Kremlin says Trump circle seeking peace plan for Ukraine

The Kremlin said it had noted that President-elect Donald Trump's circle was speaking about a potential peace plan for Ukraine while the current US administration of Joe Biden was not, saying it was seeking to escalate the conflict instead.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made his remarks after being asked to comment on an interview that Mike Waltz, Mr Trump's pick for national security adviser, gave to Fox News in the US yesterday.

Mr Waltz said that Mr Trump had been "very concerned" about an escalation in fighting between Russia and Ukraine and that the war must be brought "to a responsible end".

Mr Waltz noted what he said was the involvement of North Korea and Iran in the conflict, Russia's use of a hypersonic ballistic missile against Ukraine, a decision by some Western countries to let Kyiv fire their missiles deep into Russia, and said South Korea was considering whether to get involved too.

"What we need to be discussing is who's at that table, whether it's an agreement, an armistice, how to get both sides to the table, and then what's the framework of a deal," Mr Waltz said.

Mr Peskov said the Kremlin had taken note of the comments and that President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly signalled that Moscow was ready for dialogue over Ukraine.

"Indeed, from the circle of Trump supporters and those who have been nominated for future positions in the future administration, the word 'peace' or 'peace plan' is being heard," Mr Peskov said.

"No such words are being heard from the current (Biden) administration while provocative escalatory actions continue.

"That is the reality that we face," he said.

Mr Putin spelled out in June what he wanted in order to start peace talks - for Ukraine to drop its NATO membership ambitions and to hand over the entirety of four provinces claimed by Moscow.

Moscow says the terms reflect reality on the battlefield where Russian forces have been advancing. But Ukraine says such terms would amount to an unacceptable capitulation for Kyiv.

Hundreds of drones launched by Russia

The Ukrainian military said it had struck an oil depot overnight in Russia's western Kaluga region.

The military said it had also struck "a number of important targets" in Russia's Bryansk and Kursk regions, which are adjacent to Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukraine's air force said that it had shot down 71 out of 145 drones launched by Russia since yesterday evening.

It said that it had lost track of 71 more drones likely due to active electronic warfare, with one drone heading towards Belarus.

Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in Ukraine's southern region of Mykolaiv and industrial facilities in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region overnight, Ukrainian authorities said.

Engineers had restored power to most of the consumers facing power cuts in the attack's aftermath as of the morning, Mykolaivgovernor Vitaliy Kim said via the Telegram messaging app.

The governor reported no casualties and said the air defence downed two drones over the region.

Russia also launched "tens of drones" to attack Zaporizhzhia overnight, regional governor Ivan Fedorov said on national television.

The attack injured one child and dealt damage to multiple industrial facilities and a residential block.

Air defence also repelled a drone attack on the Ukrainian capital and the surrounding region overnight.

The regional and city authorities reported no casualties or significant damage in the attack's aftermath.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said yesterday that Russia used around 460 drones and over 20 missiles to attack Ukraine in the past week.

While a Russian attack on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv injured at least 10 people this morning, its mayor said via the Telegram messaging app.

The Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said the attack caused a fire on one of the city's central streets and damaged civilian infrastructure and cars.