Ukraine war live updates: Kremlin rebuffs Kyiv’s call to withdraw troops at Christmas, saying Ukraine has to accept ‘new realities’

European Union energy ministers are meeting in Brussels to try to agree a bloc-wide cap on gas prices after months of deadlock over whether the measure can ease Europe’s energy crisis.

After weeks of infighting between countries, the European Commission proposed a price cap last month – the latest EU response to a crisis caused by Russia cutting gas deliveries to Europe this year, leading to energy price spikes.

“European citizens are in agony, European businesses are closing and Europe has been needlessly debating,” Greek Energy Minister Konstantinos Skrekas said on Tuesday, calling for a swift deal on the cap.

Greece and other countries including Belgium, Italy and Poland say a cap is needed to shield their economies from high energy prices, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands fear it could divert much-needed gas cargoes from Europe.

— Reuters

France’s Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Tuesday said parties to an international conference for Ukraine pledged payments of just over 1 billion euros ($1.05 billion).

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukraine’s allies gathered in Paris earlier he needed at least 800 million euros ($840 million) in urgent winter energy aid as Russian forces target civilian infrastructure across the country.

— Reuters

Moscow is preparing for “further talks” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, with “regular contact” maintained between the two countries, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said today, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

“When and how they will take place, we will let you know in due time,” Peskov said.

China has so far remained one of Russia’s few remaining trade partners and geopolitical allies following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

— Ruxandra Iordache

The U.K. announced a new package of sanctions on Tuesday that it said were in response to Russia’s continued strikes on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

The new package of 16 sanctions target high-level Russian officials for their roles in the Russian military “and its inhumane, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine,” the government said in a statement. Iranian businessmen and officials involved in the production and/or supply of drones to the Kremlin are also on the new sanctions list.

“Twelve senior commanders of Russian military forces, including units implicated in attacks on Ukrainian cities, have been sanctioned. Major General Robert Baranov, identified by a Bellingcat investigation as the commander of a unit responsible for programming and targeting Russian cruise missiles, is among those targeted,” the U.K. said.

It added that “Iranian-manufactured drones have played a central role in these evil attacks” on civilians and civilian infrastructure, with millions experiencing power and water shortages as a result of targeted attacks on energy infrastructure.

A list of the latest personnel to be sanctioned by the U.K. is here.

In the statement, U.K. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said “the U.K. stands with Ukraine. Russian forces’ calculated attacks on cities and innocent civilians in Ukraine will not go unanswered.”

“The Iranian regime is increasingly isolated in the face of deafening calls for change from its own people and is striking sordid deals with Putin in a desperate attempt to survive,” he added. “Putin wants to break Ukraine’s spirit, but he will not succeed. Ukraine will win, and Ukraine will rebuild.”

— Holly Ellyatt

The Kremlin has dismissed calls from Ukraine’s president to withdraw troops from the country at Christmas time, saying the proposal is “out of the question” and that Kyiv had to accept “new realities.”

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy had addressed Group of Seven leaders virtually on Monday, saying the path to peace could be achieved if Russia stopped its aggression toward Ukraine and withdrew its troops at Christmas.

“This is out of the question,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, answering a question about whether the Russian Federation is considering the possibility of starting the withdrawal of troops from Ukraine before the end of 2022, Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that in order to achieve peace Ukraine had to accept what he called “new realities” regarding annexed territories in Ukraine, that is, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk (which Russia claimed it had “annexed” following coercive referendums).

“The Ukrainian side needs to take into account the realities that have developed over all this time,” Peskov said. 

“These realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new subjects, they appeared as a result of referendums that took place in these territories,” the Kremlin spokesman emphasized. 

Peskov said that “without taking these new realities into account, any progress [on settlement] is impossible.” 

— Holly Ellyatt

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the presence of heavy weapons at the occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant Zaporizhzhia, according to a Google translation of a Telegram report from Russian state news agency Tass.

He added that Moscow is interested in staying in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over the nuclear facility. Russia seized the Zaporizhzhia plant toward the start of its invasion of Ukraine. Moscow and Kyiv have previously accused each other of shelling the facility, which the U.N. nuclear watchdog seeks to demilitarize.

IAEA head Rafael Grossi said on Twitter that the agency agreed to “deploy IAEA safety [and] security missions in all of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants” during a meeting with Ukrainian premier Denys Shmyhal in Paris yesterday. The IAEA continues its work to establish a “protection zone” for the Zaporizhzhia plant, Grossi said.

Shmyhal said on Telegram that demilitarizing the nuclear facility is the first point of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s peace plan proposal, a NBC translation indicates.

—Ruxandra Iordache

The southern region of Kherson was shelled 57 times over the past 24 hours, according to an Ukrainian official Tuesday.

Three civilians were killed and another 15 were injured following attacks on the Kherson region yesterday, the head of the Regional Military Administration Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram.

A school, a stadium, residences and medical and energy infrastructure suffered artillery and rocket bombardment, according to Yanushevych.

On Monday, Yanushevych described the recently liberated city of Kherson as coming under “massive fire” from Russian forces.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Belarus’ armed forces have begun combat readiness drills on the instruction of the country’s President Alexander Lukashenko, according to news agency BelTA, which cited information from the Belarusian Defense Ministry.

As part of the drills, troops will have to carry out “engineering, protection and defense activities, and build bridges across the Neman and Berezina rivers,” BelTA reported Tuesday.

The movement of military equipment and personnel will take place during the drills, meaning there will be temporary restrictions on civilian movement on certain public roads and areas.

Russia’s ally Belarus has not participated directly in the invasion of Ukraine by sending its own troops into the country but it has provided logistical support to Russia, which has launched attacks on Ukraine from Belarusian territory.

Belarus’ president has insisted that the country’s armed forces won’t enter the war, but its armed forces have been conducting an increasing number of military drills, and have formed a joint military task force with Russian forces.

— Holly Ellyatt

Convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout said he shook hands with U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner when they were exchanged as part of a high profile U.S.-Russia prisoner swap last week.

Speaking to Russian media, Bout said they exchanged pleasantries and shook hands on the airport tarmac in Abu Dhabi where the exchange procedure took place.

“When we were passing by, I wished her good luck; she wished me good luck in turn and then extended her hand. I shook hands with her. This looked decent,” Bout said in an interview with the KP-Petersburg news outlet.

Video footage released of the swap shows several men accompanying Griner, who had been imprisoned in Russia earlier this year on drug charges, as she walks toward Bout, who was also accompanied by a man, on the tarmac of Abu Dhabi airport.

Bout embraces one of the men and shakes the hand of an other but there’s a jump cut in the video as Griner and Bout — once nicknamed the “Merchant of Death” by a British official who was commenting on Bout’s arms dealing operations — approach each other.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annual press conference appearance was canceled on Monday, and Britain’s Ministry of Defense said that’s likely because of the Kremlin’s concerns over rising anti-war sentiment in Russia.

“The press conference has become a significant fixture in Putin’s calendar of public engagement and has frequently been used as an opportunity to demonstrate the supposed integrity of Putin,” the ministry said on Twitter.

“Although questions are almost certainly usually vetted in advance, the cancellation is likely due to increasing concerns about the prevalence of anti-war feeling in Russia.”

“Kremlin officials are almost certainly extremely sensitive about the possibility that any event attended by Putin could be hijacked by unsanctioned discussion about the ‘special military operation’,” the ministry added.

The Kremlin confirmed on Monday that Putin will not hold his traditional end-of-year press conference without citing a reason for the cancellation. Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said the press conference wouldn’t be held before the New Year but that the president would try to find an opportunity to speak to the media.

It’s the first time in 10 years that Putin will not hold the press conference. The annual public phone-in, in which Putin answers a wide range of (likely vetted) questions from the public, did not take place this year either.

Russian forces have experienced a series of setbacks in the war in Ukraine, with grumblings of discontent growing in Russia, particularly following the mass mobilization of reservists.

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Russian forces to withdraw from Ukraine this Christmas as he addressed leaders of the Group of Seven on Monday.

“Very soon we’ll have holidays celebrated by billions of people. Christmas – according to the Gregorian calendar or the New Year and Christmas – according to the Julian calendar. This is the time for normal people to think about peace, not aggression. I suggest Russia to at least try to prove that it is capable of abandoning the aggression,” Zelenskyy said in his address to G-7 leaders who met virtually Monday. 

“The occupier must leave. It will certainly happen. I see no reason why Russia should not do it now – at Christmas. The answer from Moscow will show what they really want – further confrontation with the world or finally [a] cessation of the aggression. The one who brought the war upon us has to take it away,” Zelenskyy said.

Zelenskyy suggested a “Global Peace Formula” summit should be convened at which Ukraine’s proposals could be discussed.

“It would be right to start the withdrawal of Russian troops from the internationally recognized territory of Ukraine this Christmas. If Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine, it will ensure a lasting cessation of hostilities,” he added.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian forces have begun to launch a new batch of Iranian drones, according to the Ukrainian Air Force’s spokesperson, who said the launch point has shifted to the eastern side of the Sea of Azov.

“It is difficult to speak about the volumes. But what is known for sure is that they have already started using them. They began to launch them from the eastern part of the Sea of Azov,” Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesperson for the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said during a nationwide telethon reported by news agency Ukrinform late Monday.

Ihnat said drones had already been downed in the southern regions of Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa. Russia has been accused of using Iranian-made “Shahed” drones to attack multiple targets in Ukraine, particularly energy infrastructure, for months.

Although it has not officially admitted using them, Iran has admitted to supplying Russia with drones and there have been reports that Russia was awaiting a new batch of the unmanned aerial vehicles.

Ihnat explained that the shift in the launch point of the drones was related to a shift in the position of the front line in Ukraine.

“The battle line has shifted. Therefore, the enemy can slightly pull back the launch point. For Shahed [drones], distance is not such a problem. After all, they simply moved those launch sites, fearing that our defense forces could get them,” Ihnat said, adding that the possibility of new missile attacks remains.

Noting that Russia had moved strategic bomber aircraft further inland following several explosions at Russian airfields last week, for which Ukraine did not claim responsibility, Ihnat said such movement “does not mean that they are not preparing some kind of attack. Therefore, we all need to be ready for this.”

— Holly Ellyatt

Ukraine’s prime minister has appealed for Patriot missile batteries and other high-tech air defense systems to counter Russian attacks that knocked out electricity and water supplies for millions of Ukrainians, putting Europe on alert to brace for more refugees.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told French broadcaster LCI that in addition to making Ukrainians suffer, Russia wants to swamp Europe with a new wave of Ukrainian refugees by continuing to strike power stations and other infrastructure.

Poland’s president said his nation already has seen an increased demand to shelter refugees due to the combination of such attacks coupled with the freezing weather in Ukraine.

“The number of refugees in Poland has risen (recently) to some 3 million. That will probably also mean an increase in their numbers in Germany,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said following talks with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.

— Associated Press

The Kremlin said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual press conference this year.

The news conference, which typically last multiple hours, is one of the few opportunities for journalists outside of the Kremlin press pool to ask Putin questions.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed reports by Russian-state owned media that Putin will not hold a press conference this year. Peskov declined to give a reason for the cancellation. 

— Amanda Macias

Group of Seven allies convened with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and reiterated their commitment to helping the country combat Russian aggression.

In a statement released after the meeting, G-7 leaders promised to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes,” calling Russia’s actions an “illegal, unjustifiable and unprovoked war of aggression.” The group further condemned actors facilitating the war.

“There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities,” the statement read. “We will hold President Putin and those responsible to account in accordance with international law. We reiterate that Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable and that any use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons would be met with severe consequences.”

G-7 leaders vowed to have their finance ministers meet “shortly” to discuss how to support Ukraine financially into 2023. The leaders said the International Monetary Fund should be a central player.

The allies also reiterated they would continue to move away from purchasing Russian oil and would go ahead as planned with the plan to set a price cap on Russian oil in early February.

“Russia’s war of aggression must end,” the statement read. “To date, we have not seen evidence that Russia is committed to sustainable peace efforts. Russia can end this war immediately by ceasing its attacks against Ukraine and completely and unconditionally withdrawing its forces from the territory of Ukraine.”

— Emma Kinery

Nearly 8 million Ukrainians have become refugees and moved to neighboring countries since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, the U.N. Refugee Agency estimates.

More than 4.8 million of those people have applied for temporary resident status in neighboring Western European countries, according to data collected by the agency.

“The escalation of conflict in Ukraine has caused civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing people to flee their homes seeking safety, protection and assistance,” the U.N. Refugee Agency wrote.

— Amanda Macias

Kherson city, in the partially-liberated southern region of Kherson, is coming under “massive fire,” according to the head of the regional military administration there.

“Kherson is under massive fire from the Russian occupiers,” Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram Monday, saying Russians had attacked two neighborhoods in the city. Five people were known to have been wounded in the attacks and two people to have died, he said.

“Emergency medical aid teams, together with the Red Cross, are heading to the Ostriv district. The number of victims [there] is currently unknown,” he said. CNBC was unable to verify the details within Yanushevych’s post.

Yanushevych called on civilians to stay within sheltered areas if they hear the sounds of explosions.

Ukraine called on residents within Kherson to evacuate last month following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the city and the wider Kherson region to the west bank of the Dnieper river, given that Russian forces have tended to heavily bombard the settlements from which they have retreated.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian mercenaries fighting in eastern Ukraine suffered heavy losses after the hotel they were using as their headquarters was hit by Ukrainian forces this weekend, according to an official.

There were “very significant” losses after the guest house in Kadiivka in Luhansk was hit, the head of the Luhansk Military Administration Serhiy Haidai said on his Telegram account on Sunday.

Haidai claimed the hotel was being used as the headquarters of the private military force, the “Wagner Group,” a state-sanctioned group founded by an ally of President Vladimir Putin.

Wagner soldiers, widely seen as mercenaries, are fighting alongside the regular Russian army in Ukraine, particularly in the east of the country, where fighting is intense as Russian forces try to occupy more of the region and Ukrainian forces try to reclaim more territory.

Haidai said Russian forces are looking to mobilize all the men in the region and that age or health is no barrier to being forcibly mobilized. CNBC was unable to immediately verify Haidai’s claims.