Russian Army General Sergei Surovikin said on Tuesday (October 18th) that the situation on the ground in Ukraine was “tense” for his troops in the face of a Ukrainian counter-offensive, notably in Kherson, after several significant setbacks by Russian forces in the east and south. More than 1,100 localities remain without electricity in the country. Franceinfo takes stock of the day’s news on the the war in Ukraine.
Russia accused of ‘abducting’ two employees of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
The Ukrainian operator Energoatom on Tuesday accused Russia of having “kidnapped” two frames of the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, which it has occupied since March in southern Ukraine. According to Energoatom, IT department chief Oleg Kostyukov and deputy plant director Oleg Ocheka were taken away by Russian forces on Monday “to an unknown destination”.
The Ukrainian operator called on social networks the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, to “make every effort” possible to secure their release. The Zaporijjia power station is regularly the victim of bombardments and power cuts, raising fears for the safety of this installation.
A “tense” situation for the Russian troops
The Russian military said on Tuesday that the situation on the ground in Ukraine was “tense” for his troops in the face of a Ukrainian counter-offensive, notably in Kherson, after several significant setbacks by Russian forces in the east and south.
“The situation in the area of the special military operation can be described as tense. The enemy does not give up its attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops”General Sergey Surovikin, in charge of Russian operations in Ukraine for ten days, told Russian public television Rossia 24. “The Ukrainian regime is trying to break through our defence”by bringing together “all his reservations” for the counter-offensive, he said.
Several localities soon to be evacuated
The occupation leader of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, announced on Telegram the evacuation of civilians from several localities (Berislav, Bilozersk, Snihirav and Aleksandrovsk) to the left bank of the Dnieper. “Ukrainian forces are preparing a large-scale offensive”, he explained, adding that the Russian army must have free rein to set up a defensive line.
Localities still without electricity after the Russian strikes of the last ten days
“At present, 1,162 localities (…) remain without electricity”said the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Emergency Service, Oleksandr Khorounjy. He added that up to 4,000 localities have been affected by power cuts since October 7.
Earlier in the day, Volodomyr Zelensky had announced that, since October 10, “30% of Ukrainian power plants have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country.” “Engineers are making every effort to restore supply”said for his part IDTEK operator on Facebook.
Iran says ready to talk with Kyiv over ‘unfounded’ drone charges
Iran said it was ready on Tuesday to meet with kyiv to clarify the claims, deemed “unfounded”, that Tehran is supplying Russia with weapons and drones used in its offensive against Ukraine. kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones in recent weeks to carry out attacks in Ukraine.
The Kremlin said on Tuesday that it had no knowledge of the use of such weapons by the Russian army. Judging these claims “unfounded” and “based on false information”Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani assured on Tuesday that “Iran was ready for negotiation and discussion with Ukraine to resolve these accusations”according to a press release.
Russian army says it has taken over a village in the Kharkiv region
For the first time since September, the Russian army has retook a village in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine from which it was driven out about a month ago. “During offensive operations, units of the Russian army captured the locality of Gorobivka”close to the border with Russia, the Ministry of Defense said in its daily report.