Summary of the day
Thanks for following the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. It will be closed shortly but you can continue to follow the latest news here. Below is a closing summary of today’s key posts.
Poland will demand that the EU restore permits for Ukrainian truckers, the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, said. Empty cargo trucks have crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland, in the first steps towards a de-escalation of a border blockade that has crippled Ukrainian trade. Estimates of the Ukrainian trade loss so far, exceed €400m (£343m). Processing of empty trucks began at the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv checkpoint by customs services at 1am (Kyiv time), in accordance with an agreement between Kyiv and Warsaw announced on Monday.
The US is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia, says the White House. Its budget director, Shalanda Young, issued the warning in a letter to the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and other congressional leaders on Monday.
Maj Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of Russia’s 14th army corps, has been confirmed killed in Ukraine, said the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev. He said Zavadsky had died “at a combat post in the special operation zone”, but further details have not been released.
The death toll, after a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s eastern town of Novohrodivka, has risen to three after a body of a child was retrieved from underneath rubble. The updated death toll comes five days after a missile damaged a residential building in the town.
Russian troops recorded “executing” two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed said Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Tavria group of forces.
Russia is opening new fronts in the battle for Avdiivka, say Ukrainian officials, who have accused Russian forces of assaulting the industrial town in the eastern Donetsk region from two new directions.
An estimated 320,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the latest intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defence.
Ukraine is working towards changing its war tactics, said Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. He highlighted Russia’s “emphasis on drones” and said that although winter would not be easy, Ukrainians were prepared.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has praised the alternative “grain corridor” after Russia withdrew from the deal allowing safe Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian president said it had allowed for more than 7m tonnes of cargo to be transported so far.
Rumen Radev, the president of Bulgaria, has vetoed an agreement for the provision of armoured transport vehicles to Ukraine, returning it to parliament for further discussion. The Bulgarian prime minister, Nikolai Denkov, responded by saying the veto would be “overcome”.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 Russian drones and one missile. It also added that a cultural centre and a shop were hit in Kherson.
Ukraine’s forces attacked an oil depot in Russia-controlled Luhansk on Sunday night using combat drones. A fire that broke out after the attack was extinguished and there was no information about casualties.
The Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has restarted inbound flights to Chisinau, Moldova, in eastern Europe, having suspended flights to the country in March due to tensions linked to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
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Death toll in Russian strike on eastern town rises to three
The death toll, after a Russian missile strike on Ukraine’s eastern town of Novohrodivka, has risen to three after the body of a child was retrieved from underneath rubble. Rescuers retrieved the body of the eight-year-old girl on Monday and authorities are still looking for her parents, Reuters reports.
“As of the morning, the girl’s body was recovered from the rubble. The child’s parents, who are probably still under the rubble, were not found,” the head of local administration, Oleksandr Shevchenko said on Telegram.
On 29 November, Russia fired six missiles on three settlements in the eastern Donetsk region, injuring 10 people, according to authorities. A missile damaged a residential building in Novohrodivka, and it was said to have killed two, until today’s update.
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The Guardian’s Edward Helmore has more on the White House saying that it is “out of money and nearly out of time” to aid Ukraine. He writes:
The warning, issued on Monday in a letter to congressional leaders, laid out how the government has already gone through about $111bn [£87.8bn] appropriated for Ukraine military aid.
“I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from US military stocks,” Shalanda Young, director of the office of management and budget, wrote in the letter, parts of which were published by the Hill.
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More than 7m tonnes of cargo were transported via an alternative grain corridor after Russia withdrew from the deal allowing safe Black Sea exports of Ukrainian grain, said Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Monday. Reuters reports the Ukrainian president as making the announcement on the Telegram messenger service, where he praised the success of the “grain corridor”.
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Ukraine is working towards changing its war tactics, moving to defence in certain areas and continuation of offensive operations in some others, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday. Posting an update on X, Podolyak said that winter and analysis of Ukraine’s resource capabilities, as well as those of Russia necessitated “adjustments in tactics”.
He wrote:
On the frontline and in the cities, we are already moving to a different tactic of warfare – effective defence in certain areas, continuation of offensive operations in other areas, special strategic operations on the Crimean peninsula and in the Black Sea waters, and significantly reformatted missile defence of critical infrastructure.
He highlighted Russia’s “emphasis on drones” and said that although winter would not be easy, Ukrainians were prepared. Ukraine’s resources would be directed towards increasing domestic arms production and speeding up negotiations with partners to increase supplies of critical equipment for the new stage of offensive operations, Podolyak added. He ended by writing:
First and foremost, additional missile defence systems, as well as long-range missiles, drones, and electronic warfare systems. Thus, to summarise, the stage of the war is clear, the needs are obvious, optimal adjustments to the tactics are being made, and negotiations with partners are active.
Undoubtedly, the winter and the analysis of our own and the enemy's resource capabilities require adjustments in tactics. On the frontline and in the cities, we are already moving to a different tactic of warfare - effective defense in certain areas, continuation of offensive…
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) December 4, 2023
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Russian troops recorded 'executing' two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed
Members of the Russian forces involved in the “execution” of two Ukrainian soldiers who emerged from their trench near the town of Avdiivka and were shot dead as they surrendered, have been killed.
Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Tavria group of forces, confirmed that the “group of Russian occupiers who committed this crime ceased to exist”. The Kyiv Independent said that although Shtupun had spoken on Sunday about reports of the group of Russian soldiers being killed, he announced the confirmation of it on air today.
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Rumen Radev, the president of Bulgaria, has vetoed an agreement for the provision of armoured transport vehicles to Ukraine, returning it to parliament for further discussion.
The ratified deal for the provision of 100 personnel carriers, signed in August 2023 in Sofia and later in Kyiv in November, had received approval in the national assembly, but Radev’s veto has necessitated further deliberation on the matter, reports Bulgarian news agency Novinite.
In his rationale for the move, Radev highlighted an oversight of the vehicles’ role in safeguarding Bulgaria’s borders and aiding citizens during emergencies and disasters. Novinite also said Radev believed that parliamentarians lacked a “comprehensive understanding of the specificities of the donation”, reducing their ability to “thoroughly evaluate the necessity” of the equipment.
The Bulgarian prime minister, Nikolai Denkov, responded by saying: “This veto will be overcome, so I don’t see anything to comment on.”
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A British defence intelligence update notes: “Between 24 February 2022 and November 2023, official Russian MoD forces likely suffered between 180,000 and 240,000 personnel wounded and approximately 50,000 killed.”
It added that: “Wagner Group mercenaries likely suffered approximately 40,000 wounded and 20,000 killed.”
The update also underscored that “even amongst Russian officials there is likely a low level of understanding about total casualty figures because of a long-established culture of dishonest reporting within the military”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 4 December 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 4, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/YagSaiekzW
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/AkQ44Nj5Yj
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Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs, has pushed back against pessimistic narratives about the war.
“Ukraine is significantly weakening Russian combat potential for any possible future conflict. Russia suffers huge losses in terms of both soldiers and weapons,” he wrote on social media.
He added:
The west is getting a strong, combat-trained and Nato-standardised army at its eastern flank – the Ukrainian army.
The adviser acknowledged that there were “great challenges and trials ahead” but said: “We must remain united, learn from our successes and mistakes, stay strong and have faith.”
There have been many discussions recently about the current situation on the frontlines in Ukraine and about the war in general. A number of them are not optimistic.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 4, 2023
While the situation is indeed challenging, I'd like to look at it from a more global point of view and assess the…
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Here are images from Ukraine over the past few days.
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Poland will demand restoration of permits for Ukrainian truckers, Morawiecki says
Poland will demand that the European Union restore permits for Ukrainian truckers, Mateusz Morawiecki said today, Reuters reported.
The Polish prime minister’s comments come after empty cargo trucks crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland. Polish truckers have been blocking major crossings for cargo vehicles since early November.
Morawiecki said:
We will very strongly and unequivocally demand the restoration of transport permits for Ukrainian drivers.
Updated
Here is a summary of today's events so far:
It is 2pm in Kyiv and here is a summary of today’s events so far:
Maj Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of Russia’s 14th Army Corps, has been confirmed killed in Ukraine, said the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev. He said Zavadsky had died “at a combat post in the special operation zone”, but further details have not been released.
The US is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia, say the White House. Its budget director, Shalanda Young, issued the warning in a letter to the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and other congressional leaders on Monday.
Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 Russian drones and one missile. It also added that a cultural centre and a shop were hit in Kherson.
Empty cargo trucks have crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland. In the first steps towards a de-escalation of a border blockade that has crippled Ukrainian trade. Estimates of the Ukrainian trade loss so far, exceed €400m ($440m). Processing of empty trucks began at the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv checkpoint by customs services at 1am (Kyiv time), in accordance with an agreement between Kyiv and Warsaw announced on Monday.
Ukraine’s forces attacked an oil depot in Russia-controlled Luhansk on Sunday night using combat drones. A fire that broke out after the attack was extinguished and there was no information about casualties.
Russia are opening new fronts in the battle for Avdiivka, say Ukrainian officials, who have accused Russian forces of assaulting the industrial town in the eastern Donetsk region from two new directions.
The Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has restarted inbound flights to Chisinau, Moldova, in eastern Europe, having suspended flights to the country in March due to tensions linked to Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Updated
Russia are opening new fronts in the battle for Avdiivka, say Ukrainian officials. The industrial town in eastern Ukraine has been under constant Russian fire in a bid by Moscow to capture it. Ukrainian officials have accused Russian forces of assaulting Avdiivka, in the eastern Donetsk region from two new directions, reports AFP.
“The current third wave of enemy assaults differs from the previous two in that they have conditionally opened two new directions,” the head of the town, Vitaliy Barabash, said. “The launching of new directions proves that the enemy has been given a command to capture the city at any cost.”
In comments to state media, Barabash said these latest events were an attempt to distract Ukrainian defences and close a gap west of the town that would see it entirely encircled. Independent military analysts have said that about 1,300 civilians remain in the town, which was once home to about 30,000 people.
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First empty cargo trucks cross border from Ukraine to Poland
In the first steps towards a de-escalation of a border blockade that has crippled Ukrainian trade, empty cargo trucks have crossed the border between Ukraine and Poland.
Polish lorry drivers have been blocking Ukrainian trucks at major crossing points for the past month, protesting at what they say is unfair competition and demanding the reintroduction of a permit system for goods entering the EU from Ukraine, said AFP. The EU entry permit system was scrapped after Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
The Federation of Employers of Ukraine, a major business association, had estimated that Ukraine faced a loss of “more than 400 million euros” ($440 million) due to the blockade, which has halted traffic on both sides of the border.
The crossing, which previously served only cars and buses, was opened for empty trucks travelling from Ukraine to Poland in the first stage of what Kyiv says is a list of measures agreed between the two sides. Previous talks between Kyiv, Warsaw and the protesting Polish lorry drivers had failed to reach a breakthrough.
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White House warns it is running out of money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia
The White House has warned that the US is running out of time and money to help Ukraine fight its war with Russia. The White House budget director, Shalanda Young, issued the warning in a letter to the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, and other congressional leaders on Monday, according to Reuters.
In the letter, Young wrote:
I want to be clear: without congressional action, by the end of the year we will run out of resources to procure more weapons and equipment for Ukraine and to provide equipment from U.S. military stocks. There is no magical pot of funding available to meet this moment. We are out of money – and nearly out of time.
In October, the Biden administration submitted a $106bn request to Congress to fund plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security. The urgency of the request was spelled out by White House officials in a televised address to the nation at the time.
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Deputy commander of Russia's 14th Army Corps killed in Ukraine, confirms Russian regional governor
Maj Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of Russia’s 14th Army Corps, has been confirmed killed in Ukraine, said the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region, Alexander Gusev. The update on reports of Zavadsky’s death last week was posted on Gusev’s Telegram channel on Monday. He described the death of the former tank commander as a heavy loss.
Gusev said Zavadsky had died “at a combat post in the special operation zone”, but further details have not been released, said Reuters. According to the investigative news outlet iStories, Zavadsky is the seventh major general whose death had been confirmed by Russia, and the 12th senior officer overall to be reported dead since the start of the war.
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Processing of empty trucks has begun at the Poland-Ukraine border checkpoint. About 30 cargo vehicles had been processed by 7am (Kyiv time) after registration began at 1am, said the Ukraine’s state border guard service.
The empty trucks departing from Ukraine to Poland were processed at the Uhryniv-Dolhobychuv checkpoint by customs services, in accordance with an agreement between Kyiv and Warsaw announced on Monday, reports the Kyiv Independent. The border guard service said in its statement: “The opening of Uhryniv is the first item on the list of measures implemented to unblock the border, reduce lines, and increase the capacity of the Ukrainian-Polish border.”
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The Hungarian carrier Wizz Air has restarted inbound flights to Chisinau, Moldova, in eastern Europe, having suspended flights to the country in March due to tensions linked to Russia’s war with Ukraine. The budget airline also said it had suspended operations in Israel until early January 2024, reports PA Media.
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Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 18 Russian drones and one missile
Ukraine’s air force has shot down 18 out of 23 Iranian-made Shahed drones and one missile that Russia fired at its territory overnight, according to a report by Agence France Presse. An update on social media by the Ukraine‘s air force said “combat operations” had resulted in 18 attack drones and one X-59 guided missile being destroyed. It also added that a cultural centre and a shop were hit in Kherson.
Local officials have also reported attempted attacks on the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Khmelnytskyi, as well as Mykolaiv and Kherson in the south.
Moscow typically fires dozens of drones at Ukraine every week in waves of overnight attacks targeting energy facilities and military sites deep behind the frontlines. Russia has also reported downing several attempted Ukrainian drone attacks in recent weeks, says AFP, including some launched at the capital, Moscow.
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Ukraine’s forces attacked an oil depot in Russia-controlled Luhansk on Sunday night using combat drones, Reuters reports. A fire that broke out after the attack was extinguished and there was no information about casualties. The information comes via the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, citing Russian-installed authorities in the Ukrainian region.
Opening summary
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Russia’s war on Ukraine. Here is a brief summary of the latest developments.
Ukraine has launched an inquiry into what it said was an “execution” by Russian forces of two unarmed Ukrainian soldiers who were surrendering. Video appeared to show the Ukrainian soldiers’ last moments as they emerged from their trench near the town of Avdiivka. One raised his arms in the air before they were both shot at close range. Russia’s military command began a major offensive against Avdiivka in October, and has been trying for nearly two months to encircle the town. There has so far been no breakthrough, despite huge losses of infantry and armoured vehicles.
Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko, hailed his country’s “reliable” friendship with China on Monday as he held talks with counterpart Xi Jinping on his second trip to Beijing this year. Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Moscow, arrived in China on Sunday for a visit expected to last at least two days. He and Xi will discuss issues including “trade, the economy, investment and international cooperation”, his office said on Sunday. Lukashenko last came to China in February, a trip that drew scrutiny given Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “Belarus is, was and will be a reliable partner for China,” Lukashenko told Xi on Monday, according to a readout of the talks from the office of the Belarusian presidency.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reported “intense battles” at dozens of frontline locations, with the most severe in the eastern towns of Maryinka, Avdiivka and Bakhmut, but also reported heavy fighting in Kharkiv region and in the south. “Brutal” shelling rained down on “buildings, streets, our hospitals” in Kherson, he said, and offered condolences to families of those killed, noting Kherson region alone had suffered 20 shelling incidents in one day.
Russia launched 23 drones and a cruise missile against Ukraine overnight, Ukraine’s air force said on Monday, adding that its air defence systems destroyed 18 of the drones and the missile before they reached their targets.
Anti-aircraft defences were deployed in at least nine regions of Ukraine, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.Ukraine said at least three people were killed and four injured in the latest Russian shelling. In Donetsk region, the prosecutor general’s office said a 69-year-old woman was killed on the spot and a 70-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds in the town of Kostyantynivka. In Kherson region, shelling in the village of Sadove killed a 78-year-old man in a private garage, the local military administration said, adding, “He died on the spot from the explosive injury.” Kherson region officials said on Sunday their air defences downed 10 Russian drones.
The British foreign secretary, David Cameron, will travel to Washington DC on Wednesday, in his first visit to the US since taking up the position last month. Cameron will meet the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, among other officials, and will take part in discussions focusing on supporting Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression, a UK Foreign Office statement said.
Ukraine and Poland will open an additional border crossing for empty trucks on Monday in order to open up a much-needed route for Kyiv, with some crossings blocked by weeks of protests by Polish drivers, Ukrainian authorities said on Sunday.
Russia launched 12 drones and a cruise missile at Ukraine, Ukraine’s air force said on Sunday, with air defence systems destroying 10 drones before they reached their targets.
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