Russia says it has mobilized 300,000 reserve soldiers
LRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised conversation with President Vladimir Putin that Russia has completed the mobilization of 300,000 reserve soldiers in more than a month. “The task of recruiting 300,000 people has been completed,” he said on Russian television, adding that 41,000 of them have already been deployed to military units in Ukraine. “No additional missions are planned,” he said, adding that Russia does not foresee any additional mobilization of civilian reservists in the near future. However, he added that Russia continues to recruit volunteers and contract soldiers.
According to the minister, 218,000 reservists are being trained at Russian military bases, 41,000 are in military units fighting in Ukraine, and 41,000 are in the conflict zone, but are still undergoing training. “I want to thank all those who joined the ranks of the armed forces,” said Vladimir Putin, “I thank them for their loyalty to this duty and their patriotism.”
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The Russian president, like his minister, once again acknowledged the failure of this mobilization, which in itself saw many people who did not have the right to be called up, as well as a lack of equipment. But Sergei Shoigu assured on Friday that all equipment problems have now been “resolved”.
Russia has completed the evacuation of civilians from Kherson
The evacuation of the civilian population from the Kherson region, which was occupied by Russia and faced an attack by Ukraine, in the south of Ukraine, has been completed, a pro-Russian official said. Sergei Aksyonov, the leader of Crimea, the neighbor of the Kherson Peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, on Thursday evening, completed the process of organizing the departure of residents of the left bank of the Dnieper River to safe areas of Russia.
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After inflicting serious blows on Russian forces on other fronts, Ukraine, which led the offensive in the region, describes these population transfers as “deportation”. “I am happy that those who wanted to leave the area bombed by the armed forces of Ukraine quickly and safely managed to do so,” Sergey Aksyonov said on Telegram, sharing a photo with the deputy director of administration, Russian presidential candidate Sergey Kirienko. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian occupation official in Kherson, claimed on Wednesday that at least 70,000 residents of the area have left their homes in less than a week.
He visited the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant
The Ukrainian military command noted in its daily report for the last 24 hours, published on Friday, that “the so-called evacuation The restoration of the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region continues.” He noted that the “enemy group is strengthening on the right bank” of Kherson region.
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Sergey Aksyonov also said that he and Sergey Kirienko visited the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, which was occupied by Russia and repeatedly subjected to dangerous bombings, and that Moscow and Kyiv are not responsible for this. According to Sergey Aksyonov, two people “met with the staff and assessed the situation on the territory of the plant”.
Kyiv called on Tehran to stop supplying Moscow with weapons
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba on Friday called on his Iranian counterpart to “immediately” stop arms supplies to Moscow.
Dmitry Kouleba wrote on his Twitter account: “Today I received a call from Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and I asked Iran to immediately stop sending weapons to Russia (which were then used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine).
Today, I received a call from Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdullahian, during which I demanded that Iran immediately stop the flow of weapons to Russia that are being used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
— Dmitry Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) October 28, 2022
Kyiv is planning a major power cut
Ukraine’s private operator DTEK announced on Friday that it plans to impose “unprecedented” electricity restrictions in the Kyiv region “in the next few days” as the latest Russian strikes have severely damaged Ukraine’s power system. “Unfortunately, more serious and longer layoffs will be implemented in the coming days,” the group’s regional branch announced on Facebook. “The country’s energy system has suffered more damage,” said DTEK, and assessed “up to 30% lack of consumption for Kyiv.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that nearly four million people were affected by power outages following Russia’s latest strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. He said in his daily address, “Reductions have been made in many cities and regions of our country to stabilize the situation.” “Currently, about four million Ukrainians face these restrictions,” he added.
For more than two weeks, Russia has been intensifying attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, destroying at least a third of its energy infrastructure ahead of winter. As a result, and in order to prevent congestion in the entire distribution network, electricity has been cut for several hours every day in many regions, especially in the capital city of Kyiv.
