Ukrainian soldiers are fighting tense battles in the country’s east where Russian forces have exploited dense fog on the frontline to expand their efforts to capture more territory.
Top military commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Russian army overran three settlements in the southern Zaporizhzhia region and Ukrainian units are locked in “grueling battles” to repel the thrust.
Dense fog and weather conditions have allowed Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia.
The fiercest battles are still in the besieged Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, he said.
This comes as Ukrainian forces pulled back from several positions in the southern Zaporizhzhia region amid heavy fighting and adverse weather.
Russia is taking advantage of the weather to advance in small groups, moving on foot or motorcycles, with the adverse weather preventing Ukrainian forces from deploying drones against them.
It comes as Ukraine’s government suspended its justice minister on Wednesday, amid an investigation into corruption in the energy sector.
Meanwhile, top diplomats from the Group of Seven countries publicly showed their consensus on Ukraine and called for increasing the economic costs on Moscow.
Ukraine corruption scandal ‘extremely unfortunate,’ EU’s Kallas says
The energy corruption scandal in Ukraine was “extremely unfortunate” and it was important that Kyiv takes it seriously, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky called for the dismissal of two cabinet ministers on Wednesday amid a probe into an alleged $100m corruption scheme that has fuelled fresh public anger at the country’s government.
“They are acting very forcefully. There is no room for corruption, especially now. I mean, it is literally the people’s money that should go to the front lines,” Kallas said on the sidelines of a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Canada.
“I think what is very important that they really proceed with this very fast and take it very seriously,” she added.
Russia’s Lukoil gains buyers ahead of US sanctions deadline
The foreign assets of Russian oil major Lukoil are attracting potential bidders from Egypt to Kazakhstan as time runs out to clear deals before US authorities enforce sanctions.
The US has hit Lukoil with sanctions as part of its effort to bring the Kremlin to peace talks over Ukraine, and has already blocked Lukoil’s attempt to sell foreign assets to trader Gunvor ahead of the 21 November sanctions deadline.
The sanctions have also already disrupted Lukoil’s operations in Iraq, at pump stations in Finland and a refinery in Bulgaria.
As its empire creaks, governments and partners are hoping to snap up its foreign assets on the cheap.
Washington late last month hit Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two biggest oil companies, with sanctions in a move underlining Washington’s intent to squeeze Russia financially and force it towards a peace deal that would end the war on Ukraine.
Canada pushes forth with support for Ukraine at G7
Canada has led the momentum on calling for measures to support Ukraine and weaken Russia’s war on the country as the G7 nations met in Niagara-on-the-Lake, near the US border.
The G7 ministers said in a joint statement at the conclusion of the two-day gathering that they are increasing the economic costs to Russia and exploring measures against those who finance Russia’s war efforts.
Canada announced more sanctions against Russia, including targeting those involved in the development and deployment of drones, and Britain, a day earlier, pledged money for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“We are doing whatever is necessary to support Ukraine,” Canadian foreign minister Anita Anand said.
The foreign ministers of the G7 met with Ukraine’s foreign minister yesterday as Kyiv tries to fend off Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across the country. Andriy Sybiha said Ukraine needs the support of its partners to survive what will be a “very difficult, very tough winter.”
“We have to move forward to pressure Russia, to raise the price for the aggression, for Russia, for (Russian president Vladimir) Putin, to end this war,” Sybiha said.
Ukrainian forces fighting grueling battles in Zaporizhzhia
The Russian army overran three settlements in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Kyiv’s top military commander said in the latest battlefield update yesterday, as Moscow’s forces expand their efforts to capture more Ukrainian territory.
Dense fog enabled Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in Zaporizhzhia, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the messaging app Telegram, adding that Ukrainian units are locked in “grueling battles” to repel the Russian thrust.
He noted, however, that the fiercest battles are still in the besieged Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, where close to half of all front-line clashes took place over the previous 24 hours.
The cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region have also recently witnessed an uptick in combat.
Watch: Russian troops roll into Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in ‘Mad Max-style’
Zelensky calls for dismissal of ministers amid corruption probe
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for the dismissal of Ukraine’s justice and energy ministers, saying that he supported anti-graft agencies in their investigation into energy sector corruption.
“First of all, there should be maximum transparency in the energy sector, in all processes absolutely,” Zelensky said in a video address.
“It is very difficult for everyone in Ukraine now. It is absolutely abnormal that there are still some schemes in the energy sector.”
Justice minister German Galushchenko earlier said on Facebook he supported his suspension as “a civilised and appropriate scenario” and vowed to defend himself, without sharing more details of the probe.
SBU uncovers alleged FSB agent from Crimea plotting terrorist attacks in Kyiv
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has uncovered an alleged Russian FSB agent from Crimea who was reportedly planning a series of terrorist attacks in Kyiv, the agency announced.
Investigators said the plot targeted major shopping and entertainment centres, as well as one of the capital’s metro stations.
The suspect, a Crimean resident, allegedly began working with the FSB after Russia’s 2014 occupation of the peninsula and sought to recruit “like-minded” individuals, including Ukrainian citizens from occupied territories exempt from mobilisation due to age.
Ukraine’s foreign minister presses G7 allies for support as Russia targets energy grid before winter
Top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised democracies met with Ukraine’s foreign minister Wednesday as Kyiv tries to fend off relentless Russian aerial attacks that have brought rolling blackouts across the country ahead of winter, AP reports.
Ukrainian foreign minister Andriy Sybiha said at the start of a meeting on Ukraine and defence cooperation, which US secretary of state Marco Rubio and his counterparts attended, that Kyiv needs to overcome what will be a “very difficult, very tough winter.”
“We need the support of our partners,” Sybiha said. “We have to move forward to pressure Russia, to raise the price for the aggression, for Russia, for Putin, to end this war.”
Ukraine’s nuclear energy company says operations unaffected by $100M graft probe
Ukraine’s nuclear energy company said Tuesday its operations are unaffected by a major graft investigation into the country’s power sector that is centering on alleged kickbacks worth some $100 million.
Energoatom, a state-owned enterprise which generates more than a half of Ukraine’s energy supply, said in a statement that the probe by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau has not disrupted production or operational safety.
Its assurances came a day after the agency revealed some details of a 15-month investigation into suspected corruption in the energy sector, including at Energoatom.
Three years after liberation, Ukraine’s Kherson faces another kind of siege
Most of the streets of Kherson are empty now. Three years after the liberation ended a nine-month Russian occupation, the city that once erupted in joy has sunk into a wary stillness — a place where daily life unfolds behind walls or underground.
On Nov. 11, 2022, people poured into the main square of the southern Ukrainian port city, waving blue-and-yellow flags and embracing the soldiers who had freed them after the months under Russian control. They believed the worst was over.
Instead, the war changed shape. From across the Dnipro River, Russian troops strike with regular intensity — and drones now prowl the skies above a city of broken windows and empty courtyards.
