Closing summary
It’s nearly 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Ukraine is to evacuate civilians from recently liberated areas of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Residents of the two southern regions have been advised to move to safer areas in the central and western parts of the country, amid fears that the damage to infrastructure caused by the war is too severe for people to endure the winter.
The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it claimed to be repeated Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, was rocked by shelling over the weekend, drawing condemnation from the UN nuclear watchdog which said such attacks risked a major disaster.
The head of Russia’s state-run atomic energy agency, Rosatom, warned of the risk of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia plant. Alexei Likhachev accused Ukraine of being willing to “accept” a “small nuclear incident”, adding that “everything must be done so that no one has in their minds to encroach on the safety of the nuclear power plant.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, appealed to Nato members to guarantee the protection of his country’s nuclear power plants from “Russian sabotage”. Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, said the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant was a Russian tactic that aimed to disrupt power supplies and “freeze Ukrainians to death”.
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia plant on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the forces behind the shelling of the plant were “playing with fire”.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Ukraine’s health system is “facing its darkest days in the war so far”. WHO regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, called for a “humanitarian health corridor” to be created to all areas of Ukraine newly recaptured by Kyiv, as well as those occupied by Russian forces.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general office has said its officials have identified four locations where Russian forces tortured detainees in Kherson city. It said Russian forces “set up pseudo-law enforcement agencies” in pre-trial detention centres and a police station before troops withdrew from the southern Ukrainian city earlier this month.
Russian troops have been accused of burning bodies at a landfill on the edge of Kherson during their occupation of the region. Residents and workers at the site told the Guardian they saw Russian open trucks arriving to the site carrying black bags that were then set on fire, filling the air with a large cloud of smoke and a stench of burning flesh.
The Kremlin said that it would bring to justice those responsible for the alleged execution of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. Russia has accused Ukrainian soldiers of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, citing a video circulating on Russian social media. Ukraine denies the claims. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said there were no plans to call up more Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine through a second round of mobilisation.
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address. “The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelenskiy said.
Russian forces are constructing defensive positions partially staffed by poorly trained mobilised reservists around the Svatove sector in the Luhansk region in north-eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. With Russia’s south-western frontline now more readily defendable along the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Svatove sector is likely now a more vulnerable operational flank of the Russian force, the latest British intelligence report reads.
Forty-five countries and institutions will meet in Paris on Monday to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova, as fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the conflict in Ukraine. Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has felt the effects of rising food and energy prices as well as an influx of thousands of refugees arriving in the country of about 2.5 million people.
That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today. Thank you for following, I’ll be back tomorrow.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, has condemned the shelling of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
In a statement after the call, Macron said other nuclear plants at Rovno and Khmelnitski as well as the Nova Kakhovka dam had also been targeted.
He added that President Zelenskiy had thanked France for its continuous support for the Ukrainian army.
The Ukrainian leader said he “stressed the need of demilitarisation” at the Zaporizhzhia facility, and said the pair “discussed cooperation on ensuring Ukraine’s energy stability, in particular, protecting the system from air attacks”.
Had a call with @EmmanuelMacron. Informed about the situation on the battlefield and at 🇺🇦 nuclear plants. Stressed the need of demilitarization of #ZNPP. We also discussed cooperation on ensuring Ukraine's energy stability, in particular, protecting the system from air attacks.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 21, 2022
Here are some of the latest images we have received from the recently liberated city of Kherson, in southern Ukraine.
Luxembourg has said it will send additional armoured vehicles to Ukraine, according to its defence minister, François Bausch.
The @ArmyLuxembourg and @Defense_lu support the Armed Forces of #Ukraine by sending additional High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV).
— François Bausch (@Francois_Bausch) November 21, 2022
These will strengthen 🇺🇦 in exercising its right to self-defence. #Luxembourg will support #Ukraine for as long as it takes. pic.twitter.com/XcDLwCM1o7
Ukraine to start evacuations in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions
Ukraine is to evacuate civilians from recently liberated areas of the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, amid fears that the damage to infrastructure caused by the war is too severe for people to endure the winter.
Residents of the two southern regions, which were shelled regularly by Russian forces in the past months, have been advised to move to safer areas in the central and western parts of the country, said Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk.
The government would provide transportation, accommodation and medical care, she added.
The evacuations come just over a week after Ukraine retook the city of Kherson – which remains close to the frontline – and areas around it.
The liberation marked a major battlefield gain, while the evacuations highlight the difficulties Ukraine is facing after heavy Russian shelling of its power infrastructure as winter sets in.
The war’s southern front has been the recent focus of efforts for both Russian and Ukrainian forces before Russia’s retreat from Kherson.
More recently, however, Moscow appears to be building up forces and increasing its military efforts on the eastern Donbas front where the two sides have been locked in a bitter and inconclusive struggle for months, not least around the key town of Bakhmut.
Updated
Winter will be 'life-threatening' for millions in Ukraine, warns WHO
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Ukraine’s health system is “facing its darkest days in the war so far” and called for a “humanitarian health corridor” to allow crucial supplies to be sent to all areas of Ukraine.
The WHO has documented 703 attacks on health infrastructure since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began, said the organisation’s regional director for Europe, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge.
In a speech in Kyiv, Kluge described such attacks as a “breach of international humanitarian law and the rules of war”.
The attacks on health and energy infrastructure have left hundreds of hospitals and healthcare facilities “no longer fully operational, lacking fuel, water and electricity to meet basic needs”, he said.
He said:
This winter will be life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine.
The devastating energy crisis, the deepening mental health emergency, constraints on humanitarian access and the risk of viral infections will make this winter a formidable test for the Ukrainian health system and the Ukrainian people, but also for the world and its commitment to support Ukraine.
He warned “cold weather can kill” as 10 million in Ukraine are without power in temperatures that are expected to drop to -20C in parts of the country.
Ukraine’s health system is facing its darkest days in the war so far. Having endured more than 700 attacks, it is now also a victim of the energy crisis.
He also called for a “humanitarian health corridor” to be created to all areas of Ukraine newly recaptured by Kyiv, as well as those occupied by Russian forces.
The WHO and its partners would be “ready to mobilise at a moment’s notice” to create routes to allow crucial supplies to be sent to areas that are hard to reach.
He expressed particular concern for 17,000 patients in Donetsk, who he said may soon run out of critical antiretroviral drugs that keep them alive.
Kluge added:
This war must end, before the health system and the health of the Ukrainian nation are compromised any further.
Updated
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it claimed to be repeated Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, was rocked by shelling over the weekend, drawing condemnation from the UN nuclear watchdog which said such attacks risked a major disaster.
The head of Russia’s state-run atomic energy agency, Rosatom, warned of the risk of a nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia plant. Alexei Likhachev accused Ukraine of being willing to “accept” a “small nuclear incident”, adding that “everything must be done so that no one has in their minds to encroach on the safety of the nuclear power plant.”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, appealed to Nato members to guarantee the protection of his country’s nuclear power plants from “Russian sabotage”. Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister, said the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant was a Russian tactic that aimed to disrupt power supplies and “freeze Ukrainians to death”.
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia plant on Monday. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said the forces behind the shelling of the plant were “playing with fire”.
The southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol was hit by Russian shelling overnight, according to city officials. The shelling reportedly hit a residential area injuring a 78-year-old man, the Kyiv Independent reports city governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, as saying.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general office has said its officials have identified four locations where Russian forces tortured detainees in Kherson city. It said Russian forces “set up pseudo-law enforcement agencies” in pre-trial detention centres and a police station before troops withdrew from the southern Ukrainian city earlier this month.
Russian troops have been accused of burning bodies at a landfill on the edge of Kherson during their occupation of the region. Residents and workers at the site told the Guardian they saw Russian open trucks arriving to the site carrying black bags that were then set on fire, filling the air with a large cloud of smoke and a stench of burning flesh.
The Kremlin said that it would bring to justice those responsible for the alleged execution of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine. Russia has accused Ukrainian soldiers of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, citing a video circulating on Russian social media. Ukraine denies the claims. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov also said there were no plans to call up more Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine through a second round of mobilisation.
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address. “The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelenskiy said.
Russian forces are constructing defensive positions partially staffed by poorly trained mobilised reservists around the Svatove sector in the Luhansk region in north-eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. With Russia’s south-western frontline now more readily defendable along the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Svatove sector is likely now a more vulnerable operational flank of the Russian force, the latest British intelligence report reads.
Forty-five countries and institutions will meet in Paris on Monday to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova, as fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the conflict in Ukraine. Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has felt the effects of rising food and energy prices as well as an influx of thousands of refugees arriving in the country of about 2.5 million people.
Good afternoon from London. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong still here with all the latest developments from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Zelenskiy urges Nato to protect nuclear facilities from ‘Russian sabotage’
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has appealed to Nato members to guarantee the protection of his country’s nuclear power plants from “Russian sabotage”.
In a video address to Nato’s parliamentary assembly in Madrid, he said:
All our nations are interested in not having any dangerous incidents at our nuclear facilities.
He added:
We all need guaranteed protection from Russian sabotage at nuclear facilities.
Zelenskiy also called for new EU sanctions against Russia over what he said was its “policy of genocide” as its forces bomb civilian infrastructure.
Updated
An interesting dispatch from Reuters news agency’s Gleb Garanich and Yuriy Kovalenko, reporting from the village of Horenka, near Kyiv.
The piece reads:
As they head into a cold winter, residents of a bombed-out Ukrainian village say they appreciate a warm bath in a mural painted by graffiti artist Banksy.
The mural, showing a man scrubbing his back in a bathtub, is on the ground floor of what remains of an apartment block hit in a Russian attack in March in Horenka, northwest of Kyiv, once on the front line where Russia’s assault on the capital was halted.
“For me, it means washing off all the dirt. The dirt of the Russian Federation ...,” Tetiana Reznychenko, 43, told Reuters as snow fell around her. “And this drawing makes me feel as if I have cleansed myself of the dirt that descended on us.”
The mural is one of one of seven that Banksy has confirmed painting in Ukraine. Reznychenko said she had given Banksy’s team a mug of instant coffee in her apartment, as it was cold when the artist came to paint the mural.
She has a wood stove in her apartment but no electricity, heating or running water as winter sets in.
“Winter has begun, and we don’t know what will happen next. Firemen brought us non-drinking water ... but it will freeze unless we move it inside,” she said.
Despite the problems, she and her neighbours remain defiant.
“Ukrainians adapt to everything. No light? No problem. There are candles, there are alternative sources of electricity, there are power banks,” said neighbour Olena Kulynovich.
“When the neighbours have electricity, we go to them, charge the phones and the power banks. No water? That’s OK. Even if the government doesn’t help, we managed to organise the delivery of water.”
Updated
A Ukrainian serviceman kneels in front of a memorial dedicated to people who died in clashes with security forces, at the Independent Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, today.
Russians accused of burning bodies at Kherson landfill
The landfill site on the edge of Kherson offers some visible hints here and there, among the piles of rubbish, to what locals and workers say happened in its recent past. Russian flags, uniforms and helmets emerge from the putrid mud, while hundreds of seagulls and dozens of stray dogs scavenge around.
As the Russian occupation of the region was on its last legs over the summer, the site, once a mundane place where residents disposed of their rubbish, became a no-go area, according to Kherson’s inhabitants, fiercely sealed off by the invading forces from presumed prying eyes.
The reason for the jittery secrecy, several residents and workers at the site told the Guardian, was that the occupying forces had a gruesome new purpose there: dumping the bodies of their fallen brethren, and then burning them.
The residents report seeing Russian open trucks arriving to the site carrying black bags that were then set on fire, filling the air with a large cloud of smoke and a terrifying stench of burning flesh.
They believe the Russians were disposing of the bodies of its soldiers killed during the heavy fighting of those summer days.
“Every time our army shelled the Russians there, they moved the remains to the landfill and burned them,” says Iryna, 40, a Kherson resident.
Read the full story here:
Norway has said it will assist Ukraine with gas procurement for the coming winter, providing funding amounting to 2bn Norwegian crowns (£166m).
The funds, part of a previously announced aid package of 10bn crowns, will go via the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
In a statement, Norway’s finance minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said:
It is important to channel the support through an established, internationally recognised organisation, which will ensure effective and transparent use of the funding.
Updated
Zaporizhzhia power plant ‘at risk of a nuclear accident’, says Russian energy chief
The head of Russia’s state-run atomic energy agency, Rosatom, has warned of the risk of a nuclear accident at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Rosatom CEO, Alexei Likhachev, was cited by Interfax news agency as saying:
The plant is at risk of a nuclear accident. We were in negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all night.
Rosatom has controlled the nuclear facility, Europe’s largest, since President Vladimir Putin ordered the formal seizure of the plant.
Likhachev’s warning came amid renewed shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant, following reports from the IAEA that powerful explosions had shaken the area on Saturday night and Sunday.
More than a dozen blasts have been reported from apparent shelling, with damage to some buildings, systems and equipment, but “none so far critical for nuclear safety”, the IAEA said.
Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the attacks. Likhachev accused Ukraine of being willing to “accept” a “small nuclear incident”, adding:
This will be a precedent that will forever change the course of history. Therefore, everything must be done so that no one has in their minds to encroach on the safety of the nuclear power plant.
Updated
Four ‘torture’ sites identified in Kherson, says Kyiv
Ukraine’s prosecutor general office has said its officials have identified four locations where Russian forces tortured detainees in Kherson city before its troops withdrew from the southern Ukrainian city earlier this month.
In an update posted on Facebook, it said officials had inspected “four premises” where Russian troops “illegally detained people and brutally tortured them”.
It said Russian forces “set up pseudo-law enforcement agencies” in pre-trial detention centres and a police station in the captured city.
The statement continued:
Parts of rubber batons, a wooden bat, a device used by the Russians to torture civilians with electric shocks, an incandescent lamp and bullets from the walls were recovered. People in cells and basements were subjected to various methods of torture, physical and psychological violence.
Inside the basement of one of the sites, officials “discovered part of a metal-plastic pipe, handcuffs”, it said.
The US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said Ukraine was in a “much better condition” than Russia to keep fighting through the winter.
Speaking during a press conference in Indonesia, Austin said:
We’ve done a lot to try to prepare the Ukrainians to be prepared for a fight in the winter, and enable them to continue to keep pressure on our adversaries throughout the winter months.
He added that it was “hard to predict how things will evolve and on what timeline, but we’re in this in support of Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
Updated
Kremlin: no plans for second round of mobilisation
The Kremlin has said there are no plans to call up more Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine through a second round of mobilisation.
Asked about the potential for a new round of mobilisation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said:
I can’t speak for the defence ministry, but there are no discussions in the Kremlin about this.
President Vladimir Putin announced plans to draft 300,000 men to fight in Ukraine in September, marking Russia’s first mobilisation since the second world war following a string of military defeats.
Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, announced the end to the “partial mobilisation” in October.
Updated
Russia trying to 'freeze Ukrainians to death' with nuclear plant shelling, claims Ukraine official
A Ukrainian official has said the shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is a Russian tactic that aims to disrupt power supplies and “freeze Ukrainians to death”.
Strikes on the plane on Saturday and Sunday amount to a “genocidal campaign to freeze Ukrainians to death, to deprive Ukrainians of electricity”, said Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defence minister.
Russia is trying to “freeze the front” because they “are not achieving anything on the battlefield and they’re desperately looking for a way to achieve what they call an operational pause on the front”, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning.
He said there would be “no pause from our side” and that Ukraine will continue its recent counter-offensive.
Moscow and Kyiv have blamed each other for the attacks on the Zaporizhzhia facility in south-east Ukraine, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power station and has been under Russian control since March.
Updated
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and his wife, Olena, have been pictured attending a commemoration ceremony in Kyiv at a monument to the so-called “Heavenly Hundred” for the people killed during the Ukrainian pro-EU mass demonstrations in 2013/2014.
Summary
The time in Kyiv is 1pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines so far:
The southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol was hit by Russian shelling overnight, according to city officials. The shelling reportedly hit a residential area injuring a 78-year-old man, the Kyiv Independent reports city governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, as saying.
The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it claimed was repeated Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It called on global powers to ensure that Kyiv ceased attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power station. Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, was rocked by shelling on Sunday, drawing condemnation from the UN nuclear watchdog which said such attacks risked a major disaster.
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Monday after the site was shelled more than a dozen times over the weekend. The blasts damaged buildings and equipment, though none had been “critical” for nuclear safety and security, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Russia also said that it would bring to justice those responsible for the alleged execution of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine and that it would do everything possible to draw attention to what it has claimed is a war crime. Russia has accused Ukrainian soldiers of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, citing a video circulating on Russian social media. Ukraine denies the claims.
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address. “The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelenskiy said.
Russian forces are constructing defensive positions partially staffed by poorly trained mobilised reservists around the Svatove sector in the Luhansk region in north-eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. With Russia’s south-western frontline now more readily defendable along the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Svatove sector is likely now a more vulnerable operational flank of the Russian force, the latest British intelligence report reads.
A new training centre for Ukrainian troops in the central Spanish city of Toledo will start operating at the end of November, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, told the Nato parliamentary assembly. Spanish police will also be deployed in Ukraine over the coming weeks to help investigate alleged Russian war crimes, Sanchez added.
A video purportedly showing the detention of two Russian servicemen who refused to fight against Ukraine has appeared across multiple Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels. The video shows two men – each dressed in military uniform – called to appear in front of their commander.
Italy’s government will ask parliament to pass a new law on military and civilian supplies to Ukraine throughout 2023, defence minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview. The Rome government can send aid to Ukraine without seeking parliamentary authorisation each time on the basis of a decree that expires at the end of the year.
Forty-five countries and institutions will meet in Paris on Monday to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova, as fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the conflict in Ukraine, according to a Reuters report. Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has felt the effects of rising food and energy prices as well as an influx of thousands of refugees arriving in the country of about 2.5 million people.
Ukraine has exported almost 16.2m tonnes of grain so far in the 2022-23 season, down 31.7% from the 23.8m tonnes exported by the same stage of the previous season, agriculture ministry data showed. The volume included almost 6.3m tonnes of wheat, 8.6m tonnes of corn and 1.3m tonnes of barley, Reuters reported.
Negotiating with Russia would be “capitulation”, a key adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has said. Mykhaylo Podolyak said attempts by the west to urge Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow were “bizarre” given a series of major military victories by Kyiv. He added it would mean that a country “that recovers its territories must capitulate to the country that is losing”. The comments come after recent US media reports that some senior officials were beginning to encourage Ukraine to consider talks.
The first Ukrainian supermarket has opened in Kherson since the city was liberated earlier this month. ATB, a 24/7 shop in the city, had queues of people outside on Sunday as it welcomed customers back. Kherson remains without electricity, running water or heating, but residents found some relief in being able to purchase Ukrainian pickled gherkins, dumplings, horseradish and other favourites.
France has sent another two air defence systems to Ukraine, along with two multiple rocket launchers, according to an interview given by a French defence minister.
Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia of feeding disinformation to further its “predatory project” in Africa, where France has had military setbacks. In an interview with TV5 Monde on the sidelines of a conference of Francophone nations in Tunisia, the French president said there was a “predatory project” pushing disinformation into African countries, which was “a political project financed by Russia, sometimes others”.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest news from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy marked Ukraine’s annual Day of Dignity and Freedom on Monday by celebrating the sacrifices made by Ukrainian people since Russia’s invasion and said his country would endure and prevail.
In a video address to the nation, Zelenskiy hailed the contributions made by Ukrainians, from soldiers, firefighters and medics to teachers giving online lessons, villagers cooking for the military, tailors sewing uniforms and farmers ploughing their fields despite the risk.
He hailed their defiance despite frequent missile strikes, widescale destruction, shortages and rolling blackouts as winter sets in, almost exactly nine months since Russia’s invasion, Reuters reported.
“We can be left without money. Without gasoline. Without hot water. Without light. But not without freedom,” Zelenskiy said in an address that he delivered standing in an ornate room in the presidential palace in the capital, Kyiv.
Updated
The Kremlin also said that it would bring to justice those responsible for the alleged execution of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine and that it would do everything possible to draw attention to what it has claimed is a war crime.
Russia has accused Ukrainian soldiers of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war, citing a video circulating on Russian social media.
“There is no doubt that Russia itself will be looking for the perpetrators of this crime. They must be found and punished,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that Kyiv would investigate the video but that it was “very unlikely” it showed what Moscow claimed.
A spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office told Reuters it was looking into the footage and called for allegations to be investigated promptly and in full.
Updated
Russia claim Ukraine shelling nuclear plant, denied by Kyiv
The Kremlin has said it was concerned by what it claimed was repeated Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It called on global powers to ensure that Kyiv ceased attacks on Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, was rocked by shelling on Sunday, drawing condemnation from the UN nuclear watchdog which said such attacks risked a major disaster.
“This cannot but cause our concern,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “We call on all countries of the world to use their influence so that the Ukrainian armed forces stop doing this.”
Ukraine says it was Russia that shelled the plant. Reuters was unable to independently verify which side was responsible.
Updated
A new training centre for Ukrainian troops in the central Spanish city of Toledo will start operating at the end of November, Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, told the Nato parliamentary assembly.
Spanish police will also be deployed in Ukraine over the coming weeks to help investigate alleged Russian war crimes, Sanchez added.
Updated
Ukraine has exported almost 16.2m tonnes of grain so far in the 2022-23 season, down 31.7% from the 23.8m tonnes exported by the same stage of the previous season, agriculture ministry data showed.
The volume included almost 6.3m tonnes of wheat, 8.6m tonnes of corn and 1.3m tonnes of barley, Reuters reported.
After an almost six-month blockade caused by the Russian invasion, three Ukrainian Black Sea ports were unblocked at the end of July under a deal between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the United Nations and Turkey.
Ministry data showed that 3m tonnes of various grains were exported in the first 20 days of November, 29.7% less than in the same period of November 2021.
The government has said Ukraine could harvest between 50m and 52m tonnes of grain this year, down from a record 86m tonnes in 2021 because of the loss of land to Russian forces and lower yields.
Updated
Ukrainians living in the capital, Kyiv, are preparing for the “worst winter of their lives” with temperatures set to plummet and the nation’s power grid a target for Russian attacks.
Here is an extract from an Associated Press article today:
When the power is out, as it so often is, the high-rise apartment overlooking Ukraine’s war-torn capital feels like a deathtrap. No lights, no water, no way to cook food. And no elevator by which to escape from the 21st floor should a Russian missile strike. Even when electricity comes back, it’s never on for long.
“Russian strikes are plunging Ukraine into the Stone Age,” says Anastasia Pyrozhenko. In a recent 24-hour spell, her 26-story high-rise only had power for half an hour. She says the “military living conditions” have driven her and husband from their apartment.
“Our building is the highest in the area and is a great target for Russian missiles, so we left our apartment for our parents’ place and are preparing for the worst winter of our lives,” said the 25-year-old.
The situation in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, and other major cities has deteriorated drastically following the largest missile attack on the country’s power grid on Tuesday. Ukrainian state-owned grid operator Ukrenergo reported that 40% of Ukrainians were experiencing difficulties, due to damage to at least 15 major energy hubs across the country.
Warning that electricity outages could last anywhere from several hours to several days, the network said that “resilience and courage are what we need this winter.”
Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, too, stressed the need to be ready and resilient in the face of a potential blackout: “Worst case scenario. Actually, I don’t like to talk about that, but I have to be prepared if we (do not) have electricity, blackout, no water, no heating, no services and no communication,” Klitschko told the AP on Friday.
Updated
Ukrainian soldiers fire an artillery at Russian positions near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine.
Italy’s government will ask parliament to pass a new law on military and civilian supplies to Ukraine throughout 2023, defence minister Guido Crosetto said in an interview.
The Rome government can send aid to Ukraine without seeking parliamentary authorisation each time on the basis of a decree that expires at the end of the year.
“The defence [ministry] will shortly propose to renew that same measure, extending it to all of 2023,” Crosetto told Il Foglio newspaper.
Crosetto said Italy would continue supplying arms, as it has done in the past, “in the times and ways that we will agree with our Atlantic allies and with Kyiv”.
Crosetto belongs to Brothers of Italy, the right wing party of Italy’s new prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, who is a staunch supporter of Ukraine.
Updated
The southern Ukrainian city of Nikopol was hit by Russian shelling overnight, according to city officials.
The shelling reportedly hit a residential area injuring a 78-year-old man, the Kyiv Independent reports city governor, Valentyn Reznichenko, as saying.
Another night Russian attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region. 60 shells from Grad rocket launchers and heavy artillery. A 78-year-old man was injured. pic.twitter.com/KiXL3lOnuT
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) November 21, 2022
Updated
Forty-five countries and institutions will meet in Paris on Monday to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova, as fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the conflict in Ukraine, according to a Reuters report.
Moldova, which lies between Ukraine and Romania, has felt the effects of rising food and energy prices as well as an influx of thousands of refugees arriving in the country of about 2.5 million people. Moldova is believed to have taken more refugees per head than any other country.
Largely dependent on Russia energy supplies, Moldova is facing more difficulties with winter arriving and Moscow cutting natural gas supplies by about 40%, hurting its ability to supply enough electricity to its population.
“Moldova is directly impacted because it’s dependent on Russian energy supplies and is a country which has a part of its territory controlled by Russian soldiers so it’s especially vulnerable,” a French diplomat told reporters in a briefing.
Aid would be used to support Moldova’s budget and electricity supplies as well as the costs for hosting thousands of Ukrainian refugees.
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Russia forming defensive positions around Svatove, Luhansk: UK MoD
Russian forces are constructing defensive positions partially staffed by poorly trained mobilised reservists around the Svatove sector in the Luhansk region in north-eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
With Russia’s south-western frontline now more readily defendable along the east bank of the Dnipro River, the Svatove sector is likely now a more vulnerable operational flank of the Russian force, the latest British intelligence report reads.
Russian leaders will highly likely see retaining control of Svatove as a political priority though their commanders are likely struggling with the military realities of maintaining a credible defence, while also attempting to resource offensive operations further south in Donetsk.
“Both Russian defensive and offensive capability continues to be hampered by severe shortages of munitions and skilled personnel,” the report adds.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 21 November 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 21, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/NxOEkA8yFf
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/0J5AAllnxg
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A video purportedly showing the detention of two Russian servicemen who refused to fight against Ukraine has appeared across multiple Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels.
The video shows two men – each dressed in military uniform – called to appear in front of their commander.
According to Meduza, an independent Russian news outlet based abroad, who shared the video published by the Military Ombudsman Telegram channel on Sunday, the incident occurred in Russia’s Belgorod region. The outlet states:
The investigator informs the privates that on 16 November a criminal case was opened against them for failure to comply with the order (Part 2.1 of Article 332 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). This article implies a punishment in the form of imprisonment for a term of two to three years. The convoy then detains the soldiers.”
Human rights activists believe that this video was filmed “as a warning to others”.
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Residents of Kherson waved Ukrainian flags to celebrate the arrival of the first train to arrive in the southern city since the start of the Russian invasion.
Images published over the newswires today show a train carrying passengers from Kyiv roll into Kherson on Saturday for the first time in more than eight months.
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UN nuclear watchdog to inspect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Monday after the site was shelled more than a dozen times over the weekend.
The blasts damaged buildings and equipment, though none had been “critical” for nuclear safety and security, the International Atomic Energy Agency said.
Its head, Rafael Grossi, said the forces behind the shelling were “playing with fire”, adding that “it must stop immediately”.
A statement published by the IAEA late on Sunday read:
Repeated shelling at the site of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) yesterday evening and this morning damaged buildings, systems and equipment, with some of the explosions occurring near the reactors.”
The agency said the plant was hit with “more than a dozen blasts within 40 minutes” though radiation levels at the site remained normal and there were no reports of casualties.
The ZNPP’s external power supplies, which have been knocked out several times during the conflict, were also not affected.
According to the IAEA experts, site management reported damage in several places, including a radioactive waste and storage building, cooling pond sprinkler systems, an electrical cable to one of the reactors, condensate storage tanks, and to a bridge between another reactor and its auxiliary buildings.
Rafael Grossi added:
Even though there was no direct impact on key nuclear safety and security systems at the plant, the shelling came dangerously close to them. We are talking metres, not kilometres. Whoever is shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, is taking huge risks and gambling with many people’s lives.”
The IAEA team of experts plan to conduct an assessment on Monday of the shelling impact on the site.
Russia launches almost 400 strikes in Ukraine’s east, Zelenskiy says
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address.
The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there are fewer attacks today due to the deterioration of the weather, the number of Russian shelling occasions remains, unfortunately, extremely high.
Luhansk region - little by little we are moving forward with battles. As of now, there have been almost 400 shelling occasions in the east since the beginning of the day.”
Russia has moved troops to reinforce positions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions after withdrawing from the southern city of Kherson.
Referring to Ukrainian positions in the south, Zelenskiy said Kyiv’s forces “are holding the line, consistently and very calculatedly destroying the potential of the occupiers.”
Russia’s surge in missile strikes in Ukraine is partly designed to exhaust Kyiv’s supplies of air defences and achieve dominance of the skies, a senior Pentagon official said on Saturday.
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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.
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address.
Away from the battlefield, the UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Monday after the site was shelled more than a dozen times over the weekend.
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:
Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on Sunday in Ukraine’s east as part of a campaign of artillery fire, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a Sunday night address. “The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high,” Zelenskiy said. “In the Luhansk region, we are slowly moving forward while fighting. As of now, there have been almost 400 artillery attacks in the east since the start of the day.” Russia has moved troops to reinforce positions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions after withdrawing from Kherson.
The UN nuclear watchdog will conduct an assessment of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Monday after the site was shelled more than a dozen times over the weekend. The blasts damaged buildings and equipment, though none had been “critical” for nuclear safety and security, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. Its head, Rafael Grossi, said the forces behind the shelling were “playing with fire”, adding that “it must stop immediately”.
Germany has offered Poland the Patriot missile defence system to help it to secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed in the country last week, the defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, said. “We have offered Poland support in securing airspace – with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defence systems,” Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post and General Anzeiger. Ground-based air defence systems such as Raytheon’s Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles.
Ukraine has denied its forces executed Russian prisoners of war, arguing its soldiers were defending themselves against Russians who feigned surrender. The Ukrainian parliament’s commissioner for human rights responded on Sunday to videos circulated on Russian social media this week purporting to show the bodies of Russian servicemen killed after surrendering to Ukrainian troops. Ukrainian ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said “excerpts” of a video showed that Russians “using a staged capture ... committed a war crime by opening fire on the Ukrainian armed forces”. This means the soldiers “cannot be considered prisoners of war”, he said. A UN spokesperson told AFP it was “aware of the videos” and was “looking into them”.
Negotiating with Russia would be “capitulation”, a key adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has said. Mykhaylo Podolyak said attempts by the west to urge Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow were “bizarre” given a series of major military victories by Kyiv. He added it would mean that a country “that recovers its territories must capitulate to the country that is losing”. The comments come after recent US media reports that some senior officials were beginning to encourage Ukraine to consider talks.
The first Ukrainian supermarket has opened in Kherson since the city was liberated earlier this month. ATB, a 24/7 shop in the city, had queues of people outside on Sunday as it welcomed customers back. Kherson remains without electricity, running water or heating, but residents found some relief in being able to purchase Ukrainian pickled gherkins, dumplings, horseradish and other favourites.
France has sent another two air defence systems to Ukraine, along with two multiple rocket launchers, according to an interview given by a French defence minister.
Emmanuel Macron has accused Russia of feeding disinformation to further its “predatory project” in Africa, where France has had military setbacks. In an interview with TV5 Monde on the sidelines of a conference of Francophone nations in Tunisia, the French president said there was a “predatory project” pushing disinformation into African countries, which was “a political project financed by Russia, sometimes others”. Macron said: “A number of powers, who want to spread their influence in Africa, are doing this to hurt France, hurt its language, sow doubts, but above all pursue certain interests.”
