December 1, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news - CNN

Damage and debris is seen successful Bakhmut, Ukraine, connected November 29. (Yevhan Titov/AFP/Getty Images)

Social media videos bespeak that Russian troops successful the areas astir Bakhmut successful the eastbound Donetsk portion are taking dense casualties, adjacent arsenic they instrumentality immoderate territory, particularly southbound of the city. 

Some videos from Ukrainian subject drones amusement Russian troops successful foxholes and trenches being targeted by explosive charges dropped from the drones. Other videos astatine crushed level amusement the bodies of Russian soldiers littering the countryside. 

One video changeable by the Ukrainian subject and published connected Telegram shows antithetic weapons systems being utilized successful a coordinated onslaught connected Russian positions, including 155 mm Howitzers and mortars. It appears from immoderate videos that Russian positions person small extortion and are exposed successful unfastened countryside.

Russian forces person been attacking the country astir Bakhmut for months — and much precocious person sent recently mobilized but little experienced units forward. 

Some Russian units —including those affiliated with the Wagner radical — look to person made incremental progress, taking a drawstring of tiny villages to the southbound of the city. On Thursday the Russian Ministry of Defense said that, “as a effect of the violative actions of the Russian troops, the colony of Kurdiumivka of the Donetsk People's Republic was wholly liberated from the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

The Defense Ministry had antecedently announced the seizure of 3 different settlements —but each are tiny villages.

Ukrainian subject occurrence rockets astatine Russian positions adjacent Bakhmut, Ukraine, connected November 24. (LIBKOS/AP)

What Ukraine is saying: Ukrainians accidental warring continues successful the area, and that during combat missions adjacent Kurdiumivka, Ukrainian forces destroyed 3 ammunition depots, 1 mortar unit "and manpower of the enemy."

Analysts accidental the Ukrainians are besides intelligibly taking casualties arsenic they are targeted by Russian artillery and tanks. The Ukrainian subject has said that warring continues successful galore areas adjacent to Bakhmut but has not acknowledged losing immoderate ground. 

The Ukrainian National Guard said that implicit the past week, units had repelled force attacks successful the Bakhmut and Avdiivka sectors of Donetsk portion and "destroyed ammunition depots, instrumentality and unit of the enemy."

Its spokesperson said that successful strikes adjacent the north-eastern outskirts of Bakhmut, "the enemy's losses amounted to 79 servicemen, of which 46 were irrecoverable.

A CNN squad successful adjacent Kramatorsk reported proceeding dense artillery exchanges for overmuch of Thursday.

In its latest analysis, the Institute for the Study of War says that the Russian run astir Bakhmut indicates "that Russian forces person fundamentally failed to larn from erstwhile high-casualty campaigns concentrated connected objectives of constricted operational oregon strategical significance."

US President Joe Biden speaks astatine a quality league with French President Emmanuel Macron connected Thursday, December 1. (Al Drago/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin's warfare successful Ukraine arsenic "sick" and said that there's lone 1 rational mode to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine — for Putin to "pull out" of the country.

Biden added that helium had nary contiguous plans to interaction Putin, but is "prepared to speak" with the Russian person "if successful information determination is an interest successful him deciding he's looking for a mode to extremity the war — helium hasn't done that yet."

He continued, "If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll beryllium happy to beryllium down with Putin to see what helium wants, has successful mind. He hasn't done that yet. In the meantime, I deliberation it's absolutely captious what Emmanuel [Macron] said. We indispensable enactment the Ukrainian people."

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a property league astatine the White House connected Thursday. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

French President Emmanuel Macron said helium does not judge allies should propulsion Ukrainians into a compromise with Russia that would "not beryllium acceptable for them."

"We will ne'er impulse the Ukrainians to marque a compromise which will not beryllium acceptable for them," the French president said successful effect to a question astir a imaginable extremity to the war.

In the meantime, Macron said, "We accrued our military support. We accrued our economic support. We are expanding our humanitarian support."

Additionally, US enactment — some financially and successful providing subject weapons to Ukraine — is not conscionable important for the state nether onslaught but besides for wider Europe, Macron said.

"For the stableness of our world contiguous — due to the fact that if we see that we can wantonness the state and abandon the afloat respect of these principles, it means that there is nary imaginable stability in this world," Macron said.

"I deliberation it's extremely important to person you truthful much committed," helium said, referring to the wealth and assistance the US has provided successful assistance to Ukraine truthful far.

From left, Viktor Bout, Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. (AP, Getty Images)

The Kremlin said on Thursday that immoderate details of captive swap discussions with the United States volition not beryllium publically disclosed and that Moscow is not readying to prosecute with US President Joe Biden's medication earlier the extremity of the year, according to Russian authorities media.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin considers it unnecessary to publically disclose the details of captive swap negotiations betwixt Russia and the US, authorities quality bureau TASS reported. 

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov speaks astatine a property league successful Moscow successful 2021. (Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP/Getty Images)

The US has antecedently called connected Russia to merchandise American citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan. The Biden medication has offered a potential captive swap involving Viktor Bout, a convicted Russian arms trafficker serving a 25-year US situation sentence.

The imaginable swap is being negotiated done the peculiar services of Russia and the US, according to Russian authorities media.

WNBA prima Griner was sentenced to 9 years successful situation successful August aft being arrested successful February with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. Whelan, a erstwhile US Marine, is serving 16 years successful situation connected espionage charges.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a quality league with President Joe Biden successful the East Room of the White House connected Thursday, December 1. (Susan Walsh/AP)

US President Joe Biden noted that helium and French President Emmanuel Macron are determined to clasp Russia and President Vladimir Putin accountable for his "war connected the remainder of the world."

"Putin thinks helium tin crush the volition of all those [who] reason his imperial ambitions, but attacking civilian infrastructure successful Ukraine, choking disconnected vigor to Europe to drive up prices, exacerbating the nutrient crisis, that's hurting very susceptible people, not just in Ukraine but astir the world. And he's not going to succeed," Biden said during a bilateral quality league astatine the White House.

US President Joe Biden speaks during a quality league with French President Emmanuel Macron connected Thursday, December 1. (Susan Walsh/AP)

US President Joe Biden reaffirmed some the US and France's enactment for Ukraine, on with different European allies.

"Today we affirm that France and the United States unneurotic with each our allies ... basal as strong as ever against Russia's brutal warfare against Ukraine. We talked a batch astir that successful our bilateral meeting," Biden said astatine a associated quality league pursuing his gathering with French President Emmanuel Macron connected Thursday.

Biden besides thanked Macron for taking successful Ukrainian refugees during the people of the warfare truthful far.

Macron reiterated the US president's pledges of support, saying successful translated remarks that "we enactment some the Ukrainian service that is resisting" arsenic good arsenic Ukrainian civilians who are facing the attacks arsenic well.

He thanked the US for its investments aimed astatine trying to mitigate the effects of the warfare connected Europe, adding during their bilateral meeting, the 2 leaders besides agreed to proceed to put successful helping Ukraine.

"We besides agreed to proceed to enactment unneurotic to enactment the Ukrainian radical … to assistance them resist due to the fact that we tin precise well see contiguous that the Russian war effort is precise overmuch targeting the civilian infrastructure,” Macron said via a translator, adding that "more violence" is making it harder for Ukrainians to past wintertime with damaged vigor systems.

French President Emmanuel Macron and President Joe Biden talk astatine a associated property league successful the East Room of The White House connected Thursday. (Pete Marovich/Sipa/AP)

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron are holding a quality league present astatine the White House as portion of the French leader's authorities visit.

Russia's warfare successful Ukraine and NATO's enactment for Kyiv are expected to beryllium cardinal topics.

During a invited ceremonial earlier Thursday, Biden referred to the Macrons arsenic “close friends,” remarking that it is simply a “genuine grant to big you for the archetypal authorities sojourn of my medication and to observe the existent spot and vitality betwixt France and the United States of America.”

France, Biden said, is the United States’ “oldest ally” and an “unwavering partner,” referencing the past of the narration from the US Revolutionary War's Marquis de Lafayette to the beaches of Normandy during World War II. He said the confederation volition “grow stronger for decades to come.”

Macron referenced communal values of the US and France, referring to the nations arsenic “sisters successful the combat for freedom” and calling for their countries “to go brothers successful arms erstwhile more” successful the midst of Russia’s warfare successful Ukraine.

The Macrons instrumentality for different authorities sojourn besides follows a melodramatic bounce-back successful US-French relations compared to conscionable a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile Macron took the bonzer measurement of recalling his ambassador to Washington implicit a US-Australia submarine deal that blindsided the French and outgo them a multi-billion dollar defence contract.

The riff appears to mostly beryllium down them, and Biden and Macron person deepened their ties adjacent much implicit the past twelvemonth successful their agreed efforts to combat the warfare connected Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron and US President Joe Biden conscionable successful the Oval Office of the White House connected December 1. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron released a associated connection pursuing their bilateral gathering astatine the White House Thursday, which denounced Russia's warfare successful Ukraine.

The 2 leaders wrote that they “strongly condemn Russia’s amerciable warfare of aggression against Ukraine and accent that intentionally targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure constitutes warfare crimes whose perpetrators indispensable beryllium held accountable.” 

The 2 leaders besides wrote that they “outlined a shared imaginativeness to fortify information and summation prosperity worldwide, combat clime change, physique greater resilience to its effects, and beforehand antiauthoritarian values.”  

“This imaginativeness is built connected a shared condemnation that the United States and its European allies and partners tin amended look our top challenges and capitalize connected our astir promising opportunities together,” according to the statement. “This includes addressing planetary issues specified arsenic clime alteration and vigor transition, investing successful technologies and gathering resilient worth chains successful strategical sectors specified arsenic health, semiconductors, and captious minerals, arsenic good arsenic strengthening our information and defence cooperation.” 

NATO’s General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg attends a property league successful Berlin, Germany, connected December 1. (Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images)

NATO’s General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said connected Thursday it is inactive “too early” to marque a decision connected Poland’s telephone to determination Patriot aerial defence systems, which were offered by Germany, to Ukraine. 

“We each hold connected the urgent request to assistance Ukraine, including with aerial defence systems,” helium said, adding that ensuring the bully cognition of already-delivered systems is arsenic important arsenic giving retired caller ones. 

“There is simply a request for ammunition to existing systems, determination is simply a request for spare parts and maintenance,” Stoltenberg said. 

More context: On Wednesday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Germany to supply Patriot air-defense systems to Ukraine “as soon as” it can. Kuleba’s comments travel aft Poland's Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak past week said Berlin should nonstop Patriot rocket air-defense systems straight to Ukraine alternatively than Poland.