Closing summary
It’s 9pm in Moscow and Kyiv. That’s it from me, Léonie Chao-Fong, and the Russia-Ukraine war blog today.
Here’s where we stand:
Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in the four provinces of Ukraine where Russia controls territory. The law gives far-reaching emergency powers to the Russian-installed heads of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which Russia recently proclaimed as annexed after sham referendums. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the announcement as the “pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians’ property”.
Putin has also ordered an “economic mobilisation” in six provinces that border Ukraine, plus Crimea and Sevastopol, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. He said he was granting additional authority to the leaders of all Russian provinces to maintain public order and increase production in support of Moscow’s war. The law also limits the freedom to move in and out of the eight provinces.
Russian officials have warned of a Ukrainian assault on the key southern city of Kherson. The head of the occupying administration in Kherson spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnieper River and into Russia as Moscow attempted to cling to the city before a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine announced on Tuesday that civilians were being “resettled” from Kherson, describing the military situation as “tense”.
The head of the Kherson regional military administration told people not to comply with the evacuation request. Residents are under pressure to leave. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show”.
Several Russian missiles have been shot down over Kyiv on Wednesday afternoon, its mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, said. Loud explosions were reported in the centre of the Ukrainian capital. Greek diplomats have confirmed that the country’s foreign minister, Nikos Dendias, who is visiting Ukraine, was forced to seek refuge in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Ukrainian forces shot down 13 “kamikaze” drones over Mykoliav overnight, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim.
Russia’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine are “acts of pure terror” that amount to war crimes, the head of the European Commission has said. Ursula von der Leyen’s remarks to the European parliament on Wednesday came after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without power or water as a result of Russian strikes, part of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible.
Ukrainian officials are working to create mobile power points after Russia launched new strikes against the country’s energy infrastructure, President Zelenskiy said. Zelenskiy held a “strategic meeting” with senior officials today to discuss measures to “eliminate the consequences in the event of a breakdown of the energy system of Ukraine”, he said on Telegram.
Kyiv has recently introduced a news blackout in the south of the country, leading to speculations that it was preparing a new major offensive on Kherson. “When the Ukrainians have a news blackout it means something is going on. They have always done this before when there is a big offensive push on,” Michael Clarke, a former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, told Sky News.
The cost to Ukraine of downing the “kamikaze” drones being fired at its cities vastly exceeds the sums paid by Russia in sourcing and launching the cheap Iranian-made technology, analysis suggests. The total cost to Russia of the failed drone attacks unleashed on Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts to be between $11.66m (£10.36m) and $17.9m (£15.9m). The estimated cost to Ukraine to bring down the drones stands at more than $28.14m (£25m).
The EU plans to impose sanctions on three senior Iranian military commanders and the company that develops drones believed to have been used in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The draft sanctions list, seen by the Guardian, is expected to be agreed within days, indicating EU ministers do not believe Iran’s denials that it has supplied Russia with the low-flying lethal weapons.
Israel’s defence minister has reiterated that the country will not sell weapons to Ukraine, despite a request from Kyiv for air defence supplies in the face of Russia’s growing use of Iranian-made drones. Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine but has refrained from sending military materiel.
The White House is taking “every step possible” to avoid a direct encounter between President Joe Biden and Vladimir Putin at the G20 summit in Indonesia next month, according to reports. US officials are also reportedly taking measures to avoid even a hallway run-in or photo meeting between the two leaders.
Putin will face “severe consequences” if he uses nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, Downing Street has said. Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has been in Washington for talks with his US counterpart amid reports the Russian leader could detonate a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea.
Updated
Germany’s president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has cancelled a planned visit to Kyiv on Thursday for security reasons, according to reports.
The decision was based on the advice of Germany’s foreign ministry, interior ministry and security authorities, the German newspaper Bild writes.
The visit will be rescheduled soon, the paper adds.
Updated
The White House is taking “every step possible” to avoid a direct encounter between President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at the G20 summit in Indonesia next month, according to reports.
US officials are also reportedly taking measures to avoid even a hallway run-in or photo meeting between the two leaders.
Biden told CNN last week he had no plans to meet with the Russian leader in Bali, but would make an exception if Putin was open to discussing the release of the US basketball star Brittney Griner.
Politico cites multiple US officials as saying there are no discussions between the Biden administration and the Kremlin to negotiate the freedom of American prisoners, including Griner.
The officials said Biden and Putin might cross paths at some point during the November summit, but US officials have ruled out a formal meeting.
William Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, said:
We know what President Biden thinks about President Putin: he thinks he’s a killer, he thinks he’s a war criminal. You don’t usually meet with killers and war criminals.
Updated
President Vladimir Putin declaring martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Russia is seeking to annex is a “desperate tactic” to try to assert control, a senior US official has said.
The US is not surprised that Putin has resorted to this move, the official told CNN, adding that the Russian leader’s latest announcement does not change the fact that he has no legitimate claims over sovereign Ukrainian territory.
US support for Ukrainians defending their sovereignty remains unchanged and continues, they added.
On the subject of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has said he has spoken with the Turkish leader.
Zelenskiy said he thanked Erdoğan for Turkey’s “unshakable” support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.
Continued a friendly dialog with 🇹🇷 President @RTErdogan. Thanked for the unshakable support of the territorial integrity, sovereignty of 🇺🇦. Noted Türkiye's special role in the Grain Initiative and its continuation. 🇺🇦 - 🇹🇷 interaction in the security sphere highly appreciated.
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 19, 2022
Updated
Erdoğan announces deal with Putin to create gas hub in Turkey
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has announced that he has agreed with Vladimir Putin to create a “gas hub” in Turkey, according to Russian state-owned media.
Addressing members of his AK party in parliament, Erdoğan cited Putin as saying that Europe can obtain its gas supply from the hub in Turkey while Russia’s supplies to Europe were disrupted by sanctions and leaks at key pipelines.
The two leaders discussed the creation of the gas hub at a face-to-face meeting last week in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana.
Updated
Ukrainian officials are working to create mobile power points after Russia launched new strikes against the country’s energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Zelenskiy held a “strategic meeting” with senior officials today to discuss measures to “eliminate the consequences in the event of a breakdown of the energy system of Ukraine”, he said on Telegram.
Zelenskiy said:
We are working to create mobile power points for the critical infrastructure of cities, towns and villages. We are preparing for various scenarios of possible consequences. Ukraine will defend itself. No matter what the enemy plans and does.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, earlier urged residents to save electricity as he announced heating season will begin tomorrow.
Updated
The European parliament has awarded the people of Ukraine its annual prize for freedom of thought to honour their fight against Russia’s invasion.
The award comes with prize money of €50,000 (£43,500), which the EU said would be distributed to representatives of Ukrainian civil society.
There is “no one more deserving of this prize” than Ukrainians, the European parliament president, Roberta Metsola, said.
She said:
They are standing up for what they believe in. Fighting for our values. Protecting democracy, freedom & rule of law. Risking their lives for us.
The prize, named after the late Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, was last year awarded to the jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny for his efforts to challenge Vladimir Putin’s grip on power.
Updated
President Vladimir Putin said he has signed a decree imposing martial law in the four Ukrainian regions he has declared annexed by Russia: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
He chaired a national security meeting to give additional powers to officials he installed in the Ukrainian regions. The announcement marks the latest escalation in order to try to counter Russian defeats after Ukraine started to force Russian troops out of eastern territories from September.
Updated
President Vladimir Putin’s declaration of martial law in the four provinces of Ukraine where Moscow controls territory “does not change anything” for Ukraine, Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said.
Podolyak described the martial law announcement as the “pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians’ property”.
"Martial law" implementation on the occupied territories by RF should be considered only as a pseudo-legalization of looting of Ukrainians’ property by another "regrouping". This does not change anything for Ukraine: we continue the liberation and deoccupation of our territories.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) October 19, 2022
Summary of the day so far
It’s 6pm in Kyiv and Moscow. Here’s where we stand:
Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in the four provinces of Ukraine where Russia controls territory. The law gives far-reaching emergency powers to the Russian-installed heads of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which Russia recently proclaimed as annexed after sham referendums.
Putin has also ordered an “economic mobilisation” in six provinces that border Ukraine, plus Crimea and Sevastopol, which Russian illegally annexed in 2014. He said he was granting additional authority to the leaders of all Russian provinces to maintain public order and increase production in support of Moscow’s war. The law also limits the freedom to move in and out of the eight provinces.
Russian officials have warned of a Ukrainian assault on the key southern city of Kherson. The head of the occupying administration in Kherson spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnieper River and into Russia as Moscow attempted to cling to the city before a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine announced on Tuesday that civilians were being “resettled” from Kherson, describing the military situation as “tense”.
The head of the Kherson regional military administration told people not to comply with the evacuation request. Residents are under pressure to leave. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show”.
Several Russian missiles have been shot down over Kyiv on Wednesday afternoon, its mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, said. Loud explosions were reported in the centre of the Ukrainian capital. Greek diplomats have confirmed that the country’s foreign minister, Nikos Dendias, who is visiting Ukraine, was forced to seek refuge in a bomb shelter in Kyiv. Ukrainian forces shot down 13 “kamikaze” drones over Mykoliav overnight, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim.
Russia’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine are “acts of pure terror” that amount to war crimes, the head of the European Commission has said. Ursula von der Leyen’s remarks to the European parliament on Wednesday came after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without power or water as a result of Russian strikes, part of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible.
Kyiv has recently introduced a news blackout in the south of the country, leading to speculations that it was preparing a new major offensive on Kherson. “When the Ukrainians have a news blackout it means something is going on. They have always done this before when there is a big offensive push on,” Michael Clarke, a former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, told Sky News.
The cost to Ukraine of downing the “kamikaze” drones being fired at its cities vastly exceeds the sums paid by Russia in sourcing and launching the cheap Iranian-made technology, analysis suggests. The total cost to Russia of the failed drone attacks unleashed on Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts to be between $11.66m (£10.36m) and $17.9m (£15.9m). The estimated cost to Ukraine to bring down the drones stands at more than $28.14m (£25m).
The EU plans to impose sanctions on three senior Iranian military commanders and the company that develops drones believed to have been used in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The draft sanctions list, seen by the Guardian, is expected to be agreed within days, indicating EU ministers do not believe Iran’s denials that it has supplied Russia with the low-flying lethal weapons.
Israel’s defence minister has reiterated that the country will not sell weapons to Ukraine, despite a request from Kyiv for air defence supplies in the face of Russia’s growing use of Iranian-made drones. Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine but has refrained from sending military materiel.
Putin will face “severe consequences” if he uses nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, Downing Street has said. Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has been in Washington for talks with his US counterpart amid reports the Russian leader could detonate a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea.
Finland’s main political parties have backed building a fence along parts of the country’s border with Russia, Finnish media have reported. Neighbouring Norway, now western Europe’s largest gas supplier and on high alert after last month’s suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, said it had arrested several Russian nationals carrying drones and camera equipment.
Silvio Berlusconi has allegedly said Vladimir Putin gave him 20 bottles of vodka for his birthday after he “re-established” relations with the Russian president. Italy’s three-time former prime minister, an old friend of Putin’s, is reported to have told a meeting of Forza Italia parliamentarians in Rome on Tuesday that the shipment of vodka was accompanied by a “very sweet letter”.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still here with all the latest from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Updated
Russia’s upper house of parliament has now approved President Vladimir Putin’s presidential decree declaring martial law in four Ukrainian regions.
The Federation Council has now approved Putin’s decree that was announced earlier today.
UK warns Putin of 'severe consequences' if he uses nuclear weapons
President Vladimir Putin will face “severe consequences” if he uses nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, Downing Street has said.
Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has been in Washington for talks with his US counterpart amid reports the Russian leader could detonate a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea.
Downing Street did not comment on Wallace’s meeting but said:
We are very clear with Putin that the use of nuclear weapons will lead to severe consequences.
The spokesperson added:
I would guide away from speculating on this as an issue. I think the public need to be reassured that we are taking a strong lead in this area.
I think it would be a mistake to be drawn into speculation on this rather than focusing on what we are seeing day by day, which is a senseless and barbaric attack on civilians across Ukraine.
The martial law measures announced by Vladimir Putin could be extended to anywhere in Russia “if necessary”, the Guardian’s Andrew Roth writes.
Point 3 of extra interest: Russian authorities can introduce martial law measures (travel bans, property seizures, curfews, etc.) anywhere in Russia "if necessary." So while martial law introduced in "annexed" territories, that could be extended anywhere, including to Moscow. https://t.co/82opzTNiDy
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) October 19, 2022
Updated
The all-clear has now sounded in Kyiv, but Reuters has a quick snap that the governor of the Ivano-Frankivsk region in western Ukraine has said that a thermal power station in Burshtyn has been attacked.
Updated
Here is a map showing the latest situation in the Kherson region, where Russian-imposed authorities say they are planning the mass removal of tens of thousands of civilians.
Finland’s main political parties have backed building a fence along parts of the country’s border with Russia, with work on a short pilot section expected to start as soon as funds have been allocated, Finnish media have reported.
Neighbouring Norway, now western Europe’s largest gas supplier and on high alert after last month’s suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines, said it had arrested several Russian nationals carrying drones and camera equipment.
The Finnish broadcaster YLE said a meeting on Tuesday evening between the prime minister, Sanna Marin, and representatives of all main parties had confirmed cross-party support for the plans, proposed last month by the Finnish border guard.
Helsinki is increasingly concerned about large-scale illegal crossings of the 830-mile (1,340km) eastern border it shares with Russia – the longest of any EU member – as thousands of Russians flee Moscow’s partial mobilisation in response to its faltering war in Ukraine.
Read more of Jon Henley’s report: Finland’s main parties back plans to build Russia border fence
Roman Starovoyt, governor of Kursk in Russia, which is one of eight areas bordering Ukraine that Vladimir Putin’s announcement today has put on to a special war economic footing, has posted a video to Telegram to say that the first meetings about the new measures will take place tomorrow, and “rapid response measures related to security in the region will be taken”.
He added: “At the moment, the introduction of new restrictions, including on movement in the whole region and beyond, is not introduced. In the border areas, as before, there is a permit regime.”
Updated
Oleksiy Kuleba, the governor of Kyiv region, has posted to Telegram to say that the air alert continues there. He says: “Air defence works in the region. We have shot down enemy objects, including martyrs [шахіди in Ukrainian].”
”Martyrs” is a reference to the Iranian manufactured Shahed-136 drones, which Ukraine has accused Russia of deploying.
Updated
Russian transport of people from Kherson dismissed as 'propaganda show' by Ukrainian official
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has described Russian announcements that they are to transport up to 60,000 people out of Kherson for safety reasons as “a propaganda show”.
He wrote on the Telegram messaging app: “The Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake newsletters about the shelling of the city by our army, and also arrange a propaganda show with evacuation.”
Yermak went on to describe it as “a rather primitive tactic, given that the armed forces do not fire at Ukrainian cities – this is done exclusively by Russian terrorists”.
Updated
Putin declares martial law in four annexed areas of occupied Ukraine
Andrew Roth in Moscow and Pjotr Sauer report for the Guardian:
Vladimir Putin has declared martial law in the four provinces of Ukraine where Russia controls territory after Russian officials warned of a looming Ukrainian assault on the key southern city of Kherson.
“We are working on solving very complex, large-scale tasks to ensure a reliable future for Russia, the future of our people,” the Russian president said in televised remarks to members of his security council.
The law, published on the Kremlin website, gives far-reaching emergency powers to the Russian-installed heads of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which Russia recently proclaimed as annexed after sham referendums.
The Kremlin decree also puts Russia on a stronger economic war-footing. Putin ordered an “economic mobilisation” in eight provinces bordering Ukraine, including Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. Putin said he was granting additional authority to the leaders of all Russian provinces to maintain public order and increase production in support of Moscow’s war, which is entering its eighth month. The law also limits the freedom to move in and out of eight Russian provinces bordering Ukraine.
Shortly after Putin’s statements, his spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said the government was not planning on closing the country’s international borders.
Read more of our report from Andrew Roth in Moscow and Pjotr Sauer: Putin declares martial law in annexed areas as Ukraine pushes offensive
Updated
Kyiv’s mayor says that the “heating season” will begin in Ukraine’s capital. In a message on Telegram, Vitali Klitschko announced:
Tomorrow, 20 October, we will start the heating season in the capital. All buildings, according to the technological schedule, will begin to be connected to the heat supply system.
We made the decision to start the heating season based, first of all, on weather conditions – gradual cooling and low temperature at night. Also, an important factor for the start of the heating season is the need to save electricity. So that the residents of Kyiv do not turn on electric heaters and air conditioners and do not overload the power supply system.
Updated
Israel’s defence minister has reiterated that the country will not sell weapons to Ukraine, despite a request from Kyiv for air defence supplies in the face of Russia’s growing use of Iranian-made drones.
In remarks to European ambassadors in a briefing on Wednesday, Benny Gantz said:
Israel supports and stands with Ukraine, Nato and the west.
This being said, I would like to emphasise that Israel will not deliver weapon systems to Ukraine due to a variety of operational considerations. We will continue to support Ukraine within our limitations, as we have done in the past.
“We are following Iran’s involvement in the war in Ukraine,” he added.
Israel has provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the invasion began in February. However, wary of the need to maintain relations with Russia – which facilitates Israeli operations against Iranian-backed actors in Syria – it has refrained from sending military materiel.
Israel has reportedly already begun sharing basic intelligence on Iran’s drone programme with Ukrainian officials. The Israeli daily Haaretz reported on Wednesday that Israel has also offered to assist Kyiv in creating a “life-saving civilian early-warning system” to protect against aerial attack.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, accused Tel Aviv of preparing to supply military aid to Ukraine in a Telegram message on Monday.
Updated
Several Russian missiles have been shot down over Kyiv, its mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, said, after loud explosions were reported in the centre of the Ukrainian capital.
In a post on Telegram, he wrote:
Air defence shot down several Russian missiles over Kyiv. Air raid alarm is still on! Stay in shelters! Air defence continues to work.
Updated
Greek diplomats have confirmed that the country’s foreign minister, Nikos Dendias, who is visiting Ukraine, has been forced to seek refuge in a bomb shelter in Kyiv.
Sirens sounded as the politician held talks in the Ukrainian capital with his counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba.
“The minister, his Ukrainian counterpart and the Greek delegation are well and are in a [bomb] shelter,” the leading Greek daily Kathimerini reported citing diplomatic sources.
Dendias arrived in Kyiv early this morning, travelling overnight on a train from Poland. Prior to talks with Kuleba being cut short, he laid a bouquet of red roses at the Memory Wall of Fallen Defenders of Ukraine in tribute to the men and women who have lost their lives since the Russian invasion began on 24 February.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Greek foreign ministry said:
This will be the minister’s third visit to Ukraine since the Russian invasion, as he has already visited Odesa, a city inextricably linked to Hellenism, twice.
Dendias, it said, was expected to reiterate the message that Greece “supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of all states and condemns revisionism, wherever it comes from”.
Ukraine has for centuries been home to a large ethnic Greek community. Much of the 200,000-strong minority is concentrated in Black Sea cities such as Odesa, although before the war as many as 150,000 ethnic Greeks were thought to live in the besieged city of Mariupol alone.
Addressing an Economist conference in Cyprus yesterday, Dendias said due to the ongoing hostilities, lines of communication had broken down, with authorities in Athens “only having partial access” to the diaspora Greeks.
“Our main concern remains its protection as well as the dispensation of justice for any war crimes that may have been committed,” he said, condemning Russia’s “illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories”.
Updated
Reuters’ Jake Cordell writes that the Kremlin’s actual decrees go much further than what Vladimir Putin said during his address to Russia’s security council.
The Kremlin's actual decrees go much further than Putin let on in his speech (as usual) on martial law, outlining sweeping new security measures, movement restrictions, vehicle checks and wholesale "economic mobilisation" across much of western & southern Russia
— Jake Cordell (@JakeCordell) October 19, 2022
Here’s what Vladimir Putin said this afternoon at Russia’s security council meeting, where he declared martial law in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow annexed.
The Russian president said:
We are working to solve very difficult large-scale tasks to ensure Russia’s security and safe future, to protect our people. Those who are on the frontlines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centres should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.
He also announced additional emergency powers to the heads of all regions of Russia but did not provide any details.
He said:
In the current situation, I consider it necessary to give additional powers to heads of all Russian regions.
Updated
In his address to Russia’s security council, Vladimir Putin issued a decree restricting movement in and out of eight regions adjoining Ukraine.
The measures apply to the southern regions of Krasnodar, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk and Rostov, which are all near Ukraine, and the territories of Crimea and Sevastopol, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
He also ordered a new coordination council to be established under the prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, to increase interaction between various government agencies in dealing with the fighting in Ukraine.
Updated
Vladimir Putin did not immediately spell out the steps that would be taken under martial law in the four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by Russia.
But legislation indicates it may involve restrictions on travel and public gatherings, tighter censorship and broader authority for law enforcement agencies.
Kevin Rothrock, an editor at the independent Russian news outlet Meduza, explains how declaring martial law gives the Kremlin tighter control of the occupied areas.
What does martial law entail? @faridaily_ lists some of the features: curfews, travel and residence restrictions, military censorship, more data hidden as classified, limits on and seizures of weapons and drugs, bans on labor strikes, forced defense labor, and a lot more.
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) October 19, 2022
Updated
Here’s the clip of Vladimir Putin declaring martial law in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia while at a televised meeting of Russia’s security council.
Putin also announced that extra security powers will be granted to the Russian-installed leaders of the occupied regions.
Russia’s federation council, which is scheduled to convene after the security council meeting ends, will then be expected to approve the declaration of martial law before it is official.
The Financial Times’ Max Seddon writes that Putin’s announcement is a clear response to Russia’s recent military setbacks as Ukraine’s counteroffensive advances.
Putin says he's introducing martial law in the four partially occupied Ukrainian regions he annexed last month. This is portrayed as a technicality – he said it de facto already exists – but is a clear response to recent military setbacks as Ukraine's counteroffensive advances. pic.twitter.com/zTOanR1N1C
— max seddon (@maxseddon) October 19, 2022
Updated
Putin imposes martial law in annexed territories in Ukraine
Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has announced that he has signed a decree imposing martial law in the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia, Russian state-owned news agency Tass is reporting.
The Russian leader is currently addressing a national security council meeting, as the Guardian’s Andrew Roth writes.
Putin has begun speaking. He is announcing the introduction of martial law in the four regions that were "annexed" from Ukraine.
— Andrew Roth (@Andrew__Roth) October 19, 2022
In televised remarks to council members, Putin said the steps he was ordering would increase the stability of the economy and industry and boost production in support of the military effort.
Putin said:
We are working on solving very complex, large-scale tasks to ensure a reliable future for Russia, the future of our people.
Updated
Multiple explosions heard in central Kyiv
Multiple explosions have been reported in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, just now.
Britain’s ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons, said the explosions are likely the Ukrainian air defence system in action.
Explosions heard in #Kyiv - likely air defence in action. I was at meetings in town so am now in a bomb shelter. Everyone here has pulled out a laptop or phone and got on with their work or they’re continuing meetings. Total calm.
— Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) October 19, 2022
This is from the Financial Times’ Christopher Miller:
Ukrainian surface-to-air defense is active over Kyiv. Several explosions seen and heard minutes ago. Here’s the sky over Kyiv. I just snapped this pic. pic.twitter.com/hAF3vF6Ah0
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 19, 2022
The European Union has provisionally agreed to impose sanctions over the use of Iranian-made drones in Russian strikes on Ukraine, according to three EU diplomats.
Sanctions experts agreed to a list of eight Iranian individuals and entities who would be added to the bloc’s sanctions blacklist in a meeting on Wednesday.
The list will be finalised in time for a meeting of European leaders starting late Thursday.
Nabila Massrali, a spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, said:
Now that we have gathered our own sufficient evidence work is ongoing in the (European) Council in view of a clear, swift and firm EU response.
On Monday, Borrell said evidence was still being gathered on the alleged Russian use of Iranian drones.
The cost to Ukraine of downing the ”kamikaze” drones being fired at its cities vastly exceeds the sums paid by Russia in sourcing and launching the cheap Iranian-made technology, analysis suggests.
A total of 161 Shahed-136 drones, one larger Shahed-129 and four even larger unmanned attack vehicles known as Mohajer-6s have been shot down by Ukrainian air defences in the last month.
With the price of the Iranian-made Shahed-136s standing at just €20,000 to €50,000 for each vehicle, the total cost to Russia of the failed drone attacks unleashed on Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts at the NGO Molfar to be between $11.66m (£10.36m) and $17.9m (£15.9m).
Ukraine has deployed a host of weaponry to bring the drones down, including MiG-29 jets, C-300 cruise missiles, Nasams ground defence systems and small-arms fire.
The estimated cost to Ukraine stands at more than $28.14m (£25m), according to the analysis, which is based on open sources. The data includes drones launched between 13 September and 17 October.
It highlights the low financial cost to Russia of the drone attacks, which are continuing to unleash terror in Ukraine, killing civilians and striking at the country’s energy infrastructure.
Artem Starosiek, Molfar’s chief executive, said the use of drones should nevertheless be seen as a sign of Moscow’s weakness.
Russia is losing this war. If they are ordering drones from Iran it means they don’t have their own weapons.
Updated
Madagascar’s foreign affairs minister, Richard Randriamandrato, has been sacked for voting at the UN to condemn Russia’s “attempted illegal annexation” of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine, according to sources.
The UN’s general assembly voted overwhelmingly last Wednesday in favour of a resolution that also reaffirmed the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.
Until last week, Madagascar always abstained during the various votes on resolutions related to the crisis in Ukraine.
Two senior officials at the office of Madagascar’s president, Andriy Rajoelina, told Reuters that Randriamandrato was sacked for being one of those who voted in support.
The Guardian’s Pjotr Sauer writes that Russian-installed officials in the occupied city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine have removed a monument to the forced starvation of the Holodomor famine of 1932-33.
Russian appointed officials in occupied Mariupol remove a Holodomor monument. Some “official” says Ukraine didn’t actually suffer that much compared to Russia and Kazakhstan. Another lady says it is better not to dwell too much on the past pic.twitter.com/fv71MdyhQR
— Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) October 19, 2022
Updated
A senior Ukrainian official has accused Russia of staging a “propaganda show” in occupied Kherson after Russian-installed officials said they were preparing to defend the city from imminent Ukrainian attack and urged civilians to evacuate.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, also denied that Kyiv’s troops were shelling the city in southern Ukraine.
In a post on Telegram, he wrote:
The Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake newsletters about the shelling of the city by our army, and also arrange a propaganda show with evacuation. Propaganda will not work.
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Russian social networking apps VKontake and Mail.RU have been restored to the iOS App Store after their parent company proved it wasn’t owned by a sanctioned entity, Apple says.
The two apps were removed from the App Store in September, after a wave of UK sanctions targeted the senior leadership of Gazprombank and Sberbank, state-owned banks that between them are believed to own around half of VK, the apps’ parent company.
But on Monday, they were restored to the App Store without explanation. The company was criticised by activists for the “opacity” with which it made its decision to remove and then reinstate the apps.
Apple says the reason for the reinstatement is because it is satisfied that the apps are not in violation of sanctions. In a statement, a company spokesperson said:
The apps from this developer were removed from the App Store, as required by law, after multiple requests were made to the developer to provide documentation to verify that they were not in violation of UK sanctions. Subsequent to the removal, the developer has provided the requisite information verifying that they are not majority owned or controlled by a sanctioned entity. Thus, the apps have been reinstated to the App Store.
VKontake is now available on every national app store. Mail.RU, however, remains unavailable in two countries: mainland China and Ukraine.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to the Ukrainian president, has warned Russia that “reality can hurt” after the Russian-installed leader of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson urged residents to evacuate amid escalating pressure from a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Less than a month has passed since the pompous announcement of Kherson annexation and solemn concert on the Red Square, as the self-proclaimed "city administration"...ceremoniously evacuates in anticipation of 🇺🇦 justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world.
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) October 19, 2022
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Russia's attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure are war crimes, says EU chief
Russia’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure in Ukraine are “acts of pure terror” that amount to war crimes, the head of the European Commission has said.
In a speech to lawmakers in the European parliament this morning, Ursula von der Leyen said:
Yesterday we saw again Russia’s targeted attacks against civilian infrastructure. This is marking another chapter in an already very cruel war. The international order is very clear. These are war crimes.
Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the clear aim to cut off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with the winter coming, these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such.
Russia’s attacks against civilian infrastructure, especially electricity, are war crimes.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 19, 2022
Cutting off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with winter coming - these are acts of pure terror.
And we have to call it as such. https://t.co/3WY743k1iH
Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Martin Belam to bring you all the latest developments on the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to drop me a message if you have anything to flag, you can reach me on Twitter or via email.
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Summary of the day so far …
The Russian-installed leader of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson, which Russia claims to have “annexed”, said this morning that authorities plan to evacuate 50-60,000 people over the next six days, amid escalating pressure from a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Governor Vladimir Saldo said authorities were moving civilians to the left bank of the Dnipro River in order to keep people safe and allow the military to “act resolutely”.
The new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine described the military situation as “tense”. “The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops,” Sergei Surovikin said in his first televised interview since being appointed earlier this month, adding that the situation was particularly difficult around the occupied southern city of Kherson.
Kyiv has recently introduced a news blackout in the south of the country, leading to speculations that it was preparing a new major offensive on Kherson. “When the Ukrainians have a news blackout it means something is going on. They have always done this before when there is a big offensive push on,” Michael Clarke, a former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, told Sky News.
The head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, said Russia launched rocket fire overnight on an energy facility, causing “serious destruction”.
Ukrainian forces shot down 13 “kamikaze” drones over Mykolaiv overnight, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim.
An attempt to retake control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) by boats loaded with Ukrainian special forces has been repulsed, according to one of the Russian-installed officials in occupied eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has withdrawn its ambassador to Kazakhstan following a row over Petro Vrublevsky’s comments about killing Russians.
The Belarus defence ministry said in a statement that it has begun summoning citizens to check their eligibility for military service, but that it is not planning mobilisation. The military registration and enlistment activities are strictly routine and are expected to be completed by the end of this year, it said.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, for now. I will be back later. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you for the next few hours.
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There are reported air alarms in the Mykolaiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions.
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Russian-installed leader of Kherson says 60,000 people to be evacuated over next six days
The Russian-installed leader of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson, which Russia claims to have “annexed”, said this morning that authorities plan to evacuate 50-60,000 people over the next six days, amid escalating pressure from a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Speaking on an online broadcast of Soloviev Live”, Vladimir Saldo said authorities were moving civilians to the left bank of the Dnipro in order to “keep people safe” and allow the military to “act resolutely”.
“I drove through the regional centre this morning. On the exterior, there was nothing to suggest there was a lot of pressure,” Saldo said.
“But when I arrived at the river port I saw that the boats were waiting and are already loaded with people ready to go to the left bank of the Dnipro,” he said, adding that the situation “is getting tense”.
Reuters reports he said an estimated 10,000 people a day would be moved over the next six days, and that some regions in Russia were being prepared to accept people. More than 5,000 people have already left Kherson in the last two days, Saldo said.
The River Dnipro flows through the Kherson region. The city of Kherson is to the north of the river, where Russia controls some territory. However, the bulk of the region is to the south of the Dnipro, which Russia fully occupies at present. There are limited crossings, one of which is the Antonovskiy Bridge, which has been a frequent target for Ukrainian attacks.
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Here is a video clip of the new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine announcing that civilians are being “resettled” away from the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, describing the military situation as “tense”.
Sergei Surovikin said the situation was particularly difficult around Kherson. Russian forces have been trying to hold off a Ukrainian counter-assault in the region that Moscow claimed to have annexed last month after staging its sham referendum.
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Kyiv withdraws ambassador to Kazakhstan following diplomatic row over 'killing Russians' remark
It appears there has been a resolution to the diplomatic standoff between Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia over Ukraine’s ambassador in Astana, Petro Vrublevsky. The ambassador is to be withdrawn.
Russia had called for him to be expelled after he gave an interview in which he made comments about “killing” Russians. He later apologised for the remarks. Kazakhstan did not expel him, which sparked criticism from Moscow.
Now it appears, according to reports from Agence France-Presse, that Astana has informed Kyiv of the “unacceptability” of Vrublevsky’s statement, and the Ukrainian president’s office has responded by recalling the ambassador.
At one point in the row, Kazakhstan had summoned the Russian ambassador for a dressing down about Moscow’s criticisms.
In August, Vrublevsky had said Ukrainians were “trying to kill as many Russians as possible” because the more they kill now, “the fewer our children will have to kill”.
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Reuters has a quick snap that Poland has signed an agreement to purchase 288 South Korean rocket artillery systems. It quotes defence minister Mariusz Błaszczak saying that the first “18 launchers that will be delivered to Poland next year will defend eastern Poland”.
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Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the head of government in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, has said on Telegram that overnight Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defence over Crimea and Sevastopol. The claims have not been independently verified.
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Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, has said that overnight in his region there was one air alert but otherwise everything was calm. He said that in the last 24 hours, 124 people arrived in the Lviv region on evacuation trains from the east of Ukraine, with 540 people evacuated to Poland.
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The UK’s foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has been questioned on Sky News this morning about defence secretary Ben Wallace’s dash to Washington, amid rumours that the trip was made because of US concerns about the potential use of nuclear weapons by Russia and the supply of arms for use in Ukraine from Iran. Cleverly said:
We would inevitably discuss a full range of stuff, but ultimately these conversations are a normal and regular part of what is, frankly, a very abnormal and perverse situation.
Of course there’s urgency, because civilians are being targeted in a new way, and so we have to respond to that. And our response has got to be done at pace, and there are conversations which, frankly, you don’t want to have over the telephone.
The Belarus defence ministry has said in a statement that it has begun summoning citizens to check their eligibility for military service, but that it is not planning mobilisation.
Reuters quotes the statement, saying: “The military registration and enlistment activities are strictly routine and are expected to be completed by the end of this year.”
Updated
Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) has been quoted by a DPR Telegram source as telling the Soloviev Live channel that “the situation is under control along the entire line of contact in the Donetsk direction”.
Donetsk is one of the four occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia has claimed to “annex”.
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Pro-Russian forces claim to have repulsed Ukrainian attempt to retake nuclear plant
An attempt to retake control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) by boats loaded with Ukrainian special forces has been repulsed, according to one of the Russian-installed officials in occupied eastern Ukraine.
The state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quotes Vladimir Rogov, one of the Russian-installed leaders in Zaporizhzhia, saying:
Last night , a large group of landing boats, crowded with militants of special operations forces, left the southern region of the city of Zaporizhzhia and other directions. The attempted landing was repulsed.
Rogov told the news agency that about 30 boats participated in the landing attempt, but that the situation was under control, and there were no plans to evacuate Enerhodar, the settlement attached to the ZNPP. RIA did not publish any evidence to back up the claims other than Rogov’s words.
Russian forces have occupied Europe’s largest nuclear power plant since the earliest days of the war. Both Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of firing on the power plant and risking a nuclear accident. Attempts to have the area declared a demilitarised zone for nuclear safety reasons have floundered. The ZNPP is located in Zaporizhzhia, one of the regions that Russia has claimed to “annex”.
Updated
Ukraine’s governor of Luhansk – one of the occupied regions that Russia claims to have annexed – has said that progress to “de-occupy” the region has been slower than the Ukrainian push in Kharkiv, because “it was in our region that all those soldiers who fled from Kharkiv oblast gathered”.
In a message on Telegram, Serhai Haidai also said that Ukrainian forces fighting to regain control of Luhansk face “freshly mobilised Russians, prisoners, and a lot of equipment and air defence [that] have arrived in Luhansk region”.
Haidai said that “the armed forces of Ukraine have developed a clear de-occupation plan and are clearly following it. When our military enter the liberated settlements we will offer the population evacuation for the winter period, and we will also work to provide people with heat, water, and communication.”
He also stated that “the leadership of the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic is gradually being replaced by representatives of Russia”.
The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
Ukrainian forces have shot down 13 “kamikaze” drones over Mykoliav overnight, according to the region’s governor, Vitaliy Kim.
He posted to Telegram to say that “the enemy attacked twice with ‘Shahed-136’ kamikaze drones. 13 of them were shot down on the territory of the region. Thus, 11 drones were shot down by the forces and means of anti-aircraft defence of the ‘Southern’ air command, and two more by soldiers of the national guard of Ukraine and the state border service of Ukraine.”
Kim also identified several areas of the region that had been shelled, but there was no indication of any casualties so far. The claims have not been independently verified.
Updated
That’s it from me, Helen Sullivan, for today. My colleague Martin Belam will take you through the latest for the next few hours.
If you look hard enough, you’ll spot faded yellow signs proclaiming “fallout shelter” around New York City. They are remnants of a cold war programme that signalled spaces within ordinary buildings – from schools to banks to the Brooklyn Bridge – with adequate supplies and walls thick enough for riding out a nuclear blast safely.
Many of these windowless shelters housed little more than rats and sewage before the practice was terminated in 1979. In 2017, the city’s department of education ordered the “misleading” signs removed from its buildings, but many others remain – vestiges of nuclear fears that never materialised.
Those fears feel a little more real again amid Vladimir Putin’s repeated nuclear threats. In July, New York mayor Eric Adams’s office published a public service announcement about what to do in case of a blast. A couple of weeks ago, nuclear preparedness reentered headlines when the Department of Health and Human Services announced it was buying a supply of the anti-radiation drug Nplate, though the agency denied it was in response to any specific threat.
All of this raises the question: are we better prepared today to survive a nuclear blast than we were 60 years ago, when it seemed all we could do was head to the basement and pray?
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Zaporizhzhia was also attacked overnight, with Russia firing on “critical infrastructure” in a village, according to the regional governor, Oleksandr Starukh.
“A fire broke out at the facility, which was quickly extinguished by rescuers. There are no casualties,” he said.
Updated
The head of Kryvyi Rih’s military administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, has posted an update on Telegram saying that Russia launched rocket fire overnight on an energy facility, causing “serious destruction” and shelling residential buildings.
Here is footage from yesterday’s attack:
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Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy administrator of the Kherson region, has just posted on Telegram saying that the “situation in Kherson is unchanged” this morning, and reiterating his warning that residents should leave because of the risk of shelling.
UK Ministry of Defence: 'major elements of Russia's military leadership dysfunctional'
The UK Ministry of Defence has published its daily update on the situation in Ukraine.
“Eight months into the invasion, major elements of Russia’s military leadership are increasingly dysfunctional. At the tactical level, there is almost certainly a worsening shortage of capable Russian junior officers to organise and lead newly mobilised reservists,” it said on Twitter.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 19 October 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 19, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/Q60IXHlkqX
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/iDL7P6QA77
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AFP has this report from Bakhmut, one of the last towns where Russian troops are still advancing.
Russia has been falling back in its offensive – but in Bakhmut, unlike across most of the frontline, Ukrainians are on the defensive. They face the “most difficult” challenges, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said this weekend.
Ukrainian troops still control the northern and western parts of the city, AFP journalists saw on Saturday.
Metal crosses and blocks of concrete mark the Ukrainian front line, dubbed “point zero”. No one is allowed past. Around it, in the “grey zone”, Russia is on the offensive.
Pro-Russian separatist forces have pressed ahead east and south of Bakhmut, relying on their base in the city of Donetsk about 100km (62 miles) away.
The retaking of the two villages raised fears that Russian forces, including Wagner paramilitary units, may have infiltrated the eastern part of the city, according to a British intelligence note.
On the ground, Ukrainian soldiers told AFP there was now close combat with members of pro-Russian forces.
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Here is more on the power plants destroyed in Ukraine:
Russia warns of fight for Kherson in ‘very near future’
Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy administrator of the Kherson region, has said in a Telegram message posted late on Tuesday that, ‘“In the very near future, the battle for Kherson will begin.”
“The civilian population is advised to leave the area of the forthcoming fierce hostilities, if possible, so as not to expose themselves to unnecessary risk,” Stremousov added.
The new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine announced on Tuesday that civilians were being “resettled” from the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, describing the military situation as “tense”.
“The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops,” Sergei Surovikin said in his first televised interview since being appointed earlier this month, adding that the situation was particularly difficult around the occupied southern city of Kherson.
Hundreds of thousands in Ukraine without water or power
Airstrikes cut power and water supplies to hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians on Tuesday, part of what the country’s president called an expanding Russian campaign to drive the nation into the cold and dark and make peace talks impossible.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nearly one-third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed in the past week, “causing massive blackouts across the country.”
“No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime,” he said.
Depriving people of water, electricity and heat as winter begins to bite, and the broadening use of so-called suicide drones that nosedive into targets have opened a new phase the war. The bombardments appear aimed at wearing down the notable resilience Ukrainians have shown in the nearly eight months since Moscow invaded.
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next while.
If you have questions or see news you think we may have missed, you can get in touch on Twitter here.
Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy administrator of the Kherson region, has said in a Telegram message posted late on Tuesday that, ‘“In the very near future, the battle for Kherson will begin.”
“The civilian population is advised to leave the area of the forthcoming fierce hostilities, if possible, so as not to expose themselves to unnecessary risk,” Stremousov added.
Meanwhile, the number of Ukranians without water or power has now reached hundreds of thousands, following targeted airstrikes by Russia.
Here are the other key recent developments:
The new commander of Moscow’s army in Ukraine announced that civilians were being “resettled” from the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, describing the military situation as “tense”. “The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops,” Sergei Surovikin said in his first televised interview since being appointed earlier this month, adding that the situation was particularly difficult around the occupied southern city of Kherson.
Kyiv has recently introduced a news blackout in the south of the country, leading to speculations that it was preparing a new major offensive on Kherson. “When the Ukrainians have a news blackout it means something is going on. They have always done this before when there is a big offensive push on,” Michael Clarke, a former director general of the Royal United Services Institute, told Sky News.
People in four towns in the Kherson region were being moved in anticipation of a “large-scale offensive”, the Russian-installed head of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, said in a video address. Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy administrator of the Kherson region, echoed the message on Telegram late on Tuesday: “The battle for Kherson will begin in the very near future. The civilian population is advised, if possible, to leave the area of the upcoming fierce hostilities.”
Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said on Thursday that Russia no longer sees a need to maintain a diplomatic presence in the west, the Daily Beast reports. “There is neither point nor desire to maintain the previous presence in western states. Our people work there in conditions that can hardly be called human,” Lavrov said, according to the Russian news agency Tass.
Military advisers from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were on Ukrainian soil at a Russian military base in occupied Crimea, the New York Times reports. The Iranians were reported to have been deployed to help Russian troops deal with problems with the Tehran-supplied fleet of Shahed-136 drones, rebranded as Geran-2 by the attackers.
Iran has deepened its commitment to supplying arms for Russia’s assault on Ukraine by agreeing to provide a batch of medium-range missiles, as well as large numbers of cheap but effective drones, according to US and Iranian security officials.
Russian airstrikes have destroyed 30% of Ukraine’s power stations since 10 October, causing massive blackouts across the country, said Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Russian strikes hit a power plant in Kyiv, killing three people, as well as energy infrastructure in Kharkiv in the east and Dnipro in the south. A man sheltering in an apartment building in the southern port city Mykolaiv was also killed and the northern Ukrainian city of Zhytomyr was without water or electricity.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said he was proposing a formal cut in diplomatic ties with Tehran after a wave of Russian attacks using what Kyiv says are Iranian-made drones. Iran has denied supplying drones and Russia has denied using them. Ukrainian intelligence said 1,750 drones, each costing only £20,000 to manufacture, have been delivered. They can be fired from mobile trucks and, despite their slow speeds, are hard to detect until the last minute.
Nato said Ukraine would receive anti-drone defence systems in coming days. Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said member countries would “step up” and deliver more air defences to help stabilise the situation.
Russia’s Duma has indefinitely stopped broadcasting live plenary sessions to protect information from “our enemy”, a leading lawmaker said.
Joe Biden is expected to announce Wednesday that he is releasing more oil from the US strategic reserve as part of a response to recent production cuts announced by nations in OPEC+.
Zelenskiy urged his troops to take more prisoners, saying this would make it easier to secure the release of soldiers being held by Russia.
The west should listen carefully when President Vladimir Putin talks about using nuclear weapons but should remember that it is more useful for him to threaten their use than to go ahead, the head of Norway’s armed forces told Reuters.
Ukraine’s state nuclear energy company accused Russia of “kidnapping” two senior staff at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. Energoatom said Russian forces on Monday “kidnapped” the head of information technology, Oleg Kostyukov, and the plant’s assistant general director, Oleg Osheka, and “took them to an unknown destination”.
Kevin McCarthy, the Republican leader in the US House of Representatives, warned on Tuesday that Congress would not “write a blank cheque to Ukraine” if his party wins next month’s midterm elections. Hours later, however, another senior Republican, Michael McCaul, said that he thought the Ukrainians should “get what they need” – including longer-range missiles than those the Biden administration has so far been prepared to supply.
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