying that 10 Shahed drones were changeable down successful the Kyiv portion this morning.

Iran supplied the drones to Russia, which has been utilizing them to people infrastructure and civilian targets successful Ukraine.

US finalising plans to present Patriot aerial defence system

The United States is finalising plans to nonstop its blase Patriot aerial defence strategy to Ukraine successful a perchance pivotal move

It is presently 7.10am successful Kyiv.

Isobel Koshiw, 1 of the Guardian’s correspondents successful Ukraine, is successful Kyiv, wherever she says that, “The aerial raid sirens sounded astatine 05.57 but the archetypal detonation – which could person been anti-aircraft – was reported to 1 Ukrainian Telegram transmission astatine 0608. So 11 mins. Recently there’s been astatine slightest a 30 min spread betwixt a informing and an explosion.”

She posted this video taken successful cardinal Kyiv, connected which 1 of the blasts tin beryllium heard:

Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko says that 3 blasts were heard successful Kyiv this morning:

Blasts deed Kyiv metropolis centre - mayor

Kyiv politician Vitali Klitschko says that blasts deed the Kyiv’s cardinal Shevchenkivskyi territory aboriginal connected Wednesday. “Emergency services dispatched,” Klitschko said connected the Telegram messaging app. “Details later.”

Oleksiy Kuleba, the politician of the Kyiv region, said that aerial defence systems were astatine work.

The UK’s ambassador said she was “Staying distant from windows and proceeding explosions outside.”

Emergency services’ maps showed the superior and the portion surrounding it had been nether aerial raid siren alerts for astir 20 minutes earlier the blasts.

Welcome and Summary

Hello and invited to our unrecorded sum of the warfare successful Ukraine. My sanction is Helen Sullivan and I’ll beryllium bringing you the latest quality for the adjacent fewer hours.

Breaking: On Wednesday morning, Kyiv politician Vitali Klitschko said connected Telegram that strikes had deed Kyiv’s metropolis centre and exigency services were being dispatched.

Explosions were heard successful the aboriginal hours of Wednesday successful the Ukrainian superior metropolis of Kyiv, 2 Reuters witnesses said. The exigency services’ maps showed the superior and the portion surrounding it person been nether aerial raid siren alerts for astir 20 minutes earlier the blasts.

Meanwhile the United States is finalising plans to nonstop its blase Patriot aerial defence strategy to Ukraine successful a perchance pivotal determination portion allies pledged conscionable implicit €‎1bn ($1.05bn) to assistance Ukrainians past the freezing winter.

We’ll person much connected these stories shortly. In the meantime present are the different cardinal caller developments:

• A suspected serviceman with Russia’s Federal Security Service was among 7 radical accused by US national prosecutors of helping Russia illegally get delicate physics components from US companies. Prosecutors claimed the 7 worked with 2 Moscow-based companies controlled by Russian quality services to get physics components successful the US that person civilian uses, but tin besides beryllium utilized to assistance marque atomic and hypersonic weapons and successful quantum computing.

• The United States, 1 of the architects of the G7’s terms headdress connected Russian oil, is truthful acold blessed with the mode the mechanics is functioning, Amos Hochstein, the Biden administration’s vigor envoy said connected Tuesday.

• The United States is finalising plans to nonstop the Patriot rocket defence strategy to Ukraine, a determination that could beryllium announced arsenic soon arsenic this week, 3 US officials told Reuters connected Tuesday.

• Generators are arsenic important arsenic armour successful helping Ukraine past Vladimir Putin’s vigor coercion this winter, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said. Ukraine needed an further €800m (£686m) to past the winter and €1.5bn to reconstruct the semipermanent harm to the vigor grid, its president told an exigency league successful Paris convened to coordinate infrastructure and humanitarian assistance implicit the adjacent 4 months.

• More than €1bn was raised to enactment Ukraine this wintertime astatine the assistance league successful Paris, France’s overseas minister, Catherine Colonna, said. The money, pledged by 46 countries and 24 planetary organisations, would beryllium divided betwixt restoring Ukraine’s depleted vigor network, the nutrient sector, h2o supply, wellness and transportation.

• Ukrainian forces person reportedly damaged a cardinal span extracurricular the confederate metropolis of Melitopol, a cardinal nonsubjective for Kyiv successful the region. Video posted online showed that 2 supports of the span had been damaged during the attack, conscionable days aft Ukraine deed a Russian barracks situated successful a edifice successful the city, with Himars rockets causing important harm and casualties.

• Ukrainian officials gave the each wide on Tuesday aft aerial raid sirens blared crossed the state pursuing warnings that Russia whitethorn transportation retired a caller question of rocket strikes. Ukrainian media said the alerts may person been triggered by MiG combatant jets that took disconnected from Ryazan, adjacent Russia’s borderline with Ukraine, and flew towards Belarus.

• Russia and Ukraine pounded each other’s forces successful dense warring successful the eastbound portion of Donetsk connected Tuesday. Moscow is battling to instrumentality afloat power of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, 2 of 4 territories the Kremlin claims to person annexed successful votes rejected by astir countries arsenic illegal.

• Ukraine indispensable instrumentality into relationship the caller territorial “realities” that see Russia’s annexation of 4 Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin has said. Ukraine’s president said connected Monday that Russia could statesman to retreat its troops from the territory of Ukraine to amusement they are susceptible of abandoning their aggression. In response, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said there could beryllium “no question” of Moscow opening to propulsion retired its troops by the extremity of the year.

• The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and the Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, volition clasp talks to sermon the events of 2022 successful precocious December, the Russian concern regular Vedomosti reported. Dmitry Peskov told the paper that the day and the docket of the gathering are already known, but an authoritative announcement volition travel later. The talks volition improbable beryllium face-to-face, the insubstantial said.

• The Belarusian ministry of defence has announced a “sudden combat readiness check” of its troops. The exercises are mostly taking spot successful the north-west of the country, not adjacent to Ukraine’s border. This is 1 successful a drawstring of announcements by Belarus since mid-October which Kyiv accidental is designed to stoke fearfulness successful Ukrainians.

• Germany volition o.k. different €50m successful wintertime assistance for Kyiv pursuing Russia’s rocket attacks connected Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure, Germany’s overseas minister, Annalena Baerbock, said. She said Berlin was moving to present generators, blankets and heating substance to Ukraine implicit Christmas.

• The UK Foreign Office announced it was imposing sanctions connected 12 Russian commanders for their relation successful attacks connected Ukrainian cities. They see Maj Gen Robert Baranov, identified by Bellingcat as the commandant of programming and targeting Russian cruise missiles, as good arsenic 4 Iranians, including the co-owner and managing manager of MADO, an Iranian drone motor manufacturer.

• The French president, Emmanuel Macron, said connected Tuesday that determination was an statement connected removing dense weapons from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness plants. Talks were nether way, helium said, adding: “We managed to support Chornobyl and our extremity is to support Zaporizhzhia. The coming weeks volition beryllium crucial.”