Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region early Saturday, the grid operator Ukrenegro said, with emergency blackouts possible.
(Bloomberg) —
Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region early Saturday, the grid operator Ukrenegro said, with emergency blackouts possible.
It’s potentially one of the targets Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday was “not damaged as planned” during a barrage of more than 80 missiles strikes on Oct.
14. Putin said Russia would “renew” those attacks even while not planning “massive strikes” for now.
The Pentagon on Friday announced $725 million in additional security aid for Ukraine.
Putin said he has no regrets about the invasion of Ukraine, planned as a quick “special operation” and now well into its eighth month. The controversial mobilization of some 300,000 reservists is almost complete, Putin told reporters in Kazakhstan.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Russia Failed to Swap Out Western Military Parts: 2021 Audit
- Ukraine IT Sector Tested as Putin Bombs Civilian Infrastructure
- Musk’s Starlink Isn’t the Only Option for Ukraine, Pentagon Says
- Putin Says Has No Regrets About Ukraine Invasion After Reverses
- Musk Tweets Complicate US Diplomacy From Ukraine to Taiwan
- Canada Wants ‘Arsonist’ Russia to Be Barred From IMF and G-20
On the Ground
Russian forces launched missiles at the Kyiv region again overnight, with damage reported to energy systems.
Kamikaze drone attacks also took place in the Dnipro regions and Zaporizhzhia regions. Ukraine’s military estimates Russian still has about 300 Iranian-made drones with plans “to buy several thousand more.” Over the past 24 hours Russian troops have launched six rocket and 30 at infrastructure and civilian targets across Ukraine’s east and south, according to a General Staff update.
A large number of wounded people are being admitted to medical facilities in the regions annexed by Russia last month after a vote called illegal by the UN. Hospital overcrowding and a high mortality rate was reported in Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Russian casualties in the area include dozens of newly-mobilized forces, Ukraine said.
(All times CET)
Ukraine Expects ICRC Officials in East on Monday (1:57 p.m.)
Ukraine expects representatives of International Committee of the Red Cross to reach the “contact line” in the country’s east on Monday, Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, said on a video call with new ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric Egger.
Yermak urged Egger, who took up her post this month, to do everything possible to send the ICRC mission to the penal colony in Olenivka in the Donetsk region and to have access to prisoners of war.
“This is my priority,” Egger said on the call, according to a post on the presidential website.
In late July, more than 50 Ukrainian POWs were killed in shelling at the prison that Ukraine has blamed on Russia.
Moscow has said Kyiv was responsible for the attack.
First Russian Troops Arrive in Belarus for Joint Force (11:22 a.m.)
Russian forces have started arriving in Belarus to man the new joint force with troops there, the defense ministry in Minsk said on Saturday.
“The first convoys of Russian servicemen from the regional force group have arrived in Belarus,” the ministry said, saying their mission was to “strengthen the protection and defence of the border.”
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Monday that he and Russia’s president had agreed to deploy a regional grouping of forces.
Moscow launched its failed push toward Kyiv in February from Belarusian territory. Observers this week have cited the movement of Belarusian military equipment to Russia, potentially to shore up dwindling supplies.
Grid Operator Reports Russian Strike on Kyiv Region (9:10 a.m.)
Russian forces struck “critical” energy infrastructure in the Kyiv region, causing “severe destruction,” the grid operator Ukrenergo said on Facebook.
Repairs are under way.
Ukrenegro warned of potential emergency shutdowns and asked consumers to use power sparingly. “Such measures give our specialists the opportunity to stabilize the situation as soon as possible and carry out the necessary restorative work,” it said.
The strike comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that seven of 29 of sites targeted in a mass bombing of Ukraine earlier in the week “were not damaged as planned by the Defence Ministry,” and that “the attacks will be renewed.”
Russian Reservists Buy Own Body Armor at Inflated Prices, UK Says (8 a.m.)
Many newly-mobilized Russian reservists have been deployed to Ukraine this month with personal equipment “almost certainly lower than the already poor provision of previously deployed troops,” the UK defence ministry said.
Many reservists are likely being required to buy their own body armor including 6B45 vests, which are currently selling online in Russia for 40,000 rubles ($640), up from about 12,000 rubles in April, the UK said on Twitter.
Russian authorities in 2020 announced that 300,000 sets of the armor had been supplied to the Russian military, the UK said, suggesting much of the equipment has since gone astray.
Canada Wants ‘Arsonist’ Russia Banned From IMF, G-20 (6 a.m.)
Canada is pushing for Russia to be shunned from the international community entirely over its invasion of Ukraine, now approaching the eight-month mark.
Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland didn’t hold back on her opposition to Russian officials being at the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings this week.
“The IMF and World Bank meetings are meetings of the firefighters — of ministers and central bank governors, whose jobs is to protect the global economy,” Freeland, who’s of Ukrainian heritage, said Friday.
“Russia right now is the arsonist. Russia shouldn’t have been at the IMF meetings. Arsonists have no place in meetings of the firefighters.”
Russia Failed to End Reliance on Western Parts, Audit Shows (3:20 a.m.)
Even before sanctions cut off access to vital components and technologies for Putin’s defense industry, an internal Russian government review found years of attempts to reduce reliance on imports had largely failed.
Previously unreported assessments show a program with specific targets was put in place from 2019 to slash Russia’s dependence on Western parts for its arsenal by 2025 — everything from radar to advanced submarines to anti-missile defense systems.
But an internal review of the plan 10 months before Putin invaded Ukraine found it was falling short on almost every metric.
Read more: Russia Failed to Swap Out Western Military Parts: 2021 Audit
US to Give Another $725 Million in Security Aid (2:55 a.m.)
The Biden administration on Friday announced $725 million in additional security aid for Ukraine.
The package includes more ammunition for the HIMARS long-range artillery systems, which Ukraine has credited with helping its military counteroffensive in the east and south of the country by striking deep behind Russian lines.
“In the wake of Russia’s brutal missile attacks on civilians across Ukraine, the mounting evidence of atrocities by Russia’s forces, and the firm and unequivocal rejection by 143 nations at the United Nations of Russia’s illegal attempted annexation of parts of Ukraine, the United States is offering additional military assistance to help Ukraine’s proud defenders protect their country,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Zelenskiy Speaks to Saudi Crown Prince (1:50 a.m.)
Ukrainian President Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had spoken to Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, and expressed gratitude for his support of “Ukraine’s territorial integrity.”
“We agreed to interact in the release of prisoners of war.
We agreed on the provision of macro-financial aid to Ukraine,” Zelenskiy tweeted on Friday. His praise of crown prince came as the Biden administration has been engaged in an escalating and unusually public feud with the kingdom since OPEC+ announced an oil production cut.
In September, the Saudis helped broker an exchange that freed 215 Ukrainian prisoners of war for an ally of Putin and others held by Ukraine.
IAEA Says Back-Up Power to Nuclear Plant Is Restored (8:04 p.m.)
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet that backup power has been restored to the Russian-seized Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.
The plant has received additional fuel for its diesel generators, and now has at least 10 days worth in case external power is lost again, the UN agency said.
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