Ukraine on Tuesday claimed to have carried out one of the most destructive attacks on Russian air assets since the beginning of the war, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying the assault used longer-range ballistic missiles donated by the United States.

Zelenskyy's announcement came hours after a US official revealed that the longer-range ballistic missiles sought for months by Kyiv and promised by US President Joe Biden had been delivered quietly and are in battlefield use.

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces claimed it destroyed nine Russian helicopters at two airfields in Russia-occupied regions in a nighttime attack on targets in eastern and southern Ukraine.

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It also hit military equipment, an air-defense system, ammunition warehouses and runways, a statement said. Dozens of Russian military personnel were injured in the attack codenamed Operation Dragonfly, it said.

A US official said the United States had made good on a promise by Biden to his Ukrainian counterpart last month that it would provide the Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS.

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Zelenskyy offered "special thanks" to the United States for sending the ATACMS.

"Our agreements with President Biden are being implemented," Zelenskyy said in his usual evening address to the nation, saying the ATACMS "have proven themselves."

The weapons development piles pressure on the Kremlin as both sides look for battlefield advantages ahead of winter and what is shaping up as a protracted war of attrition.

While some versions of the missiles can go as far as about 300 kilometres, the official said the ones that went to Ukraine have a shorter range and carry cluster munitions, making them suitable for attacks on airfields.

The Ukrainian statement did not say how the targets were hit. Russian authorities did not comment on the report. It was not immediately possible to verify the two sides' battlefield claims.

The airfields, in the Luhansk and Berdyansk regions, are located behind the front line. The Russian military apparently thought that they were at a safe distance from Ukrainian attacks.

Meanwhile, Russia is throwing more units into its effort to take a key eastern Ukraine city, Western analysts say, after apparent setbacks that have slowed its dayslong onslaught.

The attempt to storm Avdiivka, a heavily defended city that stands in the way of Moscow's ambition of securing control of the entire Donetsk region, is Moscow's most significant offensive operation in Ukraine since the start of the year, the UK defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The Kremlin's push to claim Avdiivka comes after months of fending off Ukraine's counteroffensive, which Kyiv launched some 16 months after Russia's full-scale invasion.

The Russian forces deployed to Avdiivka are likely making slow progress and sustaining high casualties in what is proving a costly effort, the UK defence ministry said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The pace of Russia's attack on the heavily fortified target has reportedly slowed in recent days since its launch last week, a Washington-based think tank said.

Russian officials made no immediate comment on developments around Avdiivka.

Citing the Ukrainian General Staff, the Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces pushed back 22 Russian attacks on Monday, down from 30 reported assaults the previous day. Kyiv officials said Russia mounted up to 60 attacks per day in the middle of last week.

The Ukrainian defence ministry said Tuesday that Russia is nevertheless still attempting to encircle the city, with 10 attacks over the previous 24 hours.

The UK defence ministry said Russia's effort to overrun Avdiivka "looks increasingly unlikely in the short term."

Electric car brand BYD has announced a new model for the Australian market set to take on the Toyota Camry, while also announcing plans to bring a hybrid-electric ute to Australia with a 1000km range.

The EV market is booming in Australia, yet still accounts for less than 10 per cent of total vehicle sales. With emissions targets and strong demand that number is set to grow thanks to an ever increasing number of new models hitting the Australian market.

Chinese brand BYD is being sold in Australia through a distributor known as EVDirect, which has announced the latest model for BYD – the Seal – will be sold in Australia starting later this year starting at $49,888.

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That price puts it in the range of the most expensive Toyota Camry, and with the BYD Seal closely matching the size of the Camry it's likely to be a strong comparison.

The Seal is the first sedan for BYD in Australia and will be available in three variants, offering an entry level, long range and performance choice to buyers.

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A range of 570km is sure to put an end to those concerns from potential buyers about electric vehicle range, while the performance model's $68,798 price tag is a shot across the bow to the leader in EV sales, Tesla.

"This really is a significant moment in the Australian automotive industry," EV Direct CEO Luke Todd said.

"When I first founded EVDirect the objective was to bring the world's best electric vehicle technology to Australia and do so in an affordable manner. I'm confident we have delivered."

During the announcement of the BYD Seal, Todd also confirmed the rumoured BYD ute would be coming to Australia next year.

"Our target is to have two new models on the market each year," he told 9News.com.au.

"The next model will be a larger SUV that will be some time in the first half of next year, and then [we will sell and deliver] the highly talked about BYD ute."

The ute will not be a fully-electric vehicle, instead it will be a Hybrid (DMI Dual Motor) model, with a small 1.5 litre turbo engine alongside the battery power offering a 1000km range. A year or so later, a full electric ute will also be available.

BYD currently sells the Atto 3 and Dolphin models in Australia, with the Atto 3 the third best selling EV in Australia behind the Tesla Model 3 and Model Y.

A man who is believed to have tried to rob a muffin cafe has wound up dead on the side of the road in a regional Victorian town.

The body of the man was discovered by an early morning walker in the gutter on Bridport Street in Daylesford. 

Police said the man suffered serious injuries and died on the side of the road.

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9News understands it's believed the man had just attempted to rob a nearby cafe.

"Pretty terrifying, this gentleman has obviously just come in thinking he could get some money," a cafe employee said.

The muffin shop had only just changed hands and the new owner was working inside at the time.

"She would have been there making the food, muffins and things," the employee said.

Police are investigating the circumstances around the man's death.

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Police in Belgium have shot dead a suspected Tunisian extremist accused of killing two Swedish football fans in a brazen shooting on a Brussels street before disappearing into the night.

Hours after a manhunt began in the Belgian capital, Interior Minister Annelies Verlinden told broadcaster VRT: "We have the good news that we found the individual."

She said that the weapon believed to have been used in the shooting was recovered.

Amateur videos posted on social media of Monday's attack showed a man wearing an orange fluorescent vest pull up on a scooter, take out a large weapon and open fire on passersby before chasing them into a building to gun them down.

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"Last night, three people left for what was supposed to be a wonderful soccer party. Two of them lost their lives in a brutal terrorist attack," Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said at a news conference just before dawn.

"Their lives were cut short in full flight, cut down by extreme brutality."

De Croo said his thoughts were with the victims' families and that he had sent his condolences to the Swedish prime minister. Security has been beefed up in the capital, particularly around places linked to the Swedish community in the city.

"The attack that was launched yesterday was committed with total cowardice," De Croo said.

Not far from the scene of the shooting, the qualifying match for football's 2024 European championships between Belgium and Sweden at King Baudouin Stadium was suspended at halftime and the 35,000 fans held inside as a precaution while the attacker was at large.

Prosecutor Eric Van Duyse said "security measures were urgently taken to protect the Swedish supporters" in the stadium.

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More than two hours after the game was suspended, a message flashed on the big stadium screen saying, "Fans, you can leave the stadium calmly".

Stand after stand emptied onto streets filled with police as the search for the attacker continued.

"Frustrated, confused, scared. I think everyone was quite scared," said Caroline Lochs, a fan from Antwerp.

De Croo said the assailant was a Tunisian man living illegally in Belgium who used a military weapon to kill the two Swedes and shoot a third, who is being treated for "severe injuries".

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Federal Prosecutor Frederic Van Leeuw described how the suspect, a 45-year-old man who wasn't identified, had posted a video online claiming to have killed three Swedish people.

The suspect is alleged to have said in the video that, for him, the Quran is "a red line for which he is ready to sacrifice himself."

Sweden raised its terror alert to the second-highest level in August after a series of public Quran burnings by an Iraqi refugee living in Sweden resulted in threats from Islamic militant groups.

Belgian prosecutors said overnight that nothing suggested the attack was linked to the latest war between Israel and Hamas.

Police overnight raided a building in the Brussels neighbourhood of Schaerbeek where the man was thought to be staying but did not find him.

Sweden's foreign ministry sent out a text message to subscribers in Belgium asking them "to be vigilant and to carefully listen to instructions from the Belgian authorities".

According to Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, the suspect was denied asylum in 2019. He was known to police and had been suspected of involvement in human trafficking, living illegally in Belgium and of being a risk to state security.

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Information provided to the Belgian authorities by an unidentified foreign government suggested that the man had been radicalised and intended to travel abroad to fight in a holy war.

But the Belgian authorities were not able to establish this, so he was never listed as dangerous.

The man was also suspected of threatening a person in an asylum centre and a hearing on that incident had been due to take place on Tuesday, Van Quickenborne said.

Belgian Asylum State Secretary Nicole de Moor said the man disappeared after his asylum application was refused so the authorities were unable to locate him to organise his deportation.

A terror alert for Brussels was raised overnight to 4, the top of Belgian's scale, indicating an extremely serious threat. It previously stood at 2, which means the threat was average. The alert level for the rest of the country was raised to 3.

De Croo said that Belgium would never submit to such attacks.

"Moments like this are a heavy ordeal," he told reporters, "but we are never going to let ourselves be intimidated by them".

Golriz Ghahraman says Israel is breaching international law by blocking water, power.

Police have released photos of five people they are looking for over an alleged assault at a pro-Palestine protest near the Sydney Opera House last week.

A 45-year-old man allegedly got into an argument with a group at the protest, which has sparked a number of police investigations, at about 7.30pm on Monday, October 9.

The man was allegedly assaulted and spat on during the confrontation, according to New South Wales Police.

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NSW Police have released images of five people they want to speak to over the incident.

The first man (pictured on the far right) is described as being of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean in appearance and aged in his 20s with a solid build and tattoos on both legs.

The second man (pictured on the far left) has been described as being of Middle Eastern or Mediterranean descent, in his early 20s with a medium build and moustache.

He was wearing a shirt displaying both the Aboriginal and Palestinian flags.

A third man (pictured second from the right) has been described as having a medium build and is of Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance.

He is in his early 20s, with medium-length curly black hair and a stubbly goatee.

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A fourth man (pictured second from the left) has been described as Middle Eastern/Mediterranean appearance in appearance, with a medium build, short black hair and a black beard.

He is in his early 20s.

The woman (middle) has been described as caucasian, with long blonde hair, aged in her 20s. She was wearing a black hoodie with a red and yellow print on the front.

Anyone with information is urged to contact police as Strike Force Mealing continues investigating incidents that allegedly took place during the protest.

Police have already charged a man for allegedly making offensive comments at the protest, while police yesterday called for help to identify a man who threw a flare at the protest.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) would not confirm whether they launched strikes in those areas.