Summary
That’s it for today’s Ukraine live blog. Thank you for reading. Here’s a recap of what happened:
Moscow-backed self-appointed officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region have begun moving civilians into Russian territory, citing fears of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Russian-installed head of the key southern city, Vladimir Saldo, spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnipro River. Images of people using boats to flee the city were broadcast by Russian state TV. Authorities said about 15,000 people have now been “evacuated”.
Ukrainian officials described Russia’s announcements as “a propaganda show” and told people not to comply with the evacuation request. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show” as Kyiv said the population transfers amounted to “deportations”.
Russia’s recent admission that a “difficult situation has emerged” in the Kherson region is highly unusual and likely indicates that authorities are considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro River, British intelligence has said.
Ukraine began restricting electricity supplies across the country starting from 7am on Thursday in response to Russia’s strikes against its energy infrastructure. A barrage of more than 300 attacks have destroyed a third of all power plants across the country, President Zelenskiy said. Ukrainians will now need to prepare for “rolling blackouts” and people will have to conserve energy, the deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, warned.
A Russian air strike that hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday has caused “quite serious” damage, the region’s governor said on Thursday.
The UK is implementing new sanctions on three Iranian individuals and a business responsible for supplying Russia with drones used to bombard Ukraine. By supplying these drones Iran is “actively warmongering, profiting off Russia’s abhorrent attacks on Ukrainian citizens, and adding to the suffering of the people and the destruction of critical infrastructure”, a foreign office statement said. The assets of all four have been frozen and the individuals are also subject to travel bans.
Prior to the UK’s announcement, the EU agreed sanctions against the same business and three individuals for supplying Iranian drones to Russia that have been used to bomb Ukraine. Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow, while the Kremlin said the west is seeking to put “pressure” on Iran with accusations that Moscow is using drones made in the country.
A Russian aircraft released a missile near a British plane patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea on 29 September, the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, revealed. He told the House of Commons that the Russians blamed the incident on a “technical malfunction”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was using energy and hunger as weapons but has failed to break the west’s unity and will not achieve his war aims through scorched earth tactics. “We will not let Moscow’s latest escalation go unanswered. Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war. They will only strengthen the unity and resolve of Ukraine and its partners,” Scholz told the German parliament.
Nato allies will act if Sweden or Finland come under pressure from Russia or another adversary before they become full members of the alliance, Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Thursday.
Updated
More reporting from Patrick Wintour, this time on Russia threatening to reassess cooperation with the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, if he sends United Nations experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a UN resolution.
It comes hours after the UK followed the EU in implementing sanctions on one Iranian business and three individuals. Russia and Iran are both violating a UN security council resolution that controls the transfer of these weapons from Iran, the foreign office said.
Patrick writes:
Speaking after a closed-door UN security council meeting on Moscow’s use of drones, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyanskiy, called on Guterres and his staff to “abstain from engaging in any illegitimate investigation”. He also threatened Russia would withdraw from the grain deal that has allowed Ukrainian grain to be transported out of Black Sea ports.
Polyanskiy insisted the precision weapons had been made in Russia and condemned “baseless accusations and conspiracy theories”.
You can read Patrick’s report in full here: Russia threatens to ‘reassess collaboration’ with UN chief over drone inspection
In case you missed it earlier, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour, reported how MPs heard from the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, that a Russian fighter jet “released a missile” near a British aircraft over the Black Sea.
“We are incredibly lucky that the episode did not become worse,” said Wallace. He also accused Russia of sometimes acting recklessly by flying as close as 15ft (4.6 metres) to Nato aircraft.
The episode on 29 September has prompted Wallace to ensure that routine UK surveillance flights over the Black Sea, in place since 2019, were now escorted by armed aircraft.
He told the Commons the incident occurred in “international airspace”, adding that an “unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint” plane was “interacted with” by two Russian SU-27s, one of which “released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range”.
You can read Patrick’s report in full here: Russian fighter jet ‘released missile’ near RAF plane due to malfunction, MPs hear
Updated
UK sanctions Iran over drones used in Russian attacks on Ukraine
The UK is implementing new sanctions on three Iranian individuals and a business responsible for supplying Russia with drones used to bombard Ukraine, according to a statement from the foreign office.
Russia has launched dozens of “kamikaze” drones on Ukraine, hitting energy infrastructure and killing five people in the capital of Kyiv this week. Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow, while the Kremlin denied its forces had used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine on Tuesday.
By supplying these drones Iran is “actively warmongering, profiting off Russia’s abhorrent attacks on Ukrainian citizens, and adding to the suffering of the people and the destruction of critical infrastructure”, a foreign office statement said.
The UK has imposed sanctions on the same business and three individuals as the EU.
Shahed Aviation Industries, which the UK says manufactured the drones, is subject to an asset freeze. The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj Gen Mohammed Hossein Bagheri, logistics officer Gen Sayed Hojatollah Qureishi and Revolutionary Guards drone commander Brig Gen Saeed Aghajani, are subject to asset freezes and travel bans.
The foreign secretary, James Cleverly, said:
Iran’s support for Putin’s brutal and illegal war against Ukraine is deplorable. Today we are sanctioning those who have supplied the drones used by Russia to target Ukrainian civilians. This is clear evidence of Iran’s destabilising role in global security.
These cowardly drone strikes are an act of desperation. By enabling these strikes, these individuals and a manufacturer have caused the people of Ukraine untold suffering. We will ensure that they are held to account for their actions.
Iran’s support for Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine is further proof of its destabilising role in global security.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) October 20, 2022
We are sanctioning the suppliers of drones used for the cowardly strikes on civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine. https://t.co/NZVTyupI1z
Updated
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh has just filed a report from Kyiv, outlining why Ukraine is introducing an emergency schedule of power cuts. He writes:
The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said people needed to be “especially conscious of electricity consumption” from 7am and avoid using unnecessary appliances as he warned of local “stabilisation blackouts”.
Three energy facilities were destroyed by Russia on Wednesday, the president added, with a further strike reported in the region of the southern city of Kryvyi Rih overnight amid growing official alarm over the impact of the Russian campaign.
“We are preparing for all possible scenarios in view of the winter season. We assume that Russian terror will be directed at energy facilities until, with the help of partners, we ensure the ability to shoot down 100% of enemy missiles and drones,” Zelenskiy said in his overnight address.
You can read Dan’s report in full here: Ukraine plans power cuts after Russian strikes on plants
Russia has raided $16.2bn from its main foreign wealth fund to cover its budget deficit, AFP reports, as the invasion of Ukraine continues to weigh heavily on its public finances.
The finance ministry said the government had approved taking the funds from the national wealth fund “to finance budgetary expenses” and “ensure the budget’s equilibrium”.
It added the funds would be used primarily to “settle public debt and provide loans to regions”, as well as pay social benefits to Russian citizens.
Russian federal government spending from January to September increased by 21% from the same period last year, according to finance ministry data.
A government forecast published last month put the budget deficit this year at 0.9% of GDP. Russia’s national wealth fund stood at $188bn in October 2022, according to finance ministry data.
Updated
Russia has said the Red Cross had permission to visit a notorious prison where dozens of Ukrainian PoWs died in a July bombing strike but was blocked by the security situation.
Kyiv earlier this week accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of “inaction” over Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, saying a lack of visits to detained soldiers and civilians left them vulnerable to being tortured.
The ICRC said it shares in the frustration but stressed that it could only conduct visits when it was granted authorisation and security guarantees.
Each side in the conflict has blamed the other for the deadly 29 July strikes, while the United Nations has warned of dire sanitary conditions for those remaining in the facility.
Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador in Geneva, said the Russian defence ministry had granted permission for a Red Cross visit to Olenivka on 4 August.
“They gave the green light,” he told reporters during a briefing organised by the UN correspondents’ association, stressing though that “this situation is changing from the military point of view”.
In a statement on Friday, the ICRC said they had been seeking access to the prison but they did not have the ability to force their way in.
Under the Geneva Conventions, all parties to international armed conflicts are required to grant the ICRC access to all PoWs, to assess their situation.
The Guardian’s Daniel Boffey, who is currently based in Kyiv, reported earlier that analysis has found that the cost to Ukraine of downing “kamikaze” drones being fired at its cities vastly exceeds the sums paid by Russia in sourcing and launching the cheap Iranian-made technology. He writes:
With the price of the Iranian-made Shahed-136s standing at €20,000 to €50,000 for each vehicle, the total cost to Russia of the failed drone attacks unleashed on Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts at the NGO Molfar to be between $11.66m (£10.36m) and $17.9m (£15.9m).
Ukraine has deployed a host of weaponry to bring down the drones, including MiG-29 jets, C-300 cruise missiles, Nasams ground defence systems and small-arms fire.
The estimated cost to Ukraine stands at more than $28.14m (£25m), according to the analysis, which is based on open sources. The data includes drones launched between 13 September and 17 October.
It highlights the low financial cost to Russia of the drone attacks, which are continuing to unleash terror in Ukraine, killing civilians and striking at the country’s energy infrastructure.
You can read Daniel’s report in full here: Financial toll on Ukraine of downing drones ‘vastly exceeds Russian costs’
Updated
Russian-installed Kherson authorities say 15,000 'evacuated'
Russian-installed authorities in the annexed southern Ukrainian region of Kherson have said that about 15,000 people have been “evacuated” in the face of a Ukrainian advance, AFP reports.
“Around 15,000 people have listened to the [evacuation] recommendation of the leadership of the Kherson region,” a pro-Russian official, Kirill Stremousov, said on the messaging app Telegram.
He encouraged people to cross over to the left bank of the Dnieper to safety and posted a video of a column of buses.
Kherson’s Moscow-backed authorities announced the start of the so-called evacuations on Wednesday, with Kyiv denouncing the measures as “deportations” of its civilians to Russia.
But Stremousov called on the people of Kherson to follow Moscow-backed instructions.
“Give the military a chance to do what they have to do,” he said, while claiming that the Russian army will not surrender Kherson. “Remember, nobody is going to give up Kherson,” he added.
On Wednesday, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, introduced martial law in the four Ukrainian regions he claims to have annexed: Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Lugansk and Donetsk.
Updated
Moscow has had charges brought by the US against five Russian nationals for alleged sanctions violations as an attempt to intimidate the business community in Russia and abroad, its foreign ministry has said.
On Wednesday, US prosecutors charged the five with sanctions evasion and other violations related to shipping military technologies bought from US manufacturers to Russian buyers. Some of the electronics obtained through the scheme have been found in Russian weapons platforms seized in Ukraine, prosecutors said.
One of the people charged in the case was arrested in Germany and another was detained in Italy. According to the Reuters news agency, the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said:
The cynicism of this situation is that it is about taking hostages for further political gain. We view the detention of Russian citizens ... for their subsequent extradition to the US as a continuation of Washington’s large-scale campaign to capture Russians on whom the US has ‘claims’, with a view to their subsequent guaranteed conviction by US punitive justice for lengthy prison terms.
The charges came as Washington seeks to expand its sanctions and pressure on the Kremlin to stop the invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.
As part of Washington’s de facto involvement in Ukraine as a party to the conflict, there is another attempt to stage a showdown to intimidate the business community in Russia and abroad. It is clear that the hunt for Russian citizens by US law enforcement and intelligence agencies will only increase. Such hostile actions will of course not go unanswered.
Updated
Iran’s top diplomat has denied allegations that Tehran planned to send missiles to Russia for use in the Ukraine war.
It comes as the Czech republic, which holds the European Union’s rotating presidency, announced that the bloc had agreed sanctions against three individuals and one entity alleged to have supplied Iranian attack drones to Russia for use against Ukrainian targets.
Citing US and allied security officials, the Washington Post reported on Sunday that Tehran also planned to send Iranian surface-to-surface missiles to Russia.
Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said on Twitter:
During a telephone conversation with (EU foreign policy chief) Josep Borrell, I told him that our politics … is that we are opposed to the war and its escalation in Ukraine.
The allegation of sending Iranian missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine is without foundation.
We have cooperation in defence matters with Russia, but it is certainly not our politics to send arms and drones against Ukraine
Updated
Russia’s foreign ministry has welcomed the departure of Liz Truss as British prime minister, describing her as a “disgrace” of a leader who will be remembered for her “catastrophic illiteracy”.
Truss resigned earlier this afternoon after just 45 days in office – making her the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history – having crashed the markets, lost two key ministers and shed the confidence of almost all her own MPs.
“Britain has never known such a disgrace of a prime minister,” the Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said in a social media post.
Truss has been the target of withering comments from Moscow since she visited in February as part of a fruitless drive by western politicians to avert a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The claim of illiteracy appears to refer to that trip, when Truss was British foreign secretary. In a meeting with Russia’s veteran foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, she appeared to confuse two regions of Russia with Ukraine, triggering widespread mockery in Russian media.
Zakharova also mocked Truss’s high-profile photo shoot in Estonia last year, where she donned a flak jacket and helmet to ride in a tank during a visit to British troops stationed in the Baltic country.
Updated
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has made an impassioned plea at the world’s biggest publishing event for authors to write about the “terror” unleashed by Russia’s invasion.
Ukraine is in focus at this year’s edition of the Frankfurt book fair, with numerous authors and industry figures appearing throughout the week at the country’s large stand.
In a video address, Zelenskiy told the fair:
Instead of importing culture, Russia imports death.
So I ask you, please do everything to make people know about the terror that Russia brought to Ukraine.
Knowledge is the answer. Books, documentary scripts, articles, reports – these are the answers.
Zelenskiy’s wife, the first lady Olena Zelenska, is due to appear in person on Saturday, speaking at a side event.
Organisers and participants see such high-profile events as key to promoting Ukrainian culture in the face of what they say are attempts to wipe out the country’s identity with Russian propaganda.
Russian state institutions, which usually run their nation’s stand, have been banned, with prominent opponents of Vladimir Putin instead given the stage.
Updated
Russia’s foreign ministry said the west is seeking to put “pressure” on Tehran with accusations that Moscow is using Iran-made drones in Ukraine, claims that Russia and Iran deny.
Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing:
Everything that is now being done on the Iranian track is subordinated to one goal – pressure on this country. And Washington is mobilising Nato and EU countries for this in support of its position.
The European Union has announced sanctions against three Iranian generals and an arms firm accused of supplying Iranian drones to Russia that Kyiv says have been used for strikes on Ukraine.
Zakharova dismissed the drone accusations as “rumours”.
This is all nothing more than a set of unsubstantiated conclusions and far-fetched assumptions that Britain and France are trying to build into a structure and every time it collapses in front of everyone.
Updated
The EU has imposed sanctions on three Iranian generals and an arms firm accused of supplying Iranian drones to Russia that have been used to bomb Ukraine, AFP reports.
The names of the Iranian drone maker Shahed Aviation Industries and three top Iranian military officials were published in the EU official journal, adding them to the sanctions blacklist.
The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, Maj Gen Mohammed Hossein Bagheri, logistics officer Gen Sayed Hojatollah Qureishi and Revolutionary Guards drone commander Brig Gen Saeed Aghajani, were sanctioned.
“After three days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine,” the EU’s Czech presidency said on Twitter.
“The EU is also prepared to extend sanctions to four more Iranian entities that already featured in a previous sanctions list.”
On Monday, Ukraine accused Russia of using four Iranian-made drones to bomb Kyiv and said its air defences have shot down 223 Iranian drones since mid-September.
The Kremlin says it has no knowledge of its army using Iranian drones in Ukraine and Tehran has said the claims that it is providing Russia with weapons are “baseless”.
Updated
The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, has said he will be “announcing further sanctions in response to Iran’s supply of drones for use in attacking civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine” later today.
Later today I will be announcing further sanctions in response to Iran’s supply of drones for use in attacking civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) October 20, 2022
Iran cannot be allowed to violate UN resolutions.
Updated
Still speaking in the Commons, Ben Wallace has said a Russian fighter jet flew within 15 feet of a Nato aircraft – an action he described as “reckless” and “unnecessary”.
The defence secretary’s comments came after the Conservative chairwoman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, Alicia Kearns, asked him:
I am concerned about this escalation over the Black Sea and I know he has a close relationship with his Turkish counterpart, so could he please give us an insight into how he’s working with our allies in Turkey, Romania to protect air policing?
Wallace said one of the allies he discussed the incident with was in Turkey “at the time of that happening”.
He reiterated the UK does not consider it a “deliberate escalation” by the Russians but stressed “it is a reminder of quite how dangerous things can be when you choose to use your fighters in the manner that the Russians have done over many periods of time”. He added:
While this was obviously the release of a weapon, we have seen very, very close flying next to US, UK Nato assets over the last few years.
In one event I was aware of, a Russian fighter went within 15 feet of a Nato aircraft. You know that is reckless, unnecessary and puts at risk many people’s lives.
Updated
Following up on his statement regarding the aircraft incident over the Black Sea, the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, said the UK was not convinced by Iran’s denials of supplying Russia with drones used in Ukraine.
Likening the use of the drones to Nazi Germany’s bombings of the UK, Wallace told the Commons:
On the Iranian drones, the Ukrainians are having success shooting a number of them down. It is the sheer scale. Members will not have missed the similarity between the V-1 rockets and the use of this.
I would urge the Iranian government to understand that surely supplying Russia to indiscriminately kill civilians, women and children, babies in prams, is not an activity that Iran wants to be associated with.
And I would urge them to desist as soon as possible. And we are not convinced by the denials from the Iranian government at all that this is not being supplied by them.
We will however invest and use some of our funding ... to invest in what other novel capabilities we can find to deploy in the meantime.
We are continuing to supply and will step up our supply of our low velocity missiles into Ukraine to work with the Stormer system and also make sure that we can help with detection or electronic warfare schemes.
Updated
EU agrees sanctions over Iranian drones in Ukraine
The EU has agreed sanctions against three individuals and one entity supplying Iranian drones to Russia that have been used to bomb Ukraine, the EU’s Czech presidency has said.
“After 3 days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine,” the presidency said on Twitter.
It added: “EU states decided to freeze the assets of 3 individuals and 1 entity responsible for drone deliveries. The EU is also prepared to extend sanctions to 4 more Iranian entities that already featured in a previous sanctions list.”
The sanctions will come into force today.
Russia has launched dozens of “kamikaze” drones on Ukraine, hitting energy infrastructure and killing five people in the capital of Kyiv this week.
Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow, while the Kremlin denied its forces had used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine on Tuesday.
European council chief Charles Michel welcomed the move as he prepares to host the 27 EU leaders at a summit in Brussels this week. “We take swift action against Iran who supports Russia’s war in Ukraine,” he said.
The Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, said the sanctions were “aimed at the persons and entities that manufacture and supply the drones.
“This is our clear response to the Iranian regime providing Russia with drones, which it uses to murder innocent Ukrainian citizens,” he said.
Updated
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, concluded his report into the incident over the Black Sea by telling the Commons:
The UK ministry of defence has shared this information with allies and, after consultation, I have restarted routine patrols, but this time escorted by fighter aircraft.
Everything we do is considered calibrated with regard to ongoing conflict in the region and in accordance with international law.
We welcome Russia’s acknowledgement this was in international airspace, and the UK has conducted regular sorties with the RAF Rivet Joint in international airspace over the Black Sea since 2019 and we will continue to do so.
The shadow defence minister Luke Pollard thanked Wallace for his “calmness and professionalism” amid “much government chaos”. He said:
The RAF have this house’s full support and we are grateful to them, to other UK forces, and our Nato allies in their work protecting the alliance and protecting freedom,
This incident also acts as a serious reminder about the importance of avoiding escalation and miscalculation while continuing the UK’s united support for Ukraine.
He added: “[Vladimir] Putin needs to be in no doubt that our resolve will continue and, whether it’s his [Mr Wallace’s] party or my party that’s in charge, that will not change.”
He also asked about the government’s position on defence spending, saying: “Last night the chief of the defence staff, Adm Sir Tony Radakin, threw into doubt the planned rise to 3% of GDP on defence spending when in a speech he referred to it as a potential increase.”
Updated
Here’s the UK defence secretary Ben Wallace’s statement to parliament in full:
I would also like to share with the House details of a recent incident which occurred in international airspace over the Black Sea.
On 29 September an unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint, a civilian-style aircraft on routine patrol over the Black Sea was interacted with by two Russian armed SU-27 fighter aircraft.
It is not unusual for aircraft to be shadowed and this day was no different.
During that interaction however, it transpired that one of the SU-27 aircraft released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range.The total time of the interaction between the Russian aircraft and the Rivet Joint was approximately 90 minutes. The patrol completed and the aircraft returned to base.
Updated
Russian aircraft 'released missile' near British plane over Black Sea
A Russian aircraft released a missile near a British plane patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea on 29 September, the UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has said.
Wallace told parliament Britain had suspended patrols following the incident and expressed their concerns to Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
He said an “unarmed RAF RC-135 Rivet Joint” plane was “interacted with” by two Russian SU-27s, one of which “released a missile in the vicinity of the RAF Rivet Joint beyond visual range”.
Russia said it was a technical malfunction and Wallace said Britain has now resumed patrols. The patrols now have fighter aircraft escorts, he added.
The British defence secretary made a statement in the Commons after returning from a visit to see his US counterpart in Washington.
Updated
The British foreign secretary, James Cleverly, will make an announcement about sanctions concerning Iranian drones later today, a Foreign Office spokesperson has told Reuters.
Russia has launched dozens of “kamikaze” drones on Ukraine, hitting energy infrastructure and killing five people in the capital of Kyiv. Ukraine says they are Iranian-made Shahed-136 attack drones.
Tehran denies supplying the drones to Moscow and the Kremlin on Tuesday denied its forces had used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine.
Britain has condemned what it said was Iran’s decision to supply drones and training to Russia. “Iran supplying drones is inconsistent with UN security council resolution 2231 and is further evidence of the role Iran plays in undermining global security,” a foreign office spokesperson said.
The US, Britain and France said there is “abundant evidence” Russia is using Iranian drones to strike civilians in Ukraine during a meeting of the UN security council on Wednesday.
Updated
Russia has carried out more than 300 airstrikes on Ukraine’s power infrastructure since 10 October, according to Ukraine’s energy minister.
The Ukrainian government has placed restrictions on electricity usage nationwide for the first time since February, following a barrage of attacks which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said had struck a third of all power plants.
Under the new energy-saving regime, power supply across Ukraine was on Thursday restricted between 7am and 11pm.
Ukraine’s energy minister said the government was seeking a 20% reduction in energy use and that Ukrainians were responding to the appeal to limit usage.
“We see a drop in consumption,” he said. “We see a voluntary decrease. But when it is not enough, we are forced to bring in forced shutdowns,” Herman Halushchenko told Ukrainian TV.
One of the facilities hit on Wednesday was a coal-fired thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine.
Updated
As Ukrainian soldiers regain ground, AFP reports, they are capturing hundreds of military vehicles abandoned by fleeing Russians, turning some against the invading army.
Russia and its neighbour mostly use similar Soviet-era equipment, meaning Ukrainians often do not require major training to use any left behind.
Since August, Kyiv’s forces have reversed many of Russia’s early territorial gains, reclaiming swathes of land in the northeast and south of the country.
“The Ukrainians have captured a lot of land equipment,” said an analyst for British intelligence analysis firm Janes who asked to remain anonymous.
It is difficult to know exactly how many items have been seized, but Janes estimates at least 200 vehicles, 45 tanks, 70 infantry fighting vehicles, and 30 artillery pieces. Many seem to have been taken in the battle for the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
“In that region, troops did flee and they appear to have decided in large part that they could get away quicker in civilian vehicles than in armoured vehicles,” the analyst said.
In the southern Kherson region, AFP reporters saw around 20 tanks, as well as rocket launchers and transport vehicles, that appeared destroyed or damaged one morning this month. Just hours later, around six of them seemed to have been taken away.
Updated
A picture has emerged of the aftermath of the fire in north-eastern Germany.
Fourteen Ukrainian refugees and three employees who lived in the shelter were rescued when the former hotel in Mecklenburg-Pomerania burned down on Wednesday night.
“One thing must be clear to everyone: People fleeing war need our protection and support. We do not tolerate incitement and violence,” the state’s governor, Manuela Schwesig, said.
Police investigating the cause of the fire were looking into possible arson, the German news agency dpa reported.
Updated
Summary of the day so far …
Moscow-backed self-appointed officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region have begun moving civilians into Russian territory, citing fears of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Russian-installed head of the key southern city Vladimir Saldo spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnipro River. Images of people using boats to flee the city were broadcast by Russian state TV.
Ukrainian officials described Russia’s announcements as “a propaganda show” and told people not to comply with the evacuation request. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show” as Kyiv said the population transfers amounted to “deportations”.
Russia’s recent admission that a “difficult situation has emerged” in the Kherson region is highly unusual and likely indicates that authorities are considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro river, British intelligence has said.
Ukraine will begin restricting electricity supplies across the country starting from 7am today in response to Russia’s strikes against its energy infrastructure. Ukrainians will now need to prepare for “rolling blackouts” and people will have to conserve energy, the deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, warned.
A Russian air strike that hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday has caused “quite serious” damage, the region’s governor said on Thursday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was using energy and hunger as weapons but has failed to break the west’s unity and will not achieve his war aims through scorched earth tactics. “We will not let Moscow’s latest escalation go unanswered. Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war. They will only strengthen the unity and resolve of Ukraine and its partners,” Scholz told the German parliament.
Nato allies will act if Sweden or Finland come under pressure from Russia or another adversary before they become full members of the alliance, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
A shelter housing Ukrainian refugees in north-eastern Germany has gone up in flames overnight, in what authorities presume to be an arson attack.
Fire services were called to the thatched-roof building in Groß Strömkendorf, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at 9:20pm on Wednesday. Fourteen Ukrainian refugees who were inside the shelter at the time were able to leave unharmed, local media reported. Tino Schomann, the head of the local district authority, told broadcaster NDR:
Based on my years of experience as a firefighter I presume that this fire was set deliberately.
Police had paid a visit to the shelter the previous weekend, after a Red Cross logo on a sign outside the building had been graffitied to look like a swastika. The German interior minister Nancy Faeser expressed her horror at hearing news of the fire.
People who sought shelter with us from Putin’s war have to be rescued from the flames.
European Union members have agreed on new measures against Iran over its supply of drones to Russia, the Czech presidency of the EU has said:
#COREPERII | ✅ #Iran #sanctions in record time! After 3 days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit #Ukraine. Written procedure is over, sanctions come into force this afternoon on publication in the Off. Journal. #EU2022CZ pic.twitter.com/Fjqaqz7mfj
— EU2022_CZ (@EU2022_CZ) October 20, 2022
EU states decided to freeze the assets of 3 individuals and 1 entity responsible for drone deliveries; the EU is also prepared to extend #sanctions to 4 more Iranian entities that already featured in a previous sanctions list. #EU2022CZ
— EU2022_CZ (@EU2022_CZ) October 20, 2022
Russian forces have continued to hit military and energy targets in Ukraine over the last 24 hours, the country’s defence ministry has claimed.
According to Reuters, the ministry also said Russian units have repelled a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region, from which local Russian-installed officials are currently evacuating tens of thousands of residents.
The German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, has slammed Russia’s recent drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital and other cities, telling the federal parliament in Berlin this morning they constituted war crimes. During an address a day before meeting other EU leaders in Brussels, Scholz said:
We won’t let Moscow’s latest escalations go unanswered. Deliberate attacks on the civil population constitute a war crime.
When Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine in the spring, he believed he was dealing with a fractured European Union that would be easily divided over energy fears, the Social Democrat politician said. But the EU had proved the opposite.
We are not weak. Our country stands united. Europe stands united and shows solidarity – with each other and with Ukraine. Our global alliances are as strong and lively as never before. Putin won’t reach the goals of his war.
Updated
The British defence secretary, Ben Wallace, who has returned from a visit to see his US counterpart in Washington, will make a statement to parliament on Ukraine later today.
Statement from the Secretary of State for Defence @BWallaceMP - Ukraine update
— UK House of Commons (@HouseofCommons) October 20, 2022
Updated
Nato allies will act if Sweden or Finland come under pressure from Russia or another adversary before they become full members of the alliance, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday.
“It is inconceivable that allies would not act should Sweden and Finland come under any form of pressure,” Reuters reports Stoltenberg said at a news conference with Swedish prime minister Ulf Kristersson.
Updated
A Russian airstrike that hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine on Wednesday has caused “quite serious” damage, the region’s governor said this morning.
“Unfortunately there is destruction, and it is quite serious,” Reuters reports Svitlana Onyshchuk, Ivano-Frankivsk’s governor, said on Ukrainian television.
Updated
Scholz: 'Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war'
German chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Russian president Vladimir Putin was using energy and hunger as weapons but has failed to break the West’s unity and will not achieve his war aims through scorched earth tactics.
Reuters reports that speaking to the German parliament, he also said Germany had freed itself from dependence on Russian gas but was working to bring energy prices down, including by securing new gas delivery contracts from other countries.
“We will not let Moscow’s latest escalation go unanswered. Scorched earth tactics will not help Russia win the war. They will only strengthen the unity and resolve of Ukraine and its partners,” Scholz told the German parliament.
“All the lies and propaganda, the talk of ‘special operations’ and swift victories – all that was just a facade – like a Potemkin village.”
Russia has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, despite the widespread evidence of damaged buildings and civil infrastructure, and the discovery of mass graves in areas of occupied Ukraine that have subsequently been liberated from Russian control.
Updated
In the UK, Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative MP who is chair of the House of Commons defence committee, has been speaking about how the unfolding chaos in the British government may have an impact on Ukraine, and also talked about defence secretary Ben Wallace’s visit to Washington. He told Sky News viewers:
They are watching this, and we should remember that there isn’t just a domestic audience, but the rest of the world takes a huge interest in what Britain does. They like to see leadership from us, not least in what’s going on in Ukraine at the moment, which can get very bumpy indeed, with Putin’s back against the wall.
I understand [Ben Wallace is] going to be briefing the House of Commons today, but clearly it’s moved into a very dangerous chapter.
It’s quite incredible what Ukraine has done, who ever thought six months ago, that they’d push back the third largest army in the world? But with Putin in a corner now, calling for martial law in those areas where he had that sham referenda, we must now ask the very difficult questions that perhaps we’ve avoided in the last 77 years – what do we do if a state uses a nuclear weapon? And I’m not sure we’re quite in that mindset yet.
But I understand that these conversations are happening behind the scenes.
In fairness, we cannot rely on Nato because the consensus would suggest that both Turkey Hungary would not agree with a consensus approach. It would require the coalition of the willing to stand up to Russia.
Firstly, to provide a deterrent to prevent that happening in the first place. And secondly, what would our reaction be to make sure that if this precedent is crossed, that we punish that reaction, that we retaliate in the necessarily right way?
Updated
Here are some images taken yesterday which have been sent to us from Kharkiv, showing the damage to residential buildings and the construction of concrete bomb shelter facilities.
Vitaliy Kim, governor of Mykolaiv, has posted to Telegram at 10am local time (8am BST) in Ukraine to say that there have been S-300 missile strikes on the city. He said “no casualties or destruction” and that “only lawns spoil”.
Maksym Kozytskyi, governor of Lviv, has said that industrial electricity consumers in his region have already been informed of a schedule for limiting power usage.
He said “Those industrial consumers who were included in the schedule have already been informed about the situation. They must perform proven reduction volumes.”
For domestic consumers, he said “there is currently no information about the introduction of a shutdown schedule.”
Kirill Stremousov, one of the Russian-imposed leaders in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson, has posted to Telegram quotes he gave to Radio Krym.
In them he asserted that Ukraine was losing morale and running out of troops in southern Ukraine, where a counteroffensive to retake the city of Kherson has been anticipated.
He claims “there are a lot of mercenaries – they are recognised in radio intercepts by the word ‘Russians’, because the Ukrainians do not call us that – they say ‘rashists’, ‘orcs’. They will not be able to break through the line of defence, and I don’t believe there are 60,000 servicemen of the armed forces of Ukraine in the south, the maximum is 30,000 who don’t want to die.”
He said that the terrain makes it difficult for Ukrainians to dislodge the defensive positions taken up by pro-Russian forces, saying “this is the steppe, where everything is as you can see on a silver platter.”
Stremousov offered no evidence to back up his claims. Kherson is one of the regions that Russia partially occupies and has claimed to “annex” after holding sham referendums. Authorities in Kherson have announced their intention to transport up to 60,000 civilians out of the city of Kherson south, to the left bank of the Dnipro.
Updated
Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has posted a status update for Thursday which says that yesterday two people died and four more were injured when “a car with employees of the state emergency service was blown up by a mine” in the Izium district.
He also said “a 78-year-old resident of Izium district was hospitalised with injuries during the day”.
He issued a warning over power shortages, telling residents “during yesterday, the enemy made several more strikes on energy infrastructure facilities throughout Ukraine, so I once again emphasise the need to save electricity. Today, from 7am to 11pm, power outages are possible for several hours in Kharkiv.”
It is Martin Belam taking over the live blog in London. You can contact me at martin.belam@theguardian.com
Updated
Russia considering withdrawal of forces from west of Dnipro river: UK MoD
Russia’s recent admission that a “difficult situation has emerged” in the Kherson region is highly unusual and likely indicates that authorities are considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro river, British intelligence has said.
Moscow’s recently appointed commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, general Sergei Surovikin, made the announcement earlier this week.
The latest UK Ministry of Defence report suggests:
It likely indicates that the Russian authorities are seriously considering a major withdrawal of their forces from the area west of the Dnipro river.
A key challenge of any Russian withdrawal operation would be extracting troops and their equipment across the 1000m wide river in good order.
With all the permanent bridges severely damaged, Russia would highly likely rely heavily on a temporary barge bridge it completed near Kherson in recent days, and military pontoon ferry units, which continue to operate at several locations.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 20 October 2022
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) October 20, 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/LeQsOOjVXy
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/rHzlFrXAJU
Updated
Russia begins "resettlement" of civilians in Kherson
Moscow-backed self-appointed officials in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region have begun moving civilians into Russian territory, citing fears of a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The Russian-installed head of the key southern city Vladimir Saldo spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnieper River and into Russia over the next six days – at a rate of 10,000 people each day.
“We are not going to surrender the city,” he said in a nationally televised interview on Wednesday.
Images of people using boats to flee the city were broadcast by Russian state TV.
Ukrainian officials described Russia’s announcements as “a propaganda show” and told people not to comply with the evacuation request. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am on Thursday.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show” as Kyiv said the population transfers amounted to “deportations”.
Ukraine has remained tight-lipped about its operations, though its military said in an early Thursday update on the Kherson region said 43 Russian servicemen had been killed and six tanks and other equipment destroyed.
EU summit to discuss energy support for Ukraine
Leaders of the 27 European Union countries are set to meet later today to discuss options for more support to Ukraine, including energy equipment, helping restore power supply and long-term financing to rebuild.
The leaders are also expected to back an alternative price benchmark for liquefied natural gas and joint gas buying, after earlier agreeing to cut consumption and introduce levies on windfall profits in the energy industry.
However they remain as split on whether and how to cap gas prices to stem high inflation and stave off recession, after Russia cut gas flows.
While 15 countries including France and Poland push some form of a cap, they face strong opposition from Germany and the Netherlands - respectively Europe’s biggest economy and gas buyer, and a major European gas trading hub.
“An agreement is extremely unlikely... Opinions seem to be really far apart,” a senior EU diplomat told Reuters ahead of Thursday’s talks.
Iran denies supplying Russian troops with drones
Russia has been targeting Ukraine with Iranian-made Shahed-136 “kamikaze drones”, rebranded as Geran-2, Ukraine and its allies allege.
Moscow has acquired up to 2,400 of the drones, according to Ukraine, and is using them as cheaper substitutes to hit the energy targets and strike fear into civilians.
Iran denies supplying the drones to Russia, while the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said he did not have any information about their origin. “Russian equipment with Russian names is being used,” Peskov said.
Ukraine, experts and western governments believe the Gerans are rebranded Shahed drones, identifiable by their distinctive delta wing shape and from an examination of fragments recovered from the ground.
An anonymous Iranian official told Reuters that Russia had asked for more Iranian drones and ballistic missiles with “improved accuracy” when senior officials from Tehran visited Moscow recently. The source said Iran had promised to provide Russia with more drones, citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats.
Russia using Iranian drones to strike civilians, US says
The United States, Britain and France have said there is “abundant evidence” Russia is using Iranian drones to strike civilians in Ukraine during a meeting of the UN security council on Wednesday.
US state department spokesperson Ned Price said in a tweet late on Wednesday evening:
Although Iran continues to lie, the world is aware that Russia uses Iranian drones to attack Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.”
A statement later published by the US state department read:
We expressed our grave concerns about Russia’s acquisition of these UAVs from Iran.
We now have abundant evidence that these UAVs are being used to strike Ukrainian civilians and critical civilian infrastructure.
We will not hesitate to use our sanctions and other appropriate tools on all involved in these transfers.”
.@UN Security Council was briefed on evidence of UAV transfers from Iran to Russia violating UNSCR 2231. Although Iran continues to lie, the world is aware that Russia uses Iranian drones to attack Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure. https://t.co/C8WCJeb0aK
— Ned Price (@StateDeptSpox) October 20, 2022
Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary general, said member countries would “step up” and deliver more air defences to help stabilise the situation. “Nato will in the coming days deliver counter-drone systems to counter the specific threat of drones, including those from Iran,” he said.
GPS-guided Shahed 136 drones can fly up to 1,500 miles from trucks launched outside Ukraine and are believed to have been deployed across the country since August. Although they fly slowly, making them vulnerable to being shot down, their sheer numbers are proving a test for Ukraine’s air defences.
The Guardian’s Dan Sabbagh offers this analysis on the impact on the country’s energy supply, noting that civilians are likely to be the biggest losers.
Politicians in Ukraine have been warning for months now that Russia would target the energy grid in the run up to winter, where temperatures can drop to -10C and even -20C. In some frontline areas, such as Donbas, there are already no gas supplies for heating the apartment blocks where so many live.
Quietly around the country there have been efforts to ensure hospitals and military sites have backup generators available. But it will not be enough for civilians and it is clear that the situation – and the bleak initial effectiveness of the Russian strategy – could make for a very difficult period.
Some experts have feared there could even be a renewed migration crisis, as people seek to leave the country in pursuit of warmth.
Ensuring the continuity of supply of electricity and warmth to the military has been a priority for Kyiv, while any frontline difficulties the Ukrainians face are likely to be shared by the Russian invaders too.
That means it is civilians – and civilian morale – that will bear the brunt, a familiar Russian strategy to prioritise psychological effects over battlefield success.
But a Russian attempt to stoke a humanitarian crisis in the winter will also impose further costs on both Ukraine and its western supporters. The rapid success of the attacks on power stations suggest the coming months will be hard, unless an urgent military solution can be found.
Russia targeting Ukraine's energy supply
A barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks has destroyed power plants across Ukraine just before the winter sets in.
Nearly a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian attacks since Monday last week, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the presidential office, said energy infrastructure and power supplies are being targeted, describing the situation across the country as critical. “Our regions are dependent on one another … it’s necessary for the whole country to prepare for electricity, water and heating outages,” he told Ukrainian television earlier in the week.
Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting 🇺🇦 energy & critical infrastructure. Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime. @United24media pic.twitter.com/LN4A2GYgCK
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2022
Three more energy facilities were destroyed on Wednesday, part of a wave of such strikes since 10 October, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest address.
The latest to be hit was a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine, the region’s governor said.
Ukrainian officials are working to create mobile power points as Zelenskiy held a “strategic meeting” with senior officials on Wednesday to discuss measures to “eliminate the consequences in the event of a breakdown of the energy system of Ukraine”, he said on Telegram.
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, described Russia’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure as “acts of pure terror” that amount to war crimes in remarks to the European parliament on Wednesday.
Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians have been left without power or water as a result of Russian strikes.
Ukraine curbs power usage
Ukraine will begin restricting electricity supplies across the country starting from 7am today in response to Russia’s strikes against its energy infrastructure.
Ukrainians will now need to prepare for “rolling blackouts” and people will have to conserve energy, the deputy head of the president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, warned. In a Telegram update posted late on Wednesday evening, he said:
Starting from 7am to 11pm, it is necessary to minimise the use of electricity.
This applies to residents of ALL regions of the country. If this is not done, you should prepare for temporary shutdowns.”
The use of street lighting will be limited in cities and the country needed, he added, to be prepared for “a hard winter”.
Ukraine’s national energy company also urged citizens to “charge everything” by 7am (4am GMT) on Thursday with outages of up to four hours at a time expected to affect the whole country.
Phones, power banks, torches and batteries need to be charged, grid operator Ukrenergo urged.
Summary and welcome
Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours.
Ukraine will today begin restricting electricity supplies across the country starting from 7am in response to Russia’s strikes against its energy infrastructure. Three more energy facilities were destroyed on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest address.
The United States, Britain and France have said there is “abundant evidence” Russia is using Iranian drones to strike civilians in Ukraine during a meeting of the UN security council on Wednesday. EU governments are also set to impose sanctions on eight people and entities over the alleged use of Iranian-made drones.
Here are all the latest lines you may have missed:
Vladimir Putin declared martial law in the four provinces of Ukraine where Russia controls territory. The law gives far-reaching emergency powers to the Russian-installed heads of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces, which Russia recently proclaimed as annexed after sham referendums. Ukraine’s presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described the announcement as the “pseudo-legalisation of looting of Ukrainians’ property”.
Putin has also ordered an “economic mobilisation” in six provinces that border Ukraine, plus Crimea and Sevastopol, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. In televised remarks he said he was granting additional authority to the regional leaders of all Russian provinces to maintain public order and increase production in support of Moscow’s war. The law also limits the freedom to move in and out of the eight provinces.
Russian officials have warned of a Ukrainian assault on Kherson amid plans to “resettle” civilians. The Russian-installed head of the key southern city Vladimir Saldo spoke of plans to move up to 60,000 people across the Dnieper River and into Russia over the next six days fearing a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Images of people using boats to flee the city were broadcast by Russian state TV.
Ukrainian officials described Russia’s announcements as “a propaganda show” and told people not to comply with the evacuation request. A number have reported receiving mass text messages warning the city would be shelled and informing them that buses would be leaving from the port from 7am on Thursday. Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to the Ukrainian president, described Russian announcements as “a propaganda show” as Kyiv said the population transfers amounted to “deportations”.
Russia continues to launch new strikes against Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with three energy facilities destroyed on Wednesday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his latest address, adding that Ukrainian officials are working to create mobile power points. Russian airstrikes have destroyed 30% of Ukraine’s power stations since 10 October, causing massive blackouts across the country, he said. Ukraine will restrict electricity supplies across the country starting from 7am on Thursday.
Russia’s strikes on critical energy infrastructure are “acts of pure terror” that amount to war crimes, the head of the European Commission has said. Ursula von der Leyen’s remarks to the European parliament on Wednesday came after hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians were left without power or water as a result of Russian strikes.
Zelenskiy spoke of “significant results” in downing Iranian drones, claiming 233 Shahed UAVs and dozens of missiles were shot down during the month. Several Russian missiles were shot down over Kyiv on Wednesday afternoon, its mayor, Vitalii Klitschko, said. Greek diplomats have confirmed that the country’s foreign minister, Nikos Dendias, who is visiting Ukraine, was forced to seek refuge in a bomb shelter in Kyiv.
The cost to Ukraine of downing “kamikaze” drones vastly exceeds the sums paid by Russia in sourcing and launching the cheap Iranian-made technology, analysis suggests. The total cost to Russia of the failed drone attacks unleashed on Ukraine in recent weeks is estimated by military analysts to be between $11.66m (£10.36m) and $17.9m (£15.9m). The estimated cost to Ukraine to bring down the drones stands at more than $28.14m (£25m).
The EU plans to impose sanctions on three senior Iranian military commanders and the company that develops drones believed to have been used in Russia’s attacks on Ukraine. The draft sanctions list, seen by the Guardian, is expected to be agreed within days, indicating EU ministers do not believe Iran’s denials that it has supplied Russia with the low-flying lethal weapons.
Russia will reassess its cooperation with UN secretary-general António Guterres and his staff if Guterres sends experts to Ukraine to inspect downed drones that Ukraine and the west assert were made in Iran, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters on Wednesday.
Putin will face “severe consequences” if he uses nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine, Downing Street has said. Britain’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, has been in Washington for talks with his US counterpart amid reports the Russian leader could detonate a nuclear warhead over the Black Sea.
The US has imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting a network that Washington accused of procuring military and dual-use technologies from US manufacturers and illegally supplying them to Russia for its war in Ukraine. Some of the equipment was recovered on battlefields in Ukraine, the justice department said.
The European parliament awarded the people of Ukraine its annual Sakharov prize for freedom of thought to honour their fight against Russia’s invasion. “They are standing up for what they believe in. Fighting for our values. Protecting democracy, freedom and rule of law. Risking their lives for us,” the European parliament president, Roberta Metsola, said.
