Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 638

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed the formation by western allies on Thursday of a 20-nation coalition to boost Ukrainian air defences, “enabling our cities and villages to be better protected”.

Zelenskiy said the group was formed at a virtual meeting of the Ramstein group examining Ukraine’s military needs. Germany said it and France would be taking on leading roles. “Not everything can be disclosed publicly at this time, but the Ukrainian air shield is becoming stronger every month,” Zelenskiy said.

Lithuania said it delivered a new package of military aid to Ukraine comprising three million bullets, remote detonation systems and winter equipment.

The Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta shipped a record high 29.4m tonnes of Ukrainian grain between January and October, Reuters reported, citing the port authority.

The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said he urged Vladimir Putin to end Moscow’s war on Ukraine and withdraw all troops, in the first G20 video call the Russian president participated in since the conflict. Speaking at the virtual G20 meeting, Putin said Russia had always been “ready for talks” to end the “tragedy” of war, but then blamed Kyiv for the lack of such talks.

Zelenskiy has said Ukraine’s troops face “difficult” defensive operations on parts of the eastern front as winter cold settles in. Forces in the south were still conducting offensive actions, he said.

Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is threatening to block Ukraine’s candidacy for membership of the EU. European leaders will meet on 14 and 15 December to discuss Ukraine’s EU bid.

The European Council president, Charles Michel, said he expected a “difficult” meeting next month about Ukraine joining the EU. He promised to do “everything in my power” to bring about a decision in December.

The EU has approved a further €1.5bn (£1.3bn) payment in macro financial assistance to Ukraine. It is the 10th payment made as part of an €18bn programme to keep the Ukrainian economy moving.

The Kremlin said there were “no revisions” to its policy of pardoning prisoners in exchange for fighting in Ukraine. It followed local media reports of a Russian “satanist” killer who was released.