Ukraine-Russia struggle newest: Putin’s forces launch contemporary drone assault as Trump says Putin desires to satisfy him

Ukraine expects high level contacts with the new US administration immediately after Donald Trump takes office, including an eventual meeting between Trump and President Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv’s foreign ministry said on Friday.

“We are waiting for a meeting between our presidents because for us the main thing is to work together with America… we are preparing for contacts at the highest and high levels immediately after the inauguration,” ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said.

Russia welcomes the stated willingness of US president-elect Donald Trump to resolve problems through dialogue, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

There may be progress on setting up a meeting between Trump and Putin after Trump is sworn in on 20 January, Mr Peskov said.

It comes after Trump said on Thursday a meeting was being set up between him and Putin, but offered no timeline.

Trump said repeatedly during his election campaign that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours, but he and advisers have suggested more recently that it could be resolved within months of him taking office.

Vladimir Putin’s forces have launched a fresh drone assault on Ukraine as Donald Trump revealed the Russian leader wants to meet him.

Russian troops fired up to 72 drones at Ukraine overnight, hitting various buildings in the northern region of Chernihiv, as Kyiv’s airforce was scrambled to down 33 of them, it said.

Ukraine’s army struck a supermarket on Friday in the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine in an attack that used US-supplied missiles and wounded two people, a senior Russian-backed official said.

There was no immediate comment from Ukraine and Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

Unverified photos posted on social media showed a burnt out car in front of a shattered two-storey circular building surrounded by debris.

Dashcam footage posted by a driver nearby appeared to show the moment the supermarket – called Moloko (Milk) – was struck, with an ensuing large explosion and flames soaring into the sky.

Moscow is alarmed at the incoming US president-elect Donald Trump’s plans to acquire Greenland, according to a senior Russian official and close aide of Vladimir Putin.

Mr Trump on Tuesday said he would not rule out the use of military force to seize control of the Panama Canal and Greenland, as he declared US control of both to be vital to American national security.

“The Arctic is a zone of our national interests, our strategic interests,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, responding to Mr Trump’s remarks.

He added: “We are watching the rather dramatic development of the situation very closely, but so far, thank God, at the level of statements.”

Greenland, home to a large US military base, is an autonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime US ally and a founding member of Nato. Mr Trump cast doubts on the legitimacy of Denmark’s claim to Greenland.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency issued a new alert yesterday warning non-European carriers not to fly within western Russia airspace due to the risk of being unintentionally targeted by its air defence systems.

“The ongoing conflict following the Russian invasion of Ukraine poses the risk of civil aircraft being unintentionally targeted in the airspace of the Russian Federation due to possible civil-military coordination deficiencies, and the potential for misidentification,” EASA said.

EASA said the crash last month in Kazakhstan of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane, after Russian air defences fired against Ukrainian drones, demonstrated the high risk at play. At least 38 people died in the crash.

“EASA recommends not to operate within the affected airspace of the Russian Federation located west of longitude 60° East at all altitudes and flight levels.”

The warning was for third-country operators authorised by EASA, given Russian airspace has been closed to European Union airlines since the bloc imposed Ukraine-related sanctions targeting Russia’s aviation sector.

Four sources with knowledge of the preliminary findings of Azerbaijan’s investigation told Reuters last month that Russian air defences had mistakenly shot the airliner down. Passengers said they heard a loud bang outside the plane.

North Korea “is significantly benefiting from receiving Russian military equipment, technology and experience, rendering it more capable of waging war against its neighbours”, Ms Shea said.

Russia has launched more than 51,000 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine since the start of its full-blown invasion nearly three years ago, the Ukrainian air force said yesterday.

Regions in proximity to the frontlines as well as those bordering Russia are most regularly targeted with these weapons, Ukrainian officials say.

Guided, or glide, bombs are highly destructive and very hard to intercept. The air-launched weapons are conventional, often Soviet-era ordnance that have been fitted with wings and satellite-aided navigation to extend their range and precision.