Ukraine-Russia war latest: Putin could launch a fresh military attack against a Nato country, warns Danish intelligence

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Such attacks could include isolated strikes with long-range weapons like drones or missiles on infrastructure supporting Ukraine, or false-flag operations using Ukrainian-made drones, intelligence service chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said at a press conference.

He said Russia could also deploy a limited number of troops into a NATO ‌border area, potentially under the pretext of protecting Russian minorities.

"The aim is not to take over the country, but to divide NATO," he said.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump is facing backlash after inviting Russian president Vladimir Putin to a December G20 meeting in Miami, for what would be his second US visit since the war began.

"It's clearly, I think, the wrong path to normalise people who are starting wars, who are going against the UN charter, who are killing and giving orders to kill civilians," said the EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, speaking to Sky News.

At least eight people were killed in Russian drone and missile attacks across Ukraine on Thursday, including strikes that damaged a maternity hospital in Kyiv and killed six people at an agricultural facility in the Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said.

Two people were killed in Kyiv, according to president Volodymyr Zelensky.

The overnight assault reportedly damaged homes and civilian infrastructure in the capital.

Police said nine houses, a post office, warehouses and dozens of vehicles were among the sites affected.

A maternity hospital was also damaged, although reports indicated that patients were not harmed.

Zelensky, who was in New York for the UN General Assembly, said the attacks struck Kyiv while people were sleeping.

The deadliest incident occurred in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, where six people were killed at a farm and 12 others were injured, according to prosecutors.

The attack hit a vegetable storage facility in the village of Stara Hnylytsia in the Chuhuiv district.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has held talks with senior American business executives in New York as Kyiv seeks private investment to help rebuild an economy battered by more than four years of war.

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly and brought together representatives of more than two dozen US companies. It was facilitated by Citigroup and the US Chamber of Commerce.

The discussions come at a difficult moment for Ukraine.

Russian attacks have continued to damage infrastructure and key parts of the economy, while Kyiv faces enormous costs from maintaining its war effort. Ukrainian officials are also looking ahead to another winter in which attacks on energy infrastructure could put additional pressure on households and businesses.

The government said the talks focused on helping Ukraine withstand the coming winter as well as supporting its economy and reconstruction. Private companies could play a role in sectors ranging from infrastructure and energy to finance, technology and industrial production.

Finnish president Alexander Stubb said he has asked Elon Musk to extend Starlink coverage into Russian territory, arguing that it could help Ukraine locate Russian ballistic missile launchers.

Starlink has been a key part of Ukraine’s battlefield communications since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 and is also used to support drone operations, but its coverage does not extend over Russia.

Ukraine faces a shortage of air defences against ballistic missiles and believes access to Starlink over Russian territory could improve its ability to identify launch sites.

Russia has extended an official invitation to visit the country to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, a deputy foreign minister has said according to the TASS state news agency.

Moscow and Pyongyang have drawn markedly closer in recent years, with North Korea sending troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine in 2024 and deepening military cooperation under a mutual defence pact.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio and Indian foreign minister ⁠S Jaishankar discussed on Wednesday US measures that could be leveled against countries that engage economically with Russia and Iran.

Last week, Trump signed the bill called "Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act ⁠of 2026," named after deceased South Carolina Republican ​US ⁠Senator Lindsey Graham.

Rubio and Jaishankar "discussed sanctions that could be leveled against states that engage ​economically with ⁠Russia and Iran," the State Department ‌said in a statement after their meeting in New York.

Jaishankar wrote on X he "reiterated India's interests and concerns with regard to SRIA."

India has previously told Washington that new ‌measures to levy tariffs over the purchase of Russian oil ‌could impact bilateral ties.

Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid war against the West in the coming months, Denmark's defence intelligence service said in a new threat assessment on Thursday.

Hybrid warfare and sabotage on European soil gained renewed attention after Germany recently blamed Russia for an attempted drone attack at the Leipzig/Halle ⁠Airport, prompting European Union members to call for ​new ⁠sanctions against Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly denied any involvement in hybrid warfare, sabotage operations in NATO countries, or plotting any confrontation.

The Russian embassy in Denmark ⁠rejected the assessment as unsupported by credible evidence and accused the West, led by Denmark, ​of ⁠driving up tensions over Ukraine.

"Our persistent warnings about the destructiveness of such an approach are being ignored," the embassy said in a written statement.

The defence intelligence service said Russia would ‌carry out more frequent attacks against the West and ‌NATO "with greater consequences for the countries targeted than in the past".

It added that there was "a low but growing risk" that Russia would launch a limited military attack against one or several NATO countries that border it.

"A limited military attack would be a desperate move on Russia’s part and, like the intensified hybrid attacks, could potentially take place in the coming months," it said.

Such attacks could include isolated strikes with long-range weapons like drones or missiles on infrastructure supporting Ukraine, or false-flag operations using Ukrainian-made drones, intelligence service chief Thomas Ahrenkiel said at a press conference.

He said Russia could also deploy a limited number of troops into a NATO ‌border area, potentially under the pretext of protecting Russian minorities.

Alexander Stubb said on Thursday he pleaded with SpaceX owner Elon Musk to expand Starlink satellite internet coverage for Ukraine so it can strike Russian ballistic missile launchers located inside Russian territory.

With winter looming, Ukraine has an acute shortage of air defenses to repel Russian ballistic missiles, and Kyiv officials believe that turning on Starlink over Russian territory would help it target the Russian launchers that fire the missiles.

"That's why ... I plead that Elon Musk would give the Ukrainians the possibility to use Starlink in areas where there are ballistic missile launchers, either in the occupied territory of Ukraine or in Russia ⁠for strategic purposes because that would save lives," Stubb said.

The Finnish leader, a staunch ally of Ukraine who also has good relations with US President Donald Trump, made the remark in an interview with Reuters in New York where world leaders have converged for the annual gathering at the United Nations.

President Volodymyr Zelensky used the event to press hard for ceasefires that would cover ​strikes on ⁠targets related to energy infrastructure and vessels in ‌the Black Sea. Russia has given no public indication it wants to see such arrangements.

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul has called for a full and immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, starting in the Black Sea, to safeguard grain and food supplies.

"Ukraine had a very good grain harvest this year. But because of the Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports, it can't be delivered to the world.

“Russia is thereby exacerbating hunger and starvation worldwide," he said in a statement published on Thursday.