Kyiv authorities prepare generator-powered ‘heating stations’
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are preparing more than 1,000 heating points across the city in case its district heating system is disabled by continued Russian attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday.
Missile and drone attacks have damaged 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and have already briefly left large parts of Kyiv without electricity and water, prompting power rationing.
On Wednesday, Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that city authorities were considering different scenarios because of the missile attacks.
“The worst is where there will be no electricity, water or district heating at all,” he said. “For this case, we are preparing more than 1,000 heating points in our city.”
The locations will be equipped with generators and have a stock of necessities like water, he said.
While it has urged Ukrainians who have already left the country to stay abroad over the winter, the government has accused Russia of sparking a new humanitarian crisis by forcing even more people to flee, frightened by the prospect of having to survive without electricity or heating during the cold season.
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The UN says the grain ships will not leave on Wednesday, they will resume on Thursday
Ships loaded with grain left Ukraine on Tuesday despite Russia suspending its participation in a UN agreement that guarantees the safe passage in wartime of critical food supplies destined for parts of the world struggling with hungry But despite grain-laden ships leaving Ukraine this week, the UN announced that such ships would not travel on Wednesday, raising fears about the future of the initiative.
Amir Abdulla, the UN coordinator for the deal, later tweeted that “we expect the loaded ships to sail on Thursday.”
Grain and food exports from #Ukraine️ must continue. Although no vessel movements are planned for November 2 under the #BlackSeaGrainInitiative, we expect loaded vessels to sail on Thursday.
— Amir M. Abdulla (@AmirMAAbdulla) November 1, 2022
Three ships carrying 84,490 metric tons of corn, wheat and sunflower meal left Ukraine through a humanitarian maritime corridor established in July, while another 36 ships cleared inspections near Turkey to head to their final destinations, the UN said. The corridor, brokered by Turkey and the UN, was seen as a breakthrough to ensure Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia received grain and other food from the Black Sea region during Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Russia cited allegations of a Ukrainian drone attack on its Black Sea fleet in announcing over the weekend that it was suspending its part in the grain deal. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that ship traffic from southern Ukrainian ports was halted, calling the move “unacceptable”.
But a total of 14 ships set sail that day, including one chartered by the United Nations World Food Program to take wheat to Ethiopia, which along with neighbors Somalia and Kenya is hard hit by the worst drought in decades . The UN has warned that parts of Somalia are facing famine. Thousands of people have died there.
Russia calls for vote on Ukraine’s unsubstantiated biological weapons claims
The U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution that would establish a commission to investigate unfounded Russian claims that Ukraine and the United States are conducting “military biological” activities that violate the convention banning the use of biological weapons, the Associated Press reports. .
Russia circulated a 310-page document to council members last week alleging that such biological activity is being carried out in Ukraine with the support of the US Department of Defense. The document included an official complaint to the Security Council, permitted under Article VI of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, and a draft resolution that would authorize the Security Council to create a commission made up of the council’s 15 members to investigate Russia’s claims.
Russia’s initial allegation of secret US biological warfare laboratories in Ukraine, made shortly after its invasion, has been disputed by independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders and White House and Pentagon officials.
An Associated Press investigation in March found the claim was taking root online, uniting Covid-19 conspiracy theorists, QAnon supporters and some supporters of former President Donald Trump.
Kyiv authorities prepare generator-powered ‘heating stations’
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are preparing more than 1,000 heating points across the city in case its district heating system is disabled by continued Russian attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday.
Missile and drone attacks have damaged 40% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and have already briefly left large parts of Kyiv without electricity and water, prompting power rationing.
On Wednesday, Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app that city authorities were considering different scenarios because of the missile attacks.
“The worst is where there will be no electricity, water or district heating at all,” he said. “For this case, we are preparing more than 1,000 heating points in our city.”
The locations will be equipped with generators and have a stock of necessities like water, he said.
While it has urged Ukrainians who have already left the country to stay abroad over the winter, the government has accused Russia of sparking a new humanitarian crisis by forcing even more people to flee, frightened by the prospect of having to survive without electricity or heating during the cold season.
Welcome and summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be with you for a while.
Authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are preparing more than 1,000 heating points across the city in case its district heating system is disabled by continued Russian attacks, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Wednesday. The sites will be equipped with generators and have a stock of necessities such as water.
More on that shortly. In the meantime, here are the other key recent developments:
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The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has met with Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy Affairs of the European Union, and explained to him that Russian forces have “severely damaged” about 40% of the energy infrastructure of ‘Ukraine, in particular thermal power plants and hydroelectric power plants. Due to the attacks, Ukraine has been forced to stop electricity exports to Europe.
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Long-term defense is needed for Ukraine’s grain export corridor and the world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt it, Zelenskiy said, as more ships were loaded despite Moscow suspended its participation in the agreement negotiated by the UN.
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Zelenskiy said ships were leaving Ukrainian ports with their cargo thanks to the work of Turkey and the UN, the two main brokers of the July 22 grain export deal.
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In an interview with Sky News, Boris Johnson said he did not think Vladimir Putin would use a nuclear weapon in Ukraine and that doing so would “immediately present Russia’s resignation from the club of civilized nations”.
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The Russian occupation government in Kherson Oblast has moved its administration further south to Skadovsk, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces has said. Russia on Tuesday told civilians to leave an area along the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, a major extension of an evacuation order that Kyiv says amounts to forced depopulation of occupied territory.
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Russian forces launched four missiles and 26 airstrikes and carried out 27 attacks with multiple rocket launch systems on more than 20 settlements, the general staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said.
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The Ukrainian armed forces said their attack on Russian ammunition depots in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on October 29 destroyed five units of military equipment, killed 30 Russian soldiers and wounded at least 100.
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UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace gave evidence to the UK parliament’s international relations and defense committee, addressing why he believes Russia’s plans for a swift invasion failed. He also discussed future NATO deployments.
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The Ukrainian government accepted the resignation of Yuriy Vitrenko as CEO of the state energy company Naftogaz. In a statement on messaging app Telegram, Naftogaz said Vitrenko would remain in the post until November 3, but gave no further details.
Updated at 05.30 GMT