LONDON/KYIV: Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that his army could be fighting in Ukraine for a long time, but he stated that there will be no second call-up of troops for the time being.

Putin has rarely spoken about the length of a war he started more than nine months ago, but he told loyalists in a televised meeting on Wednesday that it could last for some time yet.

This can be a long process," he said.

Since July, Russia has been forced into a series of significant retreats in the face of Ukrainian counter-offensives in the east and south, which have been fought with increasing stocks of Western weaponry.

Russia launched its "special military operation" in February, claiming that Ukraine's growing ties with the West posed a security risk. Ukraine and its allies claim that the invasion is an imperialist land grab.

In his remarks, Putin said the risk of nuclear war was increasing, but that Russia would not recklessly threaten to use such weapons.

"We haven't gone insane; we understand what nuclear weapons are," Putin said. "We have more advanced and modern nuclear weapons than any other country... But we're not going to go around the world wielding this weapon like a razor."

In an interview published on Thursday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated that the risk of Putin using nuclear weapons had decreased as a result of international pressure.

According to Putin, of the 300,000 reservists activated in September and October, approximately 150,000 had been sent to Ukraine, with 77,000 being assigned to combat units. Still enrolled in training were the remaining 150.000.

Talking about any additional mobilization measures "simply makes no sense" in the circumstances, said Putin.

The partial mobilization order caused a brief downturn in the Russian economy, but it has since recovered, according to the central bank, and its disinflationary effects on lowering consumer demand have all but vanished.

Despite recent retreats on the battlefield, including the loss of Kherson, the one Ukrainian provincial capital Russia captured, Putin has said he has no regrets about launching a war that has become Europe's most devastating since World War Two.

He said Russia had achieved a "significant result" with the acquisition of "new territories" - a reference to the annexation of four partly occupied regions in September that Ukraine and most members of the United Nations condemned as illegal.

Russian shelling killed 10 people and wounded many in the town of Kurakhove in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

"These were peaceful people, ordinary people," said Zelenskiy, who was on Wednesday named Time magazine's 2022 "Person of the Year" for his leadership.

Fighting was fierce around the nearby town of Bakhmut.

"The enemy has become very active recently, it is on the offensive, their aviation is more active, there are continuous air intelligence missions," said a Ukrainian unit commander using the nom de guerre Bandera.

"All day yesterday, our positions were being shelled, their unmanned aerial vehicles were in the air all day."

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russia had resumed using Iranian-made drones, with Ukrainian forces downing 14 of them in 24 hours as they attacked settlements in west and central Ukraine.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the United Nations was examining "available information" about accusations Iran supplied Russia with drones as he faces Western pressure to send experts to Ukraine to inspect downed drones.

Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia, which has denied its forces use Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
Russian forces have fired more than 1,000 rockets and missiles at Ukraine's power grid, which is still working despite taking major damage, Interfax

Ukraine news agency reported on Wednesday, citing the chief executive of the Ukrenergo grid operator.

Recent Russian airstrikes on vital infrastructure in eight waves have seriously damaged the grid, causing unplanned and emergency blackouts across the nation, including in the capital city of Kyiv, which has a population of three million.

Mayor Vitali Klitschko expressed concern that if Russian airstrikes on infrastructure continue, this winter will be an "apocalypse" without electricity, running water, or heat. Although they should be prepared to do so, he said, residents did not currently need to evacuate.

Klitschko stated in an interview that Kyiv might be left without central heating during a time when temperatures can drop as low as -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit).