Ukraine updates: UK says Ukraine suffered severe cyberattack

A Ukrainian missile attack on a Russian-held village in southern Ukraine has killed two people, Moscow's occupying authorities said.

The US-made HIMAR missile struck the village of Nova Mayachka, on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnipro River, Moscow-appointed official Vladimir Saldo in the Kherson region said.

Nova Mayachka is located some 70 kilometers (40 miles) east of the Ukrainian-held city of Kherson.

Other missiles, which he said were launched by Kyiv, had been downed by Russian air defense, Saldo added.

"Two civilians were killed. Two other (civilians) were wounded," he said, claiming that the missile hit "during the delivery of humanitarian aid."

Military personnel helping to deliver the aid were also wounded. 

"The wounded have been given the necessary medical help and emergency services are working at the scene," Saldo said.

Ukraine's largest mobile operator suffered a massive cyberattack this week, Britain said in its latest intelligence briefing on the conflict.

Services from Kyivstar, which provides more than half the population with mobile and home internet services, were affected for about 48 hours from Tuesday, the briefing, published on X, formerly known as Twitter, said. 

The attack left users with no mobile signal or the ability to use the internet, the UK's Ministry of Defense (MOD) added.

Other services impacted by the attack were bank ATMs, air raid sirens, and point-of-sale terminals in stores.

Kyvistar said no personal data of its users was compromised.

The MOD described the incident as "one of the highest-impact disruptive cyberattacks on Ukrainian networks since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion."

Ukraine's air defense systems, in collaboration with the air force and army, said on Saturday morning that it had shot down 30 of 31 Iran-made "Shahed" type drones launched by Russia on early Saturday.

The attack was launched from three different directions, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a post on messaging platform Telegram.

The drones were then destroyed over 11 regions — Dnipropetrovsk, Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Mykolaiv, and Khmelnytsky. 

The post did not mention what happened to the one drone that was not shot down.

Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius called for Europe to build up its defense capabilities in the face of new military threats that could emerge by the end of the decade. He made these comments in an interview with German newspaper Welt am Sonntag.

Pistorius told the newspaper that Russia is hiking its weapons production considerably to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, while also threatening the Baltic states of Georgia and Moldova.

The minister warned that the focus of the United States — Europe's key security ally — is likely to shift towards the Indo-Pacific region and hence reduce in Europe.

"We Europeans must engage more to ensure security on our own continent," he said.

"We need to figure out how best to set ourselves up on the eastern flank on the basis of NATO defense plans," he added, saying he was planning to visit Poland early next year.

"We have about 5-8 years to catch up, in terms of armed forces, industry and society," he said.

Europe also needs to compensate for the US aid to Ukraine if Washington's lawmakers fail to release new funding, he said.

The first Leopard 2 tanks delivered to Ukraine and damaged during the war against Russia have been repaired in Lithuania. The tanks are expected to return to the Ukrainian battlefield in January. 

The Leopard 2 tanks were repaired at a maintenance center set up in Lithuania by two German defense companies, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall. 

"Lithuania consistently supports Ukraine's fight for independence and not only sends military aid, but also helps to repair Leopard tanks," Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said.

Lithuania has also sent Ukraine several million cartridges and several thousand shells for portable short-range anti-tank systems for defense against Russia. About 1,000 folding beds have also been delivered. 

Ukrainian Interior Ministry placed the head of Russia's Orthodox Church, a backer of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, on a wanted list after security services accused him of abetting the conflict.

The measure is purely symbolic, as Patriarch Kirill is in Russia and under no threat of arrest. It was the latest step in Ukraine's campaign to uproot the influence of priests it alleges maintain close links to Russia and subvert Ukrainian society.

A post on the Ukrainian ministry's wanted list identified Kirill by name, showed him in his clerical robes and described him as "an individual in hiding from the bodies of pre-trial investigation." It said he had been "missing" since November 11.

Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith in Ukraine, and authorities in Kyiv have launched criminal cases against clergy linked to a branch of the Orthodox church once directly linked to the Russian church and Kirill. The church says it severed all links to Moscow in May 2022.

A series of explosions resounded throughout the Ukrainian capital early on Saturday as air defense units engaged Russian drones.

Explosions were reported on both banks of the Dnieper River that runs through the city. There were no immediate reports of casualties or serious damage.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said anti-aircraft units went into action as groups of drones flew near the city. He said Russian forces were targeting areas near the city center.

Anti-aircraft activity was heavy, he said, in the Darnytskyi district on the east bank of the Dnieper and explosions also struck historic Podil on the opposite bank.

Witnesses said air raid sirens went off on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, while on the western bank, police warned residents of the air raid through loudspeakers.

Authorities warned of possible missile attacks in areas of Kyiv region surrounding the capital, where explosions were also reported.

The Russian military said on Friday evening that it had repelled Ukrainian drone attacks on the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

The Ministry of Defence in Moscow said its forces shot down 26 Ukrainian drones. 

Explosions could be heard in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol because, according to Moscow-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev, air defenses were deployed and Ukrainian drones were shot down in the process.

Russian authorities also reported Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian region of Kursk on the border with Ukraine on Friday. Governor Roman Starovoyt said four drones had been intercepted there.

Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, told DW that it is extremely dangerous for Ukraine not to have any of the pledged major funding in place for 2024. 

"The day when it will become a major problem is January the first," she said. 

If the aid is not prepared in Washington and Brussels, the Ukrainian government will not be able to fulfill its duties and some payments will not be made, Rudik added.

"As always, especially toughest the first month of the year when there would be there may be a delay," she said, adding that there is usually a lag time between the political decision to provide aid and when the money arrives.

Ukraine wants to mobilize support for its defense against the Russian invasion with further foreign policy initiatives, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"We continue our work with partners to preserve unity in the defense of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a video he recorded in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

"The coming weeks will also be active in our foreign policy, and we have already begun planning activities for January," he said. 

Ukraine wants to talk to Europe, the United States and other supporters, he announced, without giving details.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian full-scale invasion for almost 22 months.

dh/sms (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)