TOP HEADLINES

· Air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine following warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia was preparing a new wave of missile and drone strikes.

· Ukraine's military said Russia kept up heavy shelling of key targets Bakhmut and Avdiivka in Donetsk province and to the north, bombarded Kupiansk and Lyman, both recaptured recently by Kyiv.

· Ukraine was still struggling to restore full power, nearly a week after a wave of Russian missile strikes that damaged energy facilities across the country. National power grid operator Ukrenegro said the electricity deficit had risen slightly from Monday following emergency shutdowns at several power plants and an increase in consumption as winter sets in.

· NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance would not pull back in its support for Ukraine, calling on partners to pledge more winter aid for Kyiv. "Nato will continue to stand for Ukraine as long as it takes. We will not back down," Stoltenberg said in a speech in Bucharest.

· The U.S. will announce new aid to help Ukraine restore electricity as its people face another week of brutal cold and darkness after Russian strikes on its power grid caused rolling blackouts.

· Russia's envoy has expressed Moscow's strong dissatisfaction with the Vatican following Pope Francis' latest condemnation of the "cruelty" of Russia's actions in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

· Dozens of modern artworks removed from Kyiv to protect them from Russian strikes will go on display at a Madrid museum. The works on show at the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum of Art include oil paintings, sketches and collages.

· A longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Alexei Kudrin, stepped down as the head of the country's audit chamber amid reports he will oversee the reconstruction of tech giant Yandex following sanctions over Ukraine. Kudrin, a former finance minister who has a reputation of being an economic liberal in Moscow, has been in Russian politics since the 1990s.

· In an unusual move for a Nobel Peace laureate, the head of one of this year's prize-winning organizations called for weapons to help Ukraine defend itself and stop the atrocities. "When somebody asks me how to stop these long-lasting crimes in occupied territories, I can only answer: 'Provide Ukraine with weapons to liberate these territories'," said Oleksandra Matviichuk, a human rights lawyer who heads the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties.

· Russia's offensive in Ukraine has increased the threat from weapons of mass destruction, including chemical munitions, Fernando Aria, the Head of The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), told the regulator's annual meeting in The Hague. "The situation in Ukraine has again increased the real threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons," Arias said. READ MORE BELOW

· Kyiv plans to erect Christmas trees, minus lights, throughout the battered city in a defiant display of holiday spirit as the capital area's millions of residents suffer through blackouts due to Russian attacks, officials said. "No one is going to cancel the New Year and Christmas, and the atmosphere of the New Year should be there," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko told the RBC-Ukraine news agency. "We cannot allow Putin to steal our Christmas."

IN DETAIL

Increased threat of weapons of mass destruction

Russia's offensive in Ukraine has increased the threat from weapons of mass destruction, including chemical munitions, the head of the world's toxic arms watchdog said on Monday. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, chief Fernando Arias told the regulator's annual meeting.

The situation in Ukraine has "exacerbated existing tensions to a point where the unity of the international community on common global challenges related to international security and peace cannot be presumed," said Arias. International disarmament bodies like the Nobel Peace Prize-winning OPCW "now have become places for confrontation and disagreement," Arias revealed.

Threats and allegations about the possible use of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons have been traded since the conflict in Ukraine began in February.

Arias reminded Russia and Ukraine that they were among 193 countries that have "solemnly and voluntarily committed never under any circumstances to... use chemical weapons."

Russian officials at the Kremlin have said on numerous occasions in recent weeks that Moscow will not use nuclear weapons of any kind, for tactical strikes or otherwise, in this conflict. 

Arias said the OPCW "continues to closely monitor this serious situation and remains in contact with the permanent representations of the Russian Federation and Ukraine." The OPCW has provided Ukraine, at its request, with training for first responders for chemical attacks and for the detection of chemical leaks.