Russia launches massive missile and drone assault on Ukrainian capital

Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital Kyiv with a combination of missiles and drones for the first time in 73 days on Wednesday.

A warehouse was struck and caught fire in the Brovary district of the capital's region, and a 48-year-old man was injured as a result of the fall of the debris of downed enemy targets.

Air raid warnings were sounding for hours as Russia targeted a total of eight regions in Ukraine, firing six ballistic and cruise missiles and some 90 drones, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.

The statement said air defences downed four missiles and 37 drones, and electronic jamming stopped another 47 drones. The overall damage is still being assessed.

The air assault came as most of the more than 10,000 North Korean troops sent by Pyongyang to help Moscow in the war are engaged in combat in Russia's Kursk border region, according to the Pentagon.

A Ukrainian army incursion into Kursk three months ago has succeeded in holding a broad area of land and has embarrassed the Kremlin. Kyiv officials say that Russia has deployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk in a bid to dislodge the Ukrainians.

At the same time, Kyiv forces are also straining to hold back a months-long Russian onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region.

Biden's final efforts for Ukraine

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the Biden administration is determined in its final months to help ensure that Ukraine can keep fighting off next year, sending it as much aid as possible so that it might hold Russian forces at bay and possess a strong hand in any potential peace negotiations.

“President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and 20 January,” when president-elect Donald Trump is due to be sworn in, Blinken said.

Meanwhile, NATO countries must focus their efforts on “ensuring that Ukraine has the money, munitions and mobilised forces to fight effectively in 2025, or to be able to negotiate a peace from a position of strength,” Blinken said during a visit to Brussels.

Political uncertainty over how a US administration under Trump will change Washington’s policy on the war is a key new factor in the conflict.

US military aid is vital for Ukraine, but Trump has signalled that he doesn’t want to keep giving tens of billions of dollars to Kyiv, repeatedly claiming he is keen on finding a peaceful solution to Russia's ongoing full-scale invasion. He has yet to reveal how he plans to do so.