“,”elementId”:”7f68d761-85b6-41c6-b2f6-5f3943f5c986″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Group of Seven major powers, the European Union and Australia agreed this month to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, effective from 5 December, over Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“,”elementId”:”6800fe30-6f54-46cf-a28c-bd8337fa0757″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Kremlin’s decree stated the ban would run from 1 February until 1 July.
“,”elementId”:”bbcc6588-9eab-434e-b0e3-5c2070962223″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Crude oil exports will be banned from 1 February, but the date for the oil products ban will be determined by the Russian government and could be after that date.
“,”elementId”:”6a2da2af-eb32-4078-9912-866ec6bef3bb”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The decree includes a clause that allows Vladimir Putin to overrule the ban in special cases, Reuters reports.
“,”elementId”:”a77b3a9b-c858-4d16-970c-1848a2fc50a7″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672159271000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”16.41 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672162400000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.33 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672159345000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”16.42 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”16.42″,”title”:”Russia bans supply of oil to nations involved in price cap for five months”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63ab12f98f083ad0940b0fe3″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
“,”elementId”:”ee7e5f1a-b794-454a-b8c4-fdd69eba165b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
- n
Ukrainian forces appear to have edged closer to recapturing the key-Russian controlled city of Kreminna in Luhansk province. The regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said fighters in part of the city controlled by Russian command were forced to retreat to Rubizhne, a town a few miles to the south-east, as a result of Ukrainian military pressure.
Heavy fighting continues in the east and south of the country amid no sign of imminent peace talks. Recapturing Kreminna and nearby Svatove could open the way for Kyiv to launch an offensive on Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, two cities Ukraine lost in the summer. The Guardian could not independently confirm the battlefield developments.
Russian troops continued to focus their efforts on capturing the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Britain’s defence ministry said in its daily military briefing on Tuesday. The strike was the second recent attack on the Soviet-era airbase.
Air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine, including Kyiv, on Tuesday afternoon. There were no immediate reports of attacks.
Russia’s military has moved many of its warplanes from Engels airbase to other locations following Ukraine’s strikes on the crucial base, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force. Three Russian servicemen were killed on Monday after a Ukrainian drone attack on the airbase, which lies deep inside Russian territory, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
Ukraine is aiming to hold a peace summit by the end of February – preferably at the UN with its secretary general, António Guterres, as a possible mediator, according to its foreign minister. But Dmytro Kuleba said Russia could only be invited if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Kyiv must accept Moscow’s demands of “demilitarisation and denazification” or suffer defeat on the battlefield. Lavrov’s statements show the Kremlin has no intention of climbing down from its maximalist goals of regime change in Ukraine, despite Vladimir Putin’s claims on Sunday that Russia was ready for talks to end the war.
Putin’s comments that he was “ready to negotiate with all parties” involved in the conflict in Ukraine are part of a deliberate information campaign aimed at misleading the west into making concessions, according to analysts. The US thinktank Institute for the Study of War said the Russian president did not offer to negotiate with Ukraine on Saturday, contrary to some reporting.
The bodies of 42 Ukrainian servicemen who died while fighting have been returned to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government. Work on bringing back the bodies of Ukraine’s fighters “does not stop for a day”, Oleh Kotenko, the commissioner for missing persons, said.
Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, twice in the past 24 hours to “finalise many issues”, Belarusian state-owned Belta news agency reported. The meetings took place in St Petersburg, over breakfast on Tuesday at the Russian Museum, as well as at an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) yesterday evening, it reported.
Kherson city was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November. But for some, the horrors of the Russian occupation are still not over. Hundreds of Ukrainian children as young as six and as old as 16 from Kherson and Kharkiv regions have been stuck in Russian summer camps for weeks, and in some cases, months.
A Russian sausage tycoon who reportedly criticised the war in Ukraine has died after falling from the third-floor window of a luxury hotel in India. The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was discovered just two days after his friend, a local Russian politician, Vladimir Bidenov, was found dead in the same hotel after an apparent heart attack.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
“,”elementId”:”ee14c96b-2568-45f0-8fba-81b6d4f47ecd”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672155897000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”15.44 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672161922000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”17.25 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672156941000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”16.02 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”16.02″,”title”:”Summary of the day so far”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aafc648f08f156f699305f”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
A Russian sausage tycoon who reportedly criticised the war in Ukraine has died after falling from the third-floor window of a luxury hotel in India.
“,”elementId”:”c89e30de-7b1f-4d98-a48c-f3d26e91a85a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was discovered on Saturday outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals.
“,”elementId”:”d6978743-4fa6-4f04-a37a-d61517afba77″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
His death came just two days after his friend and another local Russian politician, Vladimir Bidenov, was found dead in the same hotel after an apparent heart attack.
“,”elementId”:”40253a20-257a-46bb-a1df-2795a0882e33″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Indian police are investigating Antov’s death, authorities confirmed. They told AFP news agency that so far there was no sign of foul play.
“,”elementId”:”aee9ef90-786f-41a1-9741-97aac12bd9d4″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Regional police chief Rajesh Pandit said:
“,”elementId”:”bdea52a9-c3a8-4222-9778-8e1363944ce9″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
All possible angles as regards to the deaths of two Russian nationals are being verified.
n
“,”elementId”:”82686add-2480-426e-8648-e47c55b84971″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Bidenov’s heart attack had probably been caused by binge drinking and a possible drug overdose, he said.
“,”elementId”:”af1f0188-0830-4bd4-955d-6a1c1872ed3c”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The police chief added:
“,”elementId”:”dbad341f-4935-4cf8-aae5-8d787305384a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
So far it seems that Antov accidentally fell from the hotel terrace. He was probably disturbed by the death of his friend and went to the hotel terrace and likely fell to his death from there.
n
“,”elementId”:”c41dcdc6-750a-4b1e-9f08-7ea25f35c204″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Antov was a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and a multimillionaire, having founded one of Russia’s largest sausage makers.
“,”elementId”:”aee03919-65df-4ed0-b328-4da4648ed3c2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
His death is the latest in a series of sudden unexplained deaths involving Russian businessmen, many of whom have openly criticised the war in Ukraine.
“,”elementId”:”e44afad6-e1d7-40e0-bdcb-4b9183c1bb4b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In June, Antov was accused of criticising Russia’s war in Ukraine after a message appeared on his WhatsApp account describing a Russian missile bombardment on Ukraine as “terrorism”.
“,”elementId”:”cfe64c79-7747-4b6e-ad79-fb7073208a6f”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Antov denied writing the message, insisting he supported Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
“,”elementId”:”a02f5bac-e692-4868-ab8c-2b1ec4168ce2″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672150116000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”14.08 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672150784000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”14.19 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672150288000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”14.11 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”14.11″,”title”:”Russian tycoon who criticised Ukraine invasion falls to death from window”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aaea2d8f083ad0940b0f0d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
An air-raid alert has been declared for the entire territory of #Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/XJlzNxdTHg
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 27, 2022
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/nexta_tv/status/1607720290498510850″,”id”:”1607720290498510850″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”53763a4b-5e66-4d3d-b0df-3fc2d3b1a181″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:true,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672145453000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.50 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672145519000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.51 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672145520000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.52 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.52″,”title”:”Air raid alert declared across all of Ukraine”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aae7458f08ea86bf109c55″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Heavy fighting is taking place near the Ukrainian city of Kreminna, north-west of Lysychansk, according to the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai.
“,”elementId”:”1b1cc4eb-2aca-4591-a730-2fe05f47a338″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Haidai said:
“,”elementId”:”eee004c1-1ead-4945-ae35-dc5212c6bea2″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
The Russian occupation troops managed to build a very powerful defense in a month, even a little more. They are bringing there a huge amount of reserves and equipment. They are constantly renewing their forces.
n
“,”elementId”:”0711ef2d-6a7a-41fc-b88b-fd058624518b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
He said Russian forces had suffered a large number of casualties but they were still bringing new personnel, “because they understand that if they lose Kreminna, in principle, the entire line of defence will crumble”.
“,”elementId”:”eebf6bcc-7300-4b0e-bff7-0220bbc678ef”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
There is fierce fighting around elevated areas near Kreminna in Luhansk region as well as around Bakhmut and Avdiivka in Donetsk, a Ukrainian military analyst has said.
“,”elementId”:”dda43481-7d4a-4d60-abf9-2d3243a1ba50″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Oleh Zhdanov, who is based in Kyiv, posted on social media:
“,”elementId”:”4546cfac-c521-4a6d-bd1e-dfb7176a3779″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
The arc of fire in Donetsk region continues to burn.
n
“,”elementId”:”5061e907-8da6-48f4-837c-94c25aaec0c5″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the situation in Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas was “difficult and painful”.
“,”elementId”:”7b368f18-1f44-47aa-8517-276b8a7ad7e5″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672144709000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”12.38 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672145189000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.46 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672144798000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”12.39 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”12.39″,”title”:”Russia ‘bringing in large reserves’ for ‘fierce’ fighting near Kreminna, says Ukraine”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aad5248f08ea86bf109bfe”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Vladimir Putin’s comments that he was “ready to negotiate with all parties” involved in the conflict in Ukraine are part of a deliberate information campaign aimed at misleading the west into making concessions, according to analysts.
“,”elementId”:”38a60ee3-2f37-4f4f-82b8-aca6169d05da”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In its update published yesterday, the US thinktank Institute for the Study of War states that the Russian president did not offer to negotiate with Ukraine, contrary to some reporting.
“,”elementId”:”c4fa8432-5dc8-462f-9df3-a9a9a1983492″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It writes:
“,”elementId”:”d63d2908-35e4-4e04-beb3-f779b2c98e67″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
Putin, in a TV interview, stated that he does not think that the war is approaching a “dangerous line” and noted that Russia has no choice but to continue to defend its citizens, before stating that Russia “is ready to negotiate with all parties” involved in the conflict.
n
Putin did not explicitly state that Russia was ready to negotiate directly with Ukraine, instead maintaining his false narrative that Ukraine – which he simply called the “the other side” – had violated Russia’s pre-invasion diplomatic efforts. Putin’s discussions of negotiations have focused on putative discussions with the west rather than with Ukraine, and reflect his continual accusations that Ukraine is merely a western pawn with no real agency.
n
“,”elementId”:”3be66130-dd84-4a4f-9e19-f2cd782075f4″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Putin’s comments on Saturday were “not a departure from that rhetorical line”, it continues. Instead, they are a “part of a deliberate information campaign aimed at misleading the west to push Ukraine into making preliminary concession”.
“,”elementId”:”34bea226-9988-407a-b571-0119b368565d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
The Kremlin did not publish the full transcript of Putin’s interview on its official website in contrast with its normal pattern, possibly to facilitate the misrepresentation of Putin’s full statement originally broadcast in Russian and highlight his vague statement on negotiations.
n
“,”elementId”:”a97fae8c-e5ea-4a7e-8ebb-90611bbb45a7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The ISW update goes on to say that Putin is “likely concerned over the lack of support for his war in Ukraine among elites”.
“,”elementId”:”36e90145-8f49-4ee4-af55-db0b9baa07ff”}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672140068000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”11.21 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672143209000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”12.13 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672140127000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”11.22 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”11.22″,”title”:”Putin did not offer to negotiate with Ukraine, says US thinktank”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aaabea8f08c23d9f5d8140″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attacks in the areas of two settlements in the Luhansk region and six in the Donetsk region over the past 24 hours, the general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said in this morning’s operational update.
“,”elementId”:”0cadf2c2-4391-4c29-8694-f1a74a0391f5″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Russian forces launched two missile strikes and fired 44 multiple-launch rocket systems over the past day, it said.
“,”elementId”:”26c330fe-03ed-4b8f-a441-a176beed00ad”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The update, posted on social media, reads:
“,”elementId”:”a0b5b48e-ac78-4380-a9e9-5c0fa4daa597″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
In the Volyn, Polissya, Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, the situation has not changed significantly, the enemy maintains a military presence along the state border, and no signs of the formation of its offensive groups have been detected.
n
“,”elementId”:”e78c5787-8fde-44cd-b1ba-ca6f8bc626d0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s armed forces said a further 620 Russian servicemen were killed in the past 24 hours, bringing the total Russian losses to 103,220.
“,”elementId”:”fe5002c0-dd74-4e2b-a560-17d92b7404e3″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It said:
“,”elementId”:”fe160a8c-ca1b-4208-be1e-c5c5aaa9d518″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
Russian enemy suffered the greatest losses (of the past day) at the Bakhmut and Lyman directions.
n
“,”elementId”:”28078f71-8e99-401f-8a9b-ffbc7ff45670″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
“I’ve got a theory that if you give 100 percent all of the time, somehow things will work out in the end.“
Larry BirdTotal combat losses of the enemy from Feb 24 to Dec 27: pic.twitter.com/dkZc4eLm1e
— Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) December 27, 2022
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/DefenceU/status/1607636694978682880″,”id”:”1607636694978682880″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”1a02745d-e8e9-4fbe-8b26-ec1c5af39dcb”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
It is not possible to verify this report.
“,”elementId”:”f082ff42-9121-4af8-8314-2dabd4d4273b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Note: This post was corrected to say that Ukraine’s armed forces said a further 620 servicemen were killed over the past 24 hours.
“,”elementId”:”12eb5c33-e57b-45ec-8f33-4d65f252a5a5″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672129514000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”08.25 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672140421000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”11.27 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672129723000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”08.28 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”08.28″,”title”:”Russian forces ‘suffer greatest losses in Bakhmut and Lyman’, says Ukraine’s armed forces”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aa9fbb8f085ce9739c5bbe”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Over the last 48 hours, fighting in Ukraine has remained focused around the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region, and near Svatove in Luhansk, according to the latest UK Ministry of Defence report.
“,”elementId”:”e53259f2-7145-4271-b75f-4014b609ace0″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Russia continues to initiate frequent small-scale assaults in these areas, although little territory has changed hands,” the report claims.
“,”elementId”:”752f616a-ae7a-48bb-a0fc-ce9e685a666f”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“To the north, elements of Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army were probably amongst the Russian forces recently deployed to Belarus. This formation was likely conducting training before its deployment and is unlikely to have the support units needed to make it combat-ready.”
“,”elementId”:”0ed269a3-4ed4-4a7b-a0b8-814dfa909ba8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TweetBlockElement”,”html”:”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 27 December 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/tmY17jcQQk
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/zSgoRgPkUe
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 27, 2022
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1607625068099551232″,”id”:”1607625068099551232″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”463d93bc-dee1-4c77-9f48-61337c071ea7″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672126395000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”07.33 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672126728000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”07.38 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672126729000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”07.38 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”07.38″,”title”:”Fighting focuses around Bakhmut, Donetsk: UK MoD”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aa4e6a8f085ce9739c5a79″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ukraine is aiming to hold a peace summit by the end of February – preferably at the United Nations with its secretary general, António Guterres, as a possible mediator – according to its foreign minister.
“,”elementId”:”d4430e42-d12f-4f74-b98b-c4bf58b2c903″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
But Dmytro Kuleba said that Russia could only be invited if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first.
“,”elementId”:”cf765b98-4054-4a1f-8d84-6ba95909af5b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.YoutubeBlockElement”,”id”:”2ca4304b-353a-466c-8615-33040f4c8e6b”,”assetId”:”uYKoYIMHB_Q”,”channelId”:”UCIRYBXDze5krPDzAEOxFGVA”,”mediaTitle”:”Ukraine aims for UN-backed peace summit by end of February, says its foreign minister – video”,”posterImage”:[{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3f5ec10b515e491d96aa19c75c6bf1cb9a7ad274/0_0_1920_1080/1000.jpg”,”width”:1000},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3f5ec10b515e491d96aa19c75c6bf1cb9a7ad274/0_0_1920_1080/500.jpg”,”width”:500},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3f5ec10b515e491d96aa19c75c6bf1cb9a7ad274/0_0_1920_1080/140.jpg”,”width”:140},{“url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/3f5ec10b515e491d96aa19c75c6bf1cb9a7ad274/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg”,”width”:1920}],”expired”:false,”duration”:80,”elementId”:”039703a5-f37c-4885-ac77-179c193eaf15″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
Every war ends in a diplomatic way … Every war ends as a result of the actions taken on the battlefield and at the negotiating table.”
n
“,”elementId”:”efa9568b-7fa4-4b32-af26-ceec74b5f9bf”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Kuleba said the Ukrainian government would like to have a peace summit by the end of February, around the anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
“,”elementId”:”516c822a-6740-422f-b5f5-360a0ec8b7ba”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit, because this is not about making a favour to a certain country,” he said. “This is really about bringing everyone on board.”
n
“,”elementId”:”b1396018-67ce-495a-93c1-8f73bbcc4096″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement”,”url”:”https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/26/ukraine-aims-for-un-backed-peace-summit-with-russia-in-february”,”text”:”Ukraine aims for UN-backed peace summit in February”,”prefix”:”Related: “,”role”:”thumbnail”,”elementId”:”5e52e706-1368-4aed-b445-ce8dc7d750e4″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672122256000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.24 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672124074000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”06.54 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672124074000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.54 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.54″,”title”:”Ukraine aims for UN-backed peace summit in February”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aa82e18f085ce9739c5b51″,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said fighting in the eastern regions of Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas are “difficult and painful” for Ukrainian troops.
“,”elementId”:”663c3127-1a41-4674-afce-0591a173e6e1″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Addressing the situation on the frontline in his Monday night address, he said:
“,”elementId”:”14a75633-e142-4172-ad4c-5bf42ff7b0f8″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.BlockquoteBlockElement”,”html”:”
n
The frontline. Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas, which now require maximum strength and concentration.
n
The situation there is difficult, acute. The occupiers are using all the resources available to them – and these are significant resources – to squeeze out at least some advance.”
n
“,”elementId”:”29c2c335-4c91-4ba2-a8b9-8e26ba515cf7″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Monday that more than 60% of the infrastructure in the city of Bakhmut, which has been the site of intense fighting, is partially or fully destroyed.
“,”elementId”:”3bf2c163-8ac1-402b-9d80-b7b0a8780d0f”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
“Russia is constantly shelling Bakhmut’s infrastructure. The enemy is keeping on scorched earth tactics,” he said.
“,”elementId”:”ba4c87b6-d463-4bde-b256-aa8e9e99e62b”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”3600″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/6000.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”3600″,”width”:”6000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/140.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”Volodymyr, 61, and Nataliia Bolias, 51, walk past an industrial building hit by a Russian missile strike in Bakhmut, Ukraine.”,”caption”:”Volodymyr, 61, and Nataliia Bolias, 51, walk past an industrial building hit by a Russian missile strike in Bakhmut, Ukraine.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters”},”displayCredit”:true,”role”:”inline”,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=339652c417441f155d56c70749776974″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=503e5d4e54c3a5ac13b4386ce5ef1506″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a3811bbe88020c069c6762608cd2daa3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=94e4c86658b78ec4e43427acdc5a627d”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d668fefac68b53b11d563c134f357110″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1a958af204046ec8b28593fd275ff63c”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=0802f6ad47f89940635b2e483893288f”,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=e9281fb18fc468784e6b2b3605919a18″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c9de396d9070d65d694697fd4ee473ab”,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b2b6cb475af2c011ab4e84fa02687849″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d8b33f56c29356abac7ed0c1fa2ee59a”,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=89562909f76819a1675addea6a6001bc”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=22a59a1dda8b9cfbaa871f4857469d74″,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a610ffb9b7de31ba3808f6cb90a0961f”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=339652c417441f155d56c70749776974″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=503e5d4e54c3a5ac13b4386ce5ef1506″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a3811bbe88020c069c6762608cd2daa3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=94e4c86658b78ec4e43427acdc5a627d”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d668fefac68b53b11d563c134f357110″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1a958af204046ec8b28593fd275ff63c”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f559fa12d4491e0b0157fa979b0238d2″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=12c45ae8731d855dd9b45153f749a1e5″,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=158b6c730ab8743613c73222f0acf59c”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4448d5984e596c98912b40d9f234946e”,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=339652c417441f155d56c70749776974″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=503e5d4e54c3a5ac13b4386ce5ef1506″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a3811bbe88020c069c6762608cd2daa3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=94e4c86658b78ec4e43427acdc5a627d”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d668fefac68b53b11d563c134f357110″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1a958af204046ec8b28593fd275ff63c”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=339652c417441f155d56c70749776974″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=503e5d4e54c3a5ac13b4386ce5ef1506″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a3811bbe88020c069c6762608cd2daa3″,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=94e4c86658b78ec4e43427acdc5a627d”,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d668fefac68b53b11d563c134f357110″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1a958af204046ec8b28593fd275ff63c”,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=1ad3b6932fbed1646b9e769085d6ac18″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=b05380e6b772c62df3d23613c43a91a7″,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3e4f1dcf114348c0d5b4c59ed8b88303″,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=50839d1d7ae0af3eb407f05f6992414e”,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=40444fd4e47c2feae39dbeddb9d6f3b8″,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=d3a554447f1ea5b682099853b867e880″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=524165e440329adeb4c5b307bf31f41a”,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=ac37509da8739265c2263714fd18a6f5″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=05da5a46c1c0aada7bd0ba21452e9827″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=59eb4abf9d6f58b3445a5a407d43eecf”,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=745c5a97febd56889dd81b5616a608cb”,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=40523c9c215ba06db15627a6e22b4ad4″,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=99ff9bafeca2aa32f54579cb5d1e74b4″,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f269f356379d2512a0908becc42bbaac50036ae4/0_240_6000_3600/master/6000.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=34177ba85ab79f03cc3e0e796cfad457″,”width”:960}]}],”elementId”:”c2516cc9-30c7-4255-bffa-1365dd89bf6e”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ukraine’s eastern military command spokesperson, Serhiy Cherevaty, also said that the Bakhmut and Avdiivka areas in Donetsk remain the sites of the heaviest hostilities. He reported that there were 225 shellings from artillery and tanks in the Bakhmut area on Monday alone.
“,”elementId”:”824b5f62-e2d1-4e24-bb73-325081c0001a”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military said dozens of towns in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzia regions were shelled by Russian forces.
“,”elementId”:”7c32983b-617e-4f04-9770-f4c508b54789″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
In the Kherson region, Russia shelled populated areas along the right bank of the Dnipro River, Ukraine’s military said.
“,”elementId”:”6e72208b-a9af-4f19-b68d-06cb17a09a47″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672122256000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.24 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672128636000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”08.10 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672123166000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.39 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.39″,”title”:”Fighting in Donbas ‘difficult and painful’, Zelenskiy says”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”},{“id”:”63aa4c028f083d29b407ff8d”,”elements”:[{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
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.
“,”elementId”:”2f9e8112-fbf3-4432-a025-01983746acdc”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said fighting in the eastern regions of Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas are “difficult and painful” for Ukrainian troops.
“,”elementId”:”964528a5-cab4-4d6a-9460-3485fa8d6d9d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
The Donetsk regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, added that more than 60% of the infrastructure in the city of Bakhmut has been partially or fully destroyed in a update on Monday.
“,”elementId”:”b31072ac-cb34-48eb-a1fe-beebbd03c538″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
Despite the fighting, Ukraine’s foreign minister proposed to hold a peace summit by the end of February – preferably at the United Nations with its secretary general, António Guterres, as a possible mediator.
“,”elementId”:”1c9b9d0e-1510-4f53-b7ce-d1598d6f5896″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
For any updates or feedback you wish to share, please feel free to get in touch via email or Twitter.
“,”elementId”:”6ebd19b6-365d-4f22-80f9-e8cf3dc1cc8d”},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:
“,”elementId”:”3dfbcdb2-c5ed-458d-b1a2-b849cae6daf4″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement”,”html”:”
- n
Moscow has accused Ukraine of a deadly attack on an airbase that killed three Russian servicemen on Monday. Russia’s defence ministry claimed a Ukrainian drone was shot down on the approach to Engels base located about 300 miles away from the Ukrainian border but falling debris killed three service personnel. The Ukrainian government made no comment on the reported attacks.
Ukraine’s military said dozens of towns in the Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson and Zaporizhzia regions were shelled by Russian forces. In the Kherson region, Russia shelled populated areas along the right bank of the Dnipro River, Ukraine’s military said. Zelenskiy said the frontline in Bakhmut, Kreminna and other areas in Donbas “now require maximum strength and concentration” in his Monday night address.
Zelenskiy said power shortages were persisting, with nearly 9 million people remaining without electricity. “Shortages persist. Blackouts are continuing,” he said in his Monday night video address. “But the numbers and the length of the blackouts are gradually decreasing.”
Ukraine should fulfil Moscow’s proposals for settlement for its own good or the Russian army will decide, Russia’s foreign minister has said. “Our proposals for the demilitarisation and denazification of the territories controlled by the regime, the elimination of threats to Russia’s security emanating from there, including our new lands, are well known to the enemy,” state news agency Tass quoted Sergei Lavrov as saying late on Monday. “The point is simple: fulfil them for your own good. Otherwise, the issue will be decided by the Russian army.”
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, hosted leaders of other former Soviet states in St Petersburg on Monday. In televised remarks Putin said threats to the security and stability of the Eurasian region were increasing. “Unfortunately challenges and threats in this area, especially from the outside, are only growing each year,” he said. “We also have to acknowledge unfortunately that disagreements also arise between member states of the commonwealth.”
Ukraine’s foreign minister said Kyiv was aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February. Dmytro Kuleba suggested that the UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, could be the possible mediator for peace talks with Russia, though Russia could only be invited if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first. “The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit, because this is not about making a favour to a certain country. This is really about bringing everyone on board,” he said.
Zelenskiy also said he sought India’s help with implementing a “peace formula” in a phone call with the country’s prime minister on Monday. “I had a phone call with PM Narendra Modi and wished a successful G20 presidency,” Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter. “It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula and now I count on India’s participation in its implementation.” The Indian government said in statement late on Monday that Modi “strongly reiterated” his call for an immediate end to hostilities in Ukraine and conveyed India’s support for any peace efforts.
Russia’s FSB security service said a Ukrainian four-person “sabotage group” was “liquidated” while trying to enter the Bryansk region on Sunday, Russian state media reported. The alleged saboteurs were armed with foreign-made guns and four improvised explosive devices, the FSB said. There was no immediate comment on the incident from Ukraine.
Ukraine has called for Russia to be removed as a permanent member of the security council. The foreign ministry said Russia had illegally occupied “the seat of the USSR in the UN security council since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, and that its three-decade presence in the UN has been “marked by wars and seizures of other countries’ territories”.
A video has emerged allegedly shows members of the private Russian mercenary company, Wagner Group, calling the Russian armed force’s chief of general staff a “piece of shit”. Bellingcat’s Christo Grozev reports that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian businessman and founder of Wagner Group, said he has “nothing to say about this video”, which Grozev writes means the Putin ally is essentially endorsing the attack on Valery Gerasimov.
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
n
“,”elementId”:”006496a4-8df1-44e4-8022-9c7e3bdd8217″},{“_type”:”model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.ImageBlockElement”,”media”:{“allImages”:[{“index”:0,”fields”:{“height”:”3542″,”width”:”5900″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/5900.jpg”},{“index”:1,”fields”:{“isMaster”:”true”,”height”:”3542″,”width”:”5900″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg”},{“index”:2,”fields”:{“height”:”1200″,”width”:”2000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/2000.jpg”},{“index”:3,”fields”:{“height”:”600″,”width”:”1000″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/1000.jpg”},{“index”:4,”fields”:{“height”:”300″,”width”:”500″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/500.jpg”},{“index”:5,”fields”:{“height”:”84″,”width”:”140″},”mediaType”:”Image”,”mimeType”:”image/jpeg”,”url”:”https://media.guim.co.uk/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/140.jpg”}]},”data”:{“alt”:”A solider walks past a destroyed monastery in Dolyna, eastern Ukraine on 26 December, 2022.”,”caption”:”A solider walks past a destroyed monastery in Dolyna, eastern Ukraine on 26 December, 2022.”,”credit”:”Photograph: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP/Getty Images”},”displayCredit”:true,”role”:”inline”,”imageSources”:[{“weighting”:”inline”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4e33ea7dee47bb70321fc4e17f325297″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1e44658fd7e5d8af22517056e348ee61″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bdcac83c78bf9b97db9ea3d49d17d99c”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=775a0ebf260b0eafc81dba4a839cfe66″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=eeab65becba05f6d3acb8800f19d7134″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4385d42138590a1a6eb7dba0afb4fe86″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”thumbnail”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=138491cf7d314a8ec04b52ba5c2d3ff9″,”width”:140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=7e1894a86cb802c3d04f3cfb80b9a2c6″,”width”:280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=120&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bf9be7ce5970360336aaa4c8760a7e52″,”width”:120},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=120&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=77bb2871b17e45fa2f7c6e0513cc5b29″,”width”:240}]},{“weighting”:”supporting”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=380&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f3a3ff3e8cc0333a1221a22036ab928b”,”width”:380},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=380&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=63d1af6d62f498e3f252853f2495264f”,”width”:760},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=f1b68c7c9855e977b78ba37aea6d53e0″,”width”:300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a4281aa48769316f33d89fac5309cf1c”,”width”:600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4e33ea7dee47bb70321fc4e17f325297″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1e44658fd7e5d8af22517056e348ee61″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bdcac83c78bf9b97db9ea3d49d17d99c”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=775a0ebf260b0eafc81dba4a839cfe66″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=eeab65becba05f6d3acb8800f19d7134″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4385d42138590a1a6eb7dba0afb4fe86″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”showcase”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=860&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=61f146514598332ec1cb394a48ba7354″,”width”:860},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=860&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=a0e5b33f6a4f5d455f01052c066f1e8f”,”width”:1720},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=780&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a7e90ae802bfc0caa47436ce26f57da”,”width”:780},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=780&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=bc6956428f8c627492f8764da0243ee3″,”width”:1560},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4e33ea7dee47bb70321fc4e17f325297″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1e44658fd7e5d8af22517056e348ee61″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bdcac83c78bf9b97db9ea3d49d17d99c”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=775a0ebf260b0eafc81dba4a839cfe66″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=eeab65becba05f6d3acb8800f19d7134″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4385d42138590a1a6eb7dba0afb4fe86″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”halfwidth”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4e33ea7dee47bb70321fc4e17f325297″,”width”:620},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1e44658fd7e5d8af22517056e348ee61″,”width”:1240},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bdcac83c78bf9b97db9ea3d49d17d99c”,”width”:605},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=605&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=775a0ebf260b0eafc81dba4a839cfe66″,”width”:1210},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=eeab65becba05f6d3acb8800f19d7134″,”width”:445},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=445&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=4385d42138590a1a6eb7dba0afb4fe86″,”width”:890}]},{“weighting”:”immersive”,”srcSet”:[{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=d9f46c21b126100588af6be6e4494f02″,”width”:1900},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1900&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=1182fd73b0f37a87ddab8631615362cc”,”width”:3800},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=3cb9d67a38b67f453f6936430aec4f0c”,”width”:1300},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1300&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=cfd5ea43e47ee7b21d92aea77d1b00c3″,”width”:2600},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=4a233f68609efab34c1f0f83928fe66d”,”width”:1140},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=1140&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=19e236979794323237ce79b589769893″,”width”:2280},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=980&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=bcfd82dce0e6bf4bd345e771a2ca310b”,”width”:980},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=980&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=97827522d8779e5a1d5b37c6929e1194″,”width”:1960},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=740&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=a1270d51bf141996b3d70741c5fe6870″,”width”:740},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=740&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=22e61b721300c6536f04f077d2008749″,”width”:1480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=660&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=2a0fe4d9a0366dc910a3de378a715579″,”width”:660},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=660&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=68104d11f93ba3ae3d3e57bf6e68c30a”,”width”:1320},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=480&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=443a43fd5881d62051a0956893aac52a”,”width”:480},{“src”:”https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/2688692ac17faa07878e245bc7d8df96e4df3d69/0_0_5900_3542/master/5900.jpg?width=480&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=bdc928260d8c58091aeaf6a7d933f7cd”,”width”:960}]}],”elementId”:”5e9040eb-d57e-4a71-a50e-c32b55496553″}],”attributes”:{“pinned”:false,”keyEvent”:true,”summary”:false},”blockCreatedOn”:1672122256000,”blockCreatedOnDisplay”:”06.24 GMT”,”blockLastUpdated”:1672128542000,”blockLastUpdatedDisplay”:”08.09 GMT”,”blockFirstPublished”:1672122256000,”blockFirstPublishedDisplay”:”06.24 GMT”,”blockFirstPublishedDisplayNoTimezone”:”06.24″,”title”:”Summary and welcome”,”contributors”:[],”primaryDateLine”:”Tue 27 Dec 2022 18.13 GMT”,”secondaryDateLine”:”First published on Tue 27 Dec 2022 06.24 GMT”}],”filterKeyEvents”:false,”format”:{“display”:0,”theme”:0,”design”:10},”id”:”key-events-carousel-mobile”}”>
Key events
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
Here is the full story on Vladimir Putin signing a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products to nations that impose the cap.
The ban will come into effect on 1 February and last for five months, according to the decree published on Tuesday on a government portal and the Kremlin website.
In early December, the G7, the European Union and Australia agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil because of Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni on Tuesday reaffirmed her government’s “full support” for Ukraine in a call with president Volodymyr Zelenskiy, her office said in a statement.
Meloni, who took office in October, has been a firm supporter of Kyiv, despite friction on the issue within her rightist ruling coalition and divided public opinion.
“Meloni renewed the Italian government’s full support for Kyiv in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields, to repair energy infrastructure and (to work) for the future reconstruction of Ukraine”, her office said.
In a tweet published earlier on Tuesday, Zelenskiy thanked Meloni for her “solidarity and comprehensive support,” and said Italy was considering providing Kyiv with air defence systems.
Thanked @GiorgiaMeloni for solidarity and comprehensive support for 🇺🇦. Commended 🇮🇹 government's allocation of additional €10 million in aid. Mrs. Meloni informed that the issue of providing air defense systems to protect 🇺🇦 skies is being considered. We discussed #PeaceFormula
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 27, 2022
n”,”url”:”https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1607762593682161667″,”id”:”1607762593682161667″,”hasMedia”:false,”role”:”inline”,”isThirdPartyTracking”:false,”source”:”Twitter”,”elementId”:”8bc7eff3-7288-4402-99b6-fe2e592ca3b3″}}”>
Thanked @GiorgiaMeloni for solidarity and comprehensive support for 🇺🇦. Commended 🇮🇹 government’s allocation of additional €10 million in aid. Mrs. Meloni informed that the issue of providing air defense systems to protect 🇺🇦 skies is being considered. We discussed #PeaceFormula
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 27, 2022
Russia bans supply of oil to nations involved in price cap for five months
Vladimir Putin has delivered Russia’s response to a western price cap, signing a decree that bans the supply of oil and oil products to nations participating in the cap from 1 February 2023 for five months.
The Group of Seven major powers, the European Union and Australia agreed this month to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, effective from 5 December, over Moscow’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s decree stated the ban would run from 1 February until 1 July.
Crude oil exports will be banned from 1 February, but the date for the oil products ban will be determined by the Russian government and could be after that date.
The decree includes a clause that allows Vladimir Putin to overrule the ban in special cases, Reuters reports.
Here is the full story on Indian police investigating the sudden death at a luxury hotel of a wealthy Russian politician who reportedly criticised the Ukraine war and his travelling companion.
The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was found on Saturday in a pool of blood outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals.
His death came two days after another member of the travel party, Vladimir Bidenov, was found unconscious after an apparent heart attack at the same hotel and could not be revived.
Police said on Tuesday they were reviewing CCTV footage, questioning hotel staff and were waiting on detailed autopsy reports, but so far there was no sign of foul play.
“All possible angles as regards to the deaths of two Russian nationals are being verified,” the regional police chief, Rajesh Pandit, told AFP.
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv. Here’s where things stand:
Ukrainian forces appear to have edged closer to recapturing the key-Russian controlled city of Kreminna in Luhansk province. The regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said fighters in part of the city controlled by Russian command were forced to retreat to Rubizhne, a town a few miles to the south-east, as a result of Ukrainian military pressure.
Heavy fighting continues in the east and south of the country amid no sign of imminent peace talks. Recapturing Kreminna and nearby Svatove could open the way for Kyiv to launch an offensive on Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, two cities Ukraine lost in the summer. The Guardian could not independently confirm the battlefield developments.
Russian troops continued to focus their efforts on capturing the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Britain’s defence ministry said in its daily military briefing on Tuesday. The strike was the second recent attack on the Soviet-era airbase.
Air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine, including Kyiv, on Tuesday afternoon. There were no immediate reports of attacks.
Russia’s military has moved many of its warplanes from Engels airbase to other locations following Ukraine’s strikes on the crucial base, according to a spokesperson for the Ukrainian air force. Three Russian servicemen were killed on Monday after a Ukrainian drone attack on the airbase, which lies deep inside Russian territory, according to Russia’s defence ministry.
Ukraine is aiming to hold a peace summit by the end of February – preferably at the UN with its secretary general, António Guterres, as a possible mediator, according to its foreign minister. But Dmytro Kuleba said Russia could only be invited if the country faced a war crimes tribunal first.
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has said Kyiv must accept Moscow’s demands of “demilitarisation and denazification” or suffer defeat on the battlefield. Lavrov’s statements show the Kremlin has no intention of climbing down from its maximalist goals of regime change in Ukraine, despite Vladimir Putin’s claims on Sunday that Russia was ready for talks to end the war.
Putin’s comments that he was “ready to negotiate with all parties” involved in the conflict in Ukraine are part of a deliberate information campaign aimed at misleading the west into making concessions, according to analysts. The US thinktank Institute for the Study of War said the Russian president did not offer to negotiate with Ukraine on Saturday, contrary to some reporting.
The bodies of 42 Ukrainian servicemen who died while fighting have been returned to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government. Work on bringing back the bodies of Ukraine’s fighters “does not stop for a day”, Oleh Kotenko, the commissioner for missing persons, said.
Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, twice in the past 24 hours to “finalise many issues”, Belarusian state-owned Belta news agency reported. The meetings took place in St Petersburg, over breakfast on Tuesday at the Russian Museum, as well as at an informal summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) yesterday evening, it reported.
Kherson city was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November. But for some, the horrors of the Russian occupation are still not over. Hundreds of Ukrainian children as young as six and as old as 16 from Kherson and Kharkiv regions have been stuck in Russian summer camps for weeks, and in some cases, months.
A Russian sausage tycoon who reportedly criticised the war in Ukraine has died after falling from the third-floor window of a luxury hotel in India. The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was discovered just two days after his friend, a local Russian politician, Vladimir Bidenov, was found dead in the same hotel after an apparent heart attack.
Pjotr Sauer
Ukrainian forces appear to have edged closer to recapturing the key-Russian controlled city of Kreminna in Luhansk province as heavy fighting continued in the east and south of the country.
The regional governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, said fighters in part of the city controlled by Russian command were forced to retreat to Rubizhne, a town a few miles to the south-east, as a result of Ukrainian military pressure.
“The Russians understand that if they lose Kreminna, their entire line of defence will fall,” Haidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Tuesday.
The Russian occupation troops managed to build a very powerful defence in a month, even a little more. They are bringing there a huge amount of reserves and equipment. They are constantly renewing their forces.
The Guardian could not independently confirm the battlefield developments.
Recapturing Kreminna and nearby Svatove could open the way for Kyiv to launch an offensive on Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, two cities Ukraine lost in the summer.
The bodies of 42 Ukrainian servicemen who died while fighting have been returned to Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian government.
In a statement, Ukraine’s ministry for the reintegration of the temporarily occupied territories said:
The Office of the Commissioner for Missing Persons, together with law enforcement agencies, continues to bring home Heroes who sacrificed their lives for Ukraine. Another transfer of bodies took place today as 42 KIAs were delivered.
Work on bringing back the bodies of Ukraine’s fighters “does not stop for a day”, Oleh Kotenko, the commissioner for missing persons, said.
He added:
Despite the fact that the negotiation process is complicated and long, we are trying to pace it up. We understand every family that is waiting for the return of defenders to honour them. We will bring everyone back.
Russian tycoon who criticised Ukraine invasion falls to death from window
A Russian sausage tycoon who reportedly criticised the war in Ukraine has died after falling from the third-floor window of a luxury hotel in India.
The body of Pavel Antov, 65, was discovered on Saturday outside his lodgings in eastern Odisha state, where he was on holiday with three other Russian nationals.
His death came just two days after his friend and another local Russian politician, Vladimir Bidenov, was found dead in the same hotel after an apparent heart attack.
Indian police are investigating Antov’s death, authorities confirmed. They told AFP news agency that so far there was no sign of foul play.
Regional police chief Rajesh Pandit said:
All possible angles as regards to the deaths of two Russian nationals are being verified.
Bidenov’s heart attack had probably been caused by binge drinking and a possible drug overdose, he said.
The police chief added:
So far it seems that Antov accidentally fell from the hotel terrace. He was probably disturbed by the death of his friend and went to the hotel terrace and likely fell to his death from there.
Antov was a member of Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party and a multimillionaire, having founded one of Russia’s largest sausage makers.
His death is the latest in a series of sudden unexplained deaths involving Russian businessmen, many of whom have openly criticised the war in Ukraine.
In June, Antov was accused of criticising Russia’s war in Ukraine after a message appeared on his WhatsApp account describing a Russian missile bombardment on Ukraine as “terrorism”.
Antov denied writing the message, insisting he supported Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine.
Isobel Koshiw
Kherson city was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November. But for some, the horrors of the Russian occupation are still not over.
Nadia* sent her 14-year-old son to a Russian-run summer camp in Crimea – occupied by Moscow since 2014 – in October. He was meant to return after two weeks. It has now been more than two months.
In late November, he forwarded her a series of chilling voice messages from his camp leader telling him he would not be allowed back to Kherson because of his pro-Ukraine views.
“You are in Russia! You shouldn’t be doing different [types] of weird bullshit,” the camp leader in Yevpatoria, Crimea, said in the voice messages, which have been forwarded to the Guardian.
I don’t know who is going to deal with you now, but you are not going back to Kherson, that’s 100% [certain] … You can thank your mother for that.
Like many parents, Nadia did not see sending her child to such a camp – known as summer camps even at other times of year – as making a pro-Russia statement. Parents often decided to send their children because their classmates were going and they were being offered a free holiday by the sea.
Nadia’s son left Kherson on 4 October and his stay at the camp was repeatedly extended by the authorities, said his mother, speaking from central Kherson after Russian forces left the city. At first, the camp leaders told her that this was for safety reasons and then, after Ukrainian forces had entered Kherson city, they said he could not return because the city was now “occupied” by Ukraine.
In the messages, the camp leader outlined his problem with the boy. Firstly, his Telegram profile picture featured a Ukrainian trident, Ukraine’s national symbol, on the wall in the background. Secondly, his mother had said she wanted her son to return to Ukraine, signifying that she saw Kherson city as part of Ukraine, not Russia, thereby going against the grain of Russian propaganda that still insists the city is part of Russia.
Nadia’s case is one of many. Hundreds of Ukrainian children as young as six and as old as 16 from Kherson and Kharkiv regions have been stuck in Russian summer camps for weeks and in some cases months.
