France, Australia to send artillery shells; Russian missile strike in Kharkiv kills one, injures three

The Ukrainian leader and Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, visited the southern Mykolayiv region, where Zelensky also discussed security and energy issues with local officials.

A Russian missile strike on a residential building in the eastern city of Kharkiv killed at least one person and injured three others, according to the regional governor.

Key developments

• Russia plans big diesel exports in first month of EU imports ban


• China dismisses US claims of support for Russia as ‘paranoia’


• Russia’s war accelerates shift away from oil and gas, BP says


• Russia’s oil cargoes surge with pipe down and fuel ban at hand


• Scholz visits South America in a race with China for lithium

On the ground 

The Russian military carried out three air strikes, including one against Kharkiv, and shelled areas using multiple launch rocket systems, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.

Russian forces continue an offensive in the direction of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka.

France, Australia to supply Ukraine with artillery ammunition 

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said “several thousand 155mm shells will be manufactured jointly” by French and Australian industries as Australia’s defence and foreign ministers visited their counterparts in Paris.

 

Putin and Saudi Crown Prince discuss Opec+

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed cooperation within Opec+ to provide oil market stability with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the Kremlin.

The two men also talked about bilateral ties during a telephone conversation, the Russian head of state’s press service said.

Ukraine says 9,000 Russian troops may be in Belarus

Ukraine estimates about 9,000 Russian servicemen may be deployed in neighbouring Belarus, Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the border service, said on television.

Ukraine doesn’t see any significant movement of troops in Belarus near its borders, he said.

Zelensky talks security, energy in southern region

Zelensky and Frederiksen visited wounded soldiers at a hospital in the southern Mykolayiv region, according to a post on the Ukrainian leader’s Telegram channel.

During a meeting with local officials, Zelensky also discussed Russia’s missile and drone attacks, as well as the state of local energy infrastructure.

One dead in Ukraine’s second-biggest city 

One person died and three people were injured after a Russian missile hit a residential building in Kharkiv on Sunday, Oleh Synyehubov, the regional governor, said on Telegram.

Mayor Ihor Terekhov had said earlier that a fire broke out and preliminary reports indicated there would be civilian casualties.

Two weeks ago, a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the city of Dnipro killed 45 people, according to Ukrainian officials.

Ukraine slams IOC over Russian athletes

Ukrainian officials again slammed the International Olympic Committee for allowing Russian athletes to participate in the games in France next year.

Slovenia arrests two alleged spies, says Delo

The Slovenian Intelligence and Security Agency arrested two foreign citizens and accused them of spying for Russia, the Delo newspaper reported.

The suspects had South American passports and posed as real estate and antique dealers, the newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. They face up to eight years in jail if convicted.

They were arrested on 5 December and the criminal investigation is ongoing, the District State Prosecutor’s Office said, without elaborating.

Scholz says talk of fighter jets isn’t helpful 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said discussing the possibility of sending fighter jets to Ukraine doesn’t help the country in the fight against Russia.

“It’s strange that this debate is happening,” Scholz told reporters in Santiago, Chile.

He suggested that domestic politics might be the reason, after Saskia Esken, the co-leader of his Social Democratic Party, earlier on Sunday left the door open to providing the aircraft in an interview with German broadcaster ARD.

North Korea could gain lifeline from arms sales 

Russia’s hunt for weapons to fire at Ukraine could provide a lifeline for North Korea, where even a relatively modest arms deal would help lift the cash-starved and stagnant economy into growth.

Read: North Korea could get a vital lifeline from arms sales to Russia

One thing Kim Jong-un has in abundance is weaponry, especially crude 20th-century artillery. North Korea possesses untold stores of munitions to supply what the International Institute of Strategic Studies estimates is an arsenal of more than 21,600 artillery pieces.

Some North Korean items likely on Putin’s wish list would be 122mm and 152mm artillery rounds, as well as 122mm rockets.

A major deal could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and a sale of about $320-million would be equal to about 1% of North Korea’s annual economy. DM