Russia-Ukraine war live: missiles hit Kyiv, damaging critical infrastructure, says mayor

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France is working towards allowing Ukraine to export food supplies via land routes rather than by the Black Sea through Poland or Romania, the French farming minister said on Monday, after Russia withdrew from a crucial export deal amid its war with Ukraine.

“We are looking to see whether, if it cannot pass through the Black Sea, if it can instead pass through overland routes, in particular by looking at land routes through Romania and Poland,” Reuters reports agriculture minister Marc Fesneau told RMC Radio.

“We will continue to work towards a system which does not put us in the hands and the good will, or in this case the bad will, of Vladimir Putin,” said Fesneau.

Vitali Klitschko, mayor of Kyiv, has given an update on the power situation in the nation’s capital following a series of attacks from Russia this morning. He posted to Telegram to tell residents:

Power engineers are working to restore electricity supply after damage to an energy facility that powers about 350,000 apartments in Kyiv. Specialists, together with other emergency services and authorities are doing everything possible to stabilise the situation as soon as possible.

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget A Brink, has confirmed that her and her staff are sheltering, tweeting:

Like millions of Ukrainians, our team is once again taking shelter as Russia continues its callous and barbaric missile strikes on the people of Ukraine in an effort to leave the country cold and dark as we approach winter.

Some Ukrainian authorities have maintained a grim sense of humour during the war, and this morning Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, has posted a small unverified video clip that appears to show a Russian missile executing a mid-air U-turn, with the message “One (only) of the missiles of the Russian Federation has critical and logical thinking. After weighing all the arguments and deciding not to commit a war crime, the rocket decided to return to its ‘home harbour’.”

Rohit Kachroo, global security editor at ITV News, reported earlier that he had heard eight explosions in Kyiv, and has posted a short video clip showing smoke rising over the city.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, has posted this about today’s attacks:

Another batch of Russian missiles hits Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. Instead of fighting on the battlefield, Russia fights civilians. Don’t justify these attacks by calling them a ‘response’. Russia does this because it still has the missiles and the will to kill Ukrainians.

Andriy Sadovyi, Lviv‘s mayor, has praised Ukraine’s air defence this morning, saying: “Air defence forces that shoot down missiles in such foggy weather are, without exaggeration, Titans”.

Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of Kyiv region, has meanwhile used to Telegram to say that the air alert continues and to urge people to stay in shelters. He posted: “There is a possibility of repeated shelling. Do not photograph the place of arrivals or the work of the air defence. Remember your own safety.”

Lawmakers and officials in Ukraine have been confirming the strikes on Kyiv this morning. Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko posted:

Monday starts with Russia missile attacks across the country. Kyiv has been under fire for the last hour. Blackouts again. And no water in parts of the city. Putin’s crimes against civilians continue.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko tweeted:

Morning starts with air defence sirens all across Ukraine. Russian missiles hit energy infrastructure in Kyiv and other cities, causing electricity and water outages. Russia is not interested in peace talks, nor in global food security. Putin’s only goal is death and destruction.

Isobel Koshiw, who has been reporting from Ukraine for the Guardian, posts to Twitter from Kyiv:

Explosions so far seem to have been outside Kyiv city centre. Electricity, water out in some parts of Kyiv. Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and Cherkasy hit too. Ukraine’s emergency services issued an alert urging people to obey the sirens, seek shelter, as they expect more attacks today.

Earlier, she reported hearing four explosions in Kyiv in quick succession.

This is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can reach me at martin.belam@theguardian.com, and I will be with you for the next few hours.

Explosions have also been reported in Kharkiv this morning.

The city’s mayor Igor Terekhov said Russia “hit a critical infrastructure facility in the city.”

US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke with China’s foreign minister Wang Yi on a call on Sunday and discussed Russia’s war against Ukraine and the threats it poses to global security and economic stability.

Blinken also discussed with his Chinese counterpart on the need to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage US-China relations, the US department of state said in a statement.

Ukraine’s capital Kyiv has been hit by a series of missiles this morning, according to officials.

The city’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said critical infrastructure facilities were struck.

As a result of strikes on critical infrastructure facilities, part of the capital was cut off. There is no water supply in some areas. All services are working. More details – later.”

Regional military head Oleksiy Kuleba said the “missile attack continues” while Ukraine’s air defence worked to deter the attacks.

At least five explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital between 8am (6am GMT) and 8.20am, according to AFP journalists.

The several thousand newly mobilised reservists Russia has deployed to the frontline are often poorly equipped with rifles in “barely usable condition”, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence report.

Russia has deployed several thousand newly mobilised reservists to the frontline in Ukraine since mid-October. In many cases they are poorly equipped.

In September, Russian officers were concerned that some recently mobilised reservists were arriving in Ukraine without weapons.

Open source images suggest that those rifles which have been issued to mobilised reservists are typically AKMs, a weapon first introduced in 1959. Many are likely in barely usable condition following poor storage.

AKM fires 7.62mm ammunition while Russia’s regular combat units are mostly armed with 5.45mm AK-74M or AK-12 rifles.

The integration of reservists with contract soldiers and combat veterans in Ukraine will mean Russian logisticians will have to push two types of small arms ammunition to front line positions, rather than one.

This will likely further complicate Russia’s already strained logistics systems.”

Several explosions have been heard in Kyiv this morning, according to Ukrainian officials and local media reports.

Senior presidential adviser Anton Gerashchenko said at least three explosions sounded across the city while 40 Russian cruise missiles were fired on Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent tweeted: “Around 7-8 explosions were heard in Kyiv and Kyiv region early on Monday. The cause of the explosions is currently unknown.”

The international community has condemned Russia’s decision to suspend the UN-brokered Black Sea grain initiative.

US president Joe Biden described the move as “purely outrageous” while US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Russia was weaponising food.

The European Union called on Russia to reverse its decision. “Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea deal puts at risk the main export route of much-needed grain and fertilisers to address the global food crisis caused by its war against Ukraine,” said the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

The UN secretary general, Ant?nio Guterres, said he was deeply concerned by Russia’s suspension of the deal for an “indefinite term” and had delayed his departure to attend the Arab League summit in Algiers for a day to try to revive it. Russia requested a meeting on Monday of the UN’s security council to discuss the issue.

The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine have said they will press ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact.

The UN, Nato, the EU and the US have all urged Russia to reverse its decision to pull out of the deal.

In a statement, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, where Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish and UN personnel are working, said the three delegations had also agreed for inspections to be provided on Monday to 40 outbound vessels.

In the wake of the Sevastopol attack the Kremlin said it was pulling out of the UN-brokered grain deal that allows civilian ships to export grain and fertiliser from Black Sea ports. Russia claimed it could not “guarantee safety of civilian ships” travelling under the pact after the attack on its Black Sea fleet.

Zelenskiy, however, said Moscow was looking for a pretext to end the initiative. It had been “deliberately aggravating” the food crisis since September, he said in a video address.

Air raid alerts have sounded across Ukraine this morning.

A map shared by the armed forces of Ukraine showed large swathes of Ukrainian territory under alert, including the Kyiv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia and Odesa regions.

Guardian reporter Luke Harding also confirmed that air raid sirens were going off in the capital just after 7am on Monday.

As Ukraine reports Russian forces are preparing to withdraw their units from the southern Kherson region, Moscow-installed officials are reporting that the situation “remains unchanged”.

The region’s Moscow-appointed governor Kirill Stremousov released an update over the Telegram messaging app late on Sunday. It read:

The city of Kherson continues to live its own life.

Everyone who wants to leave the right-bank part of the Kherson region can freely move along organised crossings.

The situation on the line of contact remains unchanged.”

Ukrainian forces “continue to accumulate their forces to carry out a counteroffensive on Kherson,” Stremousov added.

Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces claims Russia intends to withdraw its heavy artillery from Kherson with the intention of possibly transferring units to other frontline areas.

The latest Ukrainian military report, released late on Sunday night, reads:

According to available information, the enemy is taking preparatory measures to withdraw artillery units from the right-bank part of the Kherson region, with their subsequent possible transfer to other directions.”

An updated report released early on Monday morning added:

Preparations for the evacuation of individual units and military equipment of the enemy from the right-bank part of the Kherson region are underway.”

Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours.

The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine will press ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact.

In a statement, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, where Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish and UN personnel are working, said the three delegations had a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday and agreed for inspections to be provided to 40 outbound vessels.

Ukraine’s general staff of the armed forces claims Russia intends to withdraw its heavy artillery from Kherson.

Russian forces plan to remove its artillery from the Dnipro River’s right bank in the southern Kherson region and possible transfer it to other front-line areas according to the latest Ukrainian military report.

If you have an update or any feedback to share, please feel free to get in touch via email or Twitter.

If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy claimed his forces repelled a “fierce offensive” by Russian troops in the eastern Donetsk region. “Today they stopped the fierce offensive actions of the enemy,” Zelenskiy said in his Sunday night address. “The Russian attack was repelled.” The fiercest fighting in Donetsk region has been around the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

Russia’s Black Sea flagship vessel, the Admiral Makarov, was damaged and possibly disabled during an audacious Ukrainian drone attack over the weekend on the Crimean port of Sevastopol, according to an examination of video footage. Open-source investigators said the frigate was one of three Russian ships to have been hit on Saturday. A swarm of drones struck Russia’s navy at 4.20am. Aides to Zelenskiy hinted the country was behind the well-orchestrated raid, though his government has not claimed responsibility.

In the wake of the Sevastopol attack the Kremlin said it was pulling out of a UN-brokered grain deal that allows civilian ships to export grain and fertiliser from Black Sea ports. Russia claimed it could not “guarantee safety of civilian ships” travelling under the pact after the attack on its Black Sea fleet. Zelenskiy, however, said Moscow was looking for a pretext to end the initiative. It had been “deliberately aggravating” the food crisis since September, he said in a video address.

The international community condemned Russia’s decision to suspend the UN-brokered Black Sea grain initiative. US president Joe Biden described the move as “purely outrageous” while US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said Russia was weaponising food. The European Union called on Russia to reverse its decision. “Russia’s decision to suspend participation in the Black Sea deal puts at risk the main export route of much-needed grain and fertilisers to address the global food crisis caused by its war against Ukraine,” EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said.

The UN secretary general, Ant?nio Guterres, said he was “deeply concerned” by Russia’s suspension of the deal and delayed his departure to attend the Arab League summit in Algiers for a day to try to revive it. Russia requested a meeting on Monday of the UN’s security council to discuss the issue. Guterres was engaged in “intense contacts” to get the agreement back and spoke to the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell.

The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine said they will press ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending its participation in the pact. The UN, Nato, the EU and the US have all urged Russia to reverse its decision to pull out of the deal. In a statement, the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, where Russian, Ukrainian and Turkish and UN personnel are working, said the three delegations had also agreed for inspections to be provided on Monday to 40 outbound vessels.

Kyiv’s infrastructure ministry said on Sunday that 218 vessels were now “effectively blocked” in its ports – 22 loaded and stuck at ports, 95 loaded and departed from ports, and 101 awaiting inspections.

Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, expressed “hope” that Joe Biden will recall the 1962 Cuban missile crisis when dealing with the war in Ukraine. In an interview for a Russian state television documentary on Sunday, Lavrov said there were “similarities” between the ongoing war in Ukraine and the 1962 confrontation. “I hope that in today’s situation, President Joe Biden will have more opportunities to understand who gives orders and how,” Lavrov said. “The difference is that in the distant 1962, Khrushchev and Kennedy found the strength to show responsibility and wisdom, and now we do not see such readiness on the part of Washington and its satellites,” he added.