Ukraine war latest: Kiev fighting ‘fierce battle’ with Putin’s troops in Pokrovsk

The Kremlin said there had been contacts between Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, and Kremlin foreign policy aide, Yuri Ushakov, but the talks were not productive.

The Financial Times It was reported that Powell had tried to open a back channel in the Kremlin because Britain and its European allies fear that US President Donald Trump’s administration could sideline their interests over Ukraine.

Two Ukrainian ministers have resigned from their posts in the Kyiv government after a £76m energy sector corruption scandal involving a key aide of President Volodymyr Zelensky emerged.

Justice Minister German Galushchenko and Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk resigned yesterday after Mr Zelensky demanded their dismissal.

The President said he supports anti-corruption agencies in investigating corruption in the energy sector.

“First of all, in the energy sector, there should be maximum transparency in all processes,” Zelensky said in a video address. “Now it is very difficult for everyone in Ukraine. It is absolutely unusual that there are still few plans in the energy sector,” he said.

Justice Minister Galushchenko previously said on Facebook that he supported his suspension as a “decent and reasonable scenario” and vowed to defend himself, without sharing further details about the investigation.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said he hopes Washington will not take any actions responsible for escalating the Ukraine conflict.

Lavrov said US President Donald Trump had long advocated dialogue with Russia, sought to fully understand the Russian position on Ukraine and “demonstrated a commitment to finding a lasting peaceful solution”.

“We are relying on common sense and that position in Washington will be maintained and they will avoid actions that could escalate the conflict to a new level,” Russian state news agency TASS quoted Lavrov as saying.

The Russian minister did not acknowledge Moscow’s role in the escalating attacks on Ukraine in the winter offensive.

Lavrov’s comments were originally part of an interview with Italian daily Corriere Della Sera. Tass said the Italian daily had declined to publish the interview.

Lavrov said Trump acknowledged that one reason behind Russia’s action was the expansion of the NATO alliance and the deployment of its infrastructure close to its border.

“In short, this is what Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia have been warning for the last 20 years,” Lavrov was quoted as saying.

The Institute for the Study of War said Russia’s siege of Pokrovsk, where it has deployed elite drone operators and “Spetsnaz” special forces troops, is progressing slowly because its military commanders are spreading their resources widely.

The Washington-based think tank said late Tuesday that Russia is waging multiple offensive operations across the theater and is having difficulty scaling up military operations.

However, Russia’s corrosive warfare has been costly in terms of casualties and armour, and Ukraine has put it to incremental advantage on the battlefield.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the energy corruption scandal in Ukraine was “extremely unfortunate” and it was important that Kiev took it seriously.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for the dismissal of two cabinet ministers on Wednesday amid an investigation into an alleged $100 million corruption scheme, which has stoked public anger at the country’s government.

“They are working very forcefully. There is no room for corruption, especially now. I mean, it’s really the people’s money that should be going to the front lines,” Callas said on the sidelines of a meeting of the Group of Seven foreign ministers in Canada.

“I think it’s very important that they really move forward on this very quickly and take it very seriously,” he said.

Russian oil giant Lukoil’s overseas assets are attracting potential bidders from Egypt to Kazakhstan as time runs out to approve deals before US authorities impose sanctions.

The US has imposed sanctions on Lukoil as part of its effort to bring the Kremlin into peace talks over Ukraine, and has already blocked Lukoil’s attempt to sell foreign assets to businessman Gunvor before a November 21 sanctions deadline.

Sanctions have already disrupted Lukoil’s operations in Iraq, pump stations in Finland and a refinery in Bulgaria.

As its empire crumbles, governments and partners are hoping to snap up its overseas assets on the cheap.

Washington late last month imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two biggest oil companies, underscoring Washington’s intention to squeeze Russia economically and force it into a peace deal that would end the war over Ukraine.

Canada led the pace in supporting Ukraine and calling for measures to weaken Russia’s war on the country as the G7 nations met in Niagara-on-the-Lake, near the US border.

G7 ministers said in a joint statement at the conclusion of the two-day gathering that they are raising economic costs for Russia and exploring measures against those financing Russia’s war effort.

Canada announced more sanctions against Russia, including targeting people involved in the development and deployment of drones, and Britain pledged funding for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure a day earlier.

Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand said, “We are doing everything necessary to support Ukraine.”

G7 foreign ministers met with Ukraine’s foreign minister yesterday, as Kiev tries to stop Russian airstrikes that have caused blackouts across the country. Andriy Cybiha said Ukraine needed the support of its partners to survive a “very difficult, very difficult winter”.

“We have to move to put pressure on Russia, to raise the price for aggression, for Russia, for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, to end this war,” Sibiha said.

Russian forces captured three settlements in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region, Kiev’s top military commander said in the latest battlefield update yesterday, as Moscow’s forces expand their efforts to capture more Ukrainian territory.

General Oleksandr Syrsky wrote on the messaging app Telegram that dense fog had enabled Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhia, and said Ukrainian units were locked in “fierce fighting” to repel the Russian attack.

However, he noted that the fiercest fighting was still in the besieged Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, where almost half of all front-line clashes took place in the past 24 hours.

The cities of Kupyansk and Lyman in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region have also seen a recent increase in fighting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for the dismissal of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers, saying they had supported anti-corruption agencies in investigating corruption in the energy sector.

“First of all, in the energy sector, there should be maximum transparency in all processes,” Zelensky said in a video address.

“Now it is very difficult for everyone in Ukraine. It is absolutely unusual that there are still few plans in the energy sector.”

Justice Minister German Galushchenko earlier said on Facebook that he supported his suspension as a “decent and reasonable scenario” and vowed to defend himself, without sharing further details of the investigation.