The Financial Times has reported, citing an unnamed US National Security Council official, that Russia is considering launching its new intermediate-range ballistic missile Oreshnik at Ukraine for the second time this weekend.

Russian forces targeted the city of Kharkiv on the morning of 13 December, with explosions reported in the city and its suburbs. Strikes were carried out on the city's outskirts. Ukraine's Air Force has confirmed that ballistic missiles were used in the bombardment.

Ukraine said Russia launched a massive air-strike on Friday, targeting the western part of the country with missiles after weeks of relative lull in aerial attacks.

Russia will definitely respond to Ukraine's latest use of U.S.-made ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, the Kremlin said on Thursday. Russia said on Wednesday that Ukraine had struck a military airfield on the Azov Sea with six U.

Russia could launch its lethal new intermediate-range ballistic missile against Ukraine again soon, the Pentagon said Wednesday, as both sides wrestle for a battlefield advantage that will give them leverage in any negotiations to end the nearly 3-year war.

Throughout the morning, an air raid alert was in effect across all Ukrainian regions due to a massive Russian attack. "This was one of the largest strikes targeting our energy infrastructure," noted Volodymyr Zelensky in a subsequently published post.