Though mass events will be prohibited under martial law, "no one is going to cancel the New Year and Christmas, and there should be an atmosphere of the New Year," he added.
The trees will be installed but without their lights on, according to Ukrainian energy company YASNO.
Millions of Ukrainians are in the throes of an energy crisis following Russian airstrikes targeting power infrastructure.
The Christmas trees will be set up at different sites across the city, including the iconic St. Sophia Square.
Klitschko said that the trees will be installed "to remind our children of the New Year mood. You know, we do not want to take away St. Nicholas from children."
8:24 a.m. ET, November 29, 2022
NATO will continue "critical" and unprecedented support of Ukraine, alliance chief says
From CNN's Lauren Kent in London
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at a press conference at the end of a meeting with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis at Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest, Romania, on November 28. (Robert Ghement/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)
NATO's "critical" and unprecedented support in Ukraine remains ongoing, the head of the alliance said Tuesday.
"Our relationship is a very close partnership — it is a relationship, where NATO allies have proven their willingness to support Ukraine in an unprecedented way," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said.
"When the invasion happened, NATO was not taken by surprise. Actually, we have been preparing, we have been ready to face situations like this since we started the big adaptation of NATO in 2014," Stoltenberg told reporters in Bucharest, Romania.
Stoltenberg reiterated that the war began in 2014, referring to Moscow's annexation of Crimea, with Canadian troops, British troops, and US troops from NATO helping to train Ukrainian forces that year.
"The war didn’t start in February this year, the war started in the spring of 2014. And since then, NATO has implemented the biggest reinforcement, the biggest adaptation of our alliance since the end of the Cold War, with more presence in the eastern part of our alliance.
"So the reality was that when the invasion happened in February this year — compared to 2014 — the Ukrainian troops and armed forces were much better trained, much bigger, much better equipped, and much better led," Stoltenberg said. "That’s one of the main reasons why they were able to fight back."
Of course, the gains and the victories the Ukrainians have made, that belongs to the bravery, to the courage of Ukrainian troops and armed forces," Stoltenberg added. "But it has been critical that they have received support from partners in NATO, and we will continue to do so."
"The main focus now is on supporting Ukraine, ensuring that President Putin doesn’t win, but that Ukraine prevails as a sovereign, independent nation in Europe.
"It is a mixture of partly more presence in the east, we have already doubled the number of groups, but also working on how to scale those battle groups up from battalions to brigade size levels quickly."
"So the combination of more presence, earmarked troops, higher readiness, prepositioned equipment, all of that will strengthen our ability to react and act.
"The purpose of all this, is every day, 24/7, to deliver credible deterrence and defense. And by doing that, we are not provoking conflict, but we are preserving peace, preventing a conflict."
Stoltenberg added that the alliance is working to build on the agreement made at the NATO summit in Madrid earlier this year.
3:36 a.m. ET, November 29, 2022
Desperation and defiance on show in Kherson as Russians shell city just two weeks after pulling out
From CNN's Mick Krever and Matthew Chance
The site of a Russian shelling in Kherson where four were killed, according to the local administration. (Mick Krever/CNN)
A pool of blood-stained water and the charred wreckage of a car mark the spot in Kherson where Russian shells tore into this city Thursday, killing four, according to local officials, and shattering any sense of calm.
Russian President Vladimir Putin claims he’s annexed this region, and that the people here are now Russians. But his troops have left, and now they’re killing the civilians they once vowed to protect.
Amid acute power and water shortages, the people of Kherson are suffering and, with winter fast approaching, it’s only set to get worse.
Soon after the invasion of Ukraine began, Kherson was taken over by Russian forces, only emerging from months of occupation on November 11 when the Kremlin’s troops withdrew. Now residents are suffering the kind of violence familiar to so many across this country.
In a small grocery store also destroyed by the recent shelling, a desperate local man searches in the rubble for scraps of food and rolls of toilet paper, scavenging for what little he can to survive.
“Is everything so bad?” we ask. “It’s not good,” he responds, bleakly.
Dnipro struck by Russian missiles Monday night, Ukrainian officials say
From CNN's Josh Pennington
The Ukrainian city of Dnipro was the target of a Russian rocket attack Monday night, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration.
"Several rockets were launched at the city tonight. They were targeting a private enterprise. Manufacturing facilities were destroyed. A fire broke out," Reznichenko posted on Telegram.
He did not disclose the identity of the enterprise.
Some background: Dnipro is frequently targeted by Russian missiles and other longer-range weapons. On Saturday, Reznichenko said at least 13 people were wounded in a Russian rocket attack.
3:47 a.m. ET, November 29, 2022
More than half of damaged heating facilities in Ukraine have been restored, state company says
From CNN's Julia Kesaieva in Kyiv
People walk past damaged buildings in Borodyanka, Ukraine, on November 9. (Ed Ram/Getty Images)
More than half of the damaged heating facilities in Ukraine have been restored, according to the YASNO energy company, which supplies electricity and natural gas.
The company's CEO said "316 heat supply facilities have already been restored, which is 53.3% of the total number of affected facilities."
"Despite the constant shelling, Ukraine has started the heating season - 99.7% of boiler houses have started functioning, 99.6% of residential buildings, 97.9% of kindergartens, 98.9% of schools and 99.9% of healthcare facilities have been provided with heating," YASNO's CEO, Sergey Kovalenko, said.
"Special efforts are now being made to restore the operation of heat generating enterprises in the liberated territories of Kharkiv and Kherson regions, where the situation with access to communications remains difficult," he added.
8:23 p.m. ET, November 28, 2022
UN calls humanitarian situation in southern Ukraine "critical" as people struggle without power and heat
From CNN's Richard Roth
The situation remains "dire" and "critical" in the southern Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv — with nearly a quarter of a million people in Mykolaiv alone facing a lack of heat, water and power, the United Nations says.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown visited the two southern cities over the weekend. Brown reported that people fleeing Kherson are going to Mykolaiv, according to Dujarric.
"Some heating points have already been established in Mykolaiv to help people who cannot heat their homes. Aid workers are providing supplies and generators to make these places functional," Dujarric said.
In Kherson, "We expect that, with support of the authorities, we will be able to cover the basic needs of people who have stayed in the city, if we are able to sustain the same level of aid sent over the past two weeks."
"The situation with water, heating and electricity, however, remains dire, although the electricity supply is gradually being restored," the spokesman added.
Donors have provided $3.1 billion in humanitarian aid through the UN this year, but Dujarric said continued funding is important, especially during winter months.
3:49 a.m. ET, November 29, 2022
Russia postpones nuclear arms control talks with US, State Department says
From CNN's Kylie Atwood and Jennifer Hansler
Russian Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers parade through Red Square during the Victory Day military parade in central Moscow, Russia, on May 9. (Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)
The Biden administration is blaming Russia for postponing meetings to discuss a key nuclear arms control agreement between the two countries that were scheduled to begin in Egypt on Tuesday, with a State Department spokesperson saying the decision was made “unilaterally” by Russia.
The meetings on the New START Treaty — the only agreement left regulating the world’s two largest nuclear arsenals — were scheduled to be held in the wake of Moscow’s nuclear saber-rattling toward Ukraine and following complications around inspections related to the treaty. US officials have repeatedly stressed the need for dialogue on nuclear matters in order to reduce risk.
In a statement Monday, the State Department spokesperson said that “the United States and the Russian Federation were set to convene a meeting of the New START Treaty’s Bilateral Consultative Commission (BCC) in Cairo, Egypt, to discuss New START Treaty implementation on Tuesday, November 29.”
“The Russian side informed the United States that Russia has unilaterally postponed the meeting and stated that it would propose new dates,” the spokesperson said.
Russia did not provide a reason to the US for postponing the talks, a senior State Department official told CNN. Moscow informed the US of its decision in “recent days,” the official said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry told Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti that the talks had been postponed, but did not give a reason for the delay.
