Ukraine-Russia war live: Kyiv to buy 100 French Rafale fighter jets in historic deal after Zelensky-Macron talks

European commission president Ursula von der Leyen has said in a letter to EU governments that there are three options for meeting Ukraine’s financing needs in its war against Ukraine.

One of these options is a loan using frozen Russian assets, she said.

“We have identified three main options, i.e. support to be financed by Member States via grants, a limited recourse loan funded by the Union borrowing on the financial markets, or a limited recourse loan linked to the cash balances of immobilised assets,” Ms von der Leyen said in the letter, seen by Reuters.

In an options paper attached to the letter, von der Leyen added that “the three options are not mutually exclusive” and can be “combined”.

European Union leaders agreed at a summit last month to meet Ukraine’s “pressing financial needs” for the next two years but stopped short of endorsing a plan to use frozen Russian assets to fund a giant loan to Kyiv due to concerns raised by Belgium.

The Ukrainian military will order 100 Rafale fighter jets, Volodymyr Zelensky has told French TV station LCI.

The Rafale is a twin-engine jet built by Dassault Aviation, and typically used for a wide range of missions including air superiority, nuclear deterrence and close air support.

The acquisition will follow ongoing deliveries of F-16 fighter jets and Swedish Saab Gripen jets.

Kyiv is looking to rebuild its air force after it suffered heavy losses since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022.

Russian troops captured three villages across three Ukrainian regions, the RIA news agency cited the defence ministry as saying on Monday.

The villages are Hai in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Platonivka in the Donetsk region, and Dvorichanske in the Kharkiv region.

The Independent could not verify the reports from the frontline.

Volodymyr Zelensky has touched down in Paris, where he is meeting French president Emmanuel Macron.

The pair are set to seal deals on the supply of air-defence capabilities, warplanes and missiles.

We can bring you some live pictures of the Ukrainian president’s arrival on Monday morning:

A Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people, with three teenagers among the 10 wounded, Kharkiv regional officials said on Monday.

Oleh Synehubov, the governor of the region bordering Russia, said the overnight attack damaged multi-storey residence blocks and destroyed scores of cars in the city centre.

Pictures show the damaged facade of a multi-storey brick building with windows blown out, as flames burned on an upper floor and debris and broken tree branches littered the area.

The teenagers were among the injured, Vitali Karabanov, head of Balakliia’s military administration, said on Telegram, while nine of the injured were admitted to hospital.

Russia has rained down regular missile, drone and artillery strikes on Ukraine’s second-largest city of Kharkiv, smashing homes and infrastructure, severing power links and subjecting residents to constant air-raid alerts.

Parts of the region, and the city of Izyum in its south, had no power supply overnight, after Russia’s attacks late on Sunday injured a 14-year-old, city authorities said on Telegram.

Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has joined the advisory board of Ukraine’s leading defence company, renowned for its long-range drones capable of striking targets deep inside Russia, as a corruption investigation continues.

In an effort to enhance its international reputation, Fire Point, which produces the Ukrainian Flamingo cruise missile, is establishing a new factory in Denmark and bringing prominent industry figures on board. It also aims to expand its operations to produce battle-tested cruise missiles, with plans to more than double its current capacity.

However, public scrutiny remains intense during an ongoing corruption investigation. Fire Point’s executives insist they have nothing to hide and are operating under strict martial law protocols, even commissioning an independent audit to appease investigators.

• Emergency services say overnight attacks sparked fires at energy and port infrastructure sites in Odesa. Damage assessments are under way and firefighting operations are ongoing.
• Moscow claims major gains in southeast Ukraine, capturing Rivnopillya and Mala Tokmachka. The advance threatens Huliaipole and brings Russian forces within 9 km of Orikhiv. Ukraine has not commented.
• A missile hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia overnight, killing three people and wounding 10, including three teenagers. Multi-storey residential blocks were damaged and dozens of cars destroyed, regional officials said.
• Volodymyr Zelensky has landed in France, where he is set to sign new agreements with France covering air-defence systems, warplanes and long-term military support.
• Hungarian PM Viktor Orbán told Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner that EU financial support for Ukraine is “crazy” and “kills” the bloc economically, criticising European leaders for prolonging the war.
• Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov said Moscow and Washington remain in contact, including on Ukraine settlement talks. He suggested a leaders’ meeting could remove “technical and political difficulties” if both sides agree in principle.
• Ukraine’s winter energy needs Greece will supply US-origin LNG to Ukraine from December through March 2026. Zelenskiy and Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis said the agreement strengthens European energy security.

A Russian attack on Ukraine’s southern Odesa region on Monday caused fires at port and energy infrastructure facilities.

Read all you need to know in just five bullet points on The Independent’s Bulletin…

Russian air defence forces destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over seven Russian regions overnight on Monday, the defence ministry said.

Denis Pushilin, the top Russian-backed official in Donetsk, said an attack by Ukrainian strike drones on energy infrastructure had left roughly 500,000 people without power across several districts.

Work was continuing to restore the electricity supply, Pushilin wrote on Telegram.

The governor of the Ulyanovsk region east of Moscow said an attack by a Ukrainian drone on a substation there had been repelled. There were no casualties and the power supply was unaffected, Alexei Russkikh wrote on Telegram.

Two people have been injured after a Russian attack in the city of Kherson, the city’s military administration said.

“An enemy drone attacked an ambulance on the evening [of 16 November],” it said in a statement on Wednesday morning.

“The 64-year-old driver suffered blast injuries and shrapnel wounds to both legs. The 32-year-old paramedic suffered concussion, blast injuries and a closed head trauma.”

The patients received medical treatment and will be treated on an outpatient basis, Ukrainska Pravda reported.

It comes days after two ambulances hit alleged Russian Lepestok (Petal) mines in the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson, with the vehicles damaged but no one injured.