Scholz criticised over call with Putin after Russia launches massive barrage

Olaf Scholz’s phone call with Vladimir Putin was criticised by European leaders on Sunday as Russian missiles rained down in Ukraine in one of the biggest attacks of the war.
Moscow unleashed a massive combined assault of more than 200 missiles and drones across the whole of Ukraine overnight, killing at least 10 people as it tried to knock out Kyiv’s energy grid with winter looming.
Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said the barrage proved “no-one will stop Putin with phone calls” and that “telephone diplomacy cannot replace real support from the whole West”.
Several power stations were severely damaged, forcing Ukraine to apply energy restrictions across the entire country on Monday.
The scale of the attack prompted Poland, which borders Ukraine, to scramble its air force and place its air defence systems on high alert.
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said that Russia’s missile barrage of Ukraine was Putin’s “true response” to “all those who had called and visited him recently”.
Elina Valtonen, Finland’s foreign minister, called on European leaders to avoid more calls with Putin.
“The most important thing is that we understand that we should not once again vie for the Kremlin’s attention. This will not help if the heads of European states make coordinated or uncoordinated phone calls with Putin”, she said in an interview with ARD Europe magazine.
On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelensky accused Olaf Scholz of opening a “Pandora’s box” for calling Putin for the first time in two years.
Mr Scholz urged the Russian president to “negotiate with Ukraine” in order to restore “just and lasting peace”, according to a German government spokesman.
Sir Keir Starmer, while not directly criticising the German chancellor, insisted he had “no plans” to call the Russian president.
“It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to. I have no plans to speak to Putin,” Sir Keir told reporters as he made his way to the G20 summit on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, however suggested he was in favour of opening a dialogue with the Russian president.
“We all understand how important it is to see an end to the violence in Ukraine, to see an end to conflicts around the world,” Mr Trudeau told Bloomberg during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
“That requires a level of engagement with counterparts who in many cases we disagree with.”
In Berlin on Sunday, prominent Russian opposition figures led a march of at least 1,000 supporters through the city, calling for an end to the war in Ukraine and for “Russia without Putin”.
Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Alexei Navalny, was at the head of the protest and was one of its key organisers.
Alexei Navalny was seen as the figurehead of Russia’s opposition movement before he died in February in a Russian prison under mysterious circumstances.
Ms Navalnaya joined forces with two other opposition figures for the rally: former Moscow city councillor and long-time anti-Putin campaigner Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, who survived two poisoning attempts.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov dismissed the opposition figures ahead of the protest, saying they were  “completely detached” from the reality inside Russia.
He claimed that their views were of “no interest” for Russians.
Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. It has now ended for the day. 
We’ll be back soon with more updates and analysis soon. 
In the meantime, here are the headlines from today:
Ukraine has announced nationwide power “restrictions”, set to take effect on Monday. 
It follows a “massive” overnight attack by Russia, which targeted all regions in Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Tomorrow, November 18, all regions will be forced to apply consumption restriction measures,” the energy ministry posted on social media. 
“The reason for the temporary return of restrictions is the damage to power facilities during today’s massive missile and drone attack.”
Elina Valtonen, Finland’s foreign minister, has called on European leaders to refrain from holding any more calls with Vladimir Putin after Olaf Scholz’s conversation with the Russian president.
“The most important thing is that we understand that we should not once again vie for the Kremlin’s attention. This will not help if the heads of European states make coordinated or uncoordinated phone calls with Putin,” she said in an interview with ARD Europe magazine.
Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister, suggested he was in favour of the West opening a dialogue with Vladimir Putin.
“We all understand how important it is to see an end to the violence in Ukraine, to see an end to conflicts around the world,” Mr Trudeau told Bloomberg during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
“That requires a level of engagement with counterparts who in many cases we disagree with.”
The death toll from Russia’s large-scale overnight attack on Ukraine has risen to 10, according to authorities. 
Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow launched a “massive combined strike on all regions”, causing significant damage to the country’s energy infrastructure. 
Three people have died and four more wounded after a Russian attack on a car in Kherson.
A man, 58, and a woman, 51, were killed, authorities said. The age and gender of the third victim is not known.
Russia is increasingly using kamikaze drones to hunt and attack civilians in the southern Ukrainian city.
North Korea will start mass-producing kamikaze drones after dictator Kim Jong-un was impressed with a test display on Thursday, according to its state media, write Daniel Hardaker and Jörg Luyken.
Accompanied by top political officials, Kim was said to have acquainted himself with several types of kamikaze drones produced by North Korea’s Unmanned Aeronautical Technology Complex [UATC].
State media said the test was successful, with every drone hitting its target “precisely” as intended.
One photo showed Kim, dressed in a white two-piece suit and matching hat, inspecting one of the unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] as a crowd of officials looked on.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has sent a “clear message to Washington” that it will not be defeated, an expert has said. 
Orysia Lutsevych, deputy director of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, told Sky News Moscow wants to pressure the West into reducing support for Ukraine.
“I think [the attacks are] to demonstrate, especially [to] president-elect Trump, that Russia cannot be defeated, that the cost for sustaining the war in Ukraine is too high for the West and the result will be futile,” she said.
“This is a clear message to Washington, but also it’s a clear message to Ukrainian people that Putin wants to freeze them in winter.”
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed to “do everything” to end Russia’s war against his country by “diplomatic means” in 2025. Zelensky conceded the return of Donald Trump as US president will hasten the end of the Ukraine war.
Zelensky’s comments raised eyebrows as he departed from his typically defiant tone. 
But Ukraine is pre-emptively warning its Western partners of the inevitability of Russian betrayal.
Despite military setbacks in Donetsk, Ukraine is doing all it can to stay in the fight. In recent days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces thwarted Russia’s advance on the Kharkiv battleground of Kupiansk. Russia’s 50,000-man army in Kursk, which includes North Korean soldiers, has failed to dislodge Ukrainian forces from their entrenched positions. 
Russian casualties are now at their highest levels since the start of the Ukraine war – 1,500 men are killed or injured each day. Even if Trump can engage Russia in talks on ending the war, the Kremlin will not enter these negotiations from a position of unbridled strength.
Read the full story here.
Russia’s “massive” overnight attack on Ukraine was “deplorable”, the Foreign Secretary has said.
The attacks showed “Putin’s desire to weaken the resolve of a country he thought would be beaten in days,” David Lammy wrote on X.
“It won’t work. We stand wit Ukraine. Today and for as long as it takes.”
Russia’s deplorable strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, ahead of Ukraine’s 3rd winter of war, further shows Putin’s desire to weaken the resolve of a country he thought would be beaten in days. It won’t work. We stand with Ukraine. Today and for as long as it takes.
Ukraine’s nuclear power plants are operating at reduced capacity as a “precautionary measure” after Russia’s overnight attacks, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said.
Of the nine operational reactors at three nuclear power plants, six reduced their output throughout the morning. 
One has been shut down for maintenance, with just two operating at full capacity.
Around one thousand supporters of Russia’s exiled opposition marched through central Berlin on Sunday against Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
Led by opposition leader Yulia Navalnaya, the march aimed at reviving the weakened anti-Putin movement began in a park in the German capital before heading towards Moscow’s embassy, the journalists witnessed.
Residents in Odesa, southern Ukraine, are queuing for water after Russia’s overnight strikes caused severe damage to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure. 
More coming in from Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, after his call with Vladimir Putin.
“Ukraine can count on us” and “no decision will be taken behind Ukraine’s back”, the chancellor said at Berlin airport before flying to a G20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Olaf Scholz said his call with Vladimir Putin showed him that “little has changed” in the Russian president’s attitude towards the war against Ukraine. 
The German chancellor defended his controversial call with Putin, saying it would also not be good if Washington were in regular contact with Putin while no European leader was.
“The conversation was very detailed but contributed to a recognition that little has changed in the Russian President’s views of the war – and that’s not good news,” Scholz told reporters on Sunday.
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of orchestrating energy blackouts in Ukraine by targeting critical infrastructure.
“The entire world sees and knows that we are defending ourselves against absolute evil, which understands no language but force. We need unity, the world needs unity. Only together can we stop this evil,” the Ukrainian president said.
Over the past week, the aggressor used nearly 140 missiles of various types, more than 900 guided aerial bombs, and over 600 strike drones. Today, our F-16 pilots shot down approximately 10 aerial targets. Efforts to address the consequences of the combined attack on our… pic.twitter.com/rpRNJmIPIn
 
Donald Trump’s election victory means the war in Ukraine will end sooner than expected, Volodymyr Zelensky has said in an interview calling for a “diplomatic” solution, writes James Rothwell.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House,” Mr Zelensky told Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne. “This is their approach, their promise to their citizens.”
Mr Zelensky, who had previously said Russia must be expelled from all of Ukraine militarily, said a solution needed to come “next year” through “diplomatic means”.
Read the full story here.
Two people have died and a 17-year-old injured in Russia’s attack on Odesa, southern Ukraine.
Oleh Kiper, the local governor, said the region’s energy infrastructure had been damaged, causing “interruptions in the supply of heat, water and electricity”.
In total seven people have died as a result of Russia’s overnight attack. 
Russia has caused “severe damage” to Ukraine’s energy system, according to the CEO of DTEK, one of the country’s largest private energy companies,has said.
Maxim Timchenko said the attacks “highlight Ukraine’s need for additional air defence systems from our allies to prevent more destruction”.
“The supply of power to millions this winter depends upon it,” he wrote.
russia has resumed its attacks against us this morning. Severe damage to Ukraine’s energy system, including to DTEK power stations. These attacks again highlight Ukraine’s need for additional air defence systems from our allies to prevent more destruction. The supply of power to… pic.twitter.com/YSOrZ4Pa9d
A 66-year-old woman has died after a Russian attack on Lviv in western Ukraine.
The woman was in her car at the time of the attack, local authorities said, and was killed by a falling Russian rocket.
Two men were also injured.
Poland’s air force scrambled its jets due to Russia’s “massive” overnight attack on Ukraine.
Polish and allied aircraft began operating in Polish airspace, according to the operational command of the country’s armed forces.
The country “activated all available forces and resources” and “on-duty fighter pairs were scrambled”, reaching the “highest state of readiness”, a statement read.
Russian forces launched a massive strike on energy facilities that supply Ukraine’s military-industrial complex, Russian news agencies reported, citing the defence ministry.
Ukraine’s military airfield infrastructure was also hit, it added.
Ukrainian air defences destroyed over 140 missiles and drones launched during Russia’s overnight attack, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.
The Ukrainian president said in a statement that Russia launched around 120 missiles and 90 drones overnight, targeting “all regions of Ukraine”.
A massive combined attack targeted all regions of Ukraine. Overnight and this morning, Russian terrorists used various types of drones, including Shaheds, as well as cruise, ballistic, and aeroballistic missiles—Zircons, Iskanders, and Kinzhals. In total, approximately 120…
Ukrainians ran for cover as Russia launched its “massive” overnight attack across the country. 
Worried parents and children could be seen crowding inside a metro station in Kyiv, while firefighters worked to put out a blaze in Lviv following a Russian attack. 
Some 210 missiles and drones were launched at Ukraine overnight, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president. 
Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said Russia’s overnight energy attack is Vladimir Putin’s response to those who “called and visited him recently”. 
It comes after Volodymyr Zelensky criticised a call between Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, and Putin, described it as a “Pandora’s box”. 
Donald Trump is also thought to have spoken with Putin on the phone after his election victory.
“We need peace through strength, not appeasement,” Mr Sybiha said.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. 
We’ll be bringing you the latest news and analysis from the conflict throughout the day.
Copy link
twitter
facebook
whatsapp
email