Ukraine latest: Over 15,000 people missing since start of war, group says

The Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on Feb. 24 continues, with casualties rising on both sides.

Ukrainian forces are mounting a strong counteroffensive against Russian troops, reclaiming territory lost when Moscow launched its invasion.

Ukraine has managed to withstand the Russian onslaught with the help of Western military aid, but President Volodymyr Zelenskyy regularly calls on the world to do more. For all our coverage, visit our Ukraine war page.

Read our in-depth coverage:

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Note: Nikkei Asia decided on March 5 to suspend its reporting from Russia until further information becomes available regarding the scope of the revised criminal code. Entries include material from wire services and other sources.

Here are the latest developments:

Friday, Nov. 25 (Tokyo time)

6:00 a.m. Over 15,000 people have gone missing during the war, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) says. Matthew Holliday, the Europe program director for The Hague-based ICMP, says it was unsure how many people had been forcibly transferred, were being held in Russia, were alive and separated from family members, or had died and had been buried in makeshift graves.

The process of investigating the missing in Ukraine will last years even after fighting stops, Holliday tells Reuters, adding that 15,000 is a conservative figure. “The numbers are huge and the challenges that Ukraine faces are vast. Besides which they’re fighting an ongoing war as well against the Russian Federation,” Holliday says.

1:10 a.m. U.S. President Joe Biden says price caps on Russian oil proposed under a Group of Seven nations scheme were in play, adding that he had spoken to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on the issue. “Yes, it’s in play,” Biden tells reporters. The cap is seen by the Biden administration as a way to cut Moscow off from a major source of funding for the war.

EU governments were to resume talks on the level to cap prices for Russian sea-born oil later in the day or the next after failing to reach a deal Wednesday.

Thursday, Nov. 24 

6:30 p.m. Power is gradually being restored to Ukrainian cities, including the capital, Kyiv, a day after Russian missile strikes caused Kyiv’s biggest outages in nine months of war. Regional authorities said 25% of homes in Kyiv were still without electricity but the water supply had been restored in some areas and would resume in other areas later in the day. In a big improvement from Wednesday, when authorities said power was lost across the entire Kyiv region, public transportation was operating in the capital, with buses replacing trams to save power.

11:00 a.m. A Russian rocket struck the maternity wing of a hospital in eastern Ukraine, killing a newborn boy and critically injuring a doctor. It was the second deadly strike on the small town of Vilniansk in a week, and Mayor Nataliya Usienko said she feared it would not be the last. “The attack started, and the first S300 rocket hit the road. The second rocket hit this place, the main general hospital, at the maternity wing, where people were,” she said. “One woman gave birth two days ago. She delivered a boy. Unfortunately this rocket took the life of this child, who lived only two days.”

7:30 a.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday to take action to stop Russian airstrikes that are targeting vital infrastructure and have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in. Russia unleashed a missile barrage across Ukraine earlier in the day, forcing shutdowns of nuclear power plants and killing civilians in Kyiv. “Today is just one day, but we have received 70 missiles. That’s the Russian formula of terror,” Zelenskyy said via video link to the council chamber.

4:50 a.m. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he is “very confident” the European Union would soon agree on a price cap for Russian oil as negotiations were underway in Brussels. The Group of Seven nations (G-7) is looking at a price cap on Russian seaborne oil in the range of $65 to $70 per barrel, a European Union diplomat said earlier on Wednesday. Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries are discussing the G-7 proposal with the aim of reaching a common position by the end of the day. Views in the EU are split, with some pushing for a much lower price cap and others arguing for a higher one.

2:00 a.m. Ukraine will seek an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council on recent Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweets, calling the murder of civilians and the ruining of civilian infrastructure “acts of terror.”

1:00 a.m. The U.S.’s latest military aid to Ukraine includes arms, munitions and air defense equipment, the State Department says.

The $400 million package brings total American military assistance to Ukraine to about $19.7 billion under the Biden administration, according to a news release.

In a Twitter post, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says “Ukraine must get all necessary air defense systems ASAP” to defend itself against Russia’s “missile terror.”

Wednesday, Nov. 23

10:30 p.m. Russian missile strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have caused blackouts across half of neighboring Moldova, the country’s deputy prime minister says. Andrei Spuni calls the situation a repeat of Nov. 15, when Moldova also suffered blackouts after Russian missile strikes.

Moldova is one of Europe’s poorest countries, and it has the highest per capita intake of Ukrainian refugees. It shares a border with Ukraine, a fellow ex-Soviet state, and is connected to its power grid.

10:15 p.m. The entire Kyiv region is without electricity after Russian airstrikes target critical infrastructure, says Oleksii Kuleba, head of the regional military administration.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko reports on the Telegram messaging app that the water supply also is cut off.

Tuesday, Nov. 22

11:55 p.m. Russia’s state-backed Gazprom says it may reduce supplies of natural gas through Ukraine this month, accusing Kyiv of taking gas meant for Moldova.

Gazprom warns it may restrict gas flows through Ukraine from Nov. 28. Ukraine is a transit country for Russian gas bound for Western Europe.

European countries have been filling up gas storage sites ahead of winter. Any disruption of flows through Ukraine threaten to upset energy markets.

Ukraine’s gas pipeline operator denies holding back gas meant for landlocked Moldova, which has suffered blackouts, an influx of refugees and other effects of the war.

7:00 p.m. Canada’s foreign ministry says it will slap more sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s administration for supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine. The ministry plans to sanction 22 more Belarusian officials as well as 16 Belarusian companies involved in military manufacturing, technology, engineering, banking and railway transportation. It said the officials included some who were “complicit in the stationing and transport of Russian military personnel and equipment involved in the invasion of Ukraine.”

8:30 a.m. Ukraine urged residents of Kyiv and several other areas to limit electricity use as it seeks to recover from Russian strikes on its power grid. “The systematic damage to our energy system from strikes by the Russian terrorists is so considerable that all our people and businesses should be mindful and redistribute their consumption throughout the day,” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Citizens in the recently liberated southern city of Kherson, where Kyiv says Russian troops destroyed critical infrastructure before leaving earlier this month, can apply to be relocated to areas where security and heating issues are less acute.

4:40 a.m. Kazakhstan is expected to bolster ties with China and Western powers after President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev won Sunday’s snap election in a landslide, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine erodes Moscow’s clout over former Soviet states in Central Asia.

Tokayev beat five other candidates as he received 81.3% of the votes, according to preliminary results announced Monday by the country’s election commission. He is now set to remain in office until 2029.

Under Tokayev’s continued leadership, Kazakhstan is expected to leverage its ample supply of oil and grains to forge stronger ties with China, the U.S. and Europe as Russia’s influence wanes. Read more.

4:00 a.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discusses the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and other topics with France’s Emmanuel Macron.

Monday. Nov. 21

6:10 p.m. Around 60 Russian soldiers were killed in a long-range Ukrainian artillery attack this week, Kyiv says, the second time in four days that Ukraine claimed to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident. In a Facebook post, the armed forces general staff said Russia suffered the losses on Thursday when Ukrainian forces shelled the town of Mykhailkva, 40 kilometers south of Kherson. Russian forces abandoned the city earlier this month. It gave no further details.

4:00 a.m. Germany has offered Warsaw the Patriot missile defense system to help it to secure its airspace after a stray missile crashed in Poland last week, Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht told a newspaper. The German government had already said it would offer its neighbor further help in air policing with German Eurofighters after the incident, which initially raised fears that the war in Ukraine could spill across the border. “We have offered Poland support in securing airspace — with our Eurofighters and with Patriot air defense systems,” Lambrecht told the Rheinische Post and General-Anzeiger.

Sunday, Nov. 20

11:34 p.m. More than a dozen blasts shake Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on Saturday night and Sunday, the International Atomic Energy Agency says, as Moscow and Kyiv both blame the other for the shelling of the Russian-held facility.

“Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable,” IAEA head Rafael Grossi says. “Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you’re playing with fire!”

Citing information from plant management, the IAEA team on the ground says some buildings, systems and equipment have been damaged, but none of them critical for nuclear safety and security so far.

9:27 a.m. Ukrainian electricity supplies are under control despite a series of Russian attacks on power-generating infrastructure and there is no need to panic, the energy ministry said on Saturday. Separately, the head of DTEK, the country’s largest private energy company, said there was no need for people to leave Ukraine. Russian missile strikes have crippled almost half of Ukraine’s energy system and Kyiv authorities said on Friday that a complete shutdown of the capital’s power grid was possible.

“Denying the panicky statements spread by social networks and online media, we assure you that the situation with the energy supply is difficult, but under control,” the energy ministry said in a statement. Authorities across the country have scheduled blackouts to help the repair effort, it said, urging families to cut their energy consumption by at least 25%.

5:45 a.m. Ukraine will soon begin evacuating people who want to leave the recently liberated southern city of Kherson and the surrounding areas, a senior official says.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said some people had expressed a wish to move away from the region. “This is possible in the next few days,” she told a news conference.

Saturday, Nov. 19

11:50 p.m. Britain’s new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made his first visit to Kyiv, pledging to continue the firm support for Ukraine that was a focus of his predecessors, and providing a new air defense package to help shoot down Russian drones.

Sunak said in a statement that Britain would provide a new 50 million pound ($60 million) package that includes anti-aircraft guns and technology such as radar to counter drone attacks. Britain also said it would increase the training it provides to Ukraine’s armed forces. “While Ukraine’s armed forces succeed in pushing back Russian forces on the ground, civilians are being brutally bombarded from the air,” Sunak said in his statement.

8:00 a.m. Kyiv, the area around the Black Sea port of Odesa and more than a dozen other regions are grappling with power shortages following relentless Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. “The situation with power supplies is difficult in 17 regions and in the capital,” he says in his nightly video address.

5:52 a.m. Russian missile strikes have taken nearly half of Ukraine’s energy system out of service, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says. Mykola Povoroznyk, deputy head of the Kyiv city administration, warns that the capital could experience a “complete shutdown” of its power grid.

1:30 a.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has thanked Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for his support in extending the Black Sea grain deal.

12:00 a.m. Russia’s defense ministry has accused Ukraine of executing more than 10 Russian prisoners of war. There was no immediate response from Kyiv to Moscow’s claims, which were accompanied by video alleged to show the shooting of Russian prisoners.

Friday, Nov. 18

11:00 p.m. A team of Ukrainian investigators is working at the site of the deadly missile blast in Poland, Kyiv’s top diplomat says.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says in a Twitter post that Ukraine “will continue our cooperation in an open and constructive manner.”

The explosion, which killed two people in the village of Przewodow near the Ukrainian border, has put President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government in an awkward position. Zelenskyy initially pushed back against comments by Poland, NATO and the U.S. that the missile was likely fired by Kyiv’s air defense forces during a Russian attack.

5:30 p.m. Investigators have found traces of explosives at the site of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, confirming that sabotage had taken place, a Swedish prosecutor says. Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which link Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea and have become a flashpoint in the Ukraine crisis. “Analysis that has now been carried out shows traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered,” the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement.

12:30 p.m. Thailand aims to redefine success as it hosts the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that opened Friday, with members facing an uphill battle to reach consensus over the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine. In a year marked by walkouts and not a single joint statement from preceding ministerial meetings, Thailand looks to make its mark by enshrining sustainability into APEC’s trade and investment agenda.

8:30 a.m. Russian missiles and shells hit Ukrainian positions in several regions, and there was no let up in heavy fighting in Donetsk in the east, the Ukrainian military said on Thursday night as Moscow’s occupying forces appeared more active. Ukraine’s energy infrastructure was under persistent attack by Russian missiles and drones from the capital Kyiv in the north to Dnipro in central Ukraine and Odesa in the south, the military said in a statement. Ukrainian forces in the past 24 hours downed two cruise missiles, five air-launched missiles and five Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, it said.

5:45 a.m. As Russian military strikes continue to hit Ukraine’s infrastructure, the European Commission says new emergency aid is on the way to help the nation prepare for winter.

More than 1,800 tonnes of supplies will be delivered through the European Civil Protection Mechanism. The new package — contributed by Belgium, Finland, Germany, Slovakia, Luxembourg and Sweden — includes energy supplies, shelter items and firefighting equipment.

“The destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure is reaching a critical point,” says Janez Lenarcic, the European commissioner for crisis management, in a news release. “On the eve of winter, people are being cut off electricity and heating. The key priority of our humanitarian operations today is to scale up winterization assistance.”

The latest round of Russian missile attacks on Ukraine hit civilian infrastructure in the east and south, including Naftogaz gas production facilities, Ukrainian military officials and the company say.

2:00 a.m. A court in the Netherlands has convicted two former Russian intelligence agents and a Ukrainian separatist leader of murder for their role in shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Read more.

The three men have been sentenced to life in prison. The air disaster killed all 298 passengers and crew on the commercial flight bound for Kuala Lumpur.

Russia’s foreign ministry says in a statement that the Dutch court was under pressure to “impose a politically motivated outcome.” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the “masterminds” behind the downing of MH17 must also be held to account.

Thursday, Nov. 17

6:10 p.m. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he welcomes an agreement by all parties to extend the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate Ukraine’s agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports. The agreement, initially reached in July, created a protected sea transit corridor and was designed to alleviate global food shortages by allowing exports to resume from three ports in Ukraine, a major producer of grains and oilseeds. “I welcome the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea grain initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilizers from Ukraine,” Guterres said.

2:30 p.m. Investigators in Ukraine’s recently liberated southern Kherson region have uncovered 63 bodies with signs of torture, Ukraine’s interior minister was quoted as saying early on Thursday. “We must understand that the search has only just started so many more dungeons and burial places will be uncovered,” Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Denys Monastyrsky as telling national television. Monastyrsky said law enforcement had uncovered 436 instances of war crimes during Russia’s occupation. Eleven places of detention had been discovered, including four where torture had been practiced.

7:00 a.m. A missile that crashed inside Poland was probably a stray fired by Ukraine’s air defenses and not a Russian strike, Poland and military alliance NATO say, easing international fears that the war could spill across the border. Nevertheless, NATO’s chief said Russia, not Ukraine, was still to blame for starting the war in the first place with its February invasion and launching scores of missiles on Tuesday that triggered Ukrainian defenses. “This is not Ukraine’s fault,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. “Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine.”

5:32 a.m. The top U.S. military officer downplays the chances of a swift victory by Ukraine, despite major gains made by its forces in areas like Kherson.

“The probability of a Ukrainian military victory — defined as kicking the Russians out of all of Ukraine to include what they claim as Crimea — the probability of that happening anytime soon is not high, militarily,” U.S. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, tells reporters at the Pentagon.

The U.S. will help Ukraine defend itself for as long as it takes, he says.

Wednesday, Nov. 16

8:05 p.m. U.S. President Joe Biden told G-7 and NATO leaders earlier that the explosion in Poland that killed two people was caused by a Ukrainian air-defense missile, a NATO source confirmed to Nikkei Asia. Read more.

An emergency meeting was convened in Bali on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, after Poland and Ukraine had said it was likely a Russian-made missile. Russia quickly denied its missiles struck Poland.

6:52 p.m. Pope Francis has condemned the latest wave of missile attacks on Ukraine and called for a cease-fire to avert the risk of an escalation of the conflict. He was speaking at his weekly General Audience as NATO allies were investigating unconfirmed reports that an explosion in a Polish village near the border with Ukraine was caused by stray Russian missiles. He did not mention the incident.

“I learned with pain and concern of a fresh and even fiercer missile attack on Ukraine, which caused deaths and damage to much civilian infrastructure,” Francis said in Italian. “Let us pray so that the Lord converts the hearts of those who still bet on war and make the desire for peace prevail in martyred Ukraine in order to avoid escalation and to open the path to a cease-fire and dialogue,” he said.

6:11 p.m. A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blames Russia for any “incidents with missiles.” Mykhailo Podolyak made his comments in a written statement after U.S. President Joe Biden said a missile that killed two people in Poland was probably not fired from Russia.

“In my opinion, it is necessary to adhere to only one logic. The war was started and is being waged by Russia. Russia massively attacks Ukraine with cruise missiles. Russia has turned the eastern part of the European continent into an unpredictable battlefield,” Podolyak said. “Intent, means of execution, risks, escalation — all this is only Russia. And there can be no other explanation for any incidents with missiles.”

3:09 p.m. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan says he believes the U.N.-brokered grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine will be extended beyond its Nov. 19 deadline, adding that Ankara is making efforts to prolong it by a year. Speaking at a news conference at the G-20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Erdogan said talks about extending the deal were ongoing, adding that the deal was important for the world.

10:02 a.m. Global leaders who were gathering for the G-20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, went into an emergency meeting on Wednesday after two people in Poland were killed in explosions that Ukraine and Polish authorities said were caused by Russian-made missiles. The meeting was convened by U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House said, after two people were killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine. Leaders from the United States, Germany, Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Spain, Italy, France and the U.K. were taking part in the meeting.

9:21 a.m. NATO member Poland said that a Russian-made rocket killed two people in eastern Poland near Ukraine, and it summoned Russia’s ambassador to Warsaw for an explanation after Moscow denied it was responsible.

5:40 a.m. Poland’s government has convened an emergency security after two people were reportedly killed by a missile strike near the border with Ukraine. Local media reports say a Russian missile is suspected in the deaths near the village of Przewodow. Read more.

2:30 a.m. A defiant Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainians are working to restore electricity to areas struck by a wave of Russian attacks.

“We will restore everything, we will survive,” he says in a video posted on Telegram.

The U.S. has condemned the attacks, with President Joe Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying in a statement: “It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G-20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.”

Russia’s TASS cites Ukrainian media reports of explosions in Kyiv and the Kyiv region but does not describe them as Russian attacks. At the Group of 20 leaders summit in Bali, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says: “If anyone is refusing to negotiate, it is Ukraine.”

2:05 a.m. Protesters shouting “you are criminals, war criminals” interrupt an event hosted by the Russian delegation at the COP27 United Nations climate change conference.

12:30 a.m. China praises Russia for reiterating its position that a nuclear war cannot be fought, crediting Moscow for a “rational and responsible” attitude, Chinese news agency Xinhua reports.

The comment comes at a meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese counterpart Wang Yi during the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. China says the two sides discussed the Asia-Pacific, the Korean Peninsula and the Iranian nuclear issue. Beijing says it will continue to play a constructive role in promoting peace talks in Ukraine.

Tuesday, Nov. 15

11:57 p.m. Russian missiles strike energy facilities and cities across Ukraine including Kyiv, Lviv in the west, Kharkiv in the northeast and Odesa in the south. Kyiv’s mayor says about half of the capital lacks electricity and that two residential buildings were hit in a central area of the city.

The wave of missile strikes comes as Western leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia seek agreement on a statement condemning Russia’s invasion following a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

6:35 p.m. Leaders from the Group of 20 major economies plan to urge peaceful resolution of conflicts and condemn the use of nuclear weapons, in a reflection of global anxiety over Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible,” the leaders will say, according to a draft final summit declaration seen by Nikkei Asia. “The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today’s era must not be of war.” The communique is set to be formally adopted by G-20 leaders on Wednesday. The text could change before then as a result of further talks on its content.

5:20 p.m. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urges a return to diplomacy to end the Russia-Ukraine war, reiterating the South Asian nation’s call for peace in the ongoing conflict.

“I have repeatedly said that we have to find a way to return to the path of cease-fire and diplomacy in Ukraine,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the Group of 20 summit in Bali, Indonesia. India has not condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but Modi told Russian President Vladimir Putin in September that “today’s era is not an era of war.”

2:30 p.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells leaders of the world’s wealthiest nations that now is the time to stop Russia’s war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed. He spoke via video to leaders of the G-20 nations who have gathered for a summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. Zelenskyy said the war should be ended “justly and on the basis of the U.N. Charter and international law.” He called for restoring “radiation safety” with regard to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and introducing price restrictions on Russian energy resources.

9:30 a.m. Kyiv welcomes reported Chinese comments criticizing threats to use nuclear weapons as world leaders gathered in Indonesia to take part in Tuesday’s G-20 meeting, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in the spotlight. U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping “underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” the White House said in a readout of a meeting in Indonesia between the two leaders. A readout of the Biden-Xi meeting on China’s foreign ministry website made no use of the word “nuclear” but said: “Conflicts and wars produce no winner … confrontation between major countries must be avoided.”

7:52 a.m. The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution recognizing that Russia must be responsible for making reparations to Ukraine.

The nonbinding resolution, supported by 94 of the assembly’s 193 members, says Russia “must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts.” Fourteen countries voted against the resolution, including Russia, China and Iran, while 73 abstained, including Brazil, India and South Africa. Not all member states voted.

Russia’s ambassador to the U.N., Vassily Nebenzia, told the General Assembly before the vote that the provisions of the resolution are “legally null and void” as he urged countries to vote against it. “The West is trying to draw out and worsen the conflict and plans to use Russian money for it,” Nebenzia said.

1:35 a.m. U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s Xi Jinping “reiterated their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought and can never be won and underscored their opposition to the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” according to a White House readout of their meeting in Bali.

But the Xinhua report on the meeting does not mention any discussion of nuclear weapons at the talks. Read more about the Biden-Xi summit here.

12:45 a.m. Russia approves the participation of Japan’s Sakhalin Oil and Gas Development Co. (SODECO) and India’s ONGC Videsh in the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 project, Interfax reports, citing instructions issued by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is a stakeholder in Tokyo-based SODECO, along with other investors including Itochu, Japan Petroleum Exploration and Marubeni. The Japanese government had sought to remain involved in the Russian oil and gas project following operator ExxonMobil’s departure.

Exxon announced its withdrawal from Sakhalin-1 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree on Oct. 7, transferring the project to a new company. Foreign investors were told to decide within one month whether they would continue to participate in the business.

Monday, Nov. 14

6:30 p.m. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the newly recaptured southern city of Kherson, the biggest prize yet won by Ukrainian forces, where he has accused Russian forces of committing war crimes before they fled last week. “We are moving forward,” he said in an address to Ukrainian troops, thanking NATO and other allies for their continuing support in the war against Russia. “We are ready for peace, peace for all our country.”

11:30 a.m. The U.S. will impose new sanctions on a transnational network of individuals and companies working to procure military technologies for Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tells reporters in Bali. She added that the sanctions would target 14 individuals and 28 entities, including financial facilitators but declined to provide further details. “This is part of our larger effort to disrupt Russia’s war effort and deny equipment it needs through sanctions and export controls,” Yellen said.

5:00 a.m. “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and servicemen have been found,” in areas of Kherson freed from Russian occupation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says in his nightly video address.

2:30 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, emphasizing their deepening political, trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin says without elaborating on when the phone call took place. Neither were Iranian arms supplies to Moscow mentioned. “A number of topical issues on their bilateral agenda were discussed, with the emphasis on further enhancing cooperation in the political, trade and economic fields, including the transport and logistics sector,” the Kremlin said.

For earlier updates, click here.