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War in Ukraine

EU Proposes Special Court to Probe Russian War Crimes

  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc proposed setting up a UN-backed court to investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine (Politico)

U.S. Announces $53 Million Plan to Support Ukraine’s Energy Grid

  • The new funding will go toward rebuilding the grid, at least a quarter of which has been damaged by Russian strikes (WaPo)

Russia ‘Unilaterally’ Postpones Arms Control Talks

  • Russia “unilaterally” postponed a meeting with U.S. officials focused on the New START treaty on arms control, the U.S. State Department said in a statement; Russian officials have not given a reason for the delay in talks, which were set to begin in Egypt today (WSJ)
  • Washington is seeking the resumption of nuclear weapons inspections under the treaty, which were paused in 2020 due to the pandemic (AP)
  • U.S. officials have said the talks are needed to mitigate the risk of nuclear conflict during the war in Ukraine (CNN)
  • Meanwhile, Moscow sent New Delhi a list of over five hundred products needed to keep its economy running, including components for cars, aircraft, and trains, Reuters reported (Reuters)

Russian Oil Company Withdraws Threat to Cut Gas Supply to Moldova

  • Gazprom had previously claimed that Ukraine was withholding gas supplies that pass through the country to Moldova and maintained its right to lower or stop gas flows if Moldova defaults on its payments in the future (CNN)

Russian Missile Attacks Cause Blackouts in Ukraine

  • Several cities across the country, including Lviv, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv, reported disruptions in electricity, water, and other critical services after the most extensive missile attack since Russia launched one hundred missiles on November 15 (NYT)
  • Meanwhile, Russian shelling in Kherson forced hospitals to evacuate after an attack killed at least ten civilians and wounded dozens more (NYT)

EU Sends $2.5 Billion in Financial Assistance to Ukraine

  • EU Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko announced Ukraine’s receipt of the aid, viewed by Ukrainians as “another step of solidarity,” said Ukrainian Prime Minister Denya Shmyhal on Twitter (Reuters)
  • Meanwhile, Ukraine also reached a preliminary deal with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that could provide the country with billions of dollars in additional aid (Bloomberg)
  • In addition, the UK sent new helicopters to Ukraine, accompanied by three former British military Sea Kings and an additional 10,000 artillery rounds (BBC)
  • Earlier in the week, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced the Spanish police will be deployed to Ukraine to help investigate alleged war crimes (Reuters)

Ukrainian Officials Identify Four Russian Torture Sites in Kherson

  • Ukrainian police and prosecutors indicated that Russian forces likely used the four locations to torture people before they abandoned the city; officials uncovered objects including rubber batons, a wooden bat, and handcuffs (Reuters)

Russia Blames Ukraine for Shelling Nuclear Power Plant

  • Russia claimed recent Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant risked a nuclear accident and called on “all the countries of the world” to pressure Ukraine into ending the attacks (Reuters)
  • Additionally, the Kremlin said it would bring to justice the Ukrainian soldiers who Russia claimed executed more than ten Russian POWs last week (Reuters)

UN Nuclear Chief Appeals for End to Fighting Around Ukraine Nuclear Plant

  • At least a dozen explosions have been heard near Ukraine’s Russia-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant since Saturday (BBC)

Ukraine Grain Deal Extended by 120 Days

  • The deal allowing grain to leave Ukrainian ports was set to expire on Saturday; Russia’s foreign ministry said Moscow agreed to the extension (NYT)

NATO Chief Says Explosion in Poland Was Likely Unintentional

  • North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) envoys held emergency consultations after two people were killed yesterday by a blast in a Polish city near the Ukrainian border (FT)
  • Polish President Andrzej Duda and NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said a Ukrainian air defense missile most likely caused the explosion after Ukraine’s air defenses were triggered by a fresh round of Russian attacks on the country’s civilian infrastructure (NYT)
  • Early reports of the explosion fueled fears of escalation between NATO and Russia, but Stoltenberg told reporters there was no evidence that Russia is planning an offensive against the alliance; while Moscow denied that it launched a strike on Poland, Stoltenberg said Russia “bears responsibility” for the blast as it was a direct result of the ongoing war (NATO)

Russia Conducts Extensive Missile Strikes Across Ukraine

  • Around one hundred missiles were fired at least a dozen cities or districts across the country, including Kyiv, according to the spokesman for the Ukrainian air force command Yurii Ihnat; the attacks came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky laid out a peace plan at the G20 summit (CNN)

G20 Summit Focuses on Ukraine War

  • A draft communiqué from today’s Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Bali, Indonesia, said “most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” and its consequences for the world economy, the Financial Times reported (FT)
  • The draft also denounced using or threatening to use nuclear weapons (Reuters)
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the summit, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared in a video address (The Guardian)

UN General Assembly Adopts Resolution Calling for Russian Reparations in Ukraine

  • Ninety-four countries voted in favor of the resolution, fourteen opposed it, and seventy-three abstained (UN News)
  • Meanwhile, CIA Director William J. Burns met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryshkin, in Turkey to warn Moscow against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine, the White House said (Reuters)

In Major Retreat, Russia Orders Withdrawal From Occupied Kherson

  • Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered troops to withdraw from Kherson, a southern Ukrainian city Russia captured eight months ago; Russian President Vladimir Putin has distanced himself from what could be a significant reversal to his war effort and did not appear at the televised meeting where the withdrawal was announced (NYT)
  • The order comes amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in late August (Reuters)
  • U.S. President Joe Biden said the withdrawal will allow Russia and Ukraine to “recalibrate their positions over the winter period” and “decide whether or not they’re going to compromise” (WaPo)
  • Separately, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley, said Russia and Ukraine both need to recognize that neither can achieve a full military victory; he estimated that over two hundred thousand Russian and Ukrainian troops have been killed or injured in the war (BBC)

After U.S. Urging, Zelenskyy Lays Out Conditions for Talks With Russia

  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he is open to talks with Russia that focus on Ukraine’s territorial integrity, compensation for material losses, and punishment of war crimes (WSJ)
  • A senior advisor to Zelenskyy tweeted that Ukraine is ready for talks with a future Russian leader but not with President Vladimir Putin; the statements came after Washington privately urged Kyiv to signal it is open to negotiations (Reuters)
  • In recent months, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Putin’s top aides in an effort to reduce hostilities in the war, while the United States continued to deliver arms to Kyiv (CNBC)
  • Ahead of the U.S. midterm elections today, some Republican lawmakers and congressional candidates have said they would aim to reduce military aid for Ukraine (WaPo)

U.S. Urges Ukraine To Drop Demand for Putin’s Removal

  • White House officials are urging Ukraine to drop its demand that Russian President Putin be removed from power before peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow can begin, the Washington Post reported (WaPo)
  • Additionally, Russian strikes have left 4.5 million Ukrainians without electricity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said (AFP)

Russia Returns to Ukraine Grain Deal Days After Pulling Out

  • Moscow resumed participation in a deal allowing grain shipments to leave Ukrainian ports after it received guarantees that Kyiv would not use the grain corridor for military operations against Russia; it had left the deal on Saturday, citing an alleged attack on its Black Sea fleet (Reuters)

Russia Extends Evacuation Order in Occupied Southern Ukraine

  • Russia ordered civilians in a nine-mile area on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, referred to in Russia as the Dnieper River, to evacuate; it claims to have annexed the area and had already ordered people on the western bank to evacuate (Reuters)
  • Ukraine said the evacuation order amounts to the war crime of forced depopulation of an occupied territory (CBC)

Russia Reportedly Recruiting U.S.-Trained Afghan Fighters

  • The Russian military is recruiting former commandos who fled to Iran after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan last year, the Associated Press reported (AP)

Russia Pulls Out of Deal Allowing Grain Shipments to Leave Ukrainian Ports

  • World leaders urged Russia to rejoin the deal after Moscow withdrew over the weekend due to alleged Ukrainian drone strikes on its Black Sea fleet (NYT)

Putin Says There Is No Need To Use Nuclear Weapons Against Ukraine

  • At a conference for international foreign policy experts, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there is “no need” to strike Ukraine with nuclear weapons; he also repeated unproven claims that Ukraine plans to frame Russia for a radioactive “dirty bomb” attack (AP)

Ukrainian Forces Advance in Kherson

  • Ukrainian forces advanced against the Russian military in the southern Kherson region and recaptured territory from Russian mercenaries in the city of Bakhmut (WaPo)

U.S. and Russian Military Officials Hold Second Call in Three Days

  • The top military officials from both countries held their second call in three days yesterday; the U.S. Department of Defense said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “rejected any pretext for Russian escalation” in Ukraine (Reuters)

EU Agrees to Sanction Iran for Drones Used by Russia

  • European Union (EU) countries agreed to sanction entities that supply the Iranian-made drones reportedly being used by Russia in Ukraine; Iran has denied providing Russia with drones (Al Jazeera)