Closing summary
Thanks for following the Russia-Ukraine war live blog today. It will be closed shortly but you can continue to follow the Guardian’s latest reporting from Ukraine here.
Chris Stein will be covering Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s address to the US senate later today over on the US politics live blog (he is due to speak at 8pm GMT).
Below is a closing summary of today’s key posts.
Six children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, according to a Qatari official. The children are en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source said. This is the second phase of a Qatar-mediated return of children, after four minors were returned in October.
British foreign secretary David Cameron has told the House of Lords that there will be no reduction in UK military support for Ukraine in 2024. The update comes after the White House yesterday warned that “it is weeks away from running out of money to support Kyiv’s defence against Russia’s invasion”.
At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, the head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency said. Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into one of the strikes, which occurred at about 9am and killed a 48-year-old man and a woman who had not yet been identified.
Russia claims it downed dozens of Ukrainian drones overnight. Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 41 Ukraine-launched drones overnight and early morning, the Russian defence ministry has said.
Ukraine’s military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Ukrainian authorities said. The governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, causing a fire, but damage had been minimal and no casualties had been reported.
Updated
British foreign secretary says there will be no reduction in UK support for Ukraine in 2024
British foreign secretary David Cameron has told the House of Lords that there will be no reduction in UK military support for Ukraine next year.
Cameron said the UK has so far provided humanitarian and economic support worth more than £4.7bn to Ukraine and that it will continue to provide support. Cameron said he did not have the exact figures for next year’s spending to hand, but he said support will continue at the scale it has been before, or beyond that.
Ukraine is investigating alleged corruption into arms procurement, but vowed there was no “misuse” of Western weapons pouring into the country to fight the Russian invasion, AFP reports.
Kyiv has for months promised its EU allies that it is still committed to fighting corruption, even during war time.
The announcement comes three months after Kyiv appointed a new defence minister, Rustem Umerov, following allegations of corruption in the army during the tenure of his predecessor.
“There are several proceedings related to arms procurement,” Oleksandr Klymenko, the head of the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, said.
He said these included contracts that amount “from tens-to-hundreds of millions of euros”, but said he could not disclose details.
“It is necessary to investigate and establish specific facts: whether it happened or not.”
Klymenko said that authorities had not received any complaints from Western allies that have provided the country with weapons.
Corruption is a major problem in Ukraine and there have been several corruption scandals in recent months, including within the defence ministry.
Lili Bayer reports that the EU is under pressure not to “appease” Viktor Orbán by unfreezing billions of euros earmarked for Hungary, as the Hungarian prime minister threatens to derail EU plans to open accession talks with Ukraine and grant Kyiv fresh aid.
The Hungarian government’s moves in recent years to undermine independent institutions, as well as concerns about corruption and alleged misuse of European funds, have led Brussels to withhold over €27bn (£23bn) earmarked for Hungary.
However, in a step likely to fuel frustration among rule of law advocates, the commission has signalled that it may be prepared to unfreeze up to €10bn, ostensibly due to progress made on judicial reforms …
Daniel Freund, a German Green member of the European parliament and critic of the Orbán government, urged the EU on Monday not to let Hungary off the hook.
“The Orbán government did not fulfil the necessary reforms,” he said. “No money must flow. If the commission decides otherwise, it is only for one reason: they’re trying to appease Orbán who went completely overboard with his veto threat.”
British foreign secretary David Cameron said he discussed “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine” with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi.
In a post on X, former British PM Cameron said: “We discussed our intention to have a constructive relationship, the situation in Israel and Gaza, and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The UK will continue to engage with China where it furthers our interests.”
I spoke to China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi today.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) December 5, 2023
We discussed our intention to have a constructive relationship, the situation in Israel and Gaza, and Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
The UK will continue to engage with China where it furthers our interests.
Russian oil giant Lukoil has said it would consider selling its oil refinery in Bulgaria, following a Bulgarian government plan to end imports of Russian crude oil, AFP reports.
Bulgaria, a country historically close to Moscow and almost entirely dependent on Russian oil and gas imports before the war, has been seeking to free itself from this dependence.
The EU member was granted an exemption from the bloc’s embargo on Russian crude oil to run until the end of 2024, allowing the refinery to produce oil for the country’s own consumption, export oil products to Ukraine and to a lesser extent to Europe.
Bulgaria’s new pro-European government is however planning for this to end by next March, according to a recent parliamentary proposal to be ratified in the coming weeks. The government has also imposed a 60% tax on the profits of the Russian oil company.
In a statement on Tuesday, Lukoil slammed the “adoption by the Bulgarian state authorities of discriminatory laws and other unfair, biased political decisions towards the refinery.”
Chris Stein will be covering Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s address to the US senate in detail over on the US politics live blog.
Zelenskiy will remotely address senators at 8pm GMT (3pm eastern time) in the hopes of resolving a deadlock in approving financial aid for Ukraine. The White House yesterday warned that it is weeks away from running out of money to support Kyiv’s defense against Russia’s invasion. In addition to Zelenskiy’s speech to senators, his chief of staff Andriy Yermak will be in the capitol to press lawmakers to keep up the support.
A growing number of Russian women are demanding the return of their husbands, sons and brothers from the frontlines of the war in Ukraine, Reuters reports.
A grassroots movement has sprung in recent weeks, with women demanding the return of their loved ones from the conflict. One main outlet for the movement is the “Way Home” Telegram channel, which has 23,000 members.
Since Maria Andreeva’s husband was mobilised last year and headed to Ukraine, he has been back only for two short breaks to see his wife and young daughter. His wife says this is insufficient for a soldier fighting in a conflict.
“We want our men to be demobilised so that they can return home because we think that for over a year they have done everything they could have – or even more,” Andreeva, 34, told Reuters in an interview in Moscow.
Petitions to bring men back have produced almost no response and Russia’s defence ministry has barely engaged with the women, Andreeva said. Protests planned by the women did not secure the authorities’ approval to go ahead. The women have been accused of being backed by Western-based dissidents and opposition parties – slurs without foundations, Andreeva said.
The New York Times reported that the organisers of the “Way Home” channel published a manifesto pressing for mobilised soldiers to be sent home after a year of deployment.
Ukraine is still relying heavily on economic assistance from the west to defend itself from Russia’s invasion. After yesterday’s warning from the White House that it is “out of money and nearly out of time” to assist Ukraine, Reuters has broken down where financial aid for Ukraine is likely come from in the coming years.
Ukraine’s government expects a budget deficit of about $43bn (£34bn) in 2024 and plans to cover it with domestic borrowing and financial aid from the west.
US: Kyiv is seeking $8.5bn in aid to help cover its budget deficit. Joe Biden’s administration asked Congress in October for nearly $106bn to fund plans for Ukraine, Israel and US border security, but Republicans who control the House rejected the package.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy is expected to address US senators by video link behind closed doors today in order to make the case for more Ukrainian funding.
Europe: The European Union announced a €50bn (£43bn) multi-year support package named the Ukraine Facility that would be delivered through to 2027.
Kyiv officials have said they hope to receive €18bn of support from the facility in 2024, financing that would be crucial for covering the budget gap next year, but there is still no agreement on granting the aid inside the bloc.
IMF: Ukraine’s cooperation with the International Monetary Fund is important for its financial stability, Reuters reports. This year the IMF approved a new 48-month lending programme worth $15.6bn.
Ukraine received $3.6 billion this year and expects another $900m in December. In 2024 the government hopes to receive $5.4bn, but each tranche is linked to a series of reform targets and economic indicators.
Other packages: Ukraine also expects about $1.5bn from other international financial institutions, including the World Bank, next year. Ukraine has agreed financial support packages from Britain and Japan for 2024. It is also in talks with the governments of Canada, Norway, South Korea and others to secure other funds.
Updated
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs in Ukraine, has shared a video purporting to show Russian children shooting at targets featuring the faces of Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, US president Joe Biden and Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg at a festival in the Siberian city of Tomsk.
The Guardian could not independently verify the video, however, Russian state-owned newspaper AiF published a story on the video here.
The story said the shooting range was set up as part of patriotic festival “Peaceful Warrior of the Russian Federation”, which was held on 2 December at Tomsk Municipal Construction College.
In Russia, children "learn patriotism" while shooting at Biden, Zelenskyy and Stoltenberg.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 5, 2023
A festival called "Peaceful Warrior of the Russian Federation" was held in the Russian city of Tomsk. At one of the locations, a shooting range was set up for children, where instead of… pic.twitter.com/c55YStNBN5
Updated
On the six Ukrainian children who will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under Qatari mediation, Qatari minister of state for international cooperation said both countries fully cooperated.
According to AFP, Lolwah Al-Khater said:
[Qatar has facilitated] the reunification of six additional Ukrainian children with their families in time for the festive holidays.
Both sides cooperated fully and engaged in good faith throughout the process, with Qatar serving as an intermediary.
Khater said the Qatari mediation had come “in response to requests from Russia and Ukraine to identify and explore potential areas of cooperation, with the aim of establishing foundations of trust between the two sides”.
Read more about the story here (11:45)
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, that it was important to boost efforts to overcome the impact of western sanctions on both their countries in talks on Tuesday.
Lavrov was hosting Amirabdollahian ahead of a visit by the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, to Russia on 7 December, Reuters reports.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán plans to meet French president Emmanuel Macron on Thursday ahead of a crucial European Union summit next week, Orban’s press chief said in a reply to Reuters questions on Tuesday.
The meeting comes after Orbán yesterday demanded that a summit of European Union leaders next week avoid any decision on Ukraine’s goal of getting a green light for EU membership talks.
Here is a summary of today’s events so far
It is 2pm in Kyiv and here is a summary of today’s events so far:
At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, the head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency said. Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into one of the strikes, which occurred at about 9am and killed a 48-year-old man and a woman who had not yet been identified.
Ukraine’s military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Ukrainian authorities said. The governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, causing a fire, but damage had been minimal and no casualties had been reported.
Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 41 Ukraine-launched drones overnight and early morning, the Russian defence ministry has said. Twenty-six of the drones were destroyed over Russian territory, and 15 were intercepted over the Sea of Azov and the Crimean peninsula, the ministry said. It did not say whether there was any damage caused by the attack or falling debris.
Six children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, according to a Qatari official. The children are en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source said. This is the second phase of a Qatar-mediated return of children, after four minors were returned in October.
Vladimir Putin will make a one-day trip to both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, the Kremlin said. The Russian president will hold talks focusing on bilateral relations, the war between Israel and Hamas and other international issues, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, will travel to Russia on Thursday along with a political and economic delegation, the Tasnim news agency reported. Moscow and Tehran have boosted security, political and economic ties since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Two Finnish companies are suspected of having exported drones and other military classified products worth over €3m (£2.6m) to Russia in violation of EU sanctions, Finnish customs said. The agency said that nearly 3,500 drones are thought to have ended up in Russia as a result.
Nepal has asked Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and immediately send back any Nepali soldiers back to the Himalayan nation, after revealing six soldiers serving Russia’s military had been killed. “The government of Nepal has requested the Russian government to immediately return their bodies and pay compensation to their families,” Nepal’s foreign ministry said late on Monday.
Six Ukrainian children to be returned from Russia through Qatari mediation
Six children will be returned to Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, Reuters reports.
A Qatari official told the news agency of the deal on Tuesday, with a source involved in organising the returns saying they had been staying with relatives in Russia or Russian-occupied territory.
The children are en route to Ukraine via Moscow, the source added.
This is the second phase of a Qatar-mediated return of children, after four minors were returned in October.
Negotiations on the returns had been under way since at least April 2023, a source told Reuters in July.
Qatar agreed to a Ukrainian request to mediate with Russia on the return of children to their immediate families during a visit to Ukraine in July 2023 by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.
“The process involved attaining the consent of the families ... identification of minors and verification of identification information, coordination with humanitarian organisations, as well as logistical arrangements,” a Qatari official said.
Reuters said the cases appear to be different to those of Ukrainian children who Ukraine says were forcibly taken to Russia from territories occupied by Moscow, and which are the subject of an International Criminal Court case.
Kyiv says about 20,000 children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia or Russian-held territory without the consent of family or guardians. It calls this a war crime that meets the UN treaty definition of genocide.
Updated
Today’s UK Ministry of Defence intelligence briefing focused on Russian gains in Maryinka, a small Donetsk town that has been at the frontline of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine since 2014.
The MoD says that while Russia now likely controls most of the built-up area, Ukrainian forces remain in control of pockets of territory on the western edge of the town.
Russia’s renewed efforts against Maryinka are part of Russia’s autumn offensive which is prioritising extending Russia’s control over the remaining parts of the Donetsk Oblast – highly likely still one of the Kremlin’s core war aims, according to the MoD.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 5 December 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 5, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/vCciprckfn
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/091BxUQEop
Two Finnish companies are suspected of having exported drones and other military classified products worth over €3m (£2.6m) to Russia in violation of EU sanctions, AFP reports Finnish customs as saying.
“There are altogether six criminal suspects, one of whom has been detained since September,” the customs agency said in a statement.
It said that nearly 3,500 drones are thought to have ended up in Russia as a result.
The items were approved for export to a different nation, but ultimately found their way into Russia, the authorities suspect.
The customs agency said that “one individual is responsible for both of the companies under investigation”. One of the companies oversaw the purchasing of the sanctioned products and the other forwarded the goods to Russia, according to Finnish Customs.
The case involves regulation offences and a defence materiel export offence, and will be taken over by a prosecutor in December.
Updated
AFP reports that Ukraine is now using its Leopard tanks in a defensive capacity, as its summer counter-offensive has ground to a halt.
Kyiv lobbied for months this year to get the sophisticated Leopard tanks from Germany and other Western allies to push back Russian forces, but since Ukraine’s offensive petered out this summer, the tanks have instead been deployed to hold the line.
A deputy of a company in the 21st mechanised brigade told AFP the Strv 122 tank – the Swedish version of the Leopard 2A5 – was now being used to hit infantry groups or ammunition depots.
“In other words, it’s not being used in the same way as during the counter-offensive,” said 25-year-old Ruslan, referring to Ukraine’s push this summer to gain ground in the south.
Kyiv had hoped the Leopards would penetrate Russian defences and then rumble south towards Crimea - the peninsula unilaterally annexed by the Kremlin in 2014.
Instead, they are positioned along the front in the east, acting more like long-range artillery than offensive battle tanks moving deeper into Russian-held territories.
Leopard-2 in Ukraine. In the wild. pic.twitter.com/mSKRIikfT7
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) May 23, 2023
Updated
Slovak lorry drivers interrupted a blockade of the country’s freight border crossing with Ukraine on Monday night after four days, Reuters reports.
Slovak drivers had joined their Polish peers in blocking border crossings with Ukraine, demanding the reinstatement of a permit system that limited the number of cheaper Ukrainian hauliers able to operate in the EU.
The chief of the Slovak UNAS truckers’ association, Stanislav Skala told Reuters the Slovak blockade was interrupted due to concerns over safety and access by emergency services after some lorry drivers waiting in a line stretching for miles threatened to block roads far away from the crossing, which would cut access to villages en route.
“So far we interrupted the (blockade) … In the column, some Ukrainian trucks started steering across the road,” he said.
Skala said the interruption was meant to allow for the line of trucks to clear. UNAS leaders will meet later today to consult on further action.
Updated
Vladimir Putin will make a one-day trip to both the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia tomorrow, the Kremlin said.
The Russian president will hold talks focusing on bilateral relations, the war between Israel and Hamas and other international issues, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Issues related to oil price caps will also be on the agenda, Peskov said. The Cop28 climate summit is taking place in Dubai in the UAE, but the Kremlin did not specify whether Putin would attend any related events.
Putin’s trip was first announced on Monday by his foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, who didn’t give a date for the visits.
The international criminal court issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
Since the warrant was issued, Putin chose not to attend a BRICS summit in South Africa because the country would be obliged to arrest Putin upon arrival as it is a signatory to the international court’s treaty. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the UAE have signed the ICC’s founding treaty.
Updated
The Guardian’s Luke Harding reports from the Medyka border crossing between Ukraine and Poland, where Ukrainian lorry drivers are facing a protest blockade by their neighbours, who want the EU to reintroduce a permit scheme that limits the number of Ukrainian drivers able to operate in Poland.
On a snowy road next to Poland, Ukrainian lorry driver Vitaliy Zemyenko pondered the long journey ahead. It would take him nine hours to get through the Medyka border crossing. Over on the other side he would drop off a consignment of vodka. The problem was getting back.
“At the moment it’s taking a minimum of eight days to re-enter Ukraine,” he said. “That’s the best case scenario. Worst case is two weeks. This is a terrible situation”. The Poles, he added, wanted to stop Ukrainian drivers from operating in the European Union. “They don’t want us,” he said.
Updated
Russia’s Soviet-era Moskvich car brand entered the country’s list of top 10 bestselling cars for the first time in November, Reuters reports.
November sales of new passenger cars in Russia increased by 113% year-on-year to 109,706 vehicles, the Russian analytical agency Autostat said, citing data from its partner PPK. Sales are rebounding from a slump caused by sanctions and the departure of western carmakers in 2022.
Production of the Moskvich was relaunched this year at a plant in Moscow that was owned by French car manufacturer Renault. The Russian state bought the factory for a symbolic one rouble as the French carmaker left the market after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Moskvich 3 model is reportedly a rebranded Chinese JAC Sehol X4 assembled in Moscow using kits bought from its Chinese partner.
The Moskvich was ninth in the list of bestselling cars in November, having sold 1,910 for a 1.7% share of the market. Over the 11 months from January to November, 10,676 Moskvich cars were sold, the data showed.
Lada, Russia’s most popular car, led the way in November with 32,651 cars sold and a market share of 29.8%. Chinese cars hold most of the other positions on the list, replacing departing European and Japanese brands.
Updated
Two killed in Russian strike on Kherson
At least two people were killed and one wounded after Russian forces struck the southern city of Kherson, the head of the office of the Ukrainian presidency said.
“Terrorists,” Andriy Yermak posted on Telegram along with two images of people lying on a pavement.
Regional prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into one of the strikes, which occurred at about 9am and killed a 48-year-old man and a woman who had not yet been identified.
The mayor of Kherson, Roman Mrochko, said two doctors had been wounded in a separate artillery strike on a medical facility early on Tuesday.
The Guardian could not independently confirm the details.
Russian forces have regularly shelled Kherson since retreating from the regional capital late last year to the other side of the Dnipro River.
Updated
Iran’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, will travel to Russia on Thursday along with a political and economic delegation, the Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, is in Moscow today to attend a Caspian littoral states meeting. The Caspian littoral states comprise Iran, Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.
Moscow and Tehran have boosted security, political and economic ties since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Updated
Nepal has asked Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army and immediately send back any Nepali soldiers back to the Himalayan nation, after revealing six soldiers serving Russia’s military had been killed, Reuters reports.
Nepali soldiers, called Gurkhas, are known for their bravery and fighting skills, and have served in the British and Indian armies following the independence of India in 1947 under an agreement between the three countries.
The small Himalayan country, wedged between China and India, has no such agreement with Russia. The Nepal government said in a statement that six of its nationals, who had been serving the Russian army, were killed, without providing any details.
“The government of Nepal has requested the Russian government to immediately return their bodies and pay compensation to their families,” the foreign ministry said late on Monday.
Diplomatic efforts were under way to get one Nepali citizen serving the Russian army and captured by Ukraine released, the statement added.
The English daily The Kathmandu Post, quoted Milan Raj Tuladhar, Nepal’s ambassador in Moscow, as saying that 150-200 Nepalis were working as mercenaries in the Russian army.
The Russian embassy in Kathmandu did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Updated
Ukraine’s military shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched overnight by Russia, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday.
The governor of Ukraine’s western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy, said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, causing a fire, but damage had been minimal and no casualties had been reported.
Kyiv’s air force said the drones were shot down over “various regions” of the country.
It said six S-300 missiles had been launched at civilian targets in the eastern Donetsk and southern Kherson regions.
Updated
Russia claims dozens of Ukrainian drones downed overnight
Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 41 Ukraine-launched drones overnight and early morning on Tuesday, the Russian defence ministry has said.
Twenty-six of the drones were destroyed over Russian territory, and 15 were intercepted over the Sea of Azov and the Crimean peninsula, the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram channel.
The ministry did not say whether there was any damage caused by the attack or falling debris.
The Guardian could not immediately verify reports and there was no immediate comment from Ukraine.
Updated
Zelenskiy to address US senators amid funding row
Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address US senators by video on Tuesday during a classified briefing, as the Biden administration pushes Congress to approve new aid for Ukraine.
Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said the administration had invited Zelenskiy to address the senators so they “could hear directly from him precisely what’s at stake.” They will also be hearing from the secretaries of defence, state and other top national security officials.
Zelenskiy’s appearance comes after the administration sent an urgent warning about the need to approve fresh military and economic assistance to Ukraine, saying Kyiv’s war effort to defend itself from Russia may grind to a halt without it.
In a letter to House and Senate leaders and released publicly on Monday, Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young warned the US will run out of funding to send weapons and assistance to Ukraine by the end of the year, saying that would “kneecap” Ukraine on the battlefield.
She added that the US already has run out of money that it has used to prop up Ukraine’s economy, and “if Ukraine’s economy collapses, they will not be able to keep fighting, full stop.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan went further, suggesting that voting against aid for Ukraine was effectively voting to make it easier for Russia to succeed.
“Congress has to decide whether to continue to support the fight for freedom in Ukraine … or whether Congress will ignore the lessons we’ve learned from history and let Putin prevail,” Sullivan told reporters at the White House.
Updated
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy will address a classified briefing of US senators on Tuesday, as the Biden administration urges Congress to approve the Biden administrations $106bn request for funds for the wars in Ukraine, Israel and other security needs.
On Monday, the White House issued a warning that US aid for Ukraine will run out by the end of the year if the new funding package isn’t agreed on – adding that Russian president Vladimir Putin could win the war in this event.
More on this shortly, first here’s a summary of the day’s other main events.
President Joe Biden’s budget director, Shalanda Young, said in a blunt letter to Republican House speaker Mike Johnson that if military assistance dries up it would “kneecap” Kyiv’s fight against the Russian invasion. “Cutting off the flow of US weapons and equipment will kneecap Ukraine on the battlefield, not only putting at risk the gains Ukraine has made, but increasing the likelihood of Russian military victories,” she said.
Speaker Johnson said the Biden administration had “failed to substantively address any of my conference’s legitimate concerns about the lack of a clear strategy in Ukraine”. Johnson also repeated the Republicans’ insistence on tying any Ukraine aid to changes in US policy on the southern border with Mexico, as the number of migrant arrivals rises.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán demanded that a summit of EU leaders next week avoid any decision on Ukraine’s coveted goal of getting approval for membership talks. The European Commission recommended the bloc’s leaders give their approval to launch membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions but their unanimous agreement is needed.
A Russian general died while deployed in Ukraine, the governor of Russia’s Voronezh region said, the latest high-ranking Russian military figure to die during the 21-month offensive. “Maj Gen Vladimir Zavadsky, deputy commander of the 14th Army Corps of the Northern Fleet, died in the line of duty in a special operation zone,” Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev said on Telegram, using the Russian term for its offensive in Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin said Russia should never repeat Soviet-era mass repressions, even as Moscow carries out an unprecedented crackdown on opponents of its Ukraine campaign. “It is important for us that nothing like this repeats itself in the history of our country,” Putin told his human rights council, according to Russian news agencies, referring to the mass repression seen under the Soviet Union.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, launched in February last year, accounts for about 150m tons of carbon dioxide emissions, a Ukrainian deputy minister cited experts as saying on Monday. “The war has a devastating impact on the environment. Air, soil and water is polluted as a result of the fighting,” Viktoria Kireyeva, Ukraine’s deputy minister of environmental protection and natural resources, said at a conference on the sidelines of the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai.
Putin said he regretted deteriorating ties with western countries, as he accepted the credentials of two dozen new ambassadors at the Kremlin. “The times are not easy,” Putin told the envoys. Addressing the new ambassador of the UK, he said “In the postwar [second world war] period and until recently, our countries were able to build relations. But the current state of things … is well known and we should hope that the situation – in the interest of our countries and nations – will change for the better.”
Ukraine said it had exported around 7m tons of cargo through the Black Sea despite Russia’s blockade – a more than fivefold increase in just over a month. “200 vessels exported 7m tons of cargo,” Ukraine’s reconstruction ministry said in a post on Telegram. The cargo included “almost 5m tons of Ukrainian agricultural products”.
Poland has called on the EU to restore permits limiting transit for Ukrainian truckers, prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki said as Polish and Slovakian truckers blocked several border crossings to Ukraine. Polish drivers have been blocking the crossings since 6 November, demanding that the EU reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian companies need permits to operate in the bloc and the same for European truckers to enter Ukraine.
Ukraine’s military said it had attacked oil depots in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian city of Luhansk on Sunday. Its forces carried out a “successful strike”, the Strategic Communications Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Telegram, without going into further detail.
Russian forces are assaulting the industrial town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine from two new directions, Ukrainian officials said on Monday, as Moscow expanded its bid to capture the near-encircled town. Moscow has been trying for nearly two months to seize Avdiivka, an industrial town in the eastern Donetsk region that has become the fiercest flashpoint on the sprawling frontline.
