Ukraine latest updates: US says Iran aiding Russia from Crimea
Ukraine news for October 20: US says Iranian personnel ‘on the ground’ in Crimea aiding Russia drone strikes.
- The White House says Iranian personnel are assisting Russia with drone strikes from “on the ground” in annexed Crimea.
- Kyiv welcomes the European Union’s move to sanction Iran over its alleged supply of drones to Russia.
- The White House says Iranian personnel are assisting Russia with drone strikes from “on the ground” in annexed Crimea.
- Kyiv welcomes the European Union’s move to sanction Iran over its alleged supply of drones to Russia.
- Berlin warns Moscow that “scorched earth” tactics will not win the war, after Moscow’s forces pummelled the country’s power plants.
- Ukraine orders curbs on electricity use for the first time since Russia’s invasion began.
- European leaders gather for a summit expected to address the bloc’s energy crisis.
Biden ‘worried’ about Ukraine aid if Republicans win Congress
US President Joe Biden has expressed concern about the prospects for future US assistance to Ukraine if Republicans win control of one or both houses of Congress in the November 8 midterm elections.
“I am worried,” Biden told reporters during a stop at a sandwich shop in Pittsburgh when asked about the effect on Ukraine aid if Republicans win.
Experts say support for Ukraine generally remains strong among the majority of Republican legislators in the US. But a branch of the party has increasingly opposed the aid.
In recent days, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said he would be “unwilling to write a blank check” for Ukraine if Republicans take control of the House from Democrats in the midterm elections.
Guterres’ comments not harmed communication with Moscow: UN
UN chief Antonio Guterres’s comments about Russia’s war in Ukraine have not stopped communication with Moscow, a UN spokesman has said.
The comments came after Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Wednesday that Moscow will reassess working with Guterres if he sends UN experts to Ukraine to inspect drones, which Western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a UN Security Council resolution.
“The secretary-general has spoken up very clearly about the war in Ukraine, about the Russian action in Ukraine,” Stephane Dujarric told reporters. “That has not stopped our continued discussions with the Russian Federation on a number of issues relating to the conflict, on top of all the other issues that we deal with.”
Martial law shows Ukrainians in annexed regions didn’t want to join Russia: US
Putin’s imposition of martial law in annexed Ukrainian territories shows his claim people want to join Russia is a “lie”, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
“President Putin annexed these regions claiming that there were individuals in these regions who so desperately sought refuge from the Ukrainian state that they wanted to join Mother Russia,” Price said.
“Now, Putin is, I think, proving the lie by declaring martial law.”
Putin declared martial law in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia on Wednesday, while giving greater emergency powers to the Russian-appointed heads of the regions.
Son of Iran’s last Shah voices solidarity with Ukraine over drones
The son of Iran’s late, last Shah has voiced solidarity with Ukrainians who have suffered from Russian-fired drones allegedly sold by Tehran.
“Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who are defending their sovereignty,” Reza Pahlavi told reporters after delivering an address from his home in exile in Washington, DC on protests that have swept Iran.
“We accuse the Islamic regime of not only having completely destroyed our freedom”, he said, but “now it is also cooperating with those who are putting at risk another nation’s sovereignty”.
Pahlavi, the son Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, advocates for the formation of a secular democracy in Iran and not necessarily the restoration of the centuries-old monarchy, an option that has limited appeal inside the country. Iran’s Western-oriented monarchy was overthrown during the 1979 revolution.
Iranian ‘personnel’ helped Russian drone attacks from Crimea: White House
Iranian military personnel have assisted Russia in piloting drones from Russian-annexed Crimea, White House Spokesman John Kirby told reporters, adding that Washington was looking at imposing new sanctions on Tehran.
“We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations,” Kirby said on Thursday.
Kirby said the Iranians in Crimea were trainers and tech support workers, and that the Russians were piloting the drones, which have caused significant damage to Ukrainian infrastructure.
“Tehran is now directly engaged on the ground, and through the provision of weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine,” he said.
Kirby added that the Biden administration would look for ways to make it harder for Tehran to sell such weapons to Russia, adding that, at this point, it was no longer focused on diplomacy and nuclear talks with Iran.
Moscow skips UN review of rights in Russia
Russian delegates did not appear at a meeting of the United Nations committee examining the human rights situation in the country.
Experts from the UN Human Rights Committee (OHCHR) had been due to come face to face with the Russian delegates at a public meeting over two days, but Friday’s second session was cancelled following Moscow’s absence at the first on Thursday.
“I regret that the Russian Federation hasn’t sent a delegation to respond,” said Marcia VJ Kran of Canada, a member of the body, which consists of 18 independent experts who monitor the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by state parties.
“We observe a disturbing trend of legal action against politicians who criticise the government,” said Kran. “We also have a serious concern about the use of sophisticated, state-developed poisons to silence, punish and kill at least a dozen prominent dissidents, opposition leaders and activists in the past decade.”
Russia was removed from the UN Human Rights Council following the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia taps wealth fund to cover war deficit
Russia has tapped its main sovereign wealth fund for $16.2bn to cover its budget deficit as its military offensive in Ukraine weighs on public finances.
The finance ministry said the government had approved taking the funds from the National Wealth Fund “to finance budgetary expenses” and “ensure the budget’s equilibrium”.
It added the funds would be used primarily to “settle public debt and provide loans to regions”, as well as pay social benefits to Russian citizens.
Russian federal government spending from January to September increased by 21 percent from the same period last year, according to finance ministry data, due to expenses related to what it calls its “military operation in Ukraine”.
Russia’s National Wealth Fund stood at $188bn in October 2022, according to finance ministry data.
Senior Russian official’s son arrested in Italy for US sanctions evasion
Moscow has confirmed the arrest of the son of a senior Russian official, in Italy, at Washington’s request for alleged sanctions evasion and illegal sale of US technologies to Russian arms companies.
“Russian citizen [Artyom] Uss was detained on October 17 in Milan Malpensa Airport at the request of the United States,” Russia’s embassy in Italy said on Facebook.
Uss’s father is Alexander Uss, the governor of the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. He wrote on Telegram on Thursday, “The political colouring of these accusations is obvious”.
The younger Uss was accused working with a wider network that bought electronic components from the US intended to equip planes, radars and missiles, and having resold them to Russian arms companies by circumventing sanctions.
Putin visits training centre for mobilised servicemen: Reports
President Vladimir Putin has visited a training centre for mobilised servicemen, according to reports by Russian news agencies.
The reports said Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, reported to Putin on how the mobilised troops were being trained after they were called up to support Russia’s offensive in Ukraine.
Russian state television showed footage of Putin visiting the shooting centre in the Ryazan region, southeast of Moscow.
Russia’s Navalny says he faces new criminal case for ‘promoting terrorism’
Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny says authorities have opened a new criminal case against him for promoting “terrorism and extremism” in a move that could potentially more than double his existing sentence.
Navalny, Putin’s most prominent domestic critic, is already serving prison terms totalling 11 and a half years for fraud, contempt of court and parole violations, all of which he rejects as trumped-up charges intended to silence him.
“You all thought I had been isolated in prison for two years, but it turns out, I was actively committing crimes. Luckily, the Investigative Committee was vigilant and didn’t miss a thing,” he tweeted on Thursday.
Navalny said his lawyers estimated he could now face a cumulative sentence of about 30 years. There was no immediate official confirmation of the new case from the Investigative Committee.
1/8 I am a genius of the underworld. Professor Moriarty is no match for me. You all thought I had been isolated in prison for two years, but it turns out I was actively committing crimes. Luckily, the Investigative Committee was vigilant and didn't miss a thing.
— Alexey Navalny (@navalny) October 20, 2022
Russian-installed official says 15,000 evacuated from Kherson
A Russian-installed official in Kherson says about 15,000 people have now been evacuated from the partly occupied southern region.
“Around 15,000 people have listened to the [evacuation] recommendation of the leadership of the Kherson region,” Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the local Moscow-backed administration, said in a Telegram post.
Kherson’s Moscow-backed authorities announced the start of the so-called evacuations on Wednesday amid intensified fighting in the region.
What travel restrictions is the EU imposing on Russians?
The bloc has made it harder and costlier for Russian nationals to enter, but member states are divided on an outright travel ban.
Read more here.
Swedish PM says ready to visit Turkey to unblock NATO bid
Sweden’s new prime minister has said he is ready to head to Ankara to urge Turkey to back bids by his country and Finland to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance.
“I have already sent a signal to the Turkish government that we are prepared to go to Ankara immediately,” Ulf Kristersson said as he arrived for an EU leaders’ summit in Brussels three days after taking office.
“I will do that as soon as it is suitable for them, as well, of course, so I’m very prepared for that.”
Twenty-eight of NATO’s 30 allies have so far ratified the accession of Finland and Sweden — leaving only Turkey and Hungary to sign off before they officially join the group.
Moscow accuses West of seeking to pile ‘pressure’ on Iran over drones allegations
Russia’s foreign ministry has accused Western powers of seeking to pile “pressure” on Tehran with accusations Moscow is using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine — allegations Russia and Iran deny.
“Everything that is now being done on the Iranian track is subordinated to one goal — pressure on this country,” Maria Zakharova, the ministry’s spokeswoman, said at a news briefing.
She also dismissed accusations from Kyiv and its Western allies that Iran had supplied Russia with drones as “rumours”.
Ukraine welcomes EU sanctions over Iranian drones
Ukraine’s foreign minister has welcomed the EU’s move to impose sanctions on three Iranian generals and one weapons firm over Tehran’s alleged supplying of drones to Russia.
Dmytro Kuleba said in a Twitter post that the weapons were “helping Russia kill Ukrainians and damage our energy infrastructure”.
The Kremlin has said it has no knowledge of its army using Iranian drones in Ukraine and Tehran has dismissed the claims it is providing Russia with the weapons as “baseless”.
I welcome the EU’s prompt action following my appeal on Monday to impose sanctions on Iran for helping Russia kill Ukrainians and damage our energy infrastructure. In three days, the EU agreed on a set of restrictions which will take effect as soon as today.
— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 20, 2022
Dutch parliament supports special aggression tribunal for Ukraine
The Dutch parliament has voted in support of a proposal to establish a special tribunal in The Hague to prosecute Russian military and political leaders for the invasion of Ukraine.
Members of parliament overwhelmingly adopted a motion calling on the government to “actively explore”, at the EU and the United Nations, the setting up of a special court to put on trial individuals for the crime of aggression.
The Hague is also the seat of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC), which opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in the days after Moscow’s February 24 invasion, but does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine.
Moscow has rejected allegations by Kyiv and Western nations that its forces have carried out a litany of war crimes during its offensive.
UK to impose new sanctions in response to Iran’s ‘supply of drones’
The United Kingdom will shortly impose new sanctions in “response to Iran’s supply of drones for use in attacking civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine”, the country’s foreign secretary has said.
“Iran cannot be allowed to violate UN resolutions,” James Cleverly tweeted.
Tehran has routinely denied supplying Russia with drones.
Later today I will be announcing further sanctions in response to Iran’s supply of drones for use in attacking civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
Iran cannot be allowed to violate UN resolutions.
— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly) October 20, 2022
Arson suspected in Ukrainian refugee hotel fire: German police
German police have said they suspect that a fire which broke out overnight at a hotel in the country’s northeast, housing Ukrainian refugees, was a case of politically-motivated arson.
Fourteen guests, most of them Ukrainians, and three staff were in the half-timbered thatch-roofed Hotel Schaefereck when the fire began, police in Rostock said on Thursday, adding none of them were hurt.
“As things stand, arson is suspected and a political motivation is assumed,” the police said in a statement.
Prosecutors have ordered a specialist fire investigator to look into the cause of the blaze, which erupted at 9:20pm local time (19:20 GMT) in the hotel near the Baltic seashore in the village of Gross Stroemkendorf.
What does Putin’s martial law mean and what next for Ukraine war?
Russia’s president has introduced martial law in partially occupied Ukrainian regions, which Moscow claimed to have annexed last month but is struggling to defend amid a continuing counteroffensive.
In televised remarks to members of Russia’s Security Council on Wednesday, Putin said the new measures were aimed at boosting the security powers of all of the country’s regional governors to support what he calls a “special military operation”.
Read more here.
Russian aircraft fired missile near British plane: UK
A Russian aircraft released a missile near a United Kingdom aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea on September 29, the UK’s defence secretary has said.
The UK suspended patrols following the incident and expressed its concerns to Russia’s defence minister, Ben Wallace told parliament on Thursday. Russia responded to say the incident was a technical malfunction, he added.
Wallace said patrols had since resumed with fighter aircraft escorts. There was no immediate response to his remarks from Moscow.
Ukraine energy restrictions ‘very significant’: AJ correspondent
Al Jazeera’s Mohammed Jamjoom, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukraine’s announcement of nationwide energy curbs is “very significant”.
“This is the first time that such nationwide restrictions have been put in place since Russia’s invasion in February,” Jamjoom said.
“The power supply is to be restricted between 7am and 11pm daily, and there may be temporary blackouts if people don’t comply with these restrictions or try to conserve their energy consumption,” he added.
“And many [Ukrainian] officials over the course of the last 48 hours have been repeating the line that citizens must also do more to prepare themselves for the winter.
“Everybody we have been speaking to in neighbourhoods that have been impacted by power outages after either missile strikes or drone strokes in the past few days have told us they are worried the situation is going to get worse, but that they are trying to prepare themselves as best as they can.”
EU agrees on Iran sanctions over drone deliveries to Russia: Czech presidency
EU member states have agreed on new sanctions against Iran over its supply of lethal drones to Russia, the rotating presidency of the bloc’s council, currently held by the Czech Republic, has said.
“EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit Ukraine,” the Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union tweeted.
“EU states decided to freeze the assets of three individuals and one entity responsible for drone deliveries [and] … is also prepared to extend sanctions to four more Iranian entities that already featured in a previous sanctions list.”
Tehran has repeatedly denied supplying Russia with drones. Ukraine says Iranian-made drones have been used by Moscow’s forces to attack civilian and energy infrastructure throughout the country in recent days.
#COREPERII | ✅ #Iran #sanctions in record time! After 3 days of talks, EU ambassadors agreed on measures against entities supplying Iranian drones that hit #Ukraine. Written procedure is over, sanctions come into force this afternoon on publication in the Off. Journal. #EU2022CZ pic.twitter.com/Fjqaqz7mfj
— EU2022_CZ (@EU2022_CZ) October 20, 2022
US ‘blackmail’ over fertiliser exports threatens global food security: Moscow
Russia’s foreign ministry has said Moscow stands ready to boost food and fertiliser exports to help avert a global food crisis but is being blocked from doing so by the United States.
Maria Zakharova, the ministry’s spokeswoman, said Washington was “blackmailing” and “persecuting” those that try to trade with Russia and was therefore compromising global food security.
The US has not directly targeted Russian agricultural exports, but Moscow argues sweeping sanctions on Russia’s shipping, insurance, logistics and payments infrastructure are thwarting its ability to export fertilisers and chemicals.
Russian air force patrols ally Belarus’s borders
Belarus says Russia’s air force has held scheduled patrol flights at its borders amid heightened concern that Minsk, a key ally of Moscow’s, could take a more active role in the war.
“Right now, the Russian aviation component of the regional troop grouping is carrying out a scheduled patrol of the air borders of the Union State,” Belarus’s defence ministry said in a statement. The “Union State” is the name of a borderless customs-free zone between Russia and Belarus.
Moscow has deployed an enhanced task force of 9,000 troops and hundreds of pieces of military hardware to its neighbour after President Alexander Lukashenko said last week that Belarus was at threat of attack from Ukraine.
Zelenskyy appeals to Ukrainians to ‘limit’ energy use
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to Ukrainians to curb their energy use after warning Russian attacks had damaged 30 percent of power stations in just more than a week.
“Please limit your electricity consumption and use [of] those appliances that consume a lot of energy,” Zelenskyy told Ukrainians in his nightly address on Wednesday.
He said three more energy facilities had been hit by attacks that day. One was a major, coal-fired thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine.