Europe

MOSCOW, Nov 24 (Reuters) - The Kremlin on Thursday denied that its attacks on Ukraine's electricity network were aimed at civilians, but said Kyiv could "end the suffering" of its population by meeting Russia's demands to resolve the conflict.

Repeated missile barrages against power infrastructure across Ukraine over the last few weeks have forced millions of people to go without light, water or heating for hours or days at a time, just as outdoor temperatures fall below freezing.

BERLIN/WARSAW, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Germany said on Friday it was discussing with allies Poland's request that German Patriot air defence units be sent to Ukraine, after NATO's chief suggested the military alliance might not oppose such a move.

"We are talking with our allies about how to handle Poland's ... suggestion," a German government spokesperson told reporters in Berlin.

VATICAN CITY, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A court at a Vatican corruption trial on Thursday heard a secretly recorded telephone call between the main defendant, embattled Cardinal Angelo Becciu, and Pope Francis.

The recording was made without the pope's knowledge by someone in a room with Becciu in July 2021, shortly before the trial began and while the pope was still recovering from major intestinal surgery, the court was told.

LONDON, Nov 25 (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin on Friday met with more than a dozen mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, telling those who had lost sons that he and the entire leadership shared their suffering.

The war in Ukraine has killed or wounded tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, according to the United States, and the Russian invasion has triggered the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile crisis.

Nov 25 (Reuters) - Millions of Ukrainians were still without heat or power on Friday after the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy grid so far, with residents warned to brace for further attacks and stock up on water, food and warm clothing.

CONFLICT

* NATO's Stoltenberg said there would be no lasting peace in Ukraine if Russia won the war, adding that the Western military alliance would not back down its support for Kyiv.

KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) — Natalia Kristenko’s dead body lay covered in a blanket in the doorway of her apartment building for hours overnight. City workers were at first too overwhelmed to retrieve her as they responded to a deadly barrage of attacks that shook Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson.

The 62-year-old had walked outside her home with her husband Thursday evening after drinking tea when the building was struck. Kristenko was killed instantly from a wound to the head. Her husband died hours later in the hospital from internal bleeding.

LONDON (AP) — Rishi Sunak has been Britain’s prime minister for a month. In the tumultuous world of U.K. politics in 2022, that’s an achievement.

Sunak, who took office a month ago Friday on Oct. 25, has steadied the nation after the brief term of predecessor Liz Truss. Britain’s first prime minister of color, Sunak has stabilized the economy, reassured allies from Washington to Kyiv and even soothed the European Union after years of sparring between Britain and the bloc.

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Residents of Ukraine’s bombed capital clutched empty bottles in search of water and crowded into cafés for power and warmth Thursday, switching defiantly into survival mode after new Russian missile strikes a day earlier plunged the city and much of the country into the dark.

In scenes hard to believe in a sophisticated city of 3 million, some Kyiv residents resorted to collecting rainwater from drainpipes, as repair teams labored to reconnect supplies.

24 Nov 2022; MEMO: Five pro-Palestine activists have been acquitted of the charge of "conspiracy to commit criminal damage" after a unanimous jury verdict in Southwark Crown Court in London. The defendants, who pleaded "not guilty" prior to the hearing, had to wait two years to be heard. They were acquitted of conspiracy to commit criminal damage for throwing red paint over the London HQ of an Israeli arms manufacturer.

MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/: There is growing evidence indicating that there is a confrontation between Russia and NATO in Ukraine, and the number of alliance experts involved in the conflict on Kiev's side is growing, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing on Thursday.