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President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is open to “genuine” talks with Russia, but only to negotiations on restoring Ukraine’s borders. In his nightly video speech, the Ukrainian president also called for Kyiv to be compensated for Russia’s attacks and for Moscow to punish those responsible for war crimes. A senior adviser to Zelensky said Ukraine has never refused to negotiate with Russia and is ready for talks with its future leader but not with Vladimir Putin. Mykhailo Podolyak’s comments followed a Washington Post report that said the Biden administration was privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal they were open to negotiations. It comes after Washington accused Russia of escalating the war in Ukraine and delaying peace talks, even as the bodies of Russian soldiers continue to “stack up” on the front lines of the conflict. “If Russia is ready for this negotiation, it should stop its bombs. He should stop her missiles. It should stop attacking and killing Ukrainian civilians – targeting infrastructure, including civilian infrastructure,” US State Department spokesman Ned Price said last night. He said: “But of course, the Kremlin is doing the opposite. He continues to escalate this war instead of offering any real signal that he is ready or open to negotiations.”

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Moldova is trying to sue Gazprom for a 40% cut in gas deliveries

Moldova’s government is considering suing Russian state energy company Gazprom for sharply cutting gas supplies, a senior official said. The small former Soviet state depends on Russian natural gas supplied by Gazprom and is struggling with a 40 percent drop in deliveries that has hurt its ability to provide enough electricity for its 2.5 million people. “Lawyers are analyzing the possibility of sanctions for non-compliance with the contract on the issue of supplying the entire volume of natural gas,” Deputy Prime Minister Andrey Spinou told PRO-TV television on Monday. “When it becomes clear, we will decide what actions to take and in what direction we will act.” Emily Atkinson November 8, 2022 10:30 am 1667902268

Zelensky is open to “genuine talks” with Russia, but not Putin

President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he is open to “genuine” talks with Russia, but only to negotiations on restoring Ukraine’s borders. In his nightly video speech, the Ukrainian president also called for Kyiv to be compensated for Russia’s attacks and for Moscow to punish those responsible for war crimes. A senior adviser to Zelensky said Ukraine has never refused to negotiate with Russia and is ready for talks with its future leader but not with Vladimir Putin. Mykhailo Podolyak’s comments followed a Washington Post report that said the Biden administration was privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal they were open to negotiations. Emily Atkinson November 8, 2022 10:11 am 1667900431

“Main condition” for resumption of talks with Russia is restoration of territorial integrity – Kyiv

Kyiv has said that the main condition for the resumption of talks with Moscow is the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Ukraine’s Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said on Twitter that Ukraine also needs the “guarantee” of modern air defenses, aircraft, tanks and long-range missiles. Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 09:40 1667899246

North Korea insists it has never had arms deals with Russia

North Korea’s military has denied US claims that it exported artillery shells and ammunition to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine, accusing Washington of spreading “baseless” rumors to “tarnish” its image. The White House said last week that Russia is secretly supplying a “significant number” of munitions shipments to North Korea, in Pyongyang’s possible violation of multiple United Nations resolutions. State media KCNA quoted an unnamed vice chairman of North Korea’s foreign ministry’s military bureau as saying: “We view such moves by the US as part of its hostile effort to tarnish its (North Korea’s) image in the international arena.” ». Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 09:20 1667898041

Putin may attend G20 summit virtually, says Indonesian counterpart

Vladimir Putin will attend next week’s G20 leaders’ summit “if the situation is feasible”, his Indonesian counterpart and the meeting’s host said on Tuesday, adding that the Russian president could actually attend. Joko Widodo, who is this year’s president of the bloc of major economies, said Mr Putin during a telephone conversation last week had not ruled out attending the summit in Bali and would attend if possible. “But if not… maybe he will ask to do it virtually,” Jokowi, as the Indonesian president is popularly known, told reporters during a visit to Bali. He did not provide further details. Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 09:00 1667896831

Sweden’s prime minister will seek approval for NATO membership from Erdogan

Sweden is set to seek Turkey’s tough approval of its bid to join NATO after Ankara halted its application and accused the Nordic country of harboring Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson is due to meet his Turkish counterpart President Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential palace on Tuesday afternoon, followed by a press conference scheduled for 3.30pm. The Stockholm application has so far been approved by 28 of NATO’s 30 member states. Writing in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet on Monday, Erdogan’s communications director Fahrettin Altun said he is “cautiously optimistic that the Swedish government will take concrete measures regarding our concern about terrorism.” Along with neighboring Finland, Sweden applied to join the military alliance in May in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 08:40 1667895631

Washington-Moscow communication channels ‘remain open’

US security chief confirmed that communication channels between Washington and Moscow remain open. Speaking in New York, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said it was “in the US’s best interest to remain in contact with Russia as its invasion of Ukraine threatens to continue into the winter months. Mr Sullivan insisted US officials had “clear eyes” on who they were dealing with in the Kremlin. It comes after the Wall Street Journal reported that Mr. Sullivan had held talks with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patruse and senior foreign policy adviser Yuri Usakov in recent months. Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 08:20 1667894431

Mykolaiv under Russian fire for 24 hours

Several areas in southern Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region have been hit by heavy Russian fire over the past 24 hours, the governor said. In a Telegram post this morning, Vitaliy Kim said that despite damage to buildings, no casualties have been reported Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 08:00 1667893228

Blackouts cover Kyiv after Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital

(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
(Getty Images)

Emily Atkinson8 November 2022 07:40 1667891406

Russia is building “dragon’s teeth” anti-tank structures in Ukraine – Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Russia is now building anti-tank structures known as “dragon’s teeth” as it steps up preparations to defend its positions in Ukraine’s southern port city of Mariupol, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said today. “Russia has started building defense structures around the occupied city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine. Two factories are producing concrete pyramidal anti-tank structures, known as dragon’s teeth, for this purpose,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update. The “dragon’s teeth”, he said, have probably settled between Mariupol and the village of Nikolske. and from northern Mariupol to the village of Staryi Krym. Ukraine’s main port, Mariupol, is part of the “land bridge” from Russia to Crimea, a key line of communication in the logistics sector, the ministry said. “Dragon’s teeth have additionally been sent to prepare defensive fortifications in occupied Zaporizhia and Kherson,” he said. “Russia is strengthening its lines in all occupied areas. On October 19, 2022, Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed the construction of a fortified “Wagner Line” defense in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This activity suggests that Russia is making a significant effort to prepare defenses in depth behind its current front line, likely to prevent any rapid Ukrainian advance in the event of breakthroughs, the ministry noted. Arpan Rai November 8, 2022 07:10