December 27, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

By Jessie Yeung, Ivana Kottasová, Laura Smith-Spark, Aditi Sangal, Leinz Vales, Mike Hayes and Maureen Chowdhury, CNN

Updated 2:22 a.m. ET, December 28, 2022
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3:20 p.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Kherson hospital hit by Russian shelling, Ukrainian official says

From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan and Yulia Kesaleva

Images shared by the deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, on Tuesday.
Images shared by the deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, on Tuesday. (Tymoshenko/Telegram)

A hospital maternity ward in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson was hit by Russian shelling, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the office of the president of Ukraine said Tuesday. 

“They shelled the place where two children were born today. Before the attack, doctors managed to complete a cesarean section. There are 5 women in the institution after childbirth. Miraculously, no one was injured,” Timoshenko said via the Telegram messaging platform.

(Tymoshenko/Telegram)
(Tymoshenko/Telegram)

Other impacted areas: Russian shelling also damaged the civilian infrastructure of the Antonivka settlement in the Kherson region and Kherson city, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said via Facebook, adding that there are casualties among civilians.

Meanwhile, the threat of air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure facilities remains on the whole territory of Ukraine, as Russia's offensive took place in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions, trying to improve the tactical situation in the direction of Lyman, Ukraine’s Armed Forces said.

 

1:34 p.m. ET, December 27, 2022

France signs deal to sell observation satellites to Poland 6 weeks after a missile hit the country

From CNN”s Duarte Mendonca and Josh Pennington

Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, left, and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu shake hands during the signing of a contract for the sale of French satellites to Poland in Warsaw, on November 27.
Polish Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak, left, and French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu shake hands during the signing of a contract for the sale of French satellites to Poland in Warsaw, on November 27. (Piotr Nowak/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

France and Poland have signed a deal for the sale of two French observation satellites to Poland, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu tweeted on Tuesday.

"This major contract demonstrates Poland's trust in our technology and industry," Lecornu tweeted after meeting with his Polish counterpart in Warsaw.

The French minister went on to say this deal shows the “deep ties that unite France and Poland in the field of defense,” while emphasizing this it would create “500 jobs in France for five years.  

Poland’s Defense Minister Mariusz Błaszczak reiterated his French counterpart’s sentiment saying it was “an important day for the Polish Army.”

“This investment in state-of-the-art technology is a significant improvement in the capabilities of the Polish Armed Forces in the key area of reconnaissance data acquisition,” Błaszczak tweeted

Tuesday’s announcement comes six weeks after the country was hit by a "Russian-made" missile, causing an explosion outside the rural eastern Polish village of Przewodow, about four miles (6.4 kilometers) west of the Ukrainian border, killing two farmers. 

At the time of the event, Poland’s ambassador to the United Nations Krzysztof Szczerski said the incident “teaches us how close we actually live the potential escalation in the spillover of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine of far-reaching consequences that we all can perceive.”

12:44 p.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Ukraine's power outages decreasing as parts of electric grid are restored, prime minister says

From CNN’s Pierre Meilhan and Yulia Kesaleva

People use flashlights as they walk on a dark street during a blackout in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 24.
People use flashlights as they walk on a dark street during a blackout in Kyiv, Ukraine, on December 24. (Sergei Chuzavkov/SOPPA Images/Sipa USA/AP)

The number of outages across Ukraine is decreasing as more parts of the electric grid are restored and consumption is reduced due to favorable weather conditions, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Tuesday.

In the event of no Russian shelling, the New Year holiday will pass without emergency shutdowns, Shmyhal said during a cabinet meeting in Kyiv, according to a government statement. 

“The number of emergency outages is decreasing. This became possible thanks to the heroic work of our power engineers to restore damaged equipment, reduce consumption on weekends and the absence of frosty weather. Today, on December 27, after emergency restoration works, 2 units of thermal power plants were reconnected to the grid,” Shmyhal said.

More consumers are seeing power restored at least partially as the infrastructure is being restored, the prime minister said. 

“A well-developed algorithm for the priority of consumers' power supply is in place. First  — the critical infrastructure is being reconnected, then goes the military-industrial complex, thirdly — important production facilities and the fourth turn is for the residential sector,” Shmyhal said.

Ukraine also believes Russia is preparing to continue attacks on the country’s energy system, according to Shmyhal who emphasized that his country is “in daily state of readiness for new massive shelling. It can happen at any time: today, tomorrow or even on New Year's Eve. The enemy seeks not only to disable another substation or power line. He primarily aims to sow fear and panic. But he will not succeed. We believe in ourselves, in our army, in our power engineers, in our partners.”

12:33 p.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Putin bans Russian oil exports to countries that imposed price caps, according to the Kremlin

From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday banning oil supplies to countries that have introduced price caps on Russian oil and petroleum products, according to the decree published on the Kremlin’s website.  

"Supplies of Russian oil and oil products to foreign legal entities and individuals are prohibited, provided that the contracts for these supplies directly or indirectly provide for the use of a price fixing mechanism. The established ban applies at all stages of supplies to the final buyer," the decree said.

The ban on oil supplies under the price ceiling comes into effect on Feb. 1, 2023 and is valid until July 1, 2023. The date of the ban on the supply of petroleum products will be determined by the government, according to the decree. 

Moreover, the head of state can issue a special permit for the supply of Russian oil and oil products prohibited by the document.

On Dec. 5, Western oil sanctions came into force after the European Union and Australia agreed this month to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil. 

11:24 a.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Russian gas exports will decline by 25% in 2022, deputy prime minister says

From CNN’s Uliana Pavlova

Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the Russian state news agency TASS on Monday that he expects Russian gas exports and gas output to drop in 2022. 

"As for the gas industry, gas output and exports will forcefully fall. Gas production will decline by 12% compared to 2021 and exports will drop by about 25%, the main reason being the termination of export infrastructure facilities," he told TASS. 

Novak added that the production and export of liquefied natural gas would rise by more than 8.7%.

In the same interview, Novak also said Russia plans to expand port facilities to supply energy resources by sea in three years.

When summing up the results of 2021, Novak said that Russian gas exports had risen by 10% to 763 billion cubic meters and exports had grown by 3% to 250 billion cubic meters.

The deputy prime minister added that Russian exports were being redirected to the Asia-Pacific region, Africa and Latin America.

11:35 a.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Russia's foreign minister calls on West for maximum restraint "in order to minimize nuclear risks"

From CNN's Uliana Pavlova

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow on December 23.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks at a news conference in Moscow on December 23. (Evgenia Novozhenina/Pool/Reuters)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that the West must show restraint in nuclear questions, in an interview with TASS news agency on Tuesday. 

"We continue to call on the West to exercise maximum restraint in this extremely sensitive area. In order to minimize nuclear risks, it is important in practice to remain committed to the postulate of the inadmissibility of nuclear war, confirmed by the countries of the nuclear ‘five’ in a joint statement dated January 3, 2022,” he told TASS. 

“In accordance with the logic set out in the document any military confrontation between the nuclear powers must be prevented, as it is fraught with catastrophe," Russia’s top diplomat said.

"In particular, it emphasizes that Russia stands for the formation of a renewed, more stable architecture of international security based on ensuring predictability and global strategic stability, as well as observing the principles of equality, indivisible security and mutual consideration of the interests of the parties," Lavrov concluded.

In the same interview, Lavrov said significant ideas from Washington regarding full-fledged diplomatic contacts between Russia and the US have not been received. 

"Now it is difficult to say something about the implementation of full-fledged bilateral contacts through the foreign ministries," he said. 

"There were no significant ideas from the Americans on this issue," Lavrov told TASS. 

“We, at various levels, including the highest, have repeatedly stressed that we are not shying away from a constructive dialogue,” the minister said.

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin floated the possibility that Russia may formally change its military doctrine of not being the first to use nuclear weapons in a conflict, days after he warned of the “increasing” threat of nuclear war.

3:33 p.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Ukraine's energy minister fears New Year's Eve attacks

From CNN's Radina Gigova and Olga Voitovych 

Ukrainians attend a Christmas mass at an Orthodox church in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, December 25.
Ukrainians attend a Christmas mass at an Orthodox church in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Sunday, December 25. (Felipe Dana/AP)

The power situation across Ukraine remains "really difficult" because of the persistent risk of Russian shelling, Ukraine's Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said, warning that New Year's Eve could see "maximum damage to the energy system."

Speaking on Ukrainian television on Tuesday, Halushchenko said Ukraine was trying to use the time between Russian attacks to reduce the energy deficit by increasing electricity production and also to increase the capacity to transmit electricity.

During the holidays the risk of shelling could be higher, Halushchenko added. 

"There is a feeling that [Russians] have not refused to continue shelling our energy system. They are tied to certain dates. I think that the New Year is one of such dates when they will try to cause maximum damage to the energy system," he said. 

"The situation is such that it is definitely difficult to plan anything, because we do not know the volume of possible future shelling and the amount of damage it will cause to the power system."

Ukraine's state energy company Ukrenergo said Tuesday that the power deficit in the system had "slightly decreased due to the increase in the production volumes of power plants" but that "the available capacity in the system is still not enough to meet all the needs of consumers in the country" because the level of power consumption had increased at the same time.

"This is due to the gradual return to operation of power grids that were damaged during massive attacks, as well as the restoration of energy infrastructure in the de-occupied territories," Ukrenergo said in a statement. 

The number of consumers whose electricity supply has been restored at least partially has increased and the volume of industrial consumption is also growing, Ukrenergo said. 

During his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said about 9 million people remained cut off from power in different regions of Ukraine.

10:52 a.m. ET, December 27, 2022

It's mid-afternoon in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know.

From CNN staff

Ukrainian soldiers fire a French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions near Avdiivka, Ukraine, on Monday.
Ukrainian soldiers fire a French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzer toward Russian positions near Avdiivka, Ukraine, on Monday. (Libkos/AP)

Russia is expending huge amounts of resources as it tries to defend the eastern Ukrainian town of Kreminna, a Ukrainian official said. The town has been under Russian occupation since the spring and Russia keeps bringing in more troops and equipment to bolster its forces there, the head of the Luhansk regional military administration, Serhiy Haidai, said Tuesday.

Here's what else is happening today:

  • Zelensky's call with Modi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday that he was relying on India’s help to implement a “peace formula” during a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The call came as New Delhi seeks to boost trade ties with Moscow after becoming one of the largest purchasers of Russian oil — defying Western sanctions and providing a vital financial lifeline to Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Kremlin wages an unprovoked war against neighboring Ukraine.
  • Lavrov's ultimatum: Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Kyiv must fulfil Moscow's proposals regarding four "new territories" occupied by Russia, or the Russian military "will take action," Russian state media reported. Russia has claimed control of Ukraine's Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions after holding sham referendums in September. The Ukrainian government has repeatedly said it will not accept any deal that would jeopardise its territorial integrity.
  • Blackouts across Ukraine: Zelensky said on Monday that some 9 million people were cut off from power in different regions of Ukraine, following Russian attacks on the country's energy infrastructure.
  • Thousands of cyberattacks: The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it has neutralized more than 4,500 cyberattacks on the country this year. Ilya Vitiuk, the head of the SBU cybersecurity department, said Ukraine had "entered 2022 with eight years of hybrid warfare experience behind us,” adding that “at the time of the invasion, we were already ready for the worst scenarios.”
10:07 a.m. ET, December 27, 2022

Bakhmut is holding "courageously," Ukraine's deputy defense minister says

From Olga Voitovych and Radina Gigova

Ukrainian soldiers look at a map in an underground command center in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Ukrainian soldiers look at a map in an underground command center in Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Sunday. (Libkos/AP)

The city of Bakhmut in Ukraine's Donetsk region is holding "courageously" despite Russian forces' concentrated efforts to advance, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Tuesday.

"Bakhmut is really our eastern fortress now. Indeed, the enemy has concentrated most of its efforts, military equipment and weapons there," Maliar said in an interview with Ukrainian television, adding:

"They have set themselves the task to reach the borders of Donetsk region by the end of this calendar year. They can no longer hold that huge front line, so they choose some parts where they can concentrate their efforts to the maximum, and as it seems to them that this is the easiest aim."

"But you can see how courageously Bakhmut is holding, how much our soldiers inflict losses on the enemy and the enemy simply cannot advance further," she said. "There was a slight advance, but the enemy was pushed out," she added. 

A woman crosses a destroyed bridge amid artillery shelling in Bakhmut on Saturday.
A woman crosses a destroyed bridge amid artillery shelling in Bakhmut on Saturday. (Pierre Crom/Getty Images)

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Tuesday that in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions, Russian forces had inflicted damage through firing on more than 25 settlements, including Bilohorivka, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Bila Hora, Kurdiumivka, Vodiane, Pervomaiske, Maryinka and Novomykhailivka in Donetsk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Monday evening that the situation on the front lines of Bakhmut and other areas in the eastern Donbas region was “difficult, painful.”

Members of the Honour Guard fold a national flag in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday over a coffin with the body of a Ukrainian serviceman killed near Bakhmut.
Members of the Honour Guard fold a national flag in Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday over a coffin with the body of a Ukrainian serviceman killed near Bakhmut. (Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters)