TOP HEADLINES

• Russia on Monday condemned a decision by Denmark and the Netherlands to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the move would escalate the conflict. READ MORE BELOW

• At least two people were injured on Monday when parts of a Ukrainian drone destroyed by Russian air defenses fell on a house in the Moscow region, the regional governor said.

• Ukraine is considering using its newly-tested wartime Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments for other cargo ships after the first successful evacuation of a vessel on the route last week, a senior agricultural official said on Monday.

• Roughly 60 percent of Ukraine's grain exports could transit through neighboring Romania after Russia quit a UN-brokered safe passage deal through the Black Sea, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said.

• The situation in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv is "difficult" but Ukraine's forces are repelling Russian attacks and have re-taken several square kilometers on the eastern front over the past week, a deputy defense minister said on Monday.

• Ukraine is finalizing a scheme with global insurers to cover grain ships traveling to and from its Black Sea ports, the Financial Times reported on Monday citing Ukraine's Deputy Economy Minister Oleksandr Gryban.

IN DEPTH

Russia condemns donations of F-16 fighter jets

Russia on Monday condemned a decision by Denmark and the Netherlands to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying the move would escalate the conflict.

Denmark and the Netherlands on Sunday announced they would supply F-16s to Ukraine, with the first six due to be delivered around New Year.

"The fact that Denmark has now decided to donate 19 F-16 aircraft to Ukraine leads to an escalation of the conflict," Russian ambassador Vladimir Barbin said in a statement cited by the Ritzau news agency.

"By hiding behind a premise that Ukraine itself must determine the conditions for peace, Denmark seeks with its actions and words to leave Ukraine with no other choice but to continue the military confrontation with Russia," he said.

Danish Defense Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine may only use the donated F-16s within its own territory.

"We donate weapons under the condition that they are used to drive the enemy out of the territory of Ukraine. And no further than that," Ellemann-Jensen said on Monday. "Those are the conditions, whether it's tanks, fighter planes or something else."

Denmark will deliver 19 jets in total. The Netherlands has 42 F-16s available in all but has yet to decide whether all of them will be donated.

Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday the planes would strengthen Ukraine's air defenses and help its counter-offensive against Russian forces.

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