War in Ukraine. Daily update. Day 251-252 [01-02.11.2022, 10.00 am]

Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha

Photo: Zelenskiy Official telegram channel

Cities under attack.

Donetsk region. On October 31, the Russian invaders launched 2 missile attacks on Kramatorsk. No casualties were reported. Also, the Russian military shelled Bakhmut where a private house and a high-rise building were damaged. During the day 2 people were killed in Bakhmut and 1 person was killed in Kurakhove. 3 people were injured during the day. On November 1, the Russian invaders bombarded Bakhmut with phosphorus bombs that are prohibited by the international law.

Mykolaiv region. On the morning of October 31, the Russian military shelled the infrastructure facility of the Pervomaisk community. No casualties were reported. During the day, the Russian invaders fired on the Shyrokivska community where 1 house was destroyed, 1 house and power lines were damaged. On the night of November 1, the city of Mykolaiv was attacked by the Russian invaders. As a result, the buildings of educational institutions were partially destroyed, a two-story building was completely destroyed, private houses were damaged, and a fire broke out in a five-story residential building. One person was killed due to the shelling. 

Kharkiv region. On the morning of October 31, the Russian invaders launched missile attacks on Kharkiv and the Chuhuiv district. As a result, critical infrastructure facilities were damaged. Due to the destruction, the subway and ground electric transport were cut off from energy in Kharkiv. 

Dnipropetrovsk region. At night on October 31, the city of Marhanets was shelled. As a result, 1 person was killed and 1 person was injured, 30 private and high-rise buildings, a lyceum, an administration building, cars and power lines were damaged in the city. Also, the infrastructure facility was seriously damaged in the Kamiansk district. During the day, the Russian invaders attacked  and seriously damaged the energy facilities in Dnipro and Pavlohrad. On November 1, the Russian invaders shelled Nikopol. As a result, 14 high-rise and private buildings, a kindergarten, a pharmacy, a hairdressing salon, shops and bank were damaged. In the Marhanets community, the power lines were damaged and cut off from energy and water supplies for more than 40 000 families. 

Cities under occupation.

Kherson region. In the temporarily occupied territory of the region, the Russian occupiers continue to dismantle and remove the equipment of cellular communication towers to the Donetsk region in order to establish and expand the coverage of the so-called national communication operators.

In addition, the Russian occupiers are carrying out forced displacement of the civilian population. Thus, in the Kakhovka settlement, residents living in apartments along the Dnipro river are forcibly evicted from their homes. The Russian invaders are equipping engineering fortifications and mine-explosive barriers around civilian housing. In the settlement of Novochornomoria, Russian servicemen psychologically and physically put pressure on civilians to evict them of their own homes. The houses vacated in this way are planned to be used by the Russian invaders.

Foreign policy. Ukraine calls for Putin’s invitation to the Bali summit to be revoked, and Russia to be expelled from G20 due to missile strikes on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a conversation with UN Secretary General António Guterres emphasized that Russia should have no place in the UN Security Council and all other international structures. Also, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the President’s Office, said that Ukraine is actively working to remove Russia from the UN Security Council. 

During the meeting in Kyiv on October 31, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the Czech Republic Petr Fiala signed the Joint Declaration on Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic perspective.

Germany reported that lately it has repeatedly recorded attempts to spy using drones on Bundeswehr facilities, including sites where the Ukrainian military was trained to handle Western weapons. The German military counterintelligence service warned of the increased activity of foreign intelligence services, including Russian and Chinese.

On October 31, a missile shot down by the Ukrainian anti-aircraft system, fell on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. In response, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration  has decided to declare the representative of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Chisinau as persona non grata on the territory of Moldova. 

Energy security. 

The Russian occupiers installed military equipment on the roof of the fifth power unit of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

IAEA safeguards inspectors had begun verification activities at two locations in Ukraine, following a request from the Ukrainian government. Later this week IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will provide his initial conclusions from these activities.

On October 31, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the early morning massive missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure were ‘in response’ to the alleged attack on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.

On November 1, EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson visited Kyiv to help scale up support to the Ukraine energy sector. ‘I have witnessed the scale of destruction in Ukraine first hand and am making all efforts to increase financial, technical and practical help,’ she stated. During her visit, the Commissioner met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy where he reported that as a result of Russia’s energy terrorism against Ukraine, about 40% of the entire energy infrastructure of Ukraine was seriously damaged. Also, the Commissioner stated that Ukrainian gas storage facilities are only 32.3% full at the moment and the European Union is ready to allocate 25.5 million euros already now for the urgent needs of supplying and providing electricity to Ukraine. In addition, Ukraine has already agreed on the supply of equipment from the governments and companies of 12 countries (Israel, Spain, Italy, Lithuania, Germany, North Macedonia, Poland, Republic of Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, and France) to restore the energy infrastructure by providing in total about 954 units of energy equipment.

Environmental crimes.

At the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the Russian invaders provoked an ecological disaster. The temperature in the cooling pond is now below normal, so the fish in the reservoir began to die en masse.

Food security.

On October 31, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has publicly announced that until the situation around the terrorist action allegedly committed by Ukraine on October 29 against warships and civilian ships in the city of Sevastopol is clarified, traffic along the security corridor defined by the Black Sea Initiative has been suspended. Also, the Ministry added that Russia is not withdrawing from the Grain Agreement, but is suspending it. However, The United Nations denied Russia’s claims that civilian ships transporting grain within the “grain corridor” took part in attacks on Russian warships.

Meanwhile, UN Deputy Secretary General Martin Griffiths reported that Russia has sent a team to the Joint Coordination Center. ‘We believe that the initiative is still valid, even when Russia’s participation is suspended,’ he stated.

Consequently, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN have decided to make a one-day traffic stop, so there are no scheduled departures of ships on November 2. In addition, the Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine confirmed that on November 3, 8 vessels with agricultural products are expected to pass through the ‘grain corridor’.

Human rights.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, stated that there are formal grounds for considering Russian attacks against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure as a component of genocide. ‘Deliberate Russian strikes against the civilian critical infrastructure of Ukraine are war crimes. Given their systematic nature and the comments accompanying it by Russian propaganda and officials, these strikes should be considered part of the genocide of the Ukrainian people,’ the minister explained.

Digital security.

Britain has deployed cybersecurity experts to protect Ukraine from Russian hackers, The Times reported. The specialists have been working remotely on behalf of the British government to foil attacks since February. 

Sanctions.

New Zealand imposed new sanctions on individuals and entities focusing on the Russian defense and security sectors.

Statistics.

  • General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., November 02, 2022: personnel – around 73 270, tanks ‒  2 714, APV ‒ 5 525, artillery systems – 1 733, MLRS – 387, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 198, fixed-wing aircraft – 277, helicopters – 258, operational-tactical level UAV – 1438, cruise missiles – 397, boats and light speed boats – 16, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 4153, special equipment – 154.

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Thank you for supporting Ukraine! Slava Ukraini! Glory to Ukraine!