Russia-Ukraine War Live Updates: 'US, Russia discussed containing Ukraine war'

There's a bridge over the Donets River, then forest. Beyond it lies the Russian city of Belgorod. "That green hill over there is Russia," says commander Roman Gryshchenko. (AFP photo)

President Joe Biden's national security adviser and senior Kremlin aides have held private talks in recent months to reduce the risk of a broader conflict over Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal reported. A peace settlement wasn’t a goal of the discussions, according to the report.Russian media said Ukraine struck the Kakhovka dam north of Kherson with a missile on Sunday, without causing major damage. There was no comment from Kyiv. Ukraine for weeks has accused Russian forces of planning to blow up the dam and flood the surrounding region to slow a Ukrainian counteroffensive around Kherson. The White House is privately suggesting Ukraine’s president indicate an openness to talks with Russia as a way to help Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government address war support fatigue among some allies, the Washington Post reported.

They work day and night, and through bombardments. That morning, a dozen Russian soldiers moved inside Ukrainian territory before a brigade drone dropped a grenade and forced them to retreat

They still face drone attacks, occasional artillery strikes and the threat of raids from Russian commandos. The 5,000-strong 127th brigade was formed from a volunteer force, and its mission is to defend positions in this recaptured border zone.

In September, Ukraine pushed Moscow's forces back across the border near Kharkiv. The retreat marked one of the high points of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the northeast. Now, Kyiv's troops in the village of Starytsya stand so close to Russia that some phones mistakenly get texts to say they've arrived in the country.

The leaders underscored the continued commitment of both US and Germany in providing Ukraine with economic, humanitarian, and security support for defending itself against Russia's aggression. The two leaders agreed in calling Russia's recent nuclear threats 'irresponsible'. The release stated that the two leaders also discussed Scholz's recent trip to the People's Republic of China.

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz during a call on Sunday, affirmed continuous commitment towards supporting Ukraine against Russia's aggression, the White House informed in a press release.

The mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, is warning residents that they must prepare for the worst this winter if Russia keeps striking the country's energy infrastructure — and that means having no electricity, water or heat in the freezing cold cannot be ruled out.

Ukraine is bracing for fresh Russian attacks on its infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Sunday, after Kyiv’s mayor urged residents to prepare for a worst-case scenario by making emergency plans to leave town and stay with friends or family. The country faced a 32 percent deficit in projected power supply Monday, Sergei Kovalenko, CEO of YASNO, a major supplier of energy to the capital, said on his Facebook page.

Ukraine's Moscow-occupied southern city of Kherson was cut off from electricity and water supplies after a Kyiv strike on nearby power lines, Russian-installed authorities said Sunday."In Kherson and a number of other areas in the region, there is temporarily no electricity or water supply," the city's Moscow-installed administration said on Telegram.It said it was a "result of an attack organised by the Ukrainian side on the Berislav-Kakhovka highway that saw three concrete poles of high-voltage power lines damaged".

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday to discuss macro-financial aid for Ukraine and further sanctions on Iran, Zelenskiy said."Noted the importance of continuing the grain initiative for world food security. Discussed increasing sanctions & opposing actions of Iran, which supports aggression," Zelenskiy wrote on Twitter.

Russian forces are stepping up their strikes in a fiercely contested region of eastern Ukraine, worsening the already tough conditions for residents and the defending army following Moscow's illegal annexation and declaration of martial law in Donetsk province, Ukrainian authorities said.The attacks have almost completely destroyed the power plants that serve the city of Bakhmut and the nearby town of Soledar, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the region's Ukrainian governor, said. Shelling killed one civilians and wounded three, he reported late Saturday.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday said that twenty-eight ships carrying various agricultural products left Ukrainian ports in the past week and the revival of the Black Sea grain corridor is one of the most significant international results despite Russian threats, Al Jazeera reported."We showed that the world is capable of guaranteeing stability despite any threats posed by Russia," he said. "The world did not succumb to Russian blackmail, key actors acted decisively and, as a result, the aggravation of the food crisis was avoided," the Ukrainian president said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law to mobilize citizens with criminal records of murder, robbery, drug trafficking, and other serious crimes under the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation for military service. However, the criminals exempted from compulsory service are those who committed sex crimes against minors, were involved in the assassination of a government official, terrorism, or extremist activity.