2:09pm: Paris Ukraine conference raises just over 1 billion euros

France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday said parties to an international conference for Ukraine pledged payments of just over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukraine’s allies gathered in Paris earlier on Tuesday that he needed at least 800 million euros ($840 million) in urgent winter energy aid as Russian forces target civilian infrastructure across the country.

2:08pm: Air raid alerts issued across Ukraine

Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine on Tuesday after warnings by the country’s leaders that Russia could launch a new wave of missile and drone strikes, but there were no immediate reports of attacks.

Russia has carried out several waves of attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure since October, causing power outages across the country.

Several minutes after the first air raid alerts were issued on Tuesday, there had been no reports of missiles being fired at Ukraine.

Ukrainian media said the alerts may have been triggered by MiG fighter jets that took off from Ryazan, near Russia’s border with Ukraine, and flew towards Belarus.

1:42pm: Belarus appoints new foreign minister, air force chief 

Belarus on Tuesday named a new foreign minister and air force head, as the country conducts a flurry of military activity that have raised fears it could take a more active stance in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

Minsk named Sergei Aleinik as its new foreign minister, the state-run Belta news agency reported, to fill the position left empty after the death of Vladimir Makei last month. Aleinik was previously first deputy foreign minister.

Andrei Lukyanovich, previously deputy head of the air force, was promoted to head of Belarus’ air force and air defence units, Belta said.

11:55am: Russia says no heavy weaponry at Zaporizhzhia

Russia said on Tuesday it had not placed any heavy weapons at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.  Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian forces of using the nuclear facility, which Russia seized in the first days of the conflict, as a de facto weapons depot.

Fighting over the nuclear plant in the 10-month conflict has raised fears of a possible Chernobyl-style nuclear disaster, with Kyiv and Moscow accusing each other of behaving recklessly. Both sides have accused each other of shelling the plant, which is Europe’s largest nuclear power station.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters that Russia remains in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is trying to broker a demilitarized zone around the power station.

He was responding to earlier comments from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said an agreement had been reached on removing heavy weapons from the power plant.

10:24am: Ukraine needs €800 million in emergency energy sector aid, says Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the international aid conference on Tuesday that Ukraine needed emergency aid for its energy sector totalling around 800 million euros. 

“Of course it is a very high amount, but the cost is less than the cost of a potential blackout,” Zelensky told the gathering in Paris via video link. “I hope that decisions will be made accordingly.”

10:10am: Ukraine needs electricity generators, Zelensky tells donor conference

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday addressed the donor conference in Paris via video link and said his country is in desperate need of electricity generators as Russia continues to target its civilian infrastructure.

Zelensky said 12 million Ukrainians are currently suffering power outages. 

“Generators have become as necessary as armoured vehicles and bullet-proof jackets,” he said.

9:50am: France’s Macron says talks to remove heavy weaponry from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear site

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday that there is an agreement on removing heavy weapons from Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and that talks were underway on the modalities around this.

“We managed to protect Chernobyl and our goal is to protect Zaporizhzhia. The coming weeks will be crucial,” he said.

9:42am: Donor conference to get Ukraine though winter kicks off in Paris

A donor conference has kicked off in Paris in a bid to help keep Ukraine powered, fed, warm and moving in the face of Russia’s sustained aerial bombardments that have plunged millions into the cold and dark during winter.

The conference, which has gathered delegations from 47 countries, is expected to raise and help coordinate many tens of millions of dollars of aid — both financial and in kind — to be rushed in coming weeks and months to Ukraine to help its beleaguered civilian population survive winter’s freezing temperatures and long nights.

>> Paris conference to put Ukrainian civil society at ‘heart of humanitarian response’

9:25am: Russia, Ukraine both claim battlefield successes in Donetsk, but say situation difficult

Russia and Ukraine said on Tuesday that the situation on the battlefield in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk was difficult and claimed successes in repelling each other’s attacks.

“A little more than 50 percent of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated,” Denis Pushilin, Russian-installed administrator of the portion controlled by Moscow, told Russian state-owned news agency RIA. Ukraine’s top military command, meanwhile, said in its daily battlefield update that its forces repelled Russian in 10 areas of the region.

Fierce fighting in the region in recent weeks has left unclear which parts of Donetsk – illegally annexed by Moscow in September – are under Russian and Ukrainian control.

Britain’s defence ministry said Russia was still likely to be planning deeper advances within Donetsk, but cast doubts on its ability to do so. “It is highly unlikely that the Russian military is currently able to generate an effective striking force capable of retaking these areas,” it said. “Russian ground forces are unlikely to make operationally significant advances within the next several months.”

9:16am: Russian rouble slides to over 6-month low vs euro

The Russian rouble dropped to its weakest against the euro since late May on Tuesday, hurt by relatively low oil prices and the prospect of lower export revenue due to the price cap on Russian oil which came into force this month.

“The rouble has weakened against all major competitors,” said Otkritie Research in a note. “The sanctions theme continues to put pressure on the Russian currency.”

Russia’s economy and government finances are set to struggle under the weight of the European Union’s embargo of Russian oil exports and a $60-a-barrel price cap imposed by the G7, the European Union and Australia.

8:36am: Belarus carries out inspection of troop combat readiness

Belarus has launched an unannounced inspection of its troops’ combat readiness, its defence ministry said on Tuesday.

“The activities will be comprehensive in nature; troops will have to move to the designated areas as soon as possible, carry out their engineering equipment, organise protection and defence, and set up bridge crossings over the rivers Neman and Berezina,” the defence ministry said.

It added that military equipment and personnel will be moved and movement along certain public roads would be restricted.

8:27am: Russian town of Klintsy shelled ‘by Ukraine’, governor says

The town of Klintsy in Russia’s southern Bryansk region was shelled overnight by Ukraine, the regional governor claimed Tuesday, adding that there were no casualties or damage.

“As a result of the work of the air defence systems of the Russian Armed Forces, the missile was destroyed, some parts hit the territory of an industrial zone,” Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram.

Klintsy is a town of around 60,000 people, about 45 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

The report has not been confirmed.

7:21am: Putin, Xi ‘to hold talks by year-end’

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold talks to discuss the events of 2022 in late December, Russian business daily Vedomosti reports.

Citing an unnamed source close to the Russian presidential administration, the newspaper said it is unlikely the meeting will be held face-to-face. “Details are being worked out,” the source told Vedomosti.

Russia has moved closer to China since sending its armed forces into Ukraine in February.

5:06am: France’s Macron engineers new diplomatic push for Ukraine

Tuesday’s international donors conference in Paris is intended to provide Kyiv with some immediate aid, both in financing and equipment. It comes in response to Russian war operations in recent weeks that have focused on civilian infrastructure and are aimed at “making the civilian population lose hope,” according to Macron.

The French president has been championing tougher sanctions against Moscow Since the war began and has stayed in regular touch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Macron has been criticised in recent months by Ukraine and some other European countries who feel he has not kept sufficient distance from the Kremlin. He is one of the few Western leaders to have maintained contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as part of a long-term geopolitical strategy. He has repeatedly said he would talk to Putin whenever it was required to avoid an escalation of the conflict.

11:45pm: EU reaches deal on Ukraine aid

The European Union reached a deal in principle to send an 18 billion euro ($18.93 billion) financial aid package to Ukraine and approve a minimum tax on major corporations in a big move that narrowed a rift between the bloc and recalcitrant member Hungary.

“Megadeal!,” the EU’s Czech presidency said on Twitter. The deal is still tentative because it needs to be signed off on but no major obstacles are expected.

The EU as a whole will be able to present a united front backing Ukraine after unseemly scenes of political brinkmanship had delayed the process for long and left a needy ally in the lurch and facing a major struggle to make financial commitments next year.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

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