Latest Ukraine war: Kremlin warns of Russia-NATO conflict as attacks on Odessa escalate

The Ukrainian military said Russia launched a major airstrike on Ukraine early this morning, just hours after Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Putin could launch a tough offensive over the festive period.

“Air defense forces are working to eliminate the threat in the skies of the capital,” the Kiev military administration said on Telegram.

It urged residents to stay in shelters until the all-clear is given.

Officials did not immediately report any casualties or damage. The full scale of the attack was not immediately known.

Just hours earlier, Zelensky said Ukraine was stepping up its intelligence and air defense work ahead of Christmas as Russian forces are expected to launch massive air strikes.

“We understand that these days they – it is in their nature – can carry out massive attacks over Christmas. And today we had a staff meeting on this, and the number one issue was air defense: the protection of our cities, villages and communities, especially on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. This needs to be addressed,” Zelenskyy said.

Several Ukrainian cities are under major airstrike alert as Russian forces launched massive missile and drone attacks, including targeting energy sites in the war-torn country’s far western regions.

The Ukrainian public broadcaster reported explosions in the communities of Burshtin and Rohatyn in the western cities of Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Explosions were also heard on the outskirts of Cherkasy city.

Ukraine’s air force has warned of hundreds of Russian drones and dozens of missiles being launched in the direction of Ukraine, as airstrike warnings were issued across almost all parts of the country.

Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said emergency power cuts have been imposed in several regions in the wake of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

“As soon as the security situation becomes favorable, rescue teams and energy experts will begin to address the consequences of the attack to restore power supply to the areas as quickly as possible,” the ministry said.

Poland shot down planes early today after Russia launched airstrikes on Ukraine, the Polish armed forces said.

The armed forces said the gathering of aircraft from the NATO nation is to ensure the security of airspace.

“Fight aircraft were deployed, and ground-based air-defense and radar reconnaissance systems were placed on highest readiness,” the operational command of the armed forces said.

“These measures are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing and protecting airspace, particularly over areas adjacent to threat areas,” it said.

Volodymyr Zelensky said talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s war in Ukraine with the US and European countries were “very close to the real outcome”.

Zelensky sent his own team of negotiators, including senior official Rustam Umerov, who held several meetings with US envoys to Florida along with European representatives.

The negotiating teams returned yesterday to report on the outcome of the discussions.

“It all sounds quite worthy… and what is important here is that this is the work of both us (Ukraine) and the United States. This shows that we are very close to the real result,” Zelensky said at a gathering dedicated to Ukrainian diplomats.

Zelensky said negotiators were working on a 20-point plan put forward by US envoys, which has been under discussion for weeks after an initial draft was criticized by Ukrainians and Europeans as being too tilted towards Russia.

“Not everything is ideal with this, but the plan is in place,” he said.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the latest talks between Russian and US officials in Miami over the war in Ukraine should not be seen as a breakthrough.

Calling it a “working process”, the close aide to Vladimir Putin said discussions are expected to continue in an expert-level format “cautiously” and that Russia’s priority is to receive details of Washington’s work with the Europeans and Ukrainians on a possible agreement from the United States.

He said Moscow would then decide to what extent those views match what he called “the spirit of Anchorage.”

Earlier, Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff said the talks had been “productive and constructive”.

Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is stepping up its intelligence and air defense work ahead of Christmas as Russian forces are expected to launch massive airstrikes.

“When the Germans and Americans proposed a Christmas armistice, there was nothing new in that the Russians immediately jumped into it and said: No, we do not want something like that. The problem is that when Russia says there will be no Christmas armistice, that is, in principle, always what they say – they deliberately underline such statements,” he said in a post on X.

“Following these indications, I directed my intelligence services to step up their work and get a clear picture of where we stand,” he said.

“We understand that these days they – it is in their nature – can carry out large-scale attacks over Christmas. And today we had a staff meeting on this, and the number one issue was air defense: the protection of our cities, villages and communities, especially on the 23rd, 24th and 25th. This needs to be addressed,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president said the military should “focus directly on ensuring security as much as possible”.

“Everything is very difficult because, unfortunately, there is a shortage of air defense systems,” Zelensky said. He urged people to be careful as nothing is “sacred” to Russians.

A fire has broken out at an industrial facility in Russia’s southern Stavropol region following an overnight Ukrainian drone strike, officials said.

Regional governor Vladimir Vladimirov confirmed the attack, but did not provide details of the facility burned in the attack. He said that there is no information about anyone being injured.

Russian oil major Lukoil runs the Stavropol petrochemical complex in Budyonnovsk, Stavropol, and the field also hosts gas pipeline infrastructure and fuel storage sites that make it part of Russia’s broader energy and chemicals system.

Ukraine has previously carried out attacks on the Stavrolein plant and has said its attacks inside Russia are aimed at weakening Russia’s military effort in the current war.

Timur Tkachenko, head of the Ukrainian capital’s military administration, said this morning that Russia launched an airstrike on Kiev early in the morning.

“Please stay in shelters until the all-clear is given!” Tkachenko said on his Telegram channel.

Europe is standing “on the edge of an abyss” with the possibility of an uncontrolled conflict between Russia and NATO, a senior Kremlin official has said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov made the comments at a Moscow-based think tank, where he blamed Western countries for threatening the continent’s stability — despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Ryabkov said Russia did not intend to attack Europe and “pursues aggressive goals attributed to our country”, but he could not ignore the risk of a head-to-head military conflict between nuclear powers, warning of potentially catastrophic consequences.

Even with what he said was a more “balanced” US policy since Donald Trump came to office, Ryabkov said the risk of a Russia-NATO conflict remained due to “hostile actions” by European countries.

Russian forces have stepped up their attacks on Ukraine’s Black Sea port of Odessa, causing major power outages and threatening maritime infrastructure in the region.

Late Monday night, Russian forces attacked the port, and damaged port facilities and a ship, the regional governor confirmed, the second attack on the region in less than 24 hours.

Governor Oleh Kipper said emergency teams were dealing with the aftermath of the latest attack, but he gave no further details. He said that there was no information about any casualty.

The attack earlier overnight hit port and energy infrastructure in the region, causing a fire at a major port and disrupting power supply to thousands of people.

Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Kuleba said Russia was carrying out “systematic” attacks on Odessa.

“Russia is attempting to disrupt maritime logistics by launching systematic attacks on port and energy infrastructure,” he said.

Ukrainian officials said that over the past few weeks, Russia has stepped up attacks on the Odessa port and the surrounding area, seeking to limit Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea and disrupt vital logistics routes to the border with Moldova.