Russia attacked Kyiv for the second time since last Monday, striking the city center with Iranian-made drones laden with explosives. Four people were killed and residential buildings damaged, local authorities said.
(Bloomberg) — Russia attacked Kyiv for the second time since last Monday, striking the city center with Iranian-made drones laden with explosives.
Four people were killed and residential buildings damaged, local authorities said.
Foreign ministers of the European Union agreed to provide around 15,000 Ukrainians with training, including for combat, as soon as mid-November and signed off on an additional €500 million ($487 million) in weapons financing.
They were due to discuss reports about Iran’s military support for Russia’s invasion, the bloc’s policy chief Josep Borrell said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans a security council meeting this week, state media reported.
The group last met on Oct. 10, the day Moscow launched dozens of missile strikes across Ukraine.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Russia Hits Ukrainian Capital Kyiv With Kamikaze Drones
- How Russian Ships Are Laundering Grain Stolen From Occupied Ukraine
- Europe to Propose Dynamic Price Cap on Its Biggest Gas Exchange
- Europe Gas Drops to 3-Month Low as EU Plans More Crisis Measures
- Elon Musk’s Ego Muddies the War Effort: Lionel Laurent
On the Ground
Apart from the attack on Kyiv, an X-59 missile was fired from a Russian Su-35 aircraft from the direction of the Black Sea and hit an infrastructure facility in the Odesa region, Southern operational command said on Facebook.
On Sunday, 14 Ukrainian civilians were killed by Russian attacks and another 15 were injured, Tymoshenko said on Telegram. Russia attacked the Mykolaiv region with explosive-laden drones late Sunday, hitting industrial infrastructure and a pharmaceutical warehouse, Ukraine’s southern operational command said on Facebook.
(All times CET)
State-TV Journalist Who Protested War Left Russia, Lawyer Says
Marina Ovsyannikova, the state-TV journalist who gained international prominence by staging an anti-war protest on the country’s top news program, has left Russia with her daughter after fleeing house arrest, her lawyer said.
Ovsyannikova is “under the protection of a European country,” Dmitry Zkhvatov said, declining to specify where.
Put on Russia’s wanted list earlier this month, Ovsyannikova faced criminal charges under Russia’s new ‘fake news’ law for an anti-war protest held near the Kremlin over the summer.
She had been fighting a custody battle with her ex-husband over their daughter. A Moscow court Monday ruled in favor of the husband in the case.
EU to Train Thousands of Ukrainians for Combat (2:20 p.m.)
The bloc will train around 12,000 Ukrainian personnel as well as conduct specialized training for another 2,800 Ukrainians as soon as mid-November.
The mission’s mandate will initially last two years with a budget of more than 100 million euros, according to an EU statement.
Some of the training will take place in Poland, according to the EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.
The mission “is clear proof that the EU will stand by Ukraine for as long as is needed,” he said.
Georgia Questions Visa-Free Policy for Russians (2:10 p.m.)
The flow of Russians into Georgia is a “challenge” and may require a review of the visa-free regime, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said at a news conference in Moldova, where she held talks with Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu.
“We may have to revise the visa regime, which is quite liberal in the current situation and may be less acceptable in the circumstances of this aggression” by Russia against Ukraine, though it’s for the government to decide policy, said Zourabichvili, whose role is largely ceremonial.
Nearly 70,000 Russians fled to Georgia last month after Putin announced a partial mobilization Sept.
21 to bolster his forces in Ukraine. Tens of thousands had already left Russia for Georgia in the weeks following Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion.
Polish Company Helps Rebuild Infrastructure (12:45 p.m.)
Polish digital terrestrial television provider Emitel provided an additional 50 transmitters to Ukraine to help rebuild infrastructure damaged by Russian shelling, according to a company statement.
Since May, Emitel, owned by U.K. fund Cordiant, is running a logistics point in eastern Ukraine where it helps to prepare equipment necessary to maintain broadcasting of TV and radio signals.
‘Partial Mobilization’ Completed in Moscow, Mayor Says (12:20 p.m.)
Sergey Sobyanin, the mayor of Moscow, said on his website Monday that a “partial mobilization” had been completed in Russia’s largest city, and that collection points for the drafted would be closed at 2 p.m.
local time.
Putin ordered the call up Sept. 21, which aimed to draw 300,000 reservists. The mobilization has spurred an exodus of draft-age men from the country. Last Friday, Putin sought to reassure Russians by saying that the mobilization effort would wrap up in a couple of weeks and wouldn’t be extended.
Several Russian regions have recently reported the first losses among the mobilized.
Ukraine Says Blackouts Happening as Power Targeted in Attacks (12:15 p.m.)
Electricity infrastructure in central and northern Ukraine was damaged by Russian attacks, national power grid operator Ukrenergo said in a statement on Facebook.
The situation was currently under control and repairs were being made, but Ukrenergo did not rule out planned rolling blackouts.
Power supply in Lviv in western Ukraine is subject to rolling blackouts, regional governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram.
Power consumption must be limited to avoid emergency blackouts. The Lviv region has cut consumption by 10% Oct. 12, Kozytskyi said.
Russian Drones Hit Sunflower Oil Terminal in Mykolayiv (11:54 a.m.)
Russian drones damaged two huge tanks each containing 7,500 tons of sunflower oil, with oil leaking onto the street, Ukrayinska Pravda reported citing local news site Novyny-N and the Mykolayiv region’s spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk.
The terminal handled almost 17% of the world’s oil export, Pletenchuk said without giving details about ownership of the reservoirs.
Iran Becoming ‘Accomplice’ in War, Lithuanian Minister Says (11:26 a.m.)
“Iran, with its drones and missiles, is becoming an accomplice in the war, in a similar fashion as Belarus,” Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told reporters in Luxembourg, as his EU counterparts weigh whether to impose more sanctions on Iran after reports on alleged arms deliveries to Russia.
Iran’s foreign ministry has denied exporting any weapons for use in the war in Ukraine.
EU Backs New Iran Sanctions Amid Worries Tehran Is Aiding Russia
Nuclear Plant Again Disconnected From Power Grid (10:57 a.m.)
Russian shelling of critical infrastructure facilities Monday damaged the last line connecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to Ukraine’s power grid, Ukraine’s Energoatom reported on Telegram.
“The back-up transformer used for the ZapNPP’s own needs turned off and the diesel generators started,” the regulator said. Fuel for the generators was delivered to the station last week.
“Such nuclear blackmail by a terrorist country should not go unanswered by the world community!
Ukraine needs protection of the sky above its energy facilities!” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said on Facebook.
German Intelligence Expects More Russian Espionage (10:55 a.m.)
German intelligence services expect the fighting in Ukraine to continue next year and also warn of increasing Russian activities in Germany.
“Putin feels threatened by the attractiveness of the Western social model of freedom and democracy in Ukraine and its neighboring countries,” Bruno Kahl, the head of the Foreign Intelligence Service BND, told a public hearing in Berlin.
Putin will therefore continue to enforce his goals by military means.
Intelligence experts also expect an increase in Russian espionage and subversive activities in Germany, said Thomas Haldenwang, the head of the domestic intelligence service BfV.
Iran Denies Exporting Any Weapons for Use in Ukraine War (10:10 a.m.)
Iran is not a party in Russia’s war on Ukraine and has made efforts to end the conflict, Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani tells reporters in Tehran.
EU Ministers to Back More Funding for Ukraine Weapons (10 a.m.)
EU foreign ministers are set to sign off on an additional 500 million euros in financing for weapons sent to Ukraine, bringing the total support under the so-called European Peace Facility up to 3.1 billion euros.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told reporters before a meeting in Luxembourg it was important that ministers “are not just making clear that they’re standing with Ukraine, but that for all these measures we also bring the financial means.” She added they would agree on another 500 million euros through the facility and make sure Ukrainian soldiers get training.
Ukraine Shoots Down 37 Iranian Shahed Drones, Ministry Says (9:45 a.m.)
Ukrainian defense forces shot down 37 Iranian Shahed-136 drones and three cruise missiles launched by Russia in the past 13 hours, the Ukrainian defense ministry said on Twitter.
Drone attacks on Monday, including on the capital Kyiv, were made from the south, Air Force Command said in statement on Facebook. Between 75% and 80% of all drones launched are downed, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on television.
“The enemy can attack our cities, but it won’t be able to break us,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr ZelenskiyThe occupiers will get only fair punishment and condemnation of future generations.
And we will get victory.”
EU Foreign Ministers To Discuss Reports of Iran Support, Borrell Says (9:30 a.m.)
The EU’s foreign policy chief Borrell said the bloc’s foreign ministers would discuss reports about Iran’s military support for Russia in its war in Ukraine at their meeting in Luxembourg.
The ministers are set to sign off on sanctions against Iran over its violent crackdown on demonstrators protesting the death of a young Iranian women.
Asked about Iran reportedly sending missiles, in addition to drones, to Russia and whether these warrant added sanctions, Borrell said “this is something that will be discussed.” He told reporters that “we will look for concrete evidence of the participation that Iran in the strongest possible terms denies.”
Jean Asselborn, Luxembourg’s foreign minister, said ahead of the meeting that the bloc may need to take measures against Iran over its deliveries to Russia but that “we’re not there yet” as the EU still needs to analyze the information.
Germany Doesn’t Expect Winter Lull in Fighting (9 a.m.)
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said she’s not hopeful that the onset of winter will lead to a lull in the fighting in Ukraine.
“We mustn’t entertain the hope that calm will come,” Lambrecht said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF.
“We are seeing how Russia has changed its strategy in a very calculated way and is now attacking infrastructure and civilian targets,” she added. She promised Germany will supply Ukraine’s armed forces with equipment to help them cope with the colder conditions, including tents and power generators.
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