Ukraine updates: Russia would 'welcome' Trump talks

Russian drones struck an apartment building and energy facilities in and near Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa.

The attack killed one person, injured at least two, and knocked out a boiler plant used for heating, the regional governor said.

"Houses, a church and cars were damaged," Oleh Kiper said on the Telegram messaging app.

"In some locations, fires broke out. Also damaged was the main pipeline for heating supplies. One of the city's boiler plants has been forced to shut down," he added.

Local media reported that the attack injured eight people, including a family of three. 

Russia is systematically targeting civilian facilities in Ukraine with drones and missiles. As winter sets in, about 50% of Ukraine's electricity capacity is down.

The European Commission has given the green light for a new €4 billion ($4.2 billion) disbursement from the Ukraine facility, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"As we're approaching the 1000th day of Russia's atrocious war, we will help keep the Ukrainian state running while the country fights for survival," she wrote on X.

"We are in it for the long-haul," von der Leyen added.

The Ukraine Facility is a key instrument in the European Union's strategy to address the many challenges facing Ukraine. 

This support mechanism entered into force on March 1, 2024 and covers the years 2024 to 2027, providing Ukraine with up to €50 billion in stable and predictable financial assistance.

Russian soldiers sent by Moscow to defend the Kursk border region have looted the homes of local residents, the region's former governor has admitted.

"There is evidence of looting by both civilians and the military," Roman Starovoit, who is now Russia's transport minister, said at a meeting with residents of the Glushkovo district on the border with Ukraine.

The admission, rare among Moscow leaders, was met with applause from the audience, a video clip from a local news portal showed.

The Russian state news agency TASS had previously accused Ukrainian soldiers of looting the villages they captured, citing the village of Glushkovo as an example even though it had never been under Ukrainian control.

Ukrainian troops captured part of the Kursk region in a surprise counteroffensive this summer. Russian troops are now trying to push the Ukrainian army out. 

Ukrainian officials said on Thursday that Russian troops had "partially entered" the northeastern town of Kupiansk but had been driven back.

According to Andriy Besedin, the town's military-civilian mayor, Russian infantry attempted to enter parts of the town but withdrew after their vehicles were "destroyed."

In a separate statement, the Ukrainian Army insisted that Kupiansk remained "fully" under their control but that fighting in the vicinity was continuing. "The alleged presence of Russian troops in Kupiansk is not true," it said.

Kupiansk, located on the Oskil River in the east of Ukraine's northern Kharkiv oblast, 120 kilometers (75 miles) east of Kharkiv city and 45 kilometers south of the Russian border, is a key railway junction which had a pre-war population of 27,000. It was surrendered to Russian troops in February 2022 but recaptured by Ukraine in September 2022,

"Since [then], the enemy has been trying to recapture the town and the community, and they have been unsuccessful," Besedin said, expressing confidence that Ukrainian forces would hold Kupiansk, where around 4,000 civilians still live despite several mandatory evacuation orders.

Further south in Donetsk oblast, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the "liberation" of the village of Voznesenka, south of the besieged town of Pokrovsk.

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations said on Thursday that Moscow would "welcome" negotiations over Ukraine with United States President-elect Donald Trump but that any talks must be based on what it considers "realities on the ground."

"We are open," Ambassador Gennady Gatilov told reporters in Geneva, referring to the prospect of discussions mediated by Trump.

"Trump promised to settle the Ukrainian crisis overnight," he said. "OK, let's get realistic: of course, we understand that this will never happen. But if he starts or suggests something to start the political process, it's welcome."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted that peace cannot be established until all Russian forces are expelled from Ukrainian territory, a "victory plan" denounced by Russia.

He told European leaders in Budapest last week that territorial concessions to Russia would be "unacceptable for Ukraine and suicidal for all Europe."

Beyond Ukraine, Ambassador Gatilov said that Trump's reelection could open up the possibility of renewed "dialogue" between the Kremlin and the White House, "something that has been lacking during the last several years."

He added, however: "Regardless of domestic political shifts, [Washington] consistently pursues a sense of containing Moscow [and] the change of administration does little to alter [this]."

mf/ab (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)