The battle for Kherson ….
Russia is trying to cut up the Ukraine’s power system….
No more Russian ‘nuclear’ talk…..
The Ukraine gets more air defense asset’s….
Russia is losinf a lot of military aircraft…..
Here’s what we know:
The Ukrainian military says it still has no evidence that Russian forces will abandon Kherson, even as occupation officials reduce their presence.
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Russian forces make life gradually more unbearable for those left in Kherson.
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Why does Kherson matter?
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Zelensky says Russia is planning more mass strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
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India hopes to play peacemaker, if Russia and Ukraine talk.
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Russian state media confirms that a top general is no longer in his post.
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Amid setbacks elsewhere, Russian forces intensify their fight for the eastern city of Bakhmut….
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects around the world.
1. Key developments
- Blackouts are planned for the Kyiv region and at least six other parts of Ukraine between 6 a.m. local time and the end of the day, Ukrenergo said. In addition to managed blackouts, the operator warned of possible emergency power shutdowns in some areas as city officials said the energy deficit could be 32 percent greater than planned on Monday. Work is ongoing to repair damage to the grid, which has been struck by a barrage of Russian missiles and drones in recent weeks.
- Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing for further strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “We also understand that the terrorist state is concentrating forces and means for a possible repetition of mass attacks on our infrastructure,” Zelensky said in his nightly address. “First of all, energy.” He said Russia needs Iranian-made missiles for this, adding: “We are preparing to respond.” Tehran has repeatedly denied sending Moscow any weapons for use in Ukraine, though its foreign minister acknowledged for the first time last week that it sent Russia “a small number” of drones. He said they were shipped “months” before the invasion.
- Ukraine said it struck a Russian base in the occupied Kherson region where 200 soldiers were located. Ukraine’s Operational Command South said early Monday that the strike in Kakhovka, northeast of the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, caused significant losses. Russian-backed authorities there said they were working to restore power in the city of Kherson, after they claimed earlier that a Ukrainian attack cut off electricity and water supplies in the city.
- Russian officials have begun “de-escalating” their rhetoric on the use of nuclear weapons, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The think tank said Russian President Vladimir Putin and some of his key officials “increased their references to the use of nuclear weapons” between September and October, “likely to pressure Ukraine into negotiations and to reduce Western support for Kyiv.” But the more recent shift in the Kremlin’s rhetoric, the analysts said, could indicate that officials there “are likely to some extent aware of the massive costs for little operational gain Russia would incur for the use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine or NATO.”
2. Battleground updates
- Russia is probably losing more military aircraft in Ukraine than it has the capacity to replace, the British Defense Ministry said. It cited the commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valery Zaluzhny, who said last week that Russia has lost more than twice as many aircraft in Ukraine as it lost in the 1979-89 Soviet war in Afghanistan. These losses are likely to continue, the ministry said, because of poor training of Russian pilots, “loss of experienced crews” in combat and “heightened risks of conducting close air support in dense air defence zones.”
- The Russian-occupied city of Donetsk was hit by strikes early Monday, sparking a fire at a building housing the offices of the railway administration, Russian state mediareported, citing local authorities. No one was reported killed or injured in the strikes, which Russia blamed on Ukraine. The Washington Post could not independently verify the claim.
- Ukraine has received air defense systems from the United States and other allies, according to Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister. Reznikov said the weapons — which include NASAMS, powerful midrange surface-to-air missile systems sent by the Pentagon — “will significantly strengthen” Ukrainian forces. He thanked Washington, Spain and Norway.
- The Ukrainian military accused Russian forces of destroying private boats in the Kherson area. A spokesperson for the Ukrainian General Staff said in a statement that Moscow confiscated engines from the destroyed vessels and that fuel had leaked into the Dnieper River’s delta.
- Vehicle traffic will be suspended for 12 hours on the Crimean Bridge on Tuesday for repairs, Russia’s Transportation Ministry said, according to state media outlet Tass. The bridge to occupied Crimea was damaged last month in an explosion that Putin blamed on Kyiv….