MOSCOW/KYIV - Six people were killed and 10 injured after a Ukrainian missile attack on the town of Rylsk in Russia's Kursk region, acting governor of the Kursk region Alexander Khinshtein said Friday.

Earlier Friday, Ukraine launched a large-scale missile attack on the town of Rylsk, Khinshtein said in a statement on Telegram.

Rescuers, firefighters and emergency services are working at the scene, though their efforts are disrupted by continued strikes from Ukrainian forces, he said, adding that several US HIMARS missiles have been shot down by air defense forces.  

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Also on Friday, Russia launched a group strike with long-range precision weapons in retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on its chemical plant with Western-made missiles.

The strike targeted the Ukrainian Security Service command post, the state-run Kyiv design bureau "Luch", and positions of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.

It said the raid was in response to Ukraine's Wednesday attack on a Russian chemical plant in the Rostov region with six US-made ATACMS tactical missiles and four Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles.

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Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces said on Telegram that five Russian missiles targeted Kyiv but were shot down by Ukrainian air defense at around 7 am (0500 GMT).

The fragments of downed missiles resulted in deaths and injuries as well as damage in five districts of Kyiv, it said.

In a major shift of policy on the Ukraine crisis, the United States in November authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia, triggering an escalation of tension around the conflict.

Ukraine to halt gas transit

Ukraine will halt the transit of Russian gas through its territory starting Jan 1, 2025, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday, citing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

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"At 7:00 am (GMT 0500), the transit will be physically blocked," Shmyhal told the parliament.

The resumption of gas transit would be only possible at the request of the European Commission and if Ukraine transports non-Russian gas, he added.

At the same time, Shmyhal noted that Ukraine remains obligated to continue the transit of Russian oil under the Association Agreement with the European Union (EU) and the Energy Charter Treaty.

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Ukraine used to be a key transit route for Russian gas supplies to Europe.

On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kyiv will not extend its five-year gas transportation deal with Russia, which expires at the end of 2024.