Closing summary
It’s approaching 9pm in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, as the war continues on the 295th day. Here’s a roundup of today’s developments, as the head of Ukraine’s armed forces has said he believes Russia will try again to capture Kyiv.
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces believes Russia will have a renewed attempt at capturing the capital Kyiv, after its previous attack was repelled earlier this year. In an interview with the Economist, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhny, said he was trying to prepare for Russian forces to have another go at taking the city, possibly in February or March.
Zaluzhny’s comments were echoed by Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who told the Guardian that Ukraine’s forces were preparing for Russia to launch a “major” offensive in the new year.
Electricity blackouts due to Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure are crippling its economy, including in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing. The report in the Washington Post said Ukraine needs another $2bn a month on top of the $55bn already projected for next year to meet basic expenses.
An €18bn EU finance package for Ukraine looks likely to go ahead after Poland dropped its opposition. Diplomats from Warsaw had objected to a minimum corporate tax level, which diplomats had told Reuters had “blindsided” those negotiating the deals. They, and Lithuania, had also argued for tighter restrictions on their neighbour Russia.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the next six months of the conflict with Russia will be “decisive”. In an online address to the European Council on Thursday, Zelenskiy said: “The next six months will be decisive in many respects in the confrontation Russia started with their aggression.”
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will try to overcome the financial impact of western sanctions by selling gas to its eastern neighbours. In a televised speech he said Russia would develop its economic ties with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Kherson city is without electricity, according to the head of the regional military administration for the region. Yaroslav Yanushevich said that because of heavy shelling, which killed two people on Thursday, the city does not have any working electricity at the moment.
A former Russian deputy prime minister, who is one of the country’s wealthiest men, is one of the latest people to be placed under sanctions by the US government for ties to Putin and the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Potanin has had restrictions placed on him because of his involvement in Interros, a conglomerate that works across several sectors including manufacturing, construction and finance.
A Russian airbase in Kursk was struck on Wednesday night, a senior Ukrainian official has said. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a series of updates on Telegram, saying an “unknown drone” struck the military facility.
The UN diplomat in charge of aid said it was unlikely the Black Sea grain deal would be expanded to include more ports or reduce inspection times. Kyiv has called for an expansion of the agreement, which allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three Ukrainian ports. However, Martin Griffiths said it was “not immediately likely”.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk overnight, Russian-installed officials in the annexed areas said on Thursday.
The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday that all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the west were legitimate targets for Russia, and that they would be either destroyed or seized.
EU member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said, as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year.
Russia’s recent deployment of mobilised reservists to Belarus as well as exercising Belarusian troops will be unlikely to constitute a force capable of conducting a successful new assault into northern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. On 13 December, Belarus carried out a “snap combat readiness inspection of its forces”, the ministry notes in its latest intelligence report.
Moscow has said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine, with fighting looking set to drag on through the winter. Military analysts say a winter deadlock could now set in, even as fierce fighting continues especially in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are pushing to capture the town of Bakhmut.
Russia said on Thursday it had received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis’s comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the “cruellest” fighters in the Ukraine conflict. At a briefing in Moscow, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said Russia now considered the matter closed.
More than a third of the Ukrainian refugees who fled to Germany after the invasion by Russia in February have said they would like to stay in Germany permanently. A government-backed survey carried out in Germany found the majority feel welcome, and 37% would like to settle there permanently.
That’s all for today, thank you.
Updated
The German government has said it sent some additional missiles for Iris-T air defence systems it has previously provided to Ukraine.
Over the past week, Germany has already provided Ukraine with 34 ambulances, 18 trucks “with swap body system”, 12 armoured recovery vehicles, as well as 78,500 rounds of ammunition for grenade launchers and artillery, according to the German government in comments reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Earlier on 10 December, the German embassy in Ukraine said the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) would provide Ukraine with 470 electric generators “of different power classes” worth €19.5m.
Updated
The Ukrainian government has signed a deal with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to rebuild and develop Ukraine’s energy system.
The two-year deal will focus on energy security, transition to clean energy, energy saving and the reconstruction of the energy sector
Interfax news agency reported that the energy minister, German Galushchenko, said: “Tightened security and transition to carbon-free energy are fundamental principles on which the recovery of Ukraine’s energy sector will be based. We are not dropping our previous plans to develop renewable energy sources and join the global green transition trend.
“The joint programme should help utilise high-quality expertise and widely implement best international practices and advanced technology for rebuilding Ukraine’s modern energy system.”
Updated
Updated
An €18bn EU finance package for Ukraine has taken a step closer as Poland withdrew its concerns about a linked corporate tax.
Poland had objected to a minimum corporate tax level, which diplomats had told Reuters had “blindsided” those negotiating the deals.
The deal has needed unanimity, but border countries Poland and Lithuania have said they were concerned that proposed exceptions for food security might benefit Russian oligarchs in the fertiliser business.
The Lithuanian president, Gitanas Nauseda, said the restrictions needed to be kept as strong as possible. “We are a little bit concerned with attempts to weaken the sanctions under the cover of food security.”
Updated
Summary
As it has just gone 7pm in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, here’s a roundup of today’s main developments.
Electricity blackouts due to Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure are crippling its economy, including in key sectors such as mining and manufacturing. The report in the Washington Post said Ukraine needs another $2bn a month on top of the $55bn already projected for next year to meet basic expenses.
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces believes Russia will have a renewed attempt at capturing the capital Kyiv, after its previous attack was repelled earlier this year. In an interview with the Economist, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhny, said he was trying to prepare for Russian forces to have another go at taking the city, possibly in February or March.
Zaluzhny’s comments were echoed by Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, who told the Guardian that Ukraine’s forces were preparing for Russia to launch a “major” offensive in the new year.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said the next six months of the conflict with Russia will be “decisive”. In an online address to the European Council on Thursday, Zelenskiy said: “The next six months will be decisive in many respects in the confrontation Russia started with their aggression.”
Vladimir Putin has said Russia will try to overcome the financial impact of western sanctions by selling gas to its eastern neighbours. In a televised speech he said Russia would develop its economic ties with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Kherson city is without electricity, according to the head of the regional military administration for the region. Yaroslav Yanushevich said that because of heavy shelling, which killed two people on Thursday, the city does not have any working electricity at the moment.
A former Russian deputy prime minister, who is one of the country’s wealthiest men, is one of the latest people to be placed under sanctions by the US government for ties to Putin and the war in Ukraine. Vladimir Potanin has had restrictions placed on him because of his involvement in Interros, a conglomerate that works across several sectors including manufacturing, construction and finance.
A Russian airbase in Kursk was struck on Wednesday night, a senior Ukrainian official has said. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a series of updates on Telegram, saying an “unknown drone” struck the military facility.
The UN diplomat in charge of aid said it was unlikely the Black Sea grain deal would be expanded to include more ports or reduce inspection times. Kyiv has called for an expansion of the agreement, which allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three Ukrainian ports. However, Martin Griffiths said it was “not immediately likely”.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk overnight, Russian-installed officials in the annexed areas said on Thursday.
The Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Thursday that all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the west were legitimate targets for Russia, and that they would be either destroyed or seized.
EU member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said, as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year.
Russia’s recent deployment of mobilised reservists to Belarus as well as exercising Belarusian troops will be unlikely to constitute a force capable of conducting a successful new assault into northern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. On 13 December, Belarus carried out a “snap combat readiness inspection of its forces”, the ministry notes in its latest intelligence report.
Moscow has said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine, with fighting looking set to drag on through the winter. Military analysts say a winter deadlock could now set in, even as fierce fighting continues especially in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are pushing to capture the town of Bakhmut.
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, has said that further strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure could lead to a serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation and spark further displacement. In a speech to the human rights council after a trip to Ukraine, Türk said Russian strikes were exposing millions of people to “extreme hardship”.
Russia said on Thursday it had received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis’s comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the “cruellest” fighters in the Ukraine conflict. At a briefing in Moscow, the foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said Russia now considered the matter closed.
More than a third of the Ukrainian refugees who fled to Germany after the invasion by Russia in February have said they would like to stay in Germany permanently. A government-backed survey carried out in Germany found the majority feel welcome, and 37% would like to settle there permanently.
The UK Ministry of Defence has published a map showing where the frontline is between Ukraine and Russia, as well as likely lines of advance.
The MoD says it expects Russia to continue to try to make gains in the Donbas, where fierce fighting has been taking place in Bakhmut in recent weeks.
The illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is continuing.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 15, 2022
The map below is the latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 15 December 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/ZmuprwJErz
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/7bEjv4Kvxy
US imposes sanctions on one of Russia's wealthiest oligarchs Potanin
A former Russian deputy prime minister who is one of Russia’s wealthiest men is one of the latest people to be placed under sanctions by the US government for ties to Vladimir Putin and the Russian war effort.
Vladimir Potanin has had restrictions placed on him because of his involvement in Interros, a conglomerate that works across several sectors including manufacturing, construction and finance.
He had already been placed under sanctions by the UK government, in June. The 61-year-old served in office for seven months in the mid-1990s under Boris Yeltsin.
Potanin is Russia’s second-richest man. He has been placed under sanctions along with his wife, Ekaterina, and two adult children, Ivan and Anastasia. His superyacht Nirvana has also been designated as “blocked property”.
US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said: “The United States continues to impose costs on Russia for its war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia’s attacks have devastated Ukraine’s critical infrastructure and caused extraordinary death and destruction. Today, we are announcing additional sanctions measures on the Russian federation and its enablers.
“Our actions today are a clear message that the United States will not hesitate to continue to use the tools at our disposal to promote an end to, and accountability for, president Putin’s unconscionable war.”
Updated
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister has said Russia is using propaganda to try to bring Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s government to the negotiating table.
Hanna Mailar told a briefing at the Military Media Centre that messaging was focused on the “inevitability” of the energy crisis in Ukraine, accusations of the authorities ignoring domestic problems, and highlighting Russia’s military strength.
“With each missile attack, Russia hopes to change the course of the war in its favour.” she said.
“With each missile strike, the Kremlin hopes to plunge us into total darkness. With each missile strike, the terrorist state hopes to break the Ukrainians, turning our nation into the same slaves of the system as the Russians. However, these attempts turn out to be useless, time and again.”
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A German arms manufacturer will open a new factory in Germany to produce parts for its Gepard anti-aircraft guns, after Switzerland banned Germany from sending any munitions made in Switzerland to Ukraine.
Rheinmetall said it would open a “new production line in Germany for medium-calibre ammunition” which will include “the possibility of producing 35mm ammunition for the Gepard air defence system”, according to a statement sent to Agence France-Presse.
The facility will be completed in January 2023, and it will begin producing munitions from June. Its location has not been announced.
Germany has sent some arms to Ukraine to help it deal with Russia’s invasion. However its own production of munitions is limited, and earlier this year it asked Switzerland for permission to send Ukraine 12,400 pieces of Swiss-made ammunition.
Berne said no, saying it would compromise its neutrality.
Rheinmetall did not directly reference the Swiss veto but said a central aim of the new production line was to “make the ammunition supply in Germany independent of foreign production sites again”.
Updated
A Polish police chief has been taken to hospital for treatment after a gift from a senior Ukrainian official exploded.
Jarosław Szymczyk received minor injuries after a gift exploded in a room next to his office on Wednesday. He had recently met the head of Ukraine’s police and emergency services during his visit, and received the gift during it.
He is still in hospital under observation. A civil servant in the national police headquarters also suffered minor injuries, but did not need hospital treatment.
“The Polish side has asked the Ukrainian side to provide an explanation,” the interior ministry said.
Updated
Russian forces attacked critical infrastructure in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on Thursday, causing several explosions, the city’s mayor said.
“Explosions in Kharkiv. The enemy is targeting infrastructure facilities. I am asking everyone to exercise utmost caution and stay in shelters if possible,” Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Updated
Ukraine says Putin is preparing major offensive in new year
Senior Ukrainian officials say Vladimir Putin is preparing for a major new offensive in the new year, despite a series of humiliating battlefield setbacks for Russia in recent months.
In an interview with the Guardian, Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said that while Ukraine was now able to successfully defend itself against Russia’s missile attacks targeting key infrastructure, including the energy grid, evidence was emerging that the Kremlin was preparing a broad new offensive.
Reznikov’s comments echoed similar remarks made to the Economist this week – including from the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the head of the armed forces, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and the chief of ground forces, Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The briefings appeared to be part of a broad, coordinated effort to warn against complacency among western allies and highlight the continuing threat Russia poses to Ukraine.
Updated
A gift that a Polish police commander received during a recent visit to Ukraine exploded at police headquarters in Warsaw, causing the commander and a civilian employee to suffer minor injuries, the Polish interior ministry has said.
The explosion occurred on Wednesday morning at 7.50am, the ministry said. It did not specify what object the Polish commander received as a present during the working visit to Ukraine, the Associated Press reported.
The commander met with leaders of the Ukrainian Police and Emergency Situations Service on Sunday and Monday, the ministry said.
After the explosion, “the Polish side has asked the Ukrainian side to provide relevant explanations”, it said.
It added that the police commander has been in a hospital since Wednesday for observation, while the civilian employee did not require hospitalisation.
Updated
Zelenskiy says next six months will be 'decisive' in war
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the next six months of the conflict with Russia will be “decisive” in the war.
In an online address to the European Council on Thursday, Zelenskiy said: “The next six months will be decisive in many respects in the confrontation that Russia started with their aggression.
“Aggression against Ukraine and against each of you, because Russia’s final target is much farther than our border and Ukrainian sovereignty. The next six months will demand from us even greater efforts than were undertaken over the past period.”
He said that Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure must be stopped and called for more weapons. “We need more modern weapons, a larger volume of supplies,” he said, in comments reported by the Ukrainian Ukrinform news website.
As the war goes into its 10th month, he referred to the liberation of Kherson in November. “This liberation showed the world that our common defence is not something accidental, but our inalienable strength that can’t be stopped.”
Updated
The UN diplomat in charge of aid said it was unlikely the Black Sea grain deal would be expanded to include more ports or reduce inspection times.
Kyiv has called for an expansion of the deal with Moscow, which allows safe passage for ships carrying grain out of three Ukrainian ports. More than 14m tonnes of grain have been exported since the deal was agreed, the UN said on Thursday.
However Martin Griffiths told Reuters that he did not think it would happen.
“I think it would be great if it could be expanded. The more grain that gets out into the world, the better clearly from our point of view, from the world’s point of view. But I don’t think that’s immediately likely,” he said.
Griffiths has been in Ukraine this week as he visited the cities of Mykolaiv and Kherson to inspect aid delivery.
He added that talks continue for Russia to resume its ammonia exports through the Black Sea.
Updated
Putin seeking ties with Asia, Africa and Latin America to overcome financial impact of sanctions
Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will try to overcome the financial impact of sanctions by selling gas to its eastern neighbours.
In a televised speech he said Russia would develop its economic ties with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America after the west introduced sanctions following the invasion of Ukraine.
In the televised meeting with officials on Thursday, he was told that Russia’s GDP was expected to fall by 2.5% in 2022.
“We will remove restrictions in logistics and finance. Let me remind you that by introducing sanctions, western countries were trying to push Russia to the periphery of world development. But we will never take the route of self-isolation,” he said, in quotes published by the Reuters news agency.
“On the contrary, we are broadening, and will broaden, cooperation with all who have an interest in that.”
Updated
The fashion company H&M has said it has closed its final stores in Russia and Belarus, wrapping up its progressive withdrawal over the Ukraine conflict.
After stopping sales in Russia in March after the invasion of Ukraine, H&M announced in July it would withdraw from Russia at a cost of 2.1bn Swedish kronor (about €193m).
“The H&M group’s operations in Russia and Belarus were wound up during the quarter, with the remaining stock being sold off and the last stores having closed on 30 November,” the group said in a statement, according to Reuters.
Russia was the group’s sixth-largest market at the end of 2021, and represented more than 2bn kronor in revenue as of 2021’s last quarter.
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Electricity blackouts due to Russian missile and drone attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure are crippling its economy, including in key sectors including mining and manufacturing.
The report in the Washington Post said that Ukraine needs another $2bn a month on top of the $55bn already projected for next year to meet basic expenses.
There are concerns that Ukraine could end up in a balance-of-payments crisis if it does not have the international reserves to pay for key imports and to meet foreign debt obligations.
Inflation has already reached 20%, and one forecast shows that the economy could contract by 5% next year, on top of the 33% this year after the invasion.
The targeting of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure began in earnest in mid-October, and has led to regular blackouts and restriction of supplies since.
The Washington Post said that two of Ukraine’s biggest steel plants, in the south-east of the country, had to shut down last month due to power cuts. Meanwhile dozens of coalminers had to be rescued after an electricity failure left them trapped underground.
Internet outages due to the lack of power could also hit its IT sector, as well as basic public and private financial services, including pension payments, mobile banking, tax collection and digital sales.
The government in Kyiv fears an exodus of people due to a lack of heat and water during the cold winter, meaning they will take their money with them, and not be there to work when businesses are open, or spend their money buying products or services.
Head of Ukraine armed forces warns Russia gearing up for new attack on Kyiv next year
The head of Ukraine’s armed forces believes that Russia will have a renewed attempt at capturing the capital Kyiv, after its previous attack was repelled earlier this year.
In an interview with the Economist, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhny, said he was trying to prepare for Russian forces to have another go at taking the city, possibly in February or March.
In response to a question where he was asked what he makes of Russia’s mobilisation of 300,000 reservists and former soldiers, he said it had worked. “They may not be that well equipped, but they still present a problem for us. We estimate that they have a reserve of 1.2 million to 1.5 million people … The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv.”
Zaluzhny said that generals had worked out how many tanks, artillery and soldiers they need to repel another concerted effort by Russian troops. He said that Russian commanders had pulled soldiers back beyond the range of the US-made HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems, and that Ukraine hasn’t got anything longer range.
The 49-year-old made a comparison to the second world war, and said “somewhere beyond the Urals, they are preparing new resources”.
“According to my calculations it must have been three and a half or four years that they built [resources] up intensively: people, equipment, ammunition. I think they had three months’ worth of resources to achieve their goals. The fact that they have exhausted these resources and wasted their potential without achieving practically any result, shows that their position was chosen incorrectly. They now have to think again about how to get out of this situation.
“So most likely they are looking for ways to stop [fighting] and get a pause by any means: shelling civilians, leaving our wives and children to freeze to death. They need it for one simple purpose: they need time to gather resources and create new potential so they can continue to fulfil their goals.
“In my personal opinion, I am not an energy expert but it seems to me we are on the edge. We are balancing on a fine line. And if [the power grid] is destroyed … that is when soldiers’ wives and children start freezing. And such a scenario is possible. What kind of mood the fighters will be in, can you imagine? Without water, light and heat, can we talk about preparing reserves to keep fighting?”
Updated
Two people have been injured in continued shelling in the Nikopol area.
Attacks were focused on the Chervonogrihorivska, Nikopolska and Marganetska areas. Nikopol is a city of about 100,000 people on the banks of the Dnipro River, downstream from Zaporizhzhia in central Ukraine.
The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk oblast, Valentyn Reznichenko, said that a 66-year-old man was being treated in hospital while a 67-year-old woman was being treated at home.
He added that houses and power lines were damaged.
Updated
More than a third of the Ukrainian refugees who fled to Germany after the invasion by Russia in February have said they would like to stay in the country permanently.
A government-backed survey carried out in Germany found that the majority feel welcome, and 37% would like to settle there permanently.
More than 1 million Ukrainians moved to Germany after Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded in late February, which meant that apart from neighbouring Poland, Germany has taken in more refugees than any other European Union country.
The poll of 11,225 people carried out by the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees said that a further 34% planned to stay until the end of the war, and 27% were undecided. About 2% planned to leave within a year, Reuters reports.
Updated
Kherson city without electricity after Russian shelling, says regional chief
Kherson city is without electricity, according to the head of the regional military administration for the region.
Yaroslav Yanushevich said that because of heavy shelling, which killed two people on Thursday, the city does not have any working electricity at the moment.
Posting on his Telegram account, he said: “At the first opportunity, the power industry will begin to restore power grids.”
Updated
Summary
The time in Kyiv is 1pm. Here is a roundup of the day’s news so far:
A Russian airbase in Kursk was struck on Wednesday night, a senior Ukrainian official has said. Anton Gerashchenko, a senior presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a series of updates on Telegram, saying an “unknown drone” struck the military facility.
Russian shelling has killed two people on Thursday in the centre of the recently liberated city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official has said. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said on the Telegram messaging app that the two were killed about 100 metres from the regional administration building, which was hit in shelling on Wednesday.
Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk overnight in some of the biggest attacks for years, Russian-installed officials in the annexed areas said on Thursday. “At exactly seven o’clock this morning they subjected the centre of Donetsk to the most massive attack since 2014,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-backed mayor of the city, said on Telegram.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the west were legitimate targets for Russia, and that they would be either destroyed or seized.
European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year. Countries moved closer to a deal in Wednesday’s negotiations but Poland and some other countries still have objections, one EU diplomat told Reuters, adding a new draft was expected to be circulated on Thursday evening.
Russia’s recent deployment of additional units of mobilised reservists to Belarus as well as exercising Belarusian troops will be unlikely to constitute a force capable of conducting a successful new assault into northern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. On 13 December, Belarus carried out a “snap combat readiness inspection of its forces” the ministry notes in its latest intelligence report.
Zelenskiy has confirmed another 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been returned from Russian captivity. Announcing the news in his latest Wednesday evening national address, he said: “Today, 64 Ukrainians were returned from Russian captivity … Four officers and 60 privates and sergeants. Among them are seriously wounded.”
Moscow has said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine, with fighting looking set to drag on through the winter. “There is no calm on the frontline,” Zelenskiy said in his regular evening video address on Wednesday. “Every day and every metre is given extremely hard. And especially where the entire tactic of the occupiers boils down to the destruction of everything in front of them with artillery – so that only bare ruins and craters in the ground remain.”
Military analysts say a winter deadlock could now set in, even as fierce fighting continues especially in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are pushing to capture the town of Bakhmut. The White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, said the scale of the ongoing violence tempered hopes for an imminent end to hostilities.
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, has said that further strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure could lead to a serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation and spark further displacement. In a speech to the human rights council following a trip to Ukraine, Turk said Russian strikes were exposing millions of people to “extreme hardship”.
A UN senior official on Thursday voiced optimism that there would be a breakthrough in negotiations to ease exports of Russian fertilisers. “I am cautiously optimistic that we can have important progress soon,” UN senior official Rebeca Grynspan told reporters in Geneva.
Russia said on Thursday it had received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis’ comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the “cruellest” fighters in the Ukraine conflict. At a briefing in Moscow, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican.
Canada said on Wednesday it would revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany. The pipeline under the Baltic Sea was shut down for repairs on 31 August but not restarted.
The Ukrainian military said it shot down 13 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv and the surrounding region on Wednesday in Russia’s first major drone attack on the capital in weeks. The strikes damaged five buildings and authorities described the assault as a continuation of Russia’s “energy terror” against the country. There were no victims, the spokesperson for Kyiv’s rescue services, Svitlana Vodolaga, told Ukraine’s Suspilne news.
Russian drone strikes on Kyiv and the region around the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday did not damage any energy facilities, the national power grid operator Ukrenergo said. “Thanks to the brilliant work of the air defence forces, the energy infrastructure facilities were not damaged – all 13 drones were shot down,” Ukrenergo said on Telegram.
The regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was also hit by multiple Russian rockets, according to a senior Ukrainian official. Tymoshenko said two floors of the building on the central square of the recently liberated city had been damaged, but that no one was reported hurt. An unconfirmed video circulating on social media showed a huge plume of smoke pouring up from the top of the administration building.
The US is expected to decide whether to supply Ukraine with its advanced Patriot air defence system. US officials told CNN that the missiles could be delivered in a matter of days after the repeated Russian barrages against Ukrainian cities. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the west has provided to Ukraine. The Washington Post also reported that the US is planning to send electronic equipment that converts unguided aerial munitions into smart bombs, allowing a high degree of accurate targeting, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for the time being. My colleague Harry Taylor will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest news from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Updated
A UN senior official has voiced optimism that there will be a breakthrough in negotiations to ease exports of Russian fertilisers.
“I am cautiously optimistic that we can have important progress soon,” UN senior official Rebeca Grynspan told reporters in Geneva on Thursday. She declined to give further details, Reuters reported.
Russian and Ukrainian representatives have previously discussed allowing Russia to resume ammonia exports, used to make fertilisers, in exchange for a prisoner swap that would release a large number of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners.
Updated
Russia has said it has received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis’s comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the “cruellest” fighters in the Ukraine conflict.
At a briefing in Moscow, the foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican.
Updated
The UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Turk, has said that further strikes on Ukraine’s infrastructure could lead to a serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation and spark further displacement.
In a speech to the human rights council following a trip to Ukraine, Turk said Russian strikes were exposing millions of people to “extreme hardship”.
“Additional strikes could lead to a further serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation and spark more displacement,” he said.
Updated
Russian shelling kills two in Kherson, Kyiv says
Russian shelling has killed two people on Thursday in the centre of the recently liberated city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, a senior Ukrainian official has said.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president’s office, said on the Telegram messaging app that the two were killed about 100 metres from the regional administration building, which was hit in shelling on Wednesday.
Updated
EU members fail to reach agreement on new Russia sanctions – diplomats
European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said as EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for their last summit of the year.
Countries moved closer to a deal in Wednesday’s negotiations but Poland and some other countries still have objections, one EU diplomat told Reuters, adding a new draft was expected to be circulated on Thursday evening.
Fresh sanctions on Moscow have been held up by disagreement over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertiliser exports to pass through European ports, even in the case when the fertiliser companies are owned by blacklisted oligarchs, Reuters reported.
Some say EU restrictions pose a food security threat to developing countries, while others argue that relaxing them would allow Russian oligarchs who own fertiliser businesses to dodge EU sanctions against them.
One EU diplomat said Poland and the Baltic states are telling other countries that they are deluding themselves if they think a relaxation on Russian fertilisers is not going to be abused as a loophole for oligarchs.
Some member states want the World Food Programme involved on authorisation for exports of fertilisers to countries that need it.
Updated
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the west were legitimate targets for Russia, and that they would be either destroyed or seized.
More to follow.
Updated
Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk overnight in some of the biggest attacks for years, Russian-installed officials in the annexed areas said on Thursday.
“At exactly seven o’clock this morning they subjected the centre of Donetsk to the most massive attack since 2014,” Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-backed mayor of the city, said on Telegram.
“Forty rockets from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers were fired at civilians in our city,” Kulemzin said. He cast the attack as a war crime.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield accounts from either side.
Updated
Additional Russian and Belarusian troops unlikely to succeed in assault: UK MoD
Russia’s recent deployment of additional units of mobilised reservists to Belarus as well as exercising Belarusian troops will be unlikely to constitute a force capable of conducting a successful new assault into northern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
On 13 December 2022, Belarus carried out a “snap combat readiness inspection of its forces” the ministry notes in its latest intelligence report.
The exercises are reportedly taking place in the north-west of the country, away from the Ukrainian border. In addition, Russia has recently deployed extra units of mobilised reservists to Belarus.
Belarus played a key enabling role in Russia’s assault towards Kyiv from 24 February 2022. However, the exercising Belarusian troops and Russian units are currently unlikely to constitute a force capable of conducting a successful new assault into northern Ukraine.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 15 December 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 15, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/ahHyeaENBH
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/zi2M1kstc2
Another 64 Ukrainian POWs and US national freed
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed another 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been returned from Russian captivity.
Announcing the news in his latest Wednesday evening national address, he said:
Today, 64 Ukrainians were returned from Russian captivity … Four officers and 60 privates and sergeants. Among them are seriously wounded.”
A US national who was arrested by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine in the summer has also been released as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, said on Wednesday.
Suedi Murekezi, 35, told the Guardian earlier this month that he felt “trapped” after he was released in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk without his papers.
Analysts predict winter deadlock
Military analysts say a winter deadlock could now set in, even as fierce fighting continues especially in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, where Russian forces are pushing to capture the town of Bakhmut.
The White House national security spokesman, John Kirby, said the scale of the ongoing violence tempered hopes for an imminent end to hostilities.
Just given what we’re seeing in the air and on the ground in Ukraine, it’s difficult to conclude that this war will be over by year’s end,” Kirby said in response to a question about the prospects for a negotiated peace with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
“So there is active fighting going on right now. We would expect that that will continue for some time going forward.”
No Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine, Russia says
Moscow has said no “Christmas ceasefire” was on the cards after nearly 10 months of war in Ukraine, with fighting looking set to drag on through the winter.
“There is no calm on the frontline,” the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in his regular evening video address on Wednesday. “Every day and every metre is given extremely hard. And especially where the entire tactic of the occupiers boils down to the destruction of everything in front of them with artillery – so that only bare ruins and craters in the ground remain.”
Asked on Wednesday whether Moscow had seen proposals for a “Christmas ceasefire”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “No, no such offers have been received from anybody. This topic is not on the agenda.”
Zelenskiy had called on Russia this week to start withdrawing its troops by Christmas as the first step towards a peace deal, but Peskov said on Tuesday there would be no peace with Kyiv until Zelenskiy accepted the “realities” on the ground – referring to Russian control over parts of four Ukrainian regions it annexed in September following coercive and illegal “referendums”.
Canada to revoke sanctions waiver for Nord Stream 1 repair
Canada said on Wednesday it would revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany.
The pipeline under the Baltic Sea was shut down for repairs on 31 August but not restarted. It was heavily damaged a month later when it was hit by a series of explosions. European governments suspect the ruptures of the pipeline and another called Nord Stream 2 were caused by sabotage. Putin has called western claims that Russia was behind the explosions as “crazy”.
Our joint statement regarding the Nordstream 1 turbine. pic.twitter.com/i8swuGpmQw
— Mélanie Joly (@melaniejoly) December 14, 2022
Canada’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, and natural resources minister, Jonathan Wilkinson, said in a joint statement:
Putin has been forced to show that his intention was never to return Nord Stream 1 to full operation, and that the pipeline itself has been rendered inoperable.”
The decision was made after working closely with Ukraine, Germany and other European allies, they said.
Russian airbase in Kursk hit by drone strike, says Ukraine
A Russian airbase in Kursk was struck on Wednesday night, a senior Ukrainian official has said.
Anton Gerashchenko, a senior presidential adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a series of updates on Telegram, saying an “unknown drone” struck the military facility.
Citing unspecified Russian media reports, he said there had been “two explosions in Kursk near the airfield” in a post at 10.30pm local time. “Unknown drone hit a military facility in Kursk,” he later added.
Footage circulating online appeared to show a series of explosions rock the city in western Russian about 10pm local time.
Russian media organisation RIA quoted regional governor Roman Starovoit as saying “Air defence worked over the Kursk region in the evening, there were no casualties and no damage.”
Air defense reportedly engaged aerial targets in Kursk, Kursk region of Russia https://t.co/s1VtlTdpYj pic.twitter.com/2vUrDPo7fC
— Liveuamap (@Liveuamap) December 14, 2022
⚡Sounds of explosions in Kursk.
— FLASH (@Flash_news_ua) December 14, 2022
Video from social medias.@Flash_news_ua pic.twitter.com/2QvSKxHpT8
Last week, a drone attack set an oil storage tank on fire at an airfield in Kursk.
Video footage posted on social media showed a large explosion lighting up the night sky followed by a substantial fire at the airfield 175 miles (280km) from the Ukrainian border. At daybreak a large column of black smoke was still visible above the site.
Russian officials blamed the attacks on modified Strizh drones, which were first produced in the 1970s in the Soviet era and intended for use as target practice.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours.
A Russian airbase in Kursk was reportedly struck late on Wednesday night, according to officials and local media reports. Footage circulating online appeared to show a series of explosions rock the city in western Russian about 10pm local time.
As the attacks continue, Moscow has said no “Christmas ceasefire” is on the cards with fighting looking set to drag on through the winter.
Canada has also said it will revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany.
For any updates or feedback you wish to share, please feel free to get in touch via email or Twitter.
If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:
Russia has shut down any proposals for a “Christmas ceasefire” in Ukraine, saying the topic is “not on the agenda”, according to the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, earlier this week called on G7 leaders to back a peace solution that would start with Russia withdrawing troops from Ukraine, beginning this Christmas. “There is no calm on the frontline,” he added in an evening video address.
The Ukrainian military said it shot down 13 Iranian-made drones over Kyiv and the surrounding region on Wednesday in Russia’s first major drone attack on the capital in weeks. The strikes damaged five buildings and authorities described the assault as a continuation of Russia’s “energy terror” against the country. There were no victims, the spokesperson for Kyiv’s rescue services, Svitlana Vodolaga, told Ukraine’s Suspilne news.
Russian drone strikes on Kyiv and the region around the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday did not damage any energy facilities, the national power grid operator Ukrenergo said. “Thanks to the brilliant work of the air defence forces, the energy infrastructure facilities were not damaged – all 13 drones were shot down,” Ukrenergo said on Telegram.
The regional administration building in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was also hit by multiple Russian rockets, according to a senior Ukrainian official. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said two floors of the building on the central square of the recently liberated city had been damaged, but that no one was reported hurt. An unconfirmed video circulating on social media showed a huge plume of smoke pouring up from the top of the administration building.
The US is expected to decide whether to supply Ukraine with its advanced Patriot air defence system. US officials told CNN that the missiles could be delivered in a matter of days after the repeated Russian barrages against Ukrainian cities. The Patriot would be the most advanced surface-to-air missile system the west has provided to Ukraine. The Washington Post also reported that the US is planning to send electronic equipment that converts unguided aerial munitions into smart bombs, allowing a high degree of accurate targeting, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
Canada has said it will revoke a sanctions waiver that allowed turbines for Nord Stream 1, Russia’s biggest gas pipeline to Europe, to be repaired in Montreal and returned to Germany. The pipeline under the Baltic Sea was shut down for repairs on 31 August, but never restarted and in later September suffered major leaks. European governments suspect the ruptures of the pipeline and another called Nord Stream 2 were caused by sabotage. “Putin has been forced to show that his intention was never to return Nord Stream 1 to full operation, and that the pipeline itself has been rendered inoperable,” the foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, said on Wednesday.
The war in Ukraine will continue “for some time going forward”, the White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, predicts. Kirby said the scale of the ongoing violence tempered hopes for an imminent end to hostilities. “Just given what we’re seeing in the air and on the ground in Ukraine, it’s difficult to conclude that this war will be over by year’s end,” Kirby said. “So there is active fighting going on right now. We would expect that that will continue for some time going forward.”
Russia faces a “critical shortage” of artillery shells and Moscow’s ability to conduct ground operations in Ukraine is “rapidly diminishing” as a result, Britain’s armed forces chief has said. Adm Sir Tony Radakin, the chief of defence staff, told an audience at the Royal United Services Institute thinktank on Wednesday that the Kremlin had only planned for a short period to subjugate Ukraine, and has instead found itself embroiled in a conflict lasting nearly 10 months. “Russia faces a critical shortage of artillery munitions. This means that their ability to conduct successful offensive ground operations is rapidly diminishing,” the military chief said.
A US national who was arrested by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine in the summer has now been released as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, Andriy Yermak, said. Suedi Murekezi, 35, was released by Russia along with 64 Ukrainian soldiers and the bodies of four fallen soldiers, Yermark said. Murekezi told the Guardian earlier this month that he felt “trapped” after he was released in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk without his papers.
