11:37am: Zelensky asks Western leaders for wide range of weapons systems

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday asked Western leaders meeting in Latvia, including British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, to supply a wide range of weapons systems.

11:29am: Russia says it shot down US-made HARM missiles over Belgorod

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces shot down four US-made HARM anti-radiation missiles over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, in the space of 24 hours, the state-run TASS news agency reported.

One person died and several were injured by Ukrainian shelling in the region on Sunday morning, the region’s governor said.

11:19am: Power cuts in Kyiv, 10 Ukraine regions after Russian attacks 

Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said Monday that emergency shutdowns would be applied in the capital Kyiv and 10 other regions following a barrage of drone strikes from Russia.

“Enemy UAVs targeted energy facilities across the country overnight … Schedules for emergency shutdowns have been initiated in the Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovograd, Zhytomyr, Chernihiv, Cherkasy and Kyiv regions and in the city of Kyiv,” Ukrenergo said in a statement.

11:16am: Military readiness checks completed, Belarus says, ahead of planned Putin visit

Belarus’ defence ministry said on Monday it had completed a series of inspections of its armed forces’ military preparedness, hours ahead of a visit to Minsk by Belarus’ most important ally, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Weeks of military manoeuvres and inspections have raised fears in Kyiv that Belarus, which acted as a staging post for Russia to launch its invasion of Ukraine in February, could be preparing to take a more active role in the war once again.

9:55am: Kyiv region says Russian drone attack caused ‘fairly serious’ damage

Russia’s drone attack caused “fairly serious” damage in the Kyiv region on Monday, and three areas in the region have been left without a power supply, Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said.

Russia sent 35 “kamikaze” drones to attack Ukraine, Ukraine’s military said, some of which targeted the capital.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that “explosions” had occurred in the capital’s central Shevchenkivskyi and western Solomianskyi districts. He said critical infrastructure facilities were “damaged” but there were no known casualties. 

It was Moscow’s third air attack on Kyiv in six days.

7:44am: Russian troops to hold drills in Ukraine’s neighbour Belarus

Russian troops will conduct military exercises in Belarus, which neighbours Ukraine, the Interfax news agency said on Monday, citing the defence ministry in Moscow.

“The final assessment of the combat capability and combat readiness of the units will be given … after the battalion tactical exercises have been conducted,” Interfax quoted the ministry as saying.

It did not say when and where the drills will take place but the announcement comes hours before Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Minsk for talks with counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.

The Belarusian defence ministry said in October that 9,000 Russian troops were moving to the country as part of a “regional grouping” of forces to protect its borders.

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5:45am: Kyiv targeted in early morning drone attack, say authorities

Russia’s latest attacks hit “critical infrastructure” in and around Kyiv early on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said, adding air defence systems destroyed about 15 of the 20 drones directed at the capital.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said preliminary information suggested there were no deaths or injuries from the attack on the capital, and medics were working at the sites of the strikes in the Solomyanskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts.

“As a result of the attack on the capital, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged,” Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Energy and heating engineers are working to quickly stabilise the situation with energy and heat supply.”

A Reuters witness reported there was a fire as a result of the attack on the often targeted  central Shevchenkivskyi district.

The Solomyanskyi district in the western part of Kyiv is a busy transport hub, home to a train station and one of the city’s two passenger airports.

Oleskiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, which does not include the capital but surrounds it, said infrastructure and private houses were damaged by the night drone attacks.

2:30am: Ukraine watchful of borders as Putin to head to Belarus

President Volodymyr Zelensky said protecting Ukraine’s borders was a “constant priority” and his country was ready for all possible scenarios with Russia and its ally Belarus, which Kyiv has warned could be drawn into the 10-month war.

Zelensky, in his nightly video address to Ukrainians, also issued a fresh appeal to Western nations to provide Kyiv with better air defences as “one of the most powerful” steps to halt the Russian invasion.

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He also said Ukrainian forces were holding the eastern city of Bakhmut, where some of the fiercest fighting has been seen.

Air raid warnings again rang out over Kyiv and eastern Ukraine early on Monday, with videos of blasts and air defence systems shared on social media.

“Protecting our border, both with Russia and Belarus – is our constant priority,” Zelensky said after a meeting on Sunday of Ukraine’s top military command. “We are preparing for all possible defence scenarios.”

Zelensky made his remarks on the eve of a visit to Belarus by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s amid discussion of a possible new offensive by Moscow and suggestions it could originate in Belarus.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)

© France Médias Monde graphic studio

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