Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that rocket attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure will continue. That would “effectively” destroy objects and reduce Ukraine’s military potential, he told a military meeting in Moscow on Tuesday. In parallel with the start of recruitment on the Crimean peninsula, Moscow had other areas of the adjacent Kherson region evacuated. Meanwhile, Kyiv finds itself threatened by Iranian missiles.
On Monday, Russia again destroyed several power plants in the neighboring country. Ukraine calls this “energy terror”. In many regions there was no electricity due to damage to the plants. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Tuesday to help Kyiv repair water and energy infrastructure. France will help Ukraine survive the winter and will also strengthen Ukraine’s air defenses, he said after a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He also agreed with Zelenskyy to host an international conference on winter support for Ukrainian civilians on December 13 in Paris. A bilateral conference the day before will also aim to increase support for Ukraine from French companies.
Power supply limitation
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced on Tuesday morning that the capital’s water and electricity supply had been restored. However, there are restrictions on power supply in the capital Kyiv and six other regions. The light will be turned off for customers at different times, said energy supplier Ukrenerho. Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv and Poltava regions are also affected.
The strikes are aimed at preventing the power grid from being overloaded, he said. This also gives experts the opportunity to repair systems damaged by rocket and drone attacks and bring them back online. Ukraine’s population has had to live with restrictions for weeks: people are called upon to save electricity, especially during peak mornings and evenings. Washing machines and heaters should only be operated at night, if possible, and unnecessary light sources should be turned off.
Monday’s attacks were also seen as a response to Russian Black Sea Fleet drone fire at its base in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula last Saturday. “That’s partly the case. But that’s not all we could have done,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told reporters on Monday night, when asked whether the attacks were in retaliation for drones firing at warships.
Fear of Iranian medium-range missiles
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, there are fears that Russia could soon also use Iranian medium-range missiles in the war. This is dangerous because Ukraine does not have adequate defense weapons, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat in Kyiv said on Tuesday. “We have air defense, not missile defense,” he said. These are Iranian-made ballistic missiles with a range of 300 to 700 kilometers, which are similar to Russian-style Iskander-M surface-to-ground missiles.
Because of the bombing, Russia also announced its withdrawal from the grain export agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey. However, according to the UN, three grain shippers managed to leave Ukrainian ports on Tuesday. The inspection took place without representatives of Kiev and Moscow. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Putin on the phone and was “confident” about the full resumption of the deal. According to the Kremlin, Putin reiterated his demand that Ukraine not use the maritime corridor of grain ships for military purposes. He also complained that business for Russian grain and fertilizer exporters was difficult.
Evictions in the Kherson region
Meanwhile, the Russian garrison in the Ukrainian region of Kherson also ordered the evacuation of a strip on the left bank of the Dnipro River. The action will be completed in a maximum of three days, the head of government, Vladimir Saldo, told Russian television on Tuesday. It is a strip of 15 kilometers wide. Balance did not provide information on the number of civilians in the area. The Russian army had already cleared areas on the right bank of the river, where the regional capital, Kherson, is located. A Ukrainian attack has been expected for months. Ukraine sees the evacuation actions as kidnapping its citizens.
Kherson is of strategic importance for controlling the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia occupied and annexed militarily in March 2014. Moscow began a partial mobilization on Tuesday. This was immediately criticized by the EU and Austria. “The recruitment drive in the illegally annexed territories, including the forced recruitment of Crimean Tatars, represents another blatant violation of international law by #Russia,” the Austrian Foreign Ministry wrote in a tweet. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had already made a similar statement.