Kyiv repels Russian attack as Gazprom deal nears end and POWs exchanged

Kyiv's military administration said the city's air defenses were repelling a Russian air attack early on Tuesday morning.

Reuters witnesses reported several explosions in the capital after Ukraine's air force announced a missile threat across the country.

According to preliminary information, missile debris fell on a private building in one of the capital's districts, the city's military administration said on Telegram.

There was no fire or damage, as well as no reports of casualties, it added.

Separately, unidentified infrastructure was hit in a Russian missile attack in the town of Shostka, in the northern Sumy region, authorities said on Telegram. Local Telegram channels reported rounds of explosions in the area.

Ukraine's air force said on Tuesday it had downed six out of 21 Russia-launched missiles overnight.

Russia used 40 drones to attack the country, the air force said on Telegram. Air defense units shot down 16 of them and 24 more failed to reach targets, it added.

Russian helicopter 'destroyed'

Meanwhile, Ukrainian military intelligence said one of its naval drones had destroyed a Russian helicopter and damaged another one in the Black Sea.

In a battle near Cape Tarkhankut on Crimea's west coast on Tuesday, a Magura V5 maritime drone equipped with missiles hit a Russian Mi-8 helicopter, Ukraine's GUR spy agency said on Telegram.

GUR said it was the first time a Ukrainian naval drone had downed an air target. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

There was no comment from Moscow on the helicopter. Russia's defense ministry said on Telegram its Black Sea Fleet destroyed eight unmanned drone vessels.

In grainy footage released by GUR, a helicopter flying over water could be seen targeted by several projectiles. The aircraft is filmed falling down after the attack. Reuters could not immediately verify the video.

A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fuel spill and fire on Tuesday at an oil depot in Russia's western region of Smolensk, local governor Vasily Anokhin said.

Anokhin wrote on Telegram that 10 Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defenses but the wreckage of one of them fell on the oil facility.

Gazprom supplies to Europe ending

Russia's Gazprom said that it will send 37.2 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, compared to 42.4 mcm on Monday.

Supplies of Russian gas via Ukraine are due to stop from the early hours of January 1 after the current five-year transit deal between Moscow and Kyiv expires. Kyiv has refused to negotiate a new agreement as its conflict against Russia approaches the end of a third year.

The slump in Russian gas supplies to Europe pushed gas prices to an all-time high, stoking inflation and raising the cost of living across the continent.

The end of the transit deal is unlikely to cause a repeat of the 2022 EU gas price rally as the remaining volumes are relatively small. Russia shipped about 15 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas via Ukraine in 2023 - only 8 percent of peak Russian gas flows to Europe via various routes in 2018-2019.

President Vladimir Putin said last week that there was no time left this year to sign a new Ukrainian gas transit deal, laying the blame on Kyiv for refusing to extend the agreement.

Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Friday that Slovakia would consider reciprocal measures against Ukraine such as halting back-up electricity supplies if Kyiv stops the gas transit from January 1.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Fico on Saturday of opening a "second energy front" against Ukraine on the orders of Russia. Slovakia denied the accusation.

Prisoner exchange

Ukraine and Russia carried out a new exchange of prisoners of war on Monday, with the two sides bringing home a combined total of more than 300 former captives.

Kyiv brought home 189 former captives, Zelenskyy and Russia's defense Ministry both said, while the Russian ministry said 150 Russian servicemen were returning home.

The Russian ministry said the captives had been released in Belarus, Moscow's close ally in the 34-month-old conflict with Ukraine, and would be transferred to Russia.

Zelenskyy thanked United Arab Emirates authorities and other partners for facilitating the swap. The United Arab Emirates acknowledged it helped arrange the exchange.

There was no immediate explanation for why more Ukrainians than Russians were listed as released; the freed Ukrainians included civilians who had been in Russian captivity.

Zelenskyy said the returning Ukrainians included soldiers, sergeants and officers from frontline areas and two civilians who had been captured in Mariupol.