Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 290

Here is the situation as it stands on Saturday, December 10:

Diplomacy, aid

• The United States announced a security package worth $275m for Ukraine. It will provide Kyiv with new capabilities to boost its air defences and defensive equipment.
• The US accused Russia of providing advanced military assistance to Iran, including air defence systems, as it warned of deepening defence ties between Moscow and Tehran, with Russia using Iranian drones to hit targets in Ukraine.
• Belarus told the United Nations that it would allow, without conditions, the transit of grain from Ukraine through its territory, for export from Lithuanian ports, a UN spokesman said.
• Australia’s foreign minister said the government would place targeted sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to what it called “egregious” human rights violations.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said further prisoner swaps between the US and Russia were possible and contacts between the two countries’ intelligence services would continue. He made the comment a day after US basketball player Brittney Griner was swapped for arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Fighting

• Russian forces shelled the entire front line in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said, part of what appeared to be the Kremlin’s scaled-back ambition to secure only the bulk of territory it has claimed.
• Fierce fighting was reported near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, and Russian troops were also trying to advance near Lyman, which was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November, regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said.
• The Ukrainian general staff said its forces attacked Russian positions and troop assembly points in at least half a dozen towns in the south of Ukraine.

Russian oil exports

• Russia will not sell oil to any country that imposes a price cap on its oil exports and is considering reducing its oil production, Putin said in response to a decision by Western nations to place a $60 per barrel price limit on Russian oil exports.
• The number of Russian oil tankers waiting to exit the Black Sea through the Turkish straits continued to rise.