Fighting rages in east Ukraine

KYIV: Russian forces pounded targets in eastern and southern Ukraine with missiles, drones and artillery, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Monday, while millions remained without power in subzero temperatures after further strikes on key infrastructure. European Union foreign ministers agreed to put another 2 billion euros ($2.1 billion) into a fund that has been used to pay for military support for Ukraine, after it was largely depleted during almost 10 months of the war.

The EU ministers were also due to to discuss a ninth package of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, while Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy was set to address an online gathering of Group of Seven (G7) leaders about the war. There are no peace talks and no end in sight to the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War Two, which Moscow describes as a “special military operation” and Ukraine and its allies call an unprovoked act of aggression.