Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature New Zealand will send an extra 66 defense force personnel to the UK to help train Ukrainian soldiers. New Zealand currently has a 120-strong Defense Force (NZDF) contingent training Ukrainians in the UK, but that deployment was due to end. The new development will run from November 30 to July 2023, according to a government statement. “I am delighted that the NZDF infantry can provide the skills and experience for further training. This deployment also provides an opportunity for NZDF personnel to gain valuable experience,” Defense Minister Penny Henare said on Monday. The New Zealand government also said it would expand the existing NZDF intelligence contribution, redeploy four NZDF staff to help with the logistics hub in Europe and provide eight people to support those deployed to the region. No NZDF personnel will be sent to Ukraine. The government said it would donate NZ$1.85 million ($1.13 million) to the World Food Program to help address global food security and NZ$1.85 million to the Nato Trust Fund. Images of local residents embracing returning Ukrainian soldiers as they celebrated the liberation of towns and villages across Kherson have appeared on our news wires today. Many were reunited for the first time since Russian troops seized the region in southern Ukraine. Local residents embrace a returning Ukrainian soldier. Photo: AFP/Getty ImagesA man waves a Ukrainian flag at a former Russian checkpoint at the entrance to Kherson. Photo: AFP/Getty Images A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier. Photo: AFP/Getty Images Children celebrate after Russia’s retreat from Kherson. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters In the village of Tsentralne, a Ukrainian soldier hugs his grandmother after being reunited for the first time since Russian troops withdrew from the area in southern Ukraine. Photo: Bernat Armangué/AP
The US will impose sanctions on the military procurement network that helps Russia
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the United States will impose new sanctions on a transnational network of individuals and companies working to procure military technology for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine. Yellen told reporters on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali that the sanctions would target 14 individuals and 28 entities, including financial facilitators, but declined to elaborate on their whereabouts. He said the announcement was scheduled for later on Monday, according to Reuters. This is part of our larger effort to disrupt Russia’s war effort and deny it the equipment it needs through sanctions and export controls,” Yellen told reporters. He declined to provide details on which technologies the sanctions would target in an effort to disrupt Russian markets. The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on major military industrial companies in Russia, and the Commerce Department has suspended exports of U.S. components and U.S. technology that have been used in some of Russia’s military hardware.
Mine kills family of four in Kherson – reports
A family of four, including an 11-year-old child, was reportedly killed when the car they were traveling in hit a land mine in the Kherson region. Kirill Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential office, reported the deaths Sunday night in a post on his Telegram channel. Tymoshenko said the family hit a landmine in the village of Novoraisk on Sunday, resulting in the fatal explosion. Updated at 06:24 GMT
Russian forces destroy key infrastructure before Kherson retreats
Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to restore basic services to those living in Kherson after the retreating Russian army blew up all major infrastructure, leaving residents without electricity and water. Russian troops “destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his latest national address. Kherson’s mayor said the humanitarian situation was “serious” due to shortages of water, medicine and bread, while Zelensky said authorities were dealing with thousands of unexploded mines, wire ropes and shells from Russian troops. Roman Golovnya, an advisor to the city’s local administration, said: “The Russian occupation forces and collaborators did everything possible to make those people who remained in the city suffer as much as possible during these days, weeks and months of waiting”. Residents receive food donations in Novokyivka, southern Ukraine on Sunday, November 13. Photo: Bernat Armangué/AP The head of the Kherson regional state administration said that everything is being done to “return to normal life” in the region. Speaking from the city of Kherson in a video poster on social media, Yaroslav Yanushevych said that while the demining took place, a curfew had been put in place and traffic in and out of the city had been restricted. The retreating Russian forces reportedly destroyed the city of Kherson’s communications, electricity, water, heat, a 100-meter-tall television tower and at least four bridges. Ukrainians also accused the Russians of blowing up dozens of schools across the province, further damaging the prospects of children who have already missed nine months of classes. Zelensky added that 226 settlements in the Kherson region will be rehabilitated, with more than 100,000 local residents.
Zelensky accuses Russia of war crimes in Kherson
On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russian soldiers of war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson. Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and soldiers were found. The Russian army left behind the same savagery that it did in other parts of the country it entered,” he said.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours. Ukrainian authorities are scrambling to clear the strategic southern city of Kherson and restore electricity to the entire region after the retreating Russian army blew up all major infrastructure, leaving residents without electricity and water. Kherson’s mayor said the humanitarian situation was “serious” due to shortages of water, medicine and bread, while Zelensky said authorities were dealing with thousands of unexploded mines, wire ropes and shells from Russian troops. Volodymyr Zelenskiy also accused Russian soldiers of war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson. “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and soldiers were found. The Russian army left behind the same ferocity that it did in other regions of the country where it entered,” the Ukrainian president said. For any updates or comments you’d like to share, please feel free to reach out via email or Twitter. If you’ve just joined us, here’s all the latest:
Russian forces destroyed key infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson before retreating, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Russian troops “destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” he said in his final national address. The mayor of Kherson said the humanitarian situation was “serious” due to lack of water, medicine and bread. Zelensky said authorities had dealt with nearly 2,000 mines, wires and unexploded ordnance left by Russian troops.
Ukrainians welcomed Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson, as Kyiv said it was working to de-mine the strategic southern city and restore power across the region. In the formerly occupied villages of Pravdyne and Snihurivka, outside Kherson, returning locals embraced returning troops and their neighbors, some unable to hold back tears. “Victory at last!” said one.
The head of the Kherson regional state administration said that everything is being done to “return to normal life” in the region. Speaking from the city of Kherson in a video poster on social media, Yaroslav Yanushevych said that while the demining took place, a curfew had been put in place and traffic in and out of the city had been restricted. Zelensky added that 226 settlements in the Kherson region will be rehabilitated, with more than 100,000 local residents. Ukraine can “feel the approach of our victory,” he added in his final national address.
Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson. “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and soldiers were found. The Russian army left behind the same brutality that it did in other parts of the country where it entered,” he said on Sunday.
Significant new damage to the large Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, which the Russians attempted to blow up as they retreated from nearby Kherson, has been shown in satellite images from US company Maxar. Ukrainian authorities are trying to assess the damage and it is unclear whether the structural integrity of the tank is at risk. With a water volume of 18.2 cubic kilometers, the reservoir could flood a huge area, including the city of Kherson, if damaged.
Pro-Moscow forces are fighting fiercely in the eastern region of Donetsk. “The fighting in the Donetsk region is just as intense as it was in previous days,” Zelensky said in his video address overnight. “The level of Russian attacks has not decreased. And our level of resilience and courage is at an all-time high. We won’t let them through our defense.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said some sanctions on Russia could remain in place even after any peace deal with Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. Yellen said any potential peace deal would involve a review of the sanctions the US and its allies have imposed on the Russian economy, according to the Journal. “I suppose in the context of some peace…
