Russia

8 killed, dozens wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine's Odesa port

Eight people were killed and 27 wounded in a Russian missile strike on port infrastructure in Odesa, southern Ukraine, late on Friday, Ukraine's Emergency Service said on Saturday morning. Some of the wounded were on a bus at the epicentre of the overnight strike, the service said in a Telegram post. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged. The port was struck with ballistic missiles, said Oleh Kiper, the head of the Odesa region. Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces hit a Russian warship and other facilities with drones, Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement on Saturday. The nighttime attack on Friday hit the Russian warship Okhotnik, according to the statement posted to the Telegram messaging app. The ship was patrolling in the Caspian Sea near an oil and gas production platform. The extent of the damage is still being clarified, the statement added. A drilling platform at the Filanovsky oil and gas field in the Caspian Sea was also hit. The facility is .

Russian President offers no compromise on Ukraine, says EU 'robbery' failed

Putin set out the Kremlin's stance on the war in the opening moments of his annual end-of-year press conference, a marathon event that typically runs for some four hours

EU leaders agree to $106 bn loan to Ukraine for 2026-2027 amid peace hopes

EU leaders were under intense pressure to agree to the massive loan for Ukraine at the make-or-break summit after months of talks failed to break the deadlock over the contentious plan

Russian ban on Roblox stirs debate about limits of online censorship

For many young Russians, Roblox was a window onto a vast world of games and potential friends around the globe

Russia wants to drain Europe's investigations with sabotage campaign

In November, a train carrying almost 500 people came to a sudden halt in eastern Poland. A broken overhead line had smashed several windows, and the track ahead was damaged. Elsewhere on the line, explosives detonated under a passing freight train. No one was hurt in either case and the damage was limited, but Poland, which blamed the attack on Russia's intelligence services, responded forcefully: It deployed 10,000 troops to protect critical infrastructure. The sabotage in Poland is one of 145 incidents in an Associated Press database that Western officials say are part of a campaign of disruption across Europe masterminded by Russia. Officials say the campaign waged since President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 aims to deprive Kyiv of support, create divisions among Europeans and identify the continent's security weak spots. So far in this hybrid war, most known acts of sabotage have resulted in minimal damage nothing compared to the tens of thousands of lives l

European leaders likely to back Ukraine amid US pressure to accept deal

European leaders are expected to cement support for Ukraine Monday as it faces Washington's pressure to swiftly accept a US-brokered peace deal. After Sunday's talks in Berlin between US envoys and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukrainian and European officials are set to continue a series of meetings in an effort to secure the continent's peace and security in the face of an increasingly assertive Russia. Zelenskyy sat down Sunday with US President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner in the German federal chancellery in the hopes of bringing the nearly four-year war to a close. Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia's war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces. Zelenskyy on Sunday voiced

EU's decision to freeze assets undermines Ukraine peace efforts: Russia

Russia on Saturday said the EU's decision to indefinitely freeze Russian sovereign assets is a targeted attack on peace efforts to resolve the Ukraine conflict, adding that Moscow would shortly take retaliatory steps. On Friday, the European Union Council decided to "prohibit, on a temporary basis, any transfers of Central Bank of Russia assets immobilised in the EU back to Russia." In a statement, it said the decision was taken as a "matter of urgency to limit damage to the Union's economy." Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova in a press statement said that the timing of the EU decision shows that Brussels is seeking to undermine efforts to settle the Ukraine conflict, by delivering a direct blow to the peace initiatives of US President Donald Trump. Brussels is carefully concealing the fact that it will be citizens of EU countries who will ultimately pay for these political ambitions. Our retaliatory actions will follow shortly, Zakharova said. Responding to var

Drone strikes kill two in Russia's Saratov region, power cuts hit Ukraine

At least two people were killed in a drone attack in Russia's southwestern Saratov region and parts of Ukraine were without power, local authorities said Saturday, as US-led peace talks on ending the war press on. The drone attack damaged a residential building, and several windows were also blown out at a kindergarten and clinic, Saratov regional Gov. Roman Busargin said. Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday it had shot down 41 Ukrainian drones over Russian territory overnight. In Ukraine, parts of the Kherson region, including the regional capital, also called Kherson, were without power Saturday following Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, regional head Oleksandr Prokudin said. Kyiv and its Western allies say Russia is trying to cripple the Ukrainian power grid and deny civilians access to heat, light and running water for a fourth consecutive winter, in what Ukrainian officials call weaponising the cold. The latest round of attacks came after Kremlin adviser Yuri

EU to indefinitely freeze Russian assets, removing obstacle to Ukraine loan

The loan would be paid back by Ukraine only when Russia pays Kyiv war damages, making the loan effectively a grant that advances future Russian reparations payments

Ukraine claims drone strikes in Caspian as Zelenskyy seeks European support

US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning that the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict risks escalating into a global conflict, cautioning 'things like this end up in third world wars'

Datanomics: Better Russia ties likely to push shipbuilding sector

India's shipbuilding ambitions gain traction as Russia eyes joint polar-vessel production and HD Hyundai plans a Tamil Nadu shipyard, even as private yards outpace public ones

India's crude oil loadings from Russia dip, but robust in December

Unless wider secondary sanctions are introduced, India is expected to continue sourcing from non-sanctioned Russian suppliers, say experts

Trump plans include major US investment in Russia, restoring oil to Europe

US companies would invest in Russian strategic sectors such as rare-earth extraction and oil drilling in the Arctic, while Russian energy flows to Western Europe and the world would be restored

US nuclear bombers join Japan in show of force after China-Russia drills

The flight of two US B-52 bombers with three Japanese F-35s and three F-15s marked the first US show of military presence since China began its exercises in the region last week

Zelenskyy refuses to cede land to Russia as he rallies European support

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Rome on Tuesday as he continued to rally European support for Ukraine while resisting the US pressure for a painful compromise with Russia. On Monday, Zelenskyy held talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to strengthen Ukraine's hand amid mounting impatience from US President Donald Trump. The Ukrainian president arrived at Castel Gandolfo, a papal residence outside Rome, for a meeting with Pope Leo XIV and is to have talks with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni later. Answering reporters' questions in a WhatsApp chat late Monday, Zelenskyy reaffirmed his firm refusal to cede any territory, saying that we clearly don't want to give up anything, even as "the Americans are looking for a compromise today, I will be honest. Undoubtedly, Russia insists that we give up territories, he said. According to the law, we don't have such a right. According to ...

Russian military transport plane with 7 onboard crashes in Ivanovo region

An Antonov An-22 military transport aircraft with seven people on board crashed in Russia's central Ivanovo Region on Tuesday during its first flight after repairs, the defence ministry said. "The aircraft crashed in an unpopulated area. A search and rescue crew has left for the accident site to determine the fate of the aircraft's crew, the ministry said. TASS reported that fragments of the An-22 were found on the shore and in the water. The An-22 is a heavy transport aircraft used by the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS) to transport heavy weapons. The aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 225 tonnes and a payload capacity of 60 tonnes. With a total cargo weight of up to 40 tonnes, the An-22 can fly over 5,000 km, according to Russian TV channels.

As sea drones push Russia back, Ukraine plans more advanced attacks

The commander of sea-drone operations for Ukraine's military intelligence agency says more complex strikes against Russian forces are expected next year, after Kyiv's uncrewed fleet succeeded in curbing the movements of Russia's once-dominant Black Sea navy. In an interview with The Associated Press, the head of the specialised maritime drone unit, Group 13, said Ukraine's attacks have forced Russia to adapt, limiting opportunities for major Black Sea strikes seen earlier in the war. Today, we've likely reached a plateau, said the officer, who is identified only by the call sign 13th under Ukrainian military protocol. We are effectively limiting the enemy's movements, but those dramatic, high-profile strikes we saw earlier haven't happened for quite some time. That's because the enemy has adapted. Last month, Ukrainian officials said sea-attack drones were used in strikes against vessels in Russia's sanctions-evading shadow fleet of oil tankers. The commander declined to comment on

Russian strikes kill 4 in Ukraine as Kremlin praises US security strategy

Russia on Sunday welcomed the Trump administration's new national security strategy in comments by the Kremlin spokesman published by Russia's Tass news agency. Dmitry Peskov said the updated strategic document was largely in line with Moscow's vision. "There are statements there against confrontation and in favour of dialogue and building good relations," he said, adding that Russia hopes this would lead to "further constructive cooperation with Washington on the Ukrainian settlement". The document released Friday by the White House said the US wants to improve its relationship with Russia after years of Moscow being treated as a global pariah and that ending the war is a core US interest to "reestablish strategic stability with Russia". The spokesman's comments came as Russian missile, drone and shelling attacks overnight and Sunday killed at least four people in Ukraine, after US and Ukrainian officials wrapped up a third day of talks aimed at ending the war. A man was killed i

Chernobyl shield loses confinement ability after drone strike: IAEA

The agency noted that the New Safe Confinement (NSC) was "severely damaged" during a February attack and has "lost its primary safety functions, including the confinement capability

Russia's vital oil trade with India falls for now, but is far from over

By contrast, oil cargoes arriving in India from Russia next month could fall as far as 600,000 barrels a day, the weakest level since early 2022