Ukraine war latest: Russia suffers 'record daily losses' since war began; Kremlin addresses Putin's 'missile duel' proposal

Images continue to emerge of the aftermath of the Russian missile attack in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian authorities said the Russian ballistic missile strike killed at least one person and wounded 13.

Pics: AP

A Russian cyberattack on Ukraine's justice ministry registries caused a shutdown of online services for marriages and other matters, but no data appears to have been leaked or stolen, the Ukrainian government reports.

Deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna, who is also justice minister, told reporters at a briefing in Kyiv that Russia took several months to prepare the cyberattack, which was the largest to target Ukraine's state registries in recent times.

Online services to register matters like marriages, cars, births or a change of residence in Ukraine were suspended, the government service platform said.

The attack sought to "instil panic among Ukrainian citizens and those abroad," Ms Stefanishyna said.

The Ukrainian security service's cyber department said their main line of investigation was that a hacker group affiliated with Russian military intelligence (GRU) was behind the attack.

"Data leakage is not confirmed as of now... At this stage, all registries are suspended for security purposes," Mr Stefanishyna added.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been hit by cyberattacks on their infrastructure during the war. 

Missile strikes have hit Kyiv and Russia's Kursk today.

Here's a look at what has happened...

Kursk attack 

A Ukrainian attack on a town in Russia's Kursk border region has killed six people, including a child.

Ten other people in the Kursk town of Rylsk, including a 13-year-old, were taken to hospital after today's strike with HIMARS missiles, Kursk acting governor Alexander Khinshtein said. He provided no further details.

Kyiv missile strike 

The Kursk attack came hours after Ukrainian authorities said a Russian ballistic missile strike on Kyiv killed at least one person and wounded 13.

Moscow claimed the Kyiv strike was in response to a Ukrainian strike on Russian soil using American-made weapons earlier this week.

Ukraine's foreign ministry said six different embassies were damaged by Russia's missile attack.

Kremlin addresses Putin comments

Elsewhere, a Kremlin spokesperson addressed controversial comments made by Vladimir Putin yesterday about a "missile duel" between Russia and the US.

Putin suggested a duel between the two countries would be the best way to show how Moscow's new Oreshnik missile could defeat any US air defences.

His comments drew international condemnation, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov suggested this morning that they were blown out of proportion. 

"It is very important to talk about these statements in the context of the question that he was asked," he said.

"This was not his initiative. He was asked to explain possible vulnerabilities, so the president, as he usually does, spoke in sufficient detail about how the missile works, how immune it is to air defence systems."

Pics: Reuters

Kirillov buried

Russian general Igor Kirillov was buried with full military honours today. 

Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops, was the most senior Russian officer to be killed inside Russia by Ukraine.

He was killed outside his Moscow apartment building on Tuesday along with his assistant when a bomb attached to an electric scooter went off in an attack for which Ukraine's SBU security service took responsibility.

Foreign Secretary David Lammy has issued a message to Ukraine ahead of 2025.

In a statement shared on X, the minister acknowledged this was the third winter Ukraine was experiencing Russia's invasion. 

"I know that you are facing periods without heat and electricity as a result of Russia's attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure and that you worry about loved ones on the frontline and across the whole of the country," he said.

He went on to say the Ukrainian spirit was "strong and resilient".

"My message to Ukraine is that we stand with you and you have our continued ironclad support," he added.

Ukraine's former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the UK has released an autobiographical book, which will be the first part of a planned trilogy.

The book, entitled My War, covers Valerii Zaluzhnyi's life from his childhood until the outbreak of Russia's invasion in 2022.

In a statement on Telegram, the Ukrainian official said he started working on the book in March 2023. 

He said: "This is a storybook for young people, to whom I want to convey an important truth: anything is possible in life if you really want it. Dream and go for your dream! 

"This is a book about my war. 

"First, the war with my own fears that prevent me from doing anything. 

"Second, the war with people who prevent me from achieving my goals. 

"And finally, the war with circumstances that become obstacles in life. So I hope you find it interesting."

Reuters

We can bring you more updates from the town of Rylsk in the Kursk region, where reports have been emerging of a Ukrainian missile strike.

The region's acting governor, Alexander Khinshtein, has said six people, including one child, have been killed in the attack.

Ten people have also been wounded, including a 13-year-old, Mr Khinshtein added on Telegram.

"What happened today is a huge tragedy for all of us," he said.

"We grieve together with the families of the victims. No one will be left without support."

The governor said those responsible for the attack would receive "well-deserved retribution".

Elsewhere, Maria Zakharova, the spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, has said Moscow will raise the issue of the missile strike at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council today,  the TASS state news agency reports.

Ukrainian troops still hold part of Kursk region after bursting across the border in a surprise incursion this August.

But yesterday, Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference that they would definitely be expelled, but declined to set a date for when this would happen.

Russian general Igor Kirillov has been buried with full military honours today. 

Kirillov, who was chief of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection troops, was the most senior Russian officer to be killed inside Russia by Ukraine.

He was killed outside his Moscow apartment building on Tuesday along with his assistant when a bomb attached to an electric scooter went off in an attack for which Ukraine's SBU security service took responsibility.

Today, state news agency RIA said Kirillov was buried in a ceremony outside Moscow attended by defence minister Andrei Belousov and Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of Russia's Security Council.

It said the ceremony had taken place at a defence ministry memorial complex.

Igor KirillovReuters

Earlier today, residents in Kyiv took shelter in a train station as air raid sirens rang out through the city.

As we have been reporting today, a Russian missile strike killed at least one person and damaged a historical cathedral, six embassies and other buildings across the Ukrainian capital during the morning rush hour.

Ukraine's air defences shot down all five ballistic missiles used by Russian forces to attack the capital, the air force said.

Russia has been carrying out airstrikes on Kyiv and other targets, particularly energy infrastructure, as its forces advance in the eastern Donbas region.

Pics: Reuters

We brought you reports earlier that Ukraine had struck the town of Rylsk, in Russia's Kursk region, with missiles, according to Russian state news agency RIA (see post at 1.52pm). 

Now, Russia's Investigative Committee reports that people have been killed and wounded in the missile attack.

It did not specify the number of casualties. 

The governor of the region also said Ukraine had fired US-supplied HIMARS rockets.

In August this year, around 1,000 Ukrainian troops penetrated several miles into Russia's Kursk region in an ongoing incursion that appeared to catch the Russian military by surprise.

We've now got some footage to show you from this morning's deadly Russian missile attack on Kyiv.

Officials in the Ukrainian capital said at least one person had died after the strikes, which came at around 7am (5am UK time).

A high-rise building was badly damaged, while St Nicholas Church - the second-oldest Catholic church in Kyiv - was also damaged.

We've had a lot of reaction over the last 24 hours to Vladimir Putin's comments encouraging a "missile duel" between Russia and the US.

The Russian president suggested the two superpowers could use Kyiv as a target to see which country's missiles were able to bypass US air defences.

His comments drew international condemnation, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy labelling Putin a "scumbag".

But Russia's defence ministry says the West's reaction to Putin's words are hypocritical, suggesting the rhetoric around Ukraine "inflicting strategic defeat" on Russia was no different.

"Every day Western leaders talk about strikes "deep into Russia" and no one in these countries faints from such statements," said spokesperson Maria Zakharova.

She said the Western public was "dumbfounded" by Putin's statement, which she says was a "hypothetical" suggestion using Kyiv as an example.

"I am not even talking about the silent encouragement by Westerners of the bloody terrorist attacks that the Kyiv regime is committing all over the world," she added.

"Let them think about what it is like to live in the circumstances that are offered to others."

Reuters

Ukraine's foreign ministry says six different embassies have been damaged by Russia's missile attack on Kyiv this morning.

Missiles hit the capital at 7am (5am UK time), killing one person and injuring 12, local authorities reported.

The embassies of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal and Montenegro are located in a building heavily damaged by the Russian strike.

"Windows, doors and the ceiling have been damaged in the premises (of embassies). This is an absolutely barbaric attack by Russia on diplomatic institutions," said spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi.

No casualties among diplomatic staff were reported.

Reuters

Ukraine has reportedly struck the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region with missiles.

According to Russian state news agency RIA, the Ukrainian strikes caused casualties.

Ukraine's troops have been inside the Kursk region since they launched their surprise incursion there in August.

Vladimir Putin said during his annual press conference yesterday that Ukraine's forces in the region would definitely be expelled, but declined to set a date for when this would happen. 

Viktor Orban says he's still holding out hope that Russia and Ukraine may agree to a ceasefire and large-scale prisoner exchange before Orthodox Christmas.

Hungary's prime minister noted that Kyiv and Moscow were unlikely to reach such an agreement by Catholic Christmas, celebrated on 25 December. 

"Therefore, I will try to make it happen by Orthodox Christmas," he told a Hungarian radio station this morning, referring to 7 January.

He said if the agreement is reached, the two countries could exchange up to 1,000 prisoners of war "in just two or three days".

Orban said he had "succeeded in convincing" Vladimir Putin of the plan on 11 December, but that Kyiv had rejected the initiative on the same day.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy "forcefully but politely" rejected a call from Orban to discuss the ceasefire, Hungary's foreign minister claimed last week.

Reuters

This week, Zelenskyy said he had not spoken to Orban and labelled Hungary's attempts at brokering a ceasefire as "political PR".

"We are not amused," he said. "Nothing about Ukraine can be discussed or decided without us. That's why we are sceptical about this."

Ukraine's prime minister has praised Lithuania as a "special country" after his counterpart visited Kyiv this morning hours after a deadly Russian missile attack.

Gintautas Paluckas arrived in Ukraine's capital alongside other members of his newly-elected government.

Posting on X, Denys Shmyhal said the visit was "a vivid example of support for Ukraine" and a "clear signal to Russia" of unwavering unity and determination.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country has been hit by Christmas attacks on its energy infrastructure for the third time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.

Moscow launched a huge aerial attack on Ukraine's energy facilities last Friday, which Zelenskyy said was one of the largest yet on the grid.

The attack damaged power facilities in several regions and forced authorities to impose even longer electricity cuts for millions of civilians, the national grid operator said.

"For the third year in a row, our energy sector has been a target for Russia, and this enemy is always looking for the most vile options for strikes," Zelenskyy said on Telegram.

"Each time, missile and drone strikes are calculated to cause maximum damage to our generation and networks. And each time, our people do everything possible to provide cities and villages with electricity as soon as possible.

"We thank everyone who works for light for Ukrainians, for warmth in our apartments and houses."

Reuters

Ukraine says that Russia has just suffered its worst daily losses since its full-scale invasion began.

Kyiv's ministry of defence says 2,200 Russian soldiers died in the last 24 hours of fighting.

It says the previous highest total was 2,030, which was set on 29 November.

According to the latest UK defence intelligence estimates, an average of 1,523 Russian soldiers are being killed and wounded every day during the war.

Russia's spy agency was likely behind the cyber attack that hit Ukraine's state registries yesterday, Kyiv's intelligence service (SBU) has claimed.

Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said the cyber attack was one of the largest to have hit the country in recent times (see 6.36 post).

In a post on Telegram, the SBU said criminal proceedings have been opened and that a hacker group associated with Russia's spy agency was involved.

"In general, we are working in three directions: repelling the attack, restoring the infrastructure, and documenting this war crime," said Volodymyr Karastelov, acting head of the SBU's cyber security team.

"The main version considered by the SBU is that Russian special services, in particular the hacker group Gru GSH ZS RF, are behind this cyber attack."

Reuters

Ukraine's military says its forces have pulled back from areas around two villages in the eastern region of Donetsk to avoid being encircled by advancing Russian troops. 

The Russian defence ministry reported this morning that Moscow now controlled the Uspenivka and Novopustynka settlements (see 9.15 post).

Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces said on Telegram that military units had avoided being surrounded and would continue to operations in the Kurakhove-Konstantinopolske area.