Power blackouts across the Ukraine…
Iran admits it sent drone’s to Russia as it is dragged into the conflict…
The Russian seem to be giving Kherson up to Ukraine forces….
Only Hungry and Turkey holds up Sweden and Finland NATO entry ….
Those two NATO countries are dancing with Putin also….
Here’s what we know:
Emergency workers in Kyiv, the capital, are also considering scenarios including a total blackout that would prompt an evacuation.
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Ukrainian regions make contingency plans in case they fully lose electricity.
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The Wagner mercenary group opens a center in St. Petersburg, signaling broader mainstream acceptance.
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Ukraine says Russia is blowing up civilian ships in Kherson to stop the military from using them.
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Amid a forest of Ukrainian flags, soldiers honor a fallen comrade with vodka.
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Iran’s foreign minister acknowledges that drones were sent to Russia, but says it happened before the war.
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Moscow is pouring new conscripts to the front line to try to halt Ukrainian advances.
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Here are 5 ways that sanctions are hitting Russia….
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
- Iran acknowledged that it had sent drones to Russia but said they were provided before the war began. Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters Saturday that Iran had “provided a limited number of drones to Russia months before the Ukraine war” and had not received any confirmation that they had been used in Ukraine. Iran has repeatedly denied supplying Moscow with drones to use in Ukraine, even as Ukraine accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones, and U.S. officials said the United States had examined the wreckage of Iranian-made drones shot down in Ukraine.
- Power restrictions were in place for residents in Kyivand other parts of Ukraine on Saturday, the country’s energy facilitator Ukrenergo said in a statement, as work to repair key energy infrastructure hit by Russian attacks continues. Ukrenergo said it implemented more emergency energy restrictions for seven regions because Saturday’s energy consumption was up 6.2 percent from last Saturday.
- The Group of Seven announced the establishment of a “coordination mechanism” to help Ukraine “repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure.” It did not set a timeline for implementation but said it was important to act immediately, given the onset of winter.
- The Pentagon announced additional support for Ukraine on Friday with a $400 million aid package that includes additional air defenses against Russian attacks on critical infrastructure. It also promised Kyiv the refurbishment of 45 T-72 tanks for Ukraine — the first time Washington has answered pleas from Ukraine to provide for such weapons to be sent to the front lines — as well as drones, air-defense missiles and riverine boats.
- White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan made an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Friday to reaffirm the United States’ “unwavering” support for Ukraine. At a news conference after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top aides, he ruled out pressuring Kyiv to embark on negotiations with Moscow. “The fundamental question is less a process question about negotiations. It is a more substantive question about what a just peace looks like and how it can be achieved,” Sullivan said.
- Russia is probably struggling to train its new forces. The Kremlin’s recent mobilization of about 300,000 new troops came just before its annual conscription intake that began this month, the British Ministry of Defense said Saturday. The autumn recruitment drive usually brings in about 120,000 additional conscripts, according to the ministry, but the new forces probably have been given “minimal training or no training at all,” particularly as more-experienced officers and trainers have been deployed to or have died in Ukraine.
- The Pentagon announced a newly designated group to handle security assistance for Ukraine out of Europe, a move that officials say will better streamline the program over the long term. The Security Assistance Group: Ukraine — or SAG-U, as the Pentagon has called it — will be based in Wiesbaden, Germany, and is effectively a continuation of work that the military has been doing to get military and other supplies to Ukraine’s fighters.
- President Vladimir Putin suggested Friday that Russia exceeded its original mobilization quota of 300,000 reservists called to fight in Ukraine. “There are 300,000 mobilized men. We have 318,000 of them. Why 318,000? Because there are volunteers,” Putin said in remarks on Friday, which was Russia’s National Unity Day. The Russian leader also signed a law allowing authorities to mobilize citizens with unsealed criminal records, including records involving serious crimes.
- A comparison of satellite images reveals a reduced military presence at a Russian-occupied airfield outside Kherson. The images, which were provided to The Washington Post by Maxar Technologies, show that buildings visible on Oct. 15 had been destroyed by Thursday, and fewer military vehicles were visible…
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Turkey said “steps to be taken” by Finland and Sweden would determine how quickly their entry to NATO would be formally approved, according to a statement published Friday after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was the major factor leading the two countries to seek membership in the security alliance. Turkey, along with Hungary, has not yet ratified the two Nordic countries’ entry into NATO — a process that requires unanimous approval from the bloc’s members….