Ukraine faces attacks and blackouts as Russia's war continues - CNN

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu by telephone connected Friday, a readout of the telephone telephone from Pentagon property caput Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder said.

Austin “emphasized the value of maintaining lines of connection amid the ongoing warfare against Ukraine,” Ryder said successful the readout of the call.

Austin past spoke with Shoigu connected May 13, a erstwhile readout from the Pentagon said. The conversation successful May was the archetypal clip the 2 leaders had spoken since Russia’s unprovoked penetration of Ukraine. Austin urged Shoigu to instrumentality an “immediate ceasefire,” according to a little readout of the May call.

Before the May telephone call, the leaders spoke connected Feb. 18, days earlier Russia’s penetration of Ukraine began connected Feb. 24.

On Friday, Austin besides spoke with Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov to “reiterate the unwavering US committedness to supporting Ukraine’s quality to antagonistic Russia’s aggression,” a abstracted readout from Ryder said.

 Iran has urged its citizens successful Ukraine to permission the state and debar traveling determination owed to “intensifying subject clashes and accrued unrest,” according to a connection from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

“Due to intensifying subject clashes and accrued unrest successful Ukraine, Iranian citizens are powerfully advised not to question to this country. At the aforesaid time, each Iranians surviving successful Ukraine are advised to permission the state to support their beingness and safety,” the connection reads.

The determination comes aft the US and European allies accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia for usage successful Ukraine. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said connected Wednesday that the US has “abundant evidence” that Iranian drones are being utilized to onslaught Ukrainian civilians and captious civilian infrastructure.

The White House said Iranian subject unit person visited Crimea to assistance with Russian operations targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine using drones.

Iran continues to contradict it is sending weapons to Russia for usage successful Ukraine. “Iran does not nonstop arms to the warring sides successful Ukraine and wants an extremity to the warfare and an extremity to the displacement of people,” Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian tweeted connected Friday.

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Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas answers questions astatine the European Council successful Brussels connected Friday.

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The European Union should usage implicit €300bn ($292bn) of frozen Russian overseas assets to assistance Ukraine, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said connected Friday.

“Today we’re going to absorption connected Ukraine. First of all, we person to speech astir the usage of [frozen] assets that we person – Russian [frozen] assets. We person implicit €300bn ($292bn) of [frozen] assets and however we tin usage them successful payment of Ukraine,” Kallas told reporters successful Brussels, wherever she is attending a gathering of the Council of the European Union.

In a tweet, Kallas said it was “time [the EU] determination up with making the aggressor pay.”

“Second, we decidedly person to sermon the ineligible effect to the crimes of aggression that person been committed and however to marque a abstracted tribunal to prosecute those,” Kallas besides told reporters.

Dam mining “pure terrorism”: Kallas called the alleged mining of a captious dam connected the Dnipro stream successful Ukraine’s southern Kherson portion – which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned to the Council connected a video code connected Thursday – “pure terrorism.”

“If you look astatine the explanation of terrorism, this is what it is. It is to marque america afraid, it is to marque america refrain from the decisions that we would different marque and this is atrocious that it is imaginable to bash this successful 2022,” Kallas said.

Zelensky claimed that Russia was creating grounds for a large-scale catastrophe successful the southbound of Ukraine, with Russian forces mining a captious dam connected the Dnipro stream successful the confederate Kherson region, arsenic good arsenic the adjacent hydroelectric plant.

“If Russian terrorists stroke up this dam, much than 80 settlements, including Kherson, volition beryllium successful the portion of accelerated flooding. Hundreds of thousands of radical whitethorn suffer. Water proviso to a ample portion of confederate Ukraine could beryllium destroyed. This Russian violent onslaught could permission Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works without h2o for cooling – h2o for ZNPP is taken from the Kakhovka reservoir,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy successful this September 2022 record photo.

Ukrainian Presidency/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia’s attacks connected Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure are aimed astatine creating a caller question of refugees.

Speaking to the European Council successful a video address, Zelensky said aft failing to usage vigor resources arsenic a limb against Europe, “the existent Russian enactment has ordered to crook the vigor strategy itself into a battlefield. The consequences of this are precise dangerous, again for each of america successful Europe.”

“Attacks by Russian cruise missiles and Iranian onslaught drones person destroyed much than a 3rd of our vigor infrastructure,” helium said. “Because of this, unfortunately, we tin nary longer export energy to assistance you support stability.”

Days of devastating Russian attacks connected vigor infrastructure have caused the federation to suffer astatine slightest 40% of its power-generating capacity. Ukrainian officials warned earlier this week that some exigency and scheduled blackouts would follow.

Zelensky added: “Russia is besides provoking a caller question of migration of Ukrainians to the EU countries. Russia’s panic against our vigor facilities is aimed astatine creating arsenic galore problems with energy and vigor successful Ukraine arsenic imaginable this autumn and wintertime and making arsenic galore Ukrainians arsenic imaginable permission for your countries.”

Critical dam mined: Zelensky besides claimed that Russia was creating grounds for a large-scale catastrophe successful the southbound of Ukraine, with Russian forces mining a captious dam connected the Dnipro stream successful the confederate Kherson region, arsenic good arsenic the adjacent hydroelectric plant.

“We person accusation that Russian terrorists person mined the dam and units of the Kakhovka hydroelectric powerfulness plant,” Zelensky told the Council of Europe during a video address.

“The dam of this hydroelectric powerfulness works holds astir 18 cardinal cubic meters of water.

“If Russian terrorists stroke up this dam, much than 80 settlements, including Kherson, volition beryllium successful the portion of accelerated flooding. Hundreds of thousands of radical whitethorn suffer. Water proviso to a ample portion of confederate Ukraine could beryllium destroyed. This Russian violent onslaught could permission Zaporizhzhia atomic powerfulness works without h2o for cooling - h2o for ZNPP is taken from the Kakhovka reservoir. “

A outer representation shows a presumption of the determination of the Kakhovka dam, right, and the surrounding portion successful Kherson, Ukraine, connected October 18. 

European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A/Reuters

CNN has reached retired to the Russian Ministry of Defense for a effect to the allegations.

The dam and hydroelectric works person been moving astatine much-reduced capableness arsenic the country was captured by Russian forces successful March. Ukrainian forces are immoderate 40 kilometers (more than 24 miles) northbound of the dam. Over the past 4 months, they person launched respective strikes against the span that forms portion of the dam to forestall its usage by the Russian military.

Separately, Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the caput of the Ukrainian President’s office, said connected Twitter Thursday that Russia planned to excavation the dam and transformers, forcing the deportation of Ukrainian civilians from Kherson and flooding territory to halt the Ukrainian counteroffensive successful the region. The onshore to the southbound and eastbound of the stream is low-lying.

“Russia is preparing a man-made catastrophe,” Podolyak said.

What pro-Moscow officials are saying: The Russian-appointed caput of the Nova Kakhovka administrative district, Vladimir Leontiev, told Russian authorities media TASS that it makes nary consciousness for Russia to destruct the dam of the powerfulness station.

“What is the constituent for Russia to destruct it now? Even from a ceremonial constituent of view, this is nonsense. This is implicit nonsense,” Leontiev said.

“First of all, you request to deliberation astir who benefits from it: it is lone beneficial for Ukraine to destruct the dam, the hydroelectric powerfulness station, to disrupt logistics, to sow fearfulness and panic, to halt the anticipation of supplying h2o done the North Crimean Canal to the territory of Crimea,” helium said, according to TASS.

Tetyana Safonova, 61, sits with her feline Asya arsenic she looks astatine her mobile telephone during a powerfulness outage connected October 20, 2022 successful Borodyanka, Ukraine.

Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Cars determination on a acheronian roadworthy during the vigor conservation connected Thursday, October 20, 2022, successful Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

At slightest 2 members of a section tv presumption were killed by Ukrainian shelling precocious Thursday, the Russian-appointed lawman politician of the Kherson region, Ekaterina Gubareva, said.

Posting a photograph of their vehicle, Gubareva said, “This is what the car of our Tavria TV unit looks similar aft the evening shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine….At slightest 2 radical from the squad were killed.”

A Russian shaper was 1 of those killed, Gubareva said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaks during a associated quality league successful Moscow, connected August 31.

Maxim Shemetov/Pool/AFP/Getty Images

Despite its practice with Russia connected defence capabilities, Iran respects Ukraine’s “territorial integrity,” the Iranian overseas curate claimed connected Friday successful a telephone telephone with the European Union’s apical diplomat ― successful which helium besides denied that Tehran had provided Moscow with the drones utilized successful deadly attacks connected Kyiv this week.

“Tehran’s argumentation regarding the Ukraine warfare is to respect the country’s territorial integrity,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told Josep Borrell, the EU’s precocious typical for overseas affairs and information policy, according to a Twitter station from the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
“Iran does not nonstop arms to the warring sides successful Ukraine and wants an extremity to the warfare and an extremity to the displacement of people,” Amirabdollahian said, according to the post.
“The Iranian overseas curate underlined that the Islamic Republic is making an effort to halt the hostilities successful Ukraine done diplomacy and it advises the Europeans to presumption the contented with a realistic approach.” 

Some context: Iran has repeatedly denied supplying “kamikaze” drones to Russia successful the look of mounting grounds to the contrary. On Thursday, the White House said Iranian subject unit person visited Crimea to assistance with Russian operations targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine using drones. John Kirby, the communications coordinator astatine the National Security Council, said the beingness of Iranian unit was grounds of Tehran’s nonstop engagement successful the conflict. “They tin prevarication to the satellite but they surely can’t fell the facts,” helium said.

A slightest six radical person been killed and 10 others injured successful the past 24 hours by Ukrainian rocket attacks connected the eastbound Luhansk region, according to pro-Russian officials successful the occupied territory.

The Moscow-backed Luhansk People’s Republic Joint Centre for Control and Coordination (JCCC) claimed the attacks were carried retired by Ukrainian forces utilizing American HIMARS multi-launch rocket systems. 

The settlements of Lysychansk, Brianka, Troitske, Rubizhne, Chervony Prapor and Brianka were deed successful the attacks connected Thursday and Friday, the JCCC said.

Five of those killed were employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations successful Chervony Prapor, it added.

Some context: Luhansk is among 4 regions of Ukraine that Russia is attempting to annex successful usurpation of planetary instrumentality adjacent arsenic a Ukrainian counteroffensive advances successful the the southbound and eastbound of the country. On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that helium had signed a instrumentality introducing martial law successful the 4 regions.

Authorities exhume the graves of civilians who were killed successful Lyman, Ukraine connected October 15.

Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Ukraine has completed the exhumation of bodies successful the largest wide sedate discovered pursuing the retreat of Russian troops from the eastbound metropolis of Lyman, Ukrainian constabulary said Thursday.

According to the National Police of Ukraine, 146 bodies were exhumed astatine the Lyman cemetery successful the Donetsk region, of which 111 were civilians and 35 subject personnel.

Police said immoderate of the victims died of shrapnel injuries from Russian shelling, adding immoderate bodies showed signs of having suffered “a convulsive death,” without giving further details.

CNN teams who went to Lyman antecedently reported seeing bodies with their hands tied down their backs successful the wide graves.

With the cemetery exhumations present complete, the fig of bodies exhumed successful Lyman present totals 166, of which 5 are children, according to police.

The victims volition beryllium reburied aft a forensic aesculapian introspection portion the exhumation of civilians buried elsewhere is ongoing, constabulary said.

At slightest 2 radical person been killed and 10 much wounded aft Ukrainian rocket strikes deed a “civilian crossing” adjacent the Antonivskyi Bridge successful Kherson precocious Thursday, according to the confederate region’s Russian-appointed chairman.

“Unfortunately, contiguous aft 11 p.m. the Armed Forces of Ukraine inflicted a onslaught connected the civilian crossing,” Sergey Eliseev said connected Telegram, adding the civilians were connected the crossing astatine that clip of nighttime “because a batch of residents of Kherson portion privation to permission the territory to past the aggravation of the subject situation.”

Eliseev said helium went to the country of the strikes, and aboriginal to the determination infirmary wherever the injured had been taken with shrapnel wounds and caput injuries.

The Russian-backed Kherson portion medication said connected its Telegram transmission that Ukraine’s subject “fired 12 HIMARS astatine the civilian crossing adjacent the Antonivskyi Bridge, which besides operates astatine nighttime owed to the ample fig of radical wishing to question to the near slope of the Dnipro River.”

Ukraine’s subject is yet to comment.

Some context: The alleged rocket strikes travel arsenic warring escalates successful the Russian-occupied portion of Ukraine’s confederate Kherson region, wherever the pro-Moscow authorities are trying to “relocate” up to 60,000 civilians. Kherson is among 4 regions of Ukraine that Russia is attempting to annex successful usurpation of planetary law. 

It besides comes aft days of Russian attacks connected Ukraine’s vigor infrastructure that person caused fatalities and the nonaccomplishment of astatine slightest 40% of the country’s power-generating capacity. 

Former Italian person Silvio Berlusconi speaks successful Rome, Italy, connected September 22.  

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Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi sparked contention this week erstwhile audio released by Italian quality bureau LaPresse revealed the 86-year-old speaking astir his “re-established” narration with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Berlusconi says successful the audio that Putin sent him 20 bottles of vodka and a “very saccharine letter” connected his day past month.

His bureau confirmed with CNN connected Thursday that the clips were authentic — seemingly having been secretly recorded during a gathering of Berlusconi’s Forza Italia enactment successful the parliamentary enclosure connected Tuesday.

“I sent him bottles of Lambrusco (Italian sparkling wine) and an arsenic saccharine letter,” Berlusconi says successful the LaPresse audio clip.

He besides says helium had “re-established relations with President Putin” and goes connected to boast that the Russian person called him “the archetypal of his 5 existent friends.”

A enactment spokesperson denied Berlusconi was successful interaction with Putin, saying the erstwhile premier curate had been telling parliamentarians “an aged communicative referring to an occurrence galore years ago.”

However, successful the LaPresse audio, Berlusconi tin beryllium heard saying Putin “was against immoderate initiative” for warfare against Ukraine.

The comments person raised eyebrows among Ukraine watchers arsenic Berlusconi is expected to beryllium portion of Italy’s incoming conjugation authorities led by the ultra-conservative Giorgia Meloni — who has been steadfast successful her enactment for Ukraine.

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President Joe Biden connected Thursday seized connected caller comments from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling into question aboriginal Ukraine aid, framing the presumption arsenic undermining the US relation — and enactment — successful an progressively volatile world.

“They said that if they win, they’re not apt to money — to assistance — proceed to money Ukraine, the Ukrainian warfare against the Russians,” Biden said astatine a fundraiser successful Philadelphia for Pennsylvania Senate campaigner John Fetterman, according to the property pool. “These guys don’t get it. It’s a batch bigger than Ukraine — it’s Eastern Europe. It’s NATO. It’s real, serious, superior consequential outcomes. They person nary consciousness of American overseas policy.”

Earlier successful the day, arsenic Biden and Fetterman dropped by a Primanti Bros. sandwich store adjacent Pittsburgh, helium likewise told reporters of aboriginal aid: “Yeah I americium disquieted astir that due to the fact that they said they’ll chopped it.”

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The White House says Iranian subject unit person visited Crimea to assistance with Russian operations targeting civilian infrastructure successful Ukraine utilizing drones.

John Kirby, the communications coordinator astatine the National Security Council, said the beingness of Iranian unit was grounds of Tehran’s nonstop engagement successful the conflict.

CNN previously reported that Iranian subject unit had been sent to Crimea to bid Russian forces.

“Iranian subject unit were connected the crushed successful Crimea and assisted with these operations,” helium said. “Russia has received dozens of UAVs truthful acold and volition apt proceed to person further shipments successful the future.”

The US has said earlier that Russia was obtaining drones from Iran, but has not antecedently disclosed that Iranian unit are connected the crushed assisting successful utilizing the weapons.

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British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly leaves pursuing a play furniture gathering astatine 10 Downing Street successful London connected October 11.

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The UK is slapping caller sanctions connected Iran for supplying Russia with “kamikaze” drones utilized to bombard Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

In a statement, Cleverly accused Iran of “warmongering” by profiting from “Russia’s abhorrent attacks connected Ukrainian citizens and adding to the suffering of the radical and the demolition of captious infrastructure.” 

The caller sanctions match measures agreed to by the EU on Thursday, targeting 3 individuals and 1 concern liable for providing drones to Moscow. 

Subject to plus freezes and question bans are:

• Maj. Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the president of the equipped forces wide staff.
• Brig. Gen. Seyed Hojjatollah Qureishi, the cardinal Iranian negotiator successful the woody that has provided Russia with the Iranian-produced drones.
• Brig. Gen. Saeed Aghajani, the caput of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a subdivision of the Iranian equipped forces. 

One entity — Aerospace Force UAV Command — reported to person been successful the temporarily controlled territories of Ukraine advising Russian forces connected however to usage the drones, is besides taxable to an plus freeze. 

More context: Iran has denied supplying weapons to Russia contempt grounds to the contrary. CNN reported Tuesday that Iran has sent subject unit to Russian-occupied territory inside Crimea to bid and counsel the Russian subject connected the usage of their drones, according to 2 sources acquainted with US intelligence. 

A spokesperson for the Iranian ngo astatine the United Nations said “Iran does not corroborate this assertion and rejects it.” 

“These cowardly drone strikes are an enactment of desperation. By enabling these strikes, these individuals and a shaper person caused the radical of Ukraine untold suffering. We will guarantee that they are held to relationship for their actions,” Cleverly said.

A elder Ukrainian authoritative says that Russian forces’ “task fig one” is to clasp the confederate beforehand line.

The Russians are digging successful and sending much resources successful hopes of holding disconnected the Ukrainian forces pushing toward Kherson, said Oleksii Hromov, a apical authoritative with the military’s General Staff.

“The force plans to fulfill this task with the assistance of the first question of the partial mobilization and by expanding the fig of their troops connected the westbound slope of the Dnipro River,” helium said, referring to a key waterway where warring has precocious taken spot connected some banks.

Hromov suggested determination were present much than 40 Russian battalion tactical groups successful the Kherson region. Each radical usually comprises immoderate 1,000 personnel.

Why this portion is key:

“For Putin’s regime, the southbound absorption — Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv — has strategical meaning from the constituent of presumption of preserving the onshore corridor to Crimea and h2o proviso to the peninsula, arsenic good arsenic creating a aboriginal bridgehead for the seizure of Mykolaiv and Odesa regions, depriving Ukraine of the presumption of a maritime state,” Hromov said. 

In his ain statement, the Russia-backed caput of Crimea stressed the region’s value to Moscow and its appointed leaders successful occupied Ukraine.

“Our communal presumption is that the extortion of Kherson portion volition guarantee the information of the Republic of Crimea. To that end, we volition proceed to instrumentality each indispensable measures, including providing maximum assistance to the troops and instrumentality enforcement units connected the beforehand lines,” Sergey Aksenov said Thursday.

A elder Ukrainian subject authoritative says determination is increasing information that Russia volition unfastened a caller beforehand successful the warfare done its coordination with Belarus, utilizing it to chopped subject supplies to Ukraine.

“This time, the absorption of the violative whitethorn beryllium changed to the (western part) of the Belarusian-Ukrainian borderline to chopped the main logistics arteries of supplying weapons and subject instrumentality to Ukraine from spouse countries.”

Hromov said Ukraine’s defence forces were “taking measures to guarantee reliable sum of the authorities borderline of Ukraine and the metropolis of Kyiv from the bluish direction. In lawsuit the force decides to unfastened the alleged 2nd front, namely, to behaviour violative actions from the Republic of Belarus, we volition beryllium acceptable for an capable response.”

More background: Belarusian authorities person denied immoderate plans for mobilization but person held a precocious fig of grooming and readiness exercises this twelvemonth and recently announced a associated force with Russian troops.

The past clip Belarusian and Russian forces held associated exercises, in February, galore of those Russian forces went connected to transverse the Ukrainian borderline successful their ill-fated thrust toward the capital.

Ukraine and Belarus stock a 1,000-kilometer (about 620-mile) frontier, overmuch of it sparsely populated and thickly forested.

Belarus does not person a mighty service successful numbers. But the imaginable of the agelong bluish borderline again becoming a passageway for Russian forces would beryllium a nightmare for Ukraine’s already stretched forces.

Ukraine’s authorities vigor institution has been forced to widen its temporary energy restrictions to 3 eastbound regions arsenic the federation continues to grapple with constricted supply.

Kharkiv, Sumy and Poltava were added to the database of areas nether a “temporary controlled restriction,” according to Ukrenergo, the vigor agency.

The company said earlier Thursday that it had been forced to instrumentality restrictions connected energy usage successful the superior Kyiv and different cardinal regions due to the fact that of precocious vigor request there.

Ihor Taburets, the caput of the Cherkasy determination subject administration, said the exigency powerfulness outages were needed to stabilize the country’s powerfulness grid.

The energy proviso to “socially important facilities” would beryllium maintained, helium added.

Remember: Days of devastating Russian attacks connected vigor infrastructure have caused the federation suffer astatine slightest 40% of its power-generating capacity. Ukrainian officials warned earlier this week that some exigency and scheduled blackouts would follow.

European Union members person agreed connected caller sanctions against Iran implicit supplying drones that person been utilized to onslaught Ukraine, the Czech presidency of the EU said connected Thursday.

“EU ambassadors agreed connected measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that deed Ukraine,” the presidency said connected Twitter, adding that the sanctions volition travel into unit connected Thursday afternoon. “EU states decided to frost the assets of 3 individuals and 1 entity liable for drone deliveries.”

The EU is “also prepared to widen sanctions to 4 much Iranian entities that already featured successful a erstwhile sanctions list,” it concluded.

Some context: Iran has repeatedly denied supplying Russia with weapons for usage successful Ukraine, saying past week that it “has not and volition not” bash so.

On Wednesday, EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said the bloc had “sufficient evidence” to authorisation Iran successful narration to supplying drones to Russia, which are believed to person been utilized against Ukraine.

Earlier this week, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said a full of 37 Iranian Shahed-136 drones and 3 cruise missiles launched by Russia were changeable down overnight Sunday and connected Monday.