WAR IN UKRAINE: October 28, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 247
Ukraine accuses Russia of illegal construction at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, asks IAEA to inspect it. Ukraine’s nuclear safety regulator said on Oct. 26 that Russia is conducting “some kind of illegal construction” at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant - Kyiv Independent
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday spoke by telephone with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. In it, the ministry said that Lavrov thanked Wang for what it called China's support for Russia's position on a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine - Reuters
Meanwhile, Lavrov’s boss, Russian President Vladimir Putin, said he had no regrets about sending troops into Ukraine and sought to explain the conflict as part of the efforts by Western countries to secure their global domination.
Russian forces have launched fresh strikes on targets in Kyiv and the city of Zaporizhzhya, the military and officials said on October 27, as Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near two towns in the eastern region of Donbas. A Russian drone attack early on October 27 hit an energy facility in the capital, causing a fire, said Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region. The latest attacks inflicted "very serious damage," he said. "The Russians are using drones and missiles to destroy Ukraine's energy system ahead of the winter and terrorize civilians," Kuleba said in televised remarks. Ukrainian officials said the attacks on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure have made it difficult to set an accurate schedule for outages, and the damaged caused by the latest strikes could mean Kyiv and four regions may have to cut electricity supplies for longer than planned - RFE/RL
As a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, the electricity shortage in Kyiv may amount to 30% of need, so the outages will be longer and affect a much larger number of consumers, reported energy company Yasno. "The destruction is serious. That's why we have a sharp deterioration in the energy supply situation. The deficit of electricity in Kyiv can be as high as 30%," the company said. Usually, Kyiv consumes 1,000-1,200 MW, but currently, the estimated available capacity is 600-800 MW, the energy supplier explains. "In other words, almost half of Kyiv may remain without electricity," the energy experts added. To prevent a complete blackout, the distribution system operators will limit electricity consumption according to Ukrenergo’s instructions. However, despite these efforts, outages will be longer and will affect a much larger number of consumers.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely to use the possible extension of the U.N.-brokered Black Sea grain deal as a way to gain leverage and dominate next month's G20 summit in Indonesia, a European diplomat briefed on the grain talks told Reuters. Ahead of the Nov. 19 expiry of the grain deal, which allows Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, Russian officials have repeatedly said that there are serious problems with it. “The grain deal will be the centrepiece of this G20 summit and everyone will be trying to convince Putin to extend it, essentially to allow it to roll over or to extend it for longer," the European diplomat said. "It is a way for the Russians to hold the cards at the G20 summit but a rollover or a longer term extension to the grain deal doesn’t cost them anything."