Ukraine says Russia attacks North Kyiv power plant
Ukrainian officials and eyewitnesses said Russian forces attacked energy infrastructure in northern Kyiv on Tuesday, October 18, causing several explosions and sending smoke billowing overhead.
Ukraine accuses Moscow of "kidnapping" two employees at the Zaporeggia nuclear plant
On Tuesday, Ukraine's nuclear energy agency accused Russia of arresting high-ranking employees at the Russian-controlled Zaporeggia plant in southern Ukraine.
In a statement on social media, Energoatom stated that Russian troops "abducted" on Monday, the director of information technology Oleg Kostyukov and the assistant director general of the station Oleg Oshika and 'levou-a for a site puzzled.'
On Monday, 17 October, the United States threatened to take action against companies and countries cooperating with Iran's th March programme, after Russia used these aircraft to launch deadly strikes on Kyiv.
- Anyone with activities related to the development of drones, ballistic missiles or the flow of weapons from Iran to Russia must be very careful and take the necessary measures. The United States will not hesitate to impose sanctions or take action against the responsible.
- "The deepening of the alliance between Russia and Iran should be seen as a major global threat." He noted that the delivery of these aircraft shows the "huge pressure" on Russia after its losses in Ukraine.
- Russia is 'explicitly obliged to turn to unreliable countries such as Iran for supplies and equipment.
- Patel considered Tehran's dispatch to Moscow a violation of Security Council resolution 2231, in which the Commission endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the 2015 agreement between the major Powers and Iran to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
Ukraine's Deputy Head of Office Kirilo Tymoshenko said Russia had dealt three blows to an unspecified power plant. The mayor of the city said that the attack had targeted "critical infrastructure", and that emergency workers were heading there.
The deal has been reeling since 2018 when US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, which has responded to the move to gradually liberate its commitments under the deal.
Washington: Iran lies
White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre told reporters that there was "widespread evidence of its use by Russia against both military and civilian targets", and that Tehran appeared to be considering selling more of these weapons to Moscow.
"You have all also seen reports this morning of what appears to be an Iranian drone strike in central Kyiv, yet Iran is still lying about this, they have not been honest about it."
At least eight people were killed by Russian drone strikes on Monday morning in Ukraine, especially in the capital of Kyiv and the Sumi region in the country's northeast.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat said on Monday that Ukraine had shot down 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, about 85-86 per cent of the number involved in the latest attacks.
This is a good result of our air defence efforts, and this number will increase in the future," he told a press briefing, adding that all drones entered Ukraine's airspace from the south.
Advisor to Ukrainian President Mikhailo Podoliak said Iran was responsible for "Ukrainian murders" after Russia attacked Ukrainian cities on Monday, with what Kyiv said were drones manufactured in Iran.
Moscow and Kyiv exchange 218 captives
Officials from Russia and Ukraine said Monday that the two countries carried out one of the largest prisoner exchanges in the war to date, exchanging 218 detainees, including 108 Ukrainian women. The Director of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Andrei Yermak, said that 12 women editors were civilians.
This was the first all-female exchange," he wrote on Telegram, adding that 37 women were captured after Russian troops seized Azovstal's huge steel plants in the port city of Mariupol in May.
Separately, Ukraine's Interior Minister said that some liberated women had been prisoners since 2019 after being detained by Moscow-allied authorities in the eastern regions. Earlier, a Russian-appointed governor said in one region that Kyiv would free 80 civilian sailors and 30 army personnel.
Zelensky urges his forces to take more Russian prisoners
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged his forces to take more prisoners, saying that it would facilitate the release of soldiers held by Russia. Zelensky's remarks came hours after the two sides carried out one of the largest prisoner exchanges to date.
In an evening speech, he said, "I thank everyone who has participated in this success, and I also thank all those who are renewing the filling of our (prisoners') exchange box, who ensure the capture of enemies. The more Russian prisoners we have, the closer we are to freeing our heroes. every Ukrainian soldier, and every frontline commander, must remember that ".
EU begins mission to train Ukrainian troops
On Monday, the European Union intensified its military support for Ukraine as it launched a mission to train 15 1,000 Ukrainian troops on its territory and allocate new funding of 500 million euros for the country's supply of weapons.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuliba went to a meeting of his EU counterparts via videoconference from a shelter in Kyiv and urged them to provide more air defences and impose sanctions on Iran over Russia's supply of marches after the strikes on the city.
EU Foreign Policy Coordinator Josep Borrell said in a tweet from the meeting in Luxembourg that "while Dmytro Colaba speaks to us from a shelter we raise EU military assistance to 3.1 billion euros ($3 billion) and launch the European military training mission for Ukraine."
"The recent indiscriminate Russian attacks will not undermine our determination to
support Ukraine, but only strengthen it."
Eight months after the start of the war, Ukrainian forces are making progress on the battlefield and Kyiv's western backers are keen to ensure that their forces can continue fighting.
Several training missions are taking place in the various Member States, particularly in Germany and France, where Ukrainian military personnel are trained in the use of guns, rocket launchers and air defences sent to Ukraine by Europeans, but the European Union has failed to provide extensive training to assist the Ukrainian army in the face of Russian forces. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom trained thousands of soldiers. The European training mission is scheduled to begin work next month and will have a budget of approximately Euro105 million for an initial period of two years.
An official said the plan aimed to provide basic training for 12,000 troops and specialized training for another 2800. Ukraine's neighbour Poland is to serve as the main focus of the mission and Germany will be a major training centre. Programmes administered by the Member States are also planned to continue individually and could be integrated into the European Union's mission subsequently.
New assistance of 500 million euros to secure weapons will raise Europe's contribution to three billion euros. Member States have also spent more individually.
Kouliba wrote on Twitter, "We ask for more air defence and ammunition systems. We call on the European Union to impose sanctions on Iran for providing Russia with marches ", as well as for a new" strong "package of sanctions against Moscow.
EU ministers discussed Moscow's use of Iranian-made marches to strike targets in Ukraine, but sanctions are not yet expected. Tehran rejected accusations that it had supplied weapons to Russia "for use in the war in Ukraine."
Brussels says it is investigating possible violations of a United Nations resolution and could impose sanctions. "We are closely monitoring the use of drones, collecting evidence, and we will be ready to deal with the tools in our possession," Borrell said.
For his part, Dutch Foreign Minister Fobke Hoekstra said it would be "wise" to impose sanctions. "But we agreed to study the evidence there further and work on it as well." The European Union, which is currently mediating stalled efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, has delayed sanctions against Tehran, but the Union has agreed to impose sanctions on 15 officials and bodies in Iran over the crackdown on protests over the death of 22-year-old Mehsa Amini.
Canadian sanctions on Russian journalists and representatives
On Monday, Canada announced that it had imposed sanctions on Russian media, journalists and representatives for "complicity in disinformation", accusing Moscow of engaging in its war in Ukraine.
Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Julie said that "the war of the Russian regime is based on lies and deception."
"While the number of human rights violations committed by Russia continues to rise, Canada is taking action to counter the propaganda that attempts to justify these violations."
According to the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the sanctions targeted the television channel "Zvezda", which is owned by the Russian Ministry of Defence and television broadcaster Dmitry Viktorowicz Gubernyev.
The sanctions also targeted Vladimir Mashkov, one of Russia's acting stars and a staunch supporter of President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
Since the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine on 24 February, Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,400 individuals and entities present in or descending from Russia, Belarus or Ukraine.