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Vladimir Putin is driving inexperienced Russian soldiers “to their deaths” in an intense assault on Ukraine’s east, says Volodymyr Zelensky. Without referring to his Russian counterpart by name, Mr Zelensky said overnight that “very fierce Russian attacks in the Donetsk region continue”. “The enemy suffers serious losses there, but despite everything, despite any losses, he (Putin) continues to drive his mobilised soldiers and mercenaries to their deaths,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address. Mr Zelensky also said that Moscow could be planning more attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with millions of Ukrainians already without electricity in the war-hit country. This comes as Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko warned residents to prepare for the worst this winter – and possible evacuation from the capital – if it becomes impossible to provide energy to the city amid Russian bombing. Kyiv was having hourly rotating blackouts in parts of the city and the surrounding region on Sunday. Rolling blackouts were also planned in the Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava regions.
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Putin alarms Marcon with Hiroshima remark
Vladimir Putin told French president Emmanuel Macron that the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki show “you don’t need to attack major cities in order to end a war,” according to reports. The Mail on Sunday reported a French government source as saying the Russian president referenced Hiroshima in a call with Mr Macron which left the French president “distinctly alarmed”. The threat of a Russian atomic strike – particularly one with tactical nuclear weapons which are designed to cause devastation on the battlefield – has been speculated on at the highest level by Ukraine and its western allies. Reports in the US media said Washington had intelligence showing that senior Russian officials had recently held conversations to discuss when and how Moscow might use a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine. Read the full story here: Arpan Rai7 November 2022 05:32 1667798232
One killed after Russian shelling in Sumy
At least one person has been killed in a Russian shelling attack on Sumy oblast, officials said. The officials have accused Russia of firing more than 200 projectiles on Sunday, reported The Kyiv Independent. Smaller regions like Bilopillia, Esman, Vorozhba, Krasnopillia, Khotin, Seredyna-Buda, and Shalyhyne came under attack in which seven houses have been reported damaged due to the shelling. A local cemetery, two cars, one cafe and power lines have also been damaged in the attack, the official said. Arpan Rai7 November 2022 05:17 1667796833
‘Ukraine fatigue’ on talks with Putin causing concern – report
Officials in Kyiv and Washington have acknowledged that Volodymyr Zelensky’s refusal to engage in talks with Vladimir Putin is now causing concern in parts of Europe, Africa and Latin America as countries suffer an indirect hit from the war. “Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners,” an unnamed US official said, reported the Washington Post. The Russian war on Ukraine – which has killed thousands of civilians and forced an exodus of millions of Ukrainians – has hurt markets and seen rising costs of food and fuel worldwide. The Biden administration is said to be privately encouraging Ukraine to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia. The US State Department has publicly defended Zelensky’s position, saying Moscow is clearly still escalating the war and shows no signs of wanting to seriously consider peace talks. According to the report, the request by the US officials was not directed at bringing Ukraine to the negotiating table, unnamed sources told the Post. It was instead a calculated attempt to ensure Kyiv maintains the support of other nations, it added. Arpan Rai7 November 2022 04:53 1667795031
Russia planning more attacks on Ukraine’s energy sites, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russia is planning more assaults on Ukraine’s infrastructure, especially when it comes to energy production and distribution. He added that Kyiv is preparing to respond to the anticipated attacks. “We understand that the terrorist state is concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure. First of all, energy. In particular, for this, Russia needs Iranian missiles,” he said in his nightly address. More than 4.5 million Ukrainian consumers were already without power, Mr Zelensky added. Arpan Rai7 November 2022 04:23 1667791806
Fierce Russian attacks continue on Donetsk – Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Moscow of driving its mobilised soldiers to death while warning that attacks have soared in Russia-occupied Donetsk region. “Very fierce Russian attacks in the Donetsk region continue. The enemy suffers serious losses there, but despite everything, despite any losses, he continues to drive his mobilised soldiers and mercenaries to their deaths,” Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address. Arpan Rai7 November 2022 03:30 1667790000
Biden’s top aide Sullivan ‘held undisclosed talks with Russia’
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has reportedly held undisclosed talks with top Russian officials in hopes of reducing the risk of the war in Ukraine spilling over or escalating into a nuclear conflict. This is according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan (Andrew Harnik/The Associated Press) The newspaper cited US and allied officials as saying that Mr Sullivan, president Joe Biden’s top aide on national security, held confidential conversations in recent months with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and Russian Security Council secretary Nikolai Patrushev, that were not disclosed publicly. The White House declined to comment on the report, responding to questions about the story only with a statement attributed to National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson: “People claim a lot of things.” The Wall Street Journal said the officials did not provide the dates or the number of calls. Lamiat Sabin7 November 2022 03:00 1667786400
Zelenksy: ‘Iran’s supply of weapons to Russia prolongs war’
Volodymyr Zelensky said that Iran, which supplies Russia with weapons, should be held jointly responsible for the consequences of the war in Ukraine. He suggested that Iran supplying weapons has prolonged the conflict. In his nightly address, the Ukranian president said – after he discussed increasing pressure on the Iranian regime with the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday – that Iran’s “complicity in Russian terror must be punished.” An attack on buildings in Kyiv using Iranian-made drones (Roman Hrytsyna/Associated Press) He continued: “The whole world will know that the Iranian regime is helping Russia to continue this war. “And therefore to prolong the effect of those threats to the world that provoked precisely by the Russian war. “If it were not for the Iranian supply of weapons to the aggressor, we would be closer to peace by now, which means closer to a complete solution to the food crisis, closer to a solution to the cost of living crisis, to stabilization in the energy market, to reliable security against radiation blackmail, which Russia does not abandon. “Therefore, absolutely everyone who helps Russia to continue this war must be responsible for the consequences of this war along with it.” Lamiat Sabin7 November 2022 02:00 1667782800
Russian military archpriest Mikhail Vasiliev dies in Ukraine
A Russian priest, who said women would find it easier to send their sons to war if they had more children, has died in Ukraine. Mikhail Vasiliev died on Sunday (6 November) “in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine while carrying out pastoral duties,” the official website of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) says. He reportedly died of shrapnel wounds caused by a HIMARS explosion just metres away from him. The ROC said Mr Vasiliev had travelled for participation in “peacekeeping operations” in Kosovo, Bosnia, Abkhazia, Kyrgyzstan, the North Caucasus and Syria. He was the military archpriest of the church of St. Barbara the Great Martyr and the Venerable Ilya Muromets in Vlasikha, in the Moscow region. In October, Mr Vasiliev told the Spas (Saviour) TV channel that if women in Russia had more children, it would be easier for them to send their sons to war. The presenter had told him about a woman who hid her son in the Canary Islands to avoid conscription. He said: “The Lord has allowed each lady to give birth to many children. And if a lady, fulfilling this commandment to ‘be fruitful and multiply’, refused to use artificial pregnancy termination methods, in the widest sense, then obviously she would have more than one child. “And therefore, she would not find it so painful and terrifying to part with her child, even for a while. The devil is not so terrible as he is painted. Whom God helps, nobody can harm.” Lamiat Sabin7 November 2022 01:00 1667779260
Ukraine ‘to see drop in power by almost a third’
Ukraine faces a 32 per cent deficit in projected power supply, according to an energy CEO. Sergei Kovalenko, CEO of YASNO, a major supplier of energy to Kyiv, said on his Facebook page: “This is a lot, and it’s force majeure.” It comes as Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko warned residents to prepare for the worst this winter – and possible evacuation from the capital – if Russia keeps launching attacks on Ukraine’s energy network. Rolling blackouts have taken place in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava regions, Ukraine’s state-owned energy operator Ukrenergo said. Around…
