Russia Ukraine war live: Kyiv blows up major Russian warship in Crimea

Ukrainian refugees are arriving at UK airports with fake visas and false promises of a Homes for Ukraine sponsor family after being targeted by “extremely sophisticated” scams, charities have warned.

Charities told The Independent that they are dealing with increasing numbers of cases in which Ukrainians have been tricked into paying hundreds of pounds for letters giving them “permission to travel” to the UK and fake British visas, by criminals taking advantage of their desperation to leave.

The visas are impossible to identify as fraudulent by sight, meaning that Ukrainians are permitted to travel by airline staff, only to be told by Border Force that their documents are not valid, according to the charity Settled, which says it is now dealing with between one and five such cases each week.

Ukraine’s top general has that he is not satisfied with the work of military draft offices that are responsible for mobilising troops to keep up the war effort against Russia.

Ukrainian army chief General Valeriy Zaluzhny spoke at his first wartime news conference a day after Ukraine‘s parliament published the text of a draft law containing reforms to the army draft programme, including lowering the age of men who can be mobilised to 25 from 27.

The bill’s publication sparked controversy on social media, which appeared to be the prompt for the typically publicity-shy general into a rare effort to speak to the media.

“I am not currently satisfied with the work of the (draft offices),” he said.

The reforms are highly sensitive for a weary population in the midst of a 22-month-old war, which has no end in sight. Last week, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the military had proposed mobilising an additional 450,000-500,000 people into the army.

This has sparked concerns in Poland and other countries in the region.

The shipments of these tactical nuclear weapons were completed in October, Mr Lukashenko revealed at a meeting of a Moscow-led economic bloc in St Petersburg. However, he did not share further details regarding the quantity of weapons sent and their specific deployment locations.

Their first battle plan was outdated the moment the dam crumbled. So the Ukrainian special forces officers spent six months adapting their fight to secure a crossing to the other side of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.

But it wasn’t enough just to cross the river. They needed backup to hold it. And for that, they needed proof that it could be done. For one of the officers, nicknamed Skif, that meant a flag — and a photo op.

Skif, Ukrainian shorthand for the nomadic Scythian people who founded an empire on what is now Crimea, moves like the camouflaged amphibian that he is: Calculating, deliberate, until the time to strike.

Taiwan’s economy ministry said on Tuesday it had expanded a list of sanctioned goods for Russia and its ally Belarus in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to prevent Taiwanese high-tech goods from being used for military purposes.

Taiwan has condemned Russia’s attack and already joined the Western-led sanctions effort, though it is largely symbolic as there is only minimal direct trade between the island and Russia.

Announcing its latest round of sanctions, Taiwan’s economy ministry said the move was made “in order to fulfil international cooperation and prevent the export of our high-tech goods for military purposes”.

The list includes equipment for making semiconductors, the production of which Taiwan is a world leader in, as well as certain chemicals and medicines, adding to previous announcements which already targetted the chip industry.

The new sanctions are consistent with those already announced by the European Union, the United States and other countries, the ministry said in a statement.

Kyiv’s forces are likely to remain on the defensive for much of next year, writes Keir Giles. That is unless the West finally gets fully behind the idea that Putin’s war aims will only change if his hand is forced.

Footage shows explosions in Crimea as Ukrainian officials claimed responsibility for a massive air attack on the town of Feodosia early on Tuesday (26 December).

The airstrikes damaged Vladimir Putin’s fleet parked in the port area as powerful explosions rocked the region.

Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine’s air force, shared a video of the attack on his official Telegram channel and stated that the assault destroyed a major Russian Navy vessel, the landing ship Novocherkask.

“And the fleet in Russia is getting smaller and smaller! Thanks to the Air Force pilots and everyone involved for the filigree work,” the top commander said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow on Wednesday, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

The ministers plan to discuss bilateral ties as well as the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and issues related to groups such as BRICS, it said in a statement.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu briefed President Vladimir Putin about the Ukrainian attack on the Crimean port of Feodosia and damage sustained by the Novocherkassk landing ship, Interfax quoted the Kremlin as saying on Tuesday.