Ukrainian soldiers sit on a driving military vehicle near the frontline at the northern Kherson region, Ukraine, 07 November 2022. Russian troops on 24 February entered Ukrainian territory, starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis. EPA-EFE/HANNIBAL HANSCHKE Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, speaking in a televised briefing Wednesday, told the commander of Moscow’s forces to pull out of the city and regroup on the other side of the Dnipro river.
President Vladimir Putin won’t attend the Group of 20 summit next week, people familiar with the planning said, as the Kremlin seeks to protect the president from potential high-level tensions over his invasion of Ukraine.
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Key Developments
- Russia to Exit Kherson, Its First Big City Seized in Ukraine
- Putin to Skip G-20 Indonesia Summit, Facing Cold Shoulder
- Russia Seeks to Dial Back Putin’s Nuclear War Threat Again
- Russia Is Moving WNBA’s Griner to a Penal Colony, Lawyers Say
- Russian Energy Cuts to Cost Tiny Moldova More Than $1 Billion
On the Ground
Russian troops blew up bridges on the right bank of the Dnipro river in the occupied Kherson region and strengthened fortifications near the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, Serhii Khlan, deputy of Kherson regional council, said at a briefing. The city has been without power and communication for four days, he said.
Russian forces launched major attacks overnight in the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones, five of which were shot down, local authorities said on Telegram, adding that four people were injured in the city of Dnipro. Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults near 14 settlements in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions over the past day, Ukraine’s General Staff said in its morning update, with Bakhmut and Avdiyivka suffering the most sustained assault.
(All times CET)
UK to Provide 1,000 More Missiles to Ukraine (7:02 p.m.)
The UK is providing Ukraine with an extra 1,000 surface-to-air missiles, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said.
The equipment consists of launchers and missiles and can be used to shoot down airborne targets including Russian drones and cruise missiles, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Energy Cuts to Cost Moldova More Than $1 Billion (6:51 p.m.)
Russian supply cuts and air strikes in Ukraine will cost Moldova more than $1 billion this winter to cover additional energy costs, according to a draft document. The sum amounts to 8% of one of Europe’s poorest economies.
The 19-page draft, to be presented to foreign diplomats and leaders ahead of a Nov. 21 support conference for Moldova in Paris, describes a sustained campaign by Moscow and local “criminal groups” to bring down the pro-Western government of the nation wedged between Ukraine and Romania by stoking turmoil.
Chechen Leader Lauds Kherson Pullback (6:39 p.m.)
Kremlin-backed Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov praised Sergei Surovikin, the general in charge of Russian forces in Ukraine, for the pullout, saying it saved “a thousand soldiers” that had been effectively surrounded in Kherson.
Instead of holding on to Kherson which is difficult to defend, Kadyrov said Russian forces are relocating to another, more strategically advantageous position.
Russian Inflation Slows After Putin’s Call-Up (5:09 p.m.)
Russian inflation decelerated to the lowest since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, though risks are on the rise after the Kremlin’s call-up of reservists to fight in the war.
Data on Wednesday showed annual inflation slowed to 12.6% in October, a slightly larger decline than forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey. It decelerated for a sixth month from a peak of almost 18% in April.
Top Putin Aide Visits Iran as Weapons Bolster Russia’s War (4:43 p.m.)
Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev met with top Iranian leaders in Tehran as the two nations pledged to deepen relations to counter pressure from the US and its allies.
Russia regards “strategic cooperation” with Iran as an important element of its national security, Patrushev said at talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, the state-run Tass news service reported. While the Kremlin denies using Iranian equipment, it has relied increasingly on drones from Tehran as it burns through its own stockpiles of missiles in attacks on Ukraine.
Russia to Exit Kherson, Its First Major City Seized in Ukraine (4:10 p.m.)
“I understand that this is a very difficult decision,” Surovikin told Russia’s defense minister in proposing the move. “At the same time, we will save the lives of our servicemen and, in general, the combat capability of the group of troops, which is futile to keep on the right bank in a limited area.”
The retreat marks another major defeat for the Kremlin after Ukraine retook large areas of territory around Kharkiv in the east over the summer. Kherson was the first regional capital to fall in Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion and was among the territories the Kremlin claimed to annex in illegal referendums held in September. Putin said at the time the areas would be Russian forever.
Putin to Skip G-20 Indonesia Summit, Facing Cold Shoulder (4:08 p.m.)
Ending months of suspense, the Russian leader’s decision avoids potential confrontations with other world leaders, including US President Joe Biden, who has labeled Putin a “war criminal.” The Kremlin also risked Putin being shunned by European leaders at the Nov. 15-16 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.
Russia will send Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Putin’s place, one of the people said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t yet public. Spokespeople from the Foreign Ministry and Kremlin didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
EU Delivers €18 Billion Funding Package for Ukraine (2:06 p.m.)
The European Union unveiled its €18 billion ($18 billion) package to help cover Ukraine’s financial needs next year as part of a fixed system after promised disbursements were delayed for months. The package will include highly concessional loans with borrowing costs covered by the bloc, which could amount to €630 million annually, according to the European Commission’s estimate.
EU Budget commissioner Johannes Hahn said he’s confident lingering reluctance among some member states can be overcome, with initial payments slated for January. Hungary said it won’t support changes in EU budget rules to borrow the funds on the markets.
Bulgaria Steps Up Nuclear Fuel Search in Pivot From Russia (1:42 p.m.)
Bulgarian lawmakers urged the government to speed up the hunt for alternative suppliers for its nuclear fuel, as the Balkan country boosts efforts to diversify energy supplies away from Russia.
Bulgaria, which has close cultural and economic ties with Russia, was almost entirely dependent on the country’s natural gas and reactor fuel until the start of the war in Ukraine. Moscow cut gas flows after Bulgaria refused to pay for supplies in rubles, but the country still gets about a third of its electricity output from the Soviet-style Kozloduy nuclear plant that uses uranium provided by Russia’s TVEL Fuel Co.
Russia Tries Dialing Down Nuclear Tensions (10 a.m.)
The Russian note circulated among International Atomic Energy Agency diplomats in Vienna was the second Kremlin attempt this month to clarify its atomic doctrine. Fears rose in reason months that Russia could resort to the use of tactical nuclear warheads amid conventional military setbacks in Ukraine.
While Russia’s nuclear strategy allows it to “hypothetically resort to nuclear weapons,” an attack would be launched only in response to first use by another country of if the “very existence of the state is in jeopardy,” according to the document. “The most immediate task is to avoid any military clash of nuclear powers.”
DTEK Needs ‘Billions’ of Dollars to Fix Power Grid (9:45 am)
Ukraine’s biggest private power producer, DTEK, said it’s running out of equipment to fix power stations damaged by Russian missile attacks.
“We need millions of dollars-worth of equipment for immediate fixes and billions for the long-term, deep repairs of the grid,” Chief Executive Officer Maxim Timchenko said in an interview at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt. “We appeal to countries and companies to help us.” DTEK has had to halt power exports to the rest of Europe to focus on maintaining domestic supplies, he said.
NATO Summit Set for Vilnius in July (9:30 a.m.)
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the next meeting of the alliance’s heads of state and government will be held July 11-12 in Vilnius, close to Lithuania’s border with Russia’s ally Belarus.
The summit “will be an opportunity for allied heads of state and government to agree further steps to strengthen our deterrence and defense and review significant increases in defense spending, as well as to continue our support for Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said in a statement.
Grid Operator Plans Emergency Power Cuts (8:45 a.m.)
Ukraine’s grid operator NPC Ukrenergo plans electricity cutoffs lasting several hours across the country Wednesday, the company said on Telegram.
The widest restrictions in power supply are planned in the capital Kyiv and its surrounding region, as well as in Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad. Emergency blackouts are not yet expected yet, according to Ukrenergo.
Russian Mogul’s Superyacht Due in Cape Town (8:40 a.m.)
Russian tycoon Alexey Mordashov’s $500 million superyacht Nord is due to arrive in Cape Town after sailing more than 7,000 nautical miles from Hong Kong, seeking safe harbor from sanctions that have led to the seizure of more than a dozen vessels.
The Nord has challenged the effectiveness of Western attempts to clamp down on Russian billionaires. Mordashov, the country’s third-wealthiest citizen and the biggest shareholder in steelmaker Severstal PJSC, was sanctioned by the European Union, the UK and US following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hong Kong and South Africa both said they wouldn’t enforce those sanctions.
Griner Heading to Russian Penal Colony (8:30 a.m.)
WNBA star Brittney Griner, whose appeal against a nine-year sentence was rejected by a Moscow court last month, is being moved to a penal colony, her lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov said in a statement. Under Russian regulations, her location will only be disclosed once she arrives at the prison and notification takes up to two weeks to be received, they said.
The US has continued to follow up with Russia through all available channels on alternative potential ways to secure Griner’s release, despite Moscow’s “lack of good faith negotiation” on an earlier offer from Washington to try to resolve the situation, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. President Biden has directed officials to prevail on Russia to improve conditions Griner may face in the penal colony, she said.