Live blog: Ukraine says three Russian officers killed in occupied Melitopol

Sunday, November 12, 2023

1226 GMT — Ukraine has said a blast triggered by "local resistance movements" in the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol the previous day killed Russian military officers at a headquarters of the occupation authorities.

Melitopol, with a pre-war population of around 150,000 people, was captured early after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year and now lies some dozens of miles behind the frontline further north.

"At least three officers of the Russian guard were eliminated" as a result of the "revenge action, carried out by representatives of the local resistance movement," the intelligence service of Ukraine's defence ministry said on Telegram.

AFP was not able to independently confirm the claims.

More updates 👇

1226 GMT — Russia ramps up attacks on key cities in eastern Ukraine

Russian forces have ramped up attacks in eastern Ukraine in an attempt to gain ground near two key front line cities, Ukrainian military officials have said.

Moscow's troops have begun a push to regain territory near Bakhmut, the eastern mining city that was the site of the war’s bloodiest battle before falling into Russian hands in May, the head of Ukraine’s ground forces wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Ukrainian troops had recaptured the heights over Bakhmut and made some advances to the city’s west, north and south since Kiev launched its summer counteroffensive.

“Toward Bakhmut, the Russians have become more active and are trying to recapture previously lost positions... Enemy attacks are being repelled,” Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in a Telegram update.

0928 GMT — Ukraine 'retakes' village bordering Russia in Kharkiv region

Ukraine has claimed that it retook control of a village in the country’s Kharkiv region bordering Russia.

Border guards raised a blue-yellow flag in the settlement of Topoli bordering Russia in the Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said in a statement.

The statement further said that Topoli is located in the “gray zone” on the frontline between Ukraine and Russia.

Russian officials have not yet commented on the claim, and independent verification of Ukraine’s claim is difficult due to the ongoing war.

0617 GMT — Ukraine says it has enough resources to overcome winter

Ukraine will have enough energy resources to get through the coming winter, but an expected surge in Russian attacks may disrupt the supply networks, Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko has said.

"We have enough energy resources, in this regard, we feel at peace," Galushchenko told Ukraine's public television. "The question is how much future attacks can affect supplies."

In the past few weeks, Russia attacked Ukrainian infrastructure 60 times, Kiev said on Wednesday, raising concerns that Moscow may have already started targeting the power grid for a second winter at war.

Last winter, thousands of Russian drones and missiles hit power infrastructure, causing sweeping blackouts.

0001 GMT — Germany set to double its Ukraine military aid under Scholz plan

German chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition has agreed to double German military aid for Ukraine next year to $8.54 billion, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

If approved by the parliament in Berlin, where Scholz's parties hold a majority, the boost would lift Germany's defence spending beyond the 2 percent of gross domestic product target pledged by all North Atlantic Treaty Organization members, the report added.

Lawmakers of Scholz's Social Democrats, the Free Democrats and the Green party agreed on the increase in negotiations over the proposed 2024 federal budget this week, Bloomberg News reported.

Germany's Ministry of Defense could not be immediately reached for comment.

A European Union plan to spend up to $21.4 billion on military aid for Ukraine was met with resistance from EU countries.

0157 GMT — Latvia says West must arm Ukraine to keep Russia threat from growing

Latvia's president says Russia is planning for a long war in Ukraine, and he has a message for countries wavering on continuing military support to Kiev: Keep supplying arms, or the Ukrainians will lose, and Russia will have a green light for threatening others in the future.

Edgars Rinkevics said in an interview with The Associated Press that "it is important to actually fight for international peace, and peace in Europe, because if we stop Russia in Ukraine, then Russia is not going to be able to challenge other countries."

He said it is important for the West to support both Ukraine and Israel against attacks on "our values" and the international order.

For our live updates from Saturday (November 11), click here.