Russia Ukraine war latest: Zelensky says Patriot missiles could ‘close our skies’ but are just gathering dust

The US Treasury says it has transferred the $20bn US portion of a $50bn G7 loan for Ukraine to a World Bank intermediary fund for economic and financial aid to the war-torn country.

The disbursement prior to president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration in January is aimed at protecting the funds from being clawed back by his administration. Mr Trump has complained that the US is providing too much aid to Ukraine and said he will end the war quickly, without specifying how.

The Treasury said the disbursement makes good on its October commitment to match the European Union’s commitment to provide $20bn in aid backed by frozen Russian sovereign assets alongside smaller loans from Britain, Canada and Japan to help the Eastern European nation fight Russia’s invasion.

The $50bn in credit for 30 years will be serviced with the interest proceeds from some $300bn in frozen Russian sovereign assets that have been immobilised since Russia invaded in February 2022. The G7 democracies have been discussing the plan for months and agreed on terms in October, prior to Trump’s election.

A cat sanctuary that rescues lions from war-torn areas Ukraine has successfully met its fundraising goal to offer “forever homes” for the animals.

The Big Cat Sanctuary, the Kent-based charity behind the Big Cats in Crisis campaign, raised £500,000 to help rescue five lions, Yuna, Rori, Vanda, Amani, and Lira, from Ukraine to the Lion Rescue Centre in Smarden.

The funds will cover transportation fees, veterinary treatment, and the construction of a new habitat, which the sanctuary began in July and hopes to complete by the new year.

One African lioness, Yuna, was has seen grass for the first time since being rescued by the sanctuary after significant trauma.

Russia’s air defence units destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones overnight, all of them over the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.

The ministry did not mention a missile attack on Russia’s Rostov where local officials say an industrial facility was damaged.

Peace talks on the war in Ukraine could possibly start this winter, Donald Tusk said on Tuesday as Warsaw seeks to play a leading role in ending the conflict.

Poland has been one of Kyiv’s staunchest supporters since Russia’s 2022 invasion, and prime minister Tusk pledged to be heavily involved in any talks when it takes up the European Union’s rotating presidency on 1 January.

The silent black-and-white surveillance camera video of the Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro was brief but chilling: six huge fireballs pierced the darkness and slammed into the ground at astonishing speed.

Within hours of the 21 November attack on the military facility, Putin took the rare step of speaking on national TV to boast about the new, hypersonic missile. He warned the West that its next use could be against Ukraine’s Nato allies who allowed Kyiv to use their longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

Putin said the missile was called the “Oreshnik” — Russian for “hazelnut tree.”

Mr Trump’s comprehensive victory in the US election, which came off the back of his promises to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, has brought into sharp relief the difficult situation on the frontline for Kyiv.

Russian forces have continued to make gains in the eastern region of Donetsk, advancing along several fronts towards the city of Pokrovsk, a linchpin of the wider area’s defence.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine needs 10-12 more Patriot air defence systems that he said would fully protect its skies, asking his allies to not let the systems “gather dust”.

His plea came after a Russian missile killed at least four people and injured 20 more, including a child, in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia.

Signalling his frustration, Mr Zelensky said: “I sometimes do not get it… Everyone understands that an additional 10-12 Patriot systems for Ukraine will ensure life for us and make the war for (Russian president Vladimir) Putin meaningless”.

“We repeat again and again that air defences should save lives, not gather dust at storage bases,” he said.

Mr Zelensky urged allies to use frozen Russian funds to pay for more Patriots as Ukraine braces for another winter of Russian attacks on its devastated power system. “Please take the money from Russian assets – 30 billion it will cost. But it will fully close our skies,” he said, without specifying the currency.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has consistently asked its allies to supply more advanced air-defence systems.

The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Ukraine of F-16 sustainment services and related equipment for $266.4m (£208m), the Pentagon said.

The principal contractors will be Sabena, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Pratt and Whitney, the Pentagon said in a statement yesterday.

President Joe Biden is rushing out billions of dollars more in military aid before US support for Kyiv’s defences is thrown into question under the new administration.

The US has sent a total of $62bn in military aid since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and officials from the outgoing administration have said more help is on the way.

Close Putin aide and senior Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev has arrived in Beijing for two days of talks with Chinese leaders, Russian news agencies reported.

The visit by Mr Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s powerful Security Council, is the latest signal of the deepening relationship between Moscow and Beijing. Both sides have pledged to intensify a “no limits” partnership proclaimed in February 2022 just ahead of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov visited Beijing in October, with both sides saying his meetings focused on “substantive” defence and military talks to bolster ties.

Mr Medvedev, a former Russian president, has taken on the role of one of Moscow’s most vociferous hawks in justifying Moscow’s Ukraine invasion.

Britain announced a new round of sanctions on Monday, accusing Russia of supporting its war efforts in Ukraine and fostering corruption through the illicit gold trade.

According to an official notice, the government added one new designation under the Russia sanctions regime, one under the Democratic Republic of the Congo regime and three under the global anti-corruption system.

Following Russian president Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Britain and other major Western economies banned the import of new Russian gold in 2022. Russia has since found new outlets for the gold it produces.

Last week, Britain and the United States said that they had broken a global money laundering conspiracy used by wealthy Russians to circumvent sanctions.