from the editors
The news of Thursday 3 November live. The United Nations has rejected Russia’s request to open an investigation into Ukraine’s use of biological weapons.
• The war in Ukraine has reached its 252nd day.
• Thanks to Turkey’s mediation, Russia has agreed to go ahead with a new agreement on wheat: 8 ships leave Ukraine today.
• The currently imprisoned Russian dissident Alksej Navalny has announced via Twitter that he has been put in solitary confinement for the umpteenth time for flimsy reasons.
• The United States is increasingly concerned about Russia’s possible use of nuclear weapons. However, former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Putin would be stupid to use them.
10:02 am – Dombrovskis: Over 400 billion damage paying aggressor
We are already working on a reconstruction plan for Ukraine, which will require enormous efforts. The World Bank has estimated that the damage done to Ukraine exceeds EUR 400 billion, so a major mobilization of the international community will be necessary, but we also need to understand how to ensure that the principle that the aggressor must pay is respected . This was stated by European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking at a debate organized by the Central Bank of Latvia in Riga: It is Russia’s responsibility to compensate Ukraine, Dombrovskis added, and for this reason the EU is responsible for assessing the Use of Russian assets frozen as a result of sanctions.
09:37 – Kyiv: Putin is lying, we have not given new guarantees for wheat
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has denied Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement that Ukraine would make some new commitments to bring Moscow back to the wheat deal. This was stated by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleg Nikolenko, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda. Vladimir Putin said Russia decided to unblock the wheat deal after Ukraine gave guarantees not to use the wheat corridor for military purposes. Ukraine did not use the Grain Corridor, nor did it plan to use it for military purposes. The Ukrainian side is strictly adhering to the provisions of the wheat agreement, Nikolenko said. Nikolenko reminded that under this agreement the parties undertook to ensure a safe and reliable environment for the operation of the grain corridor. Ukraine never endangered the grain route. Our state has not made any new commitments that would go beyond the limits already in place in the Wheat Agreement, Nikolenko noted. Moscow has returned to the wheat deal thanks to the active diplomacy of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the rapporteur added.
09:31 – EU: Good grain corridor thanks to the role of the UN and Turkey
The EU is grateful for the role played by the UN and Turkey in Russia’s decision to return to the Black Sea Wheat Initiative, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrel wrote in a tweet following the reopening of the sea corridor for food exports from Ukraine. Food should never be used as a weapon of war – adds Borrell -. Wheat export is essential to deal with the global food crisis exacerbated by Russia. I invite all parties to renew the initiative.
The EU is grateful for the role of @A and Trkiye on Russia’s decision to return to the Black Sea Grains Initiative.
Food should never be used as a weapon of war.
Grain exports are vital to deal with the global food crisis exacerbated by Russia.
Calling on all parties to renew the initiative.
– Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) November 3, 2022
09:03 – Attack in Sevastopol, UK Ambassador summoned to Moscow
British Ambassador to Russia Deborah Bronnert has been summoned to Moscow’s Foreign Office to protest London’s involvement in the Kyiv-led attack on Sevastopol. This was reported by Ria Novosti, which stated that Bronnert arrived at the Russian Foreign Ministry around 10am this morning. In front of the ministry, the agency writes, some demonstrators gathered and began shouting at Britain as a terrorist country.
08:51 – Turkey: Six grain ships left Ukrainian ports
After the resumption of the Wheat Initiative, 6 ships left Ukrainian ports. This was stated by Turkey’s Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Anadolu reported, confirming the full normalization of the sea corridor for food exports from Ukraine after Russia yesterday returned to be part of the initiative it had temporarily abandoned in the past days .
7:45 am – Power outage in Zaporizhia due to high-voltage bombs
Due to the Russian bombing, the last two high-voltage communication lines of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with the Ukrainian power system were damaged and are now completely disconnected. This was stated in a statement from the Ukrainian National Society for the Production of Nuclear Energy Emergoatom, as reported by UNIAN. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was completely disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid: the last two communication lines of the power plant with the Ukrainian power grid were damaged. The control panel in complete blackout mode. Nine diesel generators are in operation.
06:38 – Ukraine and energy today at the Foreign Ministers Summit in Munster
The foreign ministers of the G7, the Club of Industrialized Nations, are meeting today in Munster (West Germany) where they will discuss, among other things, the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy prices. The meeting will begin this afternoon with a speech by German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who will receive her counterparts from the United States, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Italy. One of the key issues will be the lessons of Russia’s past energy dependency, including the need to diversify supplies, Baerbock told German media. We must not blackmail ourselves into being dependent on a country that does not share our values, he said, reiterating the developed nations club’s full support for Ukraine. The head of German diplomacy invited several representatives of African states to the meeting, a continent that can contribute to diversifying the supply and needs support in expanding its own renewable sources. French diplomatic sources indicated last week that another issue on the table will be the disagreement over cutting energy prices, as the current situation benefits exporting countries like the United States and Canada. The choice of Munster for the meeting has the symbolic importance of being the city where the Peace of Westphalia, the first modern diplomatic congress, was signed in 1648. According to historians, a new political order based on the concept of national sovereignty and territorial integrity was established there in Central Europe.
05:37 – Kiev army destroys 4 Russian arms depots in the south
The Ukrainian army conducted about 150 fire sorties and one air strike against Russian positions in southern Ukraine and destroyed four Russian ammunition depots and tanks with fuel, Ukraine’s Southern Command said. The command also reported that Russia now has seven ships in the Black Sea, including a warship and a surface missile carrier with eight Kalibr cruise missiles on board.
5:20 am – Bombing, media: Explosions in Nikopol, Kharkiv and Nikolayev
Explosions rocked the Ukrainian city of Nikopol in the Dnepropetrovsk region (south) overnight, Tass reports, citing Strana, the pro-Russian online news outlet based in Ukraine. Strana had previously reported explosions in Kharkiv and Nikolayev.
04:18 – Russian bombs in the south, power plant hit
An Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drone fired by Russian forces at the city of Kryvyi Rih in southern Ukraine in the last few hours hit a powerhouse: military administration chief Oleksandr Vilkul gave it to Telegram as Ukrainska Pravda known reports. Vilkul spoke of significant damage and added that there was a lack of electricity and water in several parts of the city.
02:04 – Zelensky, Russian blackmail on wheat did not work
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy celebrates the diplomatic result of the resumption of the wheat export initiative: it will continue to work – he said in his evening speech – Russian blackmail has led to nothing. Turkey, the UN and other leading players in international relations have responded in a timely and equitable manner. Once again, everyone was convinced that there is only one threat to global food security in our region and in the Russian Federation and no other.
02:02 – UN rejects Russian request for biological weapons investigation
The UN Security Council has rejected Russia’s request for a formal investigation into its allegations that Washington and Kyiv have biological weapons programs in Ukraine. Allegations that the two countries have repeatedly denied. Only China voted in favor of the draft resolution with Russia, while the United States, Britain and France voted against and the remaining 10 Council members abstained. UN disarmament officials have repeatedly said they know nothing about a biological weapons program in Ukraine.
00:03 – Zelensky, an important result for the whole world on wheat
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the global importance of the continuation of the wheat agreement with Russia. Today we have an important diplomatic result for our country and for the whole world: the implementation of the grain export initiative continues, he said, in his usual daily intervention, which is disseminated through social networks. Moscow’s demands for security guarantees for re-entering the wheat business show the failure of its aggression in Ukraine, he added.
21:23 – Biden, US troops in NATO countries? You will stay for a long time
US troops sent to Ukraine after the war began to defend NATO’s eastern flank will remain in Poland and other allies for a long time to come. This was stated by American President Joe Biden in response to a question from journalists following an event in the White House.
Nov 3, 2022 (Modified Nov 3, 2022 | 10:04 am)
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