24-hour curfew imposed in Kherson city
The Russian-installed deputy governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region has announced that a 24 hour curfew has been imposed in Kherson city.
Kirill Stremousov, in a video message posted on Telegram said that the curfew was necessary “in order to defend our city of Kherson” from what he referred to as “terrorist attacks”.
Stremousov repeated earlier calls for civilians to leave Kherson city, saying that columns of Ukrainian vehicles had been spotted on areas of the frontline and that an attack was possible.
Russia declared that it had annexed the region in September , making it the largest Ukrainian city under Moscow’s control. In response, Ukrainian forces have long-trailed a counteroffensive to take back control.
Key events
The Russian defence ministry has released images which show Kherson residents crossing the Dnipro river after Putin warned that civilians still living in the Ukrainian province, which Russia declared in September it had annexed, must be “evacuated” from the conflict zone.
Here’s a video with the footage:
Jonathan Steele
For Comment is Free, Jonathan Steele has argued that the danger of a quick slide into all-out nuclear war between Russia and the US is less, but in other ways the risk we face is more alarming.
Putin’s comment leaves us facing the bleakest of scenarios. We now have no prospect of unilateral Russian retreat. It comes on top of the grim reality that there is no basis for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since Putin made the stupid mistake in September of annexing four Ukrainian provinces, thereby undermining any chance of mutual concessions and an agreed pull-back, since the Russian parliament now considers the regions part of Russia.
You can read the full report here:
24-hour curfew imposed in Kherson city
The Russian-installed deputy governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region has announced that a 24 hour curfew has been imposed in Kherson city.
Kirill Stremousov, in a video message posted on Telegram said that the curfew was necessary “in order to defend our city of Kherson” from what he referred to as “terrorist attacks”.
Stremousov repeated earlier calls for civilians to leave Kherson city, saying that columns of Ukrainian vehicles had been spotted on areas of the frontline and that an attack was possible.
Russia declared that it had annexed the region in September , making it the largest Ukrainian city under Moscow’s control. In response, Ukrainian forces have long-trailed a counteroffensive to take back control.
The western military alliance has released footage of its latest nuclear exercise over northwestern Europe, with the majority of its exercises being held at least 1,000km from Russia’s borders, over Belgium, the North Sea and the UK.
The practice operation involved around 60 aircraft, including fighter jets, surveillance and refuelling planes.
In a video, it said it was a “routine, recurring training activity and it is not linked to any current world events”.
NATO said the aim was to “preserve peace, deter aggression, and prevent coercion”.
NATO has been exercising nuclear deterrence capabilities over north-western Europe. Exercise “Steadfast Noon” was a routine, recurring training activity and it is not linked to any current world events. No live weapons were used. #DeterandDefend @NATO_AIRCOM pic.twitter.com/UsByDZQxlA
— SHAPE_NATO Allied Command Operations (@SHAPE_NATO) November 3, 2022
Russia wants the west to ease restrictions on state agriculture lender Rosselkhozbank to facilitate Russian grain exports, according to four sources familiar with the request, made during talks to extend a deal on food shipments from Ukraine, according to an exclusive Reuters report.
Reuters reports:
Moscow suspended its participation in the secure Black Sea grain corridor in late October but rejoined after four days, easing fears of further disruptions to grain exports from key supplier Ukraine at a time of rampant global food inflation.
President Vladimir Putin has reserved Russia’s right to halt the United Nations-brokered agreement again, while U.N. chief Antonio Guterres is pushing Moscow to agree to extend the pact beyond its scheduled expiry on Nov. 19.
Russia has not detailed its demands publicly beyond calls to unblock Russian fertiliser stuck in European ports and warehouses and resume exports of ammonia, an important ingredient in fertiliser, through a Russia-Ukraine pipeline.
The four sources, who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, said Russia was asking Western countries to allow state lender Rosselkhozbank to restore its relations with correspondent banks despite Western sanctions.
This would allow the bank, which has not had a major role in the international grain trade so far, to process payments for Russian grain and other foodstuffs, two of the sources added. Before the latest sanctions, such payments were handled by international banks and subsidiaries of other Russian banks in Switzerland.
The sources did not say what response, if any, Russia had got to its proposals.
Russia has said the sanctions imposed after the start of what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine make it hard for Russian grain and fertiliser traders to process payments and access vessels, insurance and ports, even though food is exempt.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry and Rosselkhozbank did not reply to a request for comment.
The U.N. has said it “remains committed to removing the remaining obstacles to the exports of Russian food and fertilizer”. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Russian proposal.
A U.N. source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said facilitation of payments for Russian food and fertilizer through Rosselkhozbank is being discussed with the European Union and other parties. The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Peter Beaumont
Vladimir Putin has warned that civilians still living in the Ukrainian province of Kherson, which Russia declared it had annexed in September, must be “evacuated” from the conflict zone, amid suggestions that Russian forces may be preparing to abandon the west bank of the Dnipro river.
The Russian president made the comments during a meeting with pro-Kremlin activists, underlining mounting speculation that Russia would attempt to hold the city of Kherson itself, the largest urban area under Russian occupation, at any cost.
“Now, of course, those who live in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer,” he said.
You can read Peter Beaumont’s full report here:
A group of diplomats which make up part of G7 have released a statement saying they will stand “firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes”.
The ministers said: “We condemn Russia’s recent escalation, including its attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, in particular energy and water facilities, across Ukraine using missiles and Iranian drones”.
G7 countries had gathered in Muenster, the German city, this week with Russia’s invasion on its agenda.
The ministers also discussed Ukraine’s needs as it heads into the winter – particularly the need to support the repair and restoration of energy and water infrastructures.
Regarding the British prime minister Rishi Sunak’s meeting with the Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki , you can read the full statement released by Downing Street below.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: “Discussing the situation in Belarus, the Prime Minister said the UK was keeping a close watch on developments and stood by Poland in the face of continued Russian aggression.
“As part of deterrence efforts across the eastern flank, the UK was increasing the capability of its forces, and had increased activity with the Joint Expeditionary Force in the Baltic region”, the PM added.
“Both agreed on the need to send a continued strong signal to Putin that intimidation would not work.”
The US talk show host David Letterman has travelled to Kyiv to interview Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian president.
Netflix revealed the news on Twitter, adding that the president will appear in an upcoming episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
David Letterman recently traveled to Kyiv, Ukraine to interview President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for an upcoming episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman.
The standalone special will premiere later this year. pic.twitter.com/M8GlLE5vtT
— Netflix (@netflix) November 3, 2022
Luke Harding
Luke Harding has interviewed Melinda Simmons, the UK’s current ambassador in Ukraine.
“This week Moscow accused the UK of masterminding a raid on the occupied Crimean port of Sevastopol, in which three Russian naval boats were damaged, and blowing up the NordSteam gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Simmons says she does not spend time thinking about “nonsense”, even if the idea of the UK as an all-powerful bogeyman is a little bit “flattering”.
Why did Putin invade? Simmons says he set out his reasons in a “jaw-dropping” essay last year in which he argued Ukraine was not a country. “It was his manifesto for taking back what he thought had been wrongly given away,” she says.”
You can read the full interview below:
Vladimir Putin reportedly says “most dangerous actions” happening in Kherson as he calls for people to leave
Vladimir Putin said on Friday that civilians in the Ukrainian region of Kherson must be removed from the conflict zone, state-owned news agency RIA reported.
Russia illegally annexed the region from Ukraine in September and Ukrainian forces have since launched a counteroffensive to take back control.
Quoting a meeting Putin had with pro-Kremlin activists, RIA reports the Russian president said: “Now, of course, those who live in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer”.
Russian-installed officials in Kherson region have pleaded for civilians to leave the region’s west, where Ukrainian forces have retaken ground in recent weeks.
On Thursday, Kherson’s Russian-appointed deputy governor Kirill Stremousov issued several video appeals for civilians to leave the part of the province on the west bank of the Dnipro river.
He said that Russian forces would likelygive up the west bank of the Dnipro to Ukraine.
Isobel Koshiw
Ukraine’s state postal service has issued a commemorative wartime stamp dedicated to the strike on the Crimean Bridge last month, which sparked celebrations across the country.
Its release has been timed to coincide with Russia’s Unity Day on 4 November.
The Crimean Bridge was built to connect Russia to the territory it illegally annexed in 2014, and symbolised the country’s eternal control over the peninsula and its regional impunity. President Vladimir Putin was there to open it.
For Ukrainians, the bridge was a reminder of Russia’s occupation and their inability to act against Russia, then widely considered the world’s third most powerful army.
Designed by the Ukrainian artist Yuriy Shapoval, the stamp shows the bridge behind clouds of dark grey smoke. In the forefront is the famous scene from the Titanic, where Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet stand on the bow of the ship a reference to Russia’s claims that the bridge was unsinkable.
Read more of Isobel Koshiw’s report here:
On Friday, Rishi Sunak, the British prime minister, and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki discussed the situation in Belarus and agreed the need to keep sending a strong message to Russia that intimidation would not work, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
The statement said that Sunak told Morawiecki on a call: “As part of deterrence efforts across the eastern flank, the UK was increasing the capability of its forces, and had increased activity with the Joint Expeditionary Force in the Baltic region.”
“Both agreed on the need to send a continued strong signal to Putin that intimidation would not work.”
Summary of the day so far …
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G7 foreign ministers have agreed on the need for a coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure, a senior US state department official has said.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Friday that he had agreed with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that grain sent under the Black Sea export deal should go to poor African countries for free. “In my phone call with Vladimir Putin, he said ‘Let’s send this grain to countries such as Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan for free’ – and we agreed,” Erdogan said in a speech to businesspeople in Istanbul.
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German chancellor Olaf Scholz is visiting China, and while there has urged Putin to extend the Black Sea grain deal when it expires on 19 November.
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Dmitry Medvedev, long-term ally of Vladimir Putin, current deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, and previously both president and prime minister of Russia, has issued a broadside this morning claiming that Russia’s war has “a sacred purpose” and that “the goal is to stop the supreme ruler of hell, no matter what name he uses – Satan, Lucifer or Iblis.”
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The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has said 450,000 residents in the Ukrainian capital are without electricity on Friday morning. “This is one and a half times more than in previous days,” he said, adding the power system is overloaded.
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The UN nuclear watchdog, said on Thursday, it had found no sign of undeclared nuclear activity at three sites in Ukraine that it inspected at Kyiv’s request, in response to Russian allegations that work was being done on a “dirty bomb”. “Our technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at these three locations,” the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, adding that environmental samples taken would be analysed.
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In southern Ukraine, a Russian-installed occupation official said on Wednesday that Moscow was likely to pull its troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River, signalling a huge retreat that, if confirmed, could be a major turning point in the war. “Most likely our units, our soldiers, will leave for the left [eastern] bank,” said Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy civilian administrator of the Kherson region, in an interview with Solovyov Live, a pro-Kremlin online media outlet.
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Ukraine said it was wary that Moscow could be setting a trap by feigning a pull-out from the Kherson region and maintained its forces were still fighting in the area. Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s southern military command, said it could be a Russian trap. “This could be a manifestation of a particular provocation, in order to create the impression that the settlements are abandoned, that it is safe to enter them, while they are preparing for street battles,” she said in televised comments.
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Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying units threatening to shoot their own retreating soldiers, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. An intelligence report released early this morning described these Russian units as “barrier troops” or “blocking units” used to compel offensives.
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Oleh Synyehubov, governor of Kharkiv, has said that yesterday in Izium a 69-year-old man was blown up by a mine and hospitalised with moderate injuries. In a message on Telegram, he said that in the last day Ukrainian forces had neutralised “471 explosive objects” in the region.
That is it from me, Martin Belam, this week. I will be back on Monday.
G7 foreign ministers have agreed on the need for a coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure, a senior US state department official has told Reuters.
“That’s something that will be a core focus of this group in the days and weeks ahead,” the official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity, said.
