Russian air strikes have hit Ukraine from east to west, including attacks in Kyiv that struck residential buildings and attacks elsewhere on energy facilities that knocked out power.
Air raid alerts sounded across Ukraine as officials in multiple regions reported Russian strikes on energy plants and power outages.
The attacks came as G20 leaders condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
One person died when two residential buildings in Ukraine's capital were hit by missiles, the mayor of Kyiv said.
“There is an attack on the capital. According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district. Several missiles were shot down over Kyiv by air defence systems,” Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on social media.
“Medics and rescuers are at the scene of the strikes. More details later.”
“There are explosions in Lviv,” the city's mayor Andriy Sadovy said in a statement on social media, calling on residents to stay in shelters.
Kharkiv's mayor Igor Terekhov said there was a “missile attack” on the city and that information about any casualties was being sought.
The deputy head of the president's office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said in a statement online that the missiles had been fired by Russian forces.
“The danger has not passed. Stay in shelters,” he added.
He distributed footage from the Kyiv attack that showed a blaze emerging from a Soviet-era, five-story residential building.
The energy situation in Ukraine was “critical” following the missile strikes, he added.
National grid operator Ukrenergo said the worst damage was in northern and central regions and that emergency power outages for “all categories of consumers” had been introduced in those areas.
Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said the attacks were in response to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's address to the G20, during which he called on leaders to pressure the Kremlin to end its invasion.
“Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose,” Mr Yermak said.
In the recently liberated city of Kherson, power and water infrastructure was severely damaged, local authorities said on Tuesday.
“There is no light, heat, or water in Kherson. The situation is really complicated,” the deputy leader of Kherson's council, Serhii Khlan, said.
He added that Starlink connection points where people can charge their electronic devices have started to appear in the city.
Russian forces have in recent weeks targeted energy infrastructure across Ukraine and launched barrages of missiles and fired swarms of drones at the capital.
The US and UK both condemned the latest Russian attacks.
“It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
“These Russian strikes will serve to only deepen the concerns among the G20 about the destabilising impact of Putin’s war.”
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said. “The callous targeting of Ukrainian cities with more sickening missile attacks today shows only Putin’s weakness. Putin is losing on the battlefield and — as we saw today at the G20 — diplomatically too.”
Mr Zelenskyy, speaking to G20 leaders in Bali by video link, proposed a prisoner swap with Russia and presented a 10-point peace plan to end the war.
He also included a path to nuclear safety, food security, a special tribunal for alleged Russian war crimes, and a peace treaty with Moscow.
He urged G20 leaders to use all their power to “make Russia abandon nuclear threats” and implement a price cap on energy imported from Moscow.
Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo said in his opening remarks: “Being responsible means ending the war … If the war does not end, it will be difficult for the world to move forward.
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Dubai World Cup nominations
UAE: Thunder Snow/Saeed bin Suroor (trainer), North America/Satish Seemar, Drafted/Doug Watson, New Trails/Ahmad bin Harmash, Capezzano, Gronkowski, Axelrod, all trained by Salem bin Ghadayer
USA: Seeking The Soul/Dallas Stewart, Imperial Hunt/Luis Carvajal Jr, Audible/Todd Pletcher, Roy H/Peter Miller, Yoshida/William Mott, Promises Fulfilled/Dale Romans, Gunnevera/Antonio Sano, XY Jet/Jorge Navarro, Pavel/Doug O’Neill, Switzerland/Steve Asmussen.
Japan: Matera Sky/Hideyuki Mori, KT Brace/Haruki Sugiyama. Bahrain: Nine Below Zero/Fawzi Nass. Ireland: Tato Key/David Marnane. Hong Kong: Fight Hero/Me Tsui. South Korea: Dolkong/Simon Foster.
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
