Summary of the day
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy told The Associated press that “winter as a whole is a new phase of war” and acknowledged that “we did not achieve the desired results” with the summer counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian leader also said that “we already can see the consequences of the international community shifting (attention) because of the tragedy in the Middle East”.
The situation on the Polish-Ukrainian border remained tense, with Ukrainian truckers stuck on the border saying they plan to launch a hunger strike if their demands are not met. Polish and Ukrainian officials agreed on measures designed to help ease the situation at border crossings blocked by Polish truckers, but did not address the protesting Polish truckers’ main demands.
Slovak truckers said they would start blocking a border crossing with Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military shot down 18 out of 25 attack drones launched by Russia in its latest overnight strike, authorities said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”.
Russian investigators said a dual Russian-Italian national had been detained for planting bombs on railway tracks as part of a sabotage campaign orchestrated by Ukrainian military intelligence.
A court in Russia has extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5.
Russia’s navy destroyed an uncrewed Ukrainian navy vessel heading towards Crimea, the defence ministry said.
Heavy snowfall and blizzards across eastern European countries this week have resulted in a number of deaths and left thousands of towns and villages without electricity, after the first major cold snap of the season.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán said he opposes even putting the issue of opening EU accession talks with Ukraine on the agenda. The matter is set to be discussed at a major summit of European leaders later this month.
Here are photos from Kyiv today.
Ukrainian and Polish officials met to discuss the ongoing border blockade and agreed on a number of measures such as easing passage for empty vehicles, Unian reported, citing Ukrainian authorities.
But broader issues appear to remain unaddressed. Polish truckers have been protesting near several border crossings with Ukraine since early November.
Meanwhile, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reports that Ukrainian truckers stuck at the border are planning a hunger strike if their own demands are not met.
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It is going to be “very difficult” to agree at an upcoming summit on an EU proposal to grant Ukraine 50 billion euros of budget aid, a senior official said, Reuters reported.
The official said however that the EU was still committed to supporting Ukraine.
Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister for European integration, said today that “we are now shifting the focus from talking about the situation in Ukraine to the mood in Europe – and I think this is the huge disproportion”.
“The major message on my side,” she said, “is that nothing has changed in Ukraine in terms of our commitment, resolve, our goals and priorities. We are still suffering, we still trying to survive – but every day, we are moving towards victory”.
I don't remember any meeting of the European Council with such a heavy agenda as the one on Dec 14-15. So many things are on the table.
— Olga Stefanishyna (@StefanishynaO) December 1, 2023
With my excellent co-panelists, @LiaQuartapelle @SylvieKauffmann talked about key decisions expected by Ukraine and the EU.@ecfr @DumoulinME pic.twitter.com/Qj01fFcAlq
The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, has condemned Russia’s move to outlaw what Moscow describes as the “international LGBT+ public movement” as “extremist”.
He said:
Amid the decades-long crackdown on rights of LGBTIQ persons unleashed under President Putin, this decision aims at further persecuting the LGBTIQ community in Russia and aims to stifle civil society and those courageously defending human rights. This decision will prevent LGBTIQ persons from enjoying their human rights and dignity over fears of unjustified persecution.
The EU firmly opposes discrimination, prejudice and hate. We stand in solidarity with Russian citizens and all others who are adversely affected by this decision.
The EU urges Russia to stop the unfounded repression, to uphold its international obligations and to respect, protect and fulfil human rights without discrimination of any kind.
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Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said he is grateful to Switzerland, which had announced today that it has frozen an estimated 7.7 billion Swiss francs in financial assets belonging to Russians.
“Together with our partners, we are moving towards a mechanism to utilise seized assets for Ukraine’s recovery,” he said.
🇨🇭🇺🇦Switzerland has frozen almost $8.8 bn of financial assets belonging to russians as part of the sanctions. Grateful to @alain_berset, @ignaziocassis for this important first step. Together with our partners, we are moving towards a mechanism to utilise seized assets for…
— Denys Shmyhal (@Denys_Shmyhal) December 1, 2023
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he welcomes that Russia was not elected to the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization’s new council.
The Assembly of the International Maritime Organization has just elected a new IMO Council for 2024-2025. Russia was not elected.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 1, 2023
I welcome this just decision. In the last decade, no country has done more to undermine freedom of navigation than Russia.
I am grateful to IMO…
Slovak truckers to blockade Ukraine border crossing
Slovak trucking union UNAS chief Stanislav Skala said his team were ready to start blocking the Vysne Nemecke/Uzhhorod crossing with Ukraine, the country’s sole border point for trucks, Reuters reported.
They are joining Polish truckers who have been blocking several crossings to Ukraine since early November.
“We will block the border and let four trucks through every hour,” Skala told Reuters.
No reason for Russia to change goals, Lavrov says
Speaking in Skopje today, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow saw no signs that Kyiv was ready to move towards a political resolution and that there was no reason for Russia to change the goals of its “special military operation”, Reuters reported.
In an intelligence update, the British defence ministry said today that “the Russian defence industry is moving to close the capability gap with Ukraine in the development of one-way attack uncrewed surface vehicles”.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 1 December 2023.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 1, 2023
Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/zDwGuKCNdR
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/cMLbNFb9E1
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said today that Russia is working on the assumption that sanctions against it by the United States and its allies will last for many years, Reuters reported.
He said:
We have no doubt that these sanctions will last for many years. Even without statements from the respected (U.S.) representative, we already knew this. We assume this when formulating our line.
Peskov also added:
The world is much more diverse than the United States, so the American-centric world is ending, and a period of diversity is beginning, including in international economic relations.
Ukraine in 'new phase of war', Zelenskiy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy addressed the challenges of winter, the counteroffensive and war in the Middle East in a new interview.
“We have a new phase of war, and that is a fact,” Zelenskiy told The Associated Press in an interview in Kharkiv yesterday, published this morning. “Winter as a whole is a new phase of war,” he said.
Asked about the counteroffensive, he said:
“Look, we are not backing down, I am satisfied. We are fighting with the second (best) army in the world, I am satisfied,” he said, referring to the Russian military.
But he also said: “We are losing people, I’m not satisfied. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, I can’t be satisfied, but I also can’t complain too much.”
Speaking about last summer’s counteroffensive, the Ukrainian leader said:
We wanted faster results. From that perspective, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results. And this is a fact.
He also underscored the importance of boosting domestic arms production, and Kyiv’s push for cheap loans and licenses to manufacture weapons.
And he addressed the impact of the war between Israel and Hamas.
“We already can see the consequences of the international community shifting (attention) because of the tragedy in the Middle East,” he said. “Only the blind don’t recognise this.”
“We must not allow people to forget about the war here,” he said.
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Russian court extends pre-trial detention of American journalist
A court in Russia has extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until February 5, Reuters reported.
She is awaiting trial for failing to register as a “foreign agent”.
‘Another winter’ of difficulties ahead
Kira Rudik, a member of Ukrainian parliament, said “there are so many difficulties ahead” but the country will continue fighting.
December 1st. We are entering another winter. There are so many difficulties ahead. But we will be fighting no matter what so that our children will be enjoying next season in peace.
— Kira Rudik (@kiraincongress) December 1, 2023
Russia’s navy on Friday destroyed an uncrewed Ukrainian navy vessel heading towards Crimea, the defence ministry said.
“At about 08:00 Moscow time, an unmanned Ukrainian navy boat was discovered in the western Black Sea heading towards the Crimean Peninsula,” the defence ministry said.
“The discovered target was destroyed.”
Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Reuters was unable to immediately verify battlefield reports from either side.
Deaths after first heavy snowfall of winter hits eastern Europe
Heavy snowfall and blizzards across eastern European countries this week have resulted in a number of deaths and left thousands of towns and villages without electricity, after the first major cold snap of the season.
In Ukraine, severe snowstorms left 10 people dead across the Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv regions.
Fifteen hundred towns and villages were left without power, with one snowstorm in Odesa leaving 2,500 people in need of rescue and about 850 vehicles requiring towing.
Southern Ukraine was the worst affected, as cars and buses slid off frozen roads, with local authorities battling strong winds to rescue vehicles.
Updated
The European Union should first sign a strategic partnership agreement with Ukraine instead of starting membership talks with the country, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán said on Friday, flagging a way to a possible compromise ahead of a crucial EU summit.
The 27 national EU leaders are due to decide in mid-December on whether to accept the European Commission’s recommendation to invite Kyiv to begin membership talks as soon as it meets final conditions, even as it fights to repel Russia’s invasion.
Any such decision requires unanimity of the bloc’s 27 members, with Hungary seen as the main potential obstacle, Reuters reported. The Hungarian prime minister has repeatedly said Budapest would not support the commission’s proposal in its present form.
Orban reiterated on Friday that several issues would need to be resolved before membership talks could start with Ukraine, saying it was impossible to assess what consequences Ukraine’s membership would have on the bloc.
“If we don’t know (what consequences it would have) then we should not start talks … So I will represent the view that the EU should first sign a strategic partnership agreement with Ukraine,” Orbán said in an interview on state radio.
“This (agreement) could last for up to five to 10 years, let’s bring them closer, as the gap is too wide now,” he said. “Let’s give time for us to work together, and when we see that we can work together, then let’s bring up the issue of membership.”
Updated
Russia says dual Russian-Italian national arrested for train bombing on behalf of Ukraine
Russian investigators said on Friday a dual Russian-Italian national had been detained for planting bombs on railway tracks as part of a sabotage campaign orchestrated by Ukrainian military intelligence.
After his arrest, the man, born in 1988 and a resident of Ryazan, confessed to planting homemade bombs that derailed a freight train in central Russia on 11 November, according to investigators. He was not named, Reuters reported.
“During questioning, the detainee confessed and said that in February 2023 he was recruited by an employee of the main intelligence directorate of the ministry of defence of Ukraine,” the investigative committee said.
The committee said the detained man admitted undergoing “sabotage training in Latvia with the direct participation of the Latvian special services.”
Reuters was unable to immediately verify any of the details other than that a freight train was derailed on 11 November near the town of Rybnoe, about 177km (110 miles) south-east of Moscow. Ukrainian military intelligence could not be reached for immediate comment.
Updated
Opening summary
Good morning and welcome to the Ukraine-Russia war blog. I’m Tom Ambrose and I’ll be bringing you all the latest news and analysis from the conflict throughout the day.
We start with news that the Ukrainian military shot down 18 out of 25 attack drones launched by Russia in its latest overnight strike, authorities have said.
Kyiv’s air force also reported destroying one out of two cruise missiles that had been launched.
There were no immediate reports of damage from the attack, which officials said was launched from south-western Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea and was aimed primarily at eastern and southern Ukraine.
Meanwhile, here is a round-up of the main headlines from the past 24 hours:
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for faster construction of fortifications in key sectors under pressure from Russian forces, particularly in eastern Ukraine, a focal point of Moscow’s advances, 21 months into its invasion. Zelenskiy issued his appeal after touring Ukrainian frontline positions in the north-east. “This of course means the greatest attention to the Avdiivka, Maryinka and other sectors in Donetsk region. In Kharkiv region, this means the Kupiansk sector and the Kupiansk-Lyman line,” he said in his nightly video address.
Hungary will not support any EU proposal to begin talks on making Ukraine a member of the bloc, a government minister said. Gergely Gulyas, the chief of staff to the Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán, said at a news conference in Budapest that it was premature to begin formal talks with Kyiv, and that Hungary would not consent to opening the discussions when EU leaders meet in mid-December.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detonated explosives on a railway line in Siberia that Russia uses for military supplies, a Ukrainian source told Reuters. The source, who declined to be identified, said four explosive devices were detonated overnight as a cargo train was moving through the Severomuysky tunnel in Buryatia region, which borders Mongolia. Russian sources acknowledged that a train had caught fire in the area, but made no mention of explosives.
Across the east and south of Ukraine, six people were killed in a spate of Russian attacks, with three more still missing, local officials said on Thursday. In the Kherson region, authorities said Russian shelling had killed three people in the village of Sadove. Two people were killed and three more, including a child, were trapped under rubble in the eastern Donetsk region after simultaneous Russian strikes on three towns, Ukraine’s emergency services said. An evening attack on the town of Toretsk in the eastern Donetsk region also killed one and injured two, the local prosecutor’s office said.
The US has been working with Ukraine to prepare for Russia’s expected winter attack, including helping to provide equipment and supplies to keep people from losing heat and electricity, said White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. He said the US expected Russia would try to destroy Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure this winter.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner accused Russia of refusing to agree new exchanges of prisoners of war after a stretch of three months in which no swaps have been reported. “All the initiatives, desires and actions of Ukraine regarding the return of our defenders from captivity are met by a Russian unwillingness to return its citizens,” Dmytro Lubinets said. He added that Russian prisoners held in Ukraine had expressed a wish to be exchanged. “No one from the Russian side wants to take them back,” he said.
EU countries are digging in against parts of the commission’s latest proposed sanctions on Russia, namely the so-called “no Russia clause”, retaliatory financial limits and enforcing sanctions on goods for personal use, six sources told Reuters. Some member states, which the sources declined to identify, say the new proposal goes too far and would backfire on EU global trade and ultimately fail in its aims.
Zelenskiy held phone calls with three European leaders; German chancellor Olaf Scholz, British prime minister Rishi Sunak and Bulgarian prime minister Nikolay Denkov. “I have a lot to thank our partners for,” Zelenskiy said. “Our agreements … are all being implemented. We have also outlined new joint steps.”
The Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, told a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) that the west was killing any chances of reviving the grouping, which he said was on the brink of collapse. Speaking in Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia, at a meeting which Ukraine and some of its allies had boycotted, Lavrov said: “There are no particular reasons for optimism at present. The OSCE is essentially being turned into an appendage of Nato and the European Union.
The European Union should take Ukraine’s military needs into account as it determines the future strategy of Europe’s defence industry, the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said. “Our strategy can only be complete if it also takes into account Ukraine’s needs and Ukraine’s industrial capacity,” von der Leyen said in a speech at the annual conference of the European Defence Agency.
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