December 18, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news - CNN

Viktor Bout is seen successful Moscow connected December 12. (Aleksandr Sivov/Press Service of Liberal Democratic Party of Russia/AP)

Freed Russian arms trader Viktor Bout, who was recently exchanged successful a captive swap with WNBA prima Brittney Griner, visited the Russian-occupied metropolis of Luhansk successful eastbound Ukraine connected Saturday, according to Russian authorities media.  

Bout attended an opening lawsuit for the Luhansk subdivision of the pro-Kremlin Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR).

Bout said that helium was glad to visit the metropolis of Luhansk for the archetypal clip and expressed assurance that the occupied portion "would soon beryllium peaceful, and radical would unrecorded without fearfulness for their future," Russian authorities quality bureau RIA Novosti reported Sunday. 

Leader of the ultra-nationalist LDPR Leonid Slutsky said they had to alteration their way to Luhansk doubly owed to the information that "high-precision weapons were moving nearby.” 

“But this could not cancel our sojourn to Luhansk, due to the fact that this is simply a point of nary return. Donbas and Russia are unneurotic forever. We volition travel present nether immoderate conditions," Slutsky said according to the authorities media report.

Last week, Bout told Russia's RT that helium “wholeheartedly” supports Moscow’s alleged “special subject operation” successful Ukraine and that if helium had the accidental and indispensable skills, helium would surely spell arsenic a unpaid fighter.

More background: Luhansk is portion of the broader Donbas region successful eastbound Ukraine, and it is 1 of 4 territories annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin successful defiance of planetary law.

Moscow-backed separatists power the territory nether the self-proclaimed rubric of the Luhansk People's Republic, which is not recognized by Ukraine oregon immoderate different federation extracurricular of Russia and its adjacent state Syria.

Three radical person been killed and six radical wounded successful attacks from Russian forces successful Ukraine's Kherson portion Sunday, according to a section Ukrainian official.

Fifty-four shells person fallen successful the portion implicit the past day, said Yuri Sobolevsky, lawman caput of the Kherson determination council.

"Unfortunately, we person dozens of wounded and dozens of dormant since the opening of the de-occupation," Sobolevsky said, referring to Ukraine's liberation of Kherson metropolis and the intense fighting that has taken spot successful the surrounding country since.

"We recognize that we volition person specified a concern for immoderate time, due to the fact that until the Armed Forces of Ukraine de-occupy the near slope (of the Dnipro River), the force has the accidental to ammunition Kherson and different settlements with MLRS, artillery, mortars," Sobolevsky said, speaking successful a telethon. 

He besides said the energy infrastructure successful Kherson is present working, but noted that respective communities are inactive near without powerfulness supply.

Sobolevsky besides claimed that Russian forces person attacked humanitarian infrastructure, including aesculapian facilities, humanitarian centers and a geriatric attraction center.

"It seems that they are truly conscionable shelling astatine residential areas indiscriminately," helium said. 

Some background: The jubilation that followed Ukraine’s occurrence successful liberating Kherson metropolis has fixed mode to weeks of deadly warring successful the surrounding area.

Russian forces person staked retired positions eastbound of the Dnipro River and person repeatedly shelled settlements wherever Ukraine is trying to reestablish control.

Residents successful Kyiv complaint their mobile phones astatine a "Points of Invincibility" halfway connected December 17. (Danylo Antoniuk/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Heating has been fully restored in Kyiv Sunday, two days aft a barrage of Russian missiles targeted the city.

“All vigor proviso sources are operating normally,” Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a station connected Telegram, adding that nationalist utilities volition enactment passim Sunday connected “individual buildings, wherever determination whitethorn beryllium insignificant heating problems.” 

The broader Kyiv region, however, continues to grapple with energy proviso issues. More than 600,000 people, which is 50% of the region’s residents, are currently without power, the caput of Kyiv's determination subject medication said on Ukrainian TV. 

Crews restored powerfulness proviso to the areas astir affected by the shelling implicit the people of the past 2 days, said the official, Oleksiy Kuleba.

But “there are inactive respective hard areas wherever determination is nary electricity,” Kuleba continued, adding that the district of Bucha successful peculiar is facing proviso issues. 

Across the region, 410 work centers, known arsenic "invincibility points," are now operating, where the region’s residents can complaint their phones and receive hot drinks, Kuleba said. Sometimes over 100 people stay successful 1 center.

An representation posted by determination politician Vyacheslav Gladkov shows harm successful Belgorod, Russia, connected December 18. (Vyacheslav Gladkov/Telegram)

Ukrainian shelling near 1 idiosyncratic dormant and eight people injured successful the Russian portion of Belgorod connected Sunday, according to the determination Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.

Gladkov has been updating the wounded figures connected his Telegram account.

"Eight radical were injured, 7 are present successful the hospital, 1 of them is successful intensive care. All indispensable aesculapian assistance is provided. Another unfortunate refused hospitalization and was sent for outpatient treatment," Gladkov said connected Sunday afternoon.

CNN has not independently verified Gladkov's report.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks astatine a property league connected June 16. (Ludovic Marin/Pool/AFP/Getty Images)

Ukraine is criticizing FIFA for refusing to amusement a video connection from President Volodymyr Zelensky successful Qatar’s Lusail Stadium up of the World Cup last Sunday. 

The video, which was recorded successful English, was meant to beryllium an “appeal for peace,” according to a written connection provided to CNN by Ukraine’s statesmanlike bureau Saturday. 

"Qatar supported the President’s initiative, but FIFA blocked the inaugural and volition not let the video code of the president to beryllium shown earlier the last game," the connection said. 

CNN has reached retired to FIFA but has not received a comment. Qatar has not publically commented connected the petition from Ukraine.

CNN first reported connected the story erstwhile a root wrong Zelensky’s bureau said the petition to present the video connection had been rebuffed.  

CNN received a video transcript of President Zelensky’s pre-recorded speech on Saturday.

During the 1 minute, 43 2nd video, Zelensky says shot is meant to bring the satellite unneurotic and calls for "the World Cup, but not satellite war."

The Ukrainian statesmanlike bureau told CNN they were informed that FIFA regarded the connection arsenic excessively political and said they had sent a transcript of the substance of the code to FIFA office successful Switzerland connected Friday.

The Ukrainian statesmanlike bureau added determination is "still clip for FIFA to close their error.” 

"FIFA should not beryllium acrophobic that words of bid volition beryllium heard astatine the planetary shot solemnisation that represents peace," the connection said.

Ukraine’s statesmanlike bureau besides said it volition administer the video independently if FIFA doesn’t aerial it. It said the organization's determination to artifact the clip would amusement "FIFA has mislaid its invaluable knowing of shot — arsenic a crippled that unites peoples, alternatively than supporting existing divisions."

Electricity has been restored for millions of Ukrainians Saturday, but challenges stay for crews scrambling to retrieve from Friday's barrage of Russian missiles, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.

“During the day, it was imaginable to reconstruct the energy proviso to astir 6 cardinal Ukrainians,” Zelensky said during his nightly address. 

He added that repair enactment "has been going connected nonstop since yesterday's violent attack.” 

Zelensky noted determination are inactive problems with vigor proviso and “big problems with the proviso of h2o exist” successful parts of the country. 

The president said the areas facing “the astir hard situation” see Kyiv, Lviv and Vinnytsia.

He mentioned respective different areas inactive dealing with “large-scale outages," including the metropolis of Dnipro and the regions of Dnipropetrovsk, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk, Odesa, Poltava, Ternopil and Chernihiv. 

Another telephone for aerial defenses: Zelensky again appealed to planetary partners to supply Ukraine with the means to support its airspace.

CNN was archetypal to report on Tuesday that the Biden medication is finalizing plans to nonstop the Patriot rocket defence strategy to Ukraine, according to 2 US officials and a elder medication official. If the US sends the system, it would people a significant caller US contribution to protecting the country's infrastructure.

Russia issued a cryptic warning that specified a shipment would provoke "unpredictable consequences."

Workers acceptable up a Christmas histrion successful Sophia Square connected December 16, successful Kyiv, Ukraine. (Mustafa Ciftci/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

In Kyiv's Sofia Square, a Christmas histrion that is 12 meters (nearly 40 feet) gangly volition beryllium decorated with "energy-saving garlands" that volition beryllium powered by a generator astatine circumstantial times, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko.

Klitschko posted a advancement study of the artificial tree's installation to his Telegram account, arsenic the metropolis continues to acquisition powerfulness outages owed to Friday's Russian rocket strikes. 

Roughly 1,000 bluish and yellowish balls and achromatic doves volition decorate the tree, with a trident placed connected top, the politician said. Flags of countries that are supporting Ukraine volition beryllium placed astatine the bottommost of the tree.

There volition beryllium nary Christmas markets, wide amusement events oregon rides successful Sophia Square this year.

Last month, Klitschko told Ukrainian quality outlet RBC-Ukraine the city's Christmas trees volition inactive beryllium installed amid the warfare “to punctual our children of the New Year mood.”

The suburbs of the confederate Ukrainian metropolis of Kherson came nether Russian shelling connected Saturday morning, causing 1 decease and 2 others to beryllium hospitalized, according to the lawman caput of the Office of the President of Ukraine.   

A onslaught took spot successful Stepanivka, which is located conscionable extracurricular of Kherson, Tymoshenko said. He said the colony was shelled by mortars, and a humanitarian assistance office was hit. 

Yaroslav Yanushevych, caput of the Kherson portion subject administration, said a installation for the aged was besides deed successful the attack.

According to Yanushevych, “the gates were destroyed, the windows and doors were broken, and harm was done to the extortion and the porch” of the geriatric center. 

“Fortunately, determination were nary casualties oregon injuries,” helium added.