TOP HEADLINES

· President Vladimir Putin has said Russian forces could be fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but for now there would be no second call-up of soldiers. He added that the risk of a nuclear war is growing and Russians would "defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal... We haven't gone mad, we realize what nuclear weapons are." READ MORE BELOW

· However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the risk of Putin using nuclear weapons as part of the Ukraine war had decreased thanks to international pressure.

· The White House said it had made its concerns clear to Ukraine about any escalation of the conflict, but added that it respected Ukrainian sovereignty, including decisions about how Kyiv uses weapons supplied by Washington. That comes after several debilitating drone strikes on airbases deep inside Russian territory. 

· Russia's fleet shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea on Thursday, according to Mikhail Razvozhaev, the governor of Sevastopol, the largest city in Russian-controlled Crimea.

· Ukraine's president Volodymr Zelenskyy has been named Time magazine's 2022 "Person of the Year" for his leadership.

· Ukraine brought in new emergency power cuts as it tried to repair energy infrastructure damaged in Russian air strikes on Thursday, which the national grid operator said had caused significant supply shortages.

· Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko has warned of an "apocalypse" scenario for the city if Russian air strikes on infrastructure continue this winter. Russia has reportedly fired more than 1,000 rockets and missiles at Ukraine's power grid.

· The European Commission has proposed a ninth package of sanctions against Russia including adding almost 200 more individuals and entities to its sanctions list.

· Russia's Foreign Ministry has accused Sweden and Denmark of refusing to include Russian authorities in their investigation of ruptures to the two Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Nordic nations were "afraid to let Russia in on the investigation because then the world would know who was responsible for the blasts."

· The UN is examining "available information" about accusations that Iran supplied Russia with drones, UN chief Antonio Guterres said, as he faces Western pressure to inspect drone strikes in Ukraine. Iran has said it sent drones to Russia but that they were supplied before the February war commenced. 

· Russian troops are taking part in tactical exercises in Belarus, amid allegations that Moscow is pushing its ally to get more involved in the Ukraine conflict. Belarus has said it will not enter the conflict, but has in the past ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.

IN DETAIL

Putin: No new mobilization, but Russia prepared for 'long process'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that his army could be in Ukraine for a long time, but now he said there would no new military mobilization drives.

"This can be a long process," he told government officials in a rare admission about the potential duration of a war.

Russia has made significant retreats in the face of a series of successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in recent months, bolstered by its increasing stocks of Western weaponry.

About 150,000 of the 300,000 reservists were called up in September and October since Kyiv started to make gains in July. Some 77,000 had joined combat units, Putin said, while the remaining 150,000 were still at training centers.

"Under these conditions, talk about any additional mobilization measures simply makes no sense," Putin said.

The Russian leader, in remarks made at a Russian human rights committee meeting, said the risk of a nuclear war was increasing but Russia would not recklessly threaten to use such weapons.

"We haven't gone mad, we realise what nuclear weapons are," Putin said. "We have these means in more advanced and modern form than any other nuclear country... But we aren't about to run around the world brandishing this weapon like a razor."

Despite recent defeats on the battlefield, including the loss of the strategic city of Kherson, Putin has stated he has no regrets about launching the military operation, saying Moscow had achieved a "significant result" with the acquisition of "new territories."