European Union foreign ministers also agreed to boost the bloc’s main weapons fund by €2-billion at a meeting in Brussels where they approved new sanctions on Iran for its provision of drones to Moscow.

President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday affirmed US support for Ukraine. The US has promised $38-billion in military support and has already delivered $13-billion in direct aid to Ukraine.

Key developments

• G7 leaders to hold virtual talks after Biden-Zelensky call
• Flood of Russian crude heads to Asia after EU ban kicks in
• Yellen says US to aid Ukraine for ‘as long as it takes’ 
• Czech minister criticises Germany for EU gas-price cap impasse
• Turkey’s Erdogan discusses possible grain corridor expansion 

On the ground

Russia shelled the southern city of Kherson and the region, hitting residences, infrastructure and several hospitals, including children’s and maternity wards, Serhii Khlan, the deputy of the Kherson region council said at an online briefing.

At least one person was killed, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor general office’s Telegram account. Russian forces conducted two missile strikes against civil infrastructure in the Donbas city of Kostyantynivka, 11 air attacks on targets along the contact line and more than 60 assaults with multiple-launch rocket systems against civilian targets in Kherson and at Ukrainian military positions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook.

EU backs more Iran sanctions over military aid to Russia

EU states backed additional sanctions targeting Iran over military drone deliveries to Russia, as well as Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters.

The targets included Iranian companies involved in the research, design and manufacturing of parts of the drones used in Ukraine, as well as senior Iranian officials responsible for exporting the systems or training Russian forces on them, according to an EU document.

The bloc is also set to approve new sanctions on Russia targeted at its defence sector and those responsible for looting Ukrainian grain, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters.

Read more: EU nations back more Iran sanctions over military aid to Russia

G7 launches new platform to coordinate aid

Leaders of the world’s most advanced economies agreed to launch a platform to coordinate and steer financial aid from international donors for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

“The goal is to build this platform quickly with the participation of Ukraine, international financial institutions and other partners,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after a G7 leaders’ video call in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also took part.

“The reconstruction of Ukraine will be a task for mankind — comparable to the Marshall Plan after the Second World War,” Scholz said.

Hungary wants some officials knocked off Russian sanctions list 

Hungary has tried to persuade the European Union to remove some Russian officials from its new round of sanctions against Moscow, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said.

Hungary has “made no secret” of the fact that its government considers it a “serious risk” that adding further Russian officials may close off communications channels with Moscow, Szijjarto told reporters in Brussels where EU foreign ministers met.

He said 141 people and 47 entities would be added to the EU sanctions list against Russia.

EU backs €2-billion boost for weapons fund

EU member states backed a proposal to increase the bloc’s European Peace Facility, which has funded weapons deliveries to Ukraine, by €2-billion next year.

That adds to the fund’s current €5-billion in 2018 prices, more than half of which has already been pledged to reimburse member states for military aid to Ukraine. The fund, which also supports other EU projects, including in Africa, could be further increased by an additional €3.5-billion by 2027.

Russia’s budget surplus surges

Russia’s budget surplus more than quadrupled in November despite the financial drain of the war in Ukraine, recording another month of improvement thanks largely to dividends and a windfall tax paid by Gazprom PJSC.

The fiscal surplus reached 557-billion roubles ($9-billion) in the first 11 months of the year, the Finance Ministry said, up from 128.4-billion roubles reported for January-October.

Read more: Russian budget surplus more than quadruples on energy cash spike

Putin skips annual news conference

President Vladimir Putin is dropping his annual marathon press conference for the first time in a decade, as his forces continue to stumble in their war in Ukraine.

“There won’t be one before New Year,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call on Monday, without explanation, in response to a question about the event.

EU to name envoy for sanctions enforcement

The EU is planning to name a senior diplomat to serve as a sanctions envoy to push other countries for stronger enforcement of the bloc’s trade restrictions on Russia.

David O’Sullivan, a former EU ambassador to the US, will serve in the role starting next year, according to people familiar with the matter.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in October suggested such an envoy could help deliver strong messages to countries seen to be helping Moscow evade sanctions. The Financial Times reported O’Sullivan’s selection earlier.

Zelensky has ‘substantial and useful’ call with Biden

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Telegram he had a “substantial and useful” phone call with Biden on Monday before joining the G7 leaders’ meeting.

“We have strong agreements,” Zelensky said in the statement.

“We coordinated our positions with America.” Zelensky added that Ukraine’s peace formula is welcomed by the US, and this fact “adds optimism”.

“The sooner all positions in the peace formula are implemented, the stronger security guarantees for Ukraine and Europe will be,” he said.

Ukraine to renew offensive in winter frosts, defence chief says

As soon as winter frosts arrive and make the soil hard enough in Ukraine, its troops will renew their offensive operations, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said during a joint press briefing with Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson.

There is some decline in military activity due to weather conditions as the shift from dry autumn to mild winter made terrain impassable for wheeled military machines, complicating Ukrainian and Russian operations, according to Reznikov. DM