Russia Ukraine war live: Kyiv blows up major Russian navy vessel

Russia has confirmed that one of its warships has been damaged after being struck by Ukrainian missiles.

In a statement on Telegram, the Russia Ministry of Defence admitted the large landing ship known as the Nobocherkassk, had been hit in the Crimean base of Feodosia.

Earlier, Ukraine had claimed it destroyed the landing ship.

It is rare that the Russian MoD admits ships have been damaged by Ukraine.

This has sparked concerns in Poland and other countries in the region.

The shipments of these tactical nuclear weapons were completed in October, Mr Lukashenko revealed at a meeting of a Moscow-led economic bloc in St Petersburg. However, he did not share further details regarding the quantity of weapons sent and their specific deployment locations.

Russian troops stationed in Belarus invaded Ukraine from the north during the opening days of the war in February last year, but Belarusian forces are not known to have participated actively.

“And the fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller! Thanks to the Air Force pilots and everyone involved for the filigree work,” the top commander said. He shared a 48-second video of the assault, captured from a distance, depicting a massive cloud of smoke and fire raging in the sky.

The official did not share the photo of the destroyed landing ship.

Pope Francis blasted the weapons industry and its “instruments of death” that fuel wars as he made a Christmas Day appeal for peace in the world and in particular between Israel and the Palestinians.

Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to the throngs of people below, Francis said he grieved the “abominable attack” of Hamas against southern Israel on 7 Octoberand called for the release of hostages.

And he begged for an end to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the “appalling harvest of innocent civilians” as he called for humanitarian aid to reach those in need.

Ukrainian refugees are arriving at UK airports with fake visas and false promises of a Homes for Ukraine sponsor family after being targeted by “extremely sophisticated” scams, charities have warned, Andy Gregory reports.

Charities told The Independent that they are dealing with increasing numbers of cases in which Ukrainians have been tricked into paying hundreds of pounds for letters giving them “permission to travel” to the UK and fake British visas, by criminals taking advantage of their desperation to leave.

The visas are impossible to identify as fraudulent by sight, meaning that Ukrainians are permitted to travel by airline staff, only to be told by Border Force that their documents are not valid, according to the charity Settled, which says it is now dealing with between one and five such cases each week.

Ukraine’s air force on Monday reported that it shot down two Russian fighter jets during the night along with two cruise missiles and 28 Shahed-type drones.

The report said the attacks were aimed at southern and central regions of Ukraine, but that no casualties were immediately known. It said that 31 drones were launched in all, but details of what the three that weren’t intercepted may have struck weren’t given.

A summary from the Ukrainian presidential office said that one civilian was killed and at least four wounded in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours.

Russia has shipped nuclear weapons to Belarus in a move intended to deter what Minsk claims to be Polish aggression in the region.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said the shipments were completed in October, but did not give details of how many weapons were sent or where they have been deployed.

Mr Lukashenko claimed hosting Russian nuclear weapons was intended to deter aggression by neighbouring Nato member Poland.

The United States welcomed reports that jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny had been located but remained “deeply concerned” about his well-being, the U.S. State Department said, calling for his immediate release.

Navalny has been tracked down to a penal colony north of the Arctic Circle, his spokeswoman said on Monday, after supporters lost touch with him for more than two weeks.

Navalny’s allies had been preparing for his expected transfer to a “special regime” colony, the harshest grade in Russia’s prison system, and had said earlier he had not been seen by his lawyers since Dec. 6, raising alarm about his fate.

Former Russia Today host Anton Krasovsky has been hospitalized after falling sick, he wrote on Telegram on 24 December Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske later said he had been poisoned, citing anonymous sources in Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) on 25 December.

The source did not comment on whether HUR was involved in the alleged poisoning. Krasovsky reported that his health began worsening early last week. HUR spokespeople did not respond to the Kyiv Independent’s requests to comment.

“In the beginning of the week I had a stomach ache, I started to feel sick, then fainted. I was taken to a clinic. I am gradually recovering,” Mr Krasovsky wrote in a post on Telegram.

Russia has shipped nuclear weapons to Belarus in a move intended to deter what Minsk claims to be Polish aggression in the region.

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko said the shipments were completed in October, but did not give details of how many weapons were sent or where they have been deployed.

Mr Lukashenko claimed hosting Russian nuclear weapons was intended to deter aggression by neighbouring Nato member Poland.