Ukraine updates: Kyiv says it struck Russia's oil facilities

The US is expected to host a meeting with Ukraine and EU leaders early in the year, while a coalition of Kyiv's allies will gather in Paris. But with no sign of the fighting slowing down, is peace anywhere near?

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Ukraine's domestic security service, the SBU, reported that Ukrainian long-range drones struck the Temp oil depot in the Russian city of Rybinsk, located approximately 270 kilometers north of Moscow.

The SBU described the facility as a key logistics hub for fuel and said that the attack sparked a large fire.

Rybinsk is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's military announced that it had attacked an oil refinery and an oil terminal in the southern Russian port city of Tuapse and an oil terminal on the Taman Peninsula in Russia's Krasnodar region.

Russia showed what it called evidence to support its claim that Ukraine launched a coordinated attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin.

Russia's Defense Ministry released footage of Major-General Alexander Romanenkov detailing what he called a thwarted Ukrainian drone attack on a Putin residence in Novgorod.

He listed the locations, exact times and flight routes of individual drones on the night of December 28-29.

Romanenkov said 91 drones were launched from Sumy and Chernihiv, causing no damage or injuries.

The video showed fragments of a downed Chaklun-V drone with what is said to be an unexploded 6-kg charge. The ministry did not explain how it knew the target.

The Russian statement comes after Kyiv accused Russia of fabricating the alleged attack to stall peace talks.

Western officials also doubt Moscow's claims and question whether any attack occurred.

President Vladimir Putin says he believes Russia will win the war in Ukraine.

In his televised New Year’s Eve address, aired first in Kamchatka, Putin urged Russians to support troops on the front lines, calling them "heroes."

He wished a happy New Year to "fighters and commanders." adding that "millions of people across Russia, trust me, are thinking of you."

His speech, a tradition since Soviet times, is broadcast nationwide just before midnight in each of Russia’s 11 time zones.

Finnish authorities have inspected a vessel suspected of damaging an undersea cable in the Gulf of Finland, President Alexander Stubb said.

Telecom provider Elisa detected a fault early Wednesday on a telecommunications cable between Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia. A patrol vessel and helicopter located a ship suspected of causing the damage. Its anchor chain had been lowered near the reported site.

The vessel was ordered to stop and move to a safe anchorage, and Finnish authorities have now taken control.

There have been multiple incidents of undersea cables and pipelines linking Nordic, Baltic, and other European countries being damaged since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Authorities believe these incidents are part of broader Russian attacks in Europe.

The European Union's top diplomat is rejecting Russian claims that Ukraine targeted President Vladimir Putin's residence with drones.

On Wednesday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas called the allegations "unfounded" and a "deliberate distraction" from peace efforts.

"Moscow ⁠aims to derail real progress towards ‍peace by Ukraine and ​its ​Western partners," Kallas wrote on social media platform X.

Russian strikes have wounded six people in the Ukrainian city of Odesa, including three children, local authorities have said.

Odesa's regional military administration said on Telegram that drones attacked residential, logistical and energy infrastructure.

Regional administration head Oleg Kiper said the assault hit multiple sites across the area.

In a separate post, city military administration head Sergiy Lysak said the wounded included children aged 8 and 14, as well as a 7-month-old baby.

Lysak said a 42-year-old man was also injured and is in serious condition. In an update early Wednesday, he put the total number of wounded at six.

Authorities said parts of Odesa lost heating and water supplies following the attack.

Ukraine's leading private energy provider, DTEK, said the strikes had also targeted two ‍of its energy facilities, causing extensive damage.

"The damages are significant. Restoring the ‍equipment to working condition ​will take time," DTEK said ​in a statement.

European and Canadian officials are stepping up coordination to advance peace efforts in Ukraine, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.

"We are moving the peace process forward. Transparency and honesty are now required from everyone  including Russia," Merz posted on X.

The meeting, attended by European leaders, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and NATO chief Mark Rutte, followed US President Donald Trump's talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida.

The leaders held a virtual meeting as Washington pressed Moscow and Kyiv toward a possible settlement.

After the meeting, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said peace was "on the horizon" but far from assured.

Meanwhile, von der Leyen said talks focused on support for Ukraine, security and post-war reconstruction. She added that Ukraine's eventual accession to the European Union is a "key security guarantee" and a benefit for Europe as a whole.

Four people were injured in a Russian drone strike on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the city's military administration said on Wednesday.

Those injured included two children aged eight and 14 as well as a seven-month-old baby, said Sergiy Lysak, head of the city's military administration.

"Drones attacked the residential, logistical, and energy infrastructure of our region," Odesa's military administration regional head said on the Telegram messaging platform.

The fourth victim, a 42-year-old man, was in "serious condition," Lysak said.

A power outage hit a town outside Moscow, with Russian media citing power authorities as saying it was because of a technical fault at a regional power facility.

The outage affected over 100,000 residents. Authorities said they were working to repair the damage.

There was no immediate evidence the outage was linked to Ukraine.

Ukraine has bombarded different parts of Russia with a barrage of drones, Russian authorities said.

Ukrainian drones were intercepted and destroyed over the Moscow region, parts of western Russia and the annexed Crimean Peninsula.

The Russian Defense Ministry said air defense units destroyed 27 Ukrainian drones in the three-hour period starting at 8 p.m. (1700 GMT).

No immediate reports of damage were available.

In a residential area in the Black Sea port of Tuapse, the regional administration said port infrastructure and a gas pipeline were damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack.

The operational headquarters of the Krasnodar region said the attack damaged the port's berth, adding that emergency crews were dispatched to repair the damage.

Ukrainian forces launched a drone attack on several parts of Russia, including the Moscow region, Russian officials said.

It comes a day after Moscow accused Kyiv of carrying out a drone attack targeting one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, without providing evidence.

Kyiv has dismissed the allegations as baseless and aimed at derailing peace talks in the war that Russia launched against Ukraine nearly four years ago.

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