Russia Ukraine war live: Child killed in Russian attack as Putin issues ‘serious’ warning to west

The Russian death toll has reached just over 350,000 since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has claimed.

According to their estimates, Russia has also lost 5,858 tanks, 10,888 armored fighting vehicles and 8,314 artillery systems since 24 February 2022.

The figures, provided by Ukraine’s armed forces, have not been independently verified.

Ex-Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a bomb plot orchestrated by Vladimir Putin’s oldest ally, a Russian intelligence officer has claimed.

Mr Prigozhin, who was killed when his plane crashed over Russia on 23 August this year, launched a mutiny against the Russian ministry of defence in June following a long-running feud with officials over the direction of the war in Ukraine.

At the time, the Kremlin denied any involvement with his death and characterised western intelligence assessments of Putin’s culpability as an “absolute lie”.

A Russian intelligence officer has now said former KGB officer and long-time Putin ally Nikolai Patrushev personally oversaw the planning of the operation which involved planting a bomb under the wing of Prigozhin’s aircraft.

A child and three other civilians have been killed as nine others were injured in Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast over the last day, the region’s governor said.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the region was attacked 88 times with targets including medical facilities, residential areas, and educational institutions.

Russia regularly attacks Kherson from the east of the Dnipro, after Ukrainian forces liberated the city in November 2022.

European countries are behind the curve on military production and capacity compared to Russia, Poland’s foreign minister warned.

“As the west, we are 20 times richer than Russia, but if Russia puts its economy on a wartime footing and we continue on a peacetime basis, they can outproduce us,” Radosław Sikorski said.

“Wars are not decided by tactical engagements but by industrial capacities, and we are behind the curve.”

Ukrainian refugees have expressed their shock at spending their second Christmas in the UK and shared their hopes for 2024, including overcoming the trauma of war and building better lives for their children.

Earlier this year, Ukraine officially changed the day it celebrates Christmas from the Orthodox Church date of January 7 – as is traditional in Russia – to December 25, in a government move designed to distance themselves from their invaders.

Ukrainians living in the UK have said the move makes “complete sense” and will match their government’s plans, while others said they plan to have two celebrations.

Danielle Desouza reports:

Russia launched 15 drones at Ukraine, mostly in the south of the country, overnight with air defences destroying 14 of them, Ukrainian military said on Sunday.

“As a result of air combat, Ukraine’s Air Force and defence forces destroyed 14 shaheds in Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi regions,” the Ukrainian Air Force said on the Telegram messaging app.

The drones were launched from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov in Russia, it said.

Reuters could not independently verify the report. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

No damage or casualties have been reported by military and civilian authorities.

When Alexis Cholas lost his right arm as a volunteer combat medic near the front lines in eastern Ukraine, his civilian career as a surgeon was over. But thanks to a new bionic arm, he was able to continue working in health care and is now a rehab specialist helping other amputees.

The 26-year-old is delighted with his sleek black robotic arm — he described it as “love at first sight” — and realizes how lucky he was to get one.

“There are fewer (bionic) arms available than lost ones,” Cholas said.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has created a massive need for prosthetic limbs. An estimated 20,000 Ukrainians have had amputations since the war started in February 2022, many of them soldiers who lost arms or legs due to blast wounds.

The Communist Party of Russia has selected a 75-year-old candidate to run against Vladimir Putin, who belongs to United Russia, in the country’s upcoming elections.

At a party congress in the Moscow region, members held a single-candidate vote backing Nikolai Kharitonov who has vowed to achieve victory on “all fronts”.

On paper the Party is in opposition to United Russia, but in reality it backs Vladimir Putin up. It is widely expected Mr Putin will win the election in March 2024.

Fighting age Ukrainian men living in Estonia could be extradited to join the country’s war effort against Russia, Tallin’s internal affairs minister said.

“If Ukraine needs it, Estonia can search for this person and extradite him to Ukraine. In general, we know where these people are and what they do. The majority go to work and have a place of residence in Estonia,” Lauri Läänemets said.

It comes after president Volodymyr Zelensky said his generals were looking to mobilise up to half a million new soldiers to push back Putin’s invading army.

The Ukrainian army has counted around 500,000 servicemen, 200,000 of which are active military personnel, according to recent figures.

Under Ukrainian law, only men aged 27 to 60 can be mobilised for the front line, although younger men can volunteer to fight.