Ukraine updates: Kyiv says it hit Russia fuel facility
Published November 25, 2024last updated November 25, 2024
What you need to know
Ukrainian authorities said their drones have hit a fuel and energy facility in the Russian region of Kaluga.
The region's governor has confirmed that an "industrial enterprise" had caught fire.
It is Kyiv's latest attack on Moscow's energy sites, as both sides seek to damage power production and distribution with cross-border attacks.
Meanwhile, some 23 people were wounded in attacks on the northern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
This blog is now closed. Here's a roundup of the developments in Russia's war in Ukraine on Monday, November 25:
Germany’s Pistorius calls on Europe to step up Ukraine support
The defense ministers of Germany, France, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom have held talks in Berlin to discuss strengthen security in Europe.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said NATO countries were looking to ramp up arms production within Ukraine in response to Russia's continued invasion.
Pistorius spoke about the importance of the development and procurement of drones including cooperation to improve the manufacture of ammunition.
"Ukraine must be able to act from a position of strength," Pistorius said in Berlin after hosting the meeting of the "Group of Five" leading nations in European defense.
Russia's use of a new medium-range missile on Ukraine had security implications for all of Europe and was a topic of discussion, Pistorius said.
"Russian threats are always directed at us at the same time," Pistorius said.
The talks came against the backdrop of last week's escalating attacks that saw Ukraine use longer range missiles from the US and UK on targets inside Russia, which then launched what it called a retaliatory attack using a new hypersonic missile on Ukraine.
Kharkiv mayor says 23 injured in air attacks
Russia has launched heavy air attacks on Ukraine, with 19 people injured in the second-largest city of Kharkiv, the city's mayor has said.
Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Kharkiv was hit by a repurposed S-400 air defense missile.
He said 23 people had been injured and some 40 buildings, including official or administrative offices, were damaged.
Meanwhile, in the southeastern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhya, the regional administration said a child was injured, with infrastructure facilities as well as residential buildings damaged.
Governor Ivan Fedorov wrote of a massive drone attack in the area on the messaging platform Telegram.
Russia captures UK man fighting for Ukraine, reports say
Russian media is reporting that Moscow's military has captured a British national fighting with Ukrainian troops occupying part of Russia's Kursk region.
The Briton has been identified by state news agency Tass and other media as James Scott Rhys Anderson. The agency quoted him as saying that he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years before joining the International Legion of Ukraine, which was formed early on in Russia's full-scale war against its neighbor.
A video shared by pro-Kremlin social media channels over the weekend showed a man appearing to have his hands tied and identifying himself as James Anderson.
He said he had joined the Ukrainian army after being dismissed from the British army in 2023, and was reportedly taken prisoner in the Russian border region of Kursk.
Meanwhile, the UK Foreign Office said it was "supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention."
British government travel advice has previously warned citizens not to travel to Ukraine "to fight, or to assist others engaged in the war." It says anyone who does so could be prosecuted under UK law.
German vice-chancellor admits Berlin 'always too late' with Ukraine weapons
German Economy Minister Robert Habeck says his country has made errors in its help for Ukraine, including its timing in sending badly needed weapons to the country after Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Habeck, who is also vice chancellor in a crumbling coalition led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, was speaking to German public broadcaster ARD's talk show "Miosga."
The Green party politician lamented Germany's delayed shipments of Leopard tanks, adding that the strategy was now repeating itself over the delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles.
Scholz staunchly opposes such a deployment, while Habeck supports sending them. However, the vice-chancellor also noted that caution and a cool head were needed.
Habeck also backed Scholz's recent phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a discussion that provoked strong criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and others.
It was Scholz's first conversation with Putin in two years.
Ukraine says it hit oil depot south of Moscow
The Ukrainian military said it struck an oil depot in Russia's western Kaluga region overnight into Monday.
"As a result of an operation by the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, a fuel and energy facility in the Kaluga region of Russia was hit overnight," the AFP news agency cited a source as saying.
"The target of the attack was an oil depot of Kaluganefteprodukt JSC, which is involved in supporting Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine," the source said.
Moscow and Kyiv have ramped up drone and missile attacks against cross-border targets, with Russia last week launching its new Oreshnik missile on Ukraine.
The governor of Kaluga, which lies south of the Russian capital, Moscow, said air defense systems in the region had downed eight drones. He confirmed that an "industrial enterprise" had caught fire.
Unverified social media images of the alleged attack showed tracer ammunition in the night sky and a large fire next to two industrial chimneys.
The Ukrainian military also said it hit "a number of important targets" in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions, which both border Ukraine.
rc/wd (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)