Ukraine-Russia war latest: UK announces Project Nightfall to provide Kyiv with new missiles

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting today to discuss Russia’s latest large-scale attack on Ukraine which used an Oreshnik hypersonic missile.

“Following our urgent request in the wake of Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine, which included the use of an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting on Monday 12 January, 10pm Kyiv time,” Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said.

He said: “The meeting will address Russia’s flagrant breaches of the UN Charter. We urge Security Council members to demonstrate unity of purpose by demanding an end to the aggression, protection of civilians, and unwavering support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.”

Russia has launched an overnight air attack on Kyiv, sparking a fire in one of the city’s districts, the Ukrainian military said this morning.

Ukrainian air defence units were trying to repel the attack, Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said on his Telegram channel.

Russian president Vladimir Putin’s full-scale war against Ukraine has now outlasted the Soviet Union’s fight with Nazi Germany in the Second World War, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Zelensky said the war in Ukraine entered its 1,418th day on Sunday, surpassing the number of days of fighting between Nazi forces and the Soviet Union. Germany invaded Soviet territory around two years into WW2, in June 1941.

Comparing Russia’s tactics in Ukraine to those of the Nazis, Zelensky accused Moscow of replicating 20th-century fascism.

“Russia’s large-scale war against Ukraine has been going on for as long as Nazi Germany’s war against the Soviet Union,” he said.

“Today marks the 1,418th day of Russia’s war against Ukraine. They wanted to repeat and did repeat the mockery of people – repeated fascism, repeated almost all the worst things that happened in the 20th century.

“The Kremlin has failed to achieve its military goals in Ukraine despite the years-long campaign, he noted.

“But still, the Russians are trying to capture the same Donbas as almost four years ago,” Zelensky said.

Russian losses on the battlefield in Ukraine are up to at least 1,000 soldiers a day, president Volodymyr Zelensky says.

“Right now, Russian losses amount to no less than 1,000 killed per day – and this has been the case since December. This is how Russia is essentially paying just to keep the war from ending,” he said in his nightly address.

“This is madness and it can only be stopped by combined forces – the forces of Europe and the United States, the forces of all our partners. Every day of this war is a reminder that the world cannot protect itself from madmen. We must protect it. Russia must be stopped,” he said.

Sweden will spend 15bn Swedish kronor (£1.2bn) on upgrading its air defences, the government said on Sunday.

Sweden has, like most European countries, invested heavily in defence following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. However, Sweden’s vast territory has remained vulnerable to aerial threats.

“The experience from the war in Ukraine clearly shows how crucial a robust and resilient air defence is,” defence minister Pal Jonson told reporters at a security conference in northern Sweden.

He said Sweden would buy short-range air defence systems to protect cities, bridges, power plants and other critical infrastructure.

On Sunday, Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson criticised the Trump administration’s “threatening rhetoric” against Greenland and Denmark, saying the US should thank Denmark for being a loyal ally.

The UK says it will develop new tactical ballistic missiles for Kyiv and put “leading-edge weapons into the hands of Ukrainians” for their fight against Russia.

Code-named “Project Nightfall”, the missiles will help boost Ukrainian firepower and be capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement late on Sunday.

The Nightfall missiles will carry a 200kg conventional high-explosive warhead and cost a maximum £800,000 per unit, the MoD announced, adding that it plans to produce 10 systems per month.

More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were still without heating following a devastating Russian attack earlier this week, local authorities said on Sunday.

Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbour in 2022.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched 1,100 drones, more than 890 guided aerial bombs and over 50 missiles, including ballistic, cruise and medium-range weapons, against Ukraine over the past week.

On Friday, a missile strike on Kyiv left virtually the entire city without power and heating amid a sharp cold snap, and it was not until Sunday that authorities restored water supplies and partially restored electricity and heating.

Chechen leader and close Russian ally Ramzan Kadyrov is undergoing dialysis due to kidney failure, sources in Ukraine’s defence intelligence said, according to local media reports.

Kadyrov’s health has deteriorated, according to local Ukrainian outlets Interfax-Ukraine and Ukrinform.

Kadyrov is a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin and seen as one of the most powerful and feared men in Moscow.

He has reportedly been admitted to a private hospital in Chechnya where his family members have gathered, including some who have travelled in from abroad.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said that his forces were working on new operations targeting Russia, alongside those that are already underway.

“It is still too early to speak publicly about some of the operations – ones that the Russians have already felt. Some of the operations are still underway. I also approved new ones,” he said.

“We are actively defending ourselves, and every Russian loss brings the end of the war closer. Our deep strikes, special measures – all of this, of course, must continue,” the war-time president said.