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Both Russia and Ukraine have sent “significant forces” to the area around the Ukrainian towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar in south-central Donetsk Oblast, according to the British Ministry of Defence.
The agency said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter on Sunday that the area “has been the scene of intense fighting over the past two weeks, although little territory has changed hands.”
The ministry said the area would likely remain “heavily contested,” as “Russia assesses the area’s potential as a launching point for a future major advance north to capture the rest of Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast.”
However, the ministry said Russia’s chances of realizing the goal are low because “Russia is unlikely to be able to concentrate forces of sufficient quality to achieve operational success.”
On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted a summit in Kyiv to mark the 90th anniversary of the Holodomor, or Great Famine, and to promote grain from Ukraine to countries most affected by famine and drought.
The Holodomor was a famine engineered by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in the winter of 1932–33, during which 8 million Ukrainians died.
Zelensky used the anniversary to reiterate Ukraine’s commitment to exporting grain and other foodstuffs to the global market. These are “not just empty words,” he said.
“In general, under the Grain from Ukraine program, by the end of next spring, we plan to send at least 60 ships from our ports – at least 10 per month – to drought and drought-prone countries,” he said. “This is Ethiopia, this is Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Congo, Kenya, Nigeria.”
The initiative is in addition to a UN-brokered deal that allows shipments of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. The Kremlin has said that Ukraine’s exports are not reaching the most vulnerable countries.
Zelensky said Kyiv has raised about $150 million from more than 20 countries and the European Union to export grain to countries at risk.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmihl said that Ukraine – despite its own financial difficulties – has allocated $24 million to buy corn for countries in need.
Shmihal also met with his Lithuanian and Polish counterparts in Kyiv on Saturday. The three prime ministers of the Lublin Triangle reaffirmed their commitment to work together against Russian aggression.
In a joint statement, the participants condemned “systemic war crimes committed by Russia’s forces in the territories of Ukraine, including deliberate, indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks against the civilian population and elements of civilian infrastructure.”
Ukraine continues to repair its power grid after the latest attack by Russia.
Millions of people are still without electricity, Zelenskiy said in his Saturday evening video address.
Grid operator Ukrainergo said on Saturday that power producers are able to supply three-quarters of consumption needs, with restrictions and blackouts continuing across the country.
“We want to remind you that now every Ukrainian whose home has been restored with electricity can help restore it quickly for others, just by consuming a little bit of electricity,” Ukrainergo said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.
The situation in Kyiv has improved and most residents should have at least four hours of power a day, said Sergei Kovalenko, chief operating officer of Yasno, a branch of Ukraine’s largest private energy provider.
While not everyone has electricity, Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said water service has been restored throughout the city.
Electricity has also been restored in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson following the latest Russian barrage on the city that killed several people and damaged power infrastructure.
“First we are supplying power to the city’s critical infrastructure and then immediately to household customers,” Kyriylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of Ukraine’s presidential administration, wrote on Telegram.
Many people are leaving Curzon for safer parts of Ukraine on the advice of the authorities.
Lines of trucks, vans and cars were a kilometer or more long on the outskirts of Kherson city on Saturday.
“It’s sad that we’re leaving our home,” said Yevhen Yankov, as a van inched forward. “Now we are free, but we have to leave, because there is shelling, and there are dead among the population.”
Ukraine said the attacks were clearly intended to harm civilians, making them a war crime. Russia has said it only targeted military-related infrastructure and blamed Kiev for the blackout.
Heavy snowfall is expected in Kiev on Sunday, with temperatures dropping below freezing for 24 hours. The weather forecast for most parts of Ukraine in the coming days is very similar.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty contributed to this report. Some material for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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