Russia warns Western forces deployed to Ukraine under postwar security deal would be "legitimate combat targets" as diplomatic tensions escalate.

The United Kingdom and France have agreed to deploy forces in Ukraine if it strikes a peace deal with Russia, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, in a renewed push by Western leaders to guarantee Kyiv’s post-war security and deter Moscow from further aggression.

Two entire Ukrainian regions were plunged into darkness in freezing temperatures late on Wednesday, leaving more than 1mn households without power, after Russian drone strikes triggered one of the biggest energy blackouts of the war.

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed progress in developing a plan for postwar security guarantees, Russia’s foreign ministry on Thursday again rejected a core pillar of the emerging peace initiative: the deployment of British and European soldiers as part of a peacekeeping force.

Russian strikes late on Wednesday knocked out power supplies almost entirely in two regions of southeastern Ukraine, the energy ministry said.

Russia reportedly struck a critical infrastructure site in Ukraine’s Lviv region in the early hours of January 9, possibly using an Oreshnik ballistic missile, triggering nationwide air raid alerts and warnings from the US Embassy in Kyiv.

Moscow says any Nato peacekeepers would be considered legitimate targets; US embassy and Kyiv flag ‘potentially significant air attack’. What we know on day 1,416

More Russian attacks struck Ukraine Tuesday night. The attacks came a day after the Coalition of the Willing meeting in Paris. The Coalition is a group of Ukraine's allies aiming to help defend the country against Russian aggression.