All the latest developments from the war in Ukraine.
Drones shot down in Crimea and near Moscow
Russia claimed to have intercepted several Ukrainian drones overnight from Sunday to Monday in annexed Crimea, the Moscow region and Begorod and Voronezh on the border.
ADVERTISEMENT A total of 13 unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down by Russian air defences, while no casualties or damage were reported by local authorities in Crimea.
Russia's Defence Ministry said it had struck a plant in Kharkiv, where armoured vehicles of the Ukrainian army were repaired, on Saturday.
Head of the local Ukrainian military administration, Oleg Synegubov, wrote on Telegram a "civilian" company was hit around 12:30 a.m. local time by missiles, causing a fire to break out.
Kyiv has stepped up strikes on Russian territory in recent months, against the backdrop of its counteroffensive. Though such attacks are often thwarted by Moscow's defences or seldom hit military targets, experts argue Ukraine's drone war has key objectives. Read more below.
Ukraine captures villages near Bakhmut
Kyiv reportedly took the village of Klishchiivka on the eastern front, just a day after the Ukrainian flag was raised over Andriivka.
Russia has not officially commented on Ukraine's claims, but its supporters in the Donetsk region have dismissed the significance of the victories saying the two villages are unoccupied and reduced to rubble.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used his Sunday night address to thank the armed forces for capturing Klishchiivka near Bakhmut in the country's east.
Grinding battles along the front in Donetsk have left few buildings, or even trees, standing.
Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June to retake territories occupied by Russia, after receiving Western weapons and training.
Ukrainian soldiers now appear to be closing in on Bakhmut, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in the war so far. Should they recapture the town it would be a major symbolic victory.
An ex-Wagner Russian mercenary told Euronews in July detailed harrowing accounts of the fighting in Bakmut, alongside lies and mutiny on the front.
ADVERTISEMENT Washington and NATO see a long war
Kyiv's counteroffensive "has not failed" but the road to a victory is still very long, said the US Army chief of staff, General Mark Milley, in an interview broadcast on Sunday.
"This offensive, although slow, slower than expected, remained constant," he said, adding Ukraine still had "a significant strike force".
The general conceded, however, that it "will take a long time" to achieve Zelenskyy's goal "of kicking out all the Russians".
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also warned the West should not expect a quick end to the war in Ukraine, in another interview published on Sunday.
"Most wars last longer than expected when they started," Stoltenberg said in an interview with the German media group Funke.
ADVERTISEMENT "Therefore we must prepare for a long war in Ukraine," he added.
In September, Estonia's Defence Minister warned the clock was ticking for Ukraine's counteroffensive, with winter weather conditions looming.
Ukraine's armed forces encountered a tough fight after launching their big military push, with Moscow having had several months to ready its defences.
Advances have been slow and are likely to be bogged down even further as wet, muddy and freezing weather conditions complicate movements on the front.
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