Kyiv mayor prepares to open public heating points amid attacks on energy infrastructure
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has met with Kadri Simson, European Union commissioner for energy affairs, telling her that Russian forces have “seriously damaged” about 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, in particular thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants. Because of the attacks, Ukraine has been forced to stop exports of electricity to Europe.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, is getting ready to open about 1,000 public points of heating for city residents.
A long-term defence is needed for Ukraine’s grain export corridor and the world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt it, Zelenskiy has said, as more ships loaded despite Moscow suspending its participation in the UN-brokered deal.
Zelenskiy said ships were moving out of Ukrainian ports with their cargo thanks to the work of Turkey and the UN, the two main brokers of the 22 July grain export agreement.
In an interview with Sky News, Boris Johnson said that he did not think Vladimir Putin would use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and doing so “would immediately tender Russia’s resignation from the club of civilised nations”.
Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs, has described Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s critical infrastructure as “genocide”.
The Russian occupying government in the Kherson oblast has moved its administration further south to Skadovsk, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces has said. Russia told civilians on Tuesday to leave an area along the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, a major extension of an evacuation order that Kyiv says amounts to the forced depopulation of occupied territory.
Russian forces launched four missile and 26 airstrikes, and carried out 27 multiple launch rocket system attacks on more than 20 settlements, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said.
The Ukrainian armed forces said its attack on Russian ammunition depots in the Zaporizhzhia oblast on 29 October destroyed five units of military equipment, killed 30 Russian personnel and wounded at least 100.
The UK’s defence secretary, Ben Wallace, gave evidence to the international relations and defence committee in the UK parliament, addressing why he thinks Russia’s plans for a swift invasion failed. He also spoke of future Nato deployments.
The Ukrainian government accepted the resignation of Yuriy Vitrenko as chief executive of the state energy company Naftogaz. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, Naftogaz said Vitrenko would remain in the role until 3 November, but gave no further details.
