December 2, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Russia's military has begun conducting a census in parts of occupied territory in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of the city of Melitopol.

Melitopol has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the invasion and analysts have suggested the next offensive front for Ukrainian forces was likely to be a thrust southward toward the city.

Fedorov added that hospitals in the cities of Tokmak and Mykhailivka were also "turned into military hospitals for Russian forces."

"[Russians] are massively treating thousands of their wounded there," Fedrov said. "Only one hospital in Melitopol city, an ambulance hospital, provides assistance to civilians."

New Russian military bases had also been set up, he claimed, noting there were now "tens of thousands of Russian manpower in the territory of Melitopol."

Last month, Fedorov highlighted difficulties civilians faced to leave the city.

It comes after the Ukrainian military claimed some Russian troops are withdrawing from their positions in the Zaporizhzhia region. CNN is unable to confirm the claims made by the General Staff.

The Russian government formally told the US Embassy last week about Brittney Griner’s transfer to a remote penal colony, weeks after the wrongfully detained WNBA star had been moved, according to the Biden administration.

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US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday demonstrated a united front in addressing the ongoing war in Ukraine but offered divergent answers over their willingness to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin, relaying that they spent much their recent meeting discussing the invasion.

Biden told reporters during a joint White House news conference with Macron that he “has no immediate plans” to contact Putin, but added that he’s prepared to speak with the Russian leader if he’s looking for a way to end the war in Ukraine. Biden also clarified that Putin has not done so yet.

Macron said that once Ukraine sets conditions for a peace agreement, he’s willing to speak with Putin. The French leader told ABC’s “Good Morning America” earlier Thursday that he intends to speak with the Russian president in the coming days.

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The Ukrainian military claims that some Russian troops are withdrawing from their positions in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.

It also says that the Russians are preparing the evacuation of "the personnel of the occupation administrations" in the Zaporizhzhia region.

In its daily update, the military's General Staff said Russian units had left the settlements of Mykhailivka, Polohy and Inzhenerne, all towns south of the city of Zaporizhzhia. Front lines in the region run for 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) across rolling farmland. Geolocated footage posted on Wednesday shows the aftermath of strikes on buildings in Polohy.

The General Staff said that in the settlement of Burchak, the occupation authorities are conducting a census for the so-called voluntary evacuation of the population.

The Ukrainians appear to be repeating actions they undertook in Kherson — striking bridges, supply hubs and Russian troop concentrations behind the front lines. The General Staff said that in recent days strikes about half a dozen places had wounded more than 230 Russian soldiers and destroyed ammunition and equipment.

CNN is unable to confirm the claims made by the General Staff.

What could happen next: Analysts have suggested that the next offensive front for the Ukrainians is likely to be a thrust south toward the occupied city of Melitopol. 

The General Staff said that elsewhere Russian forces continued to defend their positions in eastern Luhansk region using tanks, mortars and artillery to prevent further advances of Ukrainian forces.

Russian units were also shelling several settlements in recently liberated parts of Kherson region. But Brig. Gen. Oleksii Hromov claimed that last week Russian forces had accidentally fired on their own unit near the village of Tsukury in Kherson, killing 14 servicemen. CNN cannot verify the claim.

Social media videos indicate that Russian troops in the areas around Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region are taking heavy casualties, even as they take some territory, especially south of the city. 

Some videos from Ukrainian military drones show Russian troops in foxholes and trenches being targeted by explosive charges dropped from the drones. Other videos at ground level show the bodies of Russian soldiers littering the countryside. 

One video shot by the Ukrainian military and published on Telegram shows different weapons systems being used in a coordinated attack on Russian positions, including 155 mm Howitzers and mortars. It appears from some videos that Russian positions have little protection and are exposed in open countryside.

Russian forces have been attacking the area around Bakhmut for months — and more recently have sent newly mobilized but less experienced units forward. 

Some Russian units — including those affiliated with the Wagner group — appear to have made incremental progress, taking a string of small villages to the south of the city. On Thursday the Russian Ministry of Defense said that, "as a result of the offensive actions of the Russian troops, the settlement of Kurdiumivka of the Donetsk People's Republic was completely liberated from the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

The Defense Ministry had previously announced the capture of three other settlements —but all are small villages.

What Ukraine says: Ukrainians say fighting continues in the area, and that during combat missions near Kurdiumivka, Ukrainian forces destroyed three ammunition depots, one mortar crew "and manpower of the enemy."

Analysts say the Ukrainians are also clearly taking casualties as they are targeted by Russian artillery and tanks. The Ukrainian military has said that fighting continues in many areas close to Bakhmut but has not acknowledged losing any ground. 

The Ukrainian National Guard said that over the past week, units had repelled enemy attacks in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka sectors of Donetsk and "destroyed ammunition depots, equipment and personnel of the enemy."

Its spokesman said that in strikes near the northeastern outskirts of Bakhmut, "the enemy's losses amounted to 79 servicemen, of which 46 were irrecoverable.

A CNN team in nearby Kramatorsk reported hearing heavy artillery exchanges for much of Thursday.

In its latest analysis, the Institute for the Study of War says that the Russian campaign around Bakhmut indicates "that Russian forces have fundamentally failed to learn from previous high-casualty campaigns concentrated on objectives of limited operational or strategic significance."

The Kremlin said on Thursday that any details of prisoner swap discussions with the United States will not be publicly disclosed and that Moscow is not planning to engage with the Biden administration before the end of the year, according to Russian state media.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin considers it unnecessary to publicly disclose the details of prisoner swap negotiations between Russia and the US, state news agency TASS reported.

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Electricity supplies are being restored in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson after it was left without power by Russian shelling early Thursday, a local official said.

Earlier Thursday, Yanushevych had said Kherson was without power in the wake of heavy Russian shelling.

“The voltage in the power grids has disappeared,” the local official wrote on Telegram, adding that energy company Khersonoblenergo was “already working to fix the problem.”

Russia would be ready to restart conversations with the United States and NATO on security guarantees, but so far Moscow hasn't seen willingness on their part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed Thursday.

Lavrov reiterated that Russia is open to dialogue with Western partners as the security situation in Europe has deteriorated, but said it won't be "business as usual." 

"If the West understands that it is better to develop neighborly relations based on mutually agreed foundations, we will listen to what the West would propose," he said. "But it is clear that it needs to be a completely new start. Whether there is a chance of this new start in the near future, I don't know. It is up to the West," he added. 

On a possible meeting with US President Joe Biden: Moscow "never avoids contacts," Lavrov claimed, but there haven't been "substantial ideas" when it comes to a possible meeting between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.