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The situation in Kherson, the possible evacuation of Kyiv, and the calls of Washington. Events around Ukraine

The situation in Kherson, the possible evacuation of Kyiv, and the calls of Washington. Events around Ukraine
© Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / TASS

By Tass.ru - November 6, 16:50 Military operation in Ukraine

The European Commission will present proposals for financial assistance to Ukraine for 2023 next week

MOSCOW, 6 November. /TASS/. Kherson and several other settlements were left without electricity on Sunday due to the actions of Ukrainian saboteurs, the emergency services of the Kherson region told reporters. The regional center was also left without a water supply.

In addition, it became known that Ukraine is considering the possibility of evacuating Kyiv in the event of a complete power outage, Washington “privately” calls on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to demonstrate readiness for negotiations with Moscow, and the European Commission next week will present a plan for financial assistance to the Ukrainian side in 2023.

TASS has collected the main events in and around Ukraine over the past three days.

The situation in Kherson

Kherson and several other settlements of the Kherson region were left without electricity on Sunday due to a terrorist attack organized by Ukrainian saboteurs on the Beryslav-Kakhovka power line, the emergency services of the region told reporters. The water supply was also cut off in Kherson.

In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have shelled Novaya Kakhovka twice over the past three days. On Sunday, one HIMARS multiple rocket launcher rockets hit the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam lock, but did not cause "critical damage."

The Ukrainian side is gathering a large number of tanks and armored vehicles on the outskirts of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, deputy governor of the region, said on Sunday. Prior to that, he expressed the opinion that Kyiv is intensifying shelling in anticipation of an offensive attempt.

On Friday evening, Stremousov announced the introduction of a “round-the-clock curfew” in Kherson, but soon clarified that no new restrictions were being introduced for residents. The press service of the Acting Governor of the region Vladimir Saldo also stressed that no restrictive measures are planned, and the duration of the curfew remains the same - from 22:00 to 05:00.

Possible evacuation of Kyiv

Kyiv authorities are considering the possibility of evacuating residents of the capital in the event of a complete blackout, said the head of the security service of the Kyiv administration, Roman Tkachuk, in an interview with The New York Times. We are talking about the displacement of about 3 million people.

Stremousov said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station during the evacuation of residents. About 1 thousand people were evacuated from Nova Kakhovka. More than 400 elderly people were evacuated from geriatric boarding houses in the Kherson region

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko confirmed that various scenarios are being worked out, including a complete blackout of the Ukrainian capital's power supply.

The President of Ukraine has previously stated that as of November 1, 40% of the country's energy facilities were damaged. Since November 2, Ukrenergo has introduced hourly blackout schedules in northern and central Ukraine, including Kyiv, but unscheduled blackouts often occur.

At the same time, the Ukrainian side has not yet received the equipment necessary for the repair from abroad, said Dmitry Sakharuk, Executive Director of DTEK Holding. According to him, the available stocks are coming to an end, and there are no specific supply chains or concluded contracts yet, "everything is in the process."

The position of the West on the negotiations

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is privately urging Zelensky to show openness to negotiations with Russia, The Washington Post reported Saturday, citing sources. According to the publication, the United States also requires Ukraine to lift the ban on the possibility of negotiations with Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The President of Germany said that Ukraine should decide on peace talks on its own WSJ: Western countries are discussing the terms of a possible peace between Russia and Ukraine

The Wall Street Journal wrote on Sunday that Western countries are discussing among themselves the terms of a peace settlement, but are not yet going to insist on its early conclusion. At the same time, the sources of the publication note that Washington and its allies "do not see any special prospects for a negotiated settlement in the near future."

Moscow has repeatedly stressed its readiness for negotiations on Ukraine. Putin, in particular, pointed to this in a speech on the occasion of the admission of four new regions to Russia on September 30, as well as in a speech at Valdai on October 27. At the same time, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov stated that such negotiations should be conducted primarily with Washington since Kyiv is acting "on orders from outside."

G7 Ministerial Meeting

The foreign ministers of the G-7 countries, which include the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, the US, France, and Japan, announced on Friday the creation of a "coordination mechanism" to help Ukraine "repair, restore and protect its critical energy and water infrastructure." This is stated in the joint statement of the ministers following the meeting in the German Munster. Support for Ukraine, sanctions, and regular accusations against the Russian Federation. What did the G7 foreign ministers say?

The participants of the meeting also reaffirmed their determination to "stay firmly on the side of Ukraine for as long as necessary", including the provision of financial, military, and political assistance, and their readiness to continue imposing sanctions against Russia and countries supporting the special military operation. They again urged Moscow to immediately end the operation and announced the completion of the process of imposing a price ceiling on Russian oil "in the coming weeks".

The Seven also threatened Belarus with "enormous additional costs" in the event of the republic's direct participation in the events in Ukraine, warned Russia of the "serious consequences" of the use of weapons of mass destruction, and rejected its warnings about Kyiv's readiness to use a "dirty bomb".

EU loan assistance

The European Commission next week will present proposals for financial assistance to Ukraine for 2023, the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday after a conversation with Zelensky. Earlier, she reported that the EU intends to allocate up to €18 billion to Kyiv.

This assistance will not be free of charge: as von der Leyen herself clarified, we are talking about "very soft long-term loans" that should be accompanied by "similar support measures from other major donors."

Operation progress

As a result of a high-precision strike by Russian aircraft in the Krasny Liman area, the Ukrainian side lost up to 100 people killed, including about 40 mercenaries from the UK, Poland, and the United States, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday. In recent days, the department estimated the total losses of Kyiv in this direction at about 500 people killed and about 60 pieces of equipment. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the failure of attempts to attack the Armed Forces of Ukraine positions in the LPR and the Kharkiv region.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the destruction of mercenaries from the United States and Poland in the Krasny Liman area. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced the repulsed attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Krasnolimansk direction

During unsuccessful attacks to the north, in the direction of Kupyansk, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost over 450 people, 14 tanks and other equipment killed, following the reports of the Russian ministry.

In the Yuzhno-Donets direction, as the Russian Defense Ministry said, fighting continues in the areas of the settlements of Vremevka, Novomikhailovka, and Pavlova. Ukrainian losses in these clashes amounted to almost 200 people, the ministry said.

The losses of Kyiv in the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih direction, according to the ministry, amounted to over 225 people killed, more than 20 armored combat vehicles, and two self-propelled artillery installations.

The Russian Defense Ministry also announced several high-precision strikes, including on rocket engine manufacturing shops in Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk region, and the Kommunar plant in Kharkiv, where rockets were produced.