On the 255th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, power outages continue on Saturday, November 5, as the power grid has been heavily hit by Russian strikes in recent weeks. The day was also marked by Iran’s statement acknowledging that it supplied drones to Russia. Franceinfo summarizes the latest developments on the front of the war in Ukraine.
Iran admits delivering drones to Russia
For the first time, Tehran has admitted supplying drones to Russia before the invasion of Ukraine in late February. LIranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also said he was ready to examine any evidence of the use of Iranian drones in the Ukrainian conflict. However, he again denied that his country supplied missiles to Russia, deeming these accusations “completely false”.
kyiv claims that around 400 Iranian drones have already been used against the Ukrainian population and that Moscow has ordered around 2,000. “Tehran must realize that the consequences of its complicity in Russia’s crimes against Ukraine will be far greater than the benefit of Russia’s support”reacted the spokesman of the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
New electricity restrictions in Ukraine
Faced with excessive demand for electricity on Saturday, the Ukrainian operator Energo announced that it had set up “additional restrictions (…) in the form of emergency interruptions”. Several regions are concerned, including the capital kyiv.
Power outages had already been in place for several days to limit civilian electricity consumption. Ukraine’s electricity system has been heavily affected by multiple Russian strikes in recent weeks, raising fears of a winter without electricity and water for many civilians.
kyiv estimates Russian losses at more than 75,000 soldiers
On the front, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry estimates more than 75,000 the number of Russian soldiers killed since the start of the conflict on February 24. In a message posted on Twitter saturday iHe also mentions the loss of 277 planes, 260 helicopters and 2,758 tanks.
In the south of the country, according to the Ukrainian presidency, “the Russian occupiers are trying to identify the inhabitants who refuse to be evacuated” from Kherson to the territories occupied by Moscow troops, further from the front line, even to Russia itself. The day before, the Russian president justified these evacuations for the first time, considering that the civilians “must be removed” combat zones “the most dangerous”.