Here is the situation as it stands on Saturday, November 5.
Fighting
- A Russian-installed official in the Ukrainian region of Kherson said a curfew is not in place in the besieged city after earlier saying a 24-hour curfew was imposed.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly endorsed the evacuation of civilians from parts of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, saying residents “should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer”.
- Russia’s defence ministry said “more than 5,000 civilians” are being evacuated from Kherson each day.
- Putin said Russia had mobilised 318,000 people into its armed forces, Interfax news agency reported. He also signed a law allowing the call-up of people who have committed serious crimes.
- About four million people across Ukraine are affected by rolling power cuts caused by Russia’s air attacks on the country’s electricity infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Diplomacy
- United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said during a visit to Kyiv that US support for Ukraine would remain “unwavering and unflinching” following Tuesday’s midterm congressional elections.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Group of Seven (G7) countries are focusing more of their security support on helping Ukraine defend against Russia’s attacks on its energy grid “that President Putin has brutalised”.
- Russia’s previously secretive Wagner Group, a private mercenary force, opened its first official headquarters in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg, marking another step by Putin’s close ally Yevgeny Prigozhin to publicise his military credentials and take a more public role in shaping Russia’s defence policy.
- Chinese President Xi Jinping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned threats to use atomic weapons in Ukraine, with Scholz warning that Russia risked “crossing a line” in the international community by resorting to nuclear force.
- The foreign ministers of the G7 said any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with “severe consequences”, and renewed their call on Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
Economy
- G7 countries will be ready with all the operational details of a price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil by December 5, when the measure is to kick into force, even though many details now remain to be settled, a senior US official said.
- G7 nations agreed to coordinate support for the reconstruction of Ukraine’s energy and water supplies following recent Russian attacks on the power grid that have caused widespread blackouts.
- The US announced an additional $400m of military aid for Ukraine, including paying for the refurbishment of 45 Czech T-72 tanks to be sent to Kyiv.
