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President says air force’s new system involves ‘mobile fire groups’ and interceptor drones as he warns of fresh Russian attacks ahead. What we know on day 1,427See all our Ukraine war coverageUkraine’s armed forces are introducing a new facet of air defence, made up of small groups deploying interceptor drones, as the country braces for new mass Russian attacks, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday. Ukraine is still reeling from a wave of Russian strikes earlier this month that knocked out power and heating to thousands of apartment blocks in freezing temperatures, particularly in the capital, and Zelenskyy has repeatedly called for air defences to be strengthened. “There will be a new approach to the use of air defences by the air force, concerning mobile fire groups, interceptor drones and other ‘short-range’ air defence assets,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address. “The system will be transformed.” Zelenskyy announced the appointment of a new deputy air force commander, Pavlo Yelizarov, to oversee and develop the innovation.Zelenskyy also warned Ukrainians to be “extremely vigilant” ahead of anticipated new Russian attacks. “Russia has prepared for a strike, a massive strike, and is waiting for the moment to carry it out,” he said, urging every region in the country to “be prepared to respond as quickly as possible and help people”. Zelenskyy and foreign minister Andrii Sybiha both warned at the weekend that Ukrainian intelligence had noted Russia was conducting reconnaissance of specific targets, particularly substations that supply nuclear power plants. Ukrainian energy minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday he had informed the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about Russian preparations for more strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, including those that ensure the operations of nuclear plants.Russian forces launched a combined drone and missile attack on Kyiv early on Tuesday, triggering cuts in power and water supplies, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital said. A non-residential building had been hit and one person injured in the strike on the east bank of the Dnipro River, Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. The Kyiv military administration said a storage area had been damaged and several cars set ablaze.The IAEA said on Monday that a back-up power line had been reconnected to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after repair work carried out under an IAEA-brokered ceasefire. The Ferosplavna-1 line is one of two high-voltage lines supplying electricity to the Russian-controlled plant in Ukraine and was disconnected earlier this month.Russia launched a barrage of drone strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure overnight to Monday, cutting off power in five regions across the country amid sub-zero temperatures and high demand, Ukrainian officials said. Russian forces had launched 145 drones and air defences shot down 126 of them, the Ukrainian air force said. “As of this morning, consumers in Sumy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions are without power,” the energy ministry said. “Emergency repair work is under way if the security situation allows.”Ukraine will face enormous challenges to organise its first elections since Russia’s 2022 invasion, with its infrastructure shattered and millions of people displaced by war, the country’s election chief said. Bringing Ukraine’s voter registry up to date and making the proper preparations for a vote would take significant time, Oleh Didenko, the head of Ukraine’s Central Election Commission, told Reuters. Amid diplomatic efforts to end the war, US president Donald Trump has demanded Ukraine hold elections, even though they are banned under martial law – in force since the invasion – and a majority of Ukrainians oppose a wartime ballot.Vladimir Putin’s special envoy Kirill Dmitriev will travel to Davos in Switzerland this week and hold meetings with members of the US delegation on the sidelines of the World Economic…

Red caps are becoming a symbol of protest in Denmark as Donald Trump ratchets up the pressure on GreenlandRed baseball caps spoofing Donald Trump’s Maga hats have become a symbol of Danish and Greenlandic defiance against the US president’s threat to seize the frozen territory.The caps reading “Make America Go Away” – parodying Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan – have gained popularity, along with several variants on social media and at public protests, including a weekend demonstration held in freezing weather in Copenhagen. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Campaigners claim changes will let companies ‘off the hook’, as government prepares to unveil new white paper for water industryWater companies could be let off fines for polluting the environment under changes announced in the government’s new white paper.The environment secretary, Emma Reynolds, hailed the changes as “once-in-a-generation reforms” featuring “tough oversight, real accountability and no more excuses”. Continue reading...

Misjudged penalty after Senegal’s walk-off chaos leaves forward facing a lifetime of criticismAfter Portugal had beaten England in the World Cup quarter-final in 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo was asked how he had looked so calm taking his penalty in the shootout when England’s players appeared crushed by the occasion. For a moment he seemed baffled by the question, then he explained that those moments are what he lives for. Where others feel pressure, he sees opportunity.What, you wonder, did Brahim Díaz see during the Afcon final on Sunday? When his shoulder was tugged by El Hadji Malick Diouf and he collapsed, did he consider the consequences? When he howled in the face of the Democratic Republic of the Congo referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo as he waited for the verdict of the video assistant referee, did it occur to him he would take the penalty if it were given? He had scored one against Mali in the group stage, but that was with Achraf Hakimi, a very fine penalty taker, off the pitch. Continue reading...