(Reuters) – Ukraine attacked occupied Melitopol, a strategically located city in the country’s southeast. The Russian-installed said a missile attack killed two people and injured 10, while the exiled mayor said scores of “invaders” were killed.
CONFLICT
* All non-critical infrastructure in the Ukrainian port of Odesa was without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, officials said, adding it could take months to repair the damage.
* Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.
DIPLOMACY, CULTURE
* Russian President Vladimir Putin is determined to conquer parts of Ukraine and shows no restraint in his brutality, but it is still important to keep contacts open in case a moment arrives to end the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
* Russia wants to turn Ukraine into a “dependent dictatorship” like Belarus, the wife of jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski said upon receiving the prize on his behalf, speaking his words.
* Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, freed in a prisoner swap for U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner, said he wished her good luck on the tarmac in Abu Dhabi where they were exchanged on Thursday.
ECONOMY
* A dozen countries including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have made a push to “significantly” lower a planned European Union cap on gas prices, as the bloc struggles to strike a deal on the measure.
* The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine’s Kherson region said it had begun changing locally circulated Ukrainian hryvnia currency into Russian roubles, with hryvnia circulation in Moscow-controlled areas of the region to end on Jan. 1.
(Compiled by Frances Kerry and William Mallard)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibilty for its content.