Ukraine-Russia warfare newest: US plans avalanche of Kyiv navy support as Putin’s forces to make use of ‘any means’ to win

Ukraine showed off a new locally-produced “rocket-drone” on Friday which it said could fly 700 km – more than twice the longest range attributed to missiles supplied by Western allies.

The unmanned craft, called “Peklo” – which means hell in Ukrainian – is the second “rocket drone” unveiled by Kyiv as it tries to increase its ability to strike deep into Russia.

Ukraine‘s arms production minister told Reuters in November the “rocket-drone” could be viewed as something akin to a cruise missile, which flies low on a guided path to its target, usually below the speed of sound.

The Russian rouble has rebounded past 100 to the US dollar, trading at 99.50 on Friday, after a decree by president Vladimir Putin which opened new payment options for European buyers of Russian gas, allowing foreign currency flows to resume.

The rouble strengthened by 1.5 per cent against the dollar, according to bank data.

Putin’s decree meant that European buyers of Russian gas, including Hungary and Slovakia, who previously used Gazprombank for their transactions, could now convert their currency into roubles in other banks that are not under sanctions.

The US sanctions imposed on Gazprombank on November 22 disrupted Russia‘s foreign currency market, leading to a 15 percent fall in the rouble exchange rate against the dollar.

The European Union failed to approve its 15th sanctions package on Russia, reported Reuters, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.

Most oil imports from Russia were banned by the EU after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Czechia, Slovakia, and Hungary received exemptions due to their limited access to alternatives.

Two EU member states blocked the adoption of the sanctions package due to disagreements over extending the timeframe provided to European companies to withdraw investments from Russia.

Member states have said they will revisit the sanctions later.Debates were also held over extending the exemption, which expired on 5 December, that allowed Czechia to import diesel fuel and other products derived from Russian oil.

A family member of Russian president Vladimir Putin accidentally revealed what is likely a confidential tally of the appeals by relatives of soldiers who submitted DNA samples.

Anna Tsivilyova, the daughter of Mr Putin’s cousin and a deputy defence minister, said the government received tens of thousands of appeals from relatives trying to trace soldiers, dead or missing, through DNA samples.

Ms Tsivilyova said in a video, published by the independent Astra Telegram channel, the ministry received 48,000 requests from relatives of Russian troops.

Russian forces suffered about 53 casualties per square kilometre as they advanced in Ukraine in autumn 2024, according to an Institute for the Study of War (ISW) report.

From September to November 2024 Russian soldiers lost about 125,800 personnel as they captured approximately 2,356 square kilometres of territory including the Kursk Oblast, the report said.

President Volodymyr Zelensky may meet US President-elect Donald Trump during his visit to Paris at the Notre-Dame Cathedral’s reopening, reported AFP citing an unnamed senior Ukrainian official.

“The Ukrainian president will attend celebrations to mark the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral. He will meet with President (Emmanuel) Macron. Other meetings are also possible, including with President-elect Donald Trump, who will also attend the event,” the source told AFP.

Around 50 heads of state and government are expected to attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral on Saturday, five years after the iconic cathedral was badly damaged by a fire.

Russian attacks on the southeastern Ukrainian cities of Zaporizhzhia and Kryvyi Rih killed at least 12 and wounded over 40, according to regional officials.

A strike on a car repair shop in Zaporizhzhia killed 10, said the regional governor. Reuters reported that a local official said 24 were injured, including two children.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown Kryvyi Rih saw a missile attack on an administrative building that killed two people and injured at least 19, including a child.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is confident that he will be able to decide on a joint strategy for Ukraine with US President-elect Donald Trump after speaking with him on the phone, Scholz told the Funke group of newspapers, reported Reuters.

“I am confident that we can develop a joint strategy for Ukraine. My guiding principle remains that nothing can be decided without giving the Ukrainian people a say,” he told the paper, adding that he spoke with the future US president “in detail” and his team was in a direct exchange with Trump’s security advisers.

On Monday, Scholz announced new military aid for Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv, and said he had sent a message to Vladimir Putin saying Germany would stand by Ukraine.

The White House has devised a last-minute strategy to strengthen Ukraine’s war efforts through significant military aid and sweeping new sanctions on Russia, according to a security briefing shared with the Guardian.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, during a meeting with Ukrainian presidential office head Andrii Yermak on Thursday, committed to delivering hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds, thousands of rockets, and hundreds of armoured vehicles by mid-January.

The United States also plans to train Ukrainian troops outside the country and finalise $20bn in loans backed by frozen Russian assets, according to the briefing.

The strategy includes a final push of sanctions on Russia before US president-elect Donald Trump renters the White House. The move aims to weaken Russia’s war effort and enhance Ukraine’s leverage in future negotiations.