Ukraine updates: Kyiv hit by 'massive' overnight attack

The United States government has given global oil industry giants the green light to enter into talks with Russia's Lukoil about purchasing the sanctioned company's foreign assets.

Last month, the US sanctioned Russia's two biggest oil companies, Lukoil and Rosneft, over their role in financing Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As a result, Lukoil has faced growing disruption to its foreign assets, which account for around 0.5% of global oil production.

On Friday, the Treasury Department issued licenses authorizing companies to talk to Lukoil about acquiring its foreign assets, setting a deadline of December 13 to reach any deal.

Washington will only authorize a transaction involving the sale of a Lukoil asset if it completely severs ties with Lukoil and if the funds from the sale are placed into an escrow account that Lukoil cannot access as long as sanctions remain in place.

On Thursday, the Reuters news agency reported that potential interested buyers include US private equity firm Carlyle, Kazakhstan's state firm KazMunayGas and European oil giant Shell.

In a related move, the US has also permitted business deals wit Lukoil's Burgas refinery in Bulgaria after the government in Sofia moved to seize the plant.

The Bulgarian Energy Ministry said that the US decision was "a direct result of the intensive actions, negotiations, and diplomatic talks we have been conducting since day one to ensure stability, predictability, and peace of mind for Bulgarian citizens and businesses."

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has urged Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to impose tougher travel restrictions on young Ukrainian men.

Merz said "a considerable proportion" of men aged between 18 and 24 were fleeing Ukraine for Germany to avoid getting called up to fight against the Russian invasion. Military service in Ukraine begins at the age of 25.

"I have asked him to ensure that these young men remain in the country because they are needed there and not in Germany," Merz said after a meeting in Berlin with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides. 

Travel restrictions on Ukrainian men were relaxed in August. There has been a noticeable increase in arrivals to Germany in recent months.

The chancellor said he had spoken to Zelenskyy by phone on Thursday.

During their call, Merz said he also urged the Ukrainian leader to thoroughly investigate a corruption scandal in Kyiv.

The German government said Zelenskyy had promised "complete transparency and long-term support for the independent anti-corruption authorities."

Merz also addressed the issue of using frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine's defense. The chancellor said Berlin is ready to "assume corresponding guarantees on a pro-rata basis."

Zelenskyy has been urging European nations to agree on a stalled initiative to use the seized assets.

Cypriot President Christodoulides said his country was not opposed to using the frozen funds, but insisted that a legally workable solution be found.

Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto said on Friday that it would be "absurd" for Italy to not continue sending military and civilian aid to Ukraine.

Crosetto was speaking after a meeting of the European Group of Five (E5) in Berlin alongside counterparts from Germany, France, Poland and the UK, as well as the EU's foreign policy chief and the Ukrainian defense minister.

"It would seem absurd to me not to continue to do so and indeed not to increase, with all the possibilities we have, our aid to a nation that is doing nothing but defending itself from an absurd and incomprehensible attack," Crosetto said.

He added that he had already signed off on the 12th package of support for Kyiv and that Italy was planning to help Ukraine's energy supplies during the winter by sending electrical generators.

His comments came after Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said earlier this month that Rome could not continue sending money and weapons "for another 50 years."

Salvini is a coalition partner of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has been a major supporter of Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has dismissed as fear-mongering remarks made by German Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank about Moscow's capabilities to attack NATO member states.

Sollfrank told Reuters news agency earlier this month that Russia had the "current capabilities and combat power" to "kick off a small-scale attack against NATO territory as early as tomorrow," but that it would depend on the Western allies' posture.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said there are "no plans to attack NATO countries."

"However, Russia is already taking all the necessary measures to ensure security as the alliance is building up its military presence near Russian borders," she added, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Zakharova described the comments as part of "an orchestrated campaign to indoctrinate their own population, sow fear, and get people used to the idea that a conflict with Russia is inevitable, with the goal being to justify their own miscalculations, mistakes, and even crimes."

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said that a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine overnight constituted a violation of international law and demonstrated Moscow's "contempt for humanity."

Russian drones and missiles hit residential buildings as well as Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

"It is very evident and clear that Putin aims to make winter as unbearable as possible for Ukraine, to destroy morale and break the resistance of the Ukrainian people," Pistorius said after meeting with European counterparts, including Ukrainian Defense Minister Denis Shmyhal. 

"He is not succeeding in this." 

The defense minister also said Germany had agreed to provide another €150 million ($175 million) toward the purchase of US weapons to be delivered to Ukraine under the PURL (Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List) mechanism.

The PURL mechanism is a result of the Trump administration's reluctance to fund its own weapons packages for Ukraine. Instead, other NATO members have agreed to buy certain arms they cannot produce themselves from the US and provide them to Ukraine.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Friday that nearly 430 drones and 18 missiles were used in the deadly overnight Russian attack on Kyiv.

He described the attack as a "deliberately calculated" one, with an aim to cause "maximum harm to people and civilian infrastructure."

"The main target of the attack was Kyiv, and strikes also hit Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Odesa regions," the Ukrainian leader wrote on social media platform X.

Four people died in the attack and several others — including children and a pregnant woman — were wounded, he stated. The death toll later rose to six.

Zelenskyy added that dozens of apartment buildings were damaged in the strikes and emergency services have been working at the targeted areas through the night. 

Debris from an Iskander missile had hit the Azerbaijani Embassy, he said. 

Zelenskyy said that Russia also used a Zircon missile in the Sumy region on Friday morning.

The Ukrainian President urged sanctions against Russia following the latest Russian strikes.

"Russia is still able to sell oil and build its schemes. All of this must end," he said. 

He said Europe and the United States can help Ukraine with strengthening its air defense, including additional systems and interceptor missiles.

"We are counting on real decisions," Zelenskyy stressed in his statement.

The war in Ukraine has left key jobs vacant, as hundreds of thousands of men have become soldiers.

Women are stepping up to take roles once dominated by men — including in emergency services like firefighting.

 

Russia said that its air defenses shot down or intercepted more than 200 Ukrainian drones overnight. 

"During the past night, air-defense assets intercepted and destroyed 216 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles," the Russian Defense Ministry posted on Telegram.

The ministry added that 66 drones were brought down over Russia's southern Krasnodar region, where authorities earlier said an oil depot and port had been targeted.

A total of 45 Ukrainian drones were also downed in Saratov, Moscow added.

Access to reliable information has emerged as a key battleground since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Independent media find themselves in a frontline role, combatting disinformation, defending democracy and keeping citizens informed, as the country charts its course toward EU integration.

At a DW Akademie event held this week, ten Ukrainian journalists presented their work to a gathering of European policymakers and media experts. 

Read more: Ukrainian journalists bring the frontline to Brussels

A ship, several apartment buildings and an oil depot were reportedly damaged in a Ukrainian drone strike in the Russian Black Sea Port of Novorussiysk early on Friday morning, local officials confirmed.

The operational headquarters of Russia's southern Krasnodar region said that three injured crew members had been taken from the ship to hospital for treatment.

Ukrainian officials didn't immediately comment on the attack.

Despite not having a sizable navy, Ukraine has achieved a degree of success in the Black Sea since the start of the war, using aerial and waterborne drones to force Russia's Black Seat Fleet into eastern ports such as Novorussiysk.

The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv was subjected to "massive" Russian air strikes in the early hours of Friday morning. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people died and several others were injured in the attack.

Buildings were damaged in "almost every district."

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said air defense units were in operation to repel the "massive enemy attack" but that "sections of heating networks were damaged." Electricity and water supplies could also be disrupted, he warned.

"The Russians are hitting residential buildings," added Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the city's military administration. "There are a lot of damaged high-rise buildings throughout Kyiv, almost in every district."

The governor of the Kyiv region outside the capital said drone and missile attacks injured one person and triggered fires in several locations. A 55-year-old man in the city of Bila Tserkva suffered thermal burns and was hospitalized.

Ukraine's air force reported that Russia was also targeting several other regions with drones and guided bombs.

Good morning and welcome to DW's coverage of the ongoing Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Ukrainian capital Kyiv was targeted by "massive" air strikes in the early hours of Friday.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people were killed and dozens of others were wounded, as residential buildings were damaged across the city.

Stay tuned for the latest news and analysis.