The Russian army has set up war equipment on the roof of the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. At the same time, the plant’s Ukrainian emergency workers are being put under pressure. What happened this Tuesday.
Russian army builds military equipment on the roof of occupied nuclear power plants
The Russian army has set up war equipment on the roof of the occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. This is apparently equipment for aerial reconnaissance, as announced by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
In addition, the previous Ukrainian employees are apparently revoked their access rights. The emergency workers would have to decide whether or not to sign a contract with the Russian nuclear operator Rosatom. It is said that the employees have to make a decision by December 1st.
Russia has bombed almost 40 percent of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure
After Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, there were power supply restrictions in the capital Kyiv and six other regions. The electricity will be switched off for customers at different times, said the energy supplier Ukrenerho on Tuesday in Kyiv. The regions of Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava are also affected.
Ukraine accuses Russia of “energy terrorism” designed to plunge people into darkness, cold and fear. Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin wants to drive people into the EU in order to destabilize the situation there with a large number of refugees, according to Kyiv.
In view of the massive damage to the energy network, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj called for EU aid for reconstruction. 40 percent of the energy system has been destroyed. During a visit by EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson, Zelenskyy asked her to coordinate aid for the reconstruction of destroyed plants.
Meanwhile, against Russia’s will, Ukrainian grain exports across the Black Sea initially continued on Tuesday – but were surprisingly suspended on Wednesday.
Moscow wants to continue strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
Russia will continue missile attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said. This would “effectively” destroy objects and reduce Ukraine’s military potential. Shoigu also announced that the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for military service in Ukraine had been completed. 87,000 of them are now in the combat zone. The others would continue their education.
More and more restrictions for Ukrainians
The population of Ukraine has had to live with restrictions for weeks: people are called upon to save electricity, especially during peak mornings and evenings. Washing machines and heaters should only run at night if possible, and unnecessary light sources should be switched off. In the Russian war of aggression against the neighboring country, which has been going on for more than eight months, the vital energy infrastructure has been the main target of the attacks for a good three weeks.
More than a million Ukrainians admitted to Germany
The Federal Government Commissioner for Integration, Reem Alabali-Radovan, stated on Tuesday that the number of refugees from Ukraine who had been taken in by Germany was more than one million. In addition, there were 160,000 people seeking protection from other countries, she said in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin”. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser recently warned that the increasing number of war refugees and asylum seekers was putting a heavy burden on the municipalities and that they were reaching the limits of their capacity.
Kyiv calls for Russia’s exclusion from G20
Ukraine again called for Russia to be expelled from the G20 because of the attacks. Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko said Putin must also be removed from the summit meeting of large industrialized and emerging countries in Bali, Indonesia, in mid-November. “Putin has publicly admitted to ordering rocket attacks on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure,” Nikolenko wrote on Twitter. “He must not sit at the table with world leaders with this blood on his hands.” Asked whether the attacks were in retaliation for the drone fire by the Russian Black Sea Fleet at its base in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, Putin said: ” Partly it is. But that’s not all we could have done.”
Moscow blames London for Nord Stream explosions
The government in Moscow again accused Great Britain of being involved in the destruction of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic Sea pipelines. The Russian secret services have the relevant information, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Moscow had also accused Britain of being involved in the drone strikes on Russian warships in Sevastopol. Britain, outraged, denied both allegations.
No grain exports by sea on Wednesday
The export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea is to be suspended for a day on Wednesday. The Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations, who, according to the grain agreement, work together in a specially set up center in Istanbul, had agreed on this, as the UN announced. This is a “temporary and exceptional measure”. A reason was not given.
Ukraine, Turkey and the UN had previously continued the sea transport of Ukrainian grain against the will of Russia on Tuesday – three more freighters left Ukrainian ports.
Praise Selenskyjs for the air defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underlined the successes of the air defense system after the Russian missile attacks on Monday. Of about 50 Russian cruise missiles and missiles, 45 were shot down, he said in his video message. He demanded that his country needed more weapons to defend itself against the attacks from the air. Russia already has to use more missiles to hit a target than it used to. The Iris-T air defense system supplied by Germany was praised by the Ukrainians as very accurate. Three more such interceptors are to follow next year.
Bomb allegation: IAEA begins inspections in Ukraine
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has started its planned inspections in Ukraine after Russian accusations that Kyiv wants to use a “dirty bomb”, as the head of the agency, Rafael Grossi, announced. Accordingly, two sites are checked to detect possible undeclared nuclear activities and materials. Kyiv had denied the Russian allegations and asked for an IAEA mission.
Ukraine sees threat from Iranian missiles
The Ukrainian army fears that in addition to drones, Russia will also buy medium-range missiles from Iran and use them against Ukraine. This is dangerous because Ukraine has no suitable defense weapons, said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat in Kyiv. “We have air defense, not missile defense,” he said. It is about Iranian-made ballistic missiles with ranges of 300 to 700 kilometers, which are similar to the Russian Iskander-M type surface-to-surface missiles.
Russian garrison also evacuates the south bank of the Dnipro
After the north bank of the Dnipro River, the Russian occupation in the Ukrainian region of Cherson is now also clearing a strip of civilians on the south bank. The action will be completed in three days at the most, said head of administration Vladimir Saldo on Russian television. It is about a 15-kilometer-wide strip on the southern bank. Saldo did not provide information on the number of civilians in the area. Russia has declared the Kherson region annexed.
Yewegny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, has warned that Russian elites and oligarchs will “live in a state of comfort” during the war and prevent Russia’s full mobilization. “As long as the oligarch children don’t go to war, there won’t be complete mobilization,” Prigozhin said. In the same context, Prigozhin announced a new Wagner Center in St. Petersburg, intended for IT specialists and startups.
Prigozhin wants to create a “comfortable environment for the development of new ideas to increase Russia’s defense capabilities, including information.” Prigozhin also accused the governor of the city of corruption. The US think tank “Institute for the Study of War” concludes from the latest developments that Prigozhin is trying to further expand his position and to play a decisive role in shaping the war.
Since the Russian military apparently still expects the Ukrainians to advance towards the city of Kherson, they continue to move troops and military installations across the Dnipro River. That sums up the analyzes of the US think tank “Institute for the Study of War”. Ukrainian military sources reported that Russian forces are preparing to move artillery units and weapons from the west bank of the Dnipro, possibly moving them to other directions.
Russian-backed Kherson occupation MP Kirill Stremousov stated that Russian forces have also started establishing positions in Bilozerka (6 km west of Kherson) and Chornobaivka (1 km north of Kherson). The fact that Russian collaborators are preparing the defense of Chornobaivka is particularly noteworthy, since Chornobaivka is the last settlement along the front line north of Cherson.
The current front line is less than 20 km northwest of Chornobaivka. The simultaneous evacuation of military installations from the west bank and preparations to defend critical areas around Kherson would indicate that Russian control of the west bank is seriously threatened, ISW said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy underlined the successes of the air defense after the day with heavy Russian missile attacks. Of about 50 Russian cruise missiles and missiles, 45 were shot down, he said in his video message. He demanded that his country needed more weapons to defend itself against the attacks from the air. Russia already has to use more missiles to hit a target than it used to.
With the rocket attacks, the Russian army has been pursuing a new tactic since October and is primarily targeting energy supply systems. Therefore, many states promised help to strengthen air defenses. The first of four Iris-T systems arrived from Germany, which the Ukrainians praise as very accurate.
The Russian Defense Ministry again accused Ukraine of abusing the protected sea corridor in a night-time drone attack on the Black Sea Fleet. The UN emergency aid coordinator Martin Griffiths opposed this view in New York. “If there are no Initiative ships in the area, the corridor has no special status,” he told the Security Council. On the night of the alleged attack on Saturday, there were also no cargo ships in the sea area. “The protected shipping corridor is not open at four in the morning.” Therefore, there was no violation of the agreements.
The IAEA has started its planned inspections in Ukraine after Russian accusations that Kyiv wants to use a “dirty bomb”, as the head of the agency Rafael Grossi announced on Monday. Accordingly, two sites are checked to detect possible undeclared nuclear activities and materials. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of working on a nuclear bomb. Kyiv had firmly denied the allegations and asked for an IAEA mission. Grossi wants to report on the results of the controls this week.
That will be important on Tuesday
Chancellor Scholz visits a plant of the chemical company BASF in Schwarzheide in Lusatia. It is also about the economic consequences of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. The chemical industry is one of the largest consumers of natural gas, which has become scarce and expensive.
Also read: The Ukraine update on 31. October.
