Several loud explosions have been heard in central Kyiv, according to AFP reporters. Meanwhile, the head of the Russian-controlled region of Kherson in southern Ukraine said that pro-Kremlin officials were evacuating the city along with all other civilian inhabitants but vowed Moscow's forces would keep fighting. Read FRANCE 24’s liveblog for the latest developments. All are in Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:19: US Justice Dept issues charges over alleged exports for Russian military
Nearly a dozen individuals and several corporate entities have been charged with participating in unlawful schemes to export civil-military and dual-use technologies to Russia, the US Justice Department announced on Wednesday.
Some of the technologies have been recovered in Ukraine, while another nuclear proliferation technology was intercepted before reaching Russian soil, the department said.
10:10: EU readies sanctions on Russia's Iran drones as Security Council meets
The European Union on Wednesday readied new sanctions on Iran over its supply of drones to Russia as the UN Security Council met on the unmanned attacks that have caused destruction in Ukraine.
The United States, France and Britain requested the closed-door Security Council discussion to voice alarm over the drone shipments, which Western officials say violate a UN resolution, although Russia holds veto power to block any new sanctions bid.
Ukraine has for weeks reported attacks by Russia with Iranian Shahed-136 drones – unmanned aircraft whose warheads explode in kamikaze attacks – and has moved to cut relations with Tehran.
Iran and Russia have both denied the use of the drones, with Tehran saying it wants talks with Ukraine. But the European Union said Wednesday it had confirmed that Iran has supplied the drones to Russia.
10:01pm: Russia has destroyed three Ukrainian energy facilities over the last 24 hours, Zelensky says
Three energy facilities were destroyed in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
9:30pm: US issues additional Russia-related sanctions
The United States has issued additional Russia-related sanctions, designating one individual and two entities, the Treasury Department's website showed on Wednesday.
8:29pm: Ukraine to impose electricity supply restrictions starting Thursday
Ukraine will start restricting electricity supplies across the country on Thursday after Russia knocked out more power plants, a senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday.
"From 7am to 11pm, it is necessary to minimise the use of electricity ... if this is not done, you should prepare for temporary blackouts," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelensky's office, said in a Telegram post.
6:22pm: Ukraine is fighting for 'freedom, democracy', Zelensky says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is fighting for "freedom, democracy" after the announcement that the Ukrainian people were awarded the Sakharov prize.
"Ukrainians prove dedication to the values of freedom, democracy every day on the battlefield against the terrorist state of the Russian Federation," Zelensky said on Twitter.
The EU award, named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honor individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. Sakharov, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, died in 1989.
4:30pm: Upper house of Russian parliament approves martial law
Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, on Wednesday approved President Vladimir Putin's presidential decree, announced hours earlier, declaring martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally annexed.
4:25pm: People of Ukraine awarded EU's Sakharov Prize For Freedom of Thought
The European Parliament awarded the people of Ukraine on Wednesday its annual Prize for Freedom of Thought, in support of Ukraine's fight against Russia's invasion that started Feb. 24, which Russia calls a "special military operation".
The award comes with prize money of 50,000 euros ($49,100) prize money, which will be granted to civil society representatives.
3:42pm: Russian missile strike hits thermal power station in west Ukraine, governor says
A Russian missile strike hit a thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday, the region's governor said, the latest in a wave of attacks by Moscow on critical infrastructure.
"Our region experienced missile fire today. The Burshtyn thermal power station was hit, which caused a fire," Svitlana Onyshchuk, governor of the region of Ivano-Frankivsk, said in a video statement online. No one was hurt in the strike, she said.
3:32pm: Five million have fled Ukraine
Some five million people have fled Moscow-held regions of Ukraine, multiple news agencies reported.
3:26pm: Zelensky plans for the future of Ukraine energy security
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed security at power supply facilities with senior officials on Wednesday following Russian air attacks on his country's energy infrastructure.
He gave few details of the "strategic meeting" but said that he and unnamed officials discussed measures to "eliminate the consequences in the event of a breakdown of the energy system of Ukraine".
"We are working to create mobile power points for the critical infrastructure of cities, towns and villages," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We are preparing for various scenarios of possible consequences. Ukraine will defend itself. No matter what the enemy plans and does."
2:41pm Ukrainian presidential advisor slams martial law decision as 'looting'
A Ukrainian presidential adviser dismissed Russian President Vladimir Putin's declaration of martial law in four occupied regions of Ukraine on Wednesday as a farce.
"'Martial law' implementation on the occupied territories by Russia should be considered only as a pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians’ property by another 'regrouping'," the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, wrote on Twitter.
"This does not change anything for Ukraine: we continue the liberation and deoccupation of our territories," he wrote.
2:18pm: Kyiv mayor says 'several Russian rockets' downed over capital
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said Wednesday that "several Russian rockets" had been downed over the capital after AFP reporters heard several loud explosions in the centre of the city.
"Air defences have shot down several Russian rockets over Kyiv. Stay in shelters!" Klitschko wrote on social media. Fatal Russian strikes recently in the Kyiv region have targeted energy facilities.
2:03pm: Putin declares martial law in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he was introducing martial law in four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow last month claimed as its own territory.
In televised remarks to members of his Security Council, Putin also instructed the government to set up a special coordinating council under Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to work with Russia's regions to boost Moscow's war effort in Ukraine.
The moves, nearly eight months into the war, marked the latest escalation by Putin to counter a series of major defeats at the hands of Ukrainian forces since the start of September.
They came on the same day that Russian-installed officials in Kherson, one of the four occupied regions, told civilians to leave some areas as soon as possible in anticipation of an imminent Ukrainian attack.
Putin said the measures he was ordering would increase the stability of the economy, industry and production in support of what Russia calls its special military operation.
1:42pm: Explosions heard in central Kyiv
Several loud explosions were heard in central Kyiv on Wednesday, AFP reporters said, after Russian forces earlier this week targeted energy facilities in the capital and surrounding region.
At least two blasts rang out at about 14:20 Kyiv time (11:20 GMT), after Monday's Russian attacks -- with Iranian-made drones -- aimed at energy infrastructure killed at least five people in the city on Monday.
1:17pm: EU set to sanction 8 people, entities over Iranian drone use in Ukraine
European Union governments have provisionally agreed to impose sanctions on eight people and entities over the use of Iranian-made drones in Russian strikes on Ukraine, three EU diplomats said.
Sanctions experts from the 27 EU members agreed to the list in a meeting on Wednesday. It will be put to national ambassadors at a meeting scheduled for the afternoon.
12:55pm: Kyiv says Russia 'trying to scare' Kherson residents
Kyiv on Wednesday accused Russia of "trying to scare" the residents of occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine after pro-Kremlin officials announced the city's evacuation in the face of Ukrainian counteroffensive.
"Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake messages about the shelling of the city by our army and are also staging a propaganda show with evacuation," the Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram.
12:04pm: Erdogan says he agreed with Putin to form natural gas hub in Turkey
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday that he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to form a natural gas hub in Turkey. Speaking to members of his AK Party in parliament, Erdogan said Putin had said Europe can obtain its gas supply from the hub in Turkey.
11:51am: Ukraine says shot down 223 Iranian-made drones since mid-September
Ukraine said Wednesday its military had shot down more than 220 Iranian-made drones in a little more than one month, following this week's attacks that used "kamikaze drones".
"Since the first downing of an Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone on the territory of Ukraine on September 13, the ... Air Force and other components of the Defense Forces of Ukraine have destroyed 223 UAVs of this type," the military said in a statement.
11:49am:'Reality can hurt', Ukrainian official tells Russia over Kherson
A Ukrainian presidential adviser told Russia on Wednesday that "reality can hurt" after a Russian-appointed official said the Ukrainian army was poised to try to retake the occupied city of Kherson and urged residents to evacuate.
Kherson is the biggest population centre seized by Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine and is on territory which President Vladimir Putin says is now formally incorporated into Russia, a move Ukraine and the West do not recognise.
"Less than a month has passed since the pompous announcement of Kherson annexation and solemn concert on the Red Square, as the self-proclaimed "city administration"...ceremoniously evacuates in anticipation of Ukrainian justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.
11:40am: Energoatom says 'About 50' Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant staff in Russian detention
The head of Ukraine's state nuclear agency Energoatom said Wednesday that about 50 employees of the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine were held in Russian captivity.
"More than 150 people from the staff of the plant were captured" since the start of the Russian invasion in late February, Petro Kotin told AFP, adding that "some of them were later released, but there are those whose fate is still unknown".
11:24am: FRANCE 24's Rob Parsons reports on Russian drone strikes in Ukraine
Rob Parsons explains the effects of Russian drone strikes on energy infrastructure in Ukraine and the situation on the ground.
11:02am: Pro-Kremlin administration evacuating from Ukraine's Kherson city
The head of the Russian-controlled region of Kherson in southern Ukraine said Wednesday that pro-Kremlin officials were evacuating from the region's main city but vowed Moscow's forces would keep fighting.
"The entire administration is already moving today," to the left bank of the Dnipero river, the region's Moscow-installed head Vladimir Saldo, said on Russian state television, vowing that Moscow's forces would "fight to the death" to retain control over the city.
10:42am: Russia bans civilians from entering occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson
The Russian-installed leader of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson said on Wednesday that authorities were banning civilians from entering the region for seven days, amid escalating pressure from a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Speaking on state television, Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo said that the region had the resources to hold on to the city of Kherson and that the move was needed to "keep civilians safe".
9:10am: EU's von der Leyen says Russian attacks on Ukraine infrastructure are war crimes
Russia's missile and drone attacks on power stations and other infrastructure in Ukraine are "acts of pure terror" that amount to war crimes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.
"Yesterday we saw again Russia's targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure. This is marking another chapter in an already very cruel war. The international order is very clear. These are war crimes," von der Leyen said in a speech to law makers in the European Parliament.
"Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the clear aim to cut off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with the winter coming, these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such."
8:43am: Belarus says no mobilisation planned amid military eligibility checkups
Belarus said on Wednesday that it had begun summoning citizens to check their eligibility for military service but that it was not planning mobilisation. "The military registration and enlistment activities are strictly routine and are expected to be completed by the end of this year," the defence ministry said.
8:37am: 'A sign of the very serious pressure Russian commanders are under'
FRANCE 24's Catherine Norris Trent reports from the Ukrainian town of Kryvyi Rih on Russian plans to evacuate civilians from Kherson to the other side of the Dnipro river as well as the top commander of Russian forces in Ukraine describing the situation for his troops as "tense".
8:23am: Russian-occupied Kherson says 50-60,000 people to be evacuated
The Russian-installed chief of the southern occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson said on Wednesday that about 50,000-60,000 people would be evacuated to Russia and to the left bank of the Dnipro river, state-run news agency TASS reported.
The evacuation is expected to last about six days, TASS quoted the Russian-appointed governor, Vladimir Saldo, as saying.
7:58am: Russia says it repelled Ukrainian attempt to capture nuclear plant
Russia says Ukrainian forces tried to recapture the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, but their attempt was repelled after several hours of fighting, state-run RIA news agency reported on Wednesday.
"After shelling the city, a landing attempt was launched, including an attempt to seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The battle went on for several hours, at least three to three and a half hours," RIA quoted Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov as saying, adding that the attack was "repelled".
7:00am: 'The electricity supply in one large area in the north-east of the city (Kyiv) was out'
FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kyiv on Russian drone strikes targeting energy infrastructure in Kyiv as winter approaches.
4:00am: IAEA chief hopes to return to Ukraine 'soon' over nuclear plant talks
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi expects to return "soon" to Ukraine, he told Reuters on Tuesday, amid negotiations to establish a security protection zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Grossi has been the go-between from Moscow to Kyiv in an effort to establish a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the plant, which has been hit by power outages in the past weeks due to shelling of the site.
1:47am: Russian commander says situation is 'tense' for his forces in Ukraine
The new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine made a rare acknowledgment of the pressures they were under from Ukrainian offensives to retake southern and eastern areas that Moscow says it annexed just weeks ago.
In another sign of Russian concern, the Kremlin-installed chief of the strategic southern region of Kherson on Tuesday announced an "organised, gradual displacement" of civilians from four towns on the Dnipro River.
"The situation in the area of the 'Special Military Operation' can be described as tense," Sergei Surovikin, the Russian air force general now commanding Russia's invasion forces, told the state-owned Rossiya 24 news channel.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
