Ukraine Latest: 30% of Power Stations Destroyed, Strikes Resume

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said nearly a third of the country’s power stations have been destroyed in Russian strikes since Oct. 10, triggering blackouts, while a report showed the nation’s power grid held steady.

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Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said power and water supplies were partially restored. Earlier, he urged residents in the capital to conserve use as more critical infrastructure was damaged in further strikes. Zelenskiy expressed gratitude to troops who have intercepted attacking drones, saying “every destroyed drone is a life saved.”

European Union member states want to review evidence to confirm when Iranian drones were delivered to Russia before imposing new sanctions against the country, according to people familiar with the issue. Ukrainian officials have highlighted the use of Iranian-made drones in recent Russian attacks across Ukraine since mid-September.

(See RSAN on the Bloomberg Terminal for the Russian Sanctions Dashboard.)

Key Developments

  • Putin’s War Escalation Is Hastening Demographic Crash for Russia

  • Italy’s Berlusconi Says Putin Sent Him Vodka and a Sweet Letter

  • Ukraine Keeps Power On Despite Russia’s Missile Barrage

  • Trudeau Says Russia’s War in Ukraine Speeds Up Energy Transition

  • EU Unveils Interim Gas Market Steps With No Quick Price Cap

  • What Are Iranian Drones Russia Is Using in Ukraine?: QuickTake

  • EU’s Sanctions Against Russia Risk Ensnaring More Oil Tankers

On the Ground

Six C-300 missiles hit storage facilities for humanitarian aid in Kharkiv on Tuesday morning, according to a television report citing local police. Explosions hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region on Tuesday morning, mayor Oleksandr Vilkul said on Telegram. Air raid sirens went off across most of Ukraine Tuesday morning, including Kyiv. Energy facilities were hit in strikes at Dnipro and Zhytomyr, according to the deputy head of the president’s staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, who cited “serious damage.” Some 20 civilians were killed by Russian attacks on Oct. 17, and 22 were injured, deputy head of presidential staff, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said on Telegram.

(All times CET)

Mark Hamill Discusses Ukraine Aid Role (3:30 a.m.)

Mark Hamill, the actor who played Luke Skywalker in the “Star Wars” movies, said he was “here to do whatever the Ukrainian government wants me to do” in his position with United24, Ukraine’s donation arm.

Hamill, United24’s “Army of Drones ambassador,” told Bloomberg Radio’s Sound On host Joe Mathieu that it was “important not to be political” in discussing the war and US support for Ukraine’s efforts to repel the Russian invasion.

Told that Russian President Vladimir Putin likely knows who he is, and asked what he would say to him, Hamill said, “I just hope he finds a way to save face and declare his version of victory so he can stop. You’ve got to find hope where you can find it.” He added: “It’s heartening to see how well the Ukrainians are doing.”

Top Russian General Says Army Not Rushing Ahead in Ukraine (9:04 p.m.)

The Russian army is growing in number and building up reserves, said General Sergei Surovikin, who was recently promoted to become the senior leader of Russian force in Ukraine.

Surovikin, in his first interview with Russian state television since taking the role, said he’ll keep boosting troop numbers while continuing with air strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure. He said Russia has used more than 7,000 guided munitions since the start of the war.

Russia has begun to evacuate Kherson, one of the first cities Russian forces took after the invasion, in response to Ukrainian attacks. He said he didn’t rule out taking “the most difficult decisions’ regarding Kherson, though he didn’t elaborate.

Russia Launched 190 Rocket and Drone Strikes in 10 Days: Ukraine (9:01 p.m.)

Russia carried out 190 strikes with rockets and kamikaze drones over the last 10 days, killing more than 70 people, Ukrainian Emergency Service spokesman Oleksandr Horunzhyi said in a briefing.

Horunzhyi said more than 240 people had been wounded in the shelling across 16 regions. Many of the targets were civilian infrastructure including houses and markets.

German Cybersecurity Chief Suspended Over Alleged Russia Ties (6:52 p.m.)

The head of Germany’s cybersecurity agency was suspended after a television report uncovered an alleged link with Russian intelligence.

A report by public broadcaster ZDF last week said Arne Schoenbohm was a co-founder of an association called Cybersecurity Council Germany, which gathered government officials and experts from the private sector and purportedly had links with a former member of the KGB intelligence service.

Germany’s Interior Ministry said the allegations “have permanently damaged the public’s necessary trust in the neutrality and impartiality of the conduct of his duties.”

NATO to Deliver Signal Jammers to Shield From Drone Strikes (5:31 p.m.)

NATO is set to deliver hundreds of signal jammers to Ukraine, possibly in the coming days, to help them counter the threat of drone strikes, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. Speaking via video stream to a conference in Berlin, Stoltenberg said the counter-drone systems “will help them to address this specific threat of drones, including of course Iranian-made drones that are now causing a lot of havoc and suffering.”

The alliance chief underscored Ukraine’s need for various air defense systems for different threats, including for drones, saying it was a “huge task” to protect the country’s vast territory.

Kyiv Must Meet Conditions for EU Funding Disbursement (4:42 p.m.)

Ukraine will have to meet conditions in the areas of economy, corporate governance, energy and the rule of law in order to access 3 billion euros ($2.95 billion) in EU funding agreed to earlyier this month, to be released by the end of the year.

The memorandum of understanding signed with the European Commission this month lists seven requirements, including the approval of a methodology for electing board members of state-owned banks, progress on the integrity of the vetting process of judiciary appointments and strengthening the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office, commission spokeswoman Veerle Nuyts said.

Iran Agrees to Ship Missiles, More Drones to Russia: Reuters (3:57 p.m.)

Iran has agreed to deliver surface-to-surface missiles to Russia, along with more drones, Reuters reports, citing two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats.

A deal was agreed to on Oct. 6, when Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior officials from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and a Supreme National Security Council official were in Moscow for talks.

Russia and Iran Eye New SWIFT Replacement Within Months (3:55 p.m.)

Russia and Iran could have their own version of the SWIFT payment system operating within two-to-three months, Russia’s trade representative to Iran, Rustam Zhiganshin, was quoted by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency as saying. Zhiganshin, who spoke at a meeting of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce, said the time frame for the new payment system was possible if the two countries reach an agreement.

In March, the US and the EU cut off seven Russian banks from SWIFT, and the EU blocked three more, including Russia’s largest lender, Sberbank, in June. Iran’s banks were suspended in 2018 after the US withdrew from the nuclear accord.

EU Inches Toward Sanctioning Iran for Supplying Drones to Russia (3:25 p.m.)

As member states weigh evidence, several reports and intelligence assessments have concluded that Iranian drones were most likely delivered to Russia during the summer.

Iran has repeatedly denied exporting any weapons for use in the war in Ukraine. EU states want to nail down that the drones were delivered after Russia’s invasion, given the firmness of Tehran’s denials, said the people, who asked not to be named on a confidential matter.

Russian Duma Suspends Online Broadcasts Over Leak Concerns (3:18 p.m.)

The State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, suspended live online broadcasts of its plenary sessions, citing concerns that sensitive information about the invasion might be revealed, state news agencies reported.

The only media access will be for accredited reporters inside the building. The upper house said it will continue live webcasts of plenary sessions, Tass reported. Russia has drastically tightened control over information since the invasion, broadening legal restrictions and limiting the release of economic data.

Ukraine’s Top Envoy Calls for Breaking Ties With Iran (2:47 p.m.)

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba asked President Zelenskiy to break the country’s diplomatic ties with Iran over its continued support for Russian aggression. After Iranian drones caused massive damage to civilian infrastructure and many casualties, Iran may be planning to provide Russia with ballistic missiles, Kuleba said in an online video.

Ukraine Raises Military Spending by More Than $10 Billion (2:23 p.m.)

The Ukrainian parliament passed a law increasing budget spending by almost 387 billion hryvnia ($10.5 billion), primarily to finance the nation’s military and defense needs, according to the Rada’s website. The spending will be financed with a “corresponding increase in domestic borrowing,” it said.

Backlog of Ukrainian Grain Ships Eases (12:10 p.m.)

A logjam of vessels shipping Ukrainian crops eased as inspections sped up over the weekend, but the backlog remains high with just over a month of the grain-export deal left.

Shippers are rushing to export as much as possible through the Black Sea corridor before the current deal expires, with negotiations on extending it continuing.

Russia needs assurances from the US for the grain deal to continue, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said, speaking to AHaber TV in a live interview. Kalin said he conveyed Russian concerns to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

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