NZ Herald Headlines | Saturday, December 27, 2025.
The US bombs Islamic State terrorists in Nigeria, the NZ summer drowning toll now stands at one. Retail waits for a surge.
Several powerful explosions rocked Kyiv as authorities warned that the Ukrainian capital was under threat of missile attack.
“Explosions in the capital. Air defence forces are operating. Stay in shelters!” Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram.
Ukraine’s air force also announced a countrywide air alert in the early hoursof Saturday (local time) and said on social media that drones and missiles were moving over several Ukrainian regions, including the capital.
AFP journalists in Kyiv heard several loud explosions, some accompanied by bright flashes that lit the horizon orange.
Nearly three hours later, Kyiv’s regional military administration said that air defences had been activated due to the approach of a drone.
It comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is set to meet US President Donald Trump in Florida to discuss a proposed plan to end the fighting that has killed tens of thousands since 2022.
Russia accused Zelenskyy and his EU backers of seeking to “torpedo” the US-brokered plan.
The latest plan is a 20-point proposal that would freeze the war on its current front line but open the door for Ukraine to pull back troops from the east, where demilitarised buffer zones could be created, according to details revealed by Zelenskyy this week.
