Ukraine war latest: Russia claims responsibility for Kyiv attack; Ukraine hit by 'largest cyber attack in recent times'

Kyiv church damaged during missile attack

This morning's missile attack in Kyiv damaged the capital's second-oldest Catholic church.

Windows were broken on the front of the St Nicholas Church, with the business centre located opposite the building severely damaged by the Russian attack.

Kremlin addresses Putin's 'missile duel' proposal

A Kremlin spokesperson has 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.

Addressing Western scepticism about the missile, Russia's president proposed that both Moscow and Washington select a designated target to be protected by US air defences.

Putin put forward the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as a suitable target.

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."

Orban tells EU to wait for Trump before extending Russia sanctions

Viktor Orban has reportedly told EU leaders that he wants to wait until Donald Trump's inauguration before deciding whether to extend the bloc's sanctions against Russia.

The EU's sanctions on Moscow must be extended by unanimous vote every six months, though Hungary's prime minister surprised his counterparts yesterday by saying he wasn't ready to move forward with the extension, sources told Bloomberg.

"I suggest to Europeans to have strategic patience," Orban told reporters in Brussels yesterday. "We should not do anything that would go against this future transatlantic relationship."

Orban is a close ally of Trump and visited him in Florida earlier this month. The US president-elect has caused concern in the EU and Kyiv for hinting that he would reduce support for Ukraine when he gets back into office.

Latest battlefield updates

Here are the latest updates from the Ukraine-Russia front in maps.

Moscow's troops are continuing to conduct assaults on positions in Ukraine's south and east, though not as fast as they were last month.

The Institute for the Study of War said that Russian forces advanced at a rate of roughly 27.96 square kilometres per day in November, but that has dropped to 17.1 square kilometres per day this month.

The Russian defence ministry said this morning that Moscow now controlled the Uspenivka and Novopustynka settlements in Ukraine's Donetsk region, state news agency RIA reported. 

Russia launched 60 drones overnight, says Ukraine

Ukraine's air force says it recorded the launch of 60 Russian drones and five missiles overnight.

Of these, it said that 40 drones had been successfully shot down and it had lost track of 20.

 "As a result of the nighttime missile and drone strike, private and apartment buildings, medical facilities, warehouses and farms in the Dnipropetrovsk, Sumy, Kyiv and Kharkiv regions were hit," the air force said on Telegram. 

Commenting further on this morning's attack on Kyiv, the report said that Russia had successfully hit the capital with five missiles that had caused damage in five districts.

Turkey receives sanctions waiver for gas payments to Russia

Turkey can continue paying for Russian natural gas imports via Gazprombank despite US sanctions on the bank, Ankara's energy minister said this morning.

The US imposed new sanctions on Russia's Gazprombank last month, creating an obstacle for buyers of Russian gas, which had been using the bank to make payments. 

Turkey imports almost all its gas requirement and Russia is its top supplier, providing more than 50% of the country's pipeline imports.

But speaking this morning, Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkey has received an exemption, allowing it to continue paying for Russian gas imports via Gazprombank.

The US also granted a waiver to Hungary yesterday, which mainly relies on Russian oil and gas.

Kyiv strikes were response to Ukrainian attack in Rostov, says Moscow

Russia's defence ministry says this morning's air strikes on Kyiv were in direct response to a previous attack from Ukraine on its southern Rostov region.

The ministry said Kyiv launched six US-made long-range ATACMs missiles and four British-made Storm Shadow missiles at Rostov on Wednesday.

In response, Moscow says it carried out strikes on several military targets in the capital, adding that "all objects" had been hit.

Moscow to press Trump for return of diplomatic properties

Donald Trump should prepare for the fact that Moscow will constantly "pester" Washington on the issue of returning Russia's diplomatic properties, says the country's deputy foreign minister.

Washington has seized several Russian buildings during the last decade, some in response to alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Two buildings in New York and Maryland used as holiday homes for diplomats and their families have been shut, as have the Russian consulates in San Francisco and Seattle.

Sergey Ryabkov told Russian newspaper Izvestia that the issue "cannot be closed" unless Moscow can ensure the return "of all unlawfully seized objects of diplomatic property".

"We have worked on that, and we will keep working in the future. We remain focused on the issue, so the new administration should be prepared that we will constantly pester them in that regard. 

"I don’t want to use this word, but this is exactly how it will look."

Anatoly Antonov, former Russian ambassador to the United States, said this year that the issue of returning Russian diplomatic properties in the US has been "discussed at all levels".

"However, Washington does not want to talk to us and limits itself to formal replies to Russian demands."

ICYMI: Zelenskyy calls Putin a 'scumbag' over Kyiv comments

In case you missed it yesterday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave a determined response to hostile comments made by Vladimir Putin at an annual news conference in Moscow.

The Russian leader said he wanted to "strike somewhere in Kyiv" using a "new missile" and "see what happens".

Responding to the comments, Zelenskyy said: "Do you think that's a sane person? Simply scumbags."

One dead as Kyiv hit by missile attack

Earlier, we reported on a missile attack that hit Ukraine's capital of Kyiv.

Reports on the ground said explosions were heard in the city at around 7am (5am UK time).

The attack has killed at least one person, the head of the city's military administration said earlier.

We now have images from the aftermath of those strikes, showing damaged buildings and emergency services battling fires and clearing debris.

Russia conducted mass cyber attack on Ukraine's state registries, deputy PM says

Ukraine's deputy prime minister says Russia has carried out the largest external cyber attack in recent times on the country's state registries.

The registries contain vital information about Ukrainian citizens such as births, deaths, marriages and property ownership.

"As a result of this targeted attack, the work of the unified and state registries, which are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, was temporarily suspended," Olha Stefanishyna said.

She said it was clear the attack was "carried out by the Russians to disrupt the work of the country's critically important infrastructure".

Work to restore operations would require about two weeks, but offices would be providing some services today, Ms Stefanishyna added.

"After restoration is completed, a thorough analysis of the attack will be conducted to increase protection against similar attacks in the future," she said.

-SKY NEWS