This is the 247th day of the war in Ukraine. Follow the latest news about the war in Ukraine and its aftermath in this live blog.
Russia: Ukraine’s drone strike in Crimea foiled
10:09 | The Russian Navy says it repelled a Ukrainian drone strike in Crimea on Saturday. An explosion was heard near Sevastopol, but Russia attributed it to the destruction of drones. There will be no injuries or damage.
The Russian-appointed city administration says the situation is “under control”. It did not say how many drones were involved in the attack, but it said “all unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down”.
Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014. Ukraine wants to retake the peninsula and has been attacking military airfields and weapons depots for months. A section of the Crimean Bridge, an important link to the Russian mainland, was also destroyed.
European Commissioner: 17 billion Russian money already frozen
02:26 | According to European Commissioner Didier Reynders (Justice), the EU has already frozen more than 17 billion euros of Russian assets as part of its sanctions against Russia. “The assets of 90 people have been frozen so far, more than 17 billion euros in 7 member states, including 2.2 billion euros in Germany,” the Belgian Funke media group told newspapers on Saturday.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began eight months ago, the EU has implemented eight sanctions. ‘We’re exploring what else we can do,’ says Reinders. Ukrainian politicians in particular are demanding that frozen assets be used to rebuild the country after the war. “If the EU confiscates criminal money, it can be sent to a compensation fund for Ukraine. However, this amount is not enough to fund reconstruction.
As part of Western sanctions, 300 billion euros were also frozen from the Russian central bank’s foreign exchange reserves. “I think it is at least possible to keep these 300 billion euros as a guarantee until Russia voluntarily participates in the reconstruction of Ukraine,” Reinders said.
On Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the worst economic turmoil in Russia caused by tough Western sanctions over the war was already over. According to Putin, the ‘peak’ of that economic unrest has now passed, he said during a speech to a think tank in Moscow. Western efforts to “fix” Russia’s economy have also failed, the president said. He pointed out that the economy has now adjusted to the ‘new economic reality’.
Zelensky: Four million people are without electricity in Ukraine
October 28 – 9:18 PM | About four million people across Ukraine are without electricity as a result of Russian airstrikes, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. He said in his daily video address that all efforts are being made to resolve the issues at the earliest.
In recent weeks, Russia has bombarded its neighbor almost daily with missiles and drones. Attacks are mainly aimed at the country’s (energy) infrastructure. As a result, Ukraine’s power generation capacity has decreased and power cuts have occurred in some areas.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Friday that the mobilization of reservists had ended and that 300,000 additional soldiers had now been brought under arms. However, Zelensky suspects that the poor performance of pro-Moscow forces will soon prompt a need for more troops.
Zelensky: “Even if Russia tries to increase the pressure on our positions by sending control soldiers, they are so poorly prepared and armed, so cruelly used by their leadership, we can assume that Russia needs a new wave of people very soon.” to be sent to war.’