November 25, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Kathleen Magramo, Amy Woodyatt, Ed Upright and Adrienne Vogt, CNN

Updated 9:00 p.m. ET, November 25, 2022
23 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
10:16 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Pope writes letter to "bold and strong" Ukrainian people  

From CNN's Sarah Dean and Delia Gallagher

Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience at St.Peter's square in the Vatican on November 23.
Pope Francis leads his weekly general audience at St.Peter's square in the Vatican on November 23. (Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images)

Pope Francis has written a letter to the Ukrainian people that was published on Friday by the Vatican.

"Not a day goes by that I am not close to you and hold you in my heart and prayers," the Pope said in the letter, which was originally written in Italian.

"Your pain is my pain," he wrote. 

Francis did not mention Russia, but asked: "How is it possible that men can treat other men this way?" 

The Pope mentioned the suffering of young Ukrainian children killed and displaced people who have had to flee the war.

"In each one of them is the defeat of the whole of humanity," he said.

The letter expressed sympathy for young people "who have had to take up weapons to courageously defend their country," mothers who have lost husbands, the elderly and volunteers.

"In this ocean of evil and pain," the Pope wrote, "ninety years from the terrible Holodomor genocide, I admire your ardor. Even in the immense tragedy you are suffering, the Ukrainian people has never become discouraged or abandoned themselves to commiseration."

The 1932-1933 Holodomor, or Terror Famine, was artificially engineered by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who removed food stocks from Ukrainian peasants, leading to the deaths of millions of people.

"The world has recognized a bold and strong people, a people who suffer and pray, weep and fight, resist and hope, a noble and martyred people," the Pope added.

9:29 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Ex-German leader Merkel says she wanted Ukraine talks with Russia but lacked authority  

From CNN's Nadine Schmidt

Angela Merkel, former Federal German Chancellor in her office on June 15, in Berlin, Germany.
Angela Merkel, former Federal German Chancellor in her office on June 15, in Berlin, Germany. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek/Getty Images)

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wanted to set up a European format for talks involving French President Emmanuel Macron and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a bid to find a solution to tensions between Russia and Ukraine before she left office last year, but said she lacked authority.

"I no longer had the authority to push it through, because everyone knew after all: she will be gone in the autumn," Merkel is quoted as saying in Germany's Der Spiegel magazine published Thursday, defending her policy toward Russia and Ukraine.

The former chancellor had indicated for a long time she would leave office after the September 2021 national elections in Germany. Merkel officially left office in December 2021. 

In August that year, she traveled to Moscow on her last official visit. Describing the meeting between herself and the Russian president, Merkel told Der Spiegel: "The feeling was entirely clear. 'As far as power politics is concerned, you're finished.' For Putin, only power counts." 

Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, right, gestures to Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, left, while Emmanuel Macron, France's president, looks on as they depart a news conference following a 4-way summit on Ukraine at Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on December 9, 2019.
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, right, gestures to Angela Merkel, Germany's chancellor, left, while Emmanuel Macron, France's president, looks on as they depart a news conference following a 4-way summit on Ukraine at Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on December 9, 2019. (Christophe Morin/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Merkel initiated the Normandy Format, which was set up in 2014 between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine following the Russian annexation of Crimea and its incursion into eastern Ukraine in February 2014. 

"After Russia's annexation of Crimea, we tried everything to prevent further incursions by Russia into Ukraine and coordinated our sanctions in detail," Merkel said.

'I would have liked to have had a more peaceful time after I left, because I was very involved with Ukraine," Merkel is quoted in the interview. 

Since Merkel left office, she and her old government have come under fire for allowing the country to become too dependent on Russian oil and gas. 

9:18 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Russian Justice Ministry adds Meta to "extremist list"

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

The Russian Ministry of Justice has added Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp — to its registry of “extremist” organizations, according to the ministry’s website.

The list now includes over 100 companies and organizations, including “American multinational holding company Meta Platforms Inc. selling the following products: social networks Facebook and Instagram,” according to the website.

The Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocked access to Facebook and Instagram in March after the Tverskoy District Court of Moscow found Meta guilty of “extremist activity.” The court’s decision did not include Meta’s WhatsApp messenger. 

In response, Meta president of global affairs Nick Clegg said at the time the company was doing “everything we can to restore our services” but that “millions of ordinary Russians” will soon “find themselves cut off from reliable information."

9:10 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Patients evacuated from Kherson’s hospitals due to Russian shelling, regional governor says

From CNN’s Jo Shelley

The governor of Kherson said patients being treated in hospitals in the regional capital are being evacuated “due to constant Russian shelling.” 

Children being treated at the Kherson Regional Clinical Hospital have been sent west to Mykolaiv and patients at the Kherson Regional Psychiatric Hospital have been sent to Odesa, regional governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram

9:01 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

"Nothing can replace the loss of a son," Putin tells Russian soldiers' mothers

From CNN’s Anna Chernova

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine Friday, marking national Mother’s Day.

Speaking to the women in Novo-Ogaryovo, at his official residence on the outskirts of Moscow, Putin said he shared the pain of loss with those who had lost a child and urged them against trusting so-called “fake news” and “lies.”

“I want you to know that I personally, as well as the entire leadership of the country, we all share this pain. We understand that nothing can replace the loss of a son, a child,” Putin said.

“Life is more complicated and diverse than what is shown on TV screens or on the Internet. You can't trust anything there at all. There are a lot of fake [news], deceit, lies. There are a lot of information attacks," he claimed.

Putin went on to say that he had personally spoken over the phone to some of servicemen, calling those on the frontline “heroes.”

I spoke directly with the guys on the phone, in any case, I spoke with those who even surprised me with their mood, with their attitude to their duty,” he said.

“This gives me every reason to say that they are heroes,” Putin added.

Exactly how many Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in Ukraine remains unknown to all but a few inside the Kremlin, and US and NATO estimates have been significantly higher than Russian defense ministry projections. The Pentagon said in August that it believed as many as 80,000 Russians were dead or wounded.

The Council of Mothers and Wives [of Russian soldiers], one of the most well-known groups advocating for soldiers, said in a Telegram post Friday that they had not been invited to the meeting.

8:39 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Satellite photos show lack of electricity in Ukraine

A greyscale satellite image indicating the night radiance of Europe from space on November 23.
A greyscale satellite image indicating the night radiance of Europe from space on November 23. (NASA Worldview/Reuters)

These satellite images illustrate just how much Russia's war has affected infrastructure in Ukraine.

Above, while surrounding parts of Europe and Russia are illuminated in light, much of Ukraine is dark.

And below, a composite image from NASA shows Ukraine's network lit up before Russia invaded, and how much it has changed until this month.

Satellite photos show the difference in illumination from Ukraine from January, on the left, to November, on the right.
Satellite photos show the difference in illumination from Ukraine from January, on the left, to November, on the right. (NASA Worldview)

Right now in the capital of Kyiv, about 50% of customers remain without power in near-freezing temperatures, according to Ukrainian authorities.

The UN also estimates that more than 7.2 million Ukrainian refugees have been recorded across Europe, while more than 6.9 million have been internally displaced.

8:41 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

NATO chief expresses confidence Finland and Sweden’s accessions will be ratified

From CNN's Andrew Millman 

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on November 25.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses a press conference ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on November 25. (Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP/Getty Images)

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told CNN that he's “confident" that both Hungary and Turkey will ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to the alliance, following Hungary’s announcement that it would support membership for both countries next year.

“I can’t tell you exactly when,” he said, but added on "CNN This Morning" that it was “one of fastest ever accession processes in history.”

“President Putin is trying to weaponize winter, and by deliberate attacks on civilian infrastructure, he tries to deprive the Ukrainians of gas, hearing, water, and this just demonstrates once again the brutality of this war and the importance of President Putin, Russia, ending this war,” Stoltenberg said, adding “the best way we can address the horrific scenes we see from Ukraine is to support Ukraine.”

He commended the United States in particular “for providing unprecedented support to Ukraine.”

Stoltenberg told CNN that supporting Ukraine was important, “because our own security interest is to ensure that President Putin does not win in Ukraine.”

When asked about comments from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley that there may be a window for negotiations to end the war, Stoltenberg replied, “what happens around the negotiating table is dependent on what happens on the battlefield.”

8:17 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

Hundreds of power points set up for Kyiv residents without electricity at home

From CNN’s Jo Shelley

Local residents charge their devices, use internet connection and warm up inside Centre of Invincibility in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 24.
Local residents charge their devices, use internet connection and warm up inside Centre of Invincibility in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 24. (Maxym Marusenko/NurPhoto/Getty Images)

Schools in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv have opened their doors to residents who don’t have power at home.

Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said the city had set up hundreds of power supply points in educational and other facilities, where people can get warm, drink tea and recharge telephones and flashlights.

“Kyiv has launched more than 400 heating points. These points will work every day,” Klitschko said in a post on Telegram. “The majority of them are located in schools and other social facilities. In case there is no electricity supply in your house for more than a day, you will be able to come to the heating point to recharge gadgets or flashlights, drink tea and find out information about the nearest water pumps, shops and pharmacies.”

Here's why: Half of the city’s households were still without power on Friday morning after a large-scale Russian missile assault two days earlier hit power generation facilities across the country.

8:10 a.m. ET, November 25, 2022

UK announces more aid for Ukraine

British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba meet in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 25.
British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs James Cleverly and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba meet in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 25. (Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Press Service/Reuters)

UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to ensure support for the country as winter sets in.

Cleverly announced another 3 million pounds (about $3.6 million) of support to the Partnership Fund for a Resilient Ukraine, and he and Environment Secretary Thérèse Coffey also announced 5 million pounds for a Ukraine-led initiative to ship grain to countries facing famine.

"As winter sets in, Russia is continuing to try and break Ukrainian resolve through its brutal attacks on civilians, hospitals and energy infrastructure. Russia will fail," Cleverly said, according to a statement from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

"The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. I have today announced a package of hands-on support for our Ukrainian friends in their fight, from ambulances to crucial support for survivors of the sexual violence carried out by the Russian military," Cleverly said.

New funding will be targeted to areas recently taken back from Russian control in southern Ukraine, including Kherson region, according to the release.