Vladimir Putin has cancelled his annual speech due to an "unwillingness to answer boring questions", Russian political analyst claims; Russian and Chinese leaders to 'hold talks' in late December. Listen to the latest edition of Ukraine War Dairies as you scroll.
Putin's speech cancelled due to 'psychological unwillingness' to 'answer boring questions'
As we reported yesterday, the Russian president is not planning to hold his annual year-end speech - the first time he is not doing so in more than a decade.
The decision has raised speculation, as there have been repeated reports of disquiet in the Kremlin over failures in the Ukraine war.
But a Russian political analyst has jumped to Vladimir Putin's defence and tried to provide an explanation of why he will not be addressing the nation.
Tatiana Stanovaya says the Russian president simply does not want to "waste" time on "little things" such as news conferences as he is focusing his energy on global issues.
"I do not think that Putin has nothing to say, especially since he has been talking a lot lately. Rather, a psychological unwillingness to 'report', answer boring and routine questions, waste time preparing, play a good dad, and so on."
She adds that Mr Putin will see "no point" communicating with his domestic audience for now, and can let his subordinates do it.
Agreement made on removing heavy weapons from nuclear plant, Macron says
French President Emmanuel Macron has offered an update on Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, saying an agreement to move heavy weapons from the facility has been made.
Russia has occupied the nuclear plant since March and is storing weapons and troops inside the facility.
The UN's nuclear watchdog has been involved in talks with Russia and Ukraine to protect the plant, which is Europe's largest.
Mr Macron said talks are currently underway on how to remove the weapons from inside the plant.
"We managed to protect Chornobyl and our goal is to protect Zaporizhzhia. The coming weeks will be crucial," he said.
The French president is currently hosting an international conference in Paris to provide aid to Ukraine during freezing winter temperatures
Russian town hosting military base shelled overnight, Moscow says
The town of Klintsy - about 28 miles from the Ukrainian border - was shelled overnight, according to a Russian official.
Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Russia's southern Bryansk region, blamed the attack on Ukraine and said 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," he said.
A Russian military base is nearby and is thought to have been hit by a Ukrainian missile back in June.
Around 60,000 people live in Klintsy.
Sky News cannot immediately verify the report. ... Russia and China to hold end-of-year talks - report
Vladimir Putin might not be making his annual end-of-year speech, but he will be summing up the year in talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
A diplomatic source told Russian newspaper Vedomosti the Russian and Chinese leaders are preparing for a conversation in late December.
It is unlikely to be held face-to-face and will instead involve video conferencing, the news outlet said.
The pair are reportedly expected to discuss what has happened over the year, as well as political interaction for at least the next five years.
They have held face-to-face talks twice this year, in February and in September.
China has been a key ally for Russia and Moscow is likely to want to draw its partner closer.
However, there have been some indications that China is not entirely happy with how the conflict in Ukraine is going. For example, in November, a US official claimed Beijing was "embarrassed" by Russia's military operations.
Beijing has continued to buy up cheap oil from Moscow, but has consistently denied providing any weapons.
Belarus launches unannounced inspection of troops' combat readiness
Belarus has launched an unannounced inspection of its troops' combat readiness, its defence ministry has said this morning.
"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 ministry said.
It added that military equipment and personnel would be moved and movement along certain public roads would be restricted.
As discussed here yesterday, Belarus has repeatedly issued statements that indicate it may be willing to involve its military in the conflict on behalf of allies Russia.
However, analysts believe there is very little chance of president Alexander Lukashenko actually ordering such a measure.
An assessment by the Institute for the Study of War over the weekend said: "The purpose of these efforts is to pin Ukrainian forces at the Belarusian border to prevent them from reinforcing Ukrainian operations elsewhere in the theatre.
"Belarus is extraordinarily unlikely to invade Ukraine in the foreseeable future whatever the course of these information operations. A Belarusian intervention in Ukraine, moreover, would not be able to do more than draw Ukrainian ground forces away from other parts of the theatre temporarily given the extremely limited effective combat power at Minsk's disposal.
"The Kremlin's efforts to pressure Belarus to support the Russian offensive campaign in Ukraine are a part of a long-term effort to cement further control over Belarus."
Aid package to help Ukrainians through freezing winter
Power equipment, worth about $13 million (£10.6m) has been shipped from the US to Ukraine.
The aid package is part of Washington's attempt to boost Kyiv's energy resilience.
Russia's recent attacks have left millions of people in the dark and without heating amid sub-zero temperatures.
Moscow is "deliberately trying to freeze Ukrainians to death as we enter winter", a senior US official said.
Two more planeloads of equipment are expected to leave from the United States this week.
Russia has been carrying out widespread attacks on Ukraine's electricity transmission and heating infrastructure since October, in what Kyiv and its allies say is a deliberate campaign to harm civilians.
Russia claims Donetsk is 'more than 50%' under its control
A top Moscow official has claimed more than 50% of the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine is under Russian control.
The so-called Donetsk People's Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine which Moscow proclaimed as its own in September in what Ukraine and its allies called a "sham," coercive referendum.
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed administrator of the claimed region, said "a little more than 50% of the territory... has been liberated".
His assertion has not been independently verified.
As fierce fighting has been taking place in the region in recent weeks, the exact parts of Donetsk under Russian and Ukrainian control are unclear.
Russia has claimed to be gradually advancing its positions in the region, and the UK Ministry of Defence said on Monday, it was likely to be planning to make still deeper advances - but cast doubts on its ability to.
White House: US officials to meet Russians on Paul Whelan case
Senior US officials plan to have talks this week with Russian counterparts to discuss the case of imprisoned US marine Paul Whelan, the White House said.
The US had sought but failed to persuade Russia to include Mr Whelan in the deal that resulted in the release of Brittney Griner in exchange for the release of convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Earlier, we reported that the US State Department had said Russia has not been willing to negotiate seriously or constructively on Mr Whelan's case (see post at 21:50).
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said: "We will have an engagement with them this week.
"We have had regular engagement of course along the way and the next conversation at a high level will take place this week."
A source familiar with the situation has said Russia wants to gain the freedom of Vadim Krasikov, a Russian serving a life sentence in Germany for murder.
Mr Sullivan said that "we have been working to figure out what it's going to take to ultimately secure (Whelan's) freedom" and on how to work with Russia to secure a deal.
Mr Whelan has been in custody in Russia since he was arrested in a Moscow hotel room on 28 December 2018.
Officials in Moscow claim he was caught "red-handed" with a computer memory stick containing a list of
Russian agents.
Freedom comes at a price as Russia switches from occupier to attacker of Kherson
Yulia Khomchyk discovered she was pregnant after Russian forces had seized the city of Kherson during the first days of the full-scale invasion in February.
But almost nine months later, a major Ukrainian counter-offensive managed to liberate the city in one of the most significant victories of the war so far - and just in time for the birth.
Yulia said she is "so glad" her daughter Maldina is "clearly Ukrainian".
Read more on this story by Sky's Security and Defence Editor Deborah Haynes and the challenges the people of Kherson are facing with power outages and water shortages.
My son is nine years old and knows the names of all the weapons', Zelenskyy says
David Letterman has interviewed the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv's subway.
In October, the US talk show host traveled to the capital to speak with Mr Zelenskyy in the safest part of the city - a subway platform 300 feet below ground.
At one point a siren went off. Letterman looked alarmed, but no one else reacted. What did that indicate, he asked?
"Unfortunately it means that war has become a habit," said Mr Zelenskyy.
Letterman also spoke with the head of Ukraine's railways - vital to the war effort - and visited a comedy club.
He spoke to Mr Zelenskyy, a former comedian, about the importance of humor in dark times, and chatted with him about his family.
It was only in speaking to his wife and children that he could breathe, said the Ukrainian leader.
"Children know much more about the war than we do. My son is 9 years old. He knows the names of all the weapons... Each of us makes sacrifices for our country. Our children sacrificed their childhood," he said.
Letterman's Netflix show's "My Next Guest Needs No Introduction" episode with Mr Zelenskyy airs on Netflix on Monday.
Russia not been willing to negotiate seriously on Paul Whelan case, US says
The US State Department has said that Russia has not been willing to negotiate seriously or constructively on the case of former US marine Paul Whelan.
Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said conversations with Mr Whelan's family have been substantive, but what Russia wants in exchange for the former marine, was not something the US had to give.
He did not provide details, but Russia has been wanting to gain the freedom of Vadim Krasikov, who is serving a life sentence for murder in Germany.
Mr Whelan has been in custody in Russia since he was arrested in a Moscow hotel room on 28 December 2018.
Officials in Moscow claim he was caught "red-handed" with a computer memory stick containing a list of Russian agents.
Senior US officials met virtually on Monday with Elizabeth Whelan, the sister of Paul
Whelan, and assured her of Joe Biden's commitment to gaining her brother's release.
Pressure on Mr Whelan’s case has intensified following the release of US basketball star Brittney Griner who was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for carrying vape canisters containing cannabis oil.
However, she was released in a prisoner swap with convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, known as the "Merchant of Death".
Ukrainian PM: Kyiv needs $1bn 'quickly' to restore infrastructure
Ukraine's prime minister has said his country needs $1bn to restore its electricity grid and heating system to normal operation.
In an address to a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Denys Shmyhal said Russian air attacks in recent weeks had damaged half the country's key infrastructure facilities.
He told the meeting: "The main priority now is the stage of survival - quickly restоring critical infrastructure and the energy sector to get through the winter," according to his Telegram channel.
He said the approximate cost of urgent help for the power sector stands at $500 million while the estimated cost of urgent help for the centralised heating sector stands at a further $500 million.
Russia has launched missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and other sites nearly each week since October.
The attacks have plunged millions of Ukrainians into darkness with emergency blackouts and power outages.
Energy experts have been working to restore the grid in the Black Sea city of Odesa after weekend strikes on two facilities left 1.5 million customers without power and put its port temporarily out of action.
Power blackouts are Russia's 'last hope', Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said power blackouts are Russia's "last hope".
In his nightly address, he warned that Moscow has not abandoned its plan of hitting Ukraine with air strikes.
He said: "We have to be aware that Russia has not abandoned this tactic of terror. Any absence of mass missile strikes simply means that the enemy is readying new attacks. And there could be strikes at any time."
He added that as long as Russia has missiles, it will count on blackouts.
On Saturday, Russian forces used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy plants in Odesa, knocking out power to about 1.5 million customers - virtually all non-critical infrastructure in and around the port.
Other areas which have experienced "very difficult" conditions with power supplies included the capital Kyiv and Kyiv region and four regions in western Ukraine and Dnipropetrovsk region in the centre of the country.
Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure with large waves of missile and drone strikes which began in October.
The strikes followed a series of setbacks for Moscow on the battleground, including the Russian withdrawal from the city of Kherson in November.
In pictures: Ukrainian demining teams in Donetsk
Now to Ukraine, here are some of the latest images from the Donetsk region in the east.
تم تصوير فريق إزالة الألغام التابع للحرس الوطني الأوكراني ، كتيبة دنيبرو 1 ، وهو يزيل حقول الألغام في المنطقة.
الصلصة ، أوضح السيد بارويف.
وأضاف: "(The Big Hit) لها صلصة خاصة بها وتكوين مختلف قليلاً ، وتصميم مختلف للمكونات ، ولكن من حيث الجودة والمذاق فهي جيدة جدًا"
"نأمل أن يقدّر المستهلكون الروس Big Hit وأن تصبح رمزًا لـ Vkusno & tochka بقدر ما يمثل Big Mac رمزًا لماكدونالدز.
مقتنيات الحاكم
منذ الاستحواذ على مطاعم ماكدونالدز في روسيا ، استحوذ جوفور على شركة Huhtamaki الروسية للتعبئة والتغليف الفنلندية وشركة لوجستية ، من المقرر تغيير اسمها إلى "الخدمات اللوجستية وهذا كل شيء".
قال يوم الإثنين ، إن Vkusno & tochka قد يحاولان العثور على شريك لإنتاج ألعاب أطفال لمجموعة Kids 'Combo ، والتي تتضمن حاليًا كتابًا مجانيًا ، لكن شهيته للاندماج والاستحواذ كانت راضية في الوقت الحالي.