Missile debris was found in Moldova, about 3 kilometers from the Ukrainian border
From CNN's Victoria Butenko
Debris from a missile has been found in Moldova, in a town called Briceni about 3km from the Ukrainian border. (Moldova Interior Ministry)
Debris from a missile has been found in Moldova, in a town called Briceni about 3 kilometers (almost 2 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The Moldovan Interior Ministry said on Facebook:
“A short time ago, near the city of Briceni, in an orchard, a rocket was discovered. The explosive object was discovered by a border police patrol, which, due to today's Russian bombings, have intensified their attention”.
It is not immediately clear from the images what type the rocket is. CNN is working on confirming the type of missile.
The Moldovan Interior Ministry added in their statement “the area where the rocket was discovered has been isolated by police patrol and border police. The specialized services of the interior ministry” are on the scene.
8:27 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
2 Ukrainian cities report no water or electricity
From CNN's Victoria Butenko and Olga Voitovych
The Ukrainian cities of Odesa and Kryvyi Rih reported that they are without water or electricity.
In Odesa: The water supply company Infoksvodokanal, said, "all pumping station and reserve lines are without power – thus consumers don’t have water."
In Kryvyi Rih: “Part of the city is without electricity, some boiler houses and pumping stations are off,” said Oleksandr Vilkul the head of city military administration.
8:55 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.
From CNN staff
Russian forces have launched fresh missile strikes, with several waves of attacks possible over the course of the day, according to officials, following on from shelling in central, southern and eastern Ukraine earlier Monday.
Here are the latest headlines:
Russia launches missile strikes: Russian strategic bombers have taken off and a wave of missiles have been launched by Russian forces, according to a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, who said that there may be several waves of attacks. Two people have been killed in Zaporizhzhia region in the strikes. “Two infrastructure facilities were damaged” as a result of the attacks, said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration. However, he did not say where the damage occurred.
Russian strikes continue across Ukraine: At least one person was killed and three others wounded after Russian strikes hit the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih early Monday morning, local authorities said. Russian shelling was also reported in the southern Nikopol district and Zaporizhzhia region, as well as in the area around the besieged city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces hit Donetsk: Ukrainian shelling has injured two people in Donetsk city, according to the Russian Investigative Committee, and two buildings caught fire after strikes by Ukrainian forces, according to Russian state media. The Ukrainian military has not yet confirmed or commented on the attack.
Moscow rejects oil price cap: Russia will not recognize a price cap on its oil exports implemented by a group of western nations, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov. The $60 per barrel cap agreed by the European Union, Australia and the Group of 7 nations is designed to cut Russia's income from oil exports.
Ukraine's energy situation remains "difficult": Ukraine continues to suffer a "difficult" energy situation, according to state energy provider Ukrenergo. “We all have a difficult heating season ahead," the company said. Russian forces have deliberately targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine, where authorities have been battling to maintain power, water and mobile phone connectivity.
9:30 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
Two dead in Russian missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia region, as city administration reports "several" explosions
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
In this photo provided by the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, a damaged building and a car are seen after a Russian strike in the village of Novosofiivka, in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on December 5. (Zaporizhzhia region military administration/AP)
Two people have been killed and another two injured in Zaporizhzhia region following a wave of Russian missile strikes, according to a Ukrainian official.
“Several private houses were destroyed" in the strikes, which hit 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Zaporizhzhia city, wrote Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukraine's presidential administration, on Telegram.
Earlier “several” explosions were reported in the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Anatolii Kurtev, secretary of the city council.
“Some of them are the echoes of enemy incoming hits in the suburbs. Another part is the successful work of the Air Defense Forces,” he wrote on Telegram. He did not confirm the target of the missiles.
8:10 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
Russia has begun a new missile attack, Ukrainian Air Force says
From CNN's Seb Shukla
People take shelter inside the metro station amid Russian missile attacks in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 5. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters)
Russian forces have launched a fresh set of missiles towards Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials.
“We see that strategic bombers have taken off and the first wave of missiles was already launched,” said Yurii Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force.
There may be several waves of attacks, added Ihnat.
Air defense systems are operating, but there is "no information" on the number of missiles launched or how many have been shot down, he said.
The governors of Odesa, Poltava and Vinnytsia regions have announced that missiles are incoming on social media.
Kyiv's air defense systems are "working” around the Ukrainian capital as there is a “movement of missiles towards the region," said Oleksii Kuleba, head of Kyiv's regional military administration, on Telegram. He urged residents to stay in shelters.
CNN teams in Kyiv have reported that air raid sirens have sounded.
As of yet there have not been any confirmed strikes.
8:39 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
Energy situation in Ukraine "remains difficult," says state energy company
From CNN's Olga Voitvych and Seb Shukla
Lilia, 44, pours water into a pot to boil in the basement of an apartment building where she is currently living without power, water or heat in Siversk, Ukraine, on December 4. (Leah Millis/Reuters)
Ukraine continues to suffer a "difficult" energy situation, according to state energy provider Ukrenergo.
“We all have a difficult heating season ahead," the company said in an update Monday.
Russian forces have deliberately targeted energy infrastructure in Ukraine, where authorities have been battling to maintain power, water and cell phone connectivity.
This weekend, however, Ukrenergo said “it was possible to apply the minimum amount of emergency shutdowns,” due in part to increased capacity at nuclear power plants.
The company also noted an increase in electricity consumption “due to both the beginning of the week and drop in temperatures throughout the country."
Temperatures in Kyiv hit -7 degrees Celsius (44 Fahrenheit) on Monday, according to the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center.
Russian attacks on critical facilities have dropped off in the past week or so, but Ukrenergo is struggling to bring damaged facilities back online.
6:48 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
Moscow will not recognize price cap on oil exports, says Kremlin spokesperson
From CNN's Anna Chernova
Moscow will not recognize a price cap on its oil exports implemented by a group of western nations, according to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
“One thing is obvious here - we will not recognize any price caps,” Peskov said Monday during his daily conference call with journalists, adding that Russia would prepare a response to the measure.
On Friday, the European Union's 27 member states capped the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel, with Australia and the Group of 7 nations -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States -- implementing the price cap from Monday.
The move is aimed at reducing Russia's income from oil exports and is designed to be enforced by companies that provide shipping, insurance and other services for Russian oil.
If a buyer has agreed to pay more than the cap, they would withhold those services.Most of these firms are based in Europe or the United Kingdom.
The decision to impose the cap would not affect Russia's ability to carry out its “special military operation” in Ukraine, said Peskov.
“The Russian economy has the necessary potential to fully meet all the needs and requirements of the special military operation," he said. "Such measures will not affect it."
However the price cap would have an effect on the stability of the energy market, said Peskov.
“One thing is obvious and indisputable: the adoption of these decisions is a step towards destabilizing the world energy markets,” he said.
6:10 a.m. ET, December 5, 2022
Trans Ukrainians uprooted by war struggle to continue treatment
From CNN's Ivana Kottasová in Chisinau, Moldova and London
Eric fled Ukraine after Russia launched its full-scale invasion in late February, but has since returned.
The best day of Eric’s life came just days before the worst.
After years of waiting, dozens of tests and a two-week stay on a psychiatric ward, Eric was finally getting his first testosterone shot. Eric is a 23-year-old transgender man from Ukraine. Assigned female at birth, he says starting hormone therapy was a major step in his quest to become his true self.
“It was utter happiness. I was euphoric, it was the moment that I’ve been waiting for for so long,” Eric, who asked for his last name to not be used because he is concerned for his safety, told CNN in Chisinau, Moldova, in July.
But just days after Eric had what should have been the first in a series of testosterone injections administered at a clinic in Kyiv, Russia invaded Ukraine. Everything changed.
“The clinic had closed because of the danger of airstrikes. I had the testosterone, but no way of getting [it administered]. I didn’t have the needles and there were huge shortages of everything in pharmacies, even the most basic stuff, because obviously, during the war, there’s a big need for things like syringes,” Eric said.
Russia’s brutal assault on Ukraine has upended the lives of millions of Ukrainians. But for Eric and many other trans people, the war has also made it much more difficult to be who they are.
Many lost access to vital medication and psychological help. Some were completely cut off from their communities and forced into spaces where LGBTQ people were not welcome, according to the Commissioner for Human Rights at the Council of Europe.
Bureaucratic problems, such as having personal documents issued under a different gender, can put them at extra risk.
The Ukrainian transgender rights group Cohort says it has helped more than 1,500 people since the start of the war, assisting them to move to safer areas and helping them pay their bills. The NGO also works with shelters to make sure they have the basic supplies they need.
But the number one request Cohort has been receiving in recent months is for help getting hormone therapy, or HRT, according to Anastasiia Yeva Domani, Cohort’s co-founder and executive director.
HRT can be used by trans women, trans men and non-binary people to make their physical appearance more aligned with their gender identity. The drugs alter the body’s testosterone or estrogen hormone levels and trigger physical changes that normally occur during puberty.
Shelling hits Bakhmut, Donetsk city, as fighting in east rages
From CNN's Olga Voitovych and Anna Chernova
A building burns after shelling in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on December 4. (Yevhen Titov/AFP/Getty Images)
The Donetsk region has continued to face shelling as fighting rages in Ukraine's east.
In the city of Bakhmut, besieged for months by Russian forces, an administrative building, a dormitory and a residential building were hit, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk region military administration. There were no casualties, he added.
Bakhmut and the surrounding area has seen some of the most ferocious fighting of the war.
The neighboring towns of Soledar and Chashiv Yar were also targeted by Russian shelling, Kyrylenko said, adding that Kurakhove and Hostre came under fire, damaging a kindergarten, four high-rise buildings and seven private houses.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian shelling has injured two people in Donetsk city, according to the Russian Investigative Committee.
The shelling targeted Voroshilovsky district, according to Alexei Kulemzin, head of the city administration.
The shelling allegedly struck the Church of Nativity of Christ, which has “partially collapsed," according to the statement.
The Investigative Committee said it will “establish all the circumstances of the incident and the persons involved in the commission of crimes."
