Watch Russia-Ukraine war live: Putin to give shock G20 speech as shrugs off assassinations – Latest World News

Ukraine air defence shot down one missile and 9 out of 10 drones in a Russian overnight strike, the nation’s air force has said.

The air force said in a statement the Russian forces launched Iranian-made drones from Russian territory on several directions.

The US have announced that they will send an additional $100 million in security aid to Ukraine.

The pledge follows US defence secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to Kyiv yesterday.

Included in the latest package is one High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and an unspecified number of shells.

Ukraine’s ministry of defence welcomed the package in a statement on X. The amount, however, is minimal to the point of nominal; Ukraine has been using billions of dollars worth of munitions and heavy weaponry every month.

While the US Congress remains frozen without a fiscal plan for next year, they are unable to send more significant packages to Ukraine.

Moldova’s President Maia Sandu have arrived in Kyiv, the Ukrainian presidential office said on Tuesday.

Sandu and Ukraine‘s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy honoured the memory of people who died during the Revolution of Dignity 10 year ago, the office said on social media platform X.

German defence minister Boris Pistorius also arrived on Tuesday morning in Kyiv.

Good morning. Below are some of the latest pictures from Ukraine as German defence minister Boris Pistorius arrived in Kyiv this morning for a secret visit.

His visit comes as snow has begun to fall in eastern Ukraine amid fears of a stalemate on the frontline.

General Valery Zaluzhny, the chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, wrote an article earlier this month in which he said the battle had descended into “positional” warfare and that there would be no major breakthrough such as the one many had hoped the summer counteroffensive would achieve. He met with US defece secretary Lloyd Austin yesterday.

Russia said on Tuesday that marines, aviation and artillery had scuppered more Ukrainian attempts to gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the River Dnipro and on islands at the mouth of the river in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine said this month that its forces had crossed the Dnipro and established several bridgeheads on the eastern banks of the river, though Russia said it was pummelling the Ukrainian positions.

“Black Sea Fleet marines are stopping all attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to carry out amphibious landings on the Dnipro islands and the left bank of the Dnipro River,” Russia’s defence ministry said.

The Russian defence ministry published a video which it said showed marines from the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade defeating Ukrainian forces. Soldiers were shown firing a variety of weapons, though the result of the fighting was unclear.

It said Ukrainian forces were suffering heavy casualties and losing equipment in unsuccessful attempts to land on islands in the Dnipro. Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side.

It is still unclear how significant the Ukrainian attempt to gain a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro is. Crossing the Dnipro leaves Ukrainian units exposed between river and marshland on one side and heavily fortified Russian lines on the other.

Two people were killed and six were wounded in overnight Russian missile attacks and shelling in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday.

Missiles hit a hospital in the Donetsk town of Selydove and a coal mine, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging service.

“Two buildings of the hospital were damaged, six civilians were injured. There may be victims under the rubble, search operations continue,” Klymenko said.

One worker was killed in the attack on the coal mine, he said.

“Four buildings, 19 vehicles and a power line were damaged. 39 miners were trapped underground. As of now, all miners have been brought to the surface,” he said.

Invading Russian forces have occupied much of Donetsk and Russia has said it intends to take over the whole region.

In Kharkiv, one person was killed in Russian shelling, the region’s governor, Oleh Synehubov, said.

The bodies of Ukrainian and Russian troops have been exchanged.

The Coordination Headquarters on the Treatment of Prisoners of War said around 94 Ukrainian troops were returned to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine said forensic examinations will now take place to identify the bodies.

The bodies of Russian troops were also handed over, in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Russia may begin full mobilisation after the 2024 Russian presidential election on 17 March, the secretary of the national security and defence council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov, has suggested.

Danilov said in a speech to the International Security Forum in Halifax, Canada: “Russia has managed to adapt, and constantly injects funds into its defence sector. Russia proved to be more resilient to the west’s sanctions, as expected.

“Russia is increasingly putting its economy on a war footing. Total mobilisation may follow the 2024 presidential elections.”

Russia’s foreign ministry has said it has lodged a formal protest with the Finnish ambassador in Moscow over the closure of four busy border crossings between Russia and Finland.

On Saturday, Finland closed crossings on the shared border in a bid to halt the flow of asylum seekers that it says was instigated by Moscow.

Only four crossing points remain open, which the Russian foreign ministry said has impacted tens of thousands of people in both countries.

Russian drones targeted Kyiv on Sunday as the British Defense Ministry said there were “few immediate prospects” for major change along the Ukrainian front line as the war enters its second winter.

Russia launched 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones overnight, targeting the Ukrainian capital and the Cherkasy and Poltava regions, according to a military statement. Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems shot down 15 of the drones.

The overnight strike on Kyiv is the second attack on the Ukrainian capital in 48 hours, said the city’s Military Administration spokesperson, Serhii Popko.