Russia-Ukraine updates: Moscow denies targeting Kyiv in attacks

European Union chief Charles Michel will be meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week to seek help in ending Russia’s war on Ukraine and address the economic imbalance between China and Europe.

“We will discuss global challenges as well as subjects of common interest,” Michel tweeted as he announced his trip.

Michel is expected to meet with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese People’s Congress during this trip as well.

A European official said it was critical for Europe that China not provide weapons to Russia and not help Moscow evade EU and US economic sanctions.

While much of Ukraine on Thursday remained without heat or power after the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy grid so far, residents in Kyiv were warned to brace for further attacks and stock up on water, food and other supplies.

Ukrenergo, which oversees Ukraine’s national power grid, said 50 percent of demand in Ukraine was not being met as of 7pm Kyiv time (17:00 GMT) after key energy facilities were hit and it could not say when everything would be fully restored.

Sixty percent of residents in Kyiv were without power amid temperatures well below freezing, mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic have publicly criticised Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, exposing tensions within central Europe’s Visegrad Group that have been intensified by the war in Ukraine.

The unity within the Visegrad Group has been tested by the war as Orban continues to oppose harsh European sanctions on Russia including those on energy supplies.

“This is not the best of times for the [Visegrad] format, and Hungary’s different attitudes are significantly influencing and complicating the situation,” Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.

“I make no secret of the fact that the views of the Hungarian prime minister, some of which can even be described as provocative, do not help this cooperation to proceed as well as in the past,” Fiala added.

The head of the International Energy Agency has said that Europe will be able to cope with the current crunch on natural gas supply because of the reserves it has, however, the situation doesn’t look too promising for next winter.

Speaking at an energy symposium in Berlin hosted by the German government, Fatih Birol said that, barring unforeseen events, “Europe will go through this winter with some economic and social headaches, bruises here and there” as a result of efforts to wean itself off Russian gas and the wider increase in energy costs resulting from the war in Ukraine.

Birol said that by next year, Russian gas supplies to Europe may end completely and emphasised that the European nations need to unite and start immediately preparing for next year’s situation.

With 75 percent of Russia’s gas exports and 55 percent of its oil going to Europe before the war, Moscow will also need to find new markets for its output, he said.

A fake video, bearing a logo similar to that of Al Jazeera and claiming that drunk Ukrainian fans in Qatar drew Nazi symbols on the World Cup mascot, has been circling since Tuesday.

The video claims that Ukrainians destroyed 10 posters near the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha before they were detained.

But how did this video come about?

Read everything you need to know here. 

pic.twitter.com/SMNaxQIygT

— Al Jazeera PR (@AlJazeera) November 24, 2022

The first reactor of Ukraine’s Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant has been reconnected to the country’s power grid, regional Governor Serhiy Hamaliy said.

Ukrainian officials said the Khmelnytskyi plant disconnected from Ukraine’s grid on Wednesday after Russian raids on the country’s power system.

The European Parliament moved to designate Russia as a “state sponsor of terrorism” on Wednesday due to the destruction of civilian infrastructure that violates international law.

The label, welcomed by Ukraine, is not legally binding because the EU does not have the framework to support it.

However, Russia has rejected the label, and the European Parliament reported that its website suffered a cyberattack claimed by a pro-Kremlin group.

Read more on the EU’s new designation.

President Joe Biden says a price cap on Russian oil that is proposed by the United States and its Western allies was in play, adding that he had spoken to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on the issue.

“It’s in play,” Biden told reporters during a Thanksgiving holiday visit to a fire station on Nantucket Island.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Western attempts to cap the price of Russian oil during a phone call with Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the new Iraqi prime minister, the Kremlin said, according to the state news agency TASS.

TASS reported that Putin had told al-Sudani that a price cap would seriously affect the global energy market.

Russia’s defence ministry says that Ukraine has released 50 Russian soldiers who had been captured in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides.

Earlier Thursday, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine’s Donetsk region said Russia would release 50 captured Ukrainians.

Following their retreat from Kherson, Russian forces are unsure what Ukraine’s next steps will be.

With Russian troops still remaining in the Kherson region and in Zaporizhzhia and creating stronger defence lines, any move to recapture Crimea will be difficult for Ukraine.

Read more here.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, says armed forces “launched a massive air, sea and land-based high-precision long-range weapons attack against the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities”.

“I would like to emphasise that not a single strike was made on targets within the city of Kyiv,” Konashenkov said in a daily video briefing.

“All the destruction announced by the Kyiv regime in the city was the result of the fall of missiles of foreign and Ukrainian air defence systems located in residential areas of the Ukrainian capital,” he said.

Russia’s defence ministry has denied striking any targets inside Kyiv during Wednesday’s air strikes and said the damage in the capital resulted from Ukrainian and foreign air defence systems.

On Wednesday, Kyiv’s mayor said that civilian infrastructure was hit by an air strike that killed at least six people and caused blackouts across the country.

With the US aiding Ukraine in the war with Ukraine, the Pentagon is rethinking its weapons stockpiles.

Much of Ukraine’s firepower is being supplied through US government-funded weapons pushed almost weekly to the front lines.

But, US defence production lines aren’t scaled to supply a major land war, with some lines, like the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, previously shut down.

On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced an additional round of aid that will provide 20 million more rounds of small arms ammunition to Kyiv.

“We’ve not been in a position where we’ve got only a few days of some critical munition left,” Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told reporters this month.

“But we are now supporting a partner who is.”

The Pentagon this month announced a $14.4m contract to speed production of new HIMARS to replenish its stocks.

“This conflict has revealed that munitions production in the United States and with our allies is likely insufficient for major land wars,” said Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Associated Press.

Polish leaders say the air-defence system which Germany offered Poland would be best given to Ukraine to help it protect itself against Russian strikes.

Earlier this week, Germany offered Warsaw Eurofighter planes and Patriot defence systems to help defend Poland’s airspace after a stray missile exploded in a border village.

Poland’s Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak initially said he received Germany’s offer with “satisfaction”.

However, following Wednesday’s air attack, the Polish leader said it would be better if the defence systems were placed in western Ukraine.

The head of Poland’s ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called Germany’s offer “interesting,” but said he believed “it would be best for Poland’s security if Germany handed the equipment to the Ukrainians, trained Ukrainian teams, with the caveat that the batteries would be placed in Ukraine’s west”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Issac Herzog, about deepening ties and the grain initiative.

On Twitter, Zelenskyy said, “I had a phone call with President of Israel Isaac Herzog. I hope for deepening Ukraine and Israeli cooperation after the formation of the government.

“I also briefed about the needs of our energy industry and invited to join the #GrainfromUkraine initiative.”

The two nations have a complicated relationship – in September, Zelenskyy decried Israel’s refusal to provide Kyiv anti-missile systems.

I had a phone call with President of Israel @Isaac_Herzog. I hope for deepening 🇺🇦-🇮🇱 cooperation after the formation of the government. I also briefed about the needs of our energy industry and invited to join the #GrainfromUkraine initiative.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 24, 2022

Ukraine’s grain exports are slowing down after the deal was extended last week, and one Ukrainian envoy has placed part of the blame on Russia’s reluctance to speed up ship inspections.

Since the agreement was extended beyond November 19, no more than five ships a day have departed from Ukraine, UN data show, down from previous weeks and months when up to 10 left the country.

UN spokeswoman Ismini Palla said vessel flows were affected by past uncertainty over extending the deal, poor Istanbul weather conditions for inspections, and a rotation of new staff and inspectors at a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC).

Here are four maps, which we update daily, charting the latest war developments.

Russia and Ukraine will hand over 50 prisoners of war each, the Moscow-backed administrator of Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said.

Pushilin announced the decision on Telegram and said, “Today we are returning 50 of our Russian fighters from Ukrainian dungeons. We are giving the same amount to Ukraine, mostly VES.”

Russia does not plan to supply oil and gas to countries supporting a price cap on Russian oil, the Kremlin said, but will make a final decision once it analyses all the figures.

“As of now, we stand by President (Vladimir) Putin’s position that we will not supply oil and gas to the countries which would set (the cap) and join the cap,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told his daily call with reporters.

“But we need to analyse everything before we formulate our position.”

G7 countries are considering putting a price cap on Russian oil at $65 to $70 a barrel.