(Bloomberg) -- The European Union is set to propose a new mechanism to provide €18 billion ($18.1 billion) in financial aid to Ukraine in a more predictable manner. 

The bloc has been slow to provide all the support it promised earlier this year, and has faced criticism for dragging its feet. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen earlier told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a telephone call she will put forward the aid package this week to help cover Ukraine’s needs into next year.

Ukraine’s authorities used special wartime powers to take control of five strategically important companies, all of which have ties with some of the country’s most powerful oligarchs. Zelenskiy said in his regular nighttime address that the companies will now work for the defense of Ukraine, including providing and repairing equipment and working to restore infrastructure.

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Key Developments

  • EU Aims to Dispel Criticism on Ukraine Aid With €18 Billion Plan
  • Ukraine Wields Wartime Powers to Seize Firms Tied to Oligarchs
  • Big Banks Get US Nod for Some Russian Ties as Congress Fumes
  • Ukraine Crop Shipments Top 10 Million Tons, But Inspections Slow
  • Big Banks Get US Nod for Some Russian Ties as Congress Fumes

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. 

(All times CET)

North Korea Again Denies Providing Russia with Weapons (10:22 p.m.)

Pyongyang never had “arms dealings” with Russia and doesn’t have plans to do so in future, North Korea’s state media reported, citing a defense ministry official. Instead the regime accused the US of spreading a “groundless rumor” that it was supplying Russia with arms.

The Biden administration has accused North Korea of covertly supplying Russia with artillery shells for use against Ukraine, saying it is trying to mask the shipments’ destination by making it look like they’re going to the Middle East or North Africa.

Grid Operator Says Boosting Power Supply Will Take Time (9:15 p.m.)

Work continues to increase electricity supply to consumers in central Kyiv and northern Ukraine -- regions facing the biggest power challenges as Russia attacks energy infrastructure, according to grid operator NPC Ukrenergo’s CEO Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. 

“I think that our power engineers will have to work for another week,” he said. “And if there are hopefully no more missile strikes -- this is an important condition -- we will be able to improve the situation with power supplies in the central and northern regions of our country.”

EU Aims to Dispel Criticism on Ukraine Aid (9 p.m.)

The proposal this week will set out a sustainable framework to cover Ukraine’s finances in 2023 while remaining flexible to adjust the aid to evolving funding needs, people familiar with the proposal said. It will also help to prepare the ground for reconstruction efforts.

The EU’s plan aims to offer more predictability in financial support for Ukraine following criticism from the US and Kyiv over the bloc´s delays in providing liquidity to the war-torn nation. Ukraine needs around $38 billion next year, and the Biden administration has signaled that it is ready to cover around half of the bill.

Read More: EU Aims to Dispel Criticism on Ukraine Aid With €18 Billion Plan

ONGC Applies to Retain Stake in Sakhalin-1, Reuters Says (6 p.m.)

India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp. applied to the new Russian manager of Sakhalin-1 to retain its 20% stake in the oil and gas project, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified person familiar with the development.

Japan’s trade chief had said at the start of this month that his government had asked a Japanese consortium to keep its stake in Sakhalin-1 after the operations of the project were transferred to Russia under a presidential decree. 

India Bought 25% of Ukrainian Sunflower Oil in October (5:26 p.m.)

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 corridor is for India,” he said.

About 10.07 million tons of grain and foodstuffs have departed Ukrainian ports since the corridor began operating in early August, the Joint Coordination Centre that facilitates the Ukraine grain-export deal said late Sunday.

Kachka said the volume of Ukrainian agriculture exports last month amounted to 9.2 million tons, which is the second-largest such monthly figure since the beginning of the Russian invasion. The value of exports in October reached $3.8 billion.

Zelenskiy Meets With Howard Buffett (4:43 p.m.)

Zelenskiy held a meeting with Howard Buffett, where the US businessman and philanthropist expressed a willingness to buy energy equipment and generators for Ukrainian pumping stations, hospitals and mobile heating points, according to a statement on the president’s website.

Ukrainian regions and cities, including Kyiv, have experienced power cuts after Russian forces targeted energy infrastructure in an escalation of its attacks.  

Zelenskiy also discussed with Buffett his potential participation in a fund for Ukraine’s recovery, which the government is working on, as well as in private projects. 

Authorities Take Over Five Companies (2:53 p.m.)

Ukraine’s authorities have taken temporary control of five strategically important companies, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, told reporters in Kyiv. 

The National Securities and Stock Market Commission issued an order on Sunday to secure the shares of engine maker Motor Sich PJSC and oil producer Ukrnafta PJSC, which is backed by billionaire Igor Kolomoisky. The authorities also targeted truck maker Avtokraz, industrial company Zaporizhtransformator PJSC and oil-refining company Ukrtatnafta. 

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said his government was acting in accordance with emergency legislation passed in response to the Kremlin’s invasion.

Putin Mentor’s Daughter Returns to Russia (1 p.m.)

The celebrity-journalist daughter of President Vladimir Putin’s political mentor has returned to Russia, less than a fortnight since she fled for Europe after police detained a close associate and raided her home as part of a criminal case for alleged extortion, state media reported.

Ksenia Sobchak, a socialite, TV presenter and former presidential candidate who has publicly questioned the invasion of Ukraine, crossed the border into Russia from the Baltic nation of Latvia, RIA Novosti reported. Putin has often described her father, Anatoly Sobchak, the former mayor of St. Petersburg and democratic reformer, as a major influence on him when they worked together in the 1990s after the Soviet Union’s collapse.

Hungary Won’t Back EU Joint Funds for Ukraine (12:45 p.m.)

Hungary would block any European Union effort to jointly raise funds to help Ukraine, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto indicated, amid a dispute with the bloc over rule of law that is blocking Budapest’s access to recovery funds.

Hungary has provided support for Ukraine on a bilateral basis and will continue to do so, but it opposes doing this jointly with other EU member states, Szijjarto said Monday at a conference in Sofia. 

Equinor Steps Up Security Around North Sea Platforms (12:30 p.m.)

Equinor ASA stepped up protective measures around its offshore installations after explosions on the Nord Stream gas-pipeline system and an increase in drone activity around the company’s facilities, according to CEO Anders Opedal.

“It was kind of a stark reminder that someone has an intent and the capabilities actually to do this,” Opedal said in a Bloomberg interview on the sidelines of the UN climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh.

Ukraine Takes Delivery of More Air-Defense Systems (12:15 p.m.)

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov thanked the US, Spain and Norway for delivering NASAMS and Aspide air-defense systems, which he said would make the skies over the country safer.

“We will continue to shoot down the enemy targets attacking us,” Reznikov said in a tweet.

Nuclear Watchdog Assessing Impact of Possible Dam Blast (12 p.m.)

Ukraine’s nuclear watchdog said it’s “urgently” assessing the potential impact on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant of any blast damage to the Kakhovska hydroelectric facility and dam that the government in Kyiv has accused Russia of mining.

The report for regulator Energoatom is due no later than Wednesday, according to statement on Telegram. Any damage could cause a significant drop in the level of the Kakhovska reservoir, which supplies water for cooling the Zaporizhzhia plant.

Russian-Occupied Kherson Suffering Power Issues (11 a.m.)

The southern city of Kherson and the surrounding areas are experiencing problems with electricity supply and communications, according to a Ukrainian official for the Russian-occupied region.

Yuriy Sobolevskiy, deputy chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, said in a television interview that forced evacuations are continuing. He also accused Russia of spreading false information about Ukraine apparently planning to blow up a nearby dam, and said Russian forces are laying mines in city infrastructure and looting museums and medical facilities.

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