Goodnight
That’s all for our live coverage today, but we’ll be back with further updates and analysis soon.
If you’re just checking in, here is a recap of the key developments.
- Vladimir Putin said Russia will begin mass producing a new hypersonic ballistic missile it fired at Ukraine yesterday, claiming it was impossible to intercept;
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was developing new types of air defence to counter “new risks”;
- Ukraine’s military for the first time confirmed the use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles inside Russian territory;
- Sir Keir Starmer said the UK was not at war with Russia or any other country, following suggestions by Moscow’s ambassador to Sky News last night that London was now “directly involved” in the conflict in Ukraine;
- A 1,000-page document which details how Germany would respond to a war breaking out with Russia was leaked by local media;
- The Russian defence minister claimed Moscow’s forces were “accelerating” their advance in eastern Ukraine.
Military analyst casts doubt on Putin’s ‘unstoppable missile’ claim
A military analyst has cast doubt on Vladimir Putin’s claim that his new Oreshnik ballistic missile was unstoppable.
Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the Oslo Nuclear Project, told CNN that Western air defence systems were capable of shooting it down.
But Ukraine does not possess those systems.
“Systems like SM-3 from Aegis or Aegis Ashore, as well as most likely Arrow 3 and THAAD [Terminal High Altitude Area Defense] can absolutely deal with this type of threat.”
Nonetheless, it would be very expensive to counter, given the Oreshnik missile fires multiple warheads at once.
A large number of extremely costly interceptors would be required to shoot them down, said Mr Hoffmann.
Starmer to reveal plan to raise defence spending
By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor
The UK will “set out a plan” to lift defence spending to 2.5% of national income in the spring, the prime minister has said, finally offering a timeframe for an announcement on the long-awaited hike after mounting criticism.
Sir Keir Starmer gave the date during a phone call with Mark Rutte, the secretary general of NATO, in the wake of threats by Moscow to target UK and US military facilities following a decision by London and Washington to let Ukraine fire their missiles inside Russia.
There was no clarity though on when the 2.5% level will be achieved. The UK says it currently spends around 2.3% of GDP on defence.
A spokeswoman for Downing Street said that the two men “began by discussing the situation in Ukraine and reiterated the importance of putting the country in the strongest possible position going into the winter”.
They also talked about the deployment of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight alongside Russia.
“The prime minister underscored the need for all NATO countries to step up in support of our collective defence and updated on the government’s progress on the strategic defence review,” the spokeswoman said.
“His government would set out the path to 2.5% in the spring.”
The defence review will also be published in the spring.
While a date for an announcement on 2.5% will be welcomed by the Ministry of Defence, analysts have long warned that such an increase is still well below the amount that is needed to rebuild the armed forces after decades of decline to meet growing global threats from Russia, an increasingly assertive China, North Korea and Iran.
They say the UK needs to be aiming to hit at least 3% – probably higher.
With Donald Trump returning to the White House, there will be significantly more pressure on the UK and other European NATO allies to accelerate increases in defence spending.
Russia fired 114 drones in mass air attack
Russia launched 114 drones in its latest mass air strike, Kyiv says.
Ukrainian air defences destroyed 64 of them, the military added, without specifying when the attacks took place.
Another 41 drones were “lost”, most likely as a result of Ukrainian signal jamming, it said.
Watch: How should the UK respond to Putin’s threats?
Any threat by Vladimir Putin against the UK needs to be taken seriously, says security and defence editor Deborah Haynes.
Our air defences “aren’t great” and Russia has missiles that can reach the UK and other Ukrainian allies.
Here, Haynes summarises what analysts say the UK should be doing in the wake of these threats…
In pictures: Soldiers take on military drills in freezing temperatures
Away from the frontline, in Chernihiv, Ukrainian soldiers carry out military exercises in freezing cold temperatures.
Photographers taken by Reuters show some of the drills on the training ground.
Analysis: Putin is making more menacing threats – but he has a lot to lose
Vladimir Putin’s decision to begin mass producing the Oreshnik ballistic missile is a “clear attempt to reinforce last night’s threat”, says Moscow correspondent Ivor Bennett.
Russia said it had a right to target UK and US-owned military facilities for allowing Ukraine to fire their longer-range missiles on Russian soil.
This is a new threat from Vladimir Putin – and the use of the missile was a “new way to articulate” them, says Bennett.
“To make them more meaningful, to make them more menacing,” he continues.
“Because this new missile, although it wasn’t used with a nuclear payload yesterday, it is capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads.”
But the West will not back down because, they believe, Russia has “too much to lose”.
“In a direct conflict with NATO, they will be outgunned.”
By comparison, Russia has a lot to gain through peace talks under the Trump administration, Bennett says.
“Any kind of peace settlement, it would be highly beneficial to Moscow.
“Having said that, Russia is a country full of surprises with a leader who likes to defy expectations.”
Long-awaited US air defences arrive in Ukraine
Long-awaited Western missile defence systems have arrived in Ukraine, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports.
The $406m US National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems were purchased by Canada for Ukraine nearly two years ago.
The Canadian government was slow to hand over the cash to the US, and America’s own Congressional approval process added further delays.
As a result, negotiations with manufacturers did not start until four months after the announcement was made in January 2023.
“I can’t give you more information on that because of operational security, but we have been able to deliver at long last – and I think it’s going to make a difference,” Canadian defence minister Bill Blair told a defence committee.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine developing defences to counter ‘new risks’
A little earlier this evening, we reported Vladimir Putin had ordered mass production of what he called an unstoppable ballistic missile.
Now, Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is developing new types of air defence to counter “new risks”.
He said the world needs a “serious response” to the Russian hypersonic missile strike on Dnipro yesterday.
Using another country to “test new weapons for terror” was clearly an international crime, the Ukrainian leader added.