+++ Ukraine War +++: Russian industrial plant damaged by Ukrainian drone attack

Tom Thiele

Industrial plant damaged in drone attack

According to local authorities, an industrial facility was severely damaged in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Volga region of Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia. It was not initially announced which work it was. One of Russia's largest oil refineries is located in the region.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a corresponding criminal case into the attack on the factory and civilian infrastructure, reported the state news agency Tass. The regional authorities also announced measures to ensure supplies at gas stations. According to Tass, all precautions are being taken to ensure a sufficient supply of fuel, the regional government said.

Angelika Ahrens

Rubio: Growing interest in limited Black Sea ceasefire

According to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, international interest in a limited ceasefire in the Black Sea is growing. The aim is to ensure unhindered energy and grain deliveries through Russia and Ukraine, Rubio said at a press conference. The US was considering proposals from Türkiye and India to restart grain deliveries. Ukraine and Russia are among the largest grain suppliers in the world. However, attacks on ships in the Black Sea endanger trade. “This threatens global food and, to some extent, energy security,” Rubio said. A ceasefire in the Black Sea will not solve the war, “but at least a certain aspect of it.”

Anna Lena Stahl

Erdogan calls attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea unacceptable

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has described attacks on merchant ships in the Black Sea as unacceptable. This is regardless of who carries out these attacks, Erdogan said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky after talks in Istanbul. Both discussed the safety of shipping in the Black Sea, Erdogan said. He will continue discussions on this issue with all sides.

Anna Lena Stahl

Zelenskyj: I discussed upcoming negotiations with Erdogan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan about the upcoming trilateral talks between negotiators from the USA, Ukraine and Russia. The consultations are expected to take place in early November, Zelensky said. His country wants to include Europe and possibly Turkey in talks about ending the war. Zelensky, who was in Istanbul on a visit, also said he welcomed Turkey's expansion of support for Ukraine's energy sector amid increased Russian attacks.

Marie Boms

Russia: USA warns of planned attack in Moscow

According to Russian information, the USA has warned the domestic secret service FSB of a planned terrorist attack in Moscow. The Russian news agency RIA reported that the information was received via existing partner channels. The FSB is taking appropriate measures. The US embassy in Moscow announced independently that it had credible indications of a planned attack with many victims in the Russian capital. The US government is coordinating with the Russian authorities.

Marie Boms

Evacuation of Ukrainian front-line town of Oleschky completed

The evacuation of the Russian-occupied front-line town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine has been completed. Some of the residents taken out of the city traveled to Ukraine and others to Russia, as both sides announced. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed on Saturday that the evacuees had arrived on Ukrainian territory. According to Ukrainian negotiator Dawyd Arachamija, the group flew to Belarus via the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia, and from there crossed a border crossing into Ukraine. For her part, Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova said the humanitarian mission went off without incident.

Marie Boms

Ukraine: Attacked Russian rocket fuel factory

The Ukrainian military says it has attacked an important rocket fuel factory in the Russian border region of Rostov. Four production facilities were damaged in the nighttime attack on the state-owned chemical and defense company Kombinat Kamensky in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, the Ukrainian General Staff said. There was also a fire. Both drones and Ukrainian Neptune missile systems were used. The facility in southern Russia is important to Russian warfare because it produces fuel for military missiles.

Marie Boms

Ukraine: Massive power outages caused by Russian drone attacks

According to information from Kyiv, Russia has again attacked Ukrainian energy facilities. The drone attacks led to massive power outages on Saturday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on the short message service Telegram. In the Kiev and Dnipropetrovsk regions, power supply was interrupted for around 280,000 households. Zelensky spoke of a difficult situation. The world sees that Russia is targeting civilian infrastructure every day. Anyone who wants to prevent the Russian escalation from spreading further into Europe must help Ukraine, explained Zelensky.

Anna Lena Stahl

Belarus: Evacuees arrived from the Ukrainian front-line town of Oleschky

Evacuees from the Russian-occupied front-line town of Oleshky in southern Ukraine have arrived in Belarus. Three planes with people on board landed at Gomel airport, the Belarusian news agency Belta reported. The evacuees who wanted to continue to Ukraine had previously been taken by bus via the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia, to the Russian city of Anapa. From there they were flown to Belarus and then taken to Ukraine via a border crossing.

The weakened and exhausted residents were evacuated from Oleschky by bus on Friday as part of a joint relief effort by the two warring parties. It was the first incident of its kind in the war that had lasted more than four years. The USA had brokered a local ceasefire for the evacuation of Oleschky.

Patricia Hoffhaus

Russia: Ukrainian Oleschky refugees flown out

According to Russian military information, the people rescued from the front-line town of Oleshky, which was occupied by Moscow's troops, were flown out of the Black Sea city of Anapa. The Defense Ministry announced this morning that they would be taken to Gomel in Belarus in Russian military aircraft together with the Ukrainian human rights representative Dmytro Lubinets. From there they travel on to Ukraine.

There was no concrete information on the number of people rescued during the evacuation from Oleschky the day before. According to reports, more than 200 people left the city in the Russian-annexed Kherson region for Ukraine. Dozens of people had decided to leave for areas controlled by Russia.

Patricia Hoffhaus

Russia: Two dead in Ukrainian drone attack in Bryansk region

According to authorities, two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the Russian border region of Bryansk. The regional administration said five other people were injured when the drone hit a residential building in the town of Klimovo. The Russian military shot down 29 Ukrainian drones over the region in the past 24 hours.

Angelika Ahrens

Russia: Zelensky's statements complicate new talks

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described his government's stance on the Ukraine conflict as unchanged. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statements about attacks on Russian targets are not helpful in preparing for new talks, Lavrov said on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Atlanta, according to Russian news agencies. In addition, fundamental problems in relations with the USA remain unresolved, as the sanctions against Moscow remain in force and weapons continue to be supplied to Kiev.

Both Russia and Ukraine had agreed to further trilateral talks with the USA. Zelensky said this week that he hoped for a trilateral meeting of negotiators from November 6 to 10 in Abu Dhabi. Kyiv also wants Europe to be included in the peace talks.

Angelika Ahrens

Zelensky announces “important” talks in Turkey

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he will hold “important” talks in Turkey as part of diplomatic efforts after more than four and a half years of war with Russia. In his evening video address, Zelensky indicated that the talks were linked to the resumption of negotiations next month aimed at resolving the conflict.

"Important negotiations will take place in Turkey. We are also working to exhaust all available diplomatic options," Zelensky said. “We expect that in November we will be able to move on to the formats that have been discussed for so long.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's communications chief said on Platform X that Zelensky would meet Erdogan in Istanbul on Saturday. The Ukrainian president expressed hope this week that a trilateral meeting of negotiators from Ukraine, Russia and the United States could take place in Abu Dhabi between November 6th and 10th.

Angelika Ahrens

Klitschko: Russian attacks on infrastructure in Kyiv

Russian forces have again attacked the Ukrainian capital, according to Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The goal was the infrastructure, Klitschko said on Telegram. The energy supplier DTEK also explained that there was a partial power outage in four districts of the city.

Angelika Ahrens

Lavrov: No detente between Moscow and Washington

According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, there has been no easing of tensions in relations between Russia and the USA. "In practice, there has so far been no real progress in relations with the USA. There should be no illusions about the diesel deal," said Lavrov on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

“The fundamental issues are not being resolved, sanctions continue, all of (former US President Joe) Biden's sanctions will be continued by the current administration, and additional sanctions will be imposed on (oil giants) Lukoil and Rosneft,” he said.

Felicitas Dahmen

US approves sale of 500 Patriot missiles to Ukraine

The US government has approved the sale of 500 Patriot PAC-3 missiles to Ukraine. The US State Department said the sale was worth an estimated $2.1 billion. According to the information, the financing came from contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway as well as from Ukrainian own resources, which were financed via a loan from the EU. The main contractor was the US defense company Lockheed Martin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that his country had been waiting for approval for missile deliveries for almost a month in view of increased Russian attacks on infrastructure. He had repeatedly called on the US to speed up deliveries before winter.

Tom Körkemeier

Evacuation from Russian-occupied Oleschky completed

The US-mediated humanitarian aid operation for the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian front-line town of Oleschky has largely been completed. “We are currently in Armyansk and are dividing the motorcade,” said Russian human rights commissioner Yana Lantratova in a video message on Telegram. Some will travel from the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia, to unoccupied areas of Ukraine. The rest are going to Russia.

Lantratova and her Ukrainian colleague Dymtro Lubinets appealed to First Lady Melania Trump to continue to support people in need in times of war. It is possible that actions such as rescuing people from the front-line town of Oleschky and handing over aid supplies would be repeated, they told journalists. Lantratova and Lubinets also showed up with rescued children when they arrived in Crimea in the evening.

Felicitas Dahmen

Moscow: Ukraine attacks Russian refineries again

According to Moscow, the Ukrainian military has resumed its attacks on Russian refineries. "We had a break for a while. But today the attacks have resumed and our companies are working under protective measures," Russian news agency Ria Novosti quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Nowak as saying. A total of three refineries and a gas chemical complex were attacked. A system was therefore “minorly” damaged. He did not provide any further information about the targets of the attack or the weapons used.

Anna Kipnis

Ukraine: Evacuations have begun in the frontline town of Oleschky

In the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian front-line town of Oleschky, evacuations and the supply of aid to the population have begun. This was announced by the faction leader of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's party, David Arachamija, on the short message service Telegram. The US-brokered six-day local ceasefire was holding, he added. Further details should be provided soon.

Eva Glaser

Ukraine: Buses for evacuation from Oleschky are ready

25 buses with 750 seats are available for the evacuation of civilians from the Russian-occupied southern Ukrainian front-line town of Oleschky. This was announced by the Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets. The remaining residents could safely leave the city. Lubinez also underlined the importance of the six-day ceasefire brokered by the USA, which must be maintained.

Eva Glaser

Russia: Attacks on military targets and energy facilities in Ukraine

Russia says it has attacked military facilities in Ukraine. Energy infrastructure in and around Kiev and in the Dnipropetrovsk region was also affected