Ukraine war latest: Kremlin denies Ukraine talks with Trump - and says Putin has no plans to talk to president-elect

Four killed in Russian missile attack in eastern Ukraine, says governor

Four people have died following a Russian missile attack on Kryvyi Rih, the area's regional governor has said.

Posting on Telegram, Serhiy Lysak said flats on the first five floors of a high-rise building had been destroyed in the attack.

"There may be people under the rubble," he said. "So far, there are four victims known."

One person has been hospitalised, while others who were injured were given medical assistance on the scene, he added.

"We are finding out information about the victims. Stay in a safe place. The air alert continues."

Kremlin denies call between Trump and Putin

The Kremlin has denied that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin engaged in a phone call last week when the US president-elect urged the Russian leader not to escalate the war in Ukraine.

The Washington Post and Reuters both reported that the call, which is said to have taken place in the days after the US election, also saw Mr Trump remind Mr Putin of America's sizeable military presence in Europe.

According to several other sources, the pair went on to discuss the goal of peace on the continent, as well as the prospect of a further call soon to look into the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

The Kremlin has denied such a call took place, calling the Washington Post report "pure fiction".

"This is the clearest example of quality of information sometimes published even in fairly reputable publications. It is entirely inaccurate. This is pure fabrication; it is simply false information," said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

He added that Mr Putin has "no specific plans" to speak to Mr Trump at the moment. 

Our Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett says Russia's denial of the call highlights how the Kremlin's interpretation of a second term for Mr Trump "is very hard to know."

"They are keeping their cards very close to their chest," he says.

People take shelter during Kyiv air raid alert

Earlier we mentioned that Ukraine had introduced emergency blackouts across the country due to the threat of Russian attacks.

Ukraine's air force said in a post on Telegram that Russian bombers were airborne, reporting a "missile danger throughout Ukraine".

Five people were killed in the Mykolaiv region and one was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region, where a residential building was destroyed, the governors of the regions said.

The Ukrainian air force said later it shot down two missiles and 39 out of 74 drones launched by Russia overnight. 

Trump Jr mocks Zelenskyy over losing 'allowance'

Donald Trump Jr has appeared to mock Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the Ukrainian president's "allowance" will run out when his father returns to the White House.

The son of the US president-elect shared a video on Instagram of Mr Zelenskyy looking unhappy alongside Donald Trump with the caption: "POV: You're 38 days from losing your allowance."

Mr Trump has previously suggested he could stop military aid being sent to Ukraine, calling Mr Zelenskyy "the greatest salesman of any politician that's every lived" in response to Kyiv's requests for more US funding.

He said of the Ukrainian leader in September: "We continue to give billions of dollars to a man who refuses to make a deal."

Mr Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours" of starting his second term, without explaining how he would do so.

Vladimir Putin has said that Mr Trump's comments about how to end the war in Ukraine "deserve attention at least".

Kyiv's concerns won't be entirely eased by Trump and Putin call

Reports of Donald Trump urging Vladimir Putin not to escalate Russia's war in Ukraine will "ease some concerns" for Kyiv and its allies, but not all of them, says Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.

As we mentioned earlier (see 7.13 post), the US president-elect reportedly spoke to Mr Putin last week when he is said to have reminded Moscow of America's sizeable military presence in Europe.

Mr Trump said several times during his election campaign that he would be able to end the war in Ukraine "within 24 hours" of taking office, without explaining how.

Kyiv and its allies fear that Mr Trump will give in to Moscow's demands in order to create peace, which include Ukraine ending its march towards NATO membership and giving up its territory currently occupied by Russian forces.

"These comments, or that first readout of this first contact between the two leaders post-election, I think will ease some concerns in Ukraine and among its Western allies, but not all of them," says Bennett.

"Ukraine is still deeply concerned about Donald Trump's stance on the conflict because of what else he said on the campaign trail consistently over the last 12-18 months."

Putin-Trump 'bromance' a concern

Bennett adds that talks of a resurrection in the "bromance" between Mr Trump and Mr Putin will be concerning for the West. 

Speaking at an event in Sochi last week, Mr Putin praised Mr Trump as a "courageous man" for his reaction to the assassination attempt made on him in July.

"They got on very well last time. There was all this talk of bromance," Bennett says. "It appears that Moscow wants to rekindle that relationship.

"I think there will be a lot of concern still in Ukraine and Western capitals about how this relationship develops."

Mr Trump is scheduled to meet Joe Biden later this week, when the current US president is expected to urge his successor not to abandon Kyiv.

US will stand with Ukraine for 'as long as it takes', says UK defence minister

Defence Secretary John Healey says he expects the US to stand with Ukraine for "as long as it takes" to prevail over Russia.

Donald Trump, who will return to the White House for a second term as president in January, has previously threatened to withdraw the US from NATO.

Mr Trump also said previously that he would encourage Russia to do "whatever the hell they want" to any NATO member country that doesn't meet spending guidelines on defence.

Speaking to Sky News, My Healey disagreed that the safety of Ukraine had fallen since Mr Trump won the US election last week.

"The US, alongside the UK, have been two of the leading countries that have been standing by Ukraine and supporting Ukraine," he said.

"Our determination to do so is just as strong. I was with NATO defence ministers just two weeks ago when all NATO nations recommitted to stepping up support for Ukraine."

On the US, Mr Healey said America has been "the outstanding supporter of Ukraine" because it recognises the importance of stopping "aggressors" like Mr Putin launching "illegal invasions".

"As far as President Trump goes, he recognises that countries get security through strength, just as alliances like NATO do," Mr Healey added.

"I expect the US to remain alongside allies like the UK, standing with Ukraine for as long as it takes to prevail over Putin's invasion."

Trump and Putin 'discuss Ukraine in call'

Donald Trump urged Vladimir Putin not to escalate the war in Ukraine in a phone call in the days after the presidential election, according to reports.

The US president-elect also reminded the Russian president of America's sizeable military presence in Europe during the conversation on Thursday, according to The Washington Post and Reuters, citing sources familiar with the call.

According to several other sources, the pair went on to discuss the goal of peace on the continent, as well as the prospect of a further call soon to look into the resolution of the conflict in Ukraine.

On Friday, the Kremlin said Mr Putin was ready to discuss Ukraine with Mr Trump - but that did not mean he was willing to alter Moscow's demands, namely that Ukraine drops its ambitions to join NATO and surrenders four territories currently held by Russia.

The Washington Post said two sources indicated the Ukrainian government was informed of the call between Mr Trump and Mr Putin - and did not object to the conversation taking place.

However, Ukraine's foreign ministry said it was "impossible" that Ukraine would have endorsed such a call and that reports otherwise were "false".

When asked about the call, Mr Trump's communications director Steven Cheung said: "We do not comment on private calls between President Trump and other world leaders."

The Russian embassy in Washington has so far not commented.

Russia and Ukraine trade 'record' number of drone strikes

As we mentioned in our last post, Moscow came under attack from what's been described as the largest Ukrainian drone strikes since the war began.

Three airports in the Russian capital were briefly closed yesterday, with flights rerouted.

Russia said its air defences intercepted 84 drones, with nearly half of them over Moscow and the remainder over western regions of the country.

"An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using airplane-type drones on the territory of the Russian Federation was thwarted," the country's foreign ministry said.

It added that falling debris in three settlements injured five people and caused four house fires.

The night before, Ukraine's air force reported that Russia had launched 145 drones across the entire country, with the majority being intercepted.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian air force said this was a "record" number.

Last night, Russian air attacks killed at least five people in Ukraine and injured 19 others, according to regional governors.

 Four people were reportedly killed in the Mykolaiv region and one was killed in the Zaporizhzhia region, where a residential building was destroyed.

Over the weekend, Moscow came under attack from the largest Ukrainian drone strikes since the war broke out - more on that shortly.

Meanwhile, in anticipation of what Kyiv expected to be a large-scale attack from Russia over the weekend, Ukraine introduced preventative power blackouts and urged people across the country to seek shelter. 

There had been reports that a large number of bombers were taking off from Russian territory for the first time in more than two months. 

So far, the expected missiles have not arrived. According to some Ukrainian military bloggers, the Russian bombers performed flights imitating the launch of missiles.

On the battlefield, Ukraine's top military commander has said Russian troops are trying to advance in the Kursk region, and that Moscow has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers in the region.

US contractors will help to repair F-16 jets and Patriot systems

A little earlier we brought you a report from Reuters news agency that US defence contractors will be allowed to work in Ukraine to maintain and repair weaponry provided by Washington.

We can bring you more information on this now from our US partner NBC News, including that the contractors will help with repairing American-provided equipment such as F-16 fighter jets and Patriot air defence systems. 

NBC understands the contractors will be located far from the frontlines and will not be fighting Russian forces. 

The extra help is being provided as some of the US-made equipment is technically difficult to maintain and repair.

The US Department of Defence made the decision after a risk assessment, and each contractor, organisation or company will need to come up with risk mitigation plans. 

-SKY NEWS