“Now, of course, those living in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer,” Putin told pro-Kremlin activists as he marked Russia’s National Unity Day.
Putin urges citizens to leave Kherson
To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Kherson is one of four Ukrainian provinces that Putin illegally annexed in September. His comments marked the first admission of a worsening situation in a region it has declared part of Russia. Officials installed by Russia in Kherson have asked civilians to leave the region’s western region, where Ukrainian forces have retaken ground in recent weeks. According to the Russian military, “more than 5,000” civilians were moving from Kherson every day. Ukraine has criticized such evacuations and accused Russia of carrying out Soviet-style “deportations” of its people. Separately, Putin said Russia had deployed 318,000 people to its armed forces since a partial mobilization was announced in September. The Russian president also signed a law allowing the mobilization of people who have committed serious crimes, the RIA news agency reported. The law excludes those convicted of child sexual abuse, treason, espionage or terrorism. Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Friday, November 4:
Russia is trying to “freeze Ukraine into submission” — Blinken
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has criticized Russia, saying it is trying to “freeze” Ukraine into submission. Blinken held meetings with G7 foreign ministers, who said Russia was trying to “terrorize the civilian population” of Ukraine with attacks on civilians and infrastructure, particularly energy and water facilities. “President (Vladimir) Putin seems to have decided that if he cannot take Ukraine by force, he will try to freeze it into submission,” Blinken said after two days of talks. In addition to pledging to continue delivering weapons to Ukrainian forces to fight Russian troops, G7 ministers pledged to help Ukrainians rebuild their water and electricity infrastructure.
Ukraine ‘in dire need of air defenses’ — US adviser
US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Ukraine is in desperate need of decent air defenses in the face of Russian attacks on its critical infrastructure. “We recognize the acute need for air defense at this critical time when Russia and Russian forces are firing missiles and Iranian drones against the civilian infrastructure of this country,” Sullivan told a news conference in Kyiv.
US to finance renovation of Ukrainian air defenses and armored vehicles
The Pentagon has announced it will foot the bill for refurbishing Soviet-era T-72 tanks and HAWK surface-to-air missiles as part of a $400 million military aid package. “The tanks come from the Czech defense industry and the United States is paying for 45 of them to be refurbished,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told reporters. The Netherlands will meet this commitment which means that a total of 90 T-72 tanks are to be withdrawn. The tanks will be equipped with advanced optics, communications and armor packages according to Singh. Asked why newer tanks were not provided, Singh said these were tanks that the Ukrainians knew how to use, adding that “introducing a new main battle tank is extremely expensive, time sensitive and would be a huge undertaking for the Ukrainian forces”. Some will be ready by the end of the year, while the rest are expected to be delivered in 2023.
G7 rallies support for Kiev amid Russian attacks
The Group of Seven richest democracies agreed to coordinate their support for Ukraine’s critical energy and water infrastructure, the group’s foreign ministers said Friday at the end of a two-day meeting in Germany. “Today we are establishing a G7 coordination mechanism to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend critical energy and water infrastructure… We will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” the diplomats said in a statement, adding that the G7 countries pledged to help Ukraine in the coming winter. The foreign ministers also said that any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with serious consequences. They also renewed their appeal to Moscow to end the war in Ukraine. “Russia’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric is unacceptable,” they said in a joint statement. Russian airstrikes have severely damaged more than a third of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Rolling blackouts were introduced across the country to save power while engineers carry out repairs. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that some 4.5 million people were left without power due to Russian attacks on the country’s energy grid. France, Italy, Japan, Canada, the US, Britain and Germany make up the G7 group of wealthy democracies.
Ukraine: Power outages are becoming a daily reality
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The German Minister of Justice visits Kyiv
German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann has arrived in Ukraine for his first visit to the country since Russia invaded in February. “We stand by Ukraine today and will continue to do so in the future,” the politician said upon his arrival in the Ukrainian capital. In Kyiv, Buschmann and his Ukrainian counterpart Denys Maliuska signed a work program on judicial cooperation for the next two years. Germany wants to help Ukraine “meet the standards of the rule of law as part of the European Union accession process,” Buschmann said. The international prosecution of war crimes was also at the center of the talks between the two ministers.
Russia likely to use ‘barrier troops’ — UK MoD
Due to low morale and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have likely begun deploying “barrier troops” or “blockade units” in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense said in its latest intelligence briefing. According to the ministry, these units are threatening to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to force the attacks. “Recently, Russian generals likely wanted their commanders to use weapons against defectors, including possibly authorizing shooting to kill such defectors after warning,” the briefing said. His tactic of shooting deserters probably attests to the low quality, low morale and indiscipline of Russian forces, the ministry added.
German Scholz pressures China over Ukraine
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Beijing to influence Russia to end the war in Ukraine.
He made the call during a one-day visit to China.
“We are together at a time of great tension,” Scholz said. “In particular, I want to highlight Russia’s war against Ukraine, which poses many problems for our rules-based world order.”
The German chancellor also said that both he and Chinese President Xi Jinping opposed the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.
“Here in China everyone knows that an escalation (of the war in Ukraine) would have consequences for all of us,” Soltz told reporters.
“That’s why it’s very important for me to emphasize that everyone says clearly that an escalation through the use of a tactical nuclear weapon is ruled out,” he added. “I am pleased that we have at least reached an agreement on this.”
While China has not supported the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has deepened ties with Moscow since the conflict began.
More DW content on the war in Ukraine
What will the US midterm elections mean for Russia’s war in Ukraine? Eastern European Americans tend to vote conservatively. But that could change, as Republicans have said they will reduce support for Ukraine if they win. Read more here. The tabloids are buzzing about the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been suffering from Parkinson’s for years. What do doctors think? dh/nm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
