5 titles from Ukraine you may have missed amid the Tory turmoil
As the chaos and economic disruption of the UK in Westminster dominated the headlines, the war in ukraine is about to enter its eighth month.
Here are some of the main stories of Russia the invasion of its European neighbor over the past week that you may have missed.
1. Russia attacks Ukrainian power plants
ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claimed on Tuesday that the wave of Russian airstrikes that began last week had caused “massive blackouts”.
Moscow has targeted power plants across Ukraine and has now destroyed about 30% of plants.
Zelenskyy called it a “terrorist” attack and said there was “no more room for negotiations” with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Poutine.
The Ministry of Defense also shared an update on Tuesday: “It is highly likely that a key objective of this strike campaign is to cause widespread damage to Ukraine’s energy distribution network.”
Russia began launching drone (potentially from Iran) and missile strikes across Ukraine last week, even hitting the capital of Kyiv which had not been attacked since the early days of the war in february.
The sudden offensive came after the Kremlin accused Ukraine of attacking the Kerch Bridge earlier in October, which linked Russian-occupied Crimea to Russia.
Putin briefly promised to end the strikes last week, but they resumed on Monday, October 17.
Firefighters work to extinguish a fire at the CHP power station hit by a Russian missile on October 10, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo: Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
2. Russia grapples with attacks from beyond the front line
A pro-Russian official from Donetsk – an occupied region of Ukraine – claimed on Sunday that the area was under attack.
Writing on Telegram, Donetsk Mayor Alexey Kulemzin said: “There was a direct hit by enemy munitions.”
Ukraine has yet to take responsibility for the attack.
It also came after two more blows to Moscow’s war efforts, after 11 people were killed when snipers opened fire on a Russian military training center, according to Russian state news agency Tass. . It was discovered that the two assailants were from the Commonwealth of Independent States (post-Soviet regions).
Zelenskyy also claimed on Saturday that more than 65,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in the war so far.
Meanwhile, mobilization is expected to be phased out over the next two weeks after the recruitment of 220,000 reservists.
Civilians collect wood for heating and cooking in Donetsk. (Photo: Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
3. A Russian expert points the finger at Elon Musk
A former National Security Council analyst Fiona Hill told Politico on Monday that Putin was using the richest person in the world to broadcast his terms to end the war in Ukraine.
She alleged: “Putin is playing big men’s egos, making them feel like they can play a role. But in reality, they are only direct transmitters of Vladimir Putin’s messages.
It comes after Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk caused controversy on Twitter by suggesting on Twitter that mock referendums in Ukraine’s four occupied areas be restarted under UN supervision. He also suggested officially declaring Crimea part of Russia, even though Putin illegally annexed it in 2014.
Musk denied talking to Putin.
4. “We’re all on Russia’s casualty list”
Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko told the Financial Times that all MPs are on Moscow’s “kill list” and have known it “from day one” – along with their families.
She also warned that global starvation was a real risk for many countries during the war because Ukraine exports so much grain.
However, Vasylenko also claimed that the war was not going to end until the West “physically pushed Russia out of Ukrainian territory”.
She also called for sanctions to continue until war crimes and crimes against Ukraine are brought to justice.
She said that includes reparations, dating back to Russia’s annexation in 2014.
The Ukrainian MP also claimed that it was not about taking revenge on all Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who had already died during the war, to “ensure that there is no repetition of the aggression of Russia” and to remove all of Putin’s legislation from Russia.
5. Publication of the first images of the attacked Nord Stream pipeline
Footage of the damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline – linking Russia’s energy supply to Europe – emerged on Tuesday.
The attacks were seen as a sign that the war was moving west, with experts believing Moscow had targeted Europe for helping Ukraine throughout the war – especially since two of the four attacks took place in Danish and Swedish waters.
However, Moscow tried to blame the West for the attack by claiming that the United States would benefit from a weakening of gas supplies to Europe – an allegation the United States denies. Yet Russia has repeatedly said the explosions were staged to blame Moscow.
Nord Stream 1 and 2 were damaged by explosions under the Baltic Sea last month, causing a large amount of methane to be released into the air.
It came after Russia had already cut off gas supplies to Europe.
New images from ongoing Danish and Swedish investigations show 50 meters of pipe destroyed.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost UK and has been updated.