The Biden administration is informally encouraging the Ukrainian leadership to signal its willingness to negotiate with Russia. Ukraine must end its public refusal to participate in peace talks with President Putin, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the talks. According to the newspaper, the urging of US officials is not aimed at bringing Ukraine to the negotiating table, but rather a calculated attempt to secure Kyiv’s support for countries whose citizens have feared war for many years. „The fatigue in Ukraine is a real thing for some of our partners,” the Washington Post quoted a US official familiar with the matter as saying.
+++ 01:25 The Ambassador in Ukraine stresses the importance of Putin’s nuclear warnings +++
The new Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksiy Makeyev, stressed the importance of warnings to Kremlin President Vladimir Putin about the use of nuclear weapons. „Putin needs more to be told that the use of nuclear weapons is not an option,” Mikheev told Funk Media Group newspapers. „The answer from the whole world will be very clear – and it will force Putin to withdraw,” he doubts. Despite the threatening gestures, one should approach Russia „from a position of strength,” Mikheev warns. „Otherwise, Moscow will continue. After the annexation of Crimea, Germany was also afraid of provoking Russia. Ukraine was left alone. We are now witnessing the result.”
+++ 00:23 It may take at least ten years to clear the mines from Luhansk +++
It may take at least ten years to completely clear the occupied part of the Luhansk region. This is what the head of the administration of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hayday, said on Ukrainian television, according to the „Euromaidan Press” news site. Hayday said major bridges and a critical infrastructure area would be removed first. “But within an hour, there were 100-200 air strikes on part of the front. That is, thousands of air strikes a day. Many shells, mines, and rockets did not explode, and many were mined from afar. No one has an ordinary map of mines,” Haiday said.
+++ 23:03 Kyiv denies: Mützenich is not on any terrorist list +++
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied the account of the leader of the parliamentary group of the Social Democratic Party, Rolf Mutzenich, that he was put on the „terror list” in Kyiv. „The Ukrainian government does not maintain a terrorist list,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ole Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. „And as far as I know, there are no proceedings against Rolf Mutzenich in Ukraine either.” All allegations of the German politician about his alleged persecution by the Ukrainian authorities are „incorrect”.
+++ 22:06 Selenskyj wants to assemble a fleet of drones via crowdfunding +++
After the astonishing attack by Ukrainian naval drones on the Russian Black Sea Fleet at its seaport near Sevastopol in the Crimea, Ukraine wants to buy more weapons of this type. „We will start another fundraising campaign next week, we want to raise funds for an entire fleet of drones,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in his video address. The purpose of these aircraft is clear. „Everyone has already seen how it works.” According to Ukrainian accounts, three Russian warships were wounded during the attack on Sevastopol last weekend, including the new flagship „Admiral Makarov”. The Russian military only admitted some minor damage without providing further details.
+++ 21:44 Fierce fight around Cherson +++
Heavy fighting erupted between Ukrainian forces and Russian occupation forces around Cherson, southern Ukraine. According to the Russian version, the various sections of the front in the region were subjected to heavy artillery bombardment. In some places, larger transfers of troops and movements of Ukrainian armored units were recorded. The deputy head of the administration of the occupied zone, Kirill Strimosov, speculated that „it is clear that the Ukrainian forces are preparing for a new offensive.” The Ukrainian army had previously reported heavy fighting and artillery duels in the Cherson region. After the initial successes, the Ukrainian leadership still wanted the complete liberation of the region in the south of the country. Cherson is the only regional capital that Kyiv lost control of after the Russian invasion at the end of March. In September, Russia annexed the region after a sham referendum, and no country has recognized this violation of international law.
+++ 21:14 The cooling systems of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant were reconnected to the power grid +++
External power supplies to the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia have been restored after a two-day outage. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, two lines were repaired. While the Russian-controlled nuclear power plant is currently not operational, the facility still needs electricity to cool essential materials and prevent a nuclear accident. The two lines were damaged after bombing in a Ukrainian-controlled area 60 km from the nuclear power plant. The electricity supply to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant was secured until it was overhauled with emergency generators, which have enough fuel for about 15 days.
+++ 20:40 Selenskyj: Iran lies in terms of the number of UAVs delivered +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Iran of lying about the number of drones it has shipped to Russia. „Even with this confession they are lying,” the Ukrainian leader said in his daily video message. Zelensky says the armed forces in Kyiv shoot down at least ten drones every day. On Friday alone, the Ukrainian army destroyed eleven drones. subordinate Iran had previously admitted supplying Russia with drones for the first time. This happened in „small numbers” and a few months before Russia invaded Ukraine, Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabadalahyan explained. Ukraine has reported a series of Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure in recent weeks, using Iranian-made Shahed-136 kamikaze drones. Russia denies its forces are using Iranian drones in Ukraine.
+++ 20:17 Melnyk to Mützenich: „Mimimi. There is no 'terror list'” +++
Former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andrei Melnik rejected the statements of the leader of the SPD faction, Rolf Mutzenich, about the alleged Ukrainian „terrorist list”.. Mutzenich accused the government in Kyiv of putting him on this list because he called for a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. Melnyk wrote on Twitter: „Mimimi. There is no 'terror list’ from the Ukrainian government. Stop presenting yourself as an 'innocent victim’.”
+++ 19:53 Report: Russia was not able to destroy a single HIMARS missile launcher +++
The Russian armed forces have not yet succeeded in destroying the US-supplied HIMARS missile launchers. who – which Politico reports, referring to a senior Pentagon official. The official added that Ukraine still needed a large amount of artillery for the upcoming battle. Consumption rates in this war are high, according to Politico: Ukraine fires 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells per day, while Russia fires 20,000 shells per day.
Read previous developments in the Ukraine war over here.
