Three killed and 11 injured by missile attacks in Kyiv, officials say
Firefighters and rescue services attend to a building hit by a missile in central Kyiv on November 23, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Jeff J Mitchell | Getty Images
At least three people were killed and 11 injured during missile attacks on residential areas in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, the city’s administration said.
The city recorded 31 rockets over the capital during an air raid alert, and 22 of them were shot down. The rockets hit critical infrastructure, leaving parts of the capital without electricity and severely disrupting heat and water supplies, the administration said.
The city assured residents that heat and water are expected to be back on Thursday morning. Power is also expected to return once the grid is stabilized.
Much of Ukraine was left in a similar position as nearly 70 Russian missiles targeted power and other civilian facilities across the country.
Rocio Smith
Four ships will leave Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative
A photo taken on Oct. 31, 2022 shows a cargo ship loaded with grain being inspected at the anchorage area of the southern entrance to the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Ozan Kose | AFP | Getty Images
The organization that monitors the export of agricultural products said four ships carrying wheat, sunflower seeds and barley left Ukrainian ports.
The amount of cereals and other products exported under the Black Sea Cereals Initiative has so far exceeded 11.8 million metric tons.
The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal negotiated in July between Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and the United Nations, eased Russia’s naval blockade and saw the reopening of three key Ukrainian ports.
The agreement between the signatories is expected to expire in about four months.
— Amanda Macias
UN report details horrifying Ukrainian accounts of abuse and torture in Russian prisons
Editor’s Note: The following article contains graphic material detailing reports of torture and sexual violence.
The door window frames the corridor of the district police department used by the Russian occupiers for torture, Balakliia, Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Madiyevski | Ukrinform | Future Publishing | Getty Images
A report commissioned by the United Nations found that Russian forces have committed widespread abuses against prisoners captured during the invasion of Ukraine.
In preparing the report, the researchers conducted 159 interviews over the course of eight months.
Ukrainian prisoners described so-called “admission procedures” upon arrival at the internment site, which involved prolonged beatings, strangulation, twisting or breaking of joints or bones, dog attacks, tasers, mock executions, sexual violence, stripping and use of stress. positions
According to the report, Russian guards also inserted lit cigarettes into victims’ nostrils, hung prisoners by their hands or legs for extended periods of time, and applied tourniquet-like devices to painfully restrict blood circulation to the limbs
The prisoners told investigators that they were subjected to invasive examinations during admission procedures in the presence of male guards. The prisoners also said they were forced to strip and walk naked through the corridors.
Read the full story here.
— Amanda Macias
The Pope links the situation of the Ukrainians to Stalin’s “genocide”.
Pope Francis arrives at the United Nations in New York on September 25, 2015.
Tony Gentile | Reuters
Pope Francis linked the suffering of Ukrainians now to the “artificially caused genocide by Stalin” of the 1930s, when the Soviet leader was blamed for creating a man-made famine in the country that is believed to have killed more than 3 millions of people
Francis’s linking of the plight of Ukrainian civilians today to those killed by starvation 90 years ago, and his willingness to call it a “genocide” and place the blame squarely on Josef Stalin, marked a sharp escalation of papal rhetoric against Russia. As of this year, only 17 countries have officially recognized the famine, known as the Holodomor, according to the Holodomor Museum in Kyiv.
In remarks at the end of his weekly general audience on Wednesday, Francis renewed calls for prayer for the “terrible suffering of the beloved and martyred Ukrainian people.” He recalled that Saturday marks 90 years since the start of the famine, which Ukraine commemorates every fourth Saturday in November with a Day of Remembrance.
— The Associated Press
Ukraine receives 36 prisoners in its latest exchange
A view shows a line of cars near blocks of flats destroyed during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, as evacuees leave the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, on March 17, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
Ukraine and Russia engaged in another prisoner swap, with Ukraine receiving 36 prisoners who had spent eight months in Russian captivity, said Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s president’s office.
The Ukrainian prisoners included 35 soldiers, including national guardsmen, law enforcement officers, Marines and an army serviceman, as well as a civilian whose leg was amputated, Yermak said.
“Among those released were fighters who were defending Mariupol and were in ‘Azovstal,'” Yermak said, referring to the steel factory held for a considerable time by Ukrainian forces amid a brutal Russian siege. “As well as the national guards who were captured at the Txornobil nuclear power plant in the first days of the invasion.”
This is one of the smallest prisoner exchanges that have taken place in recent months. However, Ukraine continues its efforts to bring home soldiers, many of whom fought in Mariupol before Russia’s takeover of the city.
“We’re going to get everybody back,” Yermak said.
Rocio Smith
Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant goes into ‘total shutdown mode’
A satellite image shows an overview of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Ukraine, August 29, 2022.
Maxar Technologies | via Reuters
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant went into “full shutdown mode,” relying entirely on diesel generation, Ukraine’s national nuclear power company Energoatom reported.
The shutdown followed an onslaught of Russian bombing, which Ukrainian officials said hit critical infrastructure across the country.
Emergency protective measures were also activated at the Rivne, Southern Ukraine and Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plants, resulting in the automatic shutdown of all electrical units in the plants. They are currently operating in what is known as “project mode,” with no generation on the power system, according to Energoatom.
Background radiation at all plants remains normal, Energoatom said. “As soon as the operation of the electrical system is normalized, the supply of electricity to the nuclear plant will resume,” added the company.
It is the second time this month that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, has been completely disconnected from the power system, and at least the fifth time since Russia took control of the plant in March. The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly expressed its concern about the bombing around the plant, calling for a protection zone to avoid what would be a catastrophic accident.
Rocio Smith
Biden authorizes $400 million for defense aid to Ukraine
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on September 6, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden was seated next to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Kevin Dietsch | Getty Images
US President Joe Biden authorized a withdrawal of up to $400 million in defense aid to Ukraine. The package includes “Department of Defense defense items and services and military education and training,” according to a White House memo.
This additional sum is only a fraction of the enormous aid the US has provided to Ukraine, reaching $19.7 billion since the start of the Biden administration.
“The artillery ammunition, precision fires, air defense missiles and tactical vehicles we provide will better serve Ukraine on the battlefield,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said of the withdrawal. “We will continue to support Ukraine for as long as it takes, so that it can continue to defend itself and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table when the time comes.”
Last week, the White House asked Congress to approve $37.7 billion in aid to Ukraine. Almost $22 billion of the sum would go to military equipment and weapons replacements that were already sent to the country by the Pentagon.
Biden also asked Congress for authorization to send $7 billion in weapons to Ukraine.
Rocio Smith
Emergency shutdowns take place in ‘all regions’ as energy facilities already hit by Russian missiles
View of the road at night when streetlights are turned off to save energy and money amid the war between Russia and Ukraine in Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 20, 2022.
Methane Act | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images
Russian missile attacks affected energy infrastructure across much of Ukraine, causing emergency shutdowns in “all regions,” according to Ukrainian electricity supplier Ukrenergo.
“This is a necessary step to protect power grids from further technological accidents and support the operation of the power system,” Ukrenergo said in a statement.
Although repair crews and state emergency services are ready to tackle the damage after the end of the air raid warning, severe weather conditions, including frost and freezing rain in some regions, could extend the restoration process.
Kyiv officials told residents to check Telegram for updates on the air strike alert, as the electrical warning system is down due to power outages. Regional and municipal administrations are preparing for more strikes and are warning residents to stay sheltered until officials say otherwise.
Rocio Smith
Russian airstrikes affected operations at Ukraine’s nuclear power plants
Several units were shut down at the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine due to a loss of power during Russian airstrikes…