Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered the country’s troops to retreat to the Dnipro river’s right bank, a move that will likely lead to Moscow surrendering the key southern city of Kherson. Ukrainian victory in Kherson, one of the main objectives of Kyiv’s southern offensive, will be widely seen as a significant blow to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, only weeks after a high-profile ceremony in Moscow in which he announced the annexation of the Kherson region along with three other regions.
In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin, in overall command of the war, recommended the withdrawal of Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnieper River, citing logistical difficulties. “Kherson cannot be fully supplied and function. Russia did everything possible to ensure the evacuation of the inhabitants of Kherson.” Surovikin told Shoigu. “The decision to defend on the left bank of the Dnieper is not easy, at the same time we will save the lives of our military,” Surovikin added.
Ukrainian and Russian forces also clashed overnight over Snihurivka, a town about 30 miles north of Kherson.
Villages and towns in Ukraine have experienced more heavy fighting and shelling as Ukrainian and Russian forces strained to advance on different fronts after more than eight and a half months of war. At least nine civilians were killed and 24 others were wounded in 24 hours, the Ukrainian President’s office said, as it accused Russia of using explosive drones, rockets, heavy artillery and aircraft to attack eight regions in the country’s south-east.
Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in the Kherson region, has died in a car crash, state news agencies have reported, citing local Russian-backed officials. Stremousov, previously an anti-vaccine blogger and political marginal, had emerged as one of the most prominent public faces of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, frequently using social media to record aggressive anti-Ukrainian videos. Stremousov’s death comes as Ukraine appears to have launched a new offensive to recapture the key city of Kherson.
Russia said it still saw no progress on easing its exports of fertilisers and grain - parts of the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow views as fundamental to extending the initiative beyond next week. A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said the US and the EU were putting up obstacles to Russia’s exports and it remained unclear whether Russia would extend its participation in the initiative.
The UK Ministry of Defence released its latest intelligence update, saying: “Russian efforts to repair the Crimean bridge continue but it is unlikely to be fully operational until at least September 2023.” According to intelligence, the road bridge was closed yesterday to allow the movement and installation of a replacement 64-metre space. Three more spans will be required to replace the damaged sections. “Although Crimean officials have claimed these additional spans will be in place by 20 December, a briefing provided to President Putin added that works to the other carriageway would cause disruption to road traffic until March 2023.”
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said Moscow had contacts with US officials from time to time, and confirmed there would soon be US-Russia consultations on the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.
Ukraine has collated thousands of reports of its children being deported to Russia and wants their plight addressed at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, Vladimir Zelenskiy’s chief of staff was quoted as saying on Tuesday. “The Russian Federation continues to commit its crimes in connection with Ukrainian children,” Zelenskiy’s office quoted Andriy Yermak as saying at a meeting he chaired of a group of officials responsible for child protection. “The removal of children continues.”
Thousands of Kyiv residents have signed a petition urging city authorities not to erect a giant tree during this year’s festive period, and instead to give money to the army and to people displaced by the war with Russia. The Kyiv tree, which in recent years has been set up in front of the 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral at the heart of the capital, is traditionally the main one in Ukraine at Christmas and New Year.
Russia has been an “active adversary” of the UK for a number of years, the British defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace visited the Lydd army camp in Kent, where Ukrainian volunteers are being trained to fight in the war against Russia. The cabinet minister referred to the Salisbury novichok poisonings in 2016 and said the UK did not fear reprisals from Russia for supporting Ukraine.
The US basketball player Brittney Griner is being transferred to a Russian penal colony but neither her family nor legal team have any details on where she is or where she is going.
Sean Penn has given an Oscar statuette to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy during a meeting in Kyiv.
Zelenskiy said in his Tuesday night address that about 4 million people were without power in 14 regions plus the capital Kyiv, but on a stabilisation rather than an emergency basis. Scheduled hourly power outages would affect the whole of the country on Wednesday, said Ukraine’s electrical grid operator, Ukrenergo.
The general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces believe about 780 Russian soldiers were killed in the country in the last day.
Landmines continue to cause serious harm to civilians working to restore a sense of normality in Kharkiv, which Ukrainian forces retook from Russian troops in May. Two road service workers, aged 21 and 51, were killed yesterday when their special equipment struck a mine during work in the Chuguyiv district, Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of Kharkiv oblast, said on Telegram. A 55-year-old man and 34-year-old man were also injured in the incident.
Russian forces killed three and injured seven in the Donetsk oblast yesterday, the oblast governor said.
Zelenskiy called on Tuesday for an extension to the Black Sea grain export deal that lifted a Russian blockade of three major Ukrainian ports and eased a global food crisis. The accord, brokered by Turkey and the UN in July, expires on 19 November and looked in jeopardy in October when Russia briefly suspended its participation before rejoining. Ukraine also wanted the grain export deal expanded to include more ports and goods, and hoped a decision to renew the pact for at least a year would be taken next week, the deputy infrastructure minister said in a Reuters interview.
As the US went to vote on Tuesday in the 2022 midterms, Zelenskiy urged the US to stay united in its support and for US politicians to maintain “unwavering unity” and follow Ukraine’s example “until peace is restored”.
Zelenskiy has told world leaders they will not be able to tackle the climate crisis unless Russia’s invasion of his country ends. “There can be no effective climate policy without the peace,” he said in a video address at the Cop27 UN climate summit in Egypt.
