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Russia says its forces capture two settlements in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region
The Russian defence ministry has said its forces have gained control over two settlements – Illinka and Petrivka – in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. We have not yet independently verified this claim.
Russian forces hold a little less than 20% of Ukraine’s territory and have advanced through Donetsk region over the past two months at their fastest rate since March 2022, according to open source data.
They are approaching Kurakhove and the town of Pokrovsk to the north, a key transportation hub.
Pokrovsk was once home to about 50,000 people. For more than a decade – after Vladimir Putin seized parts of Donetsk oblast in 2014 – it has been a Ukrainian military centre, as well as a rail and road hub. You can read more about the city in this profile of it by my colleague, Luke Harding.
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As we reported in the opening summary, European Council President Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU’s foreign policy chief, arrived in Kyiv this morning, in a show of support for Ukraine. Their visit comes as US president-elect, Donald Trump, prepares to take office in late January. Trump, who has claimed he could end the war in 24 hours, has characterised the level of US military assistance to Ukraine as a drain on American resources, and has argued the US contributes too much to Nato, relative to Europe.
“From day one of the war, the EU has stood by the side of Ukraine,” Costa posted on X alongside an image of himself, Kallas and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos arriving via train earlier today. “From day one of our mandate, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people.” Costa, a former prime minister of Portugal, is tasked with coordinating the work of the EU’s national leaders and chairing their summits. At a ceremony in Brussels on Friday, he said everyone was yearning for peace after more than 1,000 days of war, “especially the embattled and heroic Ukrainian people”.
As prime minister of Estonia, which borders Russia, Kallas emerged as one of the most staunch defenders of Ukraine, leading efforts to increase military assistance to Kyiv and tighten sanctions against Russia. Moscow this year put her on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments. Neither Kallas nor Costa, however, can make specific pledges of further aid to Ukraine as this requires the support of the EU’s national governments. The EU says its institutions and member countries have made available about $133bn in Ukraine aid since the start of Russia’s war on Ukraine in 2022, but future support remains uncertain especially if Trump reduces US support.
Romanians are casting ballots in a parliamentary election sandwiched between a two-round presidential race that has plunged the EU and Nato member country into unprecedented turmoil after allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference.
Sunday’s vote will elect a new government and prime minister and determine the formation of the country’s 466-seat legislature. Romanians who are abroad have been able to vote since Saturday.
The legislative vote comes a week after the first round of a presidential race in which a controversial far-right populist who had been polling in single digits won the most votes. Călin Georgescu, 62, is due to face the reformist Elena Lasconi, of the Save Romania Union party or USR, in a runoff on 8 December.
Georgescu’s success, which many have attributed to his rapid rise in popularity on the social media platform TikTok, has triggered nightly protests throughout Romania by those who oppose his past remarks praising Romanian fascist leaders and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and view him as a threat to democracy.
Many observers believe the presidential outcome indicates a sharp shift from Romania’s mainstream parties to more populist anti-establishment parties, whose voices have found fertile ground amid high inflation, high cost of living and a sluggish economy.
You can read more here:
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Russia launched 78 drones against Ukraine overnight from the Russian cities of Kursk, Orel, and Bryansk, Ukraine’s air force saiid in an update on Telegram.
As of 9am local time, Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile units, electronic warfare units, and mobile firing groups from the air force shot down 32 drones in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Sumy, Poltava, and Zhytomyr regions. It was reported that 45 drones were lost in “location” – possibly, the air force suspects, due to electronic warfare countermeasures.
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EU's new foreign policy chief visits Kyiv after overnight airstrike
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The EU’s new foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, and head of the European council, António Costa, arrived in Kyiv on Sunday in a symbolic show of support for Ukraine on their first day in office.
“We came to give a clear message that we stand with Ukraine, and we continue to give our full support,” Costa told reporters.
Their visit came after Russia launched attack drones at Kyiv in its latest overnight airstrike on the Ukrainian capital, which has come under regular bombardment since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Air defences destroyed around a dozen drones over the city, military administrator Serhiy Popko said. No injuries or deaths were reported from the attack.
Kallas, a former prime minister of Estonia, has said Nato must remain in a leading role when it comes to European defence, with the EU supporting on issues such as boosting arms production.
In a message on X, Kallas wrote that it was a “privilege” to be in Kyiv adding:
In my first visit since taking up office, my message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war.
We will do whatever it takes for that.
In other developments:
One child died in Russia’s western Bryansk region after a massive Ukrainian drone attack, the local governor Alexander Bogomaz has said. Bogomaz said the attacks completely destroyed one house in the Starodubsky municipal district. An 11-year-old boy reportedly was killed after a drone hit a five-story residential apartment in the region.
The Russian defence ministry said its air defences destroyed 29 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 20 in the Bryansk region, seven in Kaluga region, and one each in Smolensk and Kursk regions.
At least three people were killed in a Russian drone attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the regional governor said earlier today. Seven more people were injured in the morning attack, which targeted public transportation, Oleksandr Prokudin wrote in a post on Telegram.
A Russian missile strike on a town in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region on Saturday killed at least four people, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. More than a dozen others were injured, including a child, while a residential building and shop were damaged, according to officials.
Ukraine has asked Latin American parliamentarians and diplomats to assist in its defence in the war with Russia. Representatives of Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, El Salvador, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica came to Kyiv for a meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
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