Ukraine updates: Deadly Russian air attacks force power cuts

As US-led efforts to mediate an end to the war in Ukraine intensify, the Kremlin has yet to respond to new proposals.

What might pressure PresidentVladimir Putinto agree to stop the fighting?

Ukrainian forces have pulled out of the embattled eastern town of Siversk, Kyiv's military said.

Sloviansk is a northern anchor of the so-called "fortress belt" of cities in Ukraine's heavily industrialized Donbas region, which Russia has demanded Kyiv cede before it ends its war.

"The invaders were able to advance due to a significant numerical advantage and constant pressure from small assault groups in difficult weather conditions," Ukraine's General Staff said in a statement.

It said it had withdrawn soldiers to preserve lives and resources, adding that they had, however, inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.

Russia said earlier this month it had captured Siversk, whose pre-war population was around 10,000, a claim Kyiv had denied.

A man suspected of intention to carry out explosive attacks on freight trains in Germany has been brought before a judge in the German city of Karlsruhe.

The suspect, who was arrested in Switzerland in May, will remain in custody on suspicion of spying for Russia, according to Germany's Federal Public Prosecutor's Office.

He is one of three people arrested on suspicion of planning arson and bomb attacks on freight transport in Germany, with their operators believed to have worked on behalf of Russia.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Europe could face growing threats to its security if its support for Ukraine in the war with Russia were reduced. 

According to Rutte, Kyiv's strength is imperative to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from attempting to attack a NATO member.

The former Dutch prime minister also urged the alliance's members to increase their defense spending.

"If we do those two things, we are strong enough to defend ourselves, and Putin will never try (to attack a NATO member)" he said.

Russian airstrikes across Ukraine targeted residential buildings and the power grid in 13 regions in the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

At least three civilians were killed as explosions took place in the early hours of Tuesday. The attack forced power cuts across country amid biting temperatures.

Russia's latest assault comes a day after Zelenskyy described recent progress on finding a peace deal as "quite solid."

Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Tuesday that Russia would continue to pose a threat to Ukraine and Europe's security, regardless of whether a ceasefire is agreed.

In fact, Wadephul said he believes Moscow would try to use any pause in hostilities to prepare an attack on a NATO member, though he followed up by saying he did not want to speculate on what could happen in the future, in comments to the German DPA news agency.

While Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted that Russia is not planning to attack NATO, the German diplomat still urged allies to "prepare ourselves for the possibility that this may happen."

Wadephul pointed out that NATO has been expanding its defense structures, particularly along its eastern flank. Germany is also boosting its armed forces with increased spending and personnel in response to the threat posed by Russia.

"There is no reason for us to reduce our efforts. Quite the contrary," the foreign minister said. 

Putin has identified NATO's alleged eastward expansion as a so-called "root cause" of the conflict, which began when Russian forces annexed the Crimean peninsula and occupied parts of eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Those moves came shortly after a pro-Russian government was ousted by a pro-European uprising.

What else did Wadephul say?

• European nations mustn't become complacent if ongoing peace talks, mediated by Washington, yield any truce or outcome that can be viewed as a victory in Moscow
• A lasting Russian military success in Ukraine 'would pose a serious threat to NATO'
• Moscow can only be deterred 'from a position of strength, unity within the alliance and capable armed forces' 
• Credible Western security guarantees for Kyiv, above all from the US, are a fundamental condition for Ukraine to be able to agree to any concessions
• 'We have not seen' any genuine willingness from Moscow to reach a peace agreement 

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he has received "a detailed report" from his lead negotiator, Rustem Umerov, and Ukraine's Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Andrii Hnatov, on the progress of the peace talks with the US.

Zelenskyy said Umerov and Hnatov had "worked productively" with Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, and that "several draft documents have been prepared."

These documents address security guarantees for Ukraine, as well as the country's post-war recovery and a "basic framework" to end the conflict.

"Each round of negotiations and meetings contributes to safeguarding Ukraine's interests, and we will continue this work in the same constructive manner," Zelenskyy said, as he thanked Kyiv's European allies for their continued support and said Ukraine looks forward to "continuing the dialogue with the US."

But he repeated his call that efforts at diplomacy be accompanied by "necessary pressure on Russia."

"Every Russian strike against Ukraine and the intense Russian assaults on the front line prove that Ukraine’s commitment to ending the war far exceeds Russia’s," Zelenskyy said.

Russia claimed on Tuesday that its forces have captured the towns of Andriivka and Prylipka.

In a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry said units from the Vostok battlegroup "continued to advance" and had "liberated" Andriivka, in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region.

The ministry said its forces have also taken Prylipka, in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region.

The ministry also confirmed that Russia had targeted Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a massive overnight attack, which Moscow said featured Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.

Tuesday morning's massive barrage of drones and missiles launched by Russia came despite ongoing talks between US, Ukrainian, Russian and European officials.

The US-led shuttle diplomacy has picked up pace as the war has dragged on, much to the apparent frustration of Donald Trump, who famously vowed to end the war within his first 24 hours in office.

Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, have been meeting separately with Russian and Ukrainian negotiators to discuss revisions to a US peace proposal.

The latest round of meetings were held in Miami over the weekend

Here's what you need to know about the talks to end Russia's nearly four-year war:

• Trump said Monday that the talks 'are going ok', while Witkoff has described the talks with both sides as 'productive and constructive'
• The Kremlin has been less positive in its assessment, with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying a peace deal is a 'working progress' rather than a turning point in the war
• Russian deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said there had been 'slow progress'
• But Ryabkov slammed Ukraine's European allies for their 'extremely harmful, malicious attempts... to torpedo' the peace talks
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the negotiations are 'quite solid', but he admitted that key differences remain
• The major sticking points are thought to be Russia's insistence that Ukraine withdraw from and cede all of the eastern Donbas region
• Kyiv has refused to accept this, while also insisting on Western-backed security guarantees to dissuade Moscow from any future aggression

Ukraine's Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has condemned Moscow for the "deliberate and cynical" attack on the eve of Christmas.

"While people were preparing for the holidays, the enemy [is] trying to leave Ukrainian families without electricity, heat, and a sense of safety," she said in an online post.

Svyrydenko said energy infrastructure in the west of the country was "hit the hardest."

Emergency power cuts were being scheduled because of the damage. 

"They will be lifted as soon as the energy system is stabilized," she said, adding that work to restore power "as quickly as possible" was underway.

Russia's "massive attack" overnight across Ukraine has killed at least three people, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday morning.

A four-year-old child was killed in a drone strike on a residential building in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv. Two other deaths — one in Kyiv and another in Khmelnytskyi — were also confirmed, Zelenskyy said on X.

Ukraine's president said the attack primarily targeted the country's energy sector and "essentially the entire infrastructure of daily life."

Zelenskyy said the strikes, which come as officials from Ukraine and Russia meet separately with US mediators for peace talks, send "an extremely clear signal about Russia's priorities."

"An attack ahead of Christmas, when people simply want to be with their families, at home, and safe. An attack carried out essentially in the midst of negotiations aimed at ending this war," Zelenskyy said.

The president repeated his call for action from Ukraine's Western allies, saying Moscow needs to be "pushed toward peace and guaranteeing security."

He urged for more deliveries of air defenses as well as funding to procure weapons and ensure energy supplies.

Poland and its allies have deployed aircraft to ensure the ⁠safety ‍of Polish airspace after Russia launched airstrikes targeting ⁠western Ukraine.

"Fighter jets have been scrambled, ‍and ground-based air-defense systems as well as ​radar ​reconnaissance systems have been put on heightened readiness," the operational command of Poland's armed forces said in a post ‍on X.

"These actions ​are preventive in nature and are aimed at securing ⁠and ​protecting the airspace, especially ‌in ‌areas adjacent to the threatened regions."

Poland, a NATO member, shares a border of some 530 kilometers (330 miles) with Ukraine.

Russia launched an overnight barrage of drones and missiles on 13 regions across Ukraine, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said.

The strikes have killed at least three people and forced large-scale power cuts, with Ukrainians gearing up for Christmas amid freezing winter temperatures.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has now stretched for nearly four years.  

Moscow has continued to pummel Ukraine in recent days, despite US President Donald Trump claiming on Monday that the peace talks to end the conflict are  "going OK."

Stay tuned as DW brings you the latest developments as well as analysis and background, from Russia's war in Ukraine.