Photo: ITV

EA-Times Radio Special: Will Defeat in Ukraine Be End of Putin?

Thursday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy Rejects Settlement Resulting in “Frozen Conflict”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1613 GMT:

Finland has announced another €100 million ($109 million) in defense equipment for Ukraine.

The aid is the 20th package, totalling €1.5 billion ($1.64 billion) sent by Helsinki during the Russian invasion.

Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, said details of the equipment and timing of delivery will not be disclosed for security reasons.

He noted, “What is at stake in Ukraine’s defence struggle is the security environment outlook on Europe and Finland. Together with our allies, we remain unwavering in our commitment to support Ukrainians.”

UPDATE 1606 GMT:

Ukrainian officials say 4.4 million tons of cargo, including 3.2 million tons of grain, has been shipped through a Black Sea shipping corridor since mid-August.

The corridor was established after Vladimir Putin, ripping up the July 2022 grain deal, threatened to renew Russia’s blockade of three Ukrainian ports.

Yuriy Vaskov, Deputy Minister for Renovation and Infrastructure, said 151 ships have passed through the corridor so far.

UPDATE 1540 GMT:

Tens of thousands of residents near frontlines in Ukraine are without power after Russian strikes on energy facilities.

Shelling of Kherson city in southern Ukraine has left more than 28,000 people without power, with 3,000 losing electricity in the past day.

Damage to an overhead line in Donetsk region in the east blacked out the city of Kostyantynivka. About 122 settlements are still without power.

A strike in Kharkiv in the northeast, on a building owned by a private energy supplier, cut off 17,600 people.

UPDATE 1533 GMT:

The Netherlands has earmarked an additional €2 billion ($2.18 billion) in military aid for Ukraine in 2024.

The assistance is part of funds that include an initial €102 million ($111 million) for reconstruction and humanitarian aid. The provisions raise the total amount of Dutch support for Ukraine during Russia’s invasion to about €7.5 billion ($8.16 billion).

“This will safeguard our support for Ukraine and ensure continuity, which is critical for Ukraine,” Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren said.

UPDATE 1519 GMT:

Russian attacks have killed two more civilians in Selydove in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

On Wednesday, three residents were killed and three injured when the Russians fired four S-300 missiles, damaging six apartment buildings and 20 homes.

Two people were wounded on Friday in the town of Antonivka and one in Toretsk.

UPDATE 0936 GMT:

Analyst Alex Kokcharov circulates an example of Russia’s “cleansing” of occupied areas of Ukraine, replacing the “Ukrainian” in surnames, citizenship, and passports.

The poster urges residents, “Are you changing your passport? Change your last name too! Let’s cleanse ourselves of imposed Ukrainian Nazism!”

UPDATE 0909 GMT:

Nine people, including at least three women, were killed in Russian attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Thursday.

Another 10, including a child, were injured.

Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said hundreds of shells were fired, targeting residential areas, shopping districts, and administrative buildings.

UPDATE 0847 GMT:

At least 2,442 children from Ukraine between the ages of 6 and 17 have been transported to 13 facilities in Belarus during Russia’s invasion, conclude researchers from Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab.

In May, the head of the Belarus Red Cross admitted involvement in bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

Ukraine officials say they have confirmed the deportation of almost 20,000 children to Russia or Russian-occupied areas. They note the actual number is likely to be far higher, given lack of access to Russian-controlled territory.

In March, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s “Children’s Rights Commissioner” Maria Lvova-Belova over the deportations.

UPDATE 0841 GMT:

The US Treasury has sanctioned three UAE-based maritime companies and three vessels for shipping Russian oil sold at more than the G7’s price cap of $60 per barrel.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Despite the threat by hard-right Republicans and Trumpists to halt assistance to Ukraine, the Biden Administration is providing another $500 million in aid for the country’s energy systems.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Energy Resources, Jeffrey Payette, announced the support on Thursday, “The United States has already provided Ukraine with more than $520 million in aid for the energy sector. We know that another $500 million is on the way.”

The money will be used for new transformers and other restoration of energy infrastructure destroyed by Russian missile and drone attacks.

Payette said, “Vladimir Putin tried to turn winter cold into a weapon and use winter as a tool to break the will of the Ukrainian people. I am sure that he will fail.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned on Sunday that Vladimir Putin is planning a second “energy war” this winter:

We are almost halfway through November and must be prepared for the fact that the enemy may increase the number of drone or missile strikes on our infrastructure.

Russia is preparing for winter. And here, in Ukraine, all attention should be focused on defense, on responding to terrorists, on everything that Ukraine can do to get through the winter and improve our soldiers’ capabilities.

Russian attacks last winter knocked out up to half of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, air defenses — bolstered by Kyiv’s international supporters — held out, and most of the grid was restored by April.

Since then, Moscow has maintained daily missile and drone strikes on infrastructure and other civilian sites, but at a far diminished rate.

Zelenskiy spoke again of air defense in his nightly address to the nation on Thursday:

There is a lot of work to be done. Cities like Kharkiv, regions like Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia need more systems, more security. This is the task of all our diplomats, of our entire state. I thank everyone who is effective in this.

In Washington, a group of hard-right Republicans and Trumpists are blocking the Biden Administration’s request for authorization of $60 billion in economic, financial, and military assistance.

The group ousted Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy in late September. His success, Mike Johnson, tabled a funding measure — keeping the US Government open past November 17 — which does not include aid for Ukraine or Israel.

The Administration supported the measure, which was adopted by both houses of Congress this week, while continuing to pursue the support for Kyiv. A measure for $11.8 billion in economic aid is being promoted by senior officials.

See also Ukraine War, Day 623: Top US Officials Urge Congress to Authorize $11.8 Billion in Economic Aid to Kyiv