© Reuters. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy speaks during a joint news conference with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala (not seen), as Russia’s attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 31, 2022. REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi
(Reuters) – Russian forces pounded targets in eastern and southern Ukraine with missiles, drones and artillery, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday, while millions remained without power in subzero temperatures after further strikes on key infrastructure.
DIPLOMATIC FLURRY
* European Union foreign ministers will meet on Monday to try to agree further sanctions on Russia and Iran and an extra 2 billion euros ($2.11 billion) for arms deliveries to Ukraine.
* President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met the leaders of the United States, Turkey and France ahead of planned Group of Seven (G7) online talks on Monday. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will give a news conference at 1630 GMT, after the talks.
* U.S. President Joe Biden told Zelenskiy he was prioritising efforts to boost Ukraine’s air defences.
* Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan discussed the Black Sea grain export agreement on Sunday with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine, which are both seeking to boost their exports.
* An international team of legal advisers has been working with local prosecutors in Ukraine’s recaptured city of Kherson who have started gathering evidence of alleged sexual crimes by Russian forces as part of a full-scale investigation.
* UN aid chief Martin Griffiths arrived in Ukraine to see the new challenges that have arisen due to fresh infrastructure damage at a time of freezing temperatures, his office said.
CONFLICT
* Ukraine attacked Russian-occupied Melitopol, a strategically located city in its southeast, on Saturday evening. Russian-installed authorities said a missile attack killed two people and injured 10, while the exiled mayor of the city said scores of “invaders” were killed.
* A senior official in eastern Ukraine said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces had attacked a hotel town of Kadiivka where members of Russia’s private Wagner military group were based, killing many of them.
* Reuters could not independently verify the reports of the attacks or deaths.
* Ukraine’s top security officials have ordered punitive measures against seven senior clerics, Zelenskiy said on Sunday, part of a crackdown on a branch of the Orthodox Church with longstanding ties to Moscow.
RUSSIAN VIEWS OF THE WAR
* Some Russian officers fighting in Ukraine are unhappy with the military top brass and President Vladimir Putin because of the poor execution of the war, an influential nationalist Russian blogger said after visiting the conflict zone.
* Russia launched what it calls a special military operation in Ukraine because its concerns around peace accords between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatists were ignored, Russian news agencies quoted the Kremlin spokesman as saying.
ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE
* Ukraine’s national grid operator Energo said there had been three Russian attacks on the power system in a week: an eighth widespread attack on Monday Dec. 5 and two local artillery and drone attacks in the south and east at the weekend.
* The port of Odesa was not operating on Sunday after the latest attack on the region’s energy system, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said, while adding that grains traders were not expected to suspend exports.
* All non-critical infrastructure in Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, leaving 1.5 million people without power, officials said on Saturday. Energo said on Monday that work to restore power was still ongoing.
