Key points
- Putin says Russia could target 'decision-making centres' in Kyiv over use of Western weapons
- Russian leader threatens to use 'all means of destruction' if Ukraine gets nuclear weapons
- Trump's team 'considering plans to end war in Ukraine'
- Russia targets Ukraine's energy grid with 'massive' attack
- Analysis: Russian strikes are an attack on Ukraine's psyche - and they are having a big impact on people
- Doubt cast over Putin hypersonic missile claims
- Russian currency plunges to lowest level since early months of war
- Live reporting by Richard Williams
Weak rouble 'won't force Putin to end war'
As we have reported today, the Russian rouble has fallen in value to 100 against the US Dollar - the lowest level it has reached since the first months of the war.
While the development has been the source of some speculation that it could ultimately force Moscow to reconsider its current strategy for the war, others suggest that any resultant economic hardship is unlikely to deter the Russian president in his aims.
Anton Barbashin, the editorial director at Riddle Russia, a journal that provides analysis of Russian affairs, said Putin would "make Russians eat less but he won't stop his war".
Zelenskyy speaks to Starmer amid Russian bombardment of Ukraine
Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today he had spoken with Sir Keir Starmer, as Ukrainian civilians face bombardment by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian president said he informed the UK prime minister about "yet another act of Russian air terror targetingUkraine's civilian infrastructure".
He added: "I expressed gratitude for the UK's unwavering support, including the commitment to provide at least £3bn annually forUkraine's needs. We discussed advancing our defence co-operation and strengtheningUkraine's long-range capabilities."
The pair also discussed Ukraine's potential participation at a summit of the Joint Expeditionary Force defence and security coalition in Estonia next month, he said.
Germany offers to deploy Patriot air defence units to Poland
Germany has offered to deploy the Patriot air defence system to Poland from January.
Berlin's ministry of defence said the move would "protect a logistical hub in Poland that is of central importance for the delivery of material to Ukraine".
Defence minister Boris Pistorius said: "We are also securing the supply of vehicles, weapons and ammunition that Ukraine urgently needs to defend itself against the brutal Russian attacks that violate international law.
"Together with our Polish friends, we are also securing NATO airspace, as we did last year."
The Patriot units could be deployed in Poland for up to six months, the ministry added.
Putin insists he has no preconditions for start of peace talks - and calls Trump 'a smart politician'
Vladimir Putin has added to a series of comments he has made in Kazakhstan today by suggesting that he had no preconditions to starting talks withUkraineon a possible peace settlement - but that terms he set out in June for an actual deal remained unchanged.
The Russian president said in June that Russia would end the war inUkraineonly if Kyiv agreed to drop its NATO ambitions and hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow, demands Kyiv swiftly rejected as tantamount to surrender.
"I did not formulate preliminary conditions, I did not say that the preliminary conditions for the start of negotiations are such and such," he said today.
"I simply spoke about our conditions for peace."
Putin also said he was ready to begin dialogue with the US - and described Donald Trump as a "smart politician who is capable of finding a solution".
He added that he believed the US president-elect was "still not safe". Trump was subject to two apparent assassination attempts during the run-up to his victory in the presidential election.
Watch: Video shows missile strike in western Ukraine
Footage posted online shows a strike in the western Ukrainian city of Rivne.
The video, which has been geolocated by Sky News, appears to show one missile was intercepted, with another hitting an electricity substation.
Putin threatens to use 'all means of destruction' if Ukraine gets nuclear weapons
Vladimir Putin has issued his latest dire threat, this time apparently in response to a New York Times report last week that some unidentified Western officials had suggested Joe Biden could giveUkraine nuclear weapons before he leaves office.
Speaking at a meeting of a security alliance of ex-Soviet countries in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Russian president insisted the country "will not allow this".
"In this case, we will accept and use everything, I want to emphasise this, namely all the means of destruction atRussia'sdisposal," he said.
"If someone officially transfers something, then it will mean a violation of all the obligations assumed in the area of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," he added.
"Well, we will not allow this to happen to Ukraine itself. We will monitor every step of what is happening there."
Putin said it was practically impossible forUkraine to produce a nuclear weapon, but that it might be able to make some kind of "dirty bomb".
Analysis: Normal Russians unlikely to share Kremlin view of collapsing currency and soaring inflation
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondent
An exchange rate of 100 roubles to the dollar is an important, symbolic threshold for Russians.
It carries with it fears of financial instability, and memories of economic collapse. So when the rouble does hit triple digits, purse strings are tightened and alarm bells ring.
"Panic attack for Russia's currency market," read the headline in Rossiskaya Gazeta, after the rouble sank to 114 against the dollar yesterday.
According to the daily Kommersant newspaper, the currency news "resembled a war report". It advises readers to "buckle up your roubles".
After falling to its lowest level against the dollar since March 2022, the rouble has now lost one third of its value since August.
This time two years ago, it was hovering around the 60 mark. Fifteen years ago, it was as low as 30.
But these are very different times, of course. The latest drop comes after the US imposed sanctions on Gazprombank, Russia's third-largest lender. It plays a key role handling energy payments and was one of the few Russian banks not under sanctions. The new measures against it triggered panic buying on the forex market.
"The rouble has lost its brakes," declared the state-run tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets, which quotes a financial analyst who predicts the dollar rate could reach 120 by the end of December.
The obsession with the exchange rate is a historical hangover. During Soviet times, only the elite were allowed to own foreign currency and it meant a higher standard of living, like holidays abroad and luxury-imports at home.
During the chaos and hyperinflation of the 90s, those who didn't have hard currency saw much of their savings wiped out when the rouble was devalued.
So when the rouble slides like this, it sparks fears inflation will soar as imports become more expensive.
When the rouble fell below 100 last August, the central bank was forced into an emergency rate rise of 3.5 percentage points to 12%. Little more than a year on, that rate is now 21%, its highest level since 2003. Will it go even higher?
Not for now, it seems. Instead, the central bank has decided to stop buying foreign currency, hoping that will stabilise the markets.
Not that the government is concerned, quite the opposite it seems. Commenting on the exchange rate earlier this week, finance minister Anton Siluanov said the weak rouble was "very, very favourable" to exporters.
Some commentators have jumped on the remarks, believing it shows the Kremlin is happy to keep the rouble where it is.
But with inflation already running at around 8%, ordinary Russians are unlikely to share that sentiment.
Ukraine reveals more details of 'massive' overnight strikes
A few more details now on Russia's overnight strikes on Ukraine, which officials in the country described as "massive".
Ukraine's air force has said Russia made 12 strikes on Ukrainian targets in a series of aerial attacks - which mostly targeted fuel and energy infrastructure.
It added that Russia fired a large number of missiles and drones, which overwhelmed air defences in some places.
The air force previously reported it had shot down 79 Russian missiles.
Why we are likely to see a Russian surge over coming weeks
Military analyst Sean Bell has been speaking on Sky News about the significance of Russia's recent strikes on Ukraine - and what we can expect to see over the coming weeks.
"Each year, the energy infrastructure is hit [partly] to knock morale," he said.
"But another reason is that President Zelenskyy famously said he's going to produce a million drones a year from the defence industry in Ukraine.
"If you take out the power of the industry, you can't make the drones.
"What is interesting is that Ukraine has become very effective at getting these grids back up and running, but of course inevitably that ends up with some breaks.
"Why now? Almost certainly because, A, it's winter, it gets ferociously cold up there."
He added that the prospect of Donald Trump beginning his presidency on 20 January would also be a factor in Moscow's strategy.
"It's no coincidence, we're approaching the 20th of January, Putin is pushing everything he can in Ukraine, not only to take as much territory as possible but also to knock morale as low as possible, ready for a potential negotiation at that time.
"I suspect we're going to see more of the same. Normally each winter we've seen a bit of a decline. I suspect we're going to see a surge over the coming weeks."
Putin claims attack using several of Russia's hypersonic missiles 'comparable to nuclear weapons'
A little more detail on comments from Vladimir Putin this morning, as reported in our 10.36 post.
The Russian president has been speaking at a meeting of a security alliance of ex-Soviet countries in Kazakhstan, where he has been issuing more warnings over Ukraine's use of long-range Western-supplied missiles for strikes deep into Russia.
"Tonight we conducted a comprehensive strike using 90 missiles of similar classes and 100 drones. Seventeen targets were hit.
"These are military facilities, defence industry facilities and their support systems. Let me repeat once again: these strikes on our part also took place in response to the ongoing strikes [by Ukraine] on Russian territory with American ATACMS missiles.
"As I have already said many times, there will always be a response from our side."
Referring to the ballistic missile Russia used for strikes on Dnipro last week - which it calls Oreshnik - he claimed that the impact of a single strike using several of the rockets would be similar to that of nuclear weapons.
"In the opinion of military and technical experts, in the event of a massive, group strike of these missiles, that is, several missiles at once, in a cluster, their single strike will be comparable to the use of nuclear weapons," he said.
"Even though, certainly, Oreshnik is not a weapon of mass destruction."
