Ukraine live briefing: Icy winter begins with widespread power
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Key developments
- The missile fragments that landed in Poland could have been Ukrainian, the spokesman for Ukraine’s air force said in an interview Friday. Yuriy Ignat said that the air battle between Russia and Ukraine near the Polish border on Tuesday was so intense that dozens of missiles were flying through the air within a matter of minutes. Ukraine initially denied that it was responsible for the blast, which NATO has described as a tragic accident.
- The explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September were caused by “gross sabotage,” Swedish authorities said Friday, noting that they discovered traces of explosives at the site of the blasts. The public prosecutor and Sweden’s Security Service did not assign blame, while Russia has denied any involvement in the incident.
- The United Nations Human Rights Office is looking into videos that the Kremlin said show Ukraine executing Russian prisoners of war, Reuters reported. U.N. officials said this week they found “patterns of torture and ill-treatment” by Russia against prisoners of war that had fought for Ukraine, and “sporadic cases of torture and ill-treatment” by Ukraine against Russian prisoners of war who had been in custody for extended periods.
Battleground updates
- Ukrainian and Russian forces are engaged in fierce fighting in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Zelensky said Friday. Despite Russia’s battlefield setbacks in the north and the south, there has been no respite on the eastern front, he said, adding that about 100 Russian attacks were repelled in the Donetsk region Thursday. Kremlin-aligned officials were “seemingly increasingly concerned” about Ukraine’s counteroffensives in the south, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said Friday.
- Military mobilization in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a separatist enclave, will be carried out only if Russian President Vladimir Putin issues such a decree, the enclave’s acting head, Denis Pushilin, said in a video message on his Telegram channel Friday. Russia illegally annexed Donetsk in September but has not yet mobilized military-age men there for the war.
- Canada said that Ukraine’s military is winning the war against Russia. Defense Minister Anita Anand made the remarks at the start of the annual Halifax International Security Forum in Nova Scotia, the Associated Press reported. “The spirit and determination of the Ukrainian people and President Zelensky continue to inspire us all,” she said. “Ukraine’s armed forces are driven, disciplined, and better-trained — and they are winning.”
Global impact
- The United States and at least 50 other nations signed a declaration Friday pledging to restrict the use of explosive weapons in populated areas, “when their use may be expected to cause harm to civilians or civilian objects.” In a statement, the State Department pointed to “atrocities committed by Russia’s forces” in Ukraine as the impetus for “a global unified approach on this issue.” The U.S. military has also engaged in intense urban bombing campaigns, including in Iraq and Syria.
- The pro-Russian former president of Moldova, Igor Dodon, was freed from house arrest Friday. He immediately pledged to participate in protests against his pro-Western successor, Reuters reported. The Eastern European nation said earlier this year that it feared a potential Russian invasion. The Kremlin’s security services used Dodon’s Socialist Party as its primary vehicle to manipulate Moldovan politics, The Washington Post recently reported.
From our correspondents
Stealthy Kherson resistance fighters undermined Russian occupying forces: During more than eight months of Russian occupation, an underground resistance movement formed in Kherson, the lone regional capital Putin’s military was able to capture since the start of its invasion last February, Isabelle Khurshudyan and Kamila Hrabchuk report.
Stories of brave Ukrainian citizens standing up to the invading soldiers have been widespread throughout the war. But Kherson, occupied since early March, was a unique hub for resistance activity where many civilians worked in close coordination with handlers from Ukrainian security services.
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