Ukraine war live updates: Latest news on Russia and the war in Ukraine - CNBC

A destroyed schoolhouse successful Posad-Pokrovske successful the Kherson portion of Ukraine connected Dec. 11, 2022.

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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that "the clip present has come" for Turkey and Hungary to ratify Sweden and Finland's accession to the subject alliance.

Stoltenberg told CNBC helium was assured the 2 holdouts would articulation their chap 28 subordinate states successful ratifying soon. He would not supply a circumstantial timeline, though helium said that the organization's enactment for the prospective members was assured.

"It's inconceivable that if Finland and Sweden were attacked oregon came nether immoderate benignant of unit from Russia, that NATO would not react. So I'm not saying that it doesn't matter, the past 2 ratifications, but we are successful a wholly antithetic place," Stoltenberg said.

Stoltenberg added that with the 2 caller accessions, President Putin would get "the nonstop opposite" of what helium acceptable retired to execute with his penetration of Ukraine: an expanded NATO beingness on the Russian border.

— Karen Gilchrist

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has stressed the request to guarantee that the weapons the confederation has already supplied to war-torn Ukraine tin beryllium deployed successful combat.

"I recognize this absorption connected caller systems, but ... [it's] arsenic important, if not adjacent much important to guarantee that the systems which are already delivered are moving arsenic they should be," helium said successful a CNBC interrogation with Hadley Gamble. "Because determination are a batch of systems which are present highly effective, erstwhile they work, successful Ukraine."

He said NATO had already provided Ukraine with limb systems specified arsenic artillery, conflict tanks and equipped vehicles and needed to support the proviso of instrumentality to Kyiv.

"We request to guarantee that determination is simply a dependable travel of ammunition, of spare parts and attraction capacity," Stoltenberg urged.

— Ruxandra Iordache

Starved of Big Macs since McDonald's closed its Russian restaurants successful March, Russians volition from adjacent twelvemonth beryllium treated to an alternate from the burger chain's successor - the "Big Hit".

Vkusno & tochka, oregon "Tasty & that's it", connected Monday said the Big Hit would beryllium disposable from February and a akin merchandise to the McDonald's Happy Meal would beryllium making a comeback arsenic "Kids' Combo."

McDonald's closed its Russian restaurants soon aft Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine successful February, yet selling to a section licensee, Alexander Govor, who unveiled the caller marque successful June.

CEO Oleg Paroev said Vkusno & tochka had present flooded each the proviso concatenation issues it had faced, and was increasing its stock successful a marketplace traditionally dominated by overseas chains. Since acquiring Russia's McDonald's restaurants, Govor has snapped up Finnish packaging institution Huhtamaki's Russian concern and a logistics firm, acceptable to beryllium renamed "Logistics & that's it".

On Monday, helium said Vkusno & tochka whitethorn effort to find a spouse to nutrient children's toys for the Kids' Combo, which are presently being launched with a escaped book, but that his M&A appetite had been satisfied for now. Vkusno & tochka and nutrient shaper Miratorg connected Monday said they had agreed to physique a mill successful 2023 to proviso the concatenation with chips and murphy wedges.

Some Vkusno & tochka restaurants had to instrumentality fries disconnected the paper earlier this twelvemonth erstwhile faced with a murphy shortage.

— Reuters

Hungary is blocking caller fiscal enactment for Ukraine arsenic the state attempts to wrestle escaped its ain EU funds, with nationalist person Viktor Orban erstwhile again ruffling feathers successful the bosom of Brussels.

The European Commission, the enforcement limb of the EU, successful November projected an 18 cardinal euro ($18.9 billion) bundle for the war-torn nation. The funds are expected to beryllium disbursed regularly passim 2023. But, Hungary was the lone federation among the 27 EU states to veto the plan.

Hungary Prime Minister Orban, often seen arsenic a scourge to EU authorities with once-warm relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, took to Twitter connected Tuesday. "Today's quality was each astir Hungary vetoing fiscal assistance to Ukraine. This is fake news. Hungary is acceptable to springiness fiscal assistance to Ukraine, connected a bilateral basis. No veto, nary blackmailing," helium said.

But Brussels disagrees. Some EU officials judge Budapest's ballot was an effort to unit done its ain EU funding. An EU official, adjacent to the ministers' talks and who did not privation to beryllium named owed to the sensitivity of the issue, told CNBC: "They [Hungary] volition contradict it, [but] they privation to make leverage and are taking 2 files nether hostage."

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A apical authoritative in Russia's Foreign Ministry said Monday that Moscow does not spot a "constructive approach" from Washington successful talks that person been held betwixt the 2 sides successful Istanbul successful the past fewer days.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin was quoted by Russian authorities quality bureau Tass arsenic saying that Istanbul is simply a convenient level for talks betwixt Russia and the U.S. but that talks person not been truthful fruitful.

"Istanbul is simply a convenient level for specified contacts. I tin accidental that immoderate contacts are useful, but, unfortunately, we bash not spot a constructive attack from the American broadside aimed astatine factual results," Vershinin told Russian journalists.

A gathering was held betwixt U.S. and Russian officials connected Friday, Reuters reported, to sermon method points of quality betwixt the countries, with discussions implicit the issuance of visas 1 of the talking points.

— Holly Ellyatt

The United States is prioritising efforts to boost Ukraine's aerial defences, President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart connected Sunday, arsenic President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stepped up efforts to unafraid planetary assistance implicit the Russian penetration that is dragging into a 10th month.

Heavy warring successful the country's eastbound and southbound continued unabated, portion drone and rocket strikes connected cardinal powerfulness infrastructure, notably successful the Black Sea larboard metropolis of Odesa, kept galore Ukrainians successful the acold and dark.

There are nary bid talks and nary extremity successful show to the deadliest struggle successful Europe since World War Two, which Moscow describes arsenic a "special subject operation" and Ukraine and its allies telephone an unprovoked enactment of aggression.

"We are perpetually moving with partners," Zelenskyy said aft talking to Biden and the leaders of France and Turkey, adding that helium expects immoderate "important results" adjacent week from a bid of planetary events that volition tackle the concern successful Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz volition clasp connected Monday an online gathering with Group of Seven (G-7) leaders and the European Union overseas ministers will to effort to hold connected further sanctions connected Russia and Iran and connected further assistance oregon arms deliveries to Ukraine.

While Zelenskyy has held galore talks with Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan since Russian forces invaded successful precocious February, the accumulation of discussions successful conscionable 1 time is not a regular event.

— Reuters

Russia's evident warfare aims of "liberating" eastbound Ukraine and extending power implicit the confederate regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson are apt to fail, Britain's Ministry of Defense stated Monday, with small gains expected implicit the winter.

"Russia is apt inactive aiming to widen power implicit each of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson Oblasts [regions]. Russian subject planners apt inactive purpose to prioritise advancing deeper into Donetsk Oblast," the defence ministry said connected Twitter.

"However, Russia's strategy is presently improbable to execute its objectives: it is highly improbable that the Russian subject is presently capable to make an effectual striking unit susceptible of retaking these areas," the U.K. added.

"Russian crushed forces are improbable to marque operationally important advances wrong the adjacent respective months."

Russian statesmanlike spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rearticulated the main goals of the "special subject operation" (as Russia calls its penetration of Ukraine) past week, stating that these were to afloat inhabit the 4 regions of Ukraine that Russia declared it had annexed backmost successful September.

Peskov stated determination was "a batch of enactment ahead" to "liberate" these territories that were "occupied" by Ukrainian forces.

— Holly Ellyatt

Energy operators are moving to reconstruct the powerfulness proviso to the confederate larboard metropolis of Odesa aft its vigor web was targeted by Russian drones implicit the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 1.5 cardinal radical were near without powerfulness aft Russia launched drones strikes connected the city. The president said Ukraine had managed to sprout down 10 of 15 Iranian drones utilized to people Odesa.

Zelenskyy said successful his nightly code Sunday that "restoration enactment continues successful the southbound of our state - we are doing everything to reconstruct the airy proviso to Odesa."

"As of this time, we managed to partially reconstruct the proviso successful Odesa and different cities and districts of the region. We are doing everything to execute the maximum imaginable aft the Russian hits," helium said.

He said the Odesa portion is inactive among the regions with the largest fig of vigor shutdowns, and that the concern remains "very difficult" successful Kyiv, the capital's surrounding region, arsenic good arsenic Lviv, Vinnytsia, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk, among others.

— Holly Ellyatt

Russian mercenaries warring successful eastbound Ukraine suffered dense losses aft the edifice they were utilizing arsenic their office was deed by Ukrainian forces this weekend, according to an official.

There were "very significant" losses aft the impermanent location successful Kadiivka successful Luhansk was hit, the caput of the Luhansk Military Administration Serhiy Haidai said connected his Telegram relationship connected Sunday.

Haidai claimed the edifice was being utilized arsenic the office of the backstage subject force, the "Wagner Group," a state-sanctioned radical founded by an state of President Vladimir Putin.

Wagner soldiers, wide seen arsenic mercenaries, are warring alongside the regular Russian service successful Ukraine, peculiarly successful the eastbound of the country, wherever warring is aggravated arsenic Russian forces effort to inhabit much of the portion and Ukrainian forces effort to reclaim much territory.

Haidai said Russian forces are looking to mobilize each the men successful the portion and that property oregon wellness is nary obstruction to being forcibly mobilized. CNBC was incapable to instantly verify Haidai's claims.