A barrage of Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities prompted the country’s grid operator to halt three nuclear power plants and enact emergency blackouts across the country.
(Bloomberg) — A barrage of Russian missile strikes against Ukrainian energy facilities prompted the country’s grid operator to halt three nuclear power plants and enact emergency blackouts across the country.
The southern leg of Russia’s giant Druzhba oil pipeline to Europe was partly halted in Ukraine, according to Transneft PJSC, which operates the system in Russia.
The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, a move that lawmakers hope will help hold leaders accountable for war crimes.
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Key Developments
- Ukraine Rattled as Russian Attacks Hit Energy Infrastructure
- IMF Reaches Deal With Ukraine, Paving Way for Billions in Aid
- Russia’s Big Crude Oil Pipeline Via Ukraine Is Partly Halted
- EU Set to Soften Russian Oil Price Cap Plan Before Approval
- Europe Faces the First Test of Its Winter Energy Resilience
On the Ground
Aside from the Russian attacks against energy infrastructure across Ukraine, Putin’s forces hit a maternity ward in the Zaporizhzhia region with missiles overnight, killing a newborn, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Telegram.
Ukraine said the eastern front was at center of Russia’s attacks, especially in Bakhmut and Avdiyivka. Strikes in Kyiv and Vyshhorod, north of the capital, killed at least seven people and wounded 32, officials said.
(All times CET)
US Defense Chief Says Russia’s Short of Munitions (4:29 p.m.)
Russia’s stock of precision-guided artillery munitions “has been significantly reduced” and can’t be rapidly replenished because of trade restrictions on computer chips, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters who traveled with him to Cambodia.
“We’ll see if they’re able to go back on the offensive or it’s going to be a break in time before they’re able to regenerate the capability they think they need,” he said, adding that he hasn’t seen evidence of additional large-scale Russian troop mobilizations so far.
Biden Authorizes $400 Million More for Defense Aid to Ukraine (4:27 p.m.)
The US is providing up to $400 million in defense articles, military edication and training to Ukraine, the White House said in a document signed by President Joe Biden.
Moldova Restores Power After Nationwide Blackout (4:02 p.m.)
All of Moldova, including the capital Chisinau and the pro-Russia separatist territory of Transnistria, was briefly without power, according to Maciek Wozniak, a Polish adviser to the Moldovan state utility Energocom.
For about two hours there was “no water and phone lines,” or working traffic lights, he said in a text message exchange.
The cause was likely a domino effect from missile Russian strikes around the Ukrainian city of Odesa that had shut down the region’s grid, according to Wozniak, including a high voltage line from Romania that since last month has carried most of Moldova’s electricity.
Ukraine Halts Nuclear Power Plants on Grid Damage (3:41 p.m.)
Ukrainian power company Energoatom said it disconnected its South Ukrainian, Rivne and Khmelnytska nuclear plants from the power grid after Russian missile strikes damaged power lines and the plants have no place to transmit power.
Energoatom said on Telegram that the units will be reconnected once the grid is back to normal.
Russia’s Big Crude Oil Pipeline Via Ukraine Is Partly Halted (3:38 p.m.)
The southern leg of Russia’s giant Druzhba oil pipeline to Europe was partly halted in Ukraine, according to Transneft PJSC, which operates the system in Russia.
The leg feeds refineries in Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
Crude flows are for the time being continuing from Belarus to an intake point in Brody, Ukraine, but from that point there are no onward flows, Igor Dyomin, a Transneft spokesman, said by phone.
If Ukraine doesn’t resume oil flows from Brody, then oil deliveries from Belarus will be halted as well, he added.
IMF and Ukrainian Authorities Reach Staff Level Pact (2:50 p.m.)
Ukraine reached a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund that may open a path to a financial lifeline as the war-battered nation seeks as much as $20 billion to shore up its reserves and budget needs.
The deal between Kyiv and the Washington-based lender is a so-called staff-level agreement aimed at establishing a full lending program to unlock billions in financing next year if the government meets conditions, according to the lender’s statement on Wednesday.
The four-month program “will provide an anchor for macroeconomic policies and catalyze donor support,” Gavin Gray, who led the IMF mission, said in a statement.
All Ukrainian Regions Have Emergency Power Cuts (2:42 p.m.)
Grid operator Ukrenergo said that emergency power cuts were being enacted in all regions after the widespread Russian attacks on infrastructure.
Ukrenergo, commenting in a statement on Facebook, said power cuts were needed to prevent further technical failures in the energy system after severe damage from repeated strikes since mid-October.
Kyiv Mayor Says Russian Missile Hit Infrastructure Facility (2 p.m.)
A missile fired by Russian forces hit a piece infrastructure in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram, without elaborating.
Following blasts in Kyiv, power momentarily shut off in part of the city before coming back on, according to eye witnesses.
Emergency services were deployed to the sites, Klitschko said.
European Parliament Declares Russia State Sponsor of Terrorism (12:44 p.m.)
The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution to declare Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, to pave the way for President Vladimir Putin and his government to be held accountable for war crimes before an international tribunal.
The resolution calls on EU member states to swiftly complete work on a ninth sanctions package against Moscow.
EBRD Helps to Shore Up Critical Industries (12:35 p.m.)
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is giving a €50 million guarantee to back lending to critical industries in Ukraine.
The lender was issuing risk-sharing instruments to three local banks and a leasing company.
EU Considers Imposing Price Cap of $65-$70 on Russian Oil (11:10 a.m.)
The EU, in coordination with G-7 nations, is discussing capping the price of Russian crude oil at between $65 and $70 a barrel, according to people familiar with the matter.
EU Considers Imposing Price Cap of $65-$70 on Russian Oil
Kyiv May Face Worst Winter Since WWII, Mayor Says (10:41 a.m.)
Kyiv authorities may have to evacuate parts of the city if the energy crisis worsens, Mayor Vitali Klitschko told Germany’s Bild newspaper.
The capital has to prepare for the worst scenario which would involve a wide-reaching blackout when temperatures drop further, Bild cited Klitschko as saying.
“We won’t just take our things and flee to the West, like Putin wants,” he said.
Germany Pledges Support Until War Ends (9:57 a.m.)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government will support the administration in Kyiv until Russia’s war is over.
“We will stick to this course — in solidarity with our closest allies — until this senseless, brutal, criminal war ends,” he told the lower house of parliament in Berlin.
“Russia must finally stop this war!”
UK Delivers Helicopters, Pledges Artillery Rounds (9:10 a.m.)
The UK said it completed its first delivery of helicopters to Ukraine and pledged an additional 10,000 artillery rounds, the Ministry of Defence said.
An undisclosed number of Sea King helicopters has been delivered to Ukraine to provide search and rescue capability, according to a statement from the ministry.
It comes after Britain’s Royal Navy provided 10 weeks of Sea King training for 10 Ukrainian crews in the UK.
NATO Allies Test Air and Missile Defense Capabilities (9:05 a.m.)
NATO allies are testing their air and missile defense capabilities in Romania on Wednesday, simulating an attack by a fighter jet and using a French MAMBA surface-based system to repel it.
The exercise comes a week after a missile landed on Polish soil, killing two, that was likely the result of Ukrainian forces fending off a barrage of missile attacks from Russia.
NATO has said the incident was likely caused by Ukrainian missile defense.
Putin Meets Fertilizer Tycoon Mazepin (8:30 a.m.)
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Dmitry Mazepin, an investor in the Uralchem-Uralkali fertilizer group, to discuss fertilizers shipments issues, state television reported.
Mazepin asked the president to help to re-start ammonium fertilizer shipments via Ukraine’s Odesa port as part of a grain shipment deal that was extended last week.
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