Ukrainian forces swept further across territory seized from fleeing Russian troops on Monday, as Moscow grappled with the consequences of the collapse of its occupation force in northeastern Ukraine.
FIGHTING
* Ukrainian forces have advanced north from Kharkiv to within 50 km (30 miles) of the border with Russia and are also pressing to the south and east in the same region, Ukrainian chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said.
* Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine had retaken more than 3,000 sq km (1,160 sq miles) this month.
* Ukraine’s general staff said its forces had recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in just the past day
* Britain’s defence ministry said Russia had probably ordered the withdrawal of its troops from the entire occupied Kharkiv region west of the Oskil River.
* The Kremlin said it saw no prospect of peace talks and that what it calls the special military operation in Ukraine would achieve its goals.
* Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region said Ukrainian forces had outnumbered Russian and pro-Russian forces by eight times during the lightening counteroffensive over the weekend.
* Russia’s defence ministry ordered troops to leave the area around the city of Izium, TASS said on Saturday. It also quoted the Russian-installed chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of the province as telling residents to evacuate to Russia.
* Russian nationalists called angrily for immediate changes by President Vladimir Putin to ensure ultimate victory in the Ukraine war, after Moscow was forced to abandon Izium.
* Ukraine needs to secure against a possible counterattack the territory it has recaptured from Russian forces, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov was quoted as saying on Sunday. Ukrainian troops were tired after their six-day offensive but morale was good, he told the Financial Times.
* Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield reports.
NUCLEAR PLANT
* Operations at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been fully stopped as a safety measure, its state operator said. The move followed restoration of the backup power line allowing the plant to be connected to Ukraine’s electricity grid.
* The IAEA nuclear watchdog confirmed the restoration, allowing the plant to draw power from the grid to cool its reactors.
* The presidents of Russia and France held talks about plant safety, with Putin blaming Ukrainian forces, while Emmanuel Macron pointed the finger at Russian troops.
* Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said Russian attacks had hit Kharkiv’s CHPP-5 electricity station, one of the country’s largest.
DIPLOMACY, TRADE
* Russia was doing “everything” to break Ukrainian and European resolve this winter, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told a conference attended by Germany’s foreign minister.
* Indonesian President Joko Widodo is considering joining India and China in buying Russian oil to offset the growing pressure of rising energy costs, the Financial Times said.
* The International Monetary Fund is looking for ways to provide emergency funding to countries facing war-induced food price shocks, sources told Reuters.
