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Live: Russia launches ‘at least 85 missiles’ in fresh barrage on Ukraine, says Zelensky

Issued on: 15/11/2022 – 04:28

02:15
Smoke rises on the horizon after Russian strikes in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on November 15, 2022. © Yuriy Dyachyshyn, AFP

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Russian forces on Tuesday launched “at least 85” missiles against Ukraine, said President Volodymyr Zelensky, in a fresh barrage of attacks targeting energy infrastructure that plunged more than seven million households across the country into darkness and led to power outages in neighbouring Moldova. At least one person was killed in a strike on a Kyiv residential building, said the city’s mayor. Follow FRANCE 24’s live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+1). 

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8:06pm: Explosion kills two in Poland near Ukraine border

Two people died in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, said Polish firefighters.

“Firefighters are on the spot, it’s not clear what has happened,” said Lukasz Kucy, officer on duty at a nearby firefighters’ post.

Polish Radio ZET reported earlier that two stray missiles hit Przewodow on Tuesday, killing two people, without giving any more details. The Associated Press cited a senior US intelligence official as saying Russian missiles crossed into NATO member Poland, killing two.

The Pentagon, however, said it could not corroborate reports of Russian missiles crossing into Poland “at this time”.

“We are aware of the press reports alleging that two Russian missiles have struck a location inside Poland near the Ukraine border. I can tell you that we don’t have any information at this time to corroborate those reports and are looking into this further,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing.

The Polish government is holding a crisis meeting to assess the reports at 8pm GMT, Polish state-owned news agency PAP reported.   

6:57pm: Seven million homes out of electricity due to Russian missile attacks

Seven million households have been left without electricity after a fresh barrage of Russian strikes targeted the country’s power grid. 

Russian missile strikes hit and damaged 15 energy facilities across Ukraine, said deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, on social media.

“Our power engineers are now doing everything to reconnect the power supply as soon as possible.”

6:25pm: UK slams ‘callous’ Russian attacks, says it shows ‘Putin’s weakness’

British Foreign Minister James Cleverly has condemned Russia’s latest missile strikes on Ukraine, saying it was a sign of President Vladimir Putin’s weakness.

“The callous targeting of Ukrainian cities with more sickening missile attacks today shows only Putin’s weakness,” Cleverly said in a tweet.

“Putin is losing on the battlefield and – as we saw today at the G20 – diplomatically too.”

The callous targeting of Ukrainian cities with more sickening missile attacks today shows only Putin’s weakness.

Putin is losing on the battlefield and – as we saw today at the G20 – diplomatically too.

.

— James Cleverly🇬🇧 (@JamesCleverly)

6:14pm: Moldova reports power cuts due to Russian strikes on Ukraine

Moldova has said it is also suffering from electricity outages as a result of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine, and called on Moscow to stop its attacks.

“Parts of Moldova are experiencing power outages as a result of Russia’s missiles hitting Ukrainian cities and vital infrastructure. Every bomb falling on Ukraine is also affecting Moldova and our people. We call on Russia to stop the destruction now,” Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu wrote on Twitter.

Parts of Moldova are experiencing power outages as a result of Russia’s missiles hitting Ukrainian cities & vital infrastructure.

Every bomb falling on Ukraine is also affecting Moldova and our people.

We call on Russia to stop the destruction now.

— Nicu Popescu (@nicupopescu)

6:05pm: ‘You are war criminals’: protesters disrupt Russian event at COP27

Several protesters disrupted a Russian-hosted event at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt on Tuesday, criticising delegates over the war in Ukraine and Russia’s use of fossil fuels before being escorted out by security staff.

Around five protesters stood and shouted as Russian officials took part in a panel discussion about the country’s climate plans.

One protester shouted: “You are war criminals”. Another held a banner bearing the slogan “fossil fuels kill”, calling the Russian delegates “despicable”.

Earlier Russia’s climate envoy said the country was still actively trying to prevent climate change, and said it was worried that some countries may be using a “difficult geopolitical situation” to justify backsliding on climate

“You are shooting and bombing my people!” “Your climate pledges mean nothing!” “You are war criminals!”
Pro-Ukraine activists disrupt the lone Russia event at –and are quickly escorted out

— Alec Luhn (@ASLuhn)

5:44pm: Ukrainian strikes kill two in Russian border region: governor

The governor of the Belgorod region of southern Russia said two people were killed and three wounded by shelling in a town near the border with Ukraine.

“As a result of shelling this evening on the town of Shebekino, preliminary information suggests that two people are dead and three have been injured. Ambulances have been sent to the scene,” Russia’s Belgorod regional head Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a statement on social media.

Belgorod is one of several southern Russian regions where targets such as fuel and ammunition stores have been rocked by explosions since the start of the war in what Moscow said were Ukrainian attacks. Kyiv, without claiming responsibility, has described them as “karma” for Russia’s invasion.

5:26pm: US condemns Russian missile strikes in strongly worded statement

Russia’s latest missile attacks on Ukraine. “It is not lost on us that, as world leaders meet at the G20 in Bali to discuss the issues of significant importance to the lives and livelihoods of people around the world, Russia again threatens those lives and destroys Ukraine’s critical infrastructure,” said  White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan in a .

“These Russian strikes will serve to only deepen the concerns among the G-20 about the destabilizing impact of Putin’s war,” the statement added.

“The United States and our allies and partners will continue to provide Ukraine with what it needs to defend itself, including air defense systems. We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes,” said Sullivan.

5:10pm: ‘We will survive’ vows Zelensky after Russian missile strikes Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Ukrainians they could face more Russian missile strikes after a wave of attacks, but said the country would survive.

“I know that the (missile) strikes turned off energy in many places…We are working, we will restore everything, we will survive,” he said in a video posted online.

I wish you health. 🇷🇺 launched 85 rockets on our cities, targeting energy infrastructure.
We know for sure what the enemy wants – he won’t get it.
20 attacks ahead.
Stay safe, please.
Stay in the shelters.
The attacks turned off our energy system in a lot of our cities.

— ArmyInform (@armyinformcomua)

4:57pm: Russia launched ‘around 100’ missiles on Ukraine

Russian forces launched “around 100” missiles against Ukraine, said a Ukrainian air defence spokesman, in a fresh barrage of attacks targeting energy infrastructure that led to power outages and forced shutdowns.

“Around 100 missiles have already been launched. The occupiers surpassed October 10, when they launched 84 missiles,” air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told Ukrainian television.

“Critical infrastructure facilities are their primary target. Some missiles were shot down, but information on that needs to be clarified,” he added.

4:31pm: ‘Situation critical’ after Russia hits power grid

The Ukrainian presidency has said the situation across the country was “critical” after a fresh wave of Russian missiles battered energy facilities, forcing emergency shutdowns and plunging parts of the capital into darkness.

“Russian terrorists carried out another planned attack on energy infrastructure facilities. The situation is critical,” the deputy head of president’s office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said in a statement. “The situation in the capital is extremely difficult,” the statement added.

4:21pm: At least one person killed in Russian missile strike on Kyiv, says mayor

At least one person was killed in the Russian missile strike on Kyiv, said the city’s mayor.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said a body had been pulled out of a residential building that was hit in the central Pechersk district.

4:06pm: Missile attacks underscore Ukraine’s urgent air defence needs

Reporting from the southeastern Ukrainian town of Kobleve near Mykolaiv, FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago says the latest Russian missile attacks underscore Ukraine’s urgent need for air defence systems.

02:15

3:55pm: Power cuts, shutdowns follow missile attacks in Ukrainian cities

Officials across Ukraine, including the second-largest city of Kharkiv, and Lviv in the west have reported fresh power cuts and shutdowns after a new barrage of Russian strikes.

The strikes cuased electricity cuts in Kharkiv and Lviv, city officials said. In the eastern region of Sumy, officials announced electricity shutdowns, while in Rivne in the west, officials said Russian strikes targeted energy infrastructure resulting in outages.

3:26pm: Explosions heard in cities across Ukraine

Explosions have been reported in several Ukrainian cities in what local officials described as a wave of Russian missile strikes.

There was no immediate word of casualties after the mayors of the capital Kyiv and the western city of Lviv reported explosions. Interfax Ukraine news agency said blasts were heard in the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Public broadcaster Suspilne reported explosions in the northern city of Zhytomyr.

One of residential houses in Kyiv hit by russian missiles today. I wonder how many victims are there 🥲🥲🥲

I’m fine, no worries.

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel)

2:52pm: Missiles hit two Kyiv residential buildings: mayor

More details of the explosions in the Ukrainian capital coming in: Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says two residential buildings were hit by missiles. 

“There is an attack on the capital. According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district. Several missiles were shot down over Kyiv by air defence systems. Medics and rescuers are at the scene of the strikes. More details later,” Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on social media.

2:30pm: Two explosions heard in Kyiv, smoke rising over city

At least two explosions have been heard in Kyiv and smoke could be seen rising over the city, according to local news websites.

The blasts followed air raid warnings across Ukraine hours after President Volodymyr Zelensky delivered a video address to leaders at the G20 meeting in Bali.

“Russia responds to @Zelensky’s powerful speech at #G20 with a new missile attack. Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose,” Andriy Yermak, chief of the presidential staff, wrote on Twitter.

Russia responds to ‘s powerful speech at with a new missile attack. Does anyone seriously think that the Kremlin really wants peace? It wants obedience. But at the end of the day, terrorists always lose.

— Andriy Yermak (@AndriyYermak)

2:22pm: France, Turkey will keep up work to allow Ukrainian grain exports: Macron

President Emmanuel Macron has said France and Turkey will continue to work towards facilitating Ukrainian grain exports, which were hit by the Russian invasion.

Macron’s remarks on Twitter came shortly after a meeting with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at the G20 summit in Bali.

Earlier Tuesday, US President Joe Biden also met with Erdogan in Bali as pressure mounts for a renewal of the grain deal between Russia and Ukraine, which was negotiated by the UN and Turkey. The grain deal enabling Ukrainian grain exports via the Black Sea is set to expire November 19.

La guerre en Ukraine entraîne des risques accrus de famines dans le monde. La Turquie et la France continueront d’œuvrer pour que les exportations se poursuivent sans entrave.

— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron)

12:56pm: Russian-installed civil servants leave Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s Kherson region

Civil servants working for the Russian-installed administration in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, next to the huge Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro river in Ukraine’s Kherson region, have left due to intensified shelling, officials said on Tuesday.

“Employees of the Nova Kakhovka city state administration and state and municipal institutions also left the city and were relocated to safe areas in the region,” the city’s Russian-installed administration said.

11:11am: Russia’s Lavrov says Ukraine’s terms for negotiations ‘unrealistic’

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that Ukraine’s conditions for restarting talks with Moscow were “unrealistic”, speaking at the G20 summit where pressure was mounting on Russia to end the conflict.

“I said again that all problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic,” Lavrov told reporters, saying he had put forward that position during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron.

11:04am: Biden, Erdogan discuss Ukraine grain exports

US President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday discussed a deadly bombing in Istanbul and international efforts to export Ukrainian grain, the White House said.

The two leaders talked on the margins of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, touching on several of the issues at the heart of the close, but often contentious US-Turkish relationship.

In a readout, the White House said Biden expressed “deep condolences” for the deaths of six people in a bomb attack in a busy street in Istanbul on Sunday, underlining that “we stand with our NATO ally”.

The Turkish government blames the attack on a Kurdish militant group, the PKK, which has denied involvement. On Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu refused to accept condolences issued by the US embassy, saying Washington helps to arm Kurdish fighters in northern Syria.

10:54am: Many Ukrainian, Russian prisoners of war subjected to torture, UN says

Prisoners held by both sides in Russia’s war in Ukraine have been subjected to torture, including with beatings, electric shocks, and humiliating treatment while naked, UN investigators said Tuesday.

Under international law, “the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment is absolute, even – indeed especially –in times of armed conflict”, Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Rights Monitoring Mission, told reporters.

10:35am: ‘People still celebrating’ in Kherson

“In Kherson itself when we arrived people were still celebrating [the liberation],” FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago reported. “Soldiers who we ran into in the city centre, at Freedom Square, said they couldn’t walk through there without being hugged, without being given flowers. Emotions are still very much high. But there are still problems despite the fact that people just don’t care […]. The Russians destroyed as much public infrastructure as they could before they left, the city is still without electricity, gas, heat and water.”

04:42

10:14am: Russia says it is checking details about Zambian student’s death on frontline

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it was working to ascertain details about the death of Zambian student on the frontline in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported.

Zambia on Monday asked Russia to explain how one of its citizens who had been serving a prison sentence in Moscow had ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine.

10:02am: Germany to establish maintenance hub in Slovakia to repair arms sent to Kyiv

Germany will establish a maintenance hub in Slovakia to service and repair weapons it has delivered to Ukraine, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said on Tuesday.

“We have reached agreement, and work can start immediately so that all the equipment which has been supplied (to Kyiv) can be repaired after coming out of battle,” she told reporters as she arrived for a meeting with her EU counterparts in Brussels.

Berlin is planning to train some 5,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Germany as part of an EU training mission by June, she added.

9:42am: Russia’s Lavrov meets UN Secretary General at G20

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said.

Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova posted a photo of the pair seated at a table in Bali with Russian and UN flags, but the ministry provided no details of what the pair discussed.

It comes just days before the landmark Black Sea grain deal is set to expire. The initiative, struck in July, unlocked agricultural exports from Ukraine’s southern ports and helped push down global food prices. But Moscow has not yet said whether it will extend its participation in the UN-backed deal, which is due to expire on November 19.

7:30am: Macron says France, China cooperation key to overcome impact of war in Ukraine

Close cooperation between France and China is key to overcome the consequences of the war in Ukraine, which go beyond European borders, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter after meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping.

“Ending escalation and facing the consequences of the war in Ukraine, supporting the most vulnerable economies, de-carbonating our economies and acting to protect bio-diversity: France and China are determined,” Macron wrote.

6:53am: Most G20 members strongly condemn war in Ukraine, draft declaration says

A draft of a declaration by leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies, seen by Reuters on Tuesday, strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy.

“There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions,” said the draft declaration, which was confirmed by a European diplomat. The declaration has yet to be adopted.

“Recognising that the G20 is not the forum to resolve security issues, we acknowledge that security issues can have significant consequences for the global economy,” it said.

6:07am: Zelensky urges G20 to adopt Ukraine’s peace plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday called on the G20 major economies meeting in Indonesia to step up their leadership and stop Russia’s war in his country under a peace plan he has proposed.

“We will not allow Russia to wait out and build up its forces,” he said via videolink to the summit on the Indonesia island of Bali, according to a copy of his speech reviewed by Reuters.

“I am convinced that now is the time when Russia’s war must and can be stopped.”

Ukrainian forces have been making advances in recent weeks against Russian troops in the east and south, recapturing last week the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Russia had captured since the February invasion.

5:48am: Residents of Kherson celebrate their freedom

FRANCE 24’s Luke Shrago reports from the city of Kherson, where locals are celebrating the Russian withdrawal.

Many residents do not have heating or running water but they are relieved that the Russian occupation is over.

01:50
A Kherson resident hugs a Ukrainian defence force member in Kherson, southern Ukraine, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022. © Bernat Armangue, AP

4:04am: Macron calls for Paris and Beijing to work together on Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron and China’s leader Xi Jinping shook hands as they began discussions on the sidelines of the G20 summit, which is expected to pile pressure on over its invasion of and address the global fallout from the war.

We must “unite forces to respond… to international crises like Russia’s war in Ukraine”,  told Xi.

On Monday, the French presidency said Macron would tell the Chinese president it was in “your interest” to pressure Russia to return to the negotiating table over the Ukraine conflict.

Xi meanwhile made no mention of the conflict in his opening remarks, calling more broadly for the two countries to “uphold the spirits of independence, autonomy, openness and cooperation”.

The pair met a day after Xi held marathon talks with US President Joe Biden, with the leaders vowing to prevent their rivalry from spilling over into outright conflict.

3:46am: European leader calls on world, China to pressure Russia

The European Council president urged global powers Tuesday to intensify pressure on Russia over its war against Ukraine, including Moscow’s biggest supporter, China, saying that this week’s meeting of the world’s largest economies was crucial to stopping Moscow’s push “to use food and energy as weapons”.

Charles Michel, speaking to reporters on the first day of the Group of 20 meeting in Bali, said the nine-month war waged by Russia, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, has disrupted lives across the world, as food and energy prices surge and economies stagnate.

“Russia’s war impacts us all, no matter where we live, from Europe to Africa or the Middle East, and the single best way to end the acute crisis in food and energy is for Russia to end this senseless war and to respect the UN charter,” Michel said. “The Kremlin has decided to weaponise food, driving up hunger, poverty and instability.”

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)

 

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