Ukraine-Russia war latest: US plans avalanche of Kyiv military aid as Putin’s forces to use ‘any means’ to win

Ukraine launched air and seaborne drones on the Russian-controlled Crimean port city of Kerch, the Russian military confirmed on Friday.

Traffic on the Crimean Bridge has been temporarily stopped, according to the Telegram channel Crimean Wind.

Residents told local media they heard explosions, but Ukrainian and Crimea’s Russian-installed authorities have not commented.

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 drones at 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.

A coal mine in the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, the sole domestic supplier of coking coal to the steel industry, continues to operate as Russian troops approach, an industry source has said.

Ukrainian military analyst DeepState said Russian troops were less than 7 km (4.4 miles) from Pokrovsk’s outskirts. The mine lies 10 km (6.2 miles) west of the town, a strategic supply hub, in the opposite direction to the advancing Russian forces.

It’s unclear at what point the mine’s owner, metallurgical group Metinvest, might be forced to halt operations and evacuate staff.

The authorities have been carrying out a mandatory evacuation of civilians from Pokrovsk since September 24 and about 11,500 people remained in the city as of December 2.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has altered laws on how international buyers can pay for Russian gas following fresh US sanctions.

Putin’s new law decouples gas payments from Gazprombank, as the previous law required buyers to buy gas products exclusively through the bank.

It comes after the Financial Times reported that Russia used Gazprombank to pay soldiers, buy military equipment, and provide compensation to the families of those killed in the Ukraine war.

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.

Read more on the interview here:

Representatives of European Union countries have failed to agree a 15th package of sanctions on Russia, which included an extension for the Czech Republic to import Russian oil-based products coming mainly through Slovakia, diplomats said.

Two member states blocked the passage over a disagreement about extending the time given to European companies disinvesting from Russia, diplomats said. EU members will come back to the package later.

The EU Ambassador to Ukraine announced €25mn (£20.7mn) in funding for Ukrainian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society work to support Ukraine’s eventual integration into the European Union.

Katarina Mathernova announced the funding at the Civil Society Development Forum in Kyiv, including €15mn for small NGOs over the next three years and €10mn for civil society work on integrating Ukraine into the EU.

“Ukraine’s civil society is not only a pillar of democracy but also a source of unbelievable strength and resilience in the face of Russia’s brutal aggression,” Ms Mathernova said.

“I am proud that, with EU funding, smaller local organisations will continue their critical work for Ukraine’s victory and our shared European future.”

Ukraine applied for EU membership days after Russia invaded and was granted candidate status in June the same year. EU leaders then agreed in December 2023 to open accession negotations with Ukraine.

Russian troops took control of the settlements of Pustynka and Sukhi Yaly in eastern Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported on Friday, citing the defence ministry.

Separately, the defence ministry said the Russian navy destroyed six Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea on Friday.

Russia has lost 750,610 troops in Ukraine since its invasion started in February 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported.

Russia has also lost 30,899 vehicles and fuel tanks, 21,043 artillery systems, 20,023 drones, 19,518 armoured fighting vehicles, 9,514 tanks, 1,253 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,020 air defence systems, 369 airplanes, 329 helicopters, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine, the report added.

A Ukranian military partisan group has claimed it sabotaged a key railway line between Moscow and Kursk, disrupting Russian supply lines.

An operative set fire to a relay cabinet near the village of Chekhov in Moscow Oblast, the Atesh group posted on Telegram on Friday, along with an undated video of the alleged sabotage.

The railway line has been partially occupied by Ukrainian forces since August.