Russian Drones Hit Kyiv As Vladimir Putin Visits Belarus

Russian "kamikaze" drones hit key energy infrastructure in and around Kyiv on Monday and President Vladimir Putin visited Belarus for the first time since 2019, fuelling Ukrainian fears he will pressure his ally to open a new invasion front.

Belarus- New Front?

•  Putin's visit to Belarus comes after the recent major battlefield setbacks for Moscow, stoking fears that the former Soviet ally could be pressured to reopen a new front against Ukraine.
• Putin and his Belarusian counterpart President Alexander extolled the benefits of cooperation, but they hardly mention the war raging in Ukraine at their joint news conference.
• Russian troops that were moved to Belarus in October to become part of a regional formation will conduct tactical exercises, the Russian Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing the Russian defence ministry.

Support Sought

• Zelenskiy asked Western leaders meeting in Latvia to supply a wide range of weapons systems, renewing his longstanding call for more military support.
• Moldova's spy chief warned on Monday of a "very high" risk of a new Russian offensive towards his country's east next year and said Moscow still aimed to secure a land corridor through Ukraine to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transdniestria.

Conflict

• Russia's latest attacks hit "critical infrastructure" in and around Kyiv early on Monday, Ukrainian authorities said.
• That followed Friday's 70 missile strikes in one of Russia's biggest assaults against Ukraine since the start of the war, Ukrainian officials said.
• Ukraine's atomic energy agency accused Russia of sending a "kamikaze" drone over part of the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant in the Mykolaiv region overnight.
• Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down four U.S.-made HARM anti-radiation missiles over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, in the space of 24 hours, the state-run TASS news agency reported.
• Reuters was not able to independently verify battlefield reports.

Power

• The power grid operator described the situation as "difficult" and said the Dnipropetrovsk region and areas in the centre and east of the country were the worst affected.
• Emergency power outages affected several locations, including Kyiv city, the surrounding region and the regions of Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava and Zaporizhzhia, operator Ukrenergo said.

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