December 7, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news - CNN

Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a league successful Moscow, Russia, connected November, 24. (Contributor/Getty Images)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that the menace of atomic warfare is increasing.

In a gathering astatine the Kremlin with Russia's Human Rights Council, Putin said "In presumption of the menace of atomic war, you are right, specified menace is increasing. As for the thought that Russia wouldn't usage specified weapons archetypal nether immoderate circumstances, past it means we wouldn't beryllium capable to beryllium the 2nd to usage them either — due to the fact that the anticipation to bash truthful successful lawsuit of an onslaught connected our territory would beryllium precise limited,"

Putin added, "Nevertheless, we person a strategy... namely, arsenic a defense, we see weapons of wide destruction, atomic weapons — it is each based astir the alleged retaliatory onslaught — that is, erstwhile we are struck, we onslaught successful response."

The Russian person said that US atomic weapons were located successful ample numbers connected the European continent, portion Russia had not transferred its atomic weapons to different territories and is not readying to bash so, but "will support its allies with each the means astatine its disposal, if necessary."

Putin says helium inactive views atomic weapons arsenic a deterrent measure. "We person not gone crazy. We are alert of what atomic weapons are. We person these means, they are successful a much precocious and modern signifier than those of immoderate different atomic country, this is obvious," helium said.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks astatine the European Parliament successful Brussels, Belgium, connected November 9. (Valeria Mongelli/AFP/Getty Images)

The European Union is "stepping up the unit connected Russia" with different bundle of sanctions, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced connected Wednesday.

The bundle — the EU's ninth — adds another nearly 200 individuals and entities to its sanctions list. It includes armed forces, members of the Russian parliament and defence concern companies.

The EU volition besides authorisation 3 much Russian banks, including a afloat transaction prohibition connected the country’s determination improvement bank, "to further adust retired Putin's warfare chest," she added.

The measures will also chopped Russia’s entree to drones, some straight and via third-country suppliers specified arsenic Iran, she said.

The bloc will also impose caller controls connected exports, with a absorption connected dual-use goods specified arsenic chemicals, nervus agents, electronics and IT components, which “could beryllium utilized by the Russian warfare machine,” she added.

EU Commission Vice President Josep Borrell said the latest measures are a nonstop effect of the weaponization of wintertime by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“He wants to disrupt electricity, heating, and h2o supplies for millions of civilians crossed Ukraine. We are responding with the 9th package of sanctions against those who are instrumental successful this brutal war,” he said connected Twitter.

Artillery and mortar occurrence has picked up connected some sides of the beforehand lines successful the eastbound Donetsk region, according to accounts from some the Ukrainian subject and authorities successful the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic.

On the Ukrainian side, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, lawman caput of the president's office, said that astatine slightest 8 radical were killed and 5 injured successful an onslaught connected the municipality of Kurakhove.

Kurakhove is westbound of the metropolis of Donetsk; the shelling whitethorn person been successful retaliation for Ukrainian occurrence connected the city, which is held by the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, implicit the past 3 days.

To the north, successful the municipality of Yampil, according to Tymoshenko, "the occupiers utilized clump munitions. The cardinal quadrate of the metropolis and the administrative gathering came nether fire."

Yampil was liberated successful September arsenic Ukrainian forces pushed Russian units backmost into Luhansk. 

Other impacted areas: The Ukrainian subject says that Russian artillery has fired astatine respective settlements successful Luhansk and Kharkiv — arsenic Russia consolidates caller antiaircraft lines successful the east.  

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War says that Ukrainian forces person "likely made caller gains successful north-eastern Kharkiv," and person astir apt retaken the colony of Kyslivka, immoderate 25 kilometers (more than 15 miles) northwest of the strategical hub of Svatove wherever Russian forces are concentrated. 

The Ukrainian General Staff said Russia was focusing its efforts connected assaults toward the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka successful Donetsk, some of which person been nether occurrence for months but stay successful Ukrainian hands.

It said Russians continued to bombard Ukrainian settlements successful precocious liberated parts of Kherson on the westbound slope of the stream Dnipro.

After a lull successful the Russians' usage of Iranian-made onslaught drones, the General Staff said 1 was changeable down Wednesday.

Suspicious packages proceed to beryllium sent to Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said successful a Facebook station connected Wednesday. 

“Over the past 2 days, suspicious packages person been received astatine the embassies successful Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Denmark, arsenic good arsenic the consulate successful Gdansk,” said Kuleba. 

According to Kuleba, this brings the full fig of threats to 31 cases crossed 15 countries: Austria (1), Croatia (1), Czech Republic (2), Denmark (1), France (1), Hungary (2), Italy (4), Kazakhstan (1), Netherlands (1), Poland (6), Portugal (2), Romania (2), Spain (5), Vatican (1), and the United States (1).

Some of the packages person included the eyes of animals and others crude explosive charges, helium noted.

Kuleba went connected to accidental that each the suspicious packages show the aforesaid alleged “sender’s address,” which is simply a “car dealership successful the German municipality of Sindelfingen.” There is nary grounds that the code had thing to bash with the packages.

The packages were usually sent from station offices that weren’t equipped with video surveillance systems, and the “attackers” had besides avoided leaving traces of DNA, according to Kuleba’s Facebook post.

“This, successful particular, indicates the nonrecreational level of this action,” helium said. “For a week now, Ukrainian embassies and consulates person been operating successful the mode of enhanced information measures, constabulary cordons… and forensic experts.”

“The ongoing run of panic against Ukrainian diplomats is unprecedented successful its standard not lone successful the discourse of Ukraine but besides astatine the planetary level,” said Kuleba. “I bash not callback cases successful past erstwhile truthful galore embassies and consulates of 1 state were subjected to specified monolithic attacks successful specified a abbreviated play of time. But nary substance however hard the enemies effort to intimidate the Ukrainian diplomacy, they volition fail. We proceed to enactment for victory.”

Belarus, Russia’s closest ally, announced that it is moving troops and subject equipment, citing "counter-terrorism threats," according to authorities quality bureau BelTA. 

The announcement comes amid heightened hostility on Ukraine's bluish borderline with Belarus, which was utilized arsenic a level by Russian troops during the penetration successful February. 

“During this period, it is planned to determination subject instrumentality and unit of the nationalist information forces, temporarily restrict the question of citizens (transport) on definite nationalist roads and areas of the terrain, and usage imitation weapons for grooming purposes,” BelTA reported, citing Belarus’ Security Council. 

Belarus has besides announced the opening of subject drills successful enactment with "the autumn conscription run for caller recruits to person basal subject training."

Over the weekend, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Belarus and met with President Alexander Lukashenko — which Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the caput of the Office of President of Ukraine, said "will beryllium added to the indictment's materials arsenic a organisation of transgression roles."

Belarusian troops person not taken portion successful the conflict, a presumption reiterated by Lukashenko successful October.

Russian absorption fig and erstwhile Moscow metropolis councillor Ilya Yashin is escorted wrong the Basmanny territory tribunal anterior to a proceeding connected his detention successful Moscow, Russia, connected July 13. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)

A Moscow tribunal has postponed a sentencing proceeding for the jailed Kremlin professional Ilya Yashin, who is accused of spreading fake quality astir the Russian army, until Friday, according to a station on Yashin’s authoritative Telegram account.

“The announcement of the verdict was postponed to Friday, December 9, astatine 12:00 PM Moscow clip successful the Meshchansky court,” the station said.

Yashin, a salient absorption person and erstwhile municipal deputy, has been accused of spreading fake accusation astir the Russian service and faces up to 9 years successful prison. 

Russian investigators accidental his statements astir the killings of civilians successful the Ukrainian municipality of Bucha by Russian forces are a transgression discourtesy nether precocious introduced Russian legislation, which considers discrediting the Russian equipped forces arsenic illegal. 

In a closing connection connected Monday, besides posted connected his Telegram account, Yashin made a connection addressing the judge, President Vladimir Putin and the Russian public:

Yashin, besides a adjacent state of Russian absorption person Alexey Navalny, came to prominence during the protests betwixt 2011 and 2012, which helium helped signifier against Putin's re-election for the 3rd word and unfair elections.

Yashin remained a fierce Putin professional for years and served arsenic a municipal lawman successful tiny Moscow municipality earlier being barred from moving for a nationalist bureau again.

Firefighters enactment to extinguish a occurrence astatine marketplace stalls deed by shelling successful Donetsk, successful Russian-controlled Ukraine, connected December 6. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Russian President Vladimir Putin said connected Wednesday that helium had discussed Ukrainian shelling of settlements successful the eastbound Donbas portion with the Russian-appointed caput of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin.

"Denis Pushilin called me. Indeed, the strikes are straight hitting the residential areas, nary 1 tin beryllium unaware of this, but everyone is silent. As if thing is happening," said Putin astatine a gathering with members of the Council connected the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights.

Putin besides said that not each students chose to demobilize aft authorities announced the demobilization of students successful the region, which encompasses the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics.

"But I indispensable accidental that not each students of Donbas took vantage of this close to demobilization," helium added.

In precocious September, Moscow declared it was annexing the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia arsenic Russian territory — which is amerciable nether planetary instrumentality — after holding alleged referendums successful the regions that were universally dismissed arsenic “shams” by Ukraine and Western nations.

Local authorities successful the Russian-occupied Donetsk portion person reported predominant shelling of the metropolis this week, successful which respective radical person been killed and injured.

Russia is looking to temporarily “freeze” the struggle successful Ukraine successful bid to “regroup and past motorboat a bigger offensive,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Wednesday.

Speaking astatine an lawsuit hosted by the Financial Times, Stoltenberg said it was Russia’s volition “to effort to person a benignant of abbreviated interruption oregon a abbreviated frost of the struggle truthful Russia tin retrieve their troops, regroup and past motorboat a bigger violative aboriginal on, due to the fact that present Ukraine has the momentum.” 

Stoltenberg said past week that Russian President Vladimir Putin was “failing successful Ukraine,” pointing to Ukraine’s occurrence successful pushing Russian forces retired of territories astir Kyiv and Kharkiv, arsenic good arsenic the liberation of Kherson city, which helium said was a motion of Russia’s “weakness.”

In an undisclosed determination adjacent the Russian border, galore recently released Ukrainian prisoners of warfare were capable to talk with their families for the archetypal clip successful months.

Most of the radical is from Mariupol, the confederate larboard metropolis that Ukrainian and Russian troops fiercely fought implicit — and the soldiers carnivore some carnal and affectional scars, CNN's Will Ripley reported.

One of 2 rescued women, a radio quality operator, became affectional erstwhile she told Ripley that she was subjected to lies from the Russians and forced to pledge loyalty to Russia. Another woman's 6-year-old kid and hubby are inactive successful occupied Mariupol, and she has nary mode of contacting them, she said.

Watch his study here: