Russia-Ukraine war live news: drone strike on Kyiv; UK to announce new artillery package - The Guardian

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UK to denote large caller artillery bundle for Ukraine

The UK is acceptable to denote a large caller artillery bundle for Ukraine arsenic British premier curate Rishi Sunak prepares to conscionable with his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts successful Riga, Latvia, connected Monday.

According to a connection issued by the premier minister’s bureau and arsenic cited by Agence France-Presse, helium volition denote Britain’s volition to proviso “hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition adjacent twelvemonth nether a £250m ($304m) declaration that volition guarantee a changeless travel of captious artillery ammunition to Ukraine passim 2023”.

The premier curate volition question to Latvia for the leaders’ gathering of Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) countries, including Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands, which volition beryllium addressed by Ukraine’s president, Volodomyr Zelenksiy.

From the Arctic Circle to the Isle of Wight, the UK and our European allies person been successful lockstep successful our effect to the penetration of Ukraine, and we stay steadfast successful our ambition for bid successful Europe erstwhile again,” Sunak said up of the visit.

But to execute peace, we indispensable deter aggression and our deployments crossed the portion unneurotic are captious successful ensuring we are capable to respond to the gravest of threats. I cognize this Joint Expeditionary Force acme volition lone underline our adjacent friendships and unwavering enactment for Ukraine.”

No 10 said the gathering would besides sermon quality sharing betwixt JEF countries, threats to infrastructure and hybrid threats posed by Russian aggression and bolstering enactment to Finland and Sweden up of their accession to Nato. Further announcements connected associated subject exercises are besides expected.

Sunak is past expected to alert connected to Estonia, wherever helium volition conscionable UK and Nato troops serving connected the subject alliance’s eastbound flank connected the Russian border.

Two injured successful Kyiv drone onslaught - reports

New accusation published by Ukrainian authorities suggests that Russia’s earlier drone onslaught connected Kyiv damaged captious infrastructure and injured 2 people.

Kyiv’s determination politician Oleksiy Kuleba wrote connected Telegram this morning:

Infrastructure objects and backstage houses were damaged arsenic a effect of a nighttime drone onslaught successful the Kyiv portion … 2 victims. People are fixed assistance - they are nether the supervision of doctors.”

Russia's Wagner recruits apt threatened with execution if they deviate from battle plan, UK says

Russian subject proxy radical Wagner continues to instrumentality a large relation successful attritional combat astir Bakhmut successful Ukraine’s eastbound Donetsk region, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

In caller months, the radical has developed violative tactics to marque usage of the ample fig of poorly trained convicts it has recruited, the ministry notes successful its latest quality report.

Individual fighters are apt issued a astute telephone oregon tablet which shows the individual’s designated axis of beforehand and battle nonsubjective superimposed connected commercialized outer imagery.

At platoon level and above, commanders apt stay successful screen and springiness orders implicit radios, informed by video feeds from tiny un-crewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Individuals and sections are ordered to proceed connected the preplanned route, often with fire-support, but little often alongside armoured vehicles. Wagner operatives who deviate from their battle routes without authorisation are apt being threatened with summary execution.

These brutal tactics purpose to conserve Wagner’s uncommon assets of experienced commanders and armoured vehicles, astatine the disbursal of the much readily disposable convict-recruits, which the organisation assesses arsenic expendable.”

Kyiv deed by drone strike, officials say

At slightest 2 almighty explosions rocked Ukraine’s superior successful the aboriginal hours of Monday morning, arsenic officials assertion the metropolis was deed by a bid of Russian drones.

Multiple section quality sources reported the blasts successful cardinal Kyiv. Several large blasts were besides heard successful the city’s surrounding regions, Reuters witnesses reported. A occurrence was besides reported successful Kyiv’s cardinal Shevchenkivskyi district.

Ukraine’s equipped forces archetypal sounded the alarm successful a Telegram alert astir 2am section time, saying the subject had sent aerial defences to support the superior from drone attacks.

The Kyiv metropolis authorities medication besides sent an alert urging residents to question shelter.

It aboriginal added that much than 20 Iranian-made drones were detected implicit Kyiv’s aerial abstraction and astatine slightest 15 of them were changeable down.

Oleksiy Kuleba, caput of the Kyiv determination subject administration, said aerial defence works were operating successful the portion and claimed the metropolis was nether a drone attack.

The drone onslaught continues,” helium said.

Kyiv’s subject medication aboriginal said that 9 Iranian-made Shahed drones were changeable down successful Kyiv’s airspace. In a Telegram update, the medication said:

Air alert continues successful Kyiv. The force is attacking the superior with ‘Shahed’ barrage ammunition. Air defence is being astatine work.”

It was not instantly wide whether the blasts were aerial defence systems destroying the drones oregon hitting targets.

Summary and welcome

Hello and invited backmost to the Guardian’s unrecorded sum of the warfare successful Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll beryllium bringing you each the latest developments arsenic they unfold implicit the adjacent fewer hours.

A bid of explosions person rocked Ukraine’s superior Kyiv successful the aboriginal hours of this morning, according to determination officials.

Meanwhile, the UK is acceptable to denote a large new artillery bundle for Ukraine arsenic British premier curate Rishi Sunak prepares to conscionable with his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts successful Riga, Latvia, connected Monday.

For immoderate updates oregon feedback you privation to share, delight consciousness escaped to get successful interaction via email oregon Twitter.

If you person conscionable joined us, present are each the latest developments:

• The UK is acceptable to denote a large caller artillery bundle for Ukraine arsenic British premier curate Rishi Sunak prepares to conscionable with his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts successful Riga, Latvia, connected Monday. According to a connection issued by the premier minister’s bureau and arsenic cited by Agence France-Presse, helium volition denote Britain’s volition to proviso “hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition adjacent twelvemonth nether a £250m ($304m) declaration that volition guarantee a changeless travel of captious artillery ammunition to Ukraine passim 2023”.

• Ukraine said Russian shelling targeted the confederate metropolis of Kherson connected Sunday, which has faced repeated attacks since Kyiv’s forces recaptured it past month. “Another stroke was delivered to the metropolis centre. Three radical were injured. They received shrapnel wounds, 1 wounded is successful a superior condition,” lawman caput of the president’s bureau Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. Regional politician Yaroslav Yanushevich said connected Sunday that Moscow’s troops had carried retired 54 attacks connected Kherson portion with artillery, aggregate motorboat rocket systems, tanks and mortars implicit the erstwhile day, leaving 3 dormant and wounding six others.

• Four radical successful the confederate Russian borderline portion of Belgorod were reportedly wounded by shelling connected Sunday, the politician said. Witnesses reported large blasts successful the determination capital.

• Ukraine’s forces are holding connected to the heavily contested eastbound metropolis of Bakhmut, according to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. “The Bakhmut absorption is key,” helium said successful his latest nationalist address. “We support the city, though the occupiers are doing everything truthful that not a azygous undamaged partition remains there.”

• Power has been restored to 3 cardinal much Ukrainians aft the latest Russian attacks connected infrastructure, bringing the full to 9 cardinal aft 2 days, Ukraine’s president has said. “Electricity supplies person been restored to a further 3 cardinal Ukrainians,” Volodymyr Zelenskiy said successful his Sunday evening video address. “That means aft the violent strikes connected Friday, we person results already for 9 cardinal of our people.” Heating has besides been afloat restored to Kyiv, the city’s politician said.

• Protecting Ukraine’s borders is simply a “constant priority” arsenic the state readies for each imaginable scenarios with Russia and its state Belarus, Zelenskiy added. “Protecting our border, some with Russia and Belarus – is our changeless priority,” helium said successful his nightly video address. “We are preparing for each imaginable defence scenarios.” Zelenskiy besides issued a caller entreaty to occidental nations to supply Ukraine with effectual aerial defences.

• Russia volition reportedly deploy musicians to Ukraine’s frontlines successful a bid to boost morale, according to its defence ministry. The “frontline originative brigade” volition beryllium tasked with maintaining “a precocious moral, governmental and intelligence authorities [among] the participants of the peculiar subject operation,” Russian outlet RBC quality cited the ministry arsenic saying. UK defence officials said the caller portion is successful keeping with the historical usage of “military euphony and organised entertainment” to boost morale arsenic debased morale continues to beryllium a “significant vulnerability crossed overmuch of the Russian force”.

• Iran’s overseas ministry has said it volition not “seek support from anyone” to grow relations with Russia, dismissing US concerns implicit a increasing subject concern betwixt Tehran and Moscow. Iran has been accused of supplying drones to Russia, allegedly utilized to onslaught Ukraine. CIA main William Burns said the subject practice betwixt Iran and Russia “poses existent threats” to US allies successful the Middle East. Nasser Kanani, spokesperson for Iran’s overseas ministry, called the comments “baseless” adding that Tehran “acts independently successful regulating its overseas relations and does not question support from anyone”.

• Veteran US diplomat Henry Kissinger believes the clip is approaching for a negotiated bid successful Ukraine. “The clip is approaching to physique connected the strategical changes which person already been accomplished and to integrate them into a caller operation towards achieving bid done negotiation,” Kissinger wrote successful The Spectator magazine. “A bid process should nexus Ukraine to Nato, h owever expressed. The alternate of neutrality is nary longer meaningful,” helium added. Ukrainian statesmanlike adjutant Mykhailo Podolyak dismissed the comments arsenic amounting to “appeasing the aggressor” and said determination could beryllium nary woody involving ceding territory. “Any statement with the devil – a atrocious bid astatine the disbursal of Ukrainian territories – volition beryllium a triumph for Putin and a look for occurrence for autocrats astir the world,” helium said successful a statement connected Telegram.

A pistillate walks connected an bare thoroughfare successful Bakhmut, Ukraine, connected 18 December. Photograph: Reuters