ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine – As winter approaches, Russia and Ukraine are locked in intense exchanges of fire across the front lines in increasingly pressing efforts to profit, big or small, while they still have body.
Attacks flared up in the northern Sumy region, where rockets and mortars hit at least six settlements on Saturday, half a year after Russian forces withdrew from the area. And in Russian-occupied areas to the south, Ukrainian forces hit targets, among them a hotel used by Russian officials and local collaborators.
“It’s buzzing again in Enerhodar,” the town’s mayor, Dmytro Orlov, who lives in exile, said in a post on the messaging app Telegram along with a photo of a burning building.
Both sides to the south were moving deep behind each other’s lines, but in recent days, the battlefield positions did not seem to have moved much. In other parts of the country, Russian cruise missiles and drones have struck across Ukraine, as Moscow’s campaign to cripple Ukraine’s energy supplies continues.
After months of no contact, two top US and Russian military officials held their second discussion in three days. Sunday’s phone call between Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and Defense Minister Sergei K. Shoigu aimed to clarify red lines could provoke Russia to launch a nuclear attack in Ukraine.
Mr. Austin said in a post on Twitter, “I reject any reason for Russia’s escalation and reaffirm the value of continued communication in light of Russia’s illegal & unjustified war against Ukraine.”
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that the two men spoke, but only said that they discussed the situation in Ukraine. Mr. Austin and Mr. Shoigu previously spoke on Friday at the opening of the Pentagon and in May.
Sunday’s conversation with Mr Austin was in the midst of a series of calls Mr Shoigu held with his British, French and Turkish counterparts. The calls come as a Russian retreat from the Kherson area looks imminent and as Ukrainian forces fend off Russian attacks in several places over the weekend.
Ukrainian officials said rocket and artillery fire killed eight people and wounded 19 on Saturday. Two people died in strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region and six died in strikes in Donetsk. Russia has also launched widespread attacks on power plants and heating stations in what Ukraine says is one of its heaviest attacks in weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said in a speech on Saturday night: “The geography of this new major offensive is very broad.
With the government’s estimate of 1.5 million households without electricity, Zelensky urged Ukrainians who still have electricity to use it sparingly and prepare for power outages.
Small steps that have been taken to defuse the conflict seem to be in the spotlight this weekend, including an internationally brokered deal to free up tons of much-needed Ukrainian grain for shipping around the world. .
On Sunday, Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure again accused Russia of deliberately slowing grain exports to jeopardize an agreement signed in July that allows Ukraine’s agricultural exports by sea to resume. back in the summer.
Russia’s intervention has left Ukraine’s three open ports operating at less than a third of normal capacity, the ministry said Sunday in a statement. statement On Facebook. The Kremlin has not yet responded to Ukraine’s allegations.
Ukraine wants to extend the deal, but Russia threatened refused, saying that the West had not lifted “logistic sanctions” to open the market for its grain and fertilizer. Zelensky said that there are 150 ships awaiting the completion of contracts to transport wheat, corn, sunflower oil and other products from Ukraine.
“This is an artificial queue,” he said. “It only arose because Russia was deliberately delaying the passage of ships.”
Ismini Palla, spokesman for the United Nations team that oversees the agreement, backlog confirmation, but declined to comment on what caused it. She said a group of officials from Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Nations “have acknowledged the problem and are trying to clear the backlog.”
Mr. Austin’s conversation with the Russian Defense Minister, which took place at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, was intended to clarify to the Biden administration why Russian President Vladimir Putin has increasingly raised the specter of a nuclear attack. people in Ukraine. , two officials said.
With his forces there, Putin has sought to portray the Ukrainian territory he has illegally annexed as part of “Mother Russia”, saying that any US-backed attacks in the that area would be considered an attack on Russia.
During his talks with his British, French and Turkish counterparts, Shoigu also raised concerns about Ukraine’s possible use of a “dirty bomb” – a conventional explosive impregnated with radioactive material – according to the Defense Ministry. Russia.
Russia has publicly presented no evidence to support its claims, and the allegations have drawn a swift and drastic response from Ukrainian and Western officials.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro I. Kuleba, called them “lies” “as absurd as they are dangerous”. He wrote on Twitter“We don’t have any ‘dirty bombs’, nor do we plan to buy any.”
The White House called Mr Shoigu’s claims “clearly untrue.” The British Ministry of Defense also denied similar claims.
In the Donetsk region, the Russian military carried out coordinated attacks on the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the Ukrainian Army Command said on Saturday evening. The two towns have long been at the center of the fighting as Russia seeks to expand control of the area, with Ukrainian troops holding out staunch resistance.
However, in Kherson, the southern city where Moscow’s position has become increasingly precarious, there were signs that Russian forces had begun transferring military equipment, Ukrainian officials said.
Kherson, a major industrial port city on the west bank of the Dnipro River, was occupied early in the war and was the capital of one of the regions illegally annexed by Russia. But over the weeks, Ukrainian forces moved toward Kherson, village by village. They also bombed major road bridges near the city, making it difficult for Russia to resupply its troops.
Over the weekend, Moscow-installed officials urged residents to use boats to cross the river and move further into Russian-held territory. Kyiv has dismissed the relocation effort as “a propaganda stunt” aimed at scaring civilians with claims that Ukraine will besiege the city, but some analysts say there may be other motives.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, noted on Saturday that Russian-backed officials had urged those leaving to bring clothing, valuables and documents. , indicating they do not expect a quick return.
It said the Russians may be trying to “destroy” parts of the Kherson region that Ukraine will recapture, “damaging the long-term economic and social viability of southern Ukraine.”
Carlotta Gall report from Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Helene Cooper from Washington and Eric Nagourney from New York. Oleksandr Chubko contribution report from Zaporizhzhia, Matt Surman from London and James C. McKinley Jr. from New York.
