Ukraine news – live: Russia dodges question on US nuclear warning

The Kremlin refused to give any details about a cautionary message delivered by the director of the CIA to Moscow this week about the consequences of any Russian nuclear strike on Ukraine.

CIA director William Burns warned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons when they met in Ankara on Monday, a White House official said.

It was the first known high-level, face-to-face contact between representatives of Moscow and Washington since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

“We are not saying anything about the content of the negotiations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the meeting.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said only that the “questions discussed there were of a sensitive nature” and that Washington had requested the meeting. The SVR did not respond to a request for comment.

Key Points

• Kremlin says Kyiv doesn’t want to negotiate

• Russia ‘freezing Ukraine into submission’, says US

• Explosions rock Crimea – reports

• Heavy fighting underway in Donetsk, nearby regions

• More than 60 bodies found with signs of torture in Kherson – official

Three men guilty of murdering 298 people on MH17 flight with Russian-made missile

14:49 , Liam James

A Russian-made missile brought down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, a judge has ruled (Matt Mathers writes).

A Dutch court on Thursday convicted three suspects of murder for their role in shooting down the plane flying over Ukraine in 2014. One person was acquitted.

The convicted men, two Russian former intelligence officers and a Ukrainian separatist leader, were found guilty of downing the plane and killing all 298 people on board.

Three men guilty of murdering 298 people on MH17 flight with Russian-made missile

First snow fall points to tough winter for Kyiv

14:30 , Liam James

The first snow of the season made for pleasant scenes in a capital city that has as recently as last month seen civilians killed on the streets.

But the winter weather highlighted the difficulties residents of Kyiv will face in the coming months as Russia’s attacks on energy infrastructure sap the city’s power supplies.

Rolling blackouts are continuing across the capital, as they are elsewhere in Ukraine, with officials saying upwards of 40 per cent of the country’s power infrastructre has been damaged.

Russian strikes on Ukraine spotlight Moldova’s energy woes

14:00 , AP

Massive blackouts that temporarily hit more than a half-dozen cities across Moldova this week highlighted the impact Russia’s war in Ukraine is having on Europe’s poorest country.

The power outages happened Tuesday as the Russian military pounded infrastructure targets across Ukraine, which borders Moldova. Less than a week earlier, the European Union pledged €250m (£218m) to help the former Soviet republic tackle a severe energy crisis after Russia halved its natural gas supply.

Moldova became a candidate for EU membership in June, on the same day neighbouring Ukraine did.

Russian strikes on Ukraine spotlight Moldova’s energy woes

Blame for deadly Poland strike ‘belongs solely to Russia’, says UK’s Sunak

13:30 , Liam James

Blame for a missile hitting a Polish village close to the Ukrainian border “belongs solely to Russia”, British prime minister Rishi Sunak said.

Mr Sunak acknowledged the assessment of Polish and American investigators that the explosion, which killed two people, was caused by Ukrainian munitions deployed in self-defence.

But, speaking to the House of Commons, he repeated remarks made in tandem with Canada’s Justin Trudeau yesterday that Ukraine could not be blamed for trying to defend itself from a “barrage” of missiles launched by Russia.

He said: “During the bombardment of Ukraine on Tuesday an explosion took place in eastern Poland. The investigation into this incident is ongoing and it has our full support.

“As we’ve heard the Polish and American presidents say, it is possible the explosion was caused by Ukrainian munition which was deployed in self-defence.

“And whether or not this proves to be the case no blame can be placed on a country trying to defend itself against such a barrage. The blame belongs solely to Russia.”

Kremlin says Kyiv shifting the goalposts for peace talks

13:12 , Liam James

The Kremlin accused Kyiv of shifting the goalposts regarding possible peace talks, saying it could not imagine engaging in public negotiations with Ukraine.

In a briefing call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States was capable of taking Russia's concerns into account and could encourage Kyiv to resume negotiations if it wanted to.

Mr Peskov also said Ukraine had changed its position on whether it even wanted to negotiate with Moscow several times and could not be relied on.

“First they negotiate, then they refuse to negotiate, then they pass a law that prohibits any kind of negotiations, then they say they want negotiations, but public ones,” Peskov told reporters.

“Therefore it's difficult to imagine public negotiations. ... One thing is for sure: the Ukrainians do not want any negotiations,” he added.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky this week indicated Kyiv was not likely to push for peace talks anytime soon.

On a visit to recently liberated Kherson, he said: “We are ready for peace – but our peace ... For all our country, all our territory,” suggesting Kyiv would not enter into any talks in which Moscow sought to retain control over captured Ukrainian territory.

Washington’s leading military official, General Mark Milley, yesterday said it was up to Ukraine to decide when to return to negotiations, after the last known peace talks ended months ago.

Russia not considering nuclear weapons, says Kremlin

12:27 , Liam James

The Kremlin said no Russian officials were considering the use of nuclear weapons, according to Reuters.

CIA director William Burns cautioned Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, this week about the consequences of a Russian nuclear strike in Ukraine.

Western speculation over Russia’s potential for nuclear escalation has whirled throughout the war, particularly since Vladimir Putin said he would use “all available means” to defend Russia’s territorial intergrity, in what was seen a thinly veiled reference to Moscow’s nuclear arsenal.

Mr Putin himself last month denied having any intention of using nuclear weapons, saying “we see no need for that”.

Russia and US spy chiefs ‘discussed sensitive matters in Turkey meeting’

11:58 , Liam James

Russian and American spy chiefs discussed “sensitive” matters when they met in Turkey this week, Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said.

A White House official told the Associated Press ahead of the meeting in Ankara on Monday that CIA director William Burns would caution his Russian counterpart over the consequences of deploying a nuclear weapon in Ukraine.

The official said Ukrainian officials were briefed ahead of the meeting.

It was the first known high-level, face-to-face US-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February.

Mr Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, was sent to Moscow in late 2021 by President Joe Biden to caution Vladimir Putin about Moscow’s troop build-up around Ukraine.

“The contact [between Burns and Naryshkin] was initiated by the American side,” Ryabkov told RTVI. “The questions discussed there were of a sensitive nature.”

“Dialogue is going on but it is not of a systemic character,” he said. “But we are not standing there with our hat in our hand: the Americans need dialogue with us just as much as we need it with them.”

Ukraine investigators ‘likely to be allowed to visit Poland blast site'

11:30 , Liam James

Ukraine is likely to get the access it has demanded to the site in southeastern Poland where a missile killed two people, the Polish president’s top foreign policy adviser said.

“A Polish-American investigating team is on site,” adviser Jakub Kumoch told private broadcaster TVN 24.

“The Ukrainians asked for access to the site of the investigation. If both parties agree, and as far as I know there will be no objection from the American side, such access could be obtained soon.”

Polish president Andrzej Duda said yesterday that access to the site of the explosion would require the agreement of both countries leading the investigation, Poland and the United States.

The Head of Poland’s National Security Bureau, Jacek Siewiera, said as far as he was aware Duda was not opposed to having Ukrainian observers at the scene.

Poland and the US said investigations suggest the blast was caused by a stray Ukrainian missile.

Demining Donetsk: In pictures

11:10 , Liam James

Ukrainian sappers are at work in recaptured areas of Donetsk searching for unexploded mines left after the retreat of Russian forces.

The Halo Trust, an NGO for de-mining operations in conflict zones around the world, said Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have been littered with mines in the eight years of conflict between separatists and the Kyiv government.

Halo said it had recorded 2,000 related deaths in the regions collectively known as the Donbas since 2014.

Latest photos from Poland blast site as probe continues

10:15 , Liam James

Inspectors remained at the site of a missile strike which killed two in Poland after a day of international high drama sparked by accusations that Russia was to blame for the blast.

The strike on the village Przewodow, near the Ukrainian border, was later assessed to have likely been caused by a stray Ukrainian missile defending against Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

Forensic investigators maintained their presence in Przewodow this morning.

Four killed in Zaporizhzhia strike, says Ukraine

09:48 , Liam James

A strike that hit a residential building killed at least four people overnight in Vilniansk in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, according to Ukrainian officials.

Rescuers were combing the rubble for any other victims, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said.

The Russian rout from Kherson city has forced a redeployment of troops elsewhere in Ukraine, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said.

Moscow may be planning to launch another offensive in Kharkiv in the north, where they were pushed back by Ukraine earlier in the conflict, he added.

Four dead as Russia fires on major missile factory, say Ukraine officials

09:15 , Liam James

Russia killed four people as it fired on a major missile factory and a gasworks in Ukraine today, Ukrainian officials said.

Explosions were heard in several parts of the country, including the southern port of Odesa, the capital Kyiv and the central city of Dnipro, and civilians were urged to take shelter as air raid warnings were issued.

Dnipro mayor Borys Filatov said four people were killed in the strikes.

Targets included the huge Pivdenmash missile factory in Dnipro, Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine’s prime minister, said.

“Missiles are flying over Kyiv right now. Now they are bombing our gas production [facilities], they are bombing our enterprises in Dnipro and Pivdenmash,” Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted him as telling a conference.

Lviv adjusts to life with lights out

08:44 , Liam James

Residents of Lviv, the largest city in Ukraine's west, have been forced to adjust to life with minimal power after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure severely depleted the region's electricity output.

Lviv city's mayor Andriy Sadovyi said on Telegram as much as 80 per cent of the city was without electricity after a wave of Russian missile strikes on Monday.

By Tuesday, Lviv's regional administrator Maksym Koztsky said power was back for most, though only 30 per cent of people could use it at one time, leading to rolling blackouts.

Mr Koztsky said it would take 8 months to one year to restore the region's energy facilities to pre-war output.

Black sea grain deal extended despite Russian threats

08:17 , Liam James

A deal allowing vital food supplies to be shipped from Ukraine across the Black Sea has been extended, weeks after Russia threatened to pull out over what it claimed was an attack on its navy in an agreed safe zone.

Antonio Guterres, the United Nations secretary general, said he welcomed the renewed Black Sea grain deal, which was first agreed in July to end a blockade of Ukraine’s ports which was sending food prices soaring and threatening starvation for many around the world.

Ukraine is one of the world’s main exporters of grain, sunflower oil and fertiliser.

The deal, facilitated by Turkey and agreed by Russia, Ukraine and the UN, will be in place for another 120 days, according to Ukraine’s agriculture minister.

Blasts heard in Crimea – reports

07:52 , Liam James

Explosions were heard in Crimea late last night, according to Ukrainian state media.

Ukrinform quoted local social media as saying air defence systems were activated in Dhanzkoi, a town in the north of the territory annexed by Russia in 2014.

Telegram channel Crimean Wind was quoted as saying: “According to our sources, an attack targeted a Russian military airfield in Dzhankoy.”

Eastern European news channel Nexta TV published footage alongside reports of the blasts.

Russia ‘freezing Ukraine into submission’, says US

07:28 , Liam James

Washington’s ambassador to the UN condemned Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure in a tense meeting of the Security Council (UNSC) following a deadly missile strike on Polish soil that was initially feared to have been launched from Moscow.

Western assessments later suggested it was a stray Ukrainian missile but Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine and Poland of using the episode “to provoke a direct clash between Russia and Nato”.

US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council: “This tragedy would never have happened but for Russia’s needless invasion of Ukraine and its recent missile assaults against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.

Ms Thomas-Greenfield called Monday’s barrage of more than 90 missiles that rained down on Kyiv and other cities, targeting Ukraine’s energy supply, “a deliberate tactic” by Russian president Vladimir Putin.

“He seems to have decided that if he can’t seize Ukraine by force, he will try to freeze the country into submission,” she said.

Russian missile strikes Ukraine’s Odesa - Ukraine military

07:03 , Arpan Rai

Russian missiles have struck Ukraine‘s southern port city of Odesa this morning, Ukrainian authorities said.

Ukrainian media also reported a series of blasts in the city of Dnipro amid continuous attacks from Russia in other parts of the country.

Elsewhere in the rest of the country, air sirens have been reportedly blared.

Russia didn’t take America's phone call after Poland missile strike

06:38 , Arpan Rai

A top US military officer said that his effort to speak with his Russian counterpart was spurned yesterday after the attack in Poland as he tried reaching out but was not able to get through.

Army general Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said his staff tried to get Russia’s top-ranking military official general Valery Gerasimov on the phone to discuss the incident but with “no success”.

The US and other top leaders now say they believe the strike was probably launched by Ukrainian air defences to defend against a Russian missile bombardment. But uncertainty swirled for hours. Several US defence officials said it isn’t unusual for Gerasimov to not be available for a call.

Read the full story here:

Russia didn't take US phone call after Poland missile strike

Ukraine’s national infrastructure now Russia’s target in war - MoD

06:29 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has said Russia’s key target in its strategic campaign is to degrade Ukrainian’s national infrastructure even if it means Moscow has to use up its reserves of conventional cruise missiles.

Continued strikes at this scale are drawing deeply upon Russia’s reserves of conventional cruise missiles, it said.

The defence ministry was referring to the Russian attacks on Ukraine over Tuesday afternoon where it carried out up to 80 long range missile strikes, mostly against the power infrastructure targets across Ukraine.

“This is likely the largest number of strikes that Russia has conducted in a single day since the first week of the invasion,” the MoD said.

“Munitions were launched from air, sea and land-based platforms. Although a large proportion of missiles were successfully intercepted, Ukraine is facing a significant decrease in the power available from its national grid. This will impact upon civilian access to communications, heating and water supplies,” it added.

The Poland missile incident is a reminder of how wars can escalate

05:44 , Arpan Rai

The airborne missile that landed in Poland close to the Ukrainian border – which killed two Polish civilians and caused some damage to property – serves as a reminder that in war zones accidents happen.

Wise generals tend to hold to the axiom that “first reports are usually wrong”, something that rings particularly true after the grim turn the Ukraine war took on Tuesday.

The Polish incident, then, should also stand as a warning that wars can escalate all too easily through misadventure and misjudgement. The irony is that this most perilous moment in the conflict comes just as the fighting will wind down as winter draws in and temperatures drop below freezing.

Read The Independent’s editorial here.

More than 60 bodies found with signs of torture in Kherson - official

05:26 , Arpan Rai

At least 63 bodies have been recovered with signs of torture in recently liberated Kherson city, Ukraine’s interior minister said today.

“Now, 63 bodies have been discovered in Kherson region, but we must understand that the search has only just started so many more dungeons and burial places will be uncovered,” minister Denys Monastyrsky said, reported the Interfax Ukraine news agency.

Kherson emerged from eight months of Russian captivity last week. The strategic city was the first and only regional capital to fall within days of the Russian invasion in February.

Mr Monastyrsky said law enforcement bodies have so far uncovered 436 instances of war crimes during Russia’s occupation of Kherson.

Authorities have also found 11 places of detention, including four where torture was practised.

Zelensky warns on mined land in Kherson: ‘Do not enter’

04:51 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a warning to locals entering retaken land in Kherson and other liberated regions, saying residents should not enter an area if it has not been checked by sappers.

“Once again, I will repeat to everyone in the de-occupied territory: please be very careful! Russia wants to kill even after fleeing from our land. Therefore, you need to be very careful,” he said.

Mr Zelensky has asked locals to report suspicious findings to the emergency services and the police.

“If a building has not yet been checked by sappers, please do not enter it. If a road has not been checked yet, please skip it,” he said.

Members of a de-mining team were seen clearing mines and unexploded ordnance in Kherson on Wednesday.

Bush calls Zelensky ‘tough dude,’ says Ukraine can win

04:33 , Arpan Rai

George Bush called Ukraine’s president a “tough dude” and said that he believes Volodymyr Zelensky can win the war against Russia — as long as they get the support they need.

“Absolutely they can win, they’re winning,” the former US president said at a conference held at his Dallas institute.

“But they won’t win if the United States and the free world says it’s not worth it anymore.”

Read the full story here:

Bush calls Zelenskyy ‘tough dude,’ says Ukraine can win

More than 400 children killed in Russian invasion of Ukraine - official

04:06 , Arpan Rai

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has killed 431 children and injured 835 others, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said yesterday.

The data does not include the casualties that have occurred in the Russian-occupied regions where the attacks are still underway.

The nine-month old siege on Ukraine has damaged 2,719 educational facilities, completely destroying 332 of them, the statement read.

At least 46,888 war crimes have been recorded so far by the Ukrainian officials.

Heavy fighting underway in Donetsk, nearby regions

04:05 , Arpan Rai

Ukraine’s eastern region is witnessing heavy fighting this week where most of the Russian offensive is concentrated, officials said today.

The towns of Pavlivka, Vuhledar, Maryianka and Bakhmut have been targeted in the Russian offensive, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in an online video.

Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the fighting in his nightly address, stating that not much has changed in Donetsk.

“Reports and messages from the Donetsk region are unchanged. Fierce battles continue at the same points as before. We hold our positions despite dozens of attacks,” Mr Zelensky said last night.

This comes after Moscow’s withdrawal from the southern city of Kherson which was the only regional capital taken by Russia in the nearly nine-month old war. Experts have said that Russia will now send the withdrawn forces to Donetsk to focus on capturing territory there.

“These (Russian) troops now have in part been redirected from Kherson region and ... will be allocated to the ‘liberation’ of Donetsk and Luhansk” in the eastern industrial region known as the Donbas, Mr Arestovych said.

He added that the Kherson operation is “turning into a regrouping” as Moscow’s troops are starting to redeploy in Donetsk.

03:28 , Arpan Rai

Good morning, welcome to our coverage of the Ukraine war on Thursday, 17 November.