Residents warned they must prepare for having no electricity, water or heating as temperatures drop below freezing

Russia appointed a new acting commander of the Central Military District on 3 November, the UK’s Ministry of Defence has said.

Major General Alexander Linkov replaces Colonel General Alexander Lapin who was purportedly removed from office at the end of October 2022.

If confirmed, this follows a series of dismissals of senior Russian military commanders since the onset of the invasion in February 2022. The Commanders of the Eastern, Southern, and Western Military Districts were replaced earlier this year.

Lapin has been widely criticised for poor performance on the battlefield in Ukraine by both Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Russian troops taking vehicles, art and even religious artefacts from Kherson; UK says Russia struggling to train new recruits. This blog is now closed

• Russian troops loot Kherson as lines redrawn ahead of final battle for city

About 500 power generators have been sent to Ukraine by 17 EU countries to help with the energy problems caused by Russian attacks.

Counties including Slovenia, Slovakia, Denmark, Germany and Spain sent the pieces of kit through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism.

Russia blames Ukraine for attack on Saturday; calls grow for Moscow to rejoin grain deal as US accuses Kremlin of weaponising food

• What we know on day 249 of the Russia-Ukraine war

More on the reported Russia-Ukraine exchange of prisoners of war on Saturday: officials in Moscow and Kyiv said both sides had returned about 50 people each.

Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate reported the return of 52 detainees, among them soldiers, sailors, border guards, national guard members and doctors.

We remember all those who are held captive in Russia and on occupied territory and will do everything to ensure that each and every one is returned.

Moscow plans expedited Kherson withdrawal, says MoD; Guterres calls for west to help remove blocks to Russian grain exports

• Ukrainians use phone app to spot deadly Russian drone attacks
• What we know on day 248 of the invasion

Speaking during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said 82,000 conscripts had already been sent to Ukraine.

Shoigu added that Russia was no longer recruiting people for its armed forces, saying that “citizen notification has been discontinued”.

Russia’s defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, makes calls with UK, US, French and Turkish counterparts on Sunday

• What we know on day 242 of Russia’s invasion

Two civilians have been killed in Russian strikes on the eastern region of Donetsk, according to the local governor.

Posting on Telegram on Sunday, Pavlo Kyrylenko said the deaths had occurred in the villages of Klishchiivka and Torskyi.

Ukrainian president says most missiles fired overnight were shot down; over 1 million people without electricity after attacks on power stations

• What we know on day 241 of Russia’s invasion

Iran has strongly condemned a call by France, Germany and Britain for the United Nations to probe accusations that Russia has used Iranian-origin drones to attack Ukraine, its foreign ministry said.

Reuters reports that ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Friday’s call by the so-called E-3 group of countries was “false and baseless” and that it was “strongly rejected and condemned”.

The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in its pursuit to protect its national interest and to secure the rights of the noble Iranian people, reserves the right to respond to any irresponsible action.

It will not hesitate to defend the interests of the Iranian people,” he said, without elaborating.

Currently, restrictions on energy supply have been forcibly applied in Kyiv, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya and Kirovohrad regions.

Russian servicemen begin to arrive in Belarus; US thinktank says Putin engaging in ‘ethnic cleansing’ in Ukraine

• What we know on day 235 of Russia’s invasion

Norway has arrested a Russian national carrying a drone and camera equipment after he was seen taking photos of an airport in the far north, the second such arrest in a week.

Agence France-Presse reports that Norway is on high alert following accounts of mysterious drone sightings close to offshore oil and gas drilling platforms run by the country’s major energy producer.

Police have confiscated a large amount of photography equipment, including a drone and a cache of memory cards.