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Ukraine's military said on Friday that it repelled an overnight drone attack on the country, including on the capital Kyiv, a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on the war-battered nation. The military added that a total of 16 drones were launched from the southeastern and northern directions and they were "all" destroyed by Ukraine's air defence. Follow our live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
10:45am: Putin tells Xi he wants to ramp up military cooperation
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday he was keen to ramp up military cooperation and hailed the two countries' efforts to counter Western influence.
Battered by unprecedented Western sanctions over Moscow's assault against Ukraine, Putin has hoped to strengthen political and military ties with China. Yet Moscow's offensive in Ukraine is a sensitive issue for Beijing. China has sought to position itself as neutral over the conflict but has offered diplomatic backing to its strategic ally Russia as the new Cold War intensifies between Beijing and Washington.
"We aim to strengthen cooperation between the armed forces of Russia and China," Putin told Xi by video link at the start of the talks, calling the Chinese leader a "dear friend". The Russian president also hailed the efforts of Moscow and Beijing to counter "unprecedented Western pressure and provocations".
10:28am: War is 'frozen into a stalemate'
More than 10 months into the Russian-Ukrainian War, the conflict is "pretty much frozen into a stalemate," says FRANCE 24 senior journalist Catherine Norris-Trent, who has reported from Ukraine. "Ukraine's head of military intelligence said as much yesterday, saying that as things stand neither side is making the big advances of earlier in the war. So, frozen around the […] town of Bakhmut in the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, with really really intense fighting going on for the past six months, but reality in recent weeks [it has been] incredibly deadly there.
"And now Ukraine is managing to hold the town; Ukraine has only managed to advance by metres at a time. But that is one of the main flashpoints that we're seeing. It's trench warfare; it's very very static there."
8:28am: Ukraine says it repelled overnight drone strike from Russia
Ukraine's army said Friday that it repelled an overnight drone attack on the country a day after Russia launched a barrage of missiles on the war-battered nation.
"On the night of December 29-30, the enemy attacked Ukraine with Iranian-made kamikaze drones," Ukraine's air force said in a statement on social media. It added that a total of 16 drones were launched from the southeastern and northern directions and they were "all" destroyed by Ukraine's air defence.
In the capital Kyiv, city authorities announced an air alert at 2:12am local time (2412 GMT), which lasted for just over two hours. Mayor Vitali Klitschko later said the capital was attacked with seven drones: two were shot down "on approach" and five were shot down over the city. There were no casualties, but falling debris damaged windows in two buildings in a southwestern neighbourhood, he added.
8:23am: NATO's Stoltenberg calls for more weapons for Ukraine
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine, according to an interview published on Friday.
"I call on allies to do more. It is in all our security interests to make sure Ukraine prevails and (Russian President Vladimir) Putin does not win," Stoltenberg told German news agency DPA.
>> Why the US declined to send Ukraine long-range missiles, tanks
He said it was perhaps even more important that Ukraine receive enough ammunition for the systems already in place, adding that the need for ammunition and spare parts was "enormous".
8:10am: Permitted share of yuan in Russian wealth fund doubled to 60%
Russia's finance ministry on Friday said the maximum possible share of Chinese yuan in its National Wealth Fund (NWF) had been doubled to 60 percent as it restructures its rainy-day fund to reduce dependency on currencies from so-called "unfriendly" nations.
The ministry said the permitted share of gold in the NWF would also be doubled, to 40%. Russia has been using its NWF, which stood at $186.5 billion as of December 1, to finance its widening budget deficit this year.
Moscow has deepened its economic ties to non-Western countries to mitigate the fallout from Western sanctions.
7:32am: Fresh wave of Russian air strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure
"First they saw Russia's 10th widespread missile strike on Ukraine since it started using the tactic in October […] as Moscow tries to increase the pressure on a beleaguered and cold population," FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago reported from Kyiv.
"However, Ukraine has also shown its own experience with air defence, bringing down 54 of 69 missiles. One of its own defence rockets, though, seems to have strayed into Belarus, where it was reportedly shot down, with Minsk summoning the Ukrainian ambassador for an explanation. The strikes left Ukrainian cities yet again struggling with major power losses."
4:00am: Sirens wail across Kyiv, residents urged to seek shelter
Residents of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters early on Friday as sirens wailed across the city, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since it started the war in February.
Shortly after 2:00am, Kyiv's city government issued an alert on its Telegram messaging app channel about the air raid sirens and called on residents to proceed to shelters.
Olekskiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, said on Telegram that an "attack by drones" was under way. A Reuters witness 20 km (12 miles) south of Kyiv heard several explosions and the sound of anti-aircraft fire.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a video address on Thursday night, said air commands in central, southern, eastern and western Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones on Thursday.
1:35am: Britain sends metal detectors, defusing equipment to Ukraine
Britain said on Friday it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 bomb deactivating kits to help clear minefields in the latest instance of military support for the country in the conflict with Russia.
"Russia's use of landmines and targeting of civilian infrastructure underline the shocking cruelty of Putin's invasion," British defence minister Ben Wallace said in a statement.
"This latest package of UK support will help Ukraine safely clear land and buildings as it reclaims its rightful territory."
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AFP and AP)
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