Ukraine president says there were 8,000 air strikes; air force spokesman says Ukraine has shot down hundreds of Iranian-made drones
The war in Ukraine has seen Russia launch more than 8,000 air strikes and fire 4,500 missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has claimed.
Standing beside the wreckage of a downed Iranian drone, he vowed that Putin’s attacks on power plants would not break Ukrainian spirits.
Russia had aimed dozens of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles at Ukraine’s electricity network causing widespread power cuts over the last two weeks, with Ukraine shooting down 23 drones in the last two days alone.
“Shelling will not break us – to hear the enemy’s anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy’s rockets in our sky. We are not afraid of the dark,” Zelenskiy said.
The time in Kyiv is 9pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s headlines:
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy claims Russia has launched 8,000 air strikes and fired 4,500 missiles throughout the war. He vows the attacks will not break Ukraine’s spirits as “to hear the enemy’s anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy’s rockets in our sky”.
At least four people have been killed and 10 wounded in the latest attack from Russian troops, Ukraine has said. Several towns neighbouring the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant across the Dnieper River were hit by shelling, a statement from the presidential office said.
Ukraine has shot down more than 300 Iranian Shahed-136 ‘kamikaze’ drones so far, an air force spokesperson, Yuriy Ihnat, told a briefing on Friday. The drones have become a key weapon in Russia’s arsenal during its war in Ukraine and have often been used in the past month to target crucial energy infrastructure.
Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has said that the “partial mobilisation” Russia announced in September was complete. Speaking at a meeting with president, Vladimir Putin, broadcast on state television, Shoigu said that 82,000 mobilised recruits were in the conflict zone, with a further 218,000 in training.
The United States will provide $275 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, including arms, munitions and equipment from US Department of Defense inventories, secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said. “We are also working to provide Ukraine with the air defense capabilities it needs with the two initial US-provided Nasams ready for delivery to Ukraine next month and we are working with allies and partners to enable delivery of their own air defense systems to Ukraine,” Blinken said.
Assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian individuals seized by Ukraine could be used for the country’s massive post-war reconstruction effort, finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, was quoted as saying. The government has frozen Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine worth some 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21 bn) since the start of Moscow’s invasion, according to the Economic Security Bureau, a state agency.
The US and its allies condemned Russia for wasting the time of the UN security council and spreading conspiracies by again raising its accusation that the US has ‘military biological programmes’ in Ukraine. “How much more of this nonsense do we have to endure?” the UK’s ambassador to the UN, Barbara Woodward, asked the council.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he had received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday and that he had demanded Tehran stop sending weapons to Russia. Ukraine and its western allies have accused Iran of sending ‘kamikaze’ drones to Russia which have then been used to devastating effect by Russian forces in strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. Iran denies the charge.
Russia has bolstered its troops with “mobilised reservists” west of the Dnieper River, the UK’s MoD says. Over the past six weeks, its ground forces have transitioned to a “defensive posture” on the frontline, likely due to being “severely undermanned” and “poorly trained”.
The EU appoints Polish general Piotr Trytek to lead a new training operation with Ukrainian troops. Trytek, 51, was chosen by the bloc as part of its pledge to step up military support for Ukraine.
President Vladimir Putin’s first deputy chief of staff visits the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Kherson. Sergei Kiriyenko stopped at the ferry port where hundreds of people were being removed after a warning from authorities.
A Russian official’s threat to “strike” western satellites aiding Ukraine has raised concerns among space lawyers and industry executives about the safety of objects in orbit. No country has carried out a missile strike against an enemy’s satellite.
The UN nuclear inspectors are expected to reach conclusion on “dirty bomb”. Investigators are being sent to two locations in Ukraine where Russia alleged the activities were taking place, and are expected to reach a conclusion “in days very fast”.
That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, and indeed the Ukraine live blog for today. Thanks for following along.
The United States will provide $275 million in additional military assistance to Ukraine, including arms, munitions and equipment from US Department of Defense inventories, secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said on Friday.
“We are also working to provide Ukraine with the air defense capabilities it needs with the two initial US-provided Nasams ready for delivery to Ukraine next month and we are working with allies and partners to enable delivery of their own air defense systems to Ukraine,” Blinken said.
An apartment block lies in ruins after being hit by a Russian missile in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
Assets belonging to Russian and Belarusian individuals seized by Ukraine could be used for the country’s massive post-war reconstruction effort, finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, was quoted as saying.
The government has frozen Russian and Belarusian assets in Ukraine worth some 44 billion hryvnias ($1.21 bn) since the start of Moscow’s invasion, according to the Economic Security Bureau, a state agency.
“We are currently looking for the resources necessary for [our] critical recovery,” Marchenko told Ukraine’s Suspilne public broadcaster, mooting the creation of a special liquidation fund as one budgetary source for the reconstruction.
“Money seized on the territory of Ukraine from Russian and Belarusian citizens can be involved in this fund,” he added, without elaborating.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said he had received a phone call from his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Friday and that he had demanded Tehran stop sending weapons to Russia.
Ukraine and its western allies have accused Iran of sending ‘kamikaze’ drones to Russia which have then been used to devastating effect by Russian forces in strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure. Iran denies the charge.
“I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine,” Kuleba said in a tweet.
Today, I received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during which I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Canada will sell a government-backed, five-year bond to raise money for Ukraine and it will impose new sanctions on 35 Russian individuals, including Gazprom executives, prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said.
“Canadians will now be able to go to major banks to purchase their sovereignty bonds which will mature after five years with interest,” Trudeau told an annual meeting of the Congress of Ukrainian Canadians in Winnipeg.
“These funds will go to support the government of Ukraine so they can continue to support the Ukrainian people,” he said.
Canada has one of the world’s biggest Ukrainian diasporas outside of countries that border Ukraine, and the community has lobbied Ottawa to impose increasingly strict sanctions against Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February, Reuters reported. Trudeau did not say when the bonds would go on sale.
The proceeds will “help the [Ukrainian] government continue operations, including providing essential services to Ukrainians, like pensions, and purchasing fuel before winter,” a statement said.
The equivalent of the income raised will be channelled “directly to Ukraine” through an International Monetary Fund administered account, the statement said.
Trudeau also announced new sanctions on 35 senior officials of energy sector entities, including Gazprom “and its subsidiaries,” according to a statement, plus six other “energy sector entities”.
“We will continue to tighten the screws on anyone abetting this illegal invasion,” Trudeau said.
Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, has said that the “partial mobilisation” Russia announced in September was complete.
Speaking at a meeting with president, Vladimir Putin, broadcast on state television, Shoigu said that 82,000 mobilised recruits were in the conflict zone, with a further 218,000 in training.
Dozens of Iranians have gathered in Kyiv in protest of Iran’s government allegedly delivering drones to Russia.
The demonstrators gathered in the city’s Maidan Square holding signs reading “the Iranian people stand with Ukraine”, and waving both countries’ national flags.
Ukraine and the west have accused Iran of supplying Russia with military equipment to use in attacks against citizens – claims which Iran has rejected.
A former Russian president has told Elon Musk to pull his internet service Starlink in Ukraine.
Dmitry Medvedev, now the deputy chair of Russia’s security council, was congratulating the businessman on his recent takeover of Twitter when he made the request.
“Good luck in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business,” he said.
Good luck @elonmusk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit 👋 that Starlink in Ukraine business
Starlink has proved vital for Ukraine’s communications with officials praising the program, which Musk previously said costs $20m per month.
Musk and Medvedev last month shared an exchange in which the billionaire asked the Russian official how things were going in Bakhmut – a strategic town in the east Donbas region – to which he replied: “See you in Moscow on Victory Day!”
At least four people have been killed and 10 wounded in the latest attack from Russian troops, Ukraine has said.
Several towns neighbouring the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant across the Dnieper River were hit by shelling, a statement from the presidential office said.
Dozens of residential buildings were damaged and power lines cut leaving thousands without a supply.
