As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its 282nd day, we take a look at the main developments.
Here is the situation as it stands on Friday, December 2:
Diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden said he is ready to meet Russia’s Vladimir Putin “if in fact there is an interest in him deciding that he’s looking for a way to end the war”. The Kremlin “hasn’t done that”, he noted.
- Putin is open to talks on a possible settlement in Ukraine, but the refusal of the US to recognise annexed territories as Russian is hindering a search for any potential compromise, the Kremlin said.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the US and NATO of direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, though he did not provide evidence.
- Biden used the first state visit of his presidency to demonstrate unity with France’s Emmanuel Macron on Ukraine.
- Discussing a potential peace deal with Russia, Macron said, “We will never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise that will not be acceptable for them.”
- The International Atomic Energy Agency hopes to reach an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to create a protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant by the end of the year, the head of the UN atomic watchdog was quoted as saying.
Fighting
- Ukraine’s armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network.
- Russia’s defence ministry and the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration said the two countries swapped 50 service personnel in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides.
- Russian rockets pounded neighbourhoods in Kherson, knocking out power in the city where electricity had only begun to be restored nearly three weeks after Russian troops left.
- Ukraine’s armed forces reported heavy shelling of a number of eastern front-line villages near the city of Bakhmut.
- Ukraine’s military said it found fragments of Russian-fired nuclear-capable missiles with dud warheads in western Ukraine, and their apparent purpose was to distract air defences.
- Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko told residents to stock up on water, food, and warm clothes in the event of a total blackout caused by Russian strikes.
- American officials are discussing a major expansion in training for the Ukrainian military.
- The US may redeploy some air defence systems from the Middle East to Ukraine, Raytheon Technologies Chief Executive Greg Hayes told Politico.
Economics
- The Group of Seven nations are “very, very close” to an agreement on a $60 a barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil with an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5 percent below the market price, a senior G7 official said.
- Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure have increased the cost to keep Ukraine’s economy going next year, adding up to $1bn a month to previous estimates of $3-4bn, the head of the International Monetary Fund said.
