A former British army instructor has been arrested in Kyiv and accused of spying for Russia while working as an adviser to the Ukrainian military. Ukraine's prosecutor general's office alleges the man passed information to Moscow about foreign military advisers and the coordinates of army training centres. He arrived in Ukraine in 2024, conducted training for the army, and worked in the border guard before agreeing to collaborate with Russia, according to officials.
The SBU, Ukraine's state security service, claims the Russian FSB gave the man instructions on making explosive devices and provided him with a handgun and ammunition. The prosecutor general said he “attempted to establish access to the command of military units” in exchange for $6,000. If found guilty, he faces up to 12 years in prison. Britain's Foreign Office said it was “aware of reports that a British national has been detained in Ukraine” and remained in close contact with Ukrainian authorities.
In other developments, Russia launched an overnight attack on the north-eastern city of Sumy, injuring 11 people, including four children, and damaging residential buildings and infrastructure. The local governor said the railway depot was hit, destroying several carriages. Meanwhile, Ukrainian drones struck a power plant in the Russian city of Oryol, leading to restrictions on heat and hot water supply in three districts.
Ukraine's foreign minister confirmed that Russia has used the 9M729 cruise missile in combat, firing it 23 times since August. The missile's secret development prompted the US to abandon a nuclear arms control pact in 2019. Japanese utilities JERA and Tohoku Electric Power said they could secure alternative LNG supplies if flows from Russia's Sakhalin-2 project are interrupted, amid US pressure to end energy imports from Russia.
An investigation by independent outlet Verstka alleges that Russian commanders are executing soldiers who refuse to fight in Ukraine, appointing “execution shooters” to kill refusers and later dumping their bodies in rivers or shallow graves. Other accounts describe commanders using drones and explosives to “finish off” wounded or retreating soldiers.
Russia launched a barrage of drones and missiles at Ukraine's energy infrastructure, killing seven people including a seven-year-old girl. Nationwide power restrictions were imposed, and water supplies and heating were disrupted in some regions. DTEK, Ukraine's largest private energy company, said its thermal power stations were under attack, with CEO Maxim Timchenko calling it “a bad blow to our efforts to keep power flowing this winter.”
