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Key events
In a passage passionately defending international law, Pope Leo says:
“We cannot ignore that the destruction of hospitals, energy, infrastructure, homes and places essential to daily life constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
He adds by saying “the Holy See firmly reiterates its condemnation of any form of involvement of civilians in military operations.”
Who could he possibly be thinking about?
‘War is back in vogue,’ Pope Leo warns at meeting with diplomats
Pope Leo XIV is now speaking in the Vatican City, addressing the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, and he warns that “weakness of multilateralism is a particular cause of concern” as force replaces diplomacy and “war is back in vogue”.
He says:
“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies.
War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading.
The principle established after the second world war, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined.
Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself, or in the pursuit of the establishment of the ordered universe willed, by God, with a more perfect form of justice among men and women. Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion.
This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”
Extensively quoting from the writing of St Augustine, he also warns that “those who make war” who “desire nothing but victory … to attain peace with glory.”
“[They] have no hatred of peace, but only wish it changed into a peace that suits them better.
They do not, therefore wish to have no peace, but only the peace that they desire. It was precisely this attitude that led humanity into the tragedy of the second world war.”
Russian strikes on Ukraine overnight – in pictures
Ukrainian PM accusses Russia of ‘energy terror’ as 500,000 left without power in Kyiv
Meanwhile, the country’s prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko, offered a bit more detail on the power and water supply outages in the aftermath of the Russian attacks overnight.
In a short update on Telegram, she said that work was under way to restore power to “more than 500,000 consumers” in Kyiv, after damage to substations, lines and generation facilities.
She said “the enemy purposefully attacked district boiler houses – this is energy terror and an attempt to turn winter into a weapon.”
Russian strikes kill four, damage Qatari embassy, Zelenskyy says, as he calls for ‘clear reaction’ against Russia
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has now also commented on the overnight Russian strikes on Ukraine, saying that at least four people were killed after 20 residential buildings were damaged.
A building of the Embassy of Qatar was also damaged in the strikes, he said, stressing that Qatar “does so much to mediate with Russia in order to secure the release of prisoners of war and civilians held in Russian prisons”.
He also accused Russia of conducting a “double tap” attack, with the second strike coming “precisely at the moment when first responders were providing assistance after the first strike”.
Zelenskyy said that the work was under way to “restore heating and electricity supply for the people”, with further meetings on this expected during the day.
He added:
“A clear reaction from the world is needed. Above all from the United States, whose signals Russia truly pays attention to.
Russia must receive signals that it is its obligation to focus on diplomacy, and must feel consequences every time it again focuses on killings and the destruction of infrastructure.
Today’s strike also serves as a very loud reminder to all our partners that supporting Ukraine’s air defence is a permanent priority. Not a single day can be lost in deliveries, in production, or in agreements.”
Morning opening: So much for Putin’s intentions to end the war
Jakub Krupa
Russia said it had fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile at a critical infrastructure target in western Ukraine on another night of heavy strikes which Kyiv said demonstrated a “grave threat to the security on the European continent.”
36 missiles and 242 drones were reportedly launched at Ukraine overnight, according to the Ukrainian air force statement this morning.
The attacks came just hours after a specific warning from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said last night that “another massive Russian attack may happen tonight,” and warned that “the Russians haven’t changed one bit” as “they are trying to exploit the harsh winter weather” to disrupt the lives of Ukrainians.
Reuters noted that it is the second time that Russia has used the intermediate-range Oreshnik missile, which president Vladimir Putin has boasted is impossible to intercept because of its reported velocity of more than 10 times the speed of sound.
Moscow said the strike was in retaliation for what it claimed was an attempted Ukrainian strike at Putin’s residence, despite serious doubts about whether it actually took place. US president Donald Trump said recently that he didn’t believe the strike happened.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrii Sybiha, said this morning that Ukraine was in the process of informing the US, European partners and others “about the details of this dangerous strike”.
He added:
“It is absurd that Russia attempts to justify this strike with the fake ‘Putin residence attack’ that never happened. Another proof that Moscow does not need any real reasons for its terror and war.”
Sybiha also noted that Russia used the missile to strike targets near Lviv, about 50 miles (80km) from Ukraine’s border with Poland, an EU and Nato member.
“There needs to be more strong steps against Russian tanker fleet – and the US is right to take action here – as well as Russia’s oil revenues, schemes, and its assets. Not only in the EU but across the world,” he said.
The attack comes just days after the latest summit on the thorny issue of security guarantees for Ukraine in case of a peace deal, prompting further questions over Russia’s genuine willingness to strike any agreement.
Expect some strong reactions from across Europe and updates on the aftermath of the attack.
I will bring you all the key developments here.
It’s Friday, 9 January 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
