Here is the situation as it stands on Sunday, November 6.
Fighting
- Iran for the first time confirmed it sold drones to Russia, but said this happened “months” before the start of the war in Ukraine, where Russia has used them to target power stations and civilian infrastructure.
- External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant two days after it was disconnected from the power grid because shelling damaged high-voltage lines.
- The operator of Ukraine’s grid, targeted by Russian air strikes in recent weeks, said it would step up rolling blackouts in the capital, Kyiv, and seven Ukrainian regions in response to what it said was increased electricity consumption.
- Ukrainian attackers shot and seriously wounded judge Alexander Nikulin in an eastern Russian-controlled region of Ukraine. He had sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan to death in June.
Diplomacy
- US President Joe Biden’s administration is privately encouraging Ukraine’s leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless President Vladimir Putin is removed from power, The Washington Post reported. The White House National Security Council had no comment on the accuracy of the report.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Russia of wanting to “freeze” Ukraine into submission as Moscow’s campaign against its energy network had left about 4.5 million people without power.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, under fire for a trip to Beijing with German CEOs, said his joint statement with Chinese President Xi Jinping opposing the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine had been reason enough for the visit.
Economy
- Georgia is on course to become one of the world’s fastest-growing economies this year following a dramatic influx of more than 100,000 Russians since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s mobilisation drive to drum up war recruits.
