Ukraine war latest: Russia claims ‘several’ assassination attempts foiled

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.

A Russian drone attack on a market in a Ukrainian town injured eight on Thursday morning, local authorities said.

Seven of those injured in the town of Nikopol were hospitalized after the strike damaged multiple stalls at the market, the region’s governer said on Telegram.

The drone strike comes after Russia’s Christmas Day attack on the country’s energy system killed one person in the region.

The Ukrainian military said on Thursday that it shot down 20 drones out of 31 launched by Russia overnight.

Of the 31 drones, 11 “imitator drones” did not reach their targets due to active engagement from the Ukrainian military, it added

Russia has claimed it has foiled a number of plots to assassinate high-ranking officers and their families in Moscow.

The country’s Federal Security Service claimed the plot involved using bombs disguised as power banks or document folders, and added that four Russian citizens allegedly involved in planning the attack had been detained.

It comes weeks after Ukraine’s intelligence service killed a top Russian officer outside his apartment building in Moscow by detonating a bomb attached to an electric scooter.

An SBU source confirmed to Reuters that the Ukrainian intelligence agency had been behind the hit.

Nearly 400 scholars have fled Russia, Belarus and Ukraine since the start of the war. One of them narrates his ordeal to Arpan Rai:

Moscow has claimed that civillian targets in Russia have been hit by missiles.

Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Ukraine launched western-made missiles and drones in the attack on Thursday and vowed retaliation.

Four people were killed and five people were injured in the town of Lgov in Russia’s Kursk region after Ukrainian shelling, the region’s acting governor said on Wednesday.