New Delhi, Jan. 3 -- Kyiv denies Moscow's Novgorod strike claims amid port carnage, blackouts, and Tusk's bold peace forecast, with Zelenskyy pitching US forces for guarantees.

In the grinding stalemate of Russia's war on Ukraine, now dragging into its 1,406th day, a cascade of battlefield savagery and diplomatic feints unfolded on December 31, casting long shadows over fragile peace overtures. Russian shells tore through Kostiantynivka in Donetsk, claiming one civilian life amid ongoing operations, while targeted strikes hit Odesa's Black Sea ports, damaging oil tanks and two foreign grain ships in response to Ukrainian drone threats. Moscow accused Kyiv of a desperate drone incursion on Putin's Novgorod residence, denied by Ukraine but...