Russia plans to raise its defence spending to more than £150bn next year to bolster its war on Ukraine, according to a draft budget due to be submitted to parliament tomorrow.
Total defence spending will amount to £450bn (50 trillion roubles) in the next three years, reported Reuters, as Putin doubles down on his now four-and-a-half year war with Russia's European neighbour.
It comes as Germany identified Ukraine’s air defence shortage as its “weakest point” heading into the winter. German chancellor Friedrich Merz made the remark during a briefing in Berlin, where he said he was speaking personally with several allies to try and secure more supplies.
Sharing his concerns about securing Kyiv, he said: “If Ukraine falls, peace and freedom throughout Europe will be under threat.”
Meanwhile, Russian air strikes killed three, including a child, and injured another seven people in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv and the surrounding region early on Wednesday, officials said.
Poland's Air Traffic Authority said on Wednesday that airports in Rzeszow and Lublin temporarily suspended air operations due to military aviation activity during Russian strikes on Ukraine.
In focus: Putin's campaign to spread chaos across Europe
Ukraine captures 250 Russian soldiers using 'zombie car' operation – report
Ukraine has captured 250 Russian soldiers as prisoners of war using “zombie cars”, reported the Telegraph citing a senior defence official.
Brig Gen Andriy Biletsky told the outlet that his troops reclaimed nearly 68 square miles of land in north of the city of Lyman in the military campaign named Operation Vivaldi.
He said that his command turned Soviet-era armoured vehicles into unmanned zombie cars to blew up a heavily fortified position, leading to the surrender of an entire Russian unit.
While vehicles have been used as improvised explosive devices, the new technology allows to steer them to the target in a “suicide” attack, without needing a driver to man it.
“The enemy was deceived and missed the real strike,” said Brig Gen Biletsky, who commands 3rd Army Corps.
The claimed surrender of 250 Russian soldiers is the one highest totals reported in a single operation.
'Dark winter' for Europe as Russia's sabotage continues, Belgian minister says
Europe needs to rapidly improve its air defence as Russia continues its hybrid actions in the coming months, Belgium's defence minister Theo Francken said on Wednesday.
"There will be more hybrid threat actions (in the) coming months. It will be a dark winter for Europe," Francken said at the Defence & Space Summit hosted by Euronews in Brussels.
"We need to scale up our air defences and we need to have more stocks, scale up production. Everything has to go faster," he added.
Belgium to transfer three F-16s to Ukraine this year, Zelensky says
Belgium will transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year to help in its war with Russia, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.
"There is an important agreement with Belgium on the transfer of three F-16 fighter jets by the end of this year," he wrote on X.
"We will work to receive these aircraft through an accelerated procedure."
Zelensky said Ukraine had already received "urgent deliveries" of F-16 ammunition from Belgium and Spain, among other countries.
Zelensky said later in his nightly video address that Ukraine had received delivery the day before of a "very good" assistance package of a NASAMS air defence system, developed jointly in the US and Norway.
He also said that talks were proceeding to ensure that Ukraine has a supply of missiles for the Patriot air defence system, which play a critical role in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.
Zelensky said tests were continuing to improve the efficiency of Ukrainian interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster than conventional drones.
Of more than 100 Russian drones deployed on Tuesday, he said, 29 were jet-powered and 18 of those had been downed.
Russia claims massive overnight strike hit Kyiv communications centre and energy facilities
Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that it had launched a massive overnight strike hitting a communications centre and energy facilities in Kyiv, as well as Ukrainian port infrastructure in Izmail.
In Kyiv, Russia said it struck the De Novo data centre, which it described as a major internet traffic exchange hub supporting the Ukrainian armed forces.
In the wider Kyiv region, Russia said it hit the Kyivska power substation near Nalyvaikivka, the Kyiv hydroelectric power plant in Vyshhorod, the Trypilska thermal power plant and an energy storage facility in Horenychi.
And in the Odesa region, Russia said it struck an industrial complex at the port of Izmail used to receive, store and transport military cargo and fuel for the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine is yet to comment on the specific claims but said its emergency services are responding in Kyiv.
Debris found at Western embassy in Kyiv, mayor says
Debris had been found at the premises of one of the Western embassies in the centre of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday, citing preliminary information.
Klitschko did not name the embassy, but said emergency services were heading to the site.
Polish airports resume flights after major Russian assault
Operations at airports in Lublin and Rzeszow have resumed after temporary closures due to military aviation operations, Poland's Air Traffic Authority said on Wednesday.
Military aviation was operating in Polish airspace due to Russian strikes on Ukraine using "airborne assault means", the Polish army said in a statement earlier.
The army also said it had readied its ground-based air defence systems and radar reconnaissance as a defensive measure aimed at securing its airspace.
Russian bomb attack kills two in Ukraine's Sumy, officials say
Russian glide bombs struck homes and a school in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring six, officials said.
President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in his nightly video address, said one bomb struck a house, killing a woman. A second bomb hit the school.
"An ordinary school, where children happened to be at the time," he said. "The building sustained considerable damage, but the children and teachers were in a shelter, and fortunately, thanks to that, no one was hurt at the school."
Governor Oleh Hryhorov, writing on Telegram, put the death toll at two, with three children among the injured. He said teachers and school officials had managed to evacuate 100 people into the shelter.
Sumy has been a frequent target of Russian attacks during its war with Ukraine. Russia's military has said it wants to establish a buffer zone in areas along the border.
Six dead as Russian long-range bomber crashes in far east
At least six crew members were killed after a Russian bomber crashed during a training flight.
The incident occurred in an uninhabited part of the Amur region in the country's far east, the Russian defence ministry said on Tuesday.
The sole crew member who survived the crash was taken to hospital with injuries.
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Germany identifies air defence shortages as Ukraine's 'weakest point'
Ukraine’s shortage of air defence missiles is currently its weakest point, the German Chancellor said on Tuesday, adding that Berlin is working with its partners to bolster Kyiv’s capabilities before winter sets in.
Friedrich Merz made the remarks during a briefing in Berlin, reported by DW.
Merz said he was raising the issue and trying to secure fresh supplies for Kyiv in discussions with multiple heads of state.
“At the moment, this is the weakest point. I hope that we will be able to prepare Ukraine for the upcoming winter, including in the field of energy supply,” he said.
Russia, he said, “will continue to bombard ruthlessly and destroy civilian infrastructure”.
“But we will not let ourselves be intimidated by this,” he continued. “We will continue to support Ukraine, because we know: Ukraine is part of Europe. If Ukraine falls, peace and freedom throughout Europe will be under threat.”