West pledges more support as 8m people thought to have fled Ukraine war

Ukraine said at least three people were killed and eight injured in shelling of the recently liberated southern city of Kherson, as the West pledged more support for the country’s military and economy and vowed to bring Russia to book for alleged war crimes.

Blackouts continued to roll across Ukraine – leaving millions of people without light and often without heat and water supplies for many hours on end – following Russian missile strikes on the national grid, which a major aid agency warned would prompt hundreds of thousands more Ukrainians to seek safety in the European Union.

Kherson governor Yaroslav Yanushevich accused Russian forces of shelling civilian targets in the city and surrounding areas on the western bank of the Dnipro river, which Ukraine’s military retook last month after nine months of occupation.

There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities. We will hold President [Vladimir] Putin and those responsible to account ...

—  G7 leaders

Moscow’s troops withdrew to the eastern bank of the Dnipro, where collaborationist official Vitaliy Buliuk was injured in the Russian-held town of Skadovsk when his car exploded on Monday. His driver was killed in the blast, according to Ukrainian media.

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European Union foreign ministers agreed to add €2 billion to a fund for military aid for Ukraine, which the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said would “ensure that we have the funding to continue delivering concrete ... support to our partners’ armed forces”.

[ Hundreds offer empty holiday homes to house Ukrainian refugees ]

[ Russian drone attack on Ukraine power grid leaves hundreds of thousands without electricity for second day ]

The pledge came hours after US president Joe Biden spoke to Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy about co-operation between their two countries, following Washington’s recent announcement of $275 million (€261 million) in additional military support for Kyiv and $53 million (€50.4 million) to bolster its energy infrastructure.

Leaders of the G7 states said on Monday they “will continue to co-ordinate efforts to meet Ukraine’s urgent requirements for military and defence equipment with an immediate focus on providing Ukraine with air defence systems and capabilities”.

After talks by video before Tuesday’s conference in Paris on assistance for Ukraine, the G7 leaders condemned “Russia’s continuous inhumane and brutal attacks” on its infrastructure and said they were “determined to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure”.

“There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities. We will hold President [Vladimir] Putin and those responsible to account in accordance with international law,” they added.

State energy provider Ukrenergo said Ukraine was still experiencing a “significant” deficit in electricity production due to repeated Russian rocket attacks that have destroyed or badly damaged some 40 per cent of the country’s electricity network.

There will be hundreds of thousands more [leaving Ukraine] as the horrific and unlawful bombing of civilian infrastructure makes life unlivable

—  Jan Egeland, Norwegian Refugee Council

“Over the past week, the power system has suffered three Russian attacks – the eighth massive missile attack on Monday, December 5th, and two local artillery and drone attacks in the south and east of the country over the weekend,” the company said.

“Damage ... to the energy system now prevents thermal power plants from operating at full strength, and more time is needed to restore their operation,” the firm continued, adding that repairs were being hindered by high winds and snow.

United Nations agencies say about 18 million people in Ukraine – some 40 per cent of its population – are now reliant on aid and that almost 8 million people have left the country since Russia launched its all-out invasion in February.

“Nobody knows how many, but there will be hundreds of thousands more [leaving Ukraine] as the horrific and unlawful bombing of civilian infrastructure makes life unlivable in too many places,” Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters.

Moscow admits targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure but insists this is justified because it hampers Ukraine’s war effort.

The Kremlin has announced that Mr Putin would not hold his traditional December press conference this year, without explaining why the high-profile event had been cancelled.