Ukraine-Russia war: Putin hails ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic missiles amid veiled threats

Russia’s defence ministry said the country’s air defence systems destroyed 34 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 27 over the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

However, the ministry did not share more details on an earlier statement by the Kursk governor that two “Ukrainian missiles” were also destroyed over the region by defence units.

Meanwhile, explosions were reportedly heard early on Sunday in Kyiv.

The blasts sounded like air defence units at work, Reuters reported citing witnesses and Ukraine’s local media.

Ukraine’s air defence units have downed 50 out of 73 Russian drones fired overnight, including more than 10 that were targeting Kyiv, Ukraine’s military has said.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries as result of the attack, Kyiv’s military administration said.

“The UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were flying in different directions towards Kyiv,” said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration. “The air raid alert in the city lasted for more than three hours.”

Reuters witnesses heard explosions in Kyiv in what sounded like air defence units in operation.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday that he supported measures to reduce bureaucracy within Ukraine’s army to “reduce the gap between a general and a soldier”.

“An officer must see a soldier. For me personally, a general who has never stepped into a trench is not a general. Despite their experience,” Mr Zelensky said in a statement.

“The generals must be in the trenches. This is that kind of war,” he said.

Mr Zelensky said he believed his Russian counterpart’s main task currently is to push Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region by January 20, referring to the date when US president-elect Donald Trump would be sworn in.

“The morale of the military personnel is the most important thing,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky criticised leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations for their “limited support” for Ukraine.

The Ukrainian president called out the “weak position” against Russia of the nations participating in the latest G20 summit, held last week in Brazil.

Mr Zelensky particularly criticised Lula da Silva, the president of the host nation Brazil, for his “weak position on the war”.

“If we want good, normal relations between our nations, between our peoples, then, we should probably support people first, not aggressors, leaders of aggression in the world, like Putin, like today’s modern Russia,” the Ukrainian president said on Saturday.

“Without a clear stance from major countries – the United States, Brazil, Asian and African states – agreements with Putin will amount to mere stalling tactics and further intimidation by Russia,” he said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky suspects his Russian counterpart’s main objectives are to occupy the entire Donbas region and oust Ukraine’s troops from Kursk.

Currently, the majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia.

“For Putin, the most important thing is to push us out of the Kursk region,” the Ukrainian president said.

“I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20,” Mr Zelensky said, referring to the date US president-elect Donald Trump would be sworn in.

“It is very important for him [Putin] to demonstrate that he is in control of the situation,” he said.

Russian deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko said the US was using Taiwan to provoke a crisis in Asia.

China regards the island as a part of its territory.

Mr Rudenko said Washington was strengthening military and political contacts with Taipei “under the slogan” of maintaining the status quo, adding that this was in violation of the “one China” principle.

“The goal of such obvious US interference in the region’s affairs is to provoke the People’s Republic of China and generate a crisis in Asia to suit its own selfish interests,” he told Russia’s TASS news agency.

The risk of the Ukraine conflict spilling into other parts of the world, including Africa, “is real”, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a post on X.

He claimed that Russian forces, like Wagner mercenaries, are already destabilising parts of Africa and “exploiting resources and fueling tensions”.

“Africa, with its vast resources and strategic importance, remains a key target for Russian exploitation,” the president said on the sidelines of an international summit on food security. “If Russia escapes this war without fair and just consequences, it will embolden them to repeat their actions elsewhere.”

“Whether through natural resources, financial gain, or political influence, the continent’s size and numerous nations make it a critical focus of Russia’s destabilizing agenda,” Mr Zelensky said.

A senior North Korean general has been wounded in a Ukrainian strike in Russia’s Kursk region, Western officials have told the Wall Street Journal.

Washington has previously warned that the 10,000 North Korean troops reportedly deployed in Kursk, where Kyiv’s forces staged an incursion in August, could be targeted by Russian forces. But the fresh claims mark the first time Western officials have said that a North Korean military officer has become a casualty.

The officials did not disclose the identity of the senior North Korean officer or how he was wounded, the outlet reports.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he is awaiting US president-elect Donald Trump’s proposals to end the war in Ukraine.

“As for when the war will end … when Russia wants this war to end. When America has a stronger position. When the Global South is on the side of Ukraine and on the side of ending the war,” Mr Zelensky said at a food security conference on Saturday.

“It will not be an easy path, but I am confident that we have every chance to do it next year,” he said.