December 13, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

A bridge essential to the resupply of Russian forces occupying the city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine was targeted by strikes overnight, according to both Ukrainian and Russian officials. 

The bridge appears to have buckled or collapsed inwards in a video posted online by Vladimir Rogov, a pro-Russian regional official.

Rogov also posted what appears to be CCTV footage in which an explosion can be heard.

CNN has not been able to verify if the explosion is from the bridge, but the video is part of a set of videos Rogov posted of the incident.

Ivan Fedorov, the exiled Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol, said that the route is "one of the strategically important bridges."

Rogov also suggested that the bridge is a vital supply route for "food, medicine and building materials to the liberated territories of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions."

The bridge connects the city of Melitopol to a suburb named Konstantynivka. It is part of the M14 highway, which runs along Ukraine’s southern coastline from Melitopol to Berdiansk and Mariupol to the east before reaching the Russian Federation.

Ukraine needs to appreciate that Moscow has added new territories to the Russian Federation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday in response to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s three-step proposal for peace.

"The Ukrainian side needs to take into account the realities that have developed over all this time," Peskov told reporters on a regular conference call.

"And these realities indicate that the Russian Federation has new subjects [the four annexed territories]."

"Without taking these new realities into account, any progress is impossible," he added.

In a video statement to the G7 leaders Monday, Zelensky asked to "preserve this level of solidarity" and support Ukraine next year, outlining three steps for peace.

The final step outlined by Zelensky was a "new diplomacy" that involved a peace solution asking Russia to start withdrawing troops from Ukraine this Christmas.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called for $843 million in aid to support the country's critical infrastructure this winter. 

In a virtual address at a conference in Paris, Zelensky said Ukraine required critical electrical infrastructure, as well as urgent imports of electricity from European countries "at least until the end of the heating season."

"This will cost about 800 million euros ... but the price is less than the cost of the blackout," he warned. 

Russia has been repeatedly accused of using "winter as a weapon of war" in Ukraine in recent weeks, relentlessly striking critical infrastructure and leaving millions of Ukrainians without access to electricity, water and central heating in freezing temperatures. 

The 46 countries and 24 international organizations which gathered in Paris on Tuesday are expected to commit to providing immediate support to Ukraine, focusing on the winter period.

France will commit an additional $80.7 million of humanitarian aid, according to a statement from President Emmanuel Macron’s office, of which $51.1 million will be dedicated to energy, access to water, food, health and transport infrastructure, as well as demining operations. 

This will include 63 new high-powered electrical generators being provided to Ukraine in the very near future, the statement said. 

So far the conference has seen $421.6 million committed to Ukraine, the statement said, adding that the figure is expected to increase.  

Hundreds of generators are on their way to Ukraine, said President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, adding that "in these times of suffering and darkness, it is so important to bring light to Ukraine."

A total of 800 generators are being distributed across Ukraine, including 40 large generators supplied to ensure uninterrupted power supply to 30 hospitals in the regions of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson, said von der Leyen.

It is vital to keep the Ukrainian power grid functioning despite Russian strikes, said von der Leyen at a Solidarity of the Ukrainian people conference in Paris on Tuesday morning.

The European Union is working on increasing the amount of electricity which can be traded between Ukraine, Moldova and the rest of Europe, she added.

Ukraine’s first lady Olena Zelenska sat alongside von der Leyen and spoke about the challenges her country is facing, including damage to infrastructure.

Zelenska thanked French President Emmanuel Macron for hosting the forum and asked allies to "become more than you have been before."

Three people were killed and a further 15 injured in shelling in the city of Kherson on Monday, according to the head of the Ukrainian regional military administration.

"Russian occupiers shelled the territory of Kherson region 57 times," said Yaroslav Yanushevych on Telegram.

"Peaceful settlements of the region were shelled with artillery, MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket Systems) and mortars."

Schools, a stadium, medical facilities, power lines and infrastructure points, as well as residential buildings were all targeted, he added.

The Russian town of Klintsy in the Bryansk region has been shelled overnight by Ukrainian troops, said regional governor Alexander Bogomaz.

Air defense systems destroyed the missile, Bogomaz said in a Telegram post on Tuesday, and some parts of it "fell into the territory of the industrial zone."

"There were no casualties or damage," he added.

Klintsy is located in western Russia, around 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Ukrainian border. The closest Ukrainian city is Chernihiv. 

The Belarusian Defense Ministry has announced some snap military drills across the country.

"A sudden inspection of combat readiness has begun under the leadership of the State Secretariat of the Security Council," said the ministry in a short statement.

Very few details were given about the nature of the drills, but they were described as "comprehensive in nature."

Troops will have to move to "designated areas" as soon as possible, added the statement. 

Military equipment will also be moved around the country, the ministry said.

There was mention of the building of two river crossings on Nemen and Berezina rivers. Neither of the rivers are close to Ukrainian territory.

Russian President Vladimir Putin won't hold his usual annual press conference this year, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday, although he said he hoped Putin "will find an opportunity to communicate" with the media.

Putin has been holding large end-of-year press conferences almost every year since 2001 after becoming president, according to state news agency TASS. The only years when he didn't hold an annual press conference were 2005, when he served as president, and also between 2008-2012 when he served as prime minister, according to TASS.

Former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan believes that Putin is avoiding scrutiny.

"I think it's a sign of concern about his domestic support," Sullivan told CNN on Monday.

As Moscow's war in Ukraine approaches the 10-month mark, some economists believe Russia will face growing economic hardship and a population that will grow increasingly critical of the "special military operation." It comes amid mounting defeats such as seen in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, where a determined Ukrainian offensive forced a Russian withdrawal.

"We were supposed to win. Officials promised to capture Kyiv in three days but, as we see, it turned out to be foolish," Sergey Javoronkov, a senior researcher at the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy, told CNN last month.

At last year's press conference, Putin was asked about the build-up of Russian forces on the Ukrainian border and the country's emerging alliance with China, as well as common criticisms of his regime such as the treatment of imprisoned opposition leader Alexey Navalny.

In addition to a large conference with the media, in previous years Putin has also addressed the Federal Assembly and held a marathon question-and-answer session with Russian citizens, called Direct Line. 

During Monday's call with journalists, Peskov didn't mention a date for Putin's address to the Federal Assembly, nor a Direct Line session.

However, on November 14, Peskov told Russian state news outlet TASS that Putin would address the Federal Assembly before the end of 2022. 

Peskov had said earlier that the dates of Putin’s annual address to the assembly and the Direct Line session depend on his schedule, which is very dynamic in light of current events, according to TASS.

A Ukrainian aid conference is underway in Paris and will focus on supporting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure through the winter, a spokesman for the Elysee Palace said on Tuesday. 

Temperatures have plummeted to sub-zero in many areas of Ukraine in recent weeks, while relentless Russian strikes have left millions without electricity, water and central heating.

The conference, hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, is designed to "mobilize the international community," to help maintain Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and will "provide immediate support" focused on the period between December and mid-March, the spokesman said.

Speeches are expected from Macron and Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, as well as a virtual appearance from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Representatives of 47 states and around 23 international institutions are due to attend with some 500 French companies.

Delegates will concentrate on five specific areas where Ukraine needs support — water, food, energy, health and transport, the Elysee spokesman said. 

Rather than general pledges to Ukraine, countries will be asked to commit support that will be provided to Ukraine by mid-March, the spokesperson added. Several agreements on critical infrastructure are also expected to be signed.

France will also propose the implementation of an online portal designed to allow countries to see Ukraine’s needs and respond with humanitarian aid in real time. 

Millions of Ukrainians have been left without power amid a wave of Russian strikes on critical energy infrastructure just as winter begins in the country.