Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Iran must be punished for what he called its “complicity in Russian terror”. During a Sunday evening address, he accused the regime in Tehran of helping to prolong the war and exacerbate its impact on food and energy supplies.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Zelensky in a telephone call that she will this week propose a financial aid package of as much as €18-billion to help cover Ukraine’s needs into next year.

Key developments

On the ground

Ukrainian forces repelled attacks over the past day near eight settlements in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. The country’s southern operational command said that three Russian munitions depots and a UAV control station were destroyed.

Russian troops shelled the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, local authorities said on Telegram. The UK Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update that “Russia’s continued lack of air superiority is likely exacerbated by poor training, loss of experienced crews, and heightened risks of conducting close air support” and that “this is unlikely to change in the next few months.”

India bought 25% of Ukrainian sunflower oil in October 

India purchased 25% of the sunflower oil exported from Ukraine in October, Deputy Economy Minister Taras Kachka said on Facebook. “This is an example of how important the grain…