Most regions in Ukraine are without power in freezing temperatures following a fresh barrage of Russian strikes, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday. Some 69 Russian missiles targeted cities across Ukraine earlier in the day, with 54 shot down by Ukrainian air defences, the army said. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1)
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4:00am: Sirens wail across Kyiv, residents urged to seek shelter
Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February.
Shortly after 2.00 a.m. Kyiv's city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about the air raid sirens and called on residents to proceed to shelters.
Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an "attack by drones" was under way.
1:35am: Britain sends metal detectors, defusing equipment to Ukraine
Britain said on Friday it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs to help clear minefields in the latest instance of military support for the country in the conflict with Russia.
"Russia's use of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin's invasion," British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
"This latest package of UK support will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory."
10:12pm: Power cuts in most Ukraine regions after Russian strikes, Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday most regions were without power in freezing temperatures following a barrage of Russian missile attacks all over the country.
"As of this evening, there are power outages in most regions of Ukraine," he said.
He said the situation was "especially difficult" in the capital Kyiv and surrounding areas as well as the cities and regions of Lviv, Odessa, Kherson, Vinnytsia and Transcarpathia.
5:58pm: Fighting in east Ukraine reaches 'stalemate', Ukrainian intelligence chief says
Fighting between Russians and Ukrainians has reached a “stalemate” due to harsh winter conditions and lack of weaponry the head of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's Main Directorate of Intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has said.
In east Ukraine, where the vast majority fighting has taken place, “Russian troops aren’t advancing that much,” says FRANCE 24 correspondent Astrig Agopian, reporting from Kyiv. “Because of winter, ground operations have slowed down [and] Ukraine says it doesn’t have enough weapons to continue fighting.”
4:07pm: Belarus summons Ukrainian ambassador over missile incident
Belarus summoned Ukraine’s ambassador after saying that it had shot down a Ukrainian air defence missile over its territory, the Belarus foreign ministry said.
“We have demanded that Ukraine carry out a thorough investigation into all the circumstances of the missile launch, bring those responsible to justice and take comprehensive measures to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future. Which could lead to catastrophic consequences for everyone,” ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said.
Belarus’s defence ministry said its air defences downed a Ukrainian S-300 missile on Thursday morning during one of Russia’s largest missile attacks against Ukraine since the start of the war.
2:23pm: Putin oversees launch of new warships
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday oversaw the commissioning of several new warships and a nuclear-powered submarine as he vowed to further strengthen Russia's navy.
Among the newly-commissioned vessels were a corvette, a minesweeper and the Generalissimus Suvorov nuclear-powered submarine which is capable of launching ballistic missiles.
Another nuclear submarine, the Emperor Alexander III, was put to sea on Thursday and will be officially commissioned following trials.
"We will increase the pace and volume of construction of various ships, equip them with the most modern weapons," the Russian leader said in televised remarks.
"All in all, everything to reliably ensure Russia's security, the protection of our national interests in the world ocean," he added.
2:05pm: Belarus official says downed Ukrainian missile 'no cause for concern'
A Belarus military official said there was no cause for concern after Minsk's air defence forces shot down a Ukrainian S-300 missile over a village near the Belarus-Ukraine border on Thursday morning.
In a video message shared on social media by the state-run BelTA news agency, the military commissar of Belarus' Brest region said: "Locals have absolutely nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, these things happen."
1:56pm: Early morning morning missile strikes target Ukrainian capital
Some 16 missiles that targeted Kyiv on Thursday morning were shot down by the Ukrainian air-defence system, mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Vitali Klitschko said. Three people, including one teenager, were reportedly wounded by the attack.
“This morning around 6am we woke up to the sound of sirens and we started hearing the first explosions around 8:30[am],” said FRANCE 24’s Astrig Agopian, reporting from Kyiv. Strikes have reportedly left 40% of residents in the capital without access to electricity.
12:18pm: Belarus news agency says Ukrainian air defence missile landed in the country
A Ukrainian S-300 missile fell onto the territory of Belarus on Thursday, Belarus' state-run BelTA news agency reported.
The Minsk defence ministry was investigating whether Belarus' air defence systems had shot down the rocket or it was a misfire.
In November, an S-300 believed to have been fired by Ukrainian air defences landed in Poland.
BelTA said there was no information about casualties.
11:33am: Sri Lanka welcomes new Russian flights after tourism plea
Sri Lanka on Thursday welcomed the first Russian travellers aboard a new flight service that was launched after the bankrupt nation urged Moscow to help revive its beleaguered economy by sending tourists.
Russia was Sri Lanka's biggest source of visitors at the start of the year but arrivals nearly ceased after the invasion of Ukraine and as the Indian Ocean island weathered its worst-ever economic crisis.
A commercial dispute also saw direct flights between the two countries suspended for months, prompting then-president Gotabaya Rajapaksa to ask his counterpart Vladimir Putin to resolve the impasse.
11:22am: Putin, Xi to speak via video link on Friday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping via video link on Friday to discuss a host of bilateral and regional issues.
"First of all, they will talk about bilateral Russian-Chinese relations," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
Moscow has sought to deepen its economic, political and security ties with Beijing since sending its armed forces into Ukraine in February. The two countries signed a "no limits" strategic partnership a few days before Russia launched the campaign.
11:14am: Ukraine shot down 54 out of 69 Russian missiles, army says
Ukraine's air defence shot down 54 out of 69 missiles launched by Russia in a new wave of attacks on Thursday morning, the Ukrainian army said.
"According to preliminary data, 69 missiles were launched in total. Fifty four enemy cruise missiles were shot down," Ukraine's commander-in-chief General Valeriy Zaluzhny said. Presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said earlier in the day that more than 120 missiles had been fired.
11:11am: Air defences activated at Engels, key Russian airbase far from Ukraine border, governor says
Air defence was activated on Thursday at Engels, a base for Russia's strategic aircraft located hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine's border, regional authorities said.
"The air defence system has been activated in the Engels district" of the central region of Saratov, governor Roman Busargin said on social media, adding that an "unidentified object" had been destroyed.
10:56am: 40% of Kyiv population without power after Russian strikes, mayor says
Close to half of Kyiv's population was left without power after a new wave of Russian strikes targeted the Ukrainian capital and other cities, Kyiv's mayor said on Thursday.
"Forty percent of the capital's consumers are without electricity after the Russian attack," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media.
10:21am: All 16 Russian missiles targeting Kyiv 'shot down', officials say
Kyiv authorities said Thursday that air defences downed all 16 missiles that targeted the Ukrainian capital as part of a new wave of Russian strikes.
"Sixteen missiles were recorded over Kyiv. All 16 missiles were shot down," the city's military administration said on social media, adding that missile fragments damaged three private houses and a car.
9:16am: Russian strikes wound at least three people in Kyiv, says mayor
A new wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine left at least three people injured in the capital Kyiv, the city's mayor said on Thursday.
"For the moment, there are three wounded in Kyiv, including a 14-year-old girl. They are all in hospital," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on social media.
8:59am: 90% of Lviv without power after strikes, says mayor
Most of Ukraine's western city of Lviv was left without electricity after fresh Russian missile strikes on Thursday morning, the city's mayor said.
"Ninety percent of the city is without electricity," Andriy Sadoviy said on social media, also warning of potential water cuts. "We are waiting for more information from energy experts. Trams and trolleybuses are not running in the city."
8:32am: Mayors of 3 Ukrainian cities report strikes by Russian missiles
Mayors of Ukraine's eastern city of Kharkiv, the capital Kyiv and the western city of Lviv reported on Thursday that Russian missiles had struck the cities and caused a series of explosions.
Kharkiv's Ihor Terekhov said officials were clarifying what had been hit and whether there were any casualties, while Kyiv's Volodymyr Klitschko warned of possible power cuts there and asked residents to charge their phones.
7:51am: Gazprom to ship 42.4 mcm of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday
Russia's Gazprom said it would ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, a similar volume to that reported in recent days.
7:23am: Blasts heard in Ukraine's Kyiv amid Russian missile strike
Ukraine reported a fresh Russian missile strike on Thursday morning as blasts were heard in several cities which the authorities said came from air defence systems shooting down incoming missiles.
Presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook that more than 100 missiles were incoming in waves and air raid alarms could be heard across the country.
5:25am: Russia's Lavrov rejects Zelenskiy's 'peace formula'
Russia will not use Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 'peace formula' as a basis for negotiations and believes Kyiv is still not ready for real peace talks, Russia's RIA news agency cited Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying on Thursday.
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP and AP)
