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Russia-Ukraine war: Kremlin says ‘difficult to imagine’ public negotiations with Kyiv; new Russian missile strikes across Ukraine – live | Ukraine

Kremlin says ‘difficult to imagine’ public negotiations with Ukraine

The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of changing its position regarding possible Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and said it could not imagine engaging in “public” negotiations with Kyiv.

In a call with reporters earlier today, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said:

First they negotiate, then they refuse to negotiate, then they pass a law that prohibits any kind of negotiations, then they say they want negotiations, but public ones.

He added:

Therefore it is difficult to imagine public negotiations, there is no such thing … One thing is for sure: the Ukrainians do not want any negotiations.

Peskov said the US was capable of taking Russia’s concerns into account and could encourage Kyiv to return to the negotiating table if it wanted to.

Asked about millions of people left without electricity after massive Russian strikes on Ukraine earlier this week amid falling temperatures, Peskov said:

The special military operation continues and its continuation does not depend on climatic, weather conditions.

Key events

Summary of the day so far

It’s 6pm in Kyiv and Moscow. Here’s where we stand:

  • Russia unleashed another wave of rocket, drone and missile strikes across Ukraine on Thursday morning. The latest strikes mark the sixth mass attack since early October, which Ukrainian authorities say are aimed at destroying the country’s energy system.

  • Strikes on critical infrastructure in Odesa and Dnipro were confirmed by the presidential administration and the regional heads. Three people were reportedly injured in Odesa region, while another 14 people were injured in the strike on Dnipro city, according to its mayor, Borys Filatov.

  • Two people were killed in a missile attack overnight on the southeastern region of Zaporhizhzhia, according to local officials. Three were wounded in an attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, they added.

  • The UK’s ministry of defence said the barrage of missiles that struck Ukraine on Tuesday is likely the largest number of strikes that Russia has conducted in a single day since the first week of its invasion.

  • US president Joe Biden has disputed Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s comment that the missiles that landed in Poland on Tuesday were not of Ukrainian origin, saying this is not what evidence suggested.

  • The Kremlin said it could not imagine engaging in “public” negotiations with Ukraine. In a call with reporters, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Kyiv of changing its position regarding possible Russia-Ukraine peace talks, adding that the war would continue regardless of dropping temperatures.

  • Ukrainian forces control about 1% of territory in the eastern region of Luhansk, according to the Russian-installed head of the area. The Moscow-backed administrator Leonid Pasechnik was cited as saying that Ukraine controlled the village of Belogorovka and two other settlements in the region.

  • The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said he believed neither Russia nor the US planned to use nuclear weapons. Erdoğan’s comments came after US central intelligence agency (CIA) director William Burns and Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, met this week in Ankara in what was the first known high-level, face-to-face US-Russian contact since the war began in February.

  • World leaders welcomed the news that an agreement was reached in Istanbul to prolong the Black Sea grain initiative for a further 120 days. The deal enables Russian and Ukrainian wheat and fertilisers to be exported through the Black Sea and to avert a global food crisis.

  • A Dutch court has found three men guilty of the murder of 298 people on board flight MH17, which was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile when it was flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Good afternoon from London, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still here with all the latest developments from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has welcomed the ruling by a Dutch court that flight MH17 was shot down by a Russian surface-to-air missile when it was flying over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Important court decision in The Hague. First sentences for the perpetrators of #MH17 downing. Holding to account masterminds is crucial too, as the feeling of impunity leads to new crimes. We must dispel this illusion. Punishment for all RF’s atrocities then & now is inevitable.

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) November 17, 2022

Lorenzo Tondo

Ukrainian investigators in the previously occupied region of Kherson have uncovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture, said Ukraine’s interior minister, Denys Monastyrsky.

“The search has only just started, so many more dungeons and burial places will be uncovered,” the minister told Interfax news agency.

On Wednesday we visited a “torture room” in Kherson city where dozens of men were detained, electrocuted, beaten and some of them killed.

Kremlin says ‘difficult to imagine’ public negotiations with Ukraine

The Kremlin has accused Kyiv of changing its position regarding possible Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and said it could not imagine engaging in “public” negotiations with Kyiv.

In a call with reporters earlier today, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said:

First they negotiate, then they refuse to negotiate, then they pass a law that prohibits any kind of negotiations, then they say they want negotiations, but public ones.

He added:

Therefore it is difficult to imagine public negotiations, there is no such thing … One thing is for sure: the Ukrainians do not want any negotiations.

Peskov said the US was capable of taking Russia’s concerns into account and could encourage Kyiv to return to the negotiating table if it wanted to.

Asked about millions of people left without electricity after massive Russian strikes on Ukraine earlier this week amid falling temperatures, Peskov said:

The special military operation continues and its continuation does not depend on climatic, weather conditions.

Finland’s government has proposed spending €139m to build fences along parts of the country’s border with Russia in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

Reuters reports:

Finland, which is applying for membership in the western military alliance Nato, has a history of wars with Russia, but the forest-covered border is still only marked with signs and plastic lines for most of its 1,300km (810 mile) length.

The Nordic country said in June it would build barriers along parts of the Russian frontier in a move to strengthen preparedness against hybrid threats such as the potential mass influx of asylum seekers.

The bill on preparedness, while contested in terms of European Union asylum rules, was passed in July by a supermajority that allows parliament to fast-track laws.

There are some more lines on Reuters from the trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 above Ukraine in 2014 that left 298 passengers and crew dead.

Dutch judges on Thursday convicted three men for murder, former Russian intelligence agents Igor Girkin and Sergey Dubinskiy, and Leonid Kharchenko, a Ukrainian separatist leader. The trio have each received a sentence of life imprisonment.

The convicted men were also ordered to pay at least 16 million euros in compensation to relatives of the victims.

The men remain fugitives. They are all believed to be in Russia, which will not extradite them.

A fourth, Russian Oleg Pulatov was acquitted.

A Ukrainian presidential adviser has said the confirmation that the flight was shot down by Russian-made missile sets “an important precedent”.

The Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said he believed neither Russia nor the US planned to use nuclear weapons, following a meeting of their respective spy chiefs in Turkey.

In a readout of his comments to reporters, Erdoğan said:

Let me say this, according to information I received from my intelligence chief, neither of the sides will use nuclear weapons as of now.

The US central intelligence agency (CIA) director William Burns and Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, met this week in Ankara in what was the first known high-level, face-to-face US-Russian contact since President Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine in February.

Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, and Naryshkin discussed “sensitive” questions during their discussions, according to Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov.

Erdoğan said he wanted to keep both sides in close dialogue. He said:

Of course we want them … to come together often.

He added:

God forbid, (use of nuclear weapons) could lead to a new world war. Let’s not let that happen.

The latest wave of Russian rocket, drone and missile strikes across Ukraine earlier today, which Kyiv said was aimed at destroying the country’s energy system, came as temperatures dropped and winter sets in.

There are reports that the fresh strikes had come with snow falling for the first time this season, while officials warned of “difficult” days ahead with a cold spell approaching.

My colleague Emma Graham-Harrison is on the Ukraine-Poland border:

The massive wave of Russian missiles on cities in Ukraine earlier this week cut power to 7m homes. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz confirmed strikes earlier today damaged or destroyed some of Ukraine’s gas production facilities.

Flight MH17 shot down by Russian-made missile, Dutch court confirms

A Dutch court is reading its verdict in the trial of three Russians and a Ukrainian over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 above Ukraine in 2014 that left 298 passengers and crew dead.

The four suspects – Russians Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and Ukrainian separatist Leonid Kharchenko – were not in court to hear the verdict as they refused to attend the trial.

All 298 people on board were killed when the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on 17 July 2014 was shot out of the sky over separatist-held eastern Ukraine.

An international investigation found that the plane was hit by a missile supplied by Moscow fired from a village that was held at the time by pro-Russian rebels. Moscow has repeatedly denied any responsibility for the incident.

Reading the verdict, head judge Hendrik Steenhuis said the court has determined that MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made BUK missile from an agricultural field in eastern Ukraine.

Prosecutors have asked for life sentences and warrants for the arrest of the four men, who remain at large. None of the men appeared in court and only Pulatov chose to appoint lawyers, who pleaded not guilty on his behalf.

At least 14 injured in Dnipro attack

At least 14 people, including a girl, have been injured in an attack in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, according to the head of the regional administration, Valentyn Reznichenko.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, posted a video on his social media page that showed a car driving through traffic before a large fireball erupts slightly further up the road.

Reznichenko, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk oblast, said a large fire broke out after strikes on Dnipro had hit an industrial target.

Car dashcam captures moment missile hits Dnipro – video

Ukraine’s state energy company Naftogaz has confirmed that Russian missile strikes earlier today damaged or destroyed some of Ukraine’s gas production facilities.

Naftogaz chief executive Oleksiy Chernyshov said Russia had carried out a “massive attack” on the infrastructure of gas producer UkrGasVydobuvannya in eastern Ukraine.

Cherynshov said:

Currently, we know of several objects that have been destroyed. Others have suffered damage of varying degrees.

World leaders welcome Black Sea grain deal extension

The UN chief, António Guterres, has welcomed the agreement to extend the Black Sea grain deal.

I welcome the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea Grain Initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine.

The initiative demonstrates the importance of discreet diplomacy in finding multilateral solutions.

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 17, 2022

The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor aimed at easing global food shortages by facilitating Ukraine’s agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports. It has now been extended for another 120 days.

The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, commended Guterres for his work and said this was “good news for a world that badly needs access to grain and fertilisers”.

I welcome the extension of Black Sea Grain Initiative.

With 10 million tonnes of grain already exported under this initiative from #Ukraine this is good news for a world that badly needs access to grain and fertilisers.

Commending continued efforts of @UN and @antonioguterres

— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) November 17, 2022

Britain’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, also welcomed the news that the deal had been extended until March.

Welcome news that the Black Sea Grain Initiative will be renewed until March.

Grain will continue to flow from Ukraine to help feed the world.

Over 11m tonnes of grain and other food have already been delivered since July. It is vital this continues.

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) November 17, 2022

Russia’s foreign ministry has confirmed the extension of the Black Sea grain deal for 120 days starting from Friday, without any changes to the current one.

In a statement, the ministry added that Russia presumes its concerns related to easier conditions for its own grain and fertiliser exports will be fully taken into account in the coming period.

Euan MacDonald from New Voice of Ukraine has shared a clip of Ukraine’s air defence system at work as two Russian cruise missiles are shot down within seconds of each other over Kyiv region.

Spectacular footage: Two Russian Kalibr cruise missiles shot down within seconds over Kyiv Oblast on Nov. 15. First is audible explosion and glow on horizon, second a clear view of interception by German Iris-T air defense system. pic.twitter.com/bDp1twuzJB

— Euan MacDonald (@Euan_MacDonald) November 17, 2022



https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/nov/17/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-blasts-heard-in-crimea-putin-trying-to-freeze-ukraine-into-submission-us-envoy-says Russia-Ukraine war: Kremlin says ‘difficult to imagine’ public negotiations with Kyiv; new Russian missile strikes across Ukraine – live | Ukraine

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