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Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has almost reached the eight-month mark. Officials reported widespread power outages after new, major Russian strikes early on Saturday morning on energy infrastructure in several cities across Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Moscow is deliberately slowing exports of grain from Ukrainian ports in a bid to prolong a global food crisis, with more than 150 ships waiting to gain access to Black Sea ports. Putin has repeatedly criticized the grain shipment agreement his government agreed to in July.
Iran may be sending more attack drones to help the Kremlin’s equipment-starved forces strike targets in Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the war with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Friday, the first announced call between the two since May. On the ground, Russian forces were said to have begun their withdrawal from the western Kherson region.
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Key Developments
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Blinken Says Iran May Be Sending More Drones to Russia
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Ukraine Crop Deal Fears Boost Food Costs and Slow Shipments
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IMF to Advance Monitoring Program Work as Ukraine Seeks Aid
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Russia Threatens Flooding With Mined Dam, Zelenskiy Tells EU
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Ukraine Grain and Dollar’s Threat to Food Security: Supply Lines
On the Ground
Several Ukrainian regions faced airstrikes overnight as the Kremlin continues to deliberately target civil infrastructure. Russia’s troops hit a village in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, and shelled the Nikopol district in the Dnipropetrovsk region and the central Cherkasy region, according to local authorities’ social networks. Explosions were also heard in the Kmelnytskyi region in the Ukraine’s west and in other regions. Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, was also hit in past day, with 11 civilians injured after a missile attack on an industrial facility, according to local governor. The Ukrainian aviation carried out 16 strikes on Russian military facilities, air defense shot down a Russian Su-25 aircraft and one Orlan-10 unmanned complex.
(All times CET)
Germany’s Scholz Says Rebuilding Ukraine Must be Global Effort (10 a.m.)
Rebuilding Ukraine will be a task the European Union can’t shoulder alone as it’s an effort that will require financing for decades, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a video statement.
Scholz, as part of Germany’s G7 presidency, will host a conference in Berlin on Tuesday to discuss what investments are needed and how to organize funding, he said.
The gathering is meant to send “a sign of hope now, in the midst of the horror of war, that things are looking up again,” he said.
Widespread Strikes Continue on Energy Facilities (9:30 a.m)
Russian forces made multiple strikes on Ukraine’s power plants and other energy infrastructure on Saturday, including in western and central regions as well in the Odesa region on the Black Sea coast. Targeting of power and water facilities increased on Oct. 10 and has continued.
Ukraine’s power grid operator NPC Ukrenergo limited electricity supplies in Kyiv and at least ten other regions.
Targeting of civilian infrastructure has increased as Kremlin troops have suffered multiple setbacks on the battlefield, including what now looks like a retreat from the southeastern Kherson region.
Russian Forces in Kherson Prepare for Street Battles, Withdrawal (8:30 a.m.)
A significant part of the population of Kherson has left, and remaining Russian military in the city dress in civilian clothes and have moved into abandoned buildings in the southeastern city, Ukraine’s military said.
The Institute for the Study of War said Russia’s withdrawal from western Kherson oblast has begun, weeks after the region was illegally annexed by Putin. The troops likely intend to continue their retreat for several weeks, “but may struggle to withdraw in good order if Ukrainian forces choose to attack,” the US-based think tank said.
Russia “will likely attempt to blow up the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant to cover their withdrawal,” ISW said. Zelenskiy and other officials have warned of the potential for Russia to blow up the dam and called for urgent international intervention.
Zelenskiy Blames Russia for Massive Grain Ship Backlog (8 a.m.)
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia is attempting to undermine the safe-transit deal for three Black Sea ports it agreed to in late July and creating a backlog of “more than 150 ships” waiting to load wheat, corn and other products.
“This is an artificial queue,” Zelenskiy said Friday in his nightly video address. “It arose only because Russia is deliberately delaying the passage of ships.”
Ukraine has shipped more than 8 million tons of farm products since August, but “under-exported” about 3 million tons because of the shipment delays, Zelenskiy said, estimating that at “the annual volume consumption of 10 million people.”
Read more: Ukraine Crop Deal Fears Boost Food Costs and Slow Shipments
Blinken Warns of More Iranian Drones on Battlefield (3:30 a.m.)
Blinken said more Iranian military drones may be on their way to Russian forces, as the US reiterated its condemnation of Tehran for aiding President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
“We believe that Russia’s received dozens of these UAVs so far from Iran, with more potentially in the works,” Blinken told reporters at a briefing alongside French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on Friday, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.
Blinken spoke a day after the White House accused Iran of sending trainers and technicians to Crimea to help advise and support Russian attacks on Ukrainian targets. He added that the US was working to counter Iran’s efforts and bolster Ukraine’s ability to ward off attacks.
IMF, Ukraine Advance Work on Monitoring Program (4:48 p.m.)
The International Monetary Fund said it will “advance work” on a monitoring program with Ukraine as the government seeks to secure billions of dollars in aid after almost eight months of war.
Andriy Pyshnyi, Ukraine’s new central bank governor, and Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko held talks in Vienna this week with officials of the Washington-based lender.
Ukraine is seeking to borrow as much as $20 billion from the IMF to shore up its foreign reserves and budget as Russia’s invasion inflicts an economic contraction of more than 30% this year.
Infrastructure Aid Pouring in, Ukraine PM Tells Cabinet (4:30 p.m.)
The US has disbursed $55 million for the repair and maintenance of Ukraine’s gas pipelines, part of multinational aid after recent Russian attacks, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said.
Electrical power distribution equipment and parts are on the way from Belgium, Poland, Germany, Italy and other countries to Ukraine’s Ukrenergo, he said.
Separately, Shmyhal called for the UN, European Union and others to mount a monitoring mission to the occupied Kakhovska heating power plant, which Ukraine says has been mined by Russian forces ahead of a possible dam explosion on the Dnipro River above Kherson.
Russian, US Defense Chiefs Speak for First Time Since May (3:22 p.m.)
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the Ukraine war and other global security issues with US counterpart Lloyd Austin, Tass said, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
The brief report provided no other details of the phone call. In a separate readout, the Pentagon said Austin “emphasized the importance of maintaining lines of communication amid the ongoing war.” The US last announced a call between the two on May 13.
Austin also spoke on Friday with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, the Pentagon said.
EU Considers Naming Sanctions Envoy (3 p.m.)
The European Union may name a senior official to serve as sanctions envoy to help the bloc counter efforts to circumvent its sanctions on Russia, said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Our experience is that it is very helpful to send this sanctions envoy, for example, to third countries to be very clear about what we observe,” she said.
In its most recent sanctions package, the bloc added a provision that authorizes sanctions on people and entities who send EU goods to Russia via third countries, an expansion of the EU’s reach that von der Leyen called “a very strong deterrent.”
Ukraine Restores Infrastructure, Logs Crimes in Kharkiv, Kherson (3:08 p.m.)
Ukrainian law enforcement have recorded almost 1,700 cases of military crimes by Russian occupants in 551 liberated settlements in the Kharkiv region, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential staff, said in a video statement. In 88 settlements already de-occupied in the Kherson region, 165 cases have been registered so far.
Energy infrastructure and other critical services are being restored in both regions as thousands of civilian buildings and facilities were damaged by Russian attacks, especially. Liberated towns and villages in the Kharkiv region are being supplied with equipment for power generation and for heating, Tymoshenko said.
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