Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv targets missile fuel factory as Moscow claims assassination attempts foiled – UK Times

Russia’s foreign minister has said that Moscow is willing to work with Donald Trump when he becomes US president in January, but that he must make the first move.

Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow on Thursday: “If the signals that are coming from the new team in Washington to restore the dialogue that Washington interrupted after the start of a special military operation (war in Ukraine), are serious, of course, we will respond to them,”

“But the Americans broke (off) the dialogue, so they should make the first move.”

Russia’s aviation watchdog has said that all four Moscow airports have now resumed work after the lifting of temporary restrictions that were introduced to ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights.

“Aircraft crews, air traffic controllers and airport services have taken all necessary measures to ensure flight safety – this is the main priority,” the statement from Rosaviatsia said.

Russia has declared a federal emergency on Thursday over an oil spill caused by two Russian tankers in the Black Sea, the Emergencies Ministry said.

The tankers were hit by a storm on December 15, causing one split to in half and the other run aground.

The resulting spill has coated sandy beaches at and around Anapa, a popular resort, and caused serious problems for wildlife including seabirds, dolphins and porpoises.

More than 10,000 people have been trying to clear it up.

The flight had been set to travel to Grozny, the capital of Russia‘s Chechnya on Wednesday, but instead diverted and crash-landed a few kilometres short of Aktau airport in Kazakhstan.

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In his Christmas Day address, Pope Francis called for a dialogue to end the Ukraine-Russia war and urged a ceasefire in Gaza, alongside appeals for peace in other conflict zones like Lebanon and Syria.

The Pope condemned the ongoing violence in Ukraine following a massive Russian missile and drone attack, reiterating his plea for a “just and lasting peace”. He also highlighted the humanitarian crises in Gaza, where hostages remain, and the plight of Christian minorities in Syria after rebels ousted President Bashar al-Assad.

His remarks on Israel’s “cruelty” in Gaza drew sharp criticism from Israel which called which called the comments “particularly disappointing”.

Half a million were left without heating and one person was killed as Russia launched more than 70 missiles at Kharkiv.

Yet 2025 will almost certainly be the year when the war ends – and it will not be the unmitigated disaster for Ukraine that seemed likely even a few months ago.

Russia’s foreign minister has said that “truce is a path to nowhere” as he said a peace deal must secure Russia’s future security.

Sergei Lavrov said that a weak truce would be used by the West to re-arm Ukraine as he called for a legally binding deal on lasting peace.

“We need final legal agreements that will fix all the conditions for ensuring the security of the Russian Federation and, of course, the legitimate security interests of our neighbors,” Lavrov said.

He added that Moscow wanted the legal documents drafted in such a way to ensure “the impossibility of violating these agreements.”

Ukraine said it has striked a Russian military in industrial facility in the past few days.

Kyiv’s military said on Thursday that its air force had had carried out a strike in Russia’s Rostov region on the facility in the town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky.

It added that the facility was used to produce solid fuel for ballistic missiles used in Russian attacks on Ukraine

It did not give a date for the attack or say what damage was caused.

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that Russian forces have captured a village of Hihant in eastern Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported on Thursday.

Reuters could not independently confirm battlefield reports from either side.