Iran’s foreign minister said the Islamic Republic sent drones to Russia “months before” Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the first admission of weapons shipments. He denied Tehran has sent missiles.
Ukrainian intelligence has recently said that Russian troops have received short-range ballistic missiles and are being trained to use them.
(Bloomberg) — Iran’s foreign minister said the Islamic Republic sent drones to Russia “months before” Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, the first admission of weapons shipments.
He denied Tehran has sent missiles. Ukrainian intelligence has recently said that Russian troops have received short-range ballistic missiles and are being trained to use them.
Ukraine’s grid operator will limit power supplies in Kyiv and seven northern and central regions on Saturday as it continues to struggle with severe damage from Russian strikes over the past month.
Over a dozen drones and missiles were shot down in the past day.
The Group of Seven nations vowed to hold Russia accountable for “war crimes” after recent attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, and slammed the Kremlin’s “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” in a statement released after a two-day meeting in Muenster, Germany.
(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)
Key Developments
- Xi Tells Scholz China Opposes Nuclear Force in Message to Putin
- US Announces $400 Million in Tanks and Missiles for Ukraine
- The Latest Russia Oil Mystery: Vostok Sale Announced Then Denied
- US National Security Advisor Visits Kyiv in Show of Support
On the Ground
Ukraine’s air defence troops shot down 11 Iranian-made Shahed-136 loitering drones, three another drones and two Kalibr cruise missiles launched by Russia over the past day, officials said.
Two Russian helicopters were shot down in Kherson region, Ukraine said. Russian forces conducted offensive actions in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka areas, Ukraine’s General Staff said. Defense force units repelled attacks in several settlements in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.
Russia launched six missile and 21 air strikes and carried out more than 60 rocket attacks. Targets ranged from Lviv in the far west to Kharkiv in the northeast to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Ukraine said it destroyed six Russian fuel stations in the Mykolaiv region on Friday.
(All times CET)
Iran Says It Sent Drones to Russia ‘Before the War’ (9 a.m.)
Iran’s foreign minister said his country had sent drones to Russia before Moscow’s invasion in February.
“We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Tehran, according to the Associated Press.
Iran has previous denied sending arms to Russia for its war on Ukraine.
Kremlin troops have used Iranian loitering drones to strike Ukrainian energy facilities and other targets for several weeks.
On Twitter, Iran’s government said it was “completely wrong” to claim Iran has provided missiles to Russia.
Iranian intelligence has indicated that Russian forces may already have received ballistic missiles from Tehran.
Kyiv, Several Other Regions Face Continued Electricity Cutoffs (8 a.m.)
Ukraine’s power grid will limit power supplies on Saturday to consumers in the capital, Kyiv, and in seven northern and central regions, said Ukrenergo, the main grid operator.
Irregular blackouts are likely during the day given higher electricity usage on Saturdays than during the workweek.
The nation continues to struggle to fix severe damage to electrical generating equipment from weeks of Russian missile and drone attacks.
Ukrainian Lines Holding in Donetsk, Zelenskiy Says (10:30 p.m.)
Fierce fighting took place this week in the Donetsk region towns of Bakhmut and Soledar and remain the most tense area of the front line, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly address on Friday.
“We hold our positions.”
Zelenskiy said that Russia has concealed its war losses from its people, and also lies to some foreign leaders “about its alleged readiness for negotiations.”
“When someone thinks about negotiations, he is not trying to deceive everyone around while sending thousands to death,” the president added said.
One Crop Vessel Left Ukraine Friday, Several Inbound Ships Cleared (8:22 p.m.)
One vessel carrying sunflower oil left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on Friday for Romania under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the Joint Coordination Centre said in a notice.
Currently, there are only two vessels under the Initiative at the Ukrainian ports.
On board inspections were concluded on seven inbound vessels, all of which were cleared to sail to Ukrainian ports.
US Announces $400 Million in New Security Assistance (5:06 p.m.)
The Biden administration announced $400 million in new security assistance for Ukraine, including refurbished Soviet-era T-72 tanks and the HAWK air-defense missiles that Ukraine has been seeking.
The package also includes more of the “Phoenix Ghost” drones that have been effective against Russian forces in the east.
The US and the Netherlands will split the cost of refurbishing 90 tanks in the Czech Republic, a Defense Department spokeswoman said.
Some tanks will arrive before the end of the year.
The Netherlands said the total value of its package would be €120m, of which €45m will be used for the T-72 tanks.
Read more: US Announces $400 Million in New Security Assistance for Ukraine
Russia Seeks Sanctions Relief for G-7 Creates ‘Mechanism’ to Defend Ukraine’s Key Infrastructure (2:30 p.m.)
The Group of Seven nations has agreed to coordinate assistance in repairing, restoring and protecting Ukraine’s energy and water facilities, which have been under a month of attacks from Kremlin troops.
In the statement following their meeting in Germany, the G-7 foreign ministers said they have established a “coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure.”
Strengthening Ukraine’s “civilian resilience” will be a focus of an international conference in Paris planned for Dec.
13, they said, adding that the group “will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
G-7 Vows to Hold Russia Accountable for ‘War Crimes’ (2 p.m.)
The Group of Seven condemned Russia’s recent move to “terrorize” Ukraine’s civilian population with ongoing, “indiscriminate” attacks against energy and water facilities that have left much of the nation in the dark.
Those strikes “constitute war crimes, and we reiterate our determination to ensure full accountability for these and crimes against humanity,” G-7 foreign ministers said in a statement following their meeting in Muenster, Germany.
The statement also condemned “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric” by the Kremlin.
“Any use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences,” the G-7 said, without laying out specific steps. The group reiterated a call to Belarus “to stop enabling Russia’s war” and said the Belarusian regime risks “overwhelming additional costs.”
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