The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday condemned the "indiscriminate terror" that Russia's latest missile attacks were inflicting on Ukraine. Read FRANCE 24's liveblog below to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
9:55pm: EU denounces Russia's 'indiscriminate terror' in Ukraine after fresh bombardments
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Friday condemned the "indiscriminate terror" that Russia's latest missile attacks were inflicting on Ukraine.
"These cruel, inhumane attacks aim to increase human suffering and deprive Ukrainian people, but also hospitals, emergency services and other critical services of electricity, heating and water," said Borrell in a statement.
"These bombings constitute war crimes and are barbaric. All those responsible shall be held accountable."
A fresh barrage of Russian missiles were unleashed across Ukraine Friday, killing several civilians and knocking out power and water plants, the country's officials reported.
8:26pm: Kyiv warns of long cuts after Russian missiles batter grid
A fresh barrage of deadly Russian strikes battered Ukraine on Friday, worsening dire conditions for Ukrainians and provoking accusations of "war crimes" from the European Union.
The strikes knocked out water and electricity services in several regions in a country already enduring near freezing temperatures.
The national energy provider warned Ukrainians it could take longer to restore electricity after dozens of Russian missiles targeted key infrastructure sites in the north, south and centre of the country.
"Priority will be given to critical infrastructure: hospitals, water supply facilities, heat supply facilities, sewage treatment plants," Ukrenergo said in a statement Friday.
7:09pm: Ukraine says Russia has enough missiles for several more massive strikes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Friday said Russia still had enough missiles for several more massive strikes like the one it launched earlier in the day against Ukraine's electricity generation system.
"Whatever the rocket worshipers from Moscow are counting on, it still won't change the balance of power in this war," he said in a video address.
7:05pm: Analysts doubt Ukrainian claims about Russian offensive
Ukraine claims that Russia is preparing a fresh offensive against Kyiv early next year, but analysts doubt that Moscow can regenerate its battered forces for such a major operation is so short a timeframe.
Speaking to The Economist this week, Ukrainian commander-in-chief General Valeriy Zaluzhny said he expected a new Russian assault on Kyiv in the first months of 2023. "The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv," Zaluzhny said. A major Russian attack could come "in February, at best in March and at worst at the end of January," he added.
Although Russia mobilised 300,000 reservists between September and October, military experts say the new troops are unlikely to be sufficiently trained or equipped to attempt another storming of the Ukrainian capital.
A first attempt in February and March ended in humiliation thanks to fierce defensive efforts by Ukraine coupled with major supply, intelligence and command problems in the Russian ranks. "Such an offensive does not appear very probable to me, but it's not impossible at the same time," independent Russian military analyst Alexander Khamchikhin told AFP.
Discussing Russian capabilities recently, US military expert Michael Kofman also judged Russia going on the offensive as a "rather unlikely scenario".
"They have significant ammunition constraints and the Russian military's performance now is very closely tied to the availability of artillery ammunition fires," Kofman told the War on the Rocks podcast.
Asked about the comments on Friday, the White House cast doubt on them. "We aren't seeing any indication that there's an imminent move on Kyiv," said White House spokesman John Kirby. Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder declined "to get into speculating on potential future ops" but added that "we know that Russia continues to try to take offensive action."
4:46pm: Putin 'planning for a long war' in Ukraine, NATO's Stoltenberg says
Russia is readying for a protracted war in Ukraine and Kyiv's NATO backers must keep sending weapons until President Vladimir Putin realises he "cannot win on the battlefield", alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg told AFP on Friday.
Almost 10 months into Moscow's invasion, Kyiv's forces have inflicted a succession of defeats on the Kremlin that have seen swathes of territory liberated.
But NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg warned there was no sign Putin had "given up his overall goal of controlling Ukraine".
"We should not underestimate Russia. Russia is planning for a long war," Stoltenberg said in an interview.
"We see that they are mobilising more forces, that they are willing to suffer also a lot of casualties, that they are trying to get access to more weapons and ammunition," he added.
"We have to understand that President Putin is ready to be in this war for a long time and to launch new offensives."
3:57pm: Croatia rejects joining in EU's Ukraine training mission
Croatian lawmakers on Friday rejected a government bid for the country to help train Ukrainian soldiers as part of a European Union mission.
The vote in parliament was held after Croatia's president previously had refused to sign off on the proposal, saying it was not in accordance with the Constitution.
President Zoran Milanovic has been an outspoken critic of Western policies in Ukraine. He has advocated that Croatia offer only humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion.
2:16pm: New EU sanctions target Russian military-industrial complex
The European Union said Friday its latest round of sanctions will hit Russia's military-industrial complex, as well as people and groups that are attacking Ukrainian civilians or kidnapping children.
Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice president, said the package will deal a blow to 168 “entities” – companies or state organisations – as well as some two dozen individuals.
The ninth package of EU punitive measures against Russia for its war in Ukraine was approved by EU leaders at a summit Thursday. It was formally adopted Friday by written procedure.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the package also focuses “on tech, finance and media to push the Russian economy and war machine further off the rails".
1:35pm: Kyiv metro to remain offline due to power cuts
Ukraine said Friday the metro system in the capital would remain out of service for the rest of the day after Russian strikes targeted electricity infrastructure.
"Due to damage to the power system and emergency power outages, subway trains will not run until the end of the day today. At the same time, underground stations will operate in shelter mode," Kyiv city officials announced in a statement online.
1:18pm: Ukraine grid operator warns of longer repair time after latest Russian attacks
Ukraine's power grid operator said on Friday it would take longer to repair the national grid and restore power than it did after previous Russian missile attacks.
Russia fired more than 70 missiles at Ukraine on Friday, according to the Ukrainian military. Following the attacks, the grid operator said: "Considering this is already the ninth wave of missile strikes on energy facilities, the restoration of power supply may take longer than before."
"Priority will be given to critical infrastructure facilities: hospitals, water supply facilities, heat supply facilities, and sewage treatment plants," it said.
12:02pm: Ukraine shot down 37 out of 40 Russian missiles in Kyiv area, military says
Ukrainian air defences shot down 37 of 40 incoming Russian missiles in the Kyiv area on Friday, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian capital's military administration said.
The missile attack was one of Russia's largest since the start of the war, Mykhailo Shamanov, the spokesperson, said on television. Ukrainian air defences also shot down 10 missiles over the Dnipropetrovsk region, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a separate statement on Telegram.
11:42am: Russia rains missiles on Ukraine's infrastructure
FRANCE 24 correspondent Gulliver Cragg reports that the long-range rockets Russia fired at Ukraine have also had an effect on the country's train system. This morning nearly 20 trains are running with delays of more than an hour. The Kyiv railway station and other stations are also being used as shelters for civilians.
11:26am: Russian strikes cause 'colossal' infrastructure damage in Ukraine's Kharkiv
Russian missile strikes caused "colossal" damage to infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Friday and mainly affected the energy system, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
"There is colossal damage to infrastructure, primarily the energy system," he said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "I ask you to be patient with what is happening now. I know that in your houses there is no light, no heating, no water supply."
11:16am: Putin to meet Lukashenko in Belarus on Monday
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart and ally Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin said.
Moscow announced the pair will discuss Russian-Belarusian integration "as well as current topics on the international and regional agenda".
The visit comes 10 months into Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which was launched from several directions, including Belarusian territory.
Minsk had announced the visit earlier on Friday and the presidential office said the leaders will hold one-on-one talks as well as wider negotiations with their ministers on "Belarusian-Russian integration".
10:33am: Deadly Russian shelling cuts off Kherson power
Russian forces bombarded Kherson on Thursday, killing two people and depriving the Ukrainian city of electricity.
Despite Russia's retreat from the southern port city in November, Kherson remains within reach of Moscow's weaponry and under constant threat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces had attacked Kherson 16 times on Thursday alone.
The International Committee of the Red Cross confirmed that a Ukrainian Red Cross worker had been killed by the strikes and urged that humanitarian "personnel and property" be spared.
While winter temperatures plunge below freezing, the heavy shelling has left Kherson "completely without power", according to regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych.
10:00am: Russian strikes kill two in Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih
A Russian rocket hit a residential building Friday in the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing two people and injuring five, the region's governor said.
"Two people have died," Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said, adding that "at least five people were injured, including two children. All are in hospital."
9:54am: 'Explosions' in Kyiv, strikes in other Ukraine regions
Ukrainian authorities reported explosions in at least three cities Friday, saying Russia has launched a major missile attack on energy facilities and infrastructure.
Local authorities on social media reported explosions in the capital, Kyiv, northeastern Kharkiv and southern Kryvyi Rih as air raid alarms sounded across the country, warning of a new barrage of the strikes that have occurred intermittently since mid-October.
Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in at least four districts, urging residents to go to shelters.
“The attack on the capital continues,” he wrote on Telegram. Subway services in the capital were suspended, he said, as city residents flocked inside its tunnels deep underground to seek shelter.
Kharkiv is without electricity, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Telegram. Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported three strikes on the city’s critical infrastructure.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a top official in Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, reported a strike on a residential building in Kryvyi Rih, warning on Telegram: “There may be people under the rubble.” Emergency services were on site, he said.
7:44am: Air raid sirens sound across Ukraine and in capital Kyiv
Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine, including in the capital Kyiv on Friday, signalling another Russian missile attack, the country's officials said.
"Do not ignore air raid alerts, remain in shelters," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office said on the Telegram messaging app.
As many as 60 Russian missiles have been spotted heading to Ukrainian air space, said Vitaly Kim, the governor of the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine.
"A part of them is already over northern Ukraine," he wrote on Telegram.
7:32am: EU to confirm new sanctions on Russia
European Union leaders wrapped up their last summit of 2022 with an agreement to provide €18 billion in new financing to Ukraine next year and to slap more sanctions on Russia, including blacklisting nearly 200 people and barring investment in Russia's mining industry.
Few details of the deal, which requires unanimity across the bloc, were immediately available.
The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, last week proposed travel bans and asset freezes on almost 200 more Russian officials and military officers as part of the new round of measures. The targets of the recommended sanctions included government ministers, lawmakers, regional governors and political parties.
The Commission also wanted to hit the Russian defence industry and more Russian banks, and to impose export controls and restrictions on products like chemicals, nerve agents, electronics and IT components that could be used by the armed forces.
It was unclear whether the proposals had significantly changed during final negotiations among member countries.
EU leaders will formally confirm the new round of sanctions on Friday.
12:14am: World Bank launches $2 billion package to support Ukraine's private sector
The World Bank on Thursday announced a $2 billion package to support Ukraine's private sector, in a bid to help pave the way for reconstruction amid the devastation resulting from Russia's invasion.
The latest package by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the bank's development arm focused on private-sector development in emerging markets, adds to its ongoing support of Ukraine.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
