This 226th day of the conflict marks Vladimir Putin’s 70th birthday. Ever since the head of the Kremlin decided to invade Ukraine, the war in the heart of Europe has been at the center of the international community’s concerns. On the ground, Kyiv is conducting a notable counteroffensive in the east and south of the country. Russian forces maintained early gains in eastern Ukraine on Friday after a series of bitter setbacks on multiple fronts, but Kyiv appeared to retain the initiative and urged Russian soldiers to surrender.
In Russia, Vladimir Putin praised himself on his birthday. Despite Moscow’s isolation and local setbacks, the orthodox patriarch even went so far as to see him as a gift from God. Coincidentally (or not), the same day the Nobel Peace Prize has given a decidedly critical tinge to the Putin system, its Belarusian ally and the invasion of Ukraine, after the committee released jailed Belarusian activist Ales Beliatski, l NGO Monument to Russian Rights and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties. Here’s one point in four infographics about this week of tensions, ending this Friday, the 226th day of the conflict.
Kyiv is leading the counteroffensive in the east of the country
Map of the situation in Ukraine on October 7 at 9 a.m. French time. – Simon MALFATTO, Paz PIZARRO, Kenan AUGEARD / AFP
Russian forces maintained early gains in eastern Ukraine on Friday after a series of bitter setbacks on multiple fronts, but Kyiv appeared to retain the initiative and urged Russian soldiers to surrender. At the scene, Defense Minister Oleksiï Reznikov promised to “guarantee life, security and justice” to Russian soldiers who decide to surrender, in a sign of the confidence Ukrainians have gained after the success of their counteroffensive.
“You can still save Russia from tragedy and the Russian army from humiliation,” he said, as the defeats prompted Russian President Vladimir Putin to mobilize several hundred thousand people in the army. For its part, Moscow announced it had made its first gains – three villages in eastern Ukraine – after losing thousands of square kilometers of territory on multiple fronts in recent weeks.
According to pro-Russian separatists fighting alongside troops from Moscow, the villages of Otradivka, Vessela Dolyna and Zaitseve are now under Russian control. The day before, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of Zaitseve in its daily report. These three villages lie south of the Ukrainian-controlled town of Bakhmout. The Russian army has been trying to take the area for months, so far without success.
The war in Ukraine at the heart of the Nobel Peace Prize
Presentation by Ales Beliatski, the NGO Memorial and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. – Sophie STUBER / AFP
In a symbolic election in favor of “peaceful coexistence,” the Nobel Peace Prize laureate on Friday crowned a trio of civil society representatives in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus, three of the key players in the Ukraine conflict.
The prize was awarded jointly to Belarusian activist Ales Beliatski, who is still imprisoned in his country, the Russian NGO Memorial – hit by a dissolution order from the Russian authorities – and the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee would like to honor three outstanding advocates of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the three neighboring countries of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine,” said its chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen. As expected by experts, the Nobel Committee wanted to mark the slap in the face of the war in Ukraine, which plunged Europe into the worst security crisis since World War II.
Oil comes off again
Evolution of the price of a barrel of Brent and WTI since 2008, in US dollars. – Sophie RAMIS, Patricio ARANA / AFP
OPEC+ decided on Wednesday to slash oil production quotas to prop up prices, immediately drawing the wrath of the White House, which accused the cartel of “allying” with Moscow. Joe Biden said he was “disappointed with this short-sighted decision” and announced an upcoming congressional consultation “on additional tools and mechanisms to reduce the control” of the group of producers in the energy market.
The US President has been struggling for months to stem price increases that are eroding household spending power, even going so far as to travel to Riyadh in July during a highly controversial visit. Back in Vienna for the first time since March 2020, the thirteen members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) led by Saudi Arabia and their ten partners led by Russia wanted to celebrate the occasion after long months in video conferences due to anti-Covid restrictions.
After a brief meeting, they agreed on a reduction of “two million barrels a day” for the month of November, according to a press release from the coalition. That reduction, the largest since the pandemic began, is likely to push prices higher “as consumers breathed a sigh of relief” as pump prices have fallen sharply since this summer, stresses Oanda’s Craig Erlam.
Nuclear risk is still widespread
Map of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant in Ukraine. – Sophie RAMIS, Paz PIZARRO, Valentin RAKOVSKY / AFP
The Ukrainian plant in Zaporozhye is the subject of a bitter media battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces. This Thursday, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said that the largest nuclear power plant in Europe was “obviously” Ukrainian, despite its formal ownership by Moscow since the invasion began. “It is clear to us that it is part of it [l’opérateur ukrainien] Energoatom, since it is a Ukrainian facility,” Rafaël Grossi explained during a press conference in Kyiv after being received by President Volodymyr Zelensky and before leaving for Moscow.
“We continue to say what needs to be done, which is to essentially avoid a nuclear accident at the facility, which remains a very, very clear possibility,” he argued, also denouncing “the almost unbearable conditions” in which Ukrainian personnel from the plant work. For his part, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the IAEA to condemn Moscow’s appropriation of the power plant, calling it a “raid”.
The shelling continued near the power plant, where at least seven people were killed and five missing overnight, according to local governor Oleksandr Starukh.