Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy warns Putin is preparing 'new massive strike' - as dramatic video shows baby's evacuation from burning train

We're bringing our live coverage of the war in Ukraine to a close for the day.

Before we go, here's a round-up of the key moments we brought you.

Five killed in strike on train

A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in northeastern Ukraine killed five people.

Prosecutors said fragments of bodies had been found at the scene of the strike ‍on the train by a village in Kharkiv. 

Footage posted online showed at least two carriages in flames next to a snow-covered rail bed. 

Watch the moment a baby was evacuated from the train engulfed in flames...

Russia suffers 1.2 million casualties - report

The Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies says Russian forces have suffered nearly 1.2 million casualties - more than any major power since the Second World War - and have advanced at a slower rate than almost any major offensive campaign in any war of the past century.

The Kremlin has rejected the research, saying such reports should not be deemed reliable.

Russia has previously denied estimated casualty figures originating from the US.

Zelenskyy warns of 'new massive strike'

Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a warning on social media that "the Russians are preparing a new massive strike".

He said Ukrainian intelligence suggests that's the case, and called on the US, Europe and other allies to "understand how this discredits diplomatic talks".

It came as reports suggested the US, Russia and Ukraine will hold another round of trilateral talks on Sunday, but US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Donald Trump's top envoys won't be involved.

Watch our Q&A with Michael Clarke

Military analyst Michael Clarke has been back answering your questions on the war in Ukraine.

Watch his latest Q&A in this video...

After today's reports suggesting there will be more trilateral talks between the US, Ukraine and Russia (see 14.07 post), military analyst Michael Clarke was asked whether Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin really want peace.

Clarke said that in Trump's case, yes, he does generally want a quick peace deal.

"The casualty figures might be very high, much higher than we thought," he said.

"We're working on the basis of probably 1.2 million Russian casualties - dead and wounded at the moment - and maybe up to half a million Ukrainian casualties."

But Clarke said that Putin doesn't want a quick ceasefire, and went on to explain why.

"He's on a roll, he's a man on a mission," he added.

"He feels as if this is his moment, both in terms of what he's got so far and the fact that he's got Donald Trump in the White House who's creating a very permissive environment for his policies.

"So he's not interested in ceasefires, and he will only get interested in ceasefires if he feels he's going to lose lots of things he thinks he's gained."

Going back to the US president, Clarke said he wants peace in Ukraine because he wants to do other deals with Russia.

"He wants real estate deals, he wants energy deals, he wants development deals, minerals deals," he said.

"He can't have those with Russia while this war is ongoing, so he wants to get the war out of the way to have his businessman approach to Russia on a much bigger range of things."

By Deborah Haynes, security and defence editor

The sound of deep, slow breaths echoes up a frozen staircase, followed by footsteps.

Tatiana, 70, has learnt to control her breathing to reduce the strain on her heart as she slowly zigzags her way to the ninth floor of a large apartment block in Kyiv, where she lives.

Power cuts mean the lifts are mainly out of action, and she has spent the past fortnight without heating, instead turning on a gas oven in her kitchen to generate a bit of warmth.

"It is dangerous, but what can you do? Freeze to death?" she said.

Watch: The war inside Ukraine's homes

Tatiana is among millions of people across Ukraine who have been suffering power outages this winter as Russia brings its war into people's homes.

Repeated Russian airstrikes against the energy system have cut off heating, electricity and water in different parts of the country, sometimes for days on end.

Paste BN visited Tatiana's block of flats to find out how she and other residents are coping in what the Ukrainian authorities have declared to be a state of emergency in the energy sector, as temperatures plunge to as low as -20C (-4F).

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has posted on social media with a warning about a potential new Russian strike.

In his nightly address, Ukraine's president says "the Russians are preparing a new massive strike - our intelligence indicates this".

"The United States, Europe and all our partners have to understand how this discredits diplomatic talks," he adds.

"Every single Russian strike does."

It comes as reports suggest the latest trilateral meeting between the US, Ukraine and Russia will take place on Sunday.

However, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said earlier that Donald Trump's top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who took part in the last meeting, will not be present (see 18.35 post).

Countries in the European Union signed off on the bloc's legally binding plan to phase out Russian gas imports by late 2027 this week.

We're now getting more detail on what the draft document includes, now that it has been allowed to pass into law.

According to Reuters, the draft shows that the EU plans to exempt gas from key suppliers, including the US and Qatar, from extra checks.

It comes as shipments of gas and liquefied natural gas from non-Russian countries are set to be subjected to "prior authorisation".

That means companies must provide authorities in European customs with proof of the production country five days before it arrives in the EU.

The requirement will be waived for major existing suppliers and for countries where the EU deems the risk of Russian gas entering their exports to be low.

The US, Norway, Qatar, the UK, Algeria and Nigeria are all set to be granted the exemption.

In our latest Q&A with military analyst Michael Clarke, he was asked how the most vulnerable in Ukraine are surviving the harsh weather and if attacks on the energy infrastructure amount to a war crime.

Temperatures in Ukraine have dropped as low as -20C this winter.

At the same time, Moscow has relentlessly attacked Ukraine's energy infrastructure, which has cut off heating, electricity and water in different parts of the country, sometimes for days on end.

This is a particularly dangerous situation for vulnerable people.

Clarke said whether it constitutes a war crime depends on the intention.

"In other words, it's automatically a war crime to try to make civilians suffer in a war," he said.

"It's a war crime if the intention is anti-civilian, which in this case it certainly is, I don't think the Russians could possibly defend themselves on the basis that this was in any way military related."

Clarke said Ukrainians are surviving in "family groups".

"They have these resilience centres which are a big tent you can see being put up in the cities," he added.

"They bring heaters, food, rechargers, people bring all their devices and charge them all up as best they can.

"People get some hours in the resilience centres and there's lots of generators."

'No signs of determination diminishing'

But they've still got two more months of the harsh winter to try to get through this, he explained.

"There's no sign that this is actually diminishing the determination of the Ukrainians to somehow survive," Clarke said.

"They don't want to see this war go on, but they're determined that they're not going to crack under this particular offensive this winter - even though this is far and away the harshest of the four winters they've endured so far."

You can watch the full Q&A here...

Jen Stout is a freelance journalist in Kyiv, who says she's due to travel on one of the long-distance trains bombed by Russia tomorrow.

"This is a lifeline train that runs between the east of Ukraine and it goes right up to the west and even further to the border towns where people are going to get out and cross into the rest of Europe," she tells Paste BN.

"These are lifeline trains for people with family on the front line, with husbands or wives who are fighting in the military."

Stout says the train was carrying 291 passengers and explains what it's like inside.

"They have a lot of carriages, and the carriages have compartments," she says.

"You've got lots of people on bunk beds, so it is quite packed."

She says the pictures showing the train in flames are "horrific" and says it's "remarkable" so many people managed to get out.

"To see those carriages that we all travel on with the blue and white livery with the logo on the side, to see these burning and people escaping into snowdrifts is very shocking," she says.

US secretary of state Marco Rubio has been speaking about the next round of trilateral talks with Ukraine and Russia in Abu Dhabi.

It comes after reports suggested they could resume on Sunday (see 14.07 post).

Speaking at a Senate foreign relations committee hearing, Rubio says there could be a US presence at the follow-up talks but it won't be Donald Trump's top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who had taken part in the previous round of talks.

Providing more detail on the sticking points, Rubio says territorial issues over Donetsk still need smoothing over, adding that it's a "very difficult" topic.

Could Donetsk fall into Putin's hands?

His comments come as the Institute for the Study of War says Ukraine's Donetsk region - which alongside the Russian-held Luhansk region makes up the Donbas - will fall into Moscow's hands by August 2027 if Putin's troops sustain their rate of advance (see 10.50 post).

It says Russia "would need to expend significant amounts of resources, time, and personnel to seize the rest of Donbas".

Meanwhile, a report in the Financial Times suggests the Trump administration has indicated to Ukraine that US security guarantees are contingent on Kyiv first agreeing a peace deal that would likely cede the Donbas to Russia.

The White House has hit back against the report, calling it "totally false". 

Last week, the French navy announced it had intercepted a Russian oil tanker after receiving intelligence from the UK.

The tanker was operating under a false flag and is suspected of belonging to Russia's shadow fleet, which allows the country to export oil despite sanctions.

In an update, the Marseille prosecutor says the vessel has been grounded at a port in the city.

The tanker's Indian captain, who had been detained by authorities, has since been released and allowed to return back on board the vessel.

French President Emmanuel Macron has spoken to Volodymyr Zelenskyy after Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine.

He calls the attack on a passenger train in Kharkiv "unacceptable" before announcing "we are mobilising".

In a similar move to Italy (see 17.08 post), he confirms that generators will be sent to Ukraine to help its citizens get through winter.

"France's position is clear: we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary, so that it can defend itself and defeat the war of aggression launched by Russia," he wrote in a post on social media. 

"Ukraine can also count on France within the framework of the Coalition of the Willing. We continue to work to create the conditions for a just and lasting peace that guarantees the security of Ukraine and of Europe."