The Biden administration announced a $1.1 billion package of additional weapons and equipment to Ukraine, including 18 more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
(Bloomberg) — The Biden administration announced a $1.1 billion package of additional weapons and equipment to Ukraine, including 18 more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced an eighth package of sanctions that will target Russia over its attempt to annex more territory in Ukraine. The measures will include a price cap on Russian oil exports. “We intend to make the Kremlin pay” for this further escalation, she said.
Separately, European allies were considering how to respond to a disruption of the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline as Russia threatened to cut off the last gas supplies to them via Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg, secretary general of the NATO military alliance, said after meeting Danish Defense Minister Morten Bodskov that they discussed “the protection of critical infrastructure.”
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Key Developments
- Ukraine’s Plea for Tanks Bogs Down as US, Germany Confront Risks
- Russia Declares Victory in Sham Ukraine ‘Referendums’
- Putin Raises Gas Pressure as He Moves to Annex Ukraine Lands
- Global Gas Scramble to Intensify After European Pipeline Blasts
- Iran’s Drones Are Cheap, Plentiful and Helping Russia in Ukraine
- EU Eyes Ban on Nationals in Top Jobs at Russia State Enterprises
On the Ground
Russia pounded Ukraine’s second largest city Kharkiv Tuesday evening, the regional governor Oleh Synyehubov said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties according to preliminary information. Air-defense forces shot down Russian missiles in the Mykolaiv, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, Ukrainian military’s southern command said on Facebook. Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attacks near eight settlements, Ukraine’s General Staff reported in its morning update. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report that Ukrainian forces consolidated positions on the eastern bank of the Oskil river and advanced further on the outskirts of Lyman in the Donetsk region, while continuing to target Russian supply lines as part of a southern counter-offensive.
All times CET:
EU Says Gas Price Cap Alone Risks Aggravating Energy Crisis (8:32 p.m.)
The European Union needs to rely on a combination of tools rather than market intervention alone to limit the effects of an energy crunch that has companies and households reeling from record power and gas bills, the bloc’s executive arm told governments on Wednesday.
Capping natural gas prices, a move urged by more than a half of member states seeking to quickly contain the crisis, risks increasing demand for the fuel rather than addressing its scarcity if imposed in isolation, the European Commission said in a document seen by Bloomberg News. The 27-member bloc is grappling to limit soaring energy costs after Russia cut supplies of natural gas following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
US Sending HIMARS Rockets, Armored Vehicles in $1.1 Billion Package (8:03 p.m.)
The Biden administration announced a $1.1 billion package of additional weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters that it includes 18 new High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, beyond the 16 already committed. She said “it also includes hundreds of armored vehicles, radars and counter drone systems.”
Jean-Pierre also said sham referendums conducted by Russia in occupied areas of Ukraine “were straight from the Kremlin playbook. They were manufactured and manipulated. Ukrainian civilians were forced to cast ballots under the watch of armed guards.”
Putin’s Approval Rating Falls Amid Partial Mobilization (7:51 p.m.)
Approval ratings for Putin fell to 77% in September from 83% in August, according to the latest poll by the independent Levada Center. The first drop in approval since April comes days after Putin ordered a partial mobilization last week. The poll found 21% of respondents don’t approve Putin’s actions as his nation’s leader, the highest since February, when Russia invaded Ukraine.
Finland Says Only a State Actor Capable of Nord Stream Sabotage (7:45 p.m.)
The rupture of the Nord Stream natural-gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea can only have been carried out by a state actor, Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto said.
“We’ve known that sabotage against critical infrastructure has been a realistic threat,” Haavisto told reporters in Helsinki on Wednesday. The acts appear to have been “deliberate” and “may have been intended to destabilize the Baltic Sea area,” Prime Minister Sanna Marin said at the same news conference.
Even so, the three leaks in international waters in the exclusive economic zones of Denmark and Sweden indicate no military threat against Finland, said Antti Kaikkonen, the defense minister. The military situation in Finland’s vicinity is stable and calm, he said.
Putin’s Draft Order Sparks Exodus of Russians (5:12 p.m.)
At least 200,000 Russians left the country after President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization order in a dash for safety that’s causing turmoil at the borders and stirring fears in neighboring states about potential instability from the influx.
While Russia hasn’t released official data, statistics from Georgia, Kazakhstan and the European Union showed the scale of the departures amid fears among conscription-age men that the Kremlin may close the border for them. The total is likely an underestimate as other nearby countries popular with Russians including Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkey haven’t disclosed arrival figures.
Scholz Rejects Russia’s ‘Pretend Referenda’ (5:03 p.m.)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held another telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and reiterated that the government in Berlin will “never recognize” the results of what he called “pretend referenda” in Russian occupied areas of Ukraine.
Scholz “stressed that Germany would not stop providing concrete political, financial and humanitarian support to Ukraine, as well as in the defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, including with weapons supplies,” according to an emailed statement from his spokesman.
EU Announces New Sanctions Package (4:16 p.m.)
The European Union proposed a new round of sanctions targeting Russia after Moscow announced a partial mobilization and staged widely condemned referendums on annexations in Ukrainian territory it’s occupying.
In addition to imposing a price cap on Russian oil, the measures will include an import ban on Russian products that will deprive Moscow of 7 billion euros ($6.7 billion) in revenue as well as export restrictions on aviation products, electronic components and chemical substances, von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels.
Sanctions need to be approved unanimously by the EU’s 27 member states before they can be imposed.
Read more: EU Plans New Russia Import Bans, Tech Curbs Over Putin Land Grab
Lithuania to Mull Further Security Measures For Infrastructure (12:40 a.m.)
Lithuania, which stepped up security for its strategic energy infrastructure in February when Russia invaded Ukraine, said the government will discuss whether additional measures are needed following the Nord Stream disruption. Energy Minister Dainius Kreivys said consultations will be held with the defense ministry and army officials.
Kremlin Rejects Claims Russia Sabotaged Nord Stream (11:50 a.m.)
Spokesman Peskov said it’s necessary to wait for an investigation to show whether “it was an explosion or a rupture.” He said Putin plans to meet with leaders of the occupied regions of Ukraine following the annexation votes, but declined to say when this would happen.
Zelenskiy Wants Preventive Measures Against Annexation, Nuclear Blackmail (11:10 a.m.)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking to Harvard University students via videolink, called for “preventive actions” – primarily sanctions – against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, attempts to annex territories and nuclear blackmail.
“Russian propagandists say that they expect strikes and annexations not only in Ukraine, but also in other countries – from Kazakhstan to the Baltic states, from Georgia to Moldova and Poland,” Zelenskiy said. “The Russian President is again saying that he wants to break the grain initiative, which provides food security for tens of millions of people,” Zelenskiy said, adding that Russia is doing all this because it sees a lack of preventive measures.
Finland Considers Building Fence on Russian Border (10:40 a.m.)
Finland’s Border Guard called for a fence to be built to secure the riskiest spots along the 1,300-kilometer border with Russia.
Finland should build as much as 260 kilometers of fence to help prevent potential uncontrolled mass-scale entry from the east, the Border Guard said in a press release. A physical barrier is “necessary” to slow and control any crowds, it said. The fence could cost “hundreds of millions of euros” with a final decision on funding resting with the government.
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