For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.
The latest developments in Russia’s war on Ukraine. All times EDT.
11:30 p.m.: Ukraine's Home-Front Helpers: Throughout the Russian invasion, Ukrainian civilians have been volunteering and working to make vital hardware for their country’s war effort. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has the photos.
9:28 p.m.: In the first half of 2022, 419,000 Russians left the country, according to the Rosstat statistics agency. Although more recent figures have not been released, the exodus has likely grown since President Vladimir Putin announced a military mobilization on September 21. While it is unclear how many of those departures were Russians leaving the country for the long term, the loss of working-age people, entrepreneurs, and trained specialists has been a significant drain for Russia.
According to the BCS Global Markets analytical firm, individual Russians sent $14 billion abroad in the first nine months of the year, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.
In addition, more than 1,000 international companies have stop working in Russia because of unprecedented Western sanctions levied against Moscow following the invasion. Some 320 have left Russia completely. Hundreds of Russian businesses have also sought greener pastures abroad.
9:04 p.m.:
8:06 p.m.: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, under fire for a Friday trip to Beijing with German CEOs, said his joint statement with Chinese President Xi Jinping opposing the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine had been reason enough for the visit, Reuters reported.
7:17 p.m.: National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has held undisclosed talks with top Russian officials in hopes of reducing the risk the war in Ukraine spills over or escalates into a nuclear conflict, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
According to Reuters, the newspaper cited U.S. and allied officials as saying that Sullivan, President Joe Biden's top aide on national security, held confidential conversations in recent months with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Sullivan's counterpart, that were not disclosed publicly.
The White House declined to comment on the report, responding to questions about the story only with a statement attributed to National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson: "People claim a lot of things."
The Wall Street Journal said the officials did not provide the dates or the number of calls.
6:38 p.m.:
5:57 p.m.: Relatives welcomed released servicemen after they returned to the Russian-held Donetsk region on Sunday, following a recent prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine, The Associated Press reported.
Daria Morozova, a Russia-installed ombudswoman for human rights, said 19 servicemen from the area, who fought for Russia, were released and returned to the city.
Morozova added that four of the 19 have remained in the hospital.
After a medical examination and treatment, all soldiers will be sent to Russia for rehabilitation, said Morozova.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, "107 Russian military personnel who were in deadly danger in captivity were returned" from the Kyiv-controlled territory on Thursday.
Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed acting regional head, earlier said on Telegram that each side would return 107 members of military personnel, with 65 of those released by Ukraine hailing from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
5:17 p.m.: Russia is suffering heavy losses in continuing "fierce" attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and is preparing new assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiyy said, according to Reuters.
"Very fierce Russian attacks on Donetsk region are continuing. The enemy is suffering serious losses there," Zelenskiyy said in his nightly video address.
Zelenskiyy said he believed Russia was "concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure, energy in the first instance."
4:09 p.m.:
3:20 p.m.: In his video address Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said anyone who helps Russia prolong the war should bear responsibility for the consequences of it. Zelenskyy referred to Iran’s complicity in Russia’s invasion on Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces downed some Iranian attack drones again Sunday, but, he added, there were also hits.
3 p.m.: The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital, is warning residents that they must prepare for the worst this winter if Russia keeps targeting the country’s energy infrastructure. The Associated Press reports, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that having no electricity, water or heat in the freezing cold cannot be ruled out.
“We are doing everything to avoid this. But let’s be frank, our enemies are doing everything for the city to be without heat, without electricity, without water supply, in general, so we all die. And the future of the country and the future of each of us depends on how prepared we are for different situations,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko told state media.
2:30 p.m.: A spokesman of the Ukraine army has accused Russia of destroying civilian vessels anchored on the banks of Dnipro River in Russian-controlled Kherson. According to Reuters, there is speculation that Russian forces are preparing to retreat to the other side of the river and are destroying Ukrainian boats to prevent Ukrainians crossing over to the eastern side.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson said that fuel from the destroyed vessels has leaked into the river.
11:45 a.m.: Twenty percent of Ukraine’s protected areas and 3 million hectares of forests have been affected by the war in the country, where eight nature reserves and 10 national parks remain under the control of Russian troops. RFE/RL reports, this was reported by the Ukrainian branch of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on November 6, which is the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Sixteen sites that have the status of wetlands of international importance are in danger of being destroyed, the WWF said.
According to The Kyiv Independent, the Russian Invasion on Ukraine has caused more than $37.4 billion worth of damage to Ukraine's environment.
11:40 a.m.: The United States is privately encouraging Ukraine “to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia,” The Washington Post reported.
The newspaper cited unnamed sources as saying the U.S. request was not aimed at pushing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but a calculated attempt to ensure Kyiv maintains the support of other nations.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials acknowledged that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's ban on talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin had generated concern in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America, where the war’s effects on cost of food and fuel are felt most sharply, and “triggered fears of nuclear war,” the Post said.
"Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners," it quoted an unnamed U.S. official as saying.
11:30 a.m.: Watchful Ukrainian soldiers strengthen defenses on Ukraine’s borders with Belarus and Russia looking out for enemies. Ukraine shares nearly 600 miles of border with Belarus. Watch AFP video.
10:55 a.m.: Residents of the town of Kachkarivka and other Kherson areas are evacuating with some relocating to Russian controlled territory east of Dnipro while others seeking refuge to Ukrainian herd areas. According to RFE/RL some civilians remaining in Russian-held villages and towns describe scenes of anarchy with Russian soldiers looting homes, abducting people.
10:50 a.m.: COP27 president, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, urged leaders to not let food and energy crises related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine derail action on climate change, BBC reports.
"It is inherent on us all in Sharm el-Sheikh to demonstrate our recognition of the magnitude of the challenges we face and our steadfast resolve to overcome it."
Mr. Guterres sent a video message to the conference in which he called the State of the Global Climate Report 2022 a "chronicle of climate chaos." In a tweet, Mr. Guterres called for climate action.
10:10 a.m.: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed macro-financial aid for Ukraine with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen in a phone call on Sunday. In a tweet, the President of the European Commission wrote the proposal for the 2023 financial support will be discussed this week and pledged EU’s ongoing support to Ukraine.
10:05 a.m.: Researchers identified new Russian efforts to undermine trust in the American electoral system ahead of Tuesday’s midterm elections in the U.S. According to the New York Times, social media accounts that appear to belong to enraged Americans attacking the Biden administration and Democratic candidates before the midterms, were traced to the same Russian agency that interfered in the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections.
9:30 a.m.: The Russian installed administration in Kherson said Sunday electricity and water have gone out in the city and the surrounding region. Reuters reports, Russian officials accused Ukraine of an act of “sabotage” damaging three power lines. They did not provide any evidence. Reuters was unable to verify the information.
9:25 a.m.: The Climate Change Conference (COP27) opened Sunday at the Egyptian resort Sharm el-Sheikh. World delegates address tackle climate change amid a multitude of competing crises, including the war in Ukraine, food shortages and an energy crunch.
Negotiators agreed to formally climate reparations for vulnerable nations receiving money for the loss and damage they've suffered from climate change. The issue has weighed on the talks for years, with rich nations including the United States pushing back against the idea.
5:13 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest Ukraine assessment that Russian forces continued to set up defensive positions along the Dnipro River. They also continued to attack around Bakhmut and claimed unspecified advances.
In addition, Russian forces continued unsuccessful offensive operations in the Avdiivka-Donetsk City area and in western Donetsk. Meanwhile, continued poor conditions for mobilized soldiers catalyzed a large-scale protest in Kazan.
Ukrainian forces, the assessment said, continued to target Russian logistics and transportation in Kherson Oblast.
4:46 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry said Major General Alexander Linkov was reportedly appointed acting commander of Russia’s Central Military District. If confirmed, this follows a series of dismissals of senior Russian military commanders since the onset of the invasion in February 2022. The Commanders of the Eastern, Southern, and Western Military Districts were replaced earlier this year.
These dismissals represent a pattern of blame against senior Russian military commanders for failures to achieve Russian objectives on the battlefield, the update said. This is in part likely an attempt to insulate and deflect blame from Russian senior leadership at home.
3:13 a.m.: Ukrainian officials say they're planning to evacuate Kyiv's remaining 3 million residents if the city loses electricity, The New York Times reported. Some 40% of the country's energy infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, the Times reported. Ukraine is setting up 1,000 heating shelters that can double as bunkers.
1:05 a.m.: Reuters, citing The Washington Post, reported that the Biden administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power.
12:02 a.m.:
Some information in this report came from Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press and Reuters.
