Summary

  • A fresh wave of missile strikes in Ukraine has hit energy infrastructure, causing power cuts across the country

  • Russian missiles hit buildings in the Zaporizhzhia region, destroying several houses and killing at least two people, deputy head of the presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko says

  • Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says air defences shot down most missiles and work is under way to restore energy supplies

  • The attacks on Ukraine come hours after explosions at two military airfields in Russian territory - although there is no sign they are linked

  • Russia's defence ministry has blamed Ukrainian drones for the attack, saying three Russian military personnel died and four more were wounded

  • Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a bridge linking annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland, weeks after it was partially destroyed

  1. Thanks for joining uspublished at 19:28 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    We're now going to pause our Ukraine war live coverage - thanks for joining us.

    Here's a rundown of today's main events.

    Fresh strikes... The latest wave of missile strikes in Ukraine caused mass power cuts and saw at least two people killed in the Zaporizhzhia region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said air defences shot down most missiles and work was under way to restore energy supplies.

    Read more here.

    Across the border... Separate blasts at two Russian military airfields killed several people, with Moscow saying the devices used were "Soviet-made, low-flying Ukrainian drones". Ukraine has so far not claimed responsibility.

    You can read more on this here.

    Rare sighting... Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a bridge linking annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland, weeks after it was partially destroyed. Pictures on state TV showed the leader driving a car across the Kerch bridge.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin visits a bridge connecting the Russian mainland with the Crimean PeninsulaImage source, Reuters
  2. Russia condemns 'Nato nuclear threat'published at 19:17 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Russian nuclear-capable missile test, October 2022 - Russian Defence MinistryImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    A Russian nuclear-capable missile test

    Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Nato of risking direct war with Russia, which he says would be "catastrophic".

    He also blamed the US for the "freezing" of nuclear arms limitation talks. Those talks, on the New START Treaty, were to have resumed last Tuesday in Egypt, but the Biden administration said Russia decided unilaterally to postpone them. It is the only agreement left to limit the world's two biggest nuclear arsenals.

    Lavrov said that "in the context of the West's efforts to hold Russia back, the main threat comes from the general US and Nato line for what is, in reality, a military confrontation with our country. Obviously, it carries the risk of a direct clash between nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences."

    He went on: "with regret I report that, at the moment, strategic dialogue between Russia and the US, which possess the biggest nuclear arsenals and carry a particular responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, is being held by Washington in a frozen state".

    He reiterated President Putin's demand for Nato to give Russia new "security guarantees".

    Since Russia's invasion Nato members have been arming Ukraine, but the bloc does not decide how much each government sends.

  3. Ukrainians prepared to endure hardship as Russian attacks continuepublished at 19:00 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Jessica Parker
    Reporting from Kyiv

    People take shelter inside a metro station in KyivImage source, Reuters

    A further attack had been very much anticipated and publicly warned about in Ukraine.

    Russia stands accused of trying to freeze Ukrainians into submission this winter after Moscow has suffered setbacks on the battlefield.

    But many people I’ve spoken to in Kyiv say they are prepared to endure hardships in order to support the troops on the front line.

    It’s common to hear residents say too that they have been stocking up on bottled water and torches.

    Crucial services, like hospitals, also tend to have generators so they aren’t 100% reliant on the main grid.

    However it’s early yet in the winter and these attacks are undoubtedly taking their toll on people’s everyday life as well as the economy.

  4. Ukrainians wait for loved ones to cross front-line riverpublished at 18:48 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Gem O'Reilly
    BBC News

    People in Kherson are waiting for their family members to cross from the Russian-held bank of the Dnipro river.

    Military officials warned that fighting in the area could intensify and that they would allow crossings to take place, to help the evacuation of citizens.

    The three-day amnesty, which began on Saturday 3 December, ends tonight but many families haven't yet seen their relatives cross.

    Media caption,

    Ukrainians wait for loved ones to cross the Dnipro river

  5. Explosions at Russian airbases will embarrass Kremlinpublished at 18:30 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Steve Rosenberg
    BBC Russia editor

    The war the Kremlin started in Ukraine is moving deep inside Russia. There were explosions today at two Russian airbases hundreds of miles from the Ukrainian border.

    At a military airfield near Ryazan and at the Engels airbase near Saratov, which hosts Tupolev-95 long range bombers that have taken part in missile strikes against Ukraine.

    A spokesman for the Russian defence ministry said that the targets of the Ukrainian attacks had been the long-range bombers.

    He claimed that Russia managed to shoot down what he said were Soviet-era jet-propelled drones and that it was the debris that caused the explosions and damage.

    He said three soldiers were killed and four injured. The attacks so far into Russian territory will come as an embarrassment to the Kremlin.

    President Putin was informed of the incidents, but made no comment about them.

    Instead state TV showed him at the wheel, driving across the bridge linking Russia to annexed Crimea, a bridge that’s been under repair after an explosion in October. The president trying to show his people that he’s in control.

  6. Photos from Bakhmut battle zonepublished at 18:10 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Heavy fighting continues to rage around Bakhmut, a town in the east where Ukrainian forces have resisted repeated Russian assaults.

    The shelling has left much of Bakhmut in ruins - here are photos from the frontline, taken at the weekend. The town is in Donetsk region, which Russia claims as its territory - yet it doesn't control the whole region.

    Ukrainian trench, pictured on 4 December 2022Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ukrainian troops occupy World War One-style trenches around Bakhmut

    Wounded Ukrainian soldier in field hospital, 3 December 2022Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    A Ukrainian soldier with shrapnel wounds is treated in a field hospital

    Woman in devastated street in Bakhmut, 4 December 2022Image source, AFP
    Image caption,

    Some civilians stay on - yet much of Bakhmut is in ruins and still under attack

    Aid delivery in Bakhmut, 5 December 2022Image source, Getty Images
    Image caption,

    Ukrainian troops manage to hand out some desperately needed aid

  7. Today's attacks not unexpectedpublished at 17:48 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Paul Adams
    BBC Diplomatic correspondent

    A police officer stands next to part of a Russian missile shot down by Ukrainian air defence systems in KyivImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    The remains of a Russian missile were discovered after being shot down by air defence systems in Kyiv

    Today’s attacks were not unexpected. A week ago, Ukrainian officials said they had detected signs of Russian preparations.

    But this, the eighth wave of attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure since this phase of Russia’s war began on 10 October, took longer to materialise – coming almost two weeks since the last – and may have done less damage.

    Ukraine’s air force says 60 of an estimated 70 Russian cruise missiles were shot down.

    Russia’s defence ministry said it had struck “all 17 designated targets.”

    Significant disruption to the power grid has been reported across Ukraine, mainly in the east.

    In the south, Odesa was without electricity.

    For Ukraine’s hard pressed electrical engineers, it’s all likely to mean another round of emergency repairs, often to facilities hit repeatedly in recent weeks.

    Before today’s strikes, officials in Kyiv were talking about moving from highly disruptive emergency blackouts, which often last for many hours, to more manageable scheduled power cuts which offer civilians some badly needed predictability.

    Those plans may now be on hold, but it seems today’s damage may be less extensive than in previous attacks.

    One more difference: days after Ukrainian officials said Russia had used up its supply of so-called “kamikaze” drones, there were no reports of the Iranian-made weapons being used today.

    Another Ukrainian military official said cold weather had prevented Russia from using its Shahed 136 drones.

    Either way, they do not appear to have been used since mid-November.

  8. Russia confirms 'Ukrainian drone' attack on airbasespublished at 17:24 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Earlier we reported blasts at two military airfields far inside Russia - now Russia's defence ministry says these were attacks by Ukrainian drones and that three Russian military personnel were killed.

    A ministry statement said they were "Soviet-made, low-flying Ukrainian drones" targeting Russian long-range warplanes at two airbases: Dyagilevo in Ryazan region and Engels in Saratov region, both of them hundreds of kilometres from Ukraine.

    It said "three Russian military personnel died and four more were wounded in the Ukrainian armed forces attack".

    "Air defences intercepted these drones," it added. "As a result of the crash and explosion of fragments of the Ukrainian drones on the Russian airbases there was some slight fuselage damage on two planes."

  9. Missile fragments found in Moldova - reportspublished at 17:13 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Following a wave of Russian missile strikes across Ukraine today, the fragments of a missile have been found near the city of Briceni in northern Moldova, according to local media.

    Responding to the reports, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said, external the discovery "proves that Russian missile terror poses a huge threat not only to the security of Ukraine, but also to the security of neighbouring countries."

    He appealed for modern anti-missile and anti-aircraft defence systems to be sent to Ukraine as soon as possible.

    Russia has not commented on the reports.

    It isn't the first time a missile has landed on Moldovan territory. In late October, missile fragments were found in the village of Naslavcea after Ukrainian air defences intercepted a Russian missile, Moldova's interior ministry said at the time.

  10. Ukraine recaptures over half of territory seized by Russia - UK MoDpublished at 16:59 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Ukraine has liberated over half of the maximum amount of territory Russia is thought to have seized since the start of the war, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD).

    In its latest update, it says Ukraine has recaptured 54% of this territory.

    It adds that Russia now controls around 18% of internationally recognised areas of Ukraine, including the Russian-controlled Donbas and Crimea regions.

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  11. Putin drives across bridge linking Crimea to Russian mainlandpublished at 16:43 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Russian President Vladimir Putin visits the Kerch bridgeImage source, Reuters

    Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited a bridge linking Russian-annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland, weeks after it was partially destroyed by a deadly blast, according to Russian media reports.

    Pictures broadcast on Russian state TV showed President Putin driving a vehicle across the Kerch bridge following an attack which killed three people in October.

    Moscow blamed Ukraine for the blast on the bridge - a symbol of Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility.

    Media caption,

    WATCH: Russian President Putin filmed driving over repaired Crimea bridge

  12. Is it a war crime to attack the power grid?published at 16:26 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Ben Tobias
    BBC News

    Kyiv during a blackoutImage source, EPA
    Image caption,

    Millions of Ukrainians have suffered blackouts since Russia's attacks on infrastructure began

    Soon after Russia began its coordinated attacks on Ukraine's power grid, some Western and Ukrainian leaders labelled the strategy a war crime because of the harm done to civilians.

    But attacking energy infrastructure has been part of warfare for a long time. The US targeted Iraq's power system in the first Gulf war in 1991, and Nato forces hit energy targets in Serbia in 1999.

    So is it legal to target a country's power grid? Potentially, yes.

    If a piece of infrastructure has a military purpose, for example providing power to a military facility, it can be considered a valid target even if it also has a civilian use.

    However, international law places strict limits on when and how it can be attacked.

    The military advantage gained must be proportionate to the amount of harm done to the civilian population.

    The state has an obligation "to choose a target or a tactic that will cause less damage to civilians. Less death and less injury, but still fulfilling the military advantage," Dr Maria Varaki from King's College War Studies department told the BBC.

    Experts also point out that deliberately terrorising civilians is not considered a valid military advantage. But the sheer scale of Russia's attacks makes it unlikely they all have a genuine military function, says Professor Michael Schmitt of the US Naval War College.

    With that in mind, he believes it is now "pretty clear" that Russia's main motivation, at least in some attacks, is to "terrorise the civilian population", which would make it a violation of international law.

    You can read more about whether Russia's attacks are a war crime in this article.

  13. Missiles damaged Odesa's energy infrastructure - regional governorpublished at 16:14 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Jessica Parker
    Reporting from Kyiv

    As a result of a massive missile attack, the Odesa region's energy infrastructure was damaged, reports the port city's regional governor Maksim Marchenko.

    There were also hits on civilian houses and civilian infrastructure, and two people were injured, he says.

    Marchenko also says there is currently no electricity supply in Odesa and most of the communities of the district.

    A map showing the location of port city Odesa in southern UkraineImage source, .
  14. Work under way to restore energy suppliespublished at 16:05 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky says air defences shot down most missiles in Russia’s latest attack and that work is under way to restore energy supplies.

    40% of the Kyiv region has been left without power following Monday’s air strikes, according to the regional governor, Oleksiy Kuleba.

    Officials in regions in the east and south also say they are experiencing disruptions to water, electrical and heating services.

    Much of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been damaged after months of attacks and people are often being left in the cold and dark for hours.

  15. Russia fires barrage of missiles for eighth time in eight weekspublished at 15:56 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    As we've been reporting, Russia has fired a barrage of missiles at targets across Ukraine for the eighth time in eight weeks.

    Residents of Odesa in the south were left without water and the whole of the Sumy region suffered a blackout.

    Previous attacks have hit the country's energy grid, leaving millions without electricity and heat as winter arrives.

    Read more here.

  16. Explosions hit two military airfields in Russiapublished at 15:38 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Blasts at two Russian military airfields killed several people early on Monday, hundreds of kilometres from the Ukrainian border, Russian media report.

    Details of the blasts remain sketchy, but the Kremlin says President Putin has been informed about the incidents.

    A fuel tanker exploded killing three and injuring six at an airfield near the city Ryazan, south-east of Moscow, reports say.

    Another two people are reported to have been hurt in an explosion at an airfield in the Saratov region. According to one Russian report, a drone crashed onto the runway at Engels airbase in that region, damaging two Tu-95 bombers.

    Russia has repeatedly fired long-range missiles at Ukraine from strategic bombers based far inside Russia.

    Ukrainian officials have not made any claim about the incidents. There have been some previous attacks on bases in Russian-occupied Crimea.

    The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Moscow says the latest reports will fuel speculation that Ukraine may be behind the blasts, despite the distance from Ukraine.

    Read more about the latest incidents here.

    Locations of blasts in Russia, 5 Dec 2022Image source, .
  17. People take shelter in Kyiv metropublished at 15:24 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    During the latest Russian attacks, people packed into Kyiv's underground metro to take shelter as air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine's capital.

    Men, women and children were present, dressed in winter clothing, with temperatures in the capital currently around -5C (23°F).

    People sat on escalators in the metro stationImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People sheltering in Kyiv's metro station

    People sat on escalators in the metro stationImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Kyiv's residents check for latest updates while sheltering on an metro escalator

    Two boys leaning on each other in the undergroundImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    Men, women and children were seen sheltering in the metro deep below the streets of Kyiv

    People sheltering in the metroImage source, Reuters
    Image caption,

    People were told to not ignore the alarms

  18. Ukrainian energy infrastructure hitpublished at 15:08 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Jessica Parker
    Reporting from Kyiv

    Ukraine’s grid operator says energy infrastructure has been hit in missile strikes, causing emergency power outages.

    In a statement on Facebook, the state-owned Ukrenergo said: “The air alert continues, Ukraine is experiencing the eighth mass missile attack by a terrorist country. Unfortunately, there are already hits on energy infrastructure facilities and related emergency power outages. Ukrenergo dispatchers are working to maintain balance in the power system. Please stay in shelters.”

    The official water supplier in Odesa, Infoksvodokanal, said that: “All pumping stations and backup lines in Odesa are de-energised. There is no water supply in the city districts.”

    Earlier the deputy head of the office of the president, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said that two infrastructure facilities in the Odesa region had been damaged and that one person had been hospitalised.

    The Mayor of Kryvyi Rih, Oleksandr Vilkul, said that “large-scale outages are possible” and urged people to charge their power banks and stock up on water.

    Odesa facts
  19. Welcome to our live coveragepublished at 14:53 Greenwich Mean Time 5 December 2022

    Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the latest from the war in Ukraine.

    You join us as a fresh wave of Russian missiles have struck parts of Ukraine, killing at least two people in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian officials say.

    The attacks follow reports of deadly explosions at two Russian military airfields earlier in the day, located hundreds of miles from the border with Ukraine. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks, which have killed several people.

    Stay with us for live updates.