(Bloomberg) — Russia resumed its participation in the Black Sea grain-export deal after Moscow said it had received written guarantees from Ukraine that the safe-passage corridor will be used only for grain exports.
The decision was an abrupt reversal after President Vladimir Putin suspended the deal on Saturday following a strike on his naval forces off the port of Sevastopol. The United Nations coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative welcomed Russia’s return and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s efforts to help make it happen.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked the European Union to help restore electricity in his country, where the energy infrastructure has been damaged by a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks.
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Key Developments
- Ukraine’s First Lady Urges World to Resist Fatigue With the War
- Russia Resumes Ukraine Grain-Export Deal in Abrupt Reversal
- Russians Find Refuge From Putin in Europe’s New ‘Casablanca’
- Conflict in Ukraine Moves Toward ‘War of Drones’ as Winter Looms
- Europe’s Calmer Gas Markets Could Be Roiled Again by Price Cap
- Nord Stream Operator Finds Manmade Craters at Pipe Blast Site
On the Ground
Russian forces launched seven missile strikes and 47 air attacks over the past day, while Ukrainian troops shot-down six Shahed-136 loitering drones, Ukraine’s General Staff said on Facebook. The city of Nikopol in the central Dnipropetrovsk region was shelled overnight, local authorities said on Telegram. To the east, Russia conducts offensive operations in the directions of Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka, and Ukrainian forces repelled assaults near 12 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s military said.
(All times CET)
Ukraine First Lady Warns Against War Fatigue (9:40 p.m.)
Ukraine’s first lady said her country could perish if the world gives in to fatigue with the war begun by Russia’s invasion.
“Ukrainians are ready to endure in the dark, in the cold, the most terrible things, so the tragedies we’ve seen don’t happen again,” Olena Zelenska said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on the sidelines of the annual Web Summit conference in Lisbon. Zelenska, whose country has also endured attacks by Russian hackers and assault drones, urged caution in who gets their hands on the latest in technology.
“It can be used for murder as well as for rescue,” she said.
Erdogan Says He Discussed Grain Priorities With Putin (8:35 p.m.)
Erdogan said he discussed prioritizing grain exports to less-developed countries, including Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan, in a telephone call Tuesday with Putin.
“Let’s transfer the grain to these countries in the first phase,” he told the AHaber news channel in an interview Wednesday evening. “We spoke about this with Zelenskiy and Putin. We will widen our activities.”
Erdogan Cites Importance of Grain Shipments in Call (7:29 p.m.)
Erdogan held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Zelenskiy, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan noted the importance of “the continuation of the grain shipment agreement” during the call, according to the statement, while also saying diplomatic efforts must be increased for a “fair solution to end the war.”
Nord Stream Operator Finds Man-Made Craters at Pipe Blast Site (5:24 p.m.)
The operator of the Nord Stream pipeline said an initial survey found man-made craters on the seabed near the damaged gas link.
Nord Stream AG, led by Russian gas giant Gazprom PJSC, opened a probe in the Swedish zone of the Baltic Sea last week, following the explosions in September. The blasts damaged both lines of the idled Nord Stream and one line of the twin Nord Stream 2 pipelines that failed to start operations because of earlier sanctions.
Ukraine Resumes Gas Drilling in Areas Retaken From Russia (4:52 p.m.)
Ukraine’s state-run natural-gas extraction firm JSC Ukrgasvydobuvannya has regained control over drilling rigs in areas recaptured from Russia, the company said. Two have been repaired and drilling resumed in the country’s east. Rigs and drilling sites have been damaged and were subjected to looting, it said. A third rig is being repaired.
“Drilling of new wells has the most significant and sustainable impact in terms of providing the country with its own Ukrainian gas,” the company cited acting Ukrgasvydobuvannya CEO Oleksandr Romaniuk.
Spain Sends Air-Defense Systems, Anti-Tank Rockets, to Kyiv (3:49 p.m.)
Spain has provided an Aspide anti-aircraft missile complex, Hawk air-defense systems, anti-tank rockets, grenades and ammunition, which are on the way to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at a press conference with Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, in Kyiv.
Spain is also sending power generators to help cover energy needs and other humanitarian aid, including ambulances, Albares said. Spanish experts will participate in an investigation into alleged Russian crimes against humanity, he said.
US Says North Korea Covertly Sending Artillery Shells to Russia (3:40 p.m.)
The Biden administration accused North Korea of covertly supplying Russia with artillery shells for use in the Ukraine invasion despite previous denials that it planned to do so.
North Korea has provided Russia with a “significant number of artillery shells,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. He said North Korea is trying to mask the shipments’ destination by making it look like they’re going to the Middle East or North Africa.
Russia Reaffirms Commitment Not to Use Nuclear Weapons (2:49 p.m.)
Russia said it remains committed to a pledge made in January together with four other nuclear powers — China, the UK, France and the US — to avoid an atomic conflict. The nation’s doctrine is governed by the principle of “the unacceptability of nuclear war, in which there cannot be any winners,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
President Putin last week dialed back his increasing escalation of nuclear threats, saying there is “no point, either military or political” in a nuclear strike on Ukraine.
Poland Begins Building Fence on Border With Russia (12:58 p.m.)
Poland will begin the construction of a barbed-wire fence on its 210-kilometer (130-mile) border with Russia’s Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad to prevent the Kremlin from sending asylum-seekers into the country, Defense Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said.
With the airport in Kaliningrad open to flights from North Africa and the Middle East, Poland sees the risk of a migration crisis similar to what happened with Belarus last year, he told reporters in northeastern Poland, near the border with Kaliningrad. The barrier will be 2 1/2 meters tall (8 feet), with three layers of concertina wire, and work will start as early as Wednesday, according to the minister.
UK Sanctions Four Russian Steel, Petrochemical Tycoons (12:30 p.m.)
Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov have been targeted for their involvement in the extractive, transport and construction sectors. The business associates of Roman Abramovich previously owned major stakes in Russian steel manufacturer Evraz plc and are reported to have UK property investments worth about £100 million.
Airat Shaimiev and Albert Shigabutdinov were also sanctioned and, therefore, are subject to travel bans, asset freezes and transport sanctions.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the UK has sanctioned more than 1,200 people and 120 entities. The list includes more than 120 oligarchs with a net worth of more than £140 billion ($163 billion).
Estonia to Strip Gun Rights From Local Russian Nationals (12:15 p.m.)
Interior Minister Lauri Laanemets said in a statement that Estonia cannot “risk” granting gun licenses to citizens of a “hostile foreign country.” “They may feel in certain situations that they need to take up arms to defend the interests of their country of origin,” he said.
The government’s new rules would affect all non-EU and non-NATO nationals, but most of the 3,000 guns that would be taken away over the course of two years as a result are held by Russian citizens and Russian-speaking residents who have opted not to take either Russian or Estonian citizenship.
Russia Agrees to Let Grain Corridor Resume Operations (11:55 p.m.)
“The Russian Federation considers the guarantees received sufficient at the moment, and is resuming the implementation of the agreement,” the defense ministry said in a statement. It said it had received “written guarantees” from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor for military operations.
Russia Military Leaders Discussed Using Tactical Nuclear Weapons: NYT (11:50 a.m.)
Senior Russian military leaders discussed when and how Russia might use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, though Putin wasn’t part of the conversations, the New York Times reported, citing senior US officials it didn’t identify.
Intelligence on the conversations was circulated in the US government in mid-October, the Times said, noting that officials there still have seen no evidence Russia is moving such weapons into position or preparing for a strike.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the report, accusing the US of “pumping up” the nuclear issue. While Putin has been more circumspect, other officials have publicly called for using tactical nuclear weapons in the conflict.
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