Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Fighting around the key eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut has descended into a bloody morass with hundreds of dead and injured reported daily. As Russia moved fresh formations to the area in recent weeks, neither Russian or Ukrainian forces were able to make a significant breakthrough after months of fighting
Russian forces continue to shell residential infrastructure and housing in the recently liberated city of Kherson, according to Ukraine’s military. In its latest update, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Russian troops were digging trenches and fortifying their positions in preparation for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive in eastern Kherson.
Russians are sporadically shelling cities with no apparent strategic aim other than to cause casualties. The Guardian visited a residential district in Dnipro, where a series of houses were destroyed by a fragmentation warhead, designed to inflict maximum casualties, which had landed on Saturday.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has claimed Russia will soon launch a series of new missile strikes on his country, warning his defence forces and citizens to prepare for the attack. He gave the ominous caution in his Sunday evening address.
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has warned that Russia will probably continue to attack Ukraine’s power grid, gas infrastructure and basic services. He said Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, was trying to use “the winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine”.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office has said 329 children are currently considered missing in Ukraine, while 12,034 have been deported to Russia. According to the Ukrainian government’s children of war portal, 440 children have been killed as a result of Russia’s war and 851 children are now reported as injured.
Russia has “unilaterally postponed” talks with the US aimed at resuming nuclear weapons inspections in Cairo this week, a US state department spokesperson confirmed. Talks between US and Russian officials were scheduled to begin tomorrow. The Russian foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that talks would no longer take place this week.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains under Russian control, the Russia-installed administration of the occupied city of Enerhodar has said. The announcement comes after the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm suggested that there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied plant. The Kremlin has denied the reports.
Foreign ministers of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden visited Kyiv today to show support for Ukraine. Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, vowed that Ukraine would win despite Russia’s “barbaric brutality”.
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukraine’s prime minister, has visited Downing Street during her visit to London to discuss the prevention of sexual violence in conflicts. Zelenska met with Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, and prime minister Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it has summoned the Norwegian ambassador after a number of Russian citizens were arrested over the use of drones.
Nearly a dozen Russians have been arrested in Norway in recent weeks or violating the flight ban or the ban on photographing sites deemed sensitive.
The arrests, which Russia has described as “politically motivated” and Norway said were legal, comes as Oslo has heightened security following suspected sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea.
In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry said:
It was noted that the sentences against the Russians were politically motivated and had nothing to do with the principles of fair and impartial justice.
A spokesperson for Norway’s foreign ministry, Lars Gjemble, said after the summoning:
Our ambassador took the opportunity to inform [Russia] of Norwegian legislation on sanctions.
He added:
He also reviewed the cases that are currently being processed in Norwegian courts. The meeting was held in a good tone
Updated
Russia has launched more than 16,000 missile attacks at Ukraine since the war began, 97% of which were civilian targets, according to Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov.
Over the past nine months, russia has launched more than 16,000 missile attacks on Ukraine.
— Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) November 28, 2022
97% of russian targets are CIVILIAN.
We are fighting against a terrorist state. Ukraine will prevail and will bring the war criminals to justice. pic.twitter.com/IGsC09G4Hr
Updated
The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkievych, has said there will be no drinking water supply to the southern Ukrainian city after Russian forces damaged a pumping station in the neighbouring Kherson region.
In a post to Telegram, he said:
During a missile attack, Russian terrorists damaged a pumping station of MKP Mykolaivvodokanal, located in the Kherson region. Therefore, for an indefinite period of time, we are forced to supply technical water to the city from the Bug estuary.
He said the city’s water supply had been repaired just one week after Kherson was liberated by Ukrainian troops, adding:
But we are dealing with real terrorists who are powerless against our military, and therefore they fight with the civilian population.
He said repair work continued on networks that were destroyed by salt water.
As soon as the security situation allows, we will promptly restore the pumping station and return drinking water to Mykolaiv.
UK ‘stands with survivors of sexual violence by Russian forces’
Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has met Olena Zelenska during her visit to London to discuss the prevention of sexual violence in conflicts.
Cleverly tweeted a photo of the pair, and praised Zelenska’s efforts to highlight the “horrific use of sexual violence by Russian forces”.
He added:
The UK stands with Ukraine, and with all survivors of these despicable crimes.
First Lady @ZelenskaUA,
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) November 28, 2022
Your campaigning to highlight the horrific use of sexual violence by Russian forces is an inspiration to us all.
The UK stands with Ukraine, and with all survivors of these despicable crimes.#ForSurvivorsWithSurvivors pic.twitter.com/pGyPmBzeQP
The Ukrainian first lady shared a video of the pair meeting earlier this afternoon, expressing “gratitude” to Cleverly for his support of Ukraine.
To prevent new crimes, perpetrators and those who gave them orders – must be punished. That is why I called on Britain to recognize RF as a terrorist state – hope that eventually the whole world will do it. Justice begins with not being afraid to call a criminal by his name 2/2 pic.twitter.com/47cdrW8MC2
— Олена Зеленська (@ZelenskaUA) November 28, 2022
To prevent new crimes, perpetrators and those who gave them orders – must be punished. That is why I called on Britain to recognize RF as a terrorist state – hope that eventually the whole world will do it. Justice begins with not being afraid to call a criminal by his name 2/2 pic.twitter.com/47cdrW8MC2
— Олена Зеленська (@ZelenskaUA) November 28, 2022
Updated
Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukraine’s prime minister, has visited Downing Street during her visit to London to discuss the prevention of sexual violence in conflicts.
Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, welcomed Zelenska on the pavement outside No 10 Downing Street as the pair exchanged a hug before walking inside the building.
Downing Street said Sunak briefly dropped into the meeting between his wife and Zelenska.
Zelenska is expected to address MPs and peers tomorrow as part of her visit to London, where she also took part in an international conference on preventing sexual violence during conflicts.
At the conference, Zelenska spoke about sexual violence being perpetrated “systematically and openly” as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues. She said:
Sexual violence is the most cruel, most animalistic way to prove mastership over someone. And for victims of this kind of violence, it is difficult to testify in war times because nobody feels safe.
This is another instrument that they’re using as their weaponry. This is another weapon in their arsenal in this war and conflict.
Russian servicemen were “very open” about using sexual violence as their weaponry, she said.
She added:
That’s why it’s extremely important to recognise this as a war crime and to hold all of the perpetrators accountable.
Updated
Stoltenberg: We need to be prepared for more attacks on Ukraine
Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, has warned that Russia will probably continue to attack Ukraine’s power grid, gas infrastructure and basic services.
Speaking to reporters in Bucharest ahead of a two-day meeting of Nato foreign ministers, he said:
Doing that when we enter winter demonstrates that President (Vladimir) Putin is now trying to use ... the winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine.
In his Sunday night address, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned Ukrainians to prepare for a series of new Russian missile strikes on the country. He said:
We understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes. We know that for sure. And as long as they have missiles, they won’t stop, unfortunately.”
Fighting in Ukraine descends into trench warfare as Russia looks to break through
Fighting around the key eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut has descended into a bloody morass with hundreds of dead and injured reported daily, as neither Russian or Ukrainian forces were able to make a significant breakthrough after months of fighting.
As Russia moved fresh formations to the area in recent weeks, including reinforcements previously in the Kherson region, the fighting in the Bakhmut sector has descended into trench warfare reminiscent of the first world war.
Over the weekend, images emerged of Ukrainian soldiers in flooded, muddy trenches and battlefields dotted with the stumps of trees cut down by withering artillery barrages.
Heavy fighting continued on Monday around Soledar, with mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military corporation – which includes pardoned convicts – in the forefront.
Ukraine’s presidential office said on Monday that at least four civilians had been killed and 11 others wounded in the latest Russian attacks. It said intense fighting was continuing along the frontline in the east, with the Russians shelling Bakhmut and Toretsk at the epicentre of the fighting.
“People are sheltering in the basements, many of which are filled by water,” said the governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.
They have been living in catastrophic conditions without power or heating.
The focus of much of the recent fighting, however, has been the now-shattered town of Bakhmut itself, largely abandoned by its 70,000 residents, with both sides sending reinforcements for a battle that has continued relentlessly since the summer as Moscow has sought to secure a victory after a series of battlefield setbacks and retreats.
Summary of the day so far
It’s just past 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where we stand:
Russian forces are continuing to shell residential infrastructure and housing in the recently liberated city of Kherson, according to Ukraine’s military. In its latest update, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Russian troops were digging trenches and fortifying their positions in preparation for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive in eastern Kherson.
Russians are sporadically shelling cities with no apparent strategic aim other than to cause casualties. The Guardian visited a residential district in Dnipro, where a series of houses were destroyed by a fragmentation warhead, designed to inflict maximum casualties, which had landed on Saturday.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has claimed Russia will soon launch a series of new missile strikes on his country, warning his defence forces and citizens to prepare for the attack. He gave the ominous caution in his Sunday evening address.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office has said 329 children are currently considered missing in Ukraine, while 12,034 have been deported to Russia. According to the Ukrainian government’s children of war portal, 440 children have been killed as a result of Russia’s war and 851 children are now reported as injured.
Russia has “unilaterally postponed” talks with the US aimed at resuming nuclear weapons inspections in Cairo this week, a US state department spokesperson confirmed. Talks between US and Russian officials were scheduled to begin tomorrow. The Russian foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that talks would no longer take place this week.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains under Russian control, the Russia-installed administration of the occupied city of Enerhodar, home to the facility, has said. The announcement comes after the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm suggested that there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied plant. The Kremlin has denied the reports.
Foreign ministers of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden are in Kyiv today to show support for Ukraine. Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, vowed that Ukraine would win despite Russia’s “barbaric brutality”.
The US has put forward a “significant” proposal for a deal to free the jailed basketball star Brittney Griner and former marine Paul Whelan, the chargée d’affaires of the US mission to Russia, Elizabeth Rood, said. She told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency that Moscow had not provided a “serious response” to any of its proposals.
The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted on to abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines, according to a Reuters report. US and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on.
Ukraine braced for new Russian missile strikes targeting power grid as sporadic shelling of cities continues
Ukraine is bracing for another mass missile attack this week, but in between these major salvos aimed at the power grid, the Russians are sporadically shelling cities with no apparent strategic aim other than to cause casualties.
In a district of small detached houses in Dnipro, the Reva family were sifting through the wreckage of their home today.
The house and four others around it had been destroyed by a shell or missile which had landed on Saturday, but the ruins burned right through Sunday and this was the first time they could get close.
It was a fragmentation warhead, designed to inflict maximum casualties, peppering surviving walls with shrapnel and leaving two centimetre diameter holes in metal girders. The bomb fell close to a church and a school, blowing out all its windows, but amazingly no one was killed.
Vladyslav Reva does not usually work on a Saturday but had been called out to work by a client of his construction business.
“I was saved by God and my client,” he said.
His wife, Iryna, had been in the study when the bomb landed and the roof caught fire. She was trying to escape when the blast from their exploding gas heater blew her through a window. She is in hospital with concussion and heavy bruising.
The only death was the family dog, a 8 year-old American Akita called June, who has been buried in a corner of the charred garden.
Vladyslav Leva showed us a picture of the house before destruction, a handsome two-storey home painted a cheerful yellow and landscaped with a line of trees.
Aftermath of Russian shelling of a residential district in Dnipro. Clearly a fragmentation warhead designed to cause maximum casualties. Amazingly no one died, though the windows of a nearby school were blown out pic.twitter.com/HRfPEIWtoJ
— Julian Borger (@julianborger) November 28, 2022
His son Oleksii said that it was now past salvaging. “We’re not going to rebuild it,” he said. “We’re going to use a bulldozer and destroy it and then start again somewhere else.”
Could the Russian aim of such shelling be to demoralise the population? “Well, they failed,” Oleksii said quickly.
“Just the opposite,” his father said, and pointing to the charred ruins of his home, he added: “Better this than Russkiy Mir, Russia’s world.”
Updated
A US State department spokesperson has confirmed that Russia “unilaterally postponed” talks aimed at resuming nuclear weapons inspections in Cairo this week.
Talks between US and Russian officials were scheduled to begin tomorrow.
The spokesperson said:
The United States and the Russian Federation were set to convene a meeting of the New START Treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss New START Treaty implementation on Tuesday, November 29.
The Russian side informed the United States that Russia has unilaterally postponed the meeting and stated that it would propose new dates.
Washington “is ready to reschedule at the earliest possible date” the meeting “as resuming inspections is a priority for sustaining the treaty as an instrument of stability”, the spokesperson added.
A view of a ruined apartment block after the Ukrainian army regained control from the Russian forces in Lyman, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry said it had summoned the Norwegian ambassador over what it said was the politically motivated arrest of Russian citizens for reportedly using drones illegally.
“It was noted that the sentences against the Russians were politically motivated and had nothing to do with the principles of fair and impartial justice,” the ministry said in a statement.
Several Russian citizens have reportedly been arrested by Norwegian authorities for flying drones near the Arctic border between the two countries or taking photos of classified facilities, as Norway boosts security after suspected sabotage on the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea.
Russia ‘unilaterally postpones' nuclear talks with US
Russia has postponed nuclear disarmament talks with the US planned for this week, according to Kommersant newspaper, citing the US embassy.
The Russian foreign ministry confirmed in a statement that talks between Moscow and Washington in Cairo would no longer take place this week.
The Russian MFA confirmed the info about the BCC to Kommersant: "The session of the Bilateral Consultative Commission on the Russian–American START Treaty, previously scheduled in Cairo (Nov 29 - Dec 6), will not take place on these dates. The event is postponed to a later date".
— Elena Chernenko (@ElenaChernenko) November 28, 2022
Updated
Russian forces are continuing to shell residential infrastructure and housing in the recently liberated city of Kherson, according to Ukraine’s military.
A 10-year-old boy was injured and hospitalised after Russian shelling on the town of Chornobayivka in Kherson region, police said.
Hundreds of Ukrainians are fleeing Kherson city just two weeks after its recapture from Russian occupying forces. Moscow’s shelling has killed at least 32 civilians since its forces left the city on 9 November.
In its latest update published last night, the US thinktank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Russian troops were digging trenches and fortifying their positions in preparation for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive in eastern Kherson.
2/ @Maxar imagery from 15 NOV shows that Russian forces have prioritized digging trenches & erecting dragon’s teeth anti-tank defenses along GLOCs that connect Russian forces on the left bank of the Dnipro River with southeastern rear areas in Kherson Oblast and Crimea... pic.twitter.com/JGABvjT8l1
— ISW (@TheStudyofWar) November 28, 2022
Updated
Kazakhstan’s president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has met his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in a visit to reaffirm historic ties between the two countries.
Tokayev’s visit to the Kremlin today marks his first foreign trip since he secured a second term in a snap election last week.
Speaking next to Putin before the talks, Tokayev said:
This is my first foreign visit after this event and that in itself has political significance and, of course, a certain symbolism.
Russia “is and has always been a strategic partner” to Kazakhstan, he added.
Putin said relations between Moscow and Astana had a “special character” and called on a strengthening of economic ties.
Updated
Seven foreign ministers visit Kyiv in show of support
Foreign ministers of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden are in Kyiv today to show support for Ukraine.
Gabrielius Landsbergis, the Lithuanian foreign minister, tweeted about the visit and vowed that Ukraine would win despite Russia’s “barbaric brutality”.
We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs from 🇪🇪🇫🇮🇮🇸🇱🇻🇱🇹🇳🇴🇸🇪, are in Kyiv today in full solidarity with Ukraine. Despite Russia's bomb rains and barbaric brutality Ukraine will win! pic.twitter.com/6FpGT3aENM
— Gabrielius Landsbergis🇱🇹 (@GLandsbergis) November 28, 2022
Finland’s Pekka Haavisto tweeted about the “inconsolability of war” and expressed admiration for the “courage and determination” of Ukrainians as they “defend their independence”.
Sodan lohduttomuus on Kiovassa läsnä. Kuningas Talvi on tullut kaupunkiin. On vain ihailtava ukrainalaisten rohkeutta ja päättäväisyyttä kun maa puolustaa itsenäisyyttään. Jatkamme Ukrainan tukemista niin kauan kuin tarpeen. Venäjän on lopetettava hyökkäyssotansa ja vetäydyttävä. pic.twitter.com/lGwyHK7vAR
— Pekka Haavisto (@Haavisto) November 28, 2022
Anniken Huitfeldt, Norway’s foreign minister, also shared photos of her visit to the capital and said her country stood in solidarity with Ukraine.
Tilbake i Kyiv.
— Anniken Huitfeldt (@AHuitfeldt) November 28, 2022
I dag er jeg tilbake for å vise norsk solidaritet med det ukrainske folk.
Vår støtte til ukrainerne i deres rettmessige kamp for frihet står fast. pic.twitter.com/AQ63mZrQc2
Here’s more from that interview with Elizabeth Rood, the chargée d’affaires of the US mission to Russia, who discussed the possibility of a follow-up meeting between the CIA’s director, William Burns, and Russian foreign intelligence chief, Sergei Naryshkin.
The pair met in Ankara earlier this month in a rare high-level meeting, following speculation that some senior US figures wanted Ukraine to enter negotiations with the Kremlin to end the war.
The US insisted at the time that it was not engaged in secret peace talks with Moscow without Ukrainian officials being present, but that the main purpose of the encounter was to convey “a message on the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons by Russia” and to discuss the cases of Americans held in detention in the country.
Speaking to Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency, Rood said:
The United States has channels for managing risk with the Russian Federation, particularly nuclear risks, and that was the purpose of CIA director Burns’ meeting with his Russian counterpart.
Director Burns did not negotiate anything and he did not discuss a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. I’m sure if there’s a need for another conversation in that channel, it can happen. There’s not anything scheduled that I know of.
A senior American diplomat has said the US put forward a “significant” proposal for a deal to free the basketball star Brittney Griner and former marine Paul Whelan, but that Russia had not provided a “serious response” to any of its proposals.
Talks between the US and Russia over the two jailed Americans were continuing through the “designated channel”, Elizabeth Rood, the chargée d’affaires of the US mission to Russia, told Russia’s state-owned RIA news agency.
She said:
The United States, as we have said, has put a significant proposal on the table. We have followed up on that proposal and we have proposed alternatives. Unfortunately, so far the Russian Federation has not provided a serious response to those proposals.
Griner was sentenced in August to nine years in a penal colony after being convicted on drug charges.
Her lawyers have confirmed that she was taken earlier this month to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia, the same region where Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of espionage charges that he denies.
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, has said Moscow hoped to complete a prisoner swap with the US to return the convicted Russian arms trafficker, Viktor Bout, in an exchange that would probably include Griner.
Updated
Ukraine says 329 children are missing
Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office has said 329 children are currently considered missing in Ukraine, while 12,034 have been deported to Russia.
In a statement posted to Telegram, it said:
Data on affected children as of November 28, 2022: 329 are missing, 12,034 – deported, and 7,819 – found.
It emphasised that the figures were not final as work was still under way to verify reports coming from the frontline, as well as from occupied and liberated parts of Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian government’s children of war portal, 440 children have been killed as a result of Russia’s war and 851 children are now reported as injured.
The prosecutor general’s office reports a total of 1,291 children casualties, with the largest number in regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv.
It is not possible to independently verify these figures.
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Tom Ambrose to bring you all the latest news from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Summary
The time in Kyiv is just coming up to 1pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines so far:
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has claimed Russia will soon launch a series of new missile strikes on his country, warning his defence forces and citizens to prepare for the attack. He gave the ominous caution in his Sunday evening address.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains under Russian control, the Russia-installed administration of the occupied city of Enerhodar, home to the facility, has said. The announcement comes after the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm suggested that there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied plant.
The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted on to abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines, according to a Reuters report. US and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on.
Russia and the US have ways to manage nuclear risks at the level of intelligence agencies, chargée d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow Elizabeth Rood told Russia’s state news agency Ria Novosti, adding that for now there were no meetings scheduled.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson has denied reports that Russian forces were planning to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, telling reporters they should not look for signs where there were none.
The Kremlin said it welcomed a Vatican offer to provide a negotiating platform to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but that Kyiv’s position made this “impossible”. Pope Francis reiterated 10 days ago that the Vatican was ready to do anything possible to mediate and put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa.
The mayor of Kyiv has traded verbal jabs with Zelenskiy and his allies over how to help residents withstand power cuts. Former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko said 430 “warming centres” were helping residents cope with the effects of Russian attacks on power stations, and more than 100 extra centres were planned in case of extreme conditions. Klitschko said Zelenskiy’s allies had engaged in “manipulation” about the city’s efforts.
Hundreds of Ukrainians fled Kherson city on Sunday as Russian shelling intensified. The liberation of Kherson earlier this month marked a major battlefield gain for Kyiv, but the population has struggled with a lack of water, heating and electricity.
Britain will promise to maintain or increase military aid to Ukraine next year, according to an extract of a speech released by the office of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, which he plans to deliver on Monday. “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will maintain or increase our military aid next year. And we will provide new support for air defence,” Sunak will reportedly say.
The UK will provide Brimstone 2 missiles, a precision-guided missile, to Ukraine as part of its latest aid package. “This aid has played a crucial role in stalling Russian advancements,” the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Ukrainian authorities are gradually restoring power, aided by the reconnection of the country’s four nuclear plants, but millions of people are still without heat or electricity after the most devastating Russian airstrikes of the war. “We have been restoring electricity generation and supply day after day,” Zelenskiy said in his Sunday night address.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s survival may depend on his value to Vladimir Putin as a future bargaining chip, his chief aide has said. Leonid Volkov, speaking on a visit to London, added that Navalny had lost access to his family and was being permanently detained in a “8 by 12ft” cell after being forced into indefinite solitary confinement by Russian authorities last week.
My colleague Léonie Chao-Fong will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest from Russia’s war on Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s spokesperson has denied reports that Russian forces were planning to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, telling reporters they should not look for signs where there were none.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said it welcomed a Vatican offer to provide a negotiating platform to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but that Kyiv’s position made this “impossible”.
Pope Francis reiterated 10 days ago that the Vatican was ready to do anything possible to mediate and put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa.
People walk past a destroyed Russian billboard yesterday in Kherson, Ukraine.
In case you missed it, hundreds of Ukrainians streamed out of Kherson city on Sunday to flee Russian shelling, two weeks after its recapture from Russian occupying forces prompted jubilant celebrations.
The liberation of Kherson marked a major battlefield gain for Kyiv – reconquered after the Russians retreated to the east bank of the Dnipro River. However, since then inhabitants have struggled with no water, heating and electricity, because Moscow’s troops destroyed thermal and power plants before they left.
Evacuations began last week amid fears that damage to infrastructure caused by the war was too severe for people to endure over Ukraine’s harsh winter. The exodus has been exacerbated by Russian shelling, which has killed 32 civilians since Russian forces left the city on 9 November.
“It is sad that we are leaving our home,” Yevhen Yankov told the Associated Press as a van he was in inched forward. “Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”
A BM-21 ‘Grad’ multiple rocket launcher fires towards Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk region.
Finally Kherson's homes have light again!🇺🇦
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 27, 2022
📷: Presidential office pic.twitter.com/x6ad9p1s9X
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains under Russian control, the Russia-installed administration of the occupied city of Enerhodar, home to the facility, has said.
The announcement comes after the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm suggested that there were signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied plant. Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, said on national television on Sunday:
In recent weeks we are effectively receiving information that signs have appeared that they are possibly preparing to leave the [plant]. One gets the impression they’re packing their bags and stealing everything they can.”
The Russian backed administration issued a statement in response on the Telegram messaging app on Monday, saying:
The media are actively spreading fakes that Russia is allegedly planning to withdraw from Enerhodar and leave the [nuclear plant]. This information is not true.”
Updated
US considering Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine small precision bombs - reports
The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with cheap, small precision bombs fitted on to abundantly available rockets, allowing Kyiv to strike far behind Russian lines, according to a Reuters report.
US and allied military inventories are shrinking, and Ukraine faces an increasing need for more sophisticated weapons as the war drags on. Boeing’s proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of about a half-dozen plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and America’s eastern European allies, industry sources told the news agency.
GLSDB could be delivered as early as spring 2023, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and three people familiar with the plan. It combines the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) with the M26 rocket motor, both of which are common in US inventories.
Although a handful of GLSDB units have already been made, there are many logistical obstacles to formal procurement. The Boeing plan requires a price discovery waiver, exempting the contractor from an in-depth review that ensures the Pentagon is getting the best deal possible. Any arrangement would also require at least six suppliers to expedite shipments of their parts and services to produce the weapon quickly.
Although the US has rebuffed requests for the 185-mile (297km) range Atacms missile, the GLSDB’s 94-mile (150km) range would allow Ukraine to hit valuable military targets that have been out of reach and help it continue pressing its counterattacks by disrupting Russian rear areas.
GLSDB is made jointly by Saab AB and Boeing Co and has been in development since 2019, well before the invasion, which Russia calls a “special operation”. In October, SAAB chief executive Micael Johansson said of the GLSDB: “We are imminently shortly expecting contracts on that.”
According to the document – a Boeing proposal to US European – has small, folding wings that allow it to glide more than 100km if dropped from an aircraft and targets as small as 3ft in diameter.
Updated
Russia and US have ways to manage nuclear risks: US diplomat
Russia and the US have ways to manage nuclear risks at the level of intelligence agencies, chargée d’affaires of the US embassy in Moscow Elizabeth Rood told Russia’s state news agency Ria Novosti, adding that for now there were no meetings scheduled.
A video on RIA’s Telegram channel cited Rood as saying:
The United States has channels for managing risk with the Russian Federation, particularly nuclear risks and that was the purpose of CIA director Burns’ meeting with his Russian counterpart.
Director Burns did not negotiate anything and he did not discuss a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine.”
Rood refers to a meeting CIA director William Burns has with Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russian foreign intelligence, earlier this month where he warned him about the consequences of any Russian use of nuclear weapons. Russia said the issues discussed were “sensitive” and declined to comment on them.
Rood said if there is need for another conversation in that channel it can happen.
“There is not anything scheduled that I know of.”
США ищут доступную страну для выдачи россиянам иммиграционных виз https://t.co/4yvbr2NGZL pic.twitter.com/YMwnhyjWXB
— РИА Новости (@rianru) November 28, 2022
Russia said after Naryshkin’s meeting with Burns that Moscow was open to more high-level talks with the US, but the Kremlin dismissed the idea of a summit between President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden as “out of the question” for now.
Officials from the two countries were set to meet in the Egyptian capital of Cairo from 29 November to 6 December to discuss resuming inspections under the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty, although Moscow has played down the prospect of a quick breakthrough.
Updated
Zelenskiy warns of renewed missile attacks
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has claimed Russia will soon launch a series of new missile strikes on his country, warning his defence forces and citizens to prepare for the attack.
He gave the ominous caution in his Sunday evening address:
We understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes. We know that for sure. And as long as they have missiles, they won’t stop, unfortunately.”
We understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes and as long as they have missiles, they won’t stop.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 27, 2022
But our ability to help each other and take care of the most vulnerable-our mutual assistance is one of elements of protection against terror and our strength @ZelenskyyUa pic.twitter.com/g9qhEZiyZE
Updated
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.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has warned his citizens and defence force to prepare for new missile strikes.
“We understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes. We know that for sure. And as long as they have missiles, they won’t stop, unfortunately,” he said in his Sunday evening address.
Meanwhile the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm has suggested that there are signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“In recent weeks we are effectively receiving information that signs have appeared that they are possibly preparing to leave the (plant),” Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, said on national television on Sunday. “One gets the impression they’re packing their bags and stealing everything they can.”
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If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:
There are signs that Russian forces might be preparing to leave the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the head of Ukraine’s state-run nuclear energy firm has said. “In recent weeks we are effectively receiving information that signs have appeared that they are possibly preparing to leave the (plant),” Petro Kotin, head of Energoatom, said on national television on Sunday.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claims Russia is planning to launch new missile attacks on his country, warning defence forces and citizens to prepare for the strikes. “We understand that terrorists are preparing new strikes. We know that for sure. And as long as they have missiles, they won’t stop, unfortunately,” he said in his Sunday evening address.
The mayor of Kyiv has traded verbal jabs with Zelenskiy and his allies over how to help residents withstand power cuts. Former professional boxer Vitali Klitschko said 430 “warming centres” were helping residents cope with the effects of Russian attacks on power stations, and more than 100 extra centres were planned in case of extreme conditions. Klitschko said Zelenskiy’s allies had engaged in “manipulation” about the city’s efforts. “I do not want to become involved in political battles, particularly in the current situation,” he said in a video posted on Telegram on Sunday. “That is senseless. I have things to do in the city.” Zelenskiy had previously said Kyiv had not done enough to help residents.
Hundreds of Ukrainians fled Kherson city on Sunday as Russian shelling intensified. The liberation of Kherson earlier this month marked a major battlefield gain for Kyiv, but the population has struggled with a lack of water, heating and electricity. Evacuations began last week amid fears that damage to infrastructure caused by the war was too severe for people to endure over Ukraine’s harsh winter. The exodus has been exacerbated by Russian shelling, which has killed 32 civilians since Russian forces left the city on 9 November.
Britain will promise to maintain or increase military aid to Ukraine next year, according to an extract of a speech released by the office of the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, which he plans to deliver on Monday. “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will maintain or increase our military aid next year. And we will provide new support for air defence,” Sunak will reportedly say.
The UK will provide Brimstone 2 missiles, a precision-guided missile, to Ukraine as part of its latest aid package. “This aid has played a crucial role in stalling Russian advancements,” the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Ukrainian authorities are gradually restoring power, aided by the reconnection of the country’s four nuclear plants, but millions of people are still without heat or electricity after the most devastating Russian airstrikes of the war. “We have been restoring electricity generation and supply day after day,” Zelenskiy said in his Sunday night address.
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s survival may depend on his value to Vladimir Putin as a future bargaining chip, his chief aide has said. Leonid Volkov, speaking on a visit to London, added that Navalny had lost access to his family and was being permanently detained in a “8 by 12ft” cell after being forced into indefinite solitary confinement by Russian authorities last week. Only Navalny’s lawyers were allowed to visit his prison colony on weekdays, and even then, Volkov said, “they are not allowed to see him; they only can talk to him through an opaque glass”, meaning they cannot determine his physical condition.
