Russia is seeking to break through Ukrainian defenses in the northeastern Kupyansk-Lyman region after a sudden escalation of fighting, said the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi. “The adversary is preparing, seriously preparing for offensive actions, bringing troops. The main goal is to break through the defenses of our troops and recapture our territory,” Sirskyi said in Telegram. The Ministry of Defense of Russia confirmed active combat activity in the area, noting that its troops repelled 10 Ukrainian attacks in the Kupyansk district and two more in the Kup district Yanska, the neighboring district of Liman.

Highlights of the war in Ukraine, day 601, LIVETEXT:

07:31 China’s One Belt, One Road initiative is key to the development of cooperation in the Eurasian region, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

“We see this initiative, this project as an important part of promoting cooperation based on equality and mutual benefit throughout the Eurasian continent,” Lavrov said after meeting his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing.

06:43 Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Tuesday to meet his “dear friend” Xi Jinping, strengthening their relationship at a summit that will be overshadowed by the war between Israel and Hamas.

01:07 On Monday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to Ukrainians about preparing to fight against Russian strikes that will hit critical infrastructure as the cold weather approaches. He said that measures will be implemented that were not used before.

00:16 Slovakia’s former prime minister Robert Fico and his party signed a coalition agreement on Monday to form a new government that is likely to be less concerned with quickly reducing its large budget deficit and instead focus on cutting aid to its Ukrainian neighbor.

A quick summary of the latest information:

• US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said that her country “absolutely” can afford to financially support both Israel and Ukraine in their military efforts.
• ​The Ministry of Finance of Russia proposed on Monday to raise the minimum prices for vodka, wine and cognac from January 1 next year.
• The number of Ukrainians who believe there are serious misunderstandings between the country’s political and military leadership has risen sharply over the past year, as have those who believe the West is tired of supporting Ukraine, a poll released Monday showed.
• Bulgaria, the only EU member state allowed to continue importing Russian oil by sea after an embargo imposed by the EU bloc in December, increased imports from other regions in October.
• Maya Sandu: Russia’s victory in Ukraine “would probably end the existence of the Republic of Moldova as a free state.”
• Qatar Mechanism: After months of secret negotiations, Russia began to return kidnapped children from Ukraine.
• The “drone army” of Ukrainian troops has set an absolute record, said Mykhailo Fedorov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. “Over the past week, our heroes have shot down 428 units of Russian equipment: 101 guns, 88 armored vehicles, 75 tanks, etc.,” he said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s request to visit Tel Aviv last week as a sign of solidarity with the Israeli people was rejected.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine was suffering “simply huge losses” far greater than his country suffered during the offensive launched by Kiev this summer.

——————

• Monday’s events related to Russian aggression were broadcast LIVE on HotNews.ro