NU.nl regularly provides an overview of the situation in Ukraine. This time, on Monday morning, the major cities of Ukraine were again hit by Russian missile attacks. Parts of the capital Kiev also ran out of electricity and water.
In addition to Kiev, several cities in the south, east and west of the country were closed on Monday morning shot at with missiles. According to the Ukrainian army, the Russians fired at least 50 cruise missiles. Most have been intercepted, but some have hit the target.
At least two explosions were reported in Kiev. One power plant, among other things, was badly hit. According to Mayor Vitali Klitschko, 270,000 homes were still without electricity and four out of ten residents without water on Monday evening. This created long queues for various central city taps.
Rockets were also launched in the south of Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia and in the western part of Lviv. One of the targets was a power plant in Zaporizhzhia. In Kharkiv, the second largest city in the country, critical infrastructure would be hit.
Grain ships departed from Ukrainian ports
At least twelve ships with grain are Monday left from Ukrainian ports. They had a total of over 350,000 tons of grain and other agricultural products on board.
According to a spokesman for the authorities of the port city of Odesa, the ships will cross the Black Sea. A UN representative has called for safe passage. Ships may not be seen as military targets. It is unclear whether the boats will be able to reach their destination.
At the end of July, Ukraine and Russia concluded an agreement with the UN on the transport of grain, after the mediation of Turkey. Russia withdrew on Saturday Backwards from that agreement. As a result, wheat has become almost 6% more expensive.
Russian reservists equipped with old rifles
Russia has often sent reservists to the front in Ukraine without proper equipment in recent weeks. The British Ministry of Defense says so. According to the department, it can be concluded from the images that reservists are often equipped with rifles of the AKM type, “a weapon that was first used in 1959”.
According to the British, reservists often use different rifles than Russian professional soldiers. This means that their supplies could become another headache for the Russian military. “Two types of firearm ammunition should be sent to the front line rather than one type of ammunition.”
Russia announced in September that 300,000 reservists would be mobilized to fight in Ukraine. Many young people decided to flee Russia because they did not want to enlist. Russia said on Friday that the mobilization has been completed.
Norway raises the level of military threat
Norway raises the level of military alert. The military will be on a higher preparedness level by Tuesday. It is a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Norwegian government, there are no concrete threats against Norway. But according to Norwegian general Erik Kristoffersen, it is a sum of “uncertainties” that led to that decision.
He mentioned, among other things, the Russian mobilization, the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea and the increase in drone activity on drilling platforms in the North Sea.
