• After massive Russian strikes on Kyiv, envoy informs council that Moscow hit ‘appalling new level of war crimes’
• UK earmarks $268m to prepare British troops for Ukraine deployment

UNITED NATIONS/LONDON: The UN Security Council will meet on Monday (tomorrow) to discuss Ukraine, a revised schedule showed, after Kyiv’s mayor urged residents to leave the capital due to mass heating outages caused by Russian strikes.

“The Russian Federation has reached an appalling new level of war crimes and crimes against humanity by its terror against civilians,” Ukrainian ambassador And­riy Melnyk said in a letter to the Security Council seen by AFP on Friday.

The latest strikes left half of the residential buildings in Kyiv without heating in sub-zero temperatures, Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said.

The Kremlin also confirmed firing an Oreshnik ballistic missile on Ukraine for the second time since the war began in February 2022.

“The Russian Federation regime officially claims that it used an intermediate-range ballistic missile, the so-called ‘Oreshnik’, against the Lviv region,” the ambassador’s letter continued.

“Such a strike represents a grave and unprecedented threat to the sec­urity of the European continent.”

Moscow claims the Oreshnik, which can be equipped with both nuclear and conventional warheads, is impossible to stop Ukraine’s request for the emergency UNSC meeting was supported by six members — France, Latvia, Denmark, Greece, Liberia and the United Kingdom — diplomatic sources told AFP.

UK earmarks $268m

The UK on Friday earmarked $268 million (£200 million) to prepare British troops to be deployed to Ukraine as part of a “multinational” force if a ceasefire is agreed between Moscow and Kyiv.

Britain, France and Ukraine earlier this week signed a declaration of intent that sets out deploying troops on Ukrainian territory after a ceasefire — a plan which Moscow soundly rejected.

The “UK is now accelerating 200 million [pounds] to equip UK Armed Forces with new kit to be ready to deploy as part of the Multinational Force for Ukraine,” its Ministry of Defence said in a statement.

That would include vehicle upgrades, communication systems and counter-drone protection.

“We are surging investment into our preparations following the prime minister’s announcement this week, ensuring that Britain’s Armed Forces are ready to deploy, and lead, the Multinational Force for Ukra­ine,” Defence Secretary John Hea­ley said while on a visit to Kyiv.

London has said its MPs will be able to debate and vote on the number of troops that would be sent if there is a ceasefire.

But Moscow rejected the post-war peacekeeping plan, saying such troops would be “considered legitimate military targets”.

The announcement comes as UK media reported the Ministry of Defence was facing a shortfall of £28 billion over the next four years, despite government pledges to boost military spending amid rising tensions with Russia. The Times newspaper first reported that the head of Britain’s armed forces Richard Knighton warned Prime Minister Keir Starmer about the funding blackhole last month.

“We recognise demands on def­ence are rising, with growing Russ­ian aggression, increasing operational requirements and preparations for a Ukraine deployment,” Dow­ning Street said, without dire­ctly addressing the reports.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2026