TOP HEADLINES

· Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed to keep battering Ukraine's energy grid despite an outcry against the systematic attacks that have plunged millions into the cold and dark as winter sets in. "There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country. This will not interfere with our combat missions," Putin said at a military awards ceremony in the Kremlin. READ MORE BELOW

· Russian forces have shelled the entire frontline in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian officials said. The fiercest fighting was near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the region's Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Five civilians were killed and two wounded in Ukrainian-controlled parts of Donetsk over the previous day, he said.

· Fire engulfed one of the largest shopping malls near Moscow, emergency services said, leading to the collapse of part of the structure, which complicated firefighters' efforts to douse the flames. One person died in the fire, authorities say. Russia's Investigative Committee said it was looking into the cause of the fire. 

· Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the U.S. is seeking to kill off Russia's multibillion dollar export revenues and push it into default, the RIA Novosti news agency reported.

· The Kremlin said it was still set on securing at least the bulk of the territories in east and south Ukraine that Moscow has declared part of Russia, but appeared to give up on seizing other territory.

· Russian soldiers were preparing for fighting in winter conditions by taking part in tactical training exercises in Moscow's close ally Belarus, the Russian defense ministry said.

· The United States is preparing to send Ukraine a $275 million military aid package offering new capabilities to defeat drones and strengthen air defenses, according to a document seen by Reuters and people familiar with the package.

· Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he will speak to Putin on Sunday, and he will also speak to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to strengthen the U.N.-backed Black Sea grain deal. 

· Putin said the West's desire to maintain its dominance on the world stage was increasing the risks of conflict. "The potential for conflict in the world is growing and this is a direct consequence of the attempts by Western elites to preserve their political, financial, military and ideological dominance by any means," Putin said.

· French energy group TotalEnergies said it was withdrawing from the board of Russian gas giant Novatek and taking a $3.7 billion hit in the wake of sanctions against Moscow. The French company said in a statement that it cannot sell its stake in the Russian gas firm as "it is forbidden for TotalEnergies to sell any asset to one of Novatek's main shareholders who is under sanction".

· Ukraine's SBU security service accused a senior Orthodox Christian cleric of engaging in anti-Ukrainian activity by supporting Russian policies in social media posts. Its announcement followed a series of raids of property used by a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church that is historically tied to Russia and has come under increasing pressure since the conflict began in February.

IN DETAIL

Putin vows to continue attacking Ukraine's energy grid

President Vladimir Putin vowed to keep battering Ukraine's energy grid despite an outcry against the systematic attacks that have plunged millions into the cold and dark as winter sets in.

He instead blamed Ukraine for initiating a trend of attacking civilian infrastructure, pointing to a blast on a key bridge between the Russian mainland and the Crimean peninsula. 

"There's a lot of noise about our strikes on the energy infrastructure of a neighboring country. This will not interfere with our combat missions," Putin said at a military awards ceremony in the Kremlin.

Weeks of Russian missile barrages across Ukraine have crippled key infrastructure at a critical time, as temperatures drop ahead of long winter months that already have brought suffering to Ukrainians lacking water, heating and gas. 

He presented the strikes as a response to the explosion in October on the Kerch bridge and also accused Kyiv of blowing up power lines from the Kursk nuclear power plant and for not supplying water to Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

"Yes, we do that," Putin said of the strikes on the Ukraine grid. "But who started it?"

Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo said it was still reeling from the latest bout of strikes that came this week and was suffering a "significant deficit."