Live blog: Russia tries to find Ukraine's 'anti-aircraft defence' locations

Sunday, November 20, 2022

Russia is trying to calculate the positions of Ukraine’s anti-air defence systems, a Ukrainian official has said.

"The occupiers are uneasy about our anti-aircraft defence, its quality and settings. They still try, in particular, to calculate these defence positions,” Nataliya Gumenyuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces, told local media.

Gumenyuk later urged people not to mention when some of these systems are working. “Even if you don’t name specific coordinates, you’re emphasising where and in which directions these systems are concentrated," she added.

UN atomic watchdog condemns strikes on Zaporizhzhia plant

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has denounced the "targeted" strikes at Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, calling for a "stop to this madness".

"Around a dozen strikes" had targeted the plant, he said, without blaming Ukraine or Russia for the explosions. 

The situation was "very serious", he told French broadcaster BFMTV.

Ukraine denies its forces executed Russian prisoners

The Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for human rights has denied Kiev's forces killed Russian prisoners of war, arguing that Ukraine's soldiers were defending themselves against Russians who feigned surrender.

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said "excerpts" of a video showed that Russians "using a staged capture... committed a war crime by opening fire on the Ukrainian Armed Forces".

This means the soldiers "cannot be considered prisoners of war", he argued. 

Negotiating with Moscow would be 'capitulation' - Ukraine

The West's attempts to persuade Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, after a series of major military victories by Kiev, are "bizarre" and amount to asking for its capitulation, a key adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has said.

"When you have the initiative on the battlefield, it's slightly bizarre to receive proposals like: 'you will not be able to do everything by military means anyway, you need to negotiate," said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak.

This would mean that the country "that recovers its territories, must capitulate to the country that is losing," he added, during an interview with AFP at his office in the presidency building in Kiev.

'Powerful explosions' shook area of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant

UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi has said that "powerful explosions" occurred at Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant yesterday evening and this morning, in what appeared to be "renewed shelling" at Europe's biggest nuclear plant.

"The news... is extremely disturbing. Explosions occurred at the site of this major nuclear power plant, which is completely unacceptable," Grossi said in a written statement, adding that the damage to buildings, systems and equipment recorded so far was not "critical".

Russia says Ukraine shelled power lines supplying nuclear plant

Russia's defence ministry said that Ukraine fired shells at power lines supplying Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russian news agency has reported.

The defence ministry was quoted as saying that damage at the nuclear plant will be investigated by experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and state-owned nuclear power supplier Rosatom.

The report was not independently verified.

Iran to help Russia build drones for Ukraine war, Washington Post says

Russia has reached agreement with Iran to begin manufacturing hundreds of unmanned weaponised aircraft on Russian soil, The Washington Post has reported, citing intelligence seen by the US and other Western security agencies.

The Post said Russian and Iranian officials finalised the deal during a meeting in Iran in early November.

Russia and Iran are moving rapidly to transfer designs and key components that could allow production to begin within months, three officials familiar with the matter said, according to the newspaper. Russia's defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment. 

Ukraine implements planned blackout amid strikes, shelling

Ukraine’s national energy company has announced that planned blackouts will be implemented in all regions of the country throughout the day amid attacks targeting energy facilities.

“Today, on November 20, planned blackouts will be applied in all regions of Ukraine from 8 am to midnight. No additional emergency shutdowns are expected,” Ukrenergo said in a statement.

The company said that it has been successful in easing levels of consumption in the country, but that it is also attempting to restore the flow of electricity to Ukrainian households, which it says is being taken away by Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.

88 Ahiska Turks in Ukraine's Kherson city transferred to Türkiye

A total of 88 Ahiska Turks (Meskhetian Turks) living in the warn-torn Ukrainian city of Kherson were transferred to Türkiye via Russia and Georgia on the initiative of the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

"Our 88 Ahiska brothers and sisters, who were stuck in the city of Kherson in Ukraine, were brought to our country through Russia and Georgia upon our initiatives. Welcome to your homeland!" Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Twitter.

Türkiye will continue to stand by Ahiska Turks wherever they are, Cavusoglu added.

The Ahiska Turks, mostly elderly and children, set off from Kherson on October 31 to come to Türkiye via Russia.

New Zealand defence minister visits Ukraine, reaffirms support

New Zealand said  Defence Minister Peeni Henare has visited Kiev to reaffirm the Pacific nation's support for Ukraine's resistance to Russia's offensive.

"We discussed New Zealand's recent extension of the infantry training support mission in the UK for Ukrainian troops out to July 2023," Henare said in a statement after holding bilateral talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksii Reznikov.

"Visiting Kiev sends a strong message that... our support for the Ukrainian defensive effort against Russia's illegal invasion is unwavering."

Ukraine says power supplies under control

Ukrainian electricity supplies are under control despite a series of Russian attacks on power-generating infrastructure and there is no need to panic, the Energy Ministry has said.

Separately, the head of DTEK, the country's largest private energy company, said there was no need for people to leave Ukraine.

Russian missile strikes have crippled almost half of Ukraine's energy system and Kiev authorities said on Friday that a complete shutdown of the capital's power grid was possible.

"Denying the panicky statements spread by social networks and online media, we assure you that the situation with the energy supply is difficult, but under control," the Energy Ministry said in a statement.

For live updates from Saturday (November 19), click here