November 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Jack Guy, Ed Upright and Aditi Sangal, CNN

Updated 3:33 a.m. ET, November 29, 2022
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4:40 a.m. ET, November 28, 2022

British PM Sunak to outline approach towards Russia and China in key foreign policy speech

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Minister's weekly question time debate, at the House of Commons in London, England, on November 2.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks during Prime Minister's weekly question time debate, at the House of Commons in London, England, on November 2. (Jessica Taylor/UK Parliament/Reuters)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is to set out a so-called “evolutionary” approach to countries including Russia and China on Monday, as he delivers his first major foreign policy speech since taking office. 

“Our adversaries and competitors plan for the long term. In the face of these challenges, short-termism or wishful thinking will not suffice … So we will make an evolutionary leap in our approach,” Sunak is expected to say in his speech to diplomats and business leaders at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London, according to a government press release. 

“This means being stronger in defending our values and the openness on which our prosperity depends. It means delivering a stronger economy at home – because it is the foundation of our strength abroad. And it means standing up to our competitors, not with grand rhetoric but with robust pragmatism.”

UK inflation has hit record highs recently amid political chaos and a cost-of-living crisis.

Sunak will also stress the importance of reinvigorating relationships in Europe following Brexit, as well as his plans to deepen ties in the Indo-Pacific region, the press release said. 

The prime minister is also expected to reaffirm Britain’s commitment to Ukraine amid Russia’s war, saying the country will “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

“We will maintain or increase our military aid next year. And we will provide new support for air defense, to protect the Ukrainian people and the critical infrastructure that they rely on,” he is expected to pledge.

2:30 a.m. ET, November 28, 2022

CIA director met with Russian counterpart to manage nuclear risks, US diplomat says

From CNN's Alex Stambaugh and Josh Pennington 

The United States and Russia have ways to manage nuclear risks through talks between intelligence agencies, a senior US diplomat told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti in a video released Monday.

The comments from Elizabeth Rood, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Moscow, come after CIA director Bill Burns met with his Russian intelligence counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, in Turkey earlier this month.

"The United States has channels for managing risk with the Russian Federation, particularly nuclear risks and that was the purpose of CIA director Burns' meeting with his Russian counterpart," Rood said. "Director Burns did not negotiate anything and he did not discuss a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine." 

The Biden administration has dispatched Burns several times over the past year for talks with the Russians, using the veteran diplomat and former US ambassador to Russia as a key intermediary as US-Russia relations have continued to decline.

US prisoners: In a second video released by RIA, Rood said Washington continues to talk with Moscow about the release of Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, two US citizens jailed in Russia. 

"The United States, as we have said, has put a significant proposal on the table. We have followed up on that proposal and we have proposed alternatives," she said. "Unfortunately, so far, the Russian Federation has not provided a serious response to those proposals."

CNN's Natasha Bertrand contributed reporting to this post.

1:34 a.m. ET, November 28, 2022

Russian shelling hits Dnipropetrovsk region overnight

From CNN's Josh Pennington

Valentyn Reznichenko during a visit in Dnipro on July 8.
Valentyn Reznichenko during a visit in Dnipro on July 8. (Abaca/ZUMA Press)

Russian shelling hit Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, a local Ukrainian official said Monday.

Valentyn Reznichenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said in a Telegram post there were no casualties but three communities near the city of Nikopol were hit with heavy artillery.

"More than 30 shells landed in residential areas," Reznichenko said, adding details of the attacks are being investigated. 

Some context: Nikopol is located across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which has been occupied by Russian forces since March. On Sunday, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear energy provider said the company had received information that the Russians were preparing to leave the plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency has not released any information supporting the statement by Energoatom chief Petro Kotin, and CNN has reached out to the UN nuclear watchdog for comment.

8:40 p.m. ET, November 27, 2022

32,000 civilian targets damaged by Russian shelling since beginning of war, Ukrainian official says

From CNN’s Mariya Knight

Russian attacks in Ukraine have damaged about 32,000 civilian targets and more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities since the invasion began in February, a Ukrainian government official said Sunday.

"As one would expect of the terrorists, Russians target civilian targets. To date, about 32,000 such targets have been damaged by Russian missiles and shells. These are primarily private houses or civilian apartment buildings,” Yevhenii Yenin, a Ukrainian diplomat, said in an interview with Ukrainian media Sunday.  

“Only 3% of recorded attacks have been on military facilities,” he added. 

“As of now, more than 700 critical infrastructure facilities — airfields, bridges, oil depots, electricity substations, etc — all of these got hit," Yenin said. 

The diplomat said Moscow has "a maniacal desire to plunge Ukraine into darkness, and there is no reason to believe that they will stop."  

Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, causing widespread power outages ahead of winter. CNN has not independently verified the specific numbers cited by Yenin.

3:13 a.m. ET, November 28, 2022

Ukraine has enough nuclear fuel reserves for the next two years, says head of energy agency

From CNN’s Mariya Knight

President of Ukraine's nuclear energy agency Energoatom Petro Kotin in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 9.
President of Ukraine's nuclear energy agency Energoatom Petro Kotin in Kyiv, Ukraine, on September 9. (Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukraine can get by for the next two years with its existing nuclear fuel reserves, the president of the country's state nuclear company said Sunday.

Petro Kotin, who heads Energoatom, made the comment in an interview with Ukrainian media.

Since the start of the war, Ukraine has not bought Russian nuclear fuel, relying on its own reserves. Energoatom says it is transitioning any units from its nuclear power plants that relied on Russian fuel to Westinghouse Electric, a Pennsylvania-based, nuclear-focused technology company in the United States. 

"We are working with Westinghouse to create our own fuel production line, based on their technologies. We already produce heads and tails of fuel cartridges that have been licensed by this American company. So, we will produce half of it ourselves, and the other half will be supplied by Westinghouse," Kotin said. 
8:39 p.m. ET, November 27, 2022

Russian forces may be preparing to abandon Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukrainian official says

From CNN's Mariya Knight

The head of Ukraine’s nuclear energy provider says the company has received information that Russian forces may be preparing to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“We are now observing signs that the Russian invaders may be preparing to leave,” Petro Kotin, the head of Energoatom, said in a statement Sunday.

“First of all, a lot of publications began to appear in the Russian media that the Zaporizhzhia NPP should perhaps be left alone, perhaps it should be handed over to the (International Atomic Energy Agency) for control,” Kotin said in an interview with Ukrainian media Sunday. “It's like, you know, they're packing and they're stealing whatever they can find." 

The IAEA has not released any information supporting Kotin’s statement, and CNN has reached out to the UN nuclear watchdog for comment.

The head of Energoatom emphasized that "it is still too early to say that the Russian military is leaving the plant," but that they are "preparing." 

Kotin also claimed that Russians "crammed everything they could into the Zaporizhzhia NPP site — both military equipment and personnel, trucks, probably with weapons and explosives," and that they mined the territory of the plant. 

Remember: Zaporizhzhia is home to Europe’s largest nuclear power facility, which provided up to 20% of the country’s electricity before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began in February. It has been under Russian control since March.

The plant and the area around it, including the nearby city of Enerhodar, have endured persistent shelling that has raised fears of a nuclear accident through the interruption of the power supply to the plant. Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the shelling.

8:29 p.m. ET, November 27, 2022

Russian moms launch anti-war petition on Russia’s Mother's Day

From CNN's Katharina Krebs

A group of mothers of Russian soldiers joined an activist group to demand the withdrawal of Moscow's troops from Ukraine, launching a petition online Sunday.

The drive, organized by the Russian Feminist Anti-War Resistance group, coincides with Mother's Day in Russia.

The petition is published on Change.org and addressed to parliamentarians on relevant committees of the State Duma and the Federation Council. The petition had over 1,500 signatures by 5:45 p.m. Moscow time (9:45 a.m. ET) Sunday, and the number was climbing.

"For nine months now, the so-called ‘special military operation’ has been going on, which brings destruction, grief, blood and tears," the petition reads. "Everything that happens in Ukraine and Russia worries our hearts. Regardless of what nationality, religion or social status we are, we — the mothers of Russia — are united by one desire: to live in peace and harmony, raise our children under a peaceful sky and not be afraid for their future."

The appeal describes the mothers of conscripts and mobilized soldiers as being "forced to humiliatingly knock on the thresholds of city administrations,” trying to return their men home. They hold pickets, write collective appeals, file petitions, but "no one hears them," the petition reads.

"We are against the participation of our sons, brothers, husbands, fathers in this. Your duty is to protect the rights and freedoms of mothers and children, you should not turn a blind eye to all this."

8:26 p.m. ET, November 27, 2022

Power, water, heat and internet "almost completely restored" in Kyiv, city officials say 

From CNN's Kostan Nechyporenko

Power, water, heat, internet and network coverage have "been almost completely restored" in Ukraine's capital Kyiv as of 9 a.m. local time (2 a.m. ET) Sunday, the city military administration wrote on Telegram. 

Authorities said crews have entered the final stage of repair work on the power grid system.

Officials also said most of the city's residents are no longer experiencing emergency blackouts — imposed last month to limit the consumption of energy — as a result of the restored and stable power supply and low consumption by citizens. 

"Water supply, heat supply, and communication — everything works normally. Only local emergency situations are possible," the administration said.