November 21, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Norway has signed an agreement to provide funding of almost $200 million to help Ukraine purchase natural gas this winter, the Norwegian government said in a statement on Monday.

The 2 billion Norwegian kroner (around $195 million) in funding will be “channeled” through the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

It is part of a 10 billion Norwegian kroner (approximately $976 million) package that the Norwegian government has allocated to Ukraine in 2022 and 2023, the statement said.

“Ukraine has specifically asked Norway for support for the procurement of natural gas this winter. The timing is critical, and we are very pleased that the EBRD is to be our partner in carrying out gas purchases," Norwegian Minister of Finance Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in the statement.

"It is important to channel the support through an established, internationally recognized organization, which will ensure effective and transparent use of the funding,”

The Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz will be the “formal recipient of the gas” in Ukraine, whilst payments will be made directly to European gas suppliers “that have received prior approval,” the statement added. 

Austria has successfully reduced its dependence on gas deliveries from Russia, the country's climate action minister tweeted on Monday.

Russia's share of total gas deliveries to Austria fell from 79% in February to 21% in September, said Leonore Gewessler.

“I would like to thank everyone who has helped - the energy suppliers who have been working to find new supply countries and all the people who have been able to save energy at home,” she said.

“One thing is clear: we have not yet reached the end of the road. We will only be truly free when we can completely do without Russian #gas. We are working on this every day at full speed.”

The Austrian Ministry for Climate Action tweeted a graph showing that imports from other sources had increased accordingly. Norway is now a major alternative gas supplier, it said.

“Alternative routes: While only about a third of the volumes previously supplied arrive in #Austria via the Ukraine route from Russia, #gas imports from Germany are currently at a record level,” the ministry tweeted.

Austrian gas reserves are now filled at 95.53% capacity, it added.

Many European economies have been working to reduce their reliance on Russian fuel imports since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Spanish police will be deployed to Ukraine to support the country’s authorities “in the investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Monday.

In addition a training center for Ukrainian soldiers is expected to begin operating in the Spanish city of Toledo by the end of November, added Sánchez during a speech at the 68th annual session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid.

“We are going to participate in the EU training mission,” Sánchez told the assembly.

The EU formally established a “military assistance mission” in support of Ukraine on October 17, “to enhance the military capability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to allow them to defend Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty,” the EU Council said in a statement last week.

A change of the Ukrainian government is not one of the goals of Russia's “special operation,” according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

"Russia is striving to achieve its goals in the special military operation, and these goals can be achieved in different ways,” Peskov told journalists Monday.

CNN asked Peskov about comments made by Russian Senator Konstantin Kosachev, who said that a normalization of relations with Ukraine could only happen if there was “regime change.”

When pressed if a change of power in Ukraine was one of the goals of the special operation, Peskov said: "No."

Washington is committed to supporting Kyiv "for as long as it takes," said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday.

Austin, answering a question on Ukraine from the media during a joint press conference in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, said it is “hard to predict how things will evolve and on what timeline, but we’re in this in support of Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The focus of the US is to support Ukraine, while Ukraine’s focus is to “make sure they’re doing everything to take back every inch of their sovereign territory,” he added.

Austin also said he believes Ukraine will be prepared to fight during the winter months, and will be in “much better condition than their adversaries” because of the support the US has provided.

Austin is in Indonesia to meet with senior military leaders. In the press conference, Austin said the US is a “proud partner” with Indonesia as the two countries “work together to advance our shared vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

A 78-year-old man was wounded when Russian shelling hit the southern Ukrainian district of Nikopol overnight into Monday, according to a Ukrainian military official.

Nikopol is located in the Dnipropetrovsk region across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. On Sunday, Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for recent shelling that hit the plant's infrastructure.  

The wounded elderly man received medical aid and is being treated at home, he added.

Russian shelling damaged private houses, a boat and cars in Nikopol, Reznichenko said. 

There was also shelling in the nearby Marhanets and Myrove communities, he added. No casualties have been reported there, but details of the shelling are being clarified, he said. 

Reznichenko said the three communities in the Dnipropetrovsk region were hit by almost 60 shells. 

Any normalization of ties between Moscow and Kyiv can "only happen after a change in Ukraine's leadership," a senior Russian senator said in an interview published on Monday.

Sen. Konstantin Kosachev told Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty he "does not expect anything good from the current Kyiv regime," state-run news agency TASS reported. 

Kosachev warned that residents in Ukrainian regions including Odesa and Dnepropetrovsk "may change their status, if the authorities keep treating them as terrorists or separatists and refuse to engage in dialogue," state media reported.  

"So much could change if [Kyiv] stopped speaking the language of power with them," he added. 

The Russian state media report did not name Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by name. 

Germany is ready to provide anti-missile systems to Poland to help Warsaw strengthen its air defense capacity following a deadly missile incident on Polish territory near the Ukrainian border last week, Berlin's defense chief said.

Berlin will also look to extend the deployment of German anti-missile systems in fellow NATO member state Slovakia until the end of 2023, Lambrecht said. 

Some context: Last week, the leaders of Poland and NATO said the missile that killed two people in Polish territory was likely fired by Ukrainian forces defending their country against a barrage of Russian strikes, and that the incident appeared to be an accident.

Russia has already used more than 4,700 missiles in Ukraine since the beginning of war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday.

“Today is the 270th day of the full-scale war. Russia used more than 4,700 missiles,” he said in an address to members of the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Peace plan: Zelensky also spoke about what he called “the Ukrainian peace formula.”

Zelensky invited world leaders “to choose the element of the peace formula they can help Ukraine implement."