October 29, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Our live coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine has ended for the day. Read about the latest news here or in the posts below.

Ukrainian President?Volodymyr Zelensky?called the decision of Russia to suspend its participation from the grain export deal with Ukraine “deliberate” and “a rather predictable statement” in his nightly address Saturday.

“This is not the decision they made today,”?Zelensky?said. “Russia began deliberately exacerbating the food crisis back in September, when it blocked the movement of ships with our food.”

That echoes previous charges he’s made about Russian interference with the program before Moscow officially backed out.

Zelensky?called on “a strong international reaction” to Russia’s?suspension from the grain deal , in particular from the UN and the G20.

Russia’s decision to suspend participation in a?United Nations-brokered grain export deal is “weaponizing food,” the White House said Saturday.

“Any talk by Russia of disrupting these critical?grain exports?is essentially a statement that people and families around the world should pay more for food or go hungry,” said Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, in a statement.

Russia said it was halting participation in the deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced Saturday.

Some background: In July, following months of negotiations, ministers from both Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey. Russia pledged to unblock ports on the Black Sea to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds – some of Ukraine’s most important exports.

“The Black Sea Grain Initiative?has already moved more than 9.3 million metric tons of grain and brought prices down?around the world. It?has been a tremendous success and must continue,” the White House statement read.

The leader of the notorious private army known as the Wagner Group says his company will provide facilities for experts to generate “new ideas” to increase Russia’s defense capability.

Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin made the announcement in a statement from his Concord company’s official account on?Vkontakte, a Russian social media platform.?

The group “will provide a comfortable environment for generating new ideas in order to increase the defense capability of Russia, including in the information field. If the project shows its success and relevance, we will consider the need to open more branches,” the statement read.?

Prigozhin, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin dubbed the president’s “chef,” said his company would provide free accommodation for inventors, designers and IT specialists, who will be responsible for conducting experiments and coming up with startup ideas.??

Negotiations with Russia during its war on Ukraine are a “waste of time,” a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday.

The comments came after Moscow suspended its participation in a United Nations-brokered grain export deal. Russia tied its decision to drone strikes on the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Saturday, which it blamed on Kyiv.??

“Nuclear blackmail, energy terror, grain blockade…Putin turned food, cold and prices to weapons against the world,” Mikhaylo Podolyak, a key adviser to Zelensky, said in a tweet.

A Russian official at the United Nations said Russia will officially notify UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Saturday about Moscow’s decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea grain deal.??

“After attempt of Ukranian drone attack against Russian military ships ensuring safe functioning of?#graindeal?which according to Russian MoD’s data was carried out with UK support Russia suspends participation in the deal,” Dmitry Polyanskiy, deputy Russian envoy to the UN, said in a tweet.??

“UN SG?@antonioguterres?will be shortly officially notified,” he added.??

Both Ukraine and Britain have denied Russian allegations.?

Ukraine’s foreign minister rallied other countries to demand Russia “stop its hunger games” after Moscow backed out of a United Nations-brokered grain export deal Saturday.

Russia cited drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol as reason to indefinitely suspend the deal, blaming the attacks on Kyiv.

“We have warned of Russia’s plans to ruin the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Now Moscow uses a false pretext to block the grain corridor which ensures food security for millions of people,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba?tweeted.?

Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure said six vessels containing 180,000 tons of agricultural products had left the country’s ports on Friday, heading for Africa, Asia and Europe.?This included the bulk carrier LINA, which contained 25,000 tons of corn for Egypt, the ministry said in a?statement.??

It added that 403 ships containing 9.1 million tons of products for Asia, Europe and Africa had left Ukrainian ports since the deal was brokered in July.

The United Nations said it is speaking with Russian authorities following Russia’s announcement Saturday it would suspend participation from the UN-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine.

“We’ve seen the reports from the Russian Federation regarding the suspension of their participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative following an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. We are in touch with the Russian authorities on this matter,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told CNN Saturday.

Ukraine has historically been known as one of the globe’s breadbaskets. The World Food Programme estimated that tens of million people moved into a stage of acute hunger as a consequence of the Ukraine war, and Western officials have accused Russia of using food as a weapon during its invasion.

A Turkish-flagged cargo ship carries Ukrainian?grain enters the Gulf of Izmit, Turkey on August 8.

The Russian foreign ministry said it is suspending its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain deal with Ukraine for an “indefinite period of time,” tying the decision to a drone attack in Crimea on Saturday.

Both Ukraine and Britain have rejected Russian allegations, with the United Kingdom saying Russia is “peddling false claims of an epic scale.”

The Russian foreign ministry statement added that “corresponding instructions were given to Russian representatives at the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul, which controls the transportation of Ukrainian grain.”

Although Russia blamed Saturday’s attack on Sevastopol for suspending its participation in the deal, Moscow has repeatedly threatened to pull out of the agreement in recent weeks.?

The deal was set to expire next month.

A top Ukrainian official accused Russia of inventing “fictitious terrorist attacks” on its own facilities Saturday and blamed Moscow of “blackmail” in suspending a key grain deal.??

“Nuclear blackmail, energy blackmail, food blackmail,” Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said in a Telegram post.

His comments came after Russia accused Ukraine, with the help of the United Kingdom, of carrying out drone attacks on the Crimean port city of Sevastopol on Saturday. Britain denied Russia’s accusation that the UK was involved, calling it “peddling false claims of an epic scale.”

Following the attacks, Moscow suspended its participation in the grain export deal with Ukraine.

The Ukrainian official added that Russia has spread “fictions about the ‘dirty bomb,’ which the whole world laughs at,” referring to Russia’s accusations that Ukraine was planning on using the weapon, which combines conventional explosives like dynamite and radioactive material like uranium. The allegation was dismissed by Kyiv and its Western allies as a false-flag operation that Moscow could use as a pretext to escalate the war.

The official said that Russian leaders “cannot understand that infantile ultimatums will not achieve anything. And that their time is coming to an end.”

Workers offload bags of grains that were sent from Ukraine at the World Food Program warehouse in Adama town, Ethiopia, September 8.

Russia will suspend its participation in the United Nations-brokered grain export deal with Ukraine after drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol, the country’s defense ministry announced Saturday.

Moscow blames Kyiv for the attacks. CNN cannot independently verify Russia’s report and Ukraine has yet to acknowledge the incident.

The United Kingdom has denied Moscow’s claim that?Britain helped Ukraine plan the Crimean?drone attacks, saying Russia is “peddling false claims of an epic scale.”

Some background: In July, following months of negotiations, ministers from both Ukraine and Russia signed an agreement brokered by the UN and Turkey. Russia pledged to unblock ports on the Black Sea to allow the safe passage of grain and oilseeds – some of?Ukraine’s most important exports.

The deal is set to expire next month, and Moscow officials have cast doubt on whether they will extend their participation.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that there was a “lot of work” to do before the agreement could be renewed. Putin has weighed in, too, saying Moscow would shut the export corridors if they are used to carry out “terrorist attacks.”

Despite that, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister voiced optimism about the deal earlier this month, saying “there is no doubt that?the grain corridor will continue operating after Nov. 22,” when it is set to expire.

The World Food Programme estimated that tens of million people moved into a stage of acute hunger as a consequence of the Ukraine war, and Western officials have accused Russia of using food as a weapon during its invasion.

Russia and Ukraine swapped prisoners of war Saturday, exchanging a total of 102 detainees, both Moscow and Kyiv confirmed.?

On Ukraine’s side, a total of 52 prisoners returned home as part of the swap, the head of the Ukrainian President’s office, Andriy Yermak, said in a tweet.??

Officers, medics and sergeants were among those released, according to Yermak, including service members from the country’s National Guard, Navy and Armed Forces.

Fifty Russian soldiers were returned from the “territory controlled by Kyiv, who were in mortal danger in captivity,” the Russian defense ministry said in a statement.?

“The released servicemen will be delivered to Moscow for treatment and rehabilitation by aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces,” the statement added.??

The United Kingdom said Russia is “peddling false claims of an epic scale” Saturday, in response to Moscow’s claim that?Britain helped Ukraine plan drone attacks on a Crimean port city.

“To detract from their disastrous handling of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defense is resorting to peddling false claims of an epic scale,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence?said in a?tweet.?

The Russian defense ministry earlier claimed attacks on the city of Sevastopol were conducted under the guidance of British navy specialists. The ministry did not provide evidence for its claim.?

CNN cannot independently confirm or verify Russia’s claim of drone attacks on the city. There has also been no acknowledgment of the incident from Ukraine’s side.

Russia also accused representatives of the UK’s navy of being involved in explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month. The ministry did not provide evidence for its claims.???

The Russian foreign ministry said Saturday that it would raise what it called the “terrorist attacks” on Sevastopol, as well as the Nord Stream gas pipelines, at the United Nations Security Council.?

A gas station employee in Kyiv during a power outage on Friday in Kyiv.

As?winter edges ever closer?in Ukraine, Alla Melnychuk and her neighbors are racing against time to save what little they have left.

Their apartment building in?Irpin?was hit during some of the heaviest?fighting?in March. Most of the windows are still shattered, the roof is gone and the sewer shafts have burned down, meaning there’s no water supply and no sewage outlet. Heavy rains in September caused even more damage, but Melnychuk is determined to push ahead with the repairs.

As the weather becomes colder, millions of Ukrainians like Melnychuk are trying to prepare for what they know will be an extremely difficult winter, rushing to repair their homes and secure enough fuel to stay warm.

Those problems have been compounded in recent weeks by?Russia’s barrage of attacks?on Ukraine’s power and heating infrastructure.

The Ukrainian energy agency said that it had to implement “severe” and “unprecedented” emergency power cuts in Kyiv to avoid a “complete blackout” as the capital faces a power deficit of 30%. It has urged residents to use electricity “sparingly,” especially in the morning and at night, while businesses have been asked to turn off the lights outside offices, restaurants and shopping centers.

The blackouts are unpredictable, which means people must be ready at all times. Computers and phones get charged whenever there’s a chance. Some elevators in the city’s many high-rise residential buildings are equipped with emergency supply boxes.

Driving around the city has become more dangerous during the blackouts; road traffic accidents are up 25%, according to police. Shops shut down when they lose power and some restaurants have begun to advertise “blackout” menus of food and beverages they can serve during cuts.

To help people heat their homes, the Ukrainian government has launched a new online firewood store that makes it easier for people to find local suppliers.

Earlier this week, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk advised Ukrainian refugees?not to return home?this winter because the country’s fragile power grid is at risk of becoming completely overwhelmed.

Read more:

KYIV, UKRAINE - OCTOBER 20: Photo shows bright headlights in a darken road during the energy conservation, on October 20, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Due to Russian attacks on energy infrastructures in various regions of Ukraine, mandatory energy savings are made for one day in the country. Many cities in the country, including the capital Kyiv, have been the target of attacks by Russian forces on their energy infrastructure, mainly since October 10. While repairing damaged energy infrastructures continues, the Ukrainian government called for nationwide power-saving on October 20, so that undamaged systems can operate without interruption. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Related article Ukrainians are dreading the 'darkest winter' as Russia takes aim at the power grid | CNN

Ukraine has a key highway in the Luhansk region under “fire control,” according to a local military administrator, meaning it is bombarding the road with artillery to the point where it cannot be traversed.

Serhiy Hayday, head of Luhansk region military administration, told CNN Saturday that Russia could not use the crucial route linking the crucial towns of Svatove and Kreminna.

Hayday posted on social media late Friday that the road was “practically under Ukrainian control.”

The towns are major goals for the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempting to push east into Luhansk, which is predominantly under Russian occupation.

CNN cannot independently verify the Ukrainian claim to the highway running between the towns, but holding the road would deny Russia the ability to access Luhansk from the north.

In a separate post Saturday morning, Hayday said Ukraine has conducted airstrikes on Russian positions and air defense systems.

“Missile and artillery units struck enemy positions where batteries of self-propelled artillery systems and other important military targets were located,” Hayday said.

Some background: Local officials reported earlier this week that Ukraine’s advance in the eastern region has been slowed by the weather, “thousands” of mobilized reservists and fierce Russian resistance.

Luhansk is one of four Ukrainian regions Russian President Vladimir Putin declared annexed last month.

Russian air defense systems repelled drone attacks on the Crimean city of Sevastopol on Saturday, shooting down all the drones involved, the Russian-backed mayor of the city said.

“Today, starting at 4.30 am, for several hours, various air defense systems in Sevastopol repelled drone attacks. All unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were shot down,” Sevastopol Mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev said.

CNN cannot independently confirm or verify Razvozhayev’s claim. There has also been no acknowledgment of the incident from Ukraine’s side.?

In a post to social media early Saturday, Razvozhayev said “no facilities in the city were hit.”

“The situation is calm and under control. All operational teams are on standby,” he said.

He urged the city’s residents to not make public what they saw and not post any videos showing Russian defense systems repelling the attacks, claiming such information could be used by Ukraine to understand the city’s defenses.?

On Saturday, state-run news agency TASS reported ferries and boats were temporarily blocked from accessing the bay.

Traffic is seen on a dark street in central Kyiv, Ukraine on October 27.

It will take the Ukrainian capital at least two to three weeks to repair its power system damaged by Russian attacks, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on Friday as emergency power cuts have been implemented in the city.

“If there are no emergency accidents, ‘Ukrenergo’ (electricity company) specialists hope to eliminate the deficit caused by the attacks of Russian barbarians on critical infrastructure facilities within 2-3 weeks,” he said on his official Telegram channel.

Power supply is cut temporarily across all districts of Kyiv “due to a significant shortage of electricity - from 20 to 50% - today,” Klitschko added.

He called on residents and businesses to reduce electricity consumption to avoid potentially worse blackouts.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during his evening video message on October 28.

While Russia touts the hundreds of thousands of reservists that have bolstered its forces in recent weeks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the new troops are ill-prepared for battle.

He added that Ukraine is preparing for Russian leadership to look for more opportunities to prolong the conflict.

For context: Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu reported in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin Friday that the call for mobilization has been completed and the target goal of 300,000 mobilized citizens has been fulfilled.

The mobilization order got off to a rocky start and proved controversial in Russia, sparking protests and concerns from rights groups that ethnic minorities were disproportionately targeted for deployment.