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1m ago
(13:28 GMT)Explosions heard in Kyiv after Zelenskyy’s G20 speech
At least two explosions were heard in Kyiv, and smoke could be seen rising over the city, a Reuters news agency correspondent in the Ukrainian capital said.
The blasts followed air raid warnings across Ukraine hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to leaders of the Group of 20 nations.
Andriy Yermak, chief of Ukraine’s presidential staff, wrote on Twitter: “Russia responds to Zelenskyy’s powerful speech at G20 with a new missile attack. Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose”.
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24m ago
(13:04 GMT)What are world leaders saying about the Ukraine war?
With the war in Ukraine dominating the first day of talks at the Group of 20 (G20) summit, world leaders spoke about the conflict and the broader global economic crisis.
Ukrainian president Zelenskyy used the summit to urge leaders to adopt a 10-point peace plan to end the war and rejected any negotiations similar to the deals between Kyiv and Moscow in 2014.
But, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, who is at the summit on behalf of Putin, accused Ukraine of dragging out the war.
Read more on what world leaders said at the opening of the two-day summit in Bali.
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37m ago
(12:51 GMT)Spain’s PM asks China to use its influence over Russia
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez asks Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his influence over Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine, Spain’s government spokesperson Isabel Rodriguez said.
Sanchez and Xi held a bilateral meeting at the G20 summit in Bali.
US President Joe Biden also met with Xi on Monday, where the two leaders “reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won”.
They also “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine”.
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50m ago
(12:38 GMT)Russia’s ‘unwillingness to stop murdering’ prolonging war: Ukrainian presidential adviser
Ukraine’s presidential adviser accused Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov of blocking peace in Ukraine after Lavrov said Kyiv was dragging out a resolution of the conflict.
“Reminding to Mr.Lavrov: RF is the one who invaded. RF shells our cities. RF commits genocide destroying energy infrastructure. But “Ukraine is dragging out the conflict”? War still continues only because of Lavrov’s public manipulation and unwillingness to stop murdering”, Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter.
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1h ago
(12:23 GMT)Civil servants leave Nova Kakhovka due to intense shelling
Officials said that civil servants working for the Russian-installed administration in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, next to the Kakhovka dam by the Dnipro river, have left due to intensified shelling.
“Employees of the Nova Kakhovka city state administration and state and municipal institutions also left the city and were relocated to safe areas in the region,” the city’s Russian-installed administration said.
A satellite image shows the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River [Maxar Technologies/Handout via Reuters] Advertisement
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1h ago
(12:06 GMT)Which countries voted for Russian reparations?
The UN passed a resolution calling for Russia to pay reparations to Ukraine for damages caused by the invasion.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrated the news and said in his nightly address that reparations are now part of an “international legal reality”, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said Russia was “categorically against” paying compensation.
Of the UN assembly, 94 members voted in favour, 14 voted against, and 73 abstained.
Read more on the way countries voted for Russian reparations.
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1h ago
(11:54 GMT)All sides are still discussing grain deal extension: UN
A UN spokesperson says all sides are still discussing extending the Black Sea grain deal as the expiry date approaches.
“Discussions on the continuation of the Black Sea Grain Initiative with all parties are ongoing at various levels. We do not have something to announce at this stage,” said Ismini Palla, UN spokeswoman for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, in Istanbul.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow would announce whether it was extending its participation in the Black Sea grain “at the appropriate time.”
Moscow has said its agreement depends on whether it can ensure it can export its own agricultural and fertiliser exports despite the obstacles created by international sanctions.
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1h ago
(11:48 GMT)Russia is taking a defensive stance, says Western official
Russia is now engaged in a defensive operation in Ukraine, a Western official said
“It’s clear that for now, the Russia occupation of Ukraine is a defensive operation,” said the official, who spoke to the Reuters news agency anonymously.
The official said Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson had been relatively orderly and added that Russia’s claims it had evacuated 30,000 troops was likely an exaggeration, estimating that the number was closer to 20,000 personnel.
He said he expected the situation on the battlefield would be broadly static into next year.
“If people are expecting the collapse of forces on either side, we can’t see anything which would indicate that from now through until the end of the year,” the official said.
“Neither side is in such a condition that its forces will collapse.”
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1h ago
(11:32 GMT)‘We highlighted illegality, barbaric nature of Russia’s war’: UK’s Sunak
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Western allies have “highlighted both the illegality and barbaric nature of Russia’s war” at the G20 summit in Bali.
“This morning at the G20, we saw international condemnation of Russia’s war in Ukraine. And with Russia’s foreign minister sitting there, we highlighted both the illegality and barbaric nature of Russia’s war.
“And also the devastating impact it’s having on people around the world through higher food and energy prices.
“We have a responsibility to work with our G20 allies to fix the global economy, to grip inflation, but also to safeguard and preserve the international order, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
A spokesperson for Sunak said the prime minister spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and hopes the two nations can work together to help stabilise energy markets.
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2h ago
(11:26 GMT)Draft declaration ‘tried to push’ widespread condemnation: Lavrov
While a draft declaration by leaders of the G20 said “most” members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the West is pushing a line on behalf of nations.
“Yes, our Western colleagues tried in every way to make that declaration politicised and tried to push through language that implied condemning the actions of the Russian Federation on behalf of the entire G20, which includes us,” Lavrov said.
“But let’s do this in a fair way, and let’s make it clear that, on this topic, we have differences.”
“Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that the West has unleashed and been preparing for years,” Lavrov added.
The war has overshadowed the summit despite calls from host Indonesia for unity and to focus on action to resolve global economic problems such as inflation and food and energy security.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the G20 leaders’ summit [Bandar Al-Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace / AFP] -
2h ago
(11:13 GMT)Western-supplied arms and mercenaries are priority targets: Moscow
The secretary of Russia’s Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, says that Western-supplied arms and foreign mercenaries were priority targets for Russia’s forces fighting in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“Lethal weapons supplied to Ukraine, as well as foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side, are priority targets for the Russian Armed Forces,” Patrushev said in Bryansk at a meeting on security issues in central Russia.
Patrushev added that Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups had been seen in border regions.
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2h ago
(11:05 GMT)Wagner Group denies any link to executed fighter
The shadowy Wagner mercenary group has denied its involvement in the execution of one of its fighters in Ukraine after saying the man deserved a “dog’s death”.
The man, who identified himself as Yevgeny Nuzhin, was shown in footage receiving a fatal blow to the head with a sledgehammer.
On Sunday, Wagner’s head Yevgeny Prigozhin praised what he described as “magnificent work”, calling the murdered man a “dog”.
“A dog should have a dog’s death,” he said.
In a new statement on Tuesday, Prigozhin denied that his private fighting group had played any role in the murder and blamed US secret services without substantiating his accusations.
“It’s the practice of US intelligence services, which abduct people, including Russian citizens, across the world,” Prigozhin said, calling on Russian prosecutors to open an investigation.
“Wagner employees are distinguished by their exemplary discipline and strict adherence to international standards and globally accepted rules of social behaviour,” Prigozhin added.
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2h ago
(10:53 GMT)‘Encouraging signs’ at G20, says German chancellor
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there are encouraging signs at the G20 meeting in Bali for a consensus that Russia’s war against Ukraine is unacceptable and that nuclear weapons must not be used.
“This is a consensus that is gaining ground here,” he told journalists in Bali.
Asked about a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Scholz said: “He stood near me and said a couple of sentences, that was the conversation.”
Scholz also said he would continue to talk to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to find solutions to end the war against Ukraine.
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2h ago
(10:49 GMT)Russia will stop the West from using its frozen assests to pay reparations: Kremlin
The Kremlin says it will do “everything possible” to stop the West from seizing its frozen international reserves or “plundering” them to pay for reparations to Ukraine.
The West froze around half or more than $300bn of Russia’s international reserves after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February.
“Russia will do everything possible” to resist Western attempts to “plunder” its reserves, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
He accused the West of “racketeering” and “violating all the foundations and rules of private property and international law”.
Peskov said the moves in the United Nations were an attempt to use the global forum to “formalise robbery”.
Asked whether Russia was ready to restore Ukraine’s damaged infrastructure, Peskov added: “No, that’s out of the question.”
The UN resolution, supported by 94 of the assembly’s 193 members with 14 votes against, said Russia “must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts.”
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2h ago
(10:40 GMT)Russia likely to renew grain deal, Bloomberg reports
Bloomberg reports that Russia is expected to agree to an extension of a United Nations-brokered grain deal.
The report said that Russia would likely allow the deal to renew after its November 19 expiration, citing four people familiar with the discussions.
The report said that the quoted people did not specify whether Russia would seek to add new conditions in return for the extension or any other details.
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2h ago
(10:35 GMT)Kyiv’s conditions are ‘unrealistic’, says Lavrov
During the Group of 20 (G20) summit, Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said Ukraine’s conditions for restarting talks with Moscow were “unrealistic,” as pressure mounts on Russia to end the conflict.
“I said again that all problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic,” Lavrov told reporters, saying he had put forward that position during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The war in Ukraine has taken centre stage during the first day of talks at the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia.
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3h ago
(10:23 GMT)Russia, Ukraine guilty of prisoner torture: UN
The UN human rights office (OHCHR) says Russia and Ukraine have tortured prisoners of war during the conflict, including using electric shocks and forced nudity.
The UN Ukraine-based monitoring team based its findings on interviews with more than 100 prisoners of war on each side of the conflict.
It said that the interviews with Ukrainian prisoners of war were conducted after their release since Russia did not grant access to detention sites.
Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, denies torture or other forms of maltreatment of POWs (Prisoners Of War).
Kyiv has previously said it checks all information regarding the treatment of POWs and will investigate any violations and take appropriate legal action.
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3h ago
(10:18 GMT)EU, US have promised to remove obstacles on exporting grain, says Russia
Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, tells reporters at the G20 summit that the UN has told him of written US and EU promises to remove obstacles to exporting Russian grain and fertilisers to world markets.
While Western sanctions do not directly affect grains and fertilisers, Moscow has complained for months that they are effectively restricted because they limit access to ports, finance and insurance.
Lavrov said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told him he had written promises from the United States and the EU to implement the part of that deal that concerned Russia’s exports so that operators handling Russian grain would not be sanctioned.
He added that if these promises were realised, all obstacles to the export of Russian grain and fertilisers would be removed.
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3h ago
(10:06 GMT)Lavrov meets French and German leaders, accuses Kyiv of not heeding advice
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he has spoken with the leaders of France and Germany on the conflict in Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of dragging out any possible resolution.
Speaking to reporters in Bali at the G20 summit, Lavrov said Ukraine was refusing to talk to Moscow and had put forward unrealistic conditions for peace.
Lavrov added that he had concluded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not listen to Western advice after the Ukrainian president made a speech to the G20 summit in Bali via video link outlining proposals for a peace deal.
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3h ago
(09:52 GMT)West tried to ‘politicise’ joint declaration, says Russia’s foreign minister
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Western countries tried to “politicise” a joint declaration at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali.
The draft declaration by leaders of the G20, seen by the Reuters news agency, said “most” members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.
