December 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Despite denials from Russian-appointed officials in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, there appear to be plans to evacuate civilians from several towns that are occupied by Russian forces.

The preparations come as Ukrainian forces step up targeting of Russian weapons and ammunition stocks behind the front lines.

One Zaporizhzhia community group posted the image of a notice in the town of Vasylivka, which is Russian-held and close to the only crossing point between Russian-claimed and Ukrainian-held territory.

The notice, in Russian, says: "Administration of Vasylivka district warns! Due to the preparations to possible evacuation of the residents of the city and the district, and ensuring safety to the citizens, the relevant measures are being prepared."

It also asks people to register with the local military administration.

Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of occupied Melitopol, claimed on his Telegram account that Russian forces in Vasylivka were becoming anxious and had "hidden behind civilians as human shields."  

Further behind the front lines, Fedorov said that Russian forces "have started some fuss in recent days" and were "developing rapid activity — withdrawing equipment, conducting rotation, bringing in mobilized soldiers."

Fedorov said on Telegram that population censuses were underway in two towns "as if to prepare for evacuations." But he cautioned that the move might be a disinformation campaign.

Fedorov also mentioned two explosions at Russian headquarters and barracks in the towns of Myrne and Yasne, though gave no further details.

He also claimed that near Terpinnia, a strike by the Ukrainian military killed or wounded "dozens" of Russian soldiers.

CNN is unable to verify the claim. No images or video have emerged from the area.

The Ukrainian military said Friday that in some parts of occupied Zaporizhzhia, "the enemy is strengthening its advanced positions and conducting defense" while launching artillery barrages along several parts of the front line.

But it added that "the enemy continues to suffer losses," with a strike against a concentration of Russian troops near the village of Kamianske that left 100 people wounded.

There is no way to verify the claim.

Ukraine’s foreign minister told CNN in an exclusive interview that a series of letters containing explosives or animal parts are meant to terrorize Ukrainian diplomats around the world.

Kuleba said that there had been 17 cases of embassies receiving either letter bombs, false bomb letters, or letters containing animals parts, like the eyes of cows and pigs.

CNN has been shown an image of one of the letters containing what officials said was the eyeball of a pig inside a padded envelope.

“It started with an explosion at the embassy of Ukraine in Spain,” he said. “But what followed this explosion was more weird, and I would even say sick.”

Asked who he thought was behind the letters, he said, “I feel tempted to say, to name Russia straight away, because first of all you have to answer the question, who benefits?”

Investigators have not made any statement about any person or group behind the letters.

Kuleba added that he thought that Russia was either directly responsible, or someone “who sympathizes [with] the Russian cause and tries to spread fear.”

“The conclusion will be made by investigators, but I think these two versions make most of the sense,” he said.

A Ukrainian embassy staff member in Madrid was slightly injured Wednesday after handling an envelope that exploded in his hands, according to the Kubela’s spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko.

Ukraine has put all embassies and consulates abroad under enhanced security measures. This week, Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Austria, the consulates general in Naples and Krakow, and the consulate in Brno have received bloody packages containing animal eyes, Nikolenko said on Facebook.

Ukraine's military says its special forces are carrying out operations behind enemy lines in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Special Operations Forces said it identified a Russian electronic warfare system in occupied territory. 

"Our warriors passed the coordinates of the enemy EW to friendly artillery units, which destroyed the enemy complex," it said.

In a Telegram statement, it said the electronic warfare complex in the city of Polohy had been used to interfere with both the communications of the Ukrainian military and "to suppress mobile communication in the settlement. Thus, they actually cut off the townspeople from communication with the outside world."

The Special Operations Forces said it had also destroyed an S-300 missile complex that had fired on a maternity hospital in the town of Vilniansk.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian military claimed that some Russian troops were withdrawing from their positions in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia and that the Russians were preparing the evacuation of "the personnel of the occupation administrations" in the region.

The military's General Staff said that Russian units had left the settlements of Mykhailivka, Polohy and Inzhenerne.

What the Russians say: The Russian-appointed head of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia, Yevgeniy Balitskiy, denied the Ukrainian claims on Friday.

He said these were "the fantasies of the propaganda machine in Kyiv. ... Borders of Zaporizhzhia region are well protected, not a single meter of land has been given to the enemy."

But Balitskiy added that "our cities are bombarded daily," saying there had been an artillery strike on the transformer substation in Tokmak, which is near Polohy.

The ISW's analysis: In its commentary on the situation in Zaporizhzhia, the Institute for the Study of War said Thursday that "Russian military movements in Zaporizhzhia oblast may suggest that Russian forces cannot defend critical areas amidst increasing Ukrainian strikes on Russian force concentrations and logistics."

"The potential withdrawal from Polohy is particularly notable as the settlement lies at a critical road junction, and Russian forces would likely have a harder time defending Tokmak from potential Ukrainian operations without control of that junction," it added.

Ukrainian officials say they are hoping the weather will get colder in the Luhansk region — and freeze the mud that has been impeding the progress of troops.

Serhiy Hayday, head of Luhansk region military administration, said that "as the weather is changing, winter is taking its toll. I hope temperatures below zero will help our military."

Hayday told Ukrainian television that muddy conditions had affected the mobility of units along a frontline that has become largely static.

Ukrainian forces are probing along frontlines that run north-south through Kharkiv and Luhansk from the Russian border to the industrial belt of towns such as Kreminna and Rubizhne.

Hayday said Ukrainian troops are close to Kreminna, just "a few kilometers from the city."

"There are indications that the Russians realize they will not hold Kreminna. They are constructing a second and rather strong line of defense near Starobilsk. The town of Rubizhne cannot be a strong fortress, because the Russians have destroyed 50% of the city. Therefore, they will not hold the defense there for a long time," he said.

"However, it will not be an easy walk for our military, as the occupiers brought a huge amount of equipment and manpower to the area."

Hayday also said that Ukrainian strikes continued on Russian positions behind the frontlines.

"Russian barracks, places of accumulation of equipment, ammunition depots are constantly exploding in the enemy's rear. Russian units that were transferred from Kherson region are now concentrated around Starobilsk; they are setting up the line of defense there," he said.

Hayday said there were a variety of Russian units in Luhansk — newly mobilized Russian units, convicts, as well as Chechen and Buryati fighters, and claimed that "a huge number of additional checkpoints appear even on small roads that are set up to catch deserters."

The Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid received a “bloody” package on Friday, similar to those recently received at other Ukrainian diplomatic institutions, Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said Facebook.  

The receipt of a suspicious package at the embassy prompted an immediate evacuation but a Spanish police bomb squad determined the package did not contain explosives, Spain’s Interior Ministry press office said in a statement.  

Ukraine has put all embassies and consulates abroad under enhanced security measures after a series of incidents involving threatening packages, letter bombs and vandalism at its diplomatic missions. This week Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy and Austria, along with several Ukrainian consulates, have received bloody packages, containing animal eyes, Nikolenko said Friday on Facebook. 

It was the second evacuation of the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid this week, just two days after a letter bomb detonated when an embassy employee was handling it. He was slightly injured, Spanish officials said.  

That was among a spate of letter bombs that were received in recent days at the Spanish prime minister’s official compound, the United States Embassy in Madrid and other high-profile Spanish addresses, Spanish officials said.  

The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency said he hopes to reach an agreement with Russia and Ukraine on protecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by year's end.

In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Friday, the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, said, "My commitment is to reach a solution as soon as possible. I hope by the end of the year."

"I know that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is following the process, and I do not rule out another meeting with him soon, as well as with Ukrainian President [Volodymyr] Zelensky."

Grossi has been trying to get Ukraine and Russia to agree to a format for a demilitarized zone around the plant, which has been damaged by various forms of weapons fire several times.

"Russia is not against an agreement and the principle of protecting the plant," Grossi added.

As for the Ukrainian side, Grossi said, "The withdrawal of armaments from the plant is what, understandably from their point of view, the Ukrainians are demanding. And it would still be part of the overall agreement."

Regarding the current status of the plant, Grossi said that "right now the plant has electricity to ensure the operation of cooling and emergency systems," but "some nodes of the electricity grid that supply it are being attacked periodically, with surgically precise strikes."

Asked who was responsible for those strikes, Grossi said, "It is not my job to assign responsibility. For me the important thing is to avoid a nuclear accident and reach the agreement, not to be a judge."

He also spoke about three other nuclear plants in Ukraine: Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi.

"A few days ago, they too lost external power supply. And the Ukrainian authorities have made a formal application to have a permanent IAEA presence at these plants as well, as in Zaporizhzhia. In this way the agency's staff will be stationed throughout Ukraine and will be vigilant that the nuclear power plants are not used by anyone as weapons of blackmail in the conflict," Grossi said.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned Russian airstrikes against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday.

Scholz also urged Putin to find a diplomatic solution “as soon as possible” during the one-hour conversation devoted to the ongoing “Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and its consequences,” German government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said.

The chancellor stressed Germany's determination to support Ukraine in ensuring its defense capability against Russia, he added.

Germany plans to supply Ukraine with seven more Gepard anti-aircraft tanks and an additional, 100,000 first aid kits, according to a list of arms deliveries published by the German government.

The chancellor and the Russian president also discussed the global food crisis precipitated by the invasion of Ukraine and highlighted the important role of the recently extended grain agreement under the aegis of the United Nations.

The Ukrainian military says Russia is now using nuclear-capable missiles fitted with non-explosive warheads in a bid to exhaust Ukraine’s air defenses.

Mykola Danyliuk, a representative of the Ukrainian armed forces research unit, shared these updates at a Thursday briefing held at a site where missile fragments — from what Ukraine says is a Russian Kh-55 cruise missile — were on show.

Pointing to a fragment on stage, Danyliuk said, “I would also like to add that even a missile without a warhead, a missile with a warhead like this, poses a great threat because of its kinetic energy and fuel. This is evidenced by... the impact of a Kh-55 missile into a residential building." 

“This exact fragment was a compartment of the warhead. So, this is a substitute for a thermo-nuclear guided charge, which is used in Kh-55 missiles," he said.

Danyliuk said tests on this Kh-55 missile did not show abnormal levels of radioactivity, “which means it didn't have contact with nuclear elements." 

On Nov. 26, the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily intelligence update that “Russia is likely removing the nuclear warheads from ageing nuclear cruise missiles and firing the unarmed munitions at Ukraine.” 

“This improvisation highlights the levels of depletion in Russia’s stock of long-range missiles,” the British Defense Ministry said.

If you are just joining us, here are the latest developments in Russia's war in Ukraine so far on Friday.

Ukraine claims Russians are withdrawing from their positions in Zaporizhzhia: The Ukrainian military claims that some Russian troops are withdrawing from their positions in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and that the Russians are preparing the evacuation of "the personnel of the occupation administrations."

CNN is unable to confirm the claims made by the General Staff.

A Ukrainian leader alleges that a census is underway in parts of the same region: The Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of the city of Melitopol claims that Russia has begun conducting a census in parts of occupied territory in Zaporizhzhia in preparation for "evacuation."

Kremlin warns Washington's refusal to accept annexed regions as part of Russia complicates possible Putin-Biden talks: The fact that Washington doesn't recognize annexed Ukrainian regions as part of Russia would complicate any possible talks between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday. The illegal annexations followed sham referendums in the four regions.

Biden and Macron have different views on engaging with Putin: US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday demonstrated a united front in addressing the ongoing war in Ukraine, but offered divergent answers over their willingness to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Biden told reporters during a joint White House news conference with Macron that he “has no immediate plans” to contact Putin, but added that he’s prepared to speak with the Russian leader if he’s looking for a way to end the war in Ukraine. Meanwhile, Macron said that once Ukraine sets conditions for a peace agreement, he’s willing to talk with Putin, and told ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier Thursday that he intends to speak to the Russian president in the coming days.

Russia told US about Brittney Griner's transfer to penal colony weeks after she was moved: The Russian government formally told the US Embassy last week about Brittney Griner’s transfer to a remote penal colony, weeks after the wrongfully detained WNBA star had been moved, according to the Biden administration. Separately, the Kremlin said on Thursday that any details of prisoner swap discussions with the United States will not be publicly disclosed and that Moscow is not planning to engage with the Biden administration before the end of the year, according to Russian state media.

New law would ban religious groups in Ukraine associated with Russia: Ukraine's parliament will vote on a new law that would ban the operation of religious organizations “affiliated with centers of influence” in Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday, in an effort to prevent an "opportunity to manipulate" Ukrainians.

Between 10,000 and 13,000 Ukrainian troops killed, says Zelensky adviser: Between 10,000 and 13,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine, according to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky. But this figure is much lower than estimates suggested by the United States.

Electricity supplies are being restored in Kherson: The southern Ukrainian city was left without power due to Russian shelling early Thursday, a local official said.

Russians advance in Bakhmut: Social media videos indicate that Russian troops in the areas around Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region are taking heavy casualties, even as they take some territory, especially south of the city.