To ensure the safety of civil aircraft flights, temporary restrictions have been introduced on the operation of Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, Vnukovo, Zhukovsky and Kaluga airports,” Russia’s aviation authority said.

It provoked outrage from outgoing US President Joe Biden who vowed to deliver more weapons to Ukraine after sending hundreds of air defence missiles in recent months. “The Ukrainian people deserve to live in peace and safety,” he said. Weapons such as surface-to-air missiles can cost many times more than the drones they are trying to shoot down

The missile has been branded as Ukraine's answer to dwindling Western aid, building self-reliance in defense technologies.

Zelensky warns of greater military cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang, including sending more troops and military equipment

"Ukraine was brutally attacked on Christmas Day," said Keith Kellogg, President-elect Donald Trump's pick for Ukraine and Russia envoy.

Russia wants a legally binding deal for a lasting peace in war-torn Ukraine that would ensure the security in the region, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

A massive Russian missile and drone barrage on Ukraine's energy infrastructure on Christmas morning was "inhumane," Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said.

Ukraine could consider continued transit of Russian gas on the condition that Moscow does not receive money for the fuel until after the war, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

Moscow again struck Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, part of an effort to wear down the country. “In the trenches, there are no holidays,” one man said.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) units of the Russian Armed Forces provide support and escort for North Korean assault groups operating in the Kursk region.