Ukraine-Russia war live updates: Ukraine has lost 10,000-13,000 soldiers

German’s chancellor said he would welcome an increased role by Nato to coordinate the security of allies’ critical infrastructure, and particularly subsea links.Speaking to reporters at a joint press conference with Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Olaf Scholz added that an offer to send anti-missile Patriots to Poland still stands. Separately, asked whether Germany was doing enough to reduce dependencies on Beijing in light of a recent contentious deal with the Hamburg port, Stoltenberg said each country "has to find the balance between economic engagement with China and at same time preventing becoming too dependent or vulnerable."

Italy's new far-right government issued a decree Thursday to go on sending weapons to Ukraine through 2023, continuing the previous administration's policy of support to Kyiv.The decree extends through December 31, 2023 a current authorisation for "the transfer of military means, materials and equipment to the government authorities of Ukraine," according to a government statement.Since taking office in October, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly voiced her support for Kyiv while underlying the importance of the Atlantic alliance.In her first speech to parliament, the leader of the Brothers of Italy party pledged to "continue to be a reliable partner of NATO in supporting Ukraine."

Spain has stepped up security at public and diplomatic buildings after a spate of letter bombs, including one sent to the prime minister and another to the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, where an official suffered minor injuries.

"I'm prepared to speak with Mr. Putin if in fact there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet," Biden said. "If that's the case, in consultation with my French and my NATO friends, I'll be happy to sit down with Putin to see what he has in mind. He hasn't done that yet."

Russian rockets pounded neighbourhoods in Kherson knocking out power in the city where electricity had only begun to be restored nearly three weeks after Russian troops left. Ukraine's armed forces reported heavy shelling of a number of eastern frontline villages near the city of Bakhmut.

Ukraine's military said Russia had pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River from Kherson city, the first official Ukrainian report of a Russian withdrawal on what is now the main front line in the south.

US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron presented a united front on Ukraine on Thursday at the White House, and Biden said he would talk to Russian President Vladimir Putin if he is willing to end the invasion. Biden has resisted talking to Putin since the Russian leader launched the invasion in February, while Macron has kept lines of communication with Putin open.

Ukraine's top security officials have ordered an investigation into the activities of a branch of the Orthodox Church linked historically to Moscow, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Thursday. "We have to create conditions so that no actors dependent on the aggressor state (Russia) can manipulate Ukrainians and weaken Ukraine from within," he said in a video address.

Ukraine's armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told a Ukrainian television network on Thursday.The remarks appeared to be the first estimate of dead since late August, when the head of the armed forces said nearly 9,000 military personnel had been killed.