Update 36: Russia's war with Ukraine

Since the Ukrainian attack on the Kerch Strait bridge in October, Moscow has showed itself determined to demolish Ukrainian society with air attacks on civilians and their infrastructure. More than 6 million households in Ukraine were still affected by power cuts, two days after the latest targeted Russian airstrikes on the country’s energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his address on 25 November. About 600,000 people were experiencing power cuts in Kyiv, with the Odessa, Lviv, Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk regions also among the worst affected as temperatures approach freezing.

The UK Ministry of Defence suggested on 26 November that Russia is firing ageing cruise missiles stripped of their nuclear warheads at Ukrainian targets because missile stocks are so depleted. During a speech at the meeting of the UN Security Council convened on 24 November to discuss the Russian missile strikes on civilian infrastructure, President Zelensky urged the Council to act against Russia. Earlier in the day, the European Parliament declared Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism", accusing its forces of carrying out atrocities. As Ukrainian engineers across the country sought to restore heat, water and power to major cities, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement after a phone call with Zelensky on 25 November, that the EU is stepping up efforts to provide Ukraine with support to restore and maintain power and heating.

Read more in the attached pdf on: stalled diplomacy; Western military and financial assistance to Ukraine; the humanitarian consequences of the armed conflict; continuing concerns about nuclear facilities; the risk of nuclear weapon use; investigations into alleged war crimes; sanctions against Russia; international food security and Ukrainian grain exports; energy security in Europe; developments in Russia; and developments within NATO.