Russia-Ukraine updates: Official says Kherson shelling killed 10

Zelenskyy has criticised the mayor of Kyiv in a rare public spat between Ukrainian officials since the Russian invasion began. The Ukrainian president said Mayor Vitali Klitschko was doing a poor job setting up emergency shelters for residents without power and heat.

Ukraine has established thousands of so-called “invincibility centres” where people can access heat, water, internet and mobile phone links.

In an evening speech, Zelenskyy accused Klitschko and his officials of not doing enough to help.

“Unfortunately, local authorities have not performed well in all cities. In particular, there are a lot of complaints in Kyiv … To put it mildly, more work is needed,” he said, adding that the level of services available in many Kyiv centres was not good enough.

“Please pay attention – the people of Kyiv need more support … a lot of [them] have been without power for 20 or even 30 hours. We expect quality work from the mayor’s office.”

Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will have to “endure” the freezing winter amid power shortages sparked by Russian bombardment.

“We have to endure this winter – a winter that everyone will remember. We have to do everything so that we remember it not because of what it threatened us with, but because of what we managed to do to protect ourselves from this threat,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quoted the president as saying.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has discussed support for Ukraine and efforts to “enhance security along NATO’s Eastern Flank” with his German counterpart, Christine Lambrecht, the Pentagon says.

“Secretary Austin praised Germany’s leadership in providing security assistance to Ukraine, which is having a major positive impact on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself against Russian aggression,” the Pentagon said in a statement.

“The two leaders agreed to continue to closely coordinate their efforts in assisting Ukraine and strengthening NATO deterrence,” it said.

A meeting of European Union government representatives, scheduled for Friday evening to discuss a Group of Seven proposal to cap Russian seaborne oil prices, has been cancelled, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing EU diplomats.

“There was not enough of a convergence of views,” one diplomat said.

“There won’t be a meeting tonight nor this weekend,” a second diplomat said.

Zelenskyy says he spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and discussed cooperation on ensuring Ukraine’s energy stability.

In a tweet, the Ukrainian president said he expressed gratitude to the European Union for its aid to Kyiv and for working on a ninth sanctions package against Russia. He did not provide details.

Ukraine’s four nuclear power plants have been reconnected to the national power grid after completely losing off-site power earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.

The facilities were all disconnected from the grid on Wednesday for the first time in Ukrainian history after the latest wave of Russian air raids on vital infrastructure.

In a statement, the IAEA nuclear watchdog said Ukraine had informed it on Friday that its Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy plants had been reconnected. Ukraine reconnected its vast Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday, Kyiv said earlier.

Ukraine’s leaders will have to be “far-sighted” to secure peace, Pope Francis says, suggesting that Kyiv would have to make concessions.

The pope this month had called for a ceasefire to avert the risk of escalation of the conflict and asked God to “hurry up” to end it.

In an open letter to mark the nine-month anniversary of the Russian invasion, Francis praised the strength of Ukrainians in the face of the onslaught.

“The world has recognised a bold and strong people, a people that suffers and prays, cries and struggles, resists and hopes: a noble and martyred people,” he wrote.

He also said he was praying for Ukraine’s rulers.

“On them lies the duty to govern the country in tragic times and to make far-sighted decisions for peace and to develop the economy during the destruction of so much vital infrastructure,” the leader of the Catholic Church said.

On Wednesday, the EU designated Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism” over its attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, which has plunged the country into darkness.

Despite the move being largely symbolic as the European Parliament does not have the legal framework to support it, 494 members of the European Parliament voted in favour of the resolution.

Here’s how European countries voted.

The head of the Kherson region, Yaroslav Yanushevych, says on Telegram that Kherson Oblast was shelled “54 times” on Thursday.

Yanushevych said: “The Russians targeted private and apartment buildings, a shipyard, a building on the school grounds, and gas pipes. The enemy also shelled the following settlements in the district: Zelenivka, Chornobayivka, and Stepanivka.”

“Unfortunately, we have victims among the civilian population. The Russians killed 10 residents of the Kherson region, and another 54 people were injured of varying degrees of severity,” he added.

Petroneft Resources, an international oil and gas producer focussed on Russia, is considering its options, including a full or partial sale of the company’s assets, following difficult operating conditions due to the Ukraine conflict.

It said the drilling of up to five development wells at its Cheremshanskoye oil field in Russia had been delayed for the foreseeable future because of the inability to secure financing.

The company, listed both in London’s junior market and in Dublin, also said the firm’s accountant, BDO, intends to resign in the wake of Western sanctions against Russia.

European government representatives will resume talks over the level of a price cap on Russian oil on Friday evening, a diplomat told the Reuters news agency.

The diplomat, who declined to be identified, said it was not clear at present how many positions have converged.

On Thursday, European Union governments remained split over the level at which to cap Russian oil prices to curb Moscow’s ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Western allies that Russia is using winter as a weapon after recent attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure have left much of the country without heat or water.

But the EU fears that the drop in temperature and the lack of heating will force many to leave their homes and migrate to Europe for safety.

The International Red Cross also expects more Ukrainians to flee Kyiv after Wednesday’s air raids.

Meanwhile, more than 11 million Ukrainians have fled and entered EU member countries, since the war began in February.

Read more here.

More Ukrainians are being displaced by a wave of Russian bombardments, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports.

“We expect an increase of population movement in the next few months,” said Violaine des Rosiers, the humanitarian group’s operations manager in the Ukrainian capital. “We are already seeing in Kyiv, the city is emptying.”

The UN’s refugee organisation said it is not seeing an increase in the number of refugees crossing the border out of Ukraine. It said 4.7 million refugees have left Ukraine for neighbouring countries so far.

A barrage of missiles struck the recently liberated city of Kherson for the second day in a marked escalation of attacks since Russia withdrew from the city two weeks ago.

According to Kherson’s military administration, the city was shelled 17 times before midday on Thursday, and attacks continued into the evening, killing at least four people and injuring 10.

Soldiers in the region had warned that Kherson would face intensified attacks as Russian troops dig in across the Dnieper River.

Hungary’s foreign minister has complained to the European Union that Ukraine is making business harder for its companies, such as drugmaker Richter, because they have operations in Russia.

Peter Szijjarto said at a news briefing that Hungary would ask Brussels to ensure that Ukrainian authorities “should not make the operations of EU companies impossible”.

“These companies have not violated any rules,” he said. “Their only ‘sin’ is that they also have a presence in Russia.”

Richter said earlier this month that a change in Ukrainian legislation meant that marketing authorisation for some products might be revoked if a manufacturer operates and pays taxes in Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine not to believe everything they see on television or read on the internet, as he said, “There is a lot of fake news, deceit and lies.”

In a pre-recorded meeting broadcast on state television, Putin said, “I would like you to know that, that I personally, and the whole leadership of the country – we share your pain.

“We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son – especially for a mother.”

He promised he would not forget the incomparable suffering of mothers who had lost sons in the nearly 10-month-old conflict.

The Polish president says it is Germany’s decision where its Patriot air defence units are stationed, adding that it would be better for Poland’s security if they were on Ukrainian territory near the border.

“From a military point of view, it would be best if they were located in Ukraine to also protect Polish territory, then they would protect both Ukraine and Poland most effectively,” Andrzej Duda told a news conference in Lithuania.

“But the decision rests with the German side.”

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock welcomes efforts in the country’s parliament to declare the Holodomor, the death by starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33, a “genocide”.

A text, seen by AFP, by deputies from Germany’s centre-left-led coalition and the opposition conservatives is intended as a “warning” to Russia as Ukraine faces a potential hunger crisis this winter due to Moscow’s invasion.

Politicians plan to vote on the resolution next week, following Ukraine’s memorial day for the famine, which falls each year on the last Saturday in November.

The Holodomor resulted from Soviet leader Josef Stalin’s efforts to collectivise agriculture and root out Ukraine’s fledgling nationalist movement.

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says it’s up to Germany to decide if it wants to supply Patriot missile defences to Ukraine after Poland urged Berlin to send them.

Germany has offered to deploy the advanced US-made Patriot system to Poland after a blast from a stray Ukrainian air defence missile hit a Polish village last week. 

But the Polish authorities told Berlin to ship the system to Ukraine instead.

“I welcome the German offer to strengthen the air defences of Poland by offering to deploy Patriot batteries,” Stoltenberg said.

But he insisted that any plans to send specific weapons to Ukraine were “national decisions”.

“Sometimes there are end users’ agreements and other things, so they need to consult with other allies, but at the end of the day, it has to be taken by the national governments,” Stoltenberg said.

The UN human rights chief says Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine since October killed at least 77 civilians and plunged millions into extreme hardship.

“Millions are being plunged into extreme hardship and appalling conditions of life by these strikes,” said Volker Turk in a statement.

“Taken as a whole, this raises serious problems under international humanitarian law, which requires a concrete and direct military advantage for each object attacked.”

In the same statement, the UN’s preliminary analysis of videos showing Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war indicated they were “highly likely to be authentic”.