Ukraine-Russia war latest: Lavrov ready to meet Marco Rubio after reports of rift with Putin

– Russian advances around Pokrovsk, a key transport hub in Donetsk, slowed. But analysts expect movements to pick up as Moscow rushes reinforcements to the area;

– Ukraine continued to strike deep into Russia, targeting the energy sector, analysts said;

– Europe continued to report aerial incursions causing disruptions at airports. Vilnius airport, in Lithuania, was shut overnight on Saturday into Sunday;

– The ongoing US government shutdown is affecting American weapons exports to European NATO allies and Ukraine, Axios reported on Sunday;

– Veteran Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said he was ready to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in person to discuss the war amid rumours of a rift between Lavrov and Putin – denied by the Kremlin.

Russian forces destroyed four unmanned boats near Tuapse in the Krasnodar region of Russia, a local taskforce said on Monday.

“Four unmanned boats were neutralised in the Black Sea near Tuapse. One of the unmanned boats detonated near the coastline,” the Kuban operational headquarters reported.

Tuapse is a town on the east coast of the Black Sea. Russia’s ministry of defence said it also shot down seven drones over the sea on Monday.

There were no reported injuries.

As Europe and the US ponder over what arms to send to help the war against Russia, Ukraine is forging ahead with homegrown missiles and drones made from carbon printers and lawnmower engines. World affairs editor Sam Kiley reports from Kyiv:

Russian president Vladimir Putin gave no order to begin preparations for nuclear weapons testing, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.

“The president gave no instructions to begin preparations,” Peskov told state owned VGTRK.

“First of all, we must understand whether we should do it. This must be a serious, well-founded and thought-out decision. So our specialists will work on that.”

Russian air defence systems destroyed or intercepted 71 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Of these, seven were downed over the Kursk region and seven were downed over the Black Sea. Most of the drones were shot down in the bordering regions of Ukraine and Russia, the defence ministry said.

Russian and Ukrainian forces continue interdiction campaigns in the Pokrovsk direction, the hottest region on the battlefield, as the rate of Russian advances remains temporarily decreased, according to an American think tank monitoring the fighting.

“ISW observed no evidence to assess that Russian forces made additional advances in the Pokrovsk direction on November 9, consistent with recent Ukrainian reporting that Russian forces have slowed their tempo of ground activity in the Pokrovsk direction to extend logistics and bring up reinforcements to southern Pokrovsk,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

It added that a source affiliated with Ukrainian military intelligence reported on Saturday that “Russian forces are in most areas of Pokrovsk but cannot encircle the town because Russian forces are only conducting infiltration missions in and through Pokrovsk from southern Pokrovsk”.

Most of the streets of Kherson are empty now. Three years after the liberation ended a nine-month Russian occupation, the city that once erupted in joy has sunk into a wary stillness — a place where daily life unfolds behind walls or underground.

On 11 November 2022, people poured into the main square of the southern Ukrainian port city, waving blue-and-yellow flags and embracing the soldiers who had freed them after the months under Russian control. They believed the worst was over.

Instead, the war changed shape. From across the Dnipro River, Russian troops strike with regular intensity — and drones now prowl the skies above a city of broken windows and empty courtyards.

Still, those who stayed insist that even the life in a mostly empty and shuttered city is easier than living under Russia.

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has good relations with US president Donald Trump and that unlike other western leaders, he was not afraid of him.

“Everyone in the world” was afraid of Trump, Zelensky told The Guardian in an interview at the presidential palace in Kyiv. “That’s the truth”.

But denied the position for Kyiv. “No… we are not enemies with America. We are friends. So why should we be afraid,” he said.

Ukraine was looking to order 27 Patriot air defence systems from US companies, Volodymyr Zelensky said.

In the meantime, he added, the war-hit nation was looking to borrow essential anti-missile defence systems from its European allies.

Additional help was always needed until Russia continued to wage war, the Ukrainian president said.

“It’s never enough. It’s enough when the war ends. And enough when Putin understands that he has to stop,” he said.