Ukraine-Russia war latest: Russian helicopter shot down in historic strike

A Ukrainian drone attack has caused a fuel spill and fire at an oil depot in Russia’s western Smolensk region, local governor Vasily Anokhin said.

Russian air defences shot down 10 Ukrainian drones but the wreckage of one of them fell on the oil facility, Anokhin wrote on Telegram according to Reuters.

The situation is now “under control”, he added, but no further details were issued.

China and Russia have always moved “hand in hand” on the right path, Chinese president Xi jinping said according to the Xinhua news agency.

It comes months after the two countries struck together a “new era strategic partnership” on several issues, including Taiwan, Ukraine and rivalling the United States.

Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported Moscow’s ambassador to Beijing as saying that Mr Xi will visit Russia in 2025.

Mr Xi expressed his desire to maintain close ties with Russian president Vladimir Putin in an exchange of New Year greetings.

Ordinarily, it’s historians writing after the fact that identify the pivotal dates in wars when the road to victory or defeat becomes clear. Russia’s war on Ukraine is different: it’s clear in advance that 20 January 2025 will change the course of the conflict. Since well before the US election, there has been no doubt that the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House could be decisive for Ukraine’s continuing ability to resist Russia’s onslaught.

It’s long been apparent that the outcome of the war will be decided far from the battlefields in the east and south of the country, and in fact not in Ukraine at all. Both Russia and Ukraine are supported by coalitions of nations whose contributions to their respective war efforts are crucial. The key difference is that in Ukraine’s case, the biggest backer by volume may be about to pull the rug from under the country’s ability to continue the struggle to survive.

Military expert Keir Giles writes:

Ukrainian forces have released footage which they say shows the historic strike by a naval drone on a Russian helicopter.

“A historic strike: Defence intelligence of Ukraine warriors destroyed an aerial target using a Magura V5 naval drone,” the Ukrainian military’s official X account says.

“A Russian Mi-8 helicopter was destroyed using R-73 ‘SeeDragon’ missiles near Cape Tarkhankut in temporarily occupied Crimea.

“Another enemy helicopter was damaged and returned to the airfield.”

On a frigid morning in Moldova’s capital, 39-year-old postal worker Petru Murzin braces for a difficult winter as he fears a looming energy shortage could leave many Moldovans with “no heating, no light.”

His concerns aren’t unfounded.

On Jan. 1, Russia’s state-owned energy giant Gazprom is set to halt gas supplies to the European Union candidate country over an alleged $709 million debt for past supplies, a figure fiercely disputed by Moldova’s pro-Western government, that has accused Moscow of weaponizing energy as a political tool to destabilize the country.

“I feel that we’ve entered a crisis that is quite difficult to resolve … which worries me greatly,” Murzin told The Associated Press in Chisinau. “Price increases are one thing, but when there is no gas at all, that’s something entirely different.”

A missile attack on Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region has damaged 12 multi-storey residential buildings, including educational institutions and social facilities, the region’s military administration has said.

“Today, on 31 December, the enemy launched a missile attack on infrastructure facilities in the Shostka hromada. The aftermath of the Russian attack is being established,” the administration wrote on Telegram according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Mykola Noha, head of Shostka city administration, said:  “Some infrastructure facilities have been destroyed. Twelve multi-storey residential buildings, two educational institutions, and other social facilities were damaged. Emergency rescue units are responding. Damage and losses are being assessed.”

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv overnight amid a Russian missile attack.

A ballistic missile threat was reported by Ukraine’s air force at 3am, and at least two explosions were heard in Kyiv just minutes later.

Another alert was issued at 8am, before another explosion in the capital. Missile debris fell in the Darnytskyi district but there have been no reports of casualties or damage, the local administration said.

One Russian helicopter has been destroyed and another damaged by Ukrainian naval drones, Kyiv’s military intelligence said on Tuesday.

In a battle on Crimea’s west coast, a Magura V5 maritime drone armed with missiles hit a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, Ukraine’s GUR spy agency said on Telegram.

It is the first time a Ukrainian naval drone has downed an air target, the spy agency said.

There has been no comment from Russia and the report has not been independently verified – but it was also reported by prominent Russian military blogger Voenny Osvedomitel.

It is 25 years since Vladimir Putin was handed power on 31 December 1999 when Boris Yeltsin resigned, and it is something he has kept an increasingly iron grip on ever since.

While the Russian leader has repeatedly clashed with the West, Putin’s near three-year invasion of Ukraine – and the staunch support allies like Britain and the US have given Kyiv – has only intensified his threats and bellicose rhetoric.

As we move into 2025, the West has to be prepared to keep drawing Putin’s ire. Donald Trump, the US president-elect, has suggested he wants a swift resolution to the war in Ukraine once he takes office in January, and both Kyiv and Moscow have opened the door to peace talks. The UK and nations across Europe are aware that if Putin is given an inch, he will try to take a mile – so continued support for Ukraine on the battlefield is crucial.

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