Power stations destroyed – Zelenskyy
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has destroyed almost a third of Ukraine’s power stations over the past week.
- Ukraine’s foreign minister will propose a formal cut in diplomatic ties with Tehran after a wave of Russian attacks using what Kyiv says are Iranian-made drones.
Pentagon says can’t confirm reports of Iranian missiles to Russia
The Pentagon said that it did not have information at this time to corroborate reports that Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, along with more drones.
“I don’t have any information to corroborate that at this time,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said at a press conference.
Lavrov suggests Russia could downgrade diplomatic presence in West
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow could reduce its diplomatic presence in Western countries, blaming sour relations with Europe and the United States and Russia’s need to build ties elsewhere.
“Of course we do not see any sense in or have any desire to maintain the same presence in Western countries, … and Third World countries, both in Asia and Africa, on the contrary, need additional attention,” Lavrov said in an address to new foreign ministry recruits.
Brittney Griner, facing Russian jail term, sends thanks for support
American basketball star Brittney Griner, whose appeal against a Russian jail term is due to be heard next week, has sent her supporters a message of thanks on her 32nd birthday.
“All the support and love are definitely helping me,” Griner was quoted as saying by her lawyers Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, who spent several hours with her in the pre-trial detention centre in Moscow where she is being held.
“Today is, of course, a difficult day for Brittney,” Blagovolina said. “Not only is this her birthday in jail away from her family, teammates and friends, but she is very stressed in anticipation of the appeal hearing on October 25.”
Ukraine warns situation ‘critical’ after Russia attacks power grid
Ukraine warns of an emerging “critical” risk to its power grid after Zelenskyy said repeated Russian bombardments had destroyed one-third of the country’s power facilities as winter approaches.
“The situation is critical now across the country,” Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president’s office, told Ukrainian television. “It’s necessary for the whole country to prepare for electricity, water and heating outages.”
The latest Russian attacks came early on Tuesday and hit Kyiv, Kharkiv in the east, Mykolaiv in the south, and the central regions of Dnipro and Zhytomyr, where officials said hospitals were running on backup generators.
Russian air raids damaged more than 400 infrastructure targets
Russian attacks have damaged more than 400 infrastructure targets across Ukraine since early last week, said a senior Ukrainian official.
The Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksii Chernyshov, said that Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones had struck 408 Ukrainian targets since October 10.
The targets included 45 energy facilities and more than 180 civilian buildings.
Chernyshov insisted that Ukrainians would not be cowed by Moscow’s onslaught.
He said that “such terrorist actions of the aggressor mobilise and harden us even more”.
