The United Kingdom has announced plans to develop a new deep-strike ballistic missile for Ukraine, under a project named Nightfall. The British government said it had launched a competition to rapidly produce ground-launched missiles capable of carrying a 200kg warhead over a distance of more than 500km.
According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the Nightfall missiles will be able to be fired from a variety of vehicles, allowing Ukrainian forces to launch multiple missiles in quick succession and withdraw within minutes. This, the ministry said, would enable Ukrainian forces to strike key military targets before Russian forces could respond.
Three industry teams will each receive £9 million to design, develop, and deliver their first three Nightfall missiles within 12 months for test firings. Ukraine currently relies on US-supplied Atacms missiles and its own Sapsan system for ballistic strikes.
Meanwhile, Russia launched another attack on Kyiv early on Monday, sparking a fire in at least one district, according to Ukrainian military officials. The attack came as more than 1,000 apartment buildings in the capital remained without heating following a Russian bombardment on Friday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation as “still extremely difficult”, particularly in border regions.
Pope Leo offered prayers for the people of Ukraine, saying the “particularly serious” strikes on energy infrastructure were “hitting the civilian population hard, just as the cold weather is getting worse”. In a separate development, Ukraine’s military said its forces had struck three drilling platforms operated by Russian oil company Lukoil in the Caspian Sea, while Moscow reported that a Ukrainian drone attack had killed one person and wounded three others in the city of Voronezh.
