Kyiv launches offensive along southern front

Ukraine reported heavy fighting as it started an offensive to retake Kherson, a river port that was one of the first cities to fall to Russian forces at the start of the war.

Artillery hit Russian positions around the Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian military’s southern command, which earlier said the promised counteroffensive began Monday along several points on the front. Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the attacks in a statement, and said the push “failed miserably.”

The US Department of Defense said there was an increase in fighting around Kherson, without labeling it a counteroffensive. A US National Security Council spokesman called for a  “controlled shutdown” of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is near the clashes and has been subject to shelling.

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Key Developments

• Europe Nears Gas Storage Target Early Despite Russian Supply Cut
• France, Germany Want to Hit Support for Putin With TikTok, Visas
• Engie Says Gazprom to Reduce Gas Deliveries Starting Tuesday
• EU Plans to Intervene in Energy Market as Winter Crisis Looms
• Trafigura Told by Ecuador to Avoid Russia Oil Amid Sanctions
• Moscow’s Rich in Flash Cars Find Wartime Russia No Easy Ride

On the ground

Heavy fighting is taking place over large parts of the Kherson region, and Ukraine has destroyed most major bridges across the Dnipro in the area, the presidential office in Kyiv said in a military update. Ukrainian artillery hit 13 control centers of Russian forces around Kherson, the country’s southern command said on Facebook. Russia struck the city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, Interfax-Ukraine reported, citing local authorities. To the east, Russian forces shelled the Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, the Ukrainian military said. Four civilians were killed in central Kharkiv, according to local authorities.

(All times CET)

Engie Says Gazprom to Cut Gas Deliveries (9:40 a.m.)

Russian energy giant Gazprom PJSC has informed Engie SA of a reduction in gas deliveries starting Tuesday because of disagreements over some contracts, the French utility said, signaling a further squeeze in Europe’s energy supplies.

The announcement follows Monday’s call from French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne for businesses to cut energy use or face possible rationing this winter if Russia halts gas deliveries in retaliation for Europe’s support for Ukraine.

Governments across the continent are scrambling to cut their dependence on Russian energy and drafting plans to ration fuel if conservation measures fall short.

EU’s Borrell Seeks Green Light for Training Mission (8:30 a.m.)

Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said he hopes defense ministers will give a political green light for a training mission for Ukraine.

“Ukraine needs our support and we will continue providing this support both with military capacities, and also the minsters will discuss about the idea of putting in place a high-level training mission for the Ukrainian army,” Borrell told reporters ahead of a ministerial meeting in Prague on Tuesday. Ukraine’s Defense Minster Oleksii Reznikov will take part via video link.

The EU could offer Ukraine’s armed forces sniper, de-mining or officer training as part of the mission, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg.

IAEA Team Have “Set Off” for Zaporizhzhia Plant (8:10 a.m.)

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi and a team of inspectors “set off” for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe’s largest, to ensure the facility’s safety, the agency said in a tweet.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned over the weekend that the situation at the plant remains dangerous, even after two power units were reconnected to the grid following a power failure.