November 28, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Washington and Moscow continue to discuss the release of US prisoners Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, the US Chargé d'Affaires in Russia told Russian state media Monday.

“As we have already said, the United States has submitted a serious proposal for consideration. We worked on this proposal and offered alternatives. Unfortunately, no serious response has been received from the Russian Federation to this proposal," Elizabeth Rood said in an interview with Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti.

"I mean a response that would help us come to an agreement," she added.

US basketball star Griner is imprisoned in Russia after being convicted of deliberately smuggling drugs into the country in October. There are concerns she is being used as a political pawn in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Whelan is a US citizen who has been wrongfully detained in Russia for nearly four years.

According to Rood, Griner has not complained about the conditions of her detention in a penal colony and the issue of visiting her is now being worked out.

"As far as we understood from talking to her, she is healthy and doing as well as can be expected in her difficult circumstances," said Rood.

She added that the embassy staff would visit her "as soon as the Russian authorities give us permission."

Russian forces have hit communities in near Nikopol – which lies across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – with more than 30 shells.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed authorities say Moscow is not planning to withdraw from the Zaporizhzia plant despite Ukrainian claims to the contrary.

Here are the latest headlines:

Shelling near Nikopol: Russian shelling hit Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, a local Ukrainian official said Monday. More than 30 shells landed but there were no casualties despite the fact that three communities near the city of Nikopol were hit with heavy artillery. 

Russian forces not planning to leave nuclear plant: Russian-backed authorities have hit back against Ukrainian claims that Moscow is planning to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The administration of Russian-occupied Enerhodar has accused Ukraine of “actively spreading fakes” about a possible Russian withdrawal from the area.

US and Russia managing nuclear risks: The two nations have ways to manage nuclear risks through talks between intelligence agencies, according to senior US diplomat Elizabeth Rood, Charge d'Affaires at the US Embassy in Moscow. Rood's comments come after CIA director Bill Burns met with his Russian intelligence counterpart, Sergey Naryshkin, in Turkey earlier this month.

Sunak commits to Ukraine support: UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to reaffirm Britain’s commitment to Kyiv amid Russia’s war, saying the country will “stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” in his first major foreign policy speech since taking office. Sunak is also expected to set out a so-called “evolutionary” approach to countries including Russia and China.

CNN military analyst, retired Colonel Cedric Leighton, explains how the changing seasons could affect military strategy on both sides in Russia's war on Ukraine.

Watch the video below:

Russian-backed authorities have hit back against Ukrainian claims that Moscow is planning to leave the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (NPP).

The administration of Russian-occupied Enerhodar has accused Ukraine of “actively spreading fakes” about a possible Russian withdrawal from the area.

Writing on Telegram, the occupying administration said “this information does not correspond to reality” and that Zaporizhzhia NPP “remains under Russian control."

On Sunday, Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine’s nuclear energy provider, said the company had received information that Russian forces may be preparing to leave the facility.

Kotin emphasized that "it is still too early to say that the Russian military is leaving the plant,’ but that they are "preparing."

However the Russian-backed administration said that Rosenegeatom, a Russian state-run firm, has announced plans to “create a back-up power supply source for Zaporizhzhia NPP." 

A source at Rosenegeatom is quoted as saying that the company took into account "the great importance of the power supply reserve for the nuclear safety of the Zaporizhzhia NPP, especially in winter."

The International Atomic Energy Agency has not released any information supporting Kotin’s statement and CNN has reached out to the UN nuclear watchdog for comment.

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 continue to blame each other for the shelling.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.