Car explosion in Melitopol
A car bomb exploded at the entrance to the market in Melitopol, one of the first towns in the Zaporizhia region to fall into the hands of the Russians during the offensive launched in February by Moscow. According to the authorities, this explosion caused only material damage.
60% of Russian drones destroyed
The British Ministry of Defense in its daily update estimates that 60% of the “Shahed” drones (made in Iran) launched by Russia on October 10 were destroyed in the air. “These drones are slow and fly at low altitude, making these unmanned aircraft easy to target using conventional air defenses. However, intelligence recognizes that Russia has sometimes managed to hit its targets by attacking with several drones at the same time. However, “despite an advertised range of 2,500 km, the Shahed-136 has only a small explosive payload. It is unlikely to satisfactorily perform the deep-strike function for which Russia probably aspired to use it,” the ministry said.
The United Arab Emirates wants to mediate
UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has confirmed his country’s willingness to mediate between Russia and Ukraine during talks with Vladimir Putin, according to UAE news agency WAM.
New bombardments on Nikolaev, Nikopol or Dnipropetrovsk
Russia continued to bomb several cities overnight, according to local media.
Russian economy resists thanks to oil exports
Energy exports appear to be helping Russia overcome Western sanctions. For its part, Moscow says inflation is slowing and employment is doing well. The doomsday predictions of many financial experts on Russia’s collapse seem to be contradicted. The International Monetary Fund has acknowledged that the recession in Russia will be less severe than expected due to oil exports and relatively stable domestic demand. The IMF predicts that the Russian economy will only contract by 3.4% for the year as a whole, while in June the IMF predicted an annual decline of 6%.
New weapons for Ukraine
Germany, in cooperation with Norway and Denmark, plans to jointly purchase 16 Zuzana-2 wheeled self-propelled tank howitzers from Slovakia to provide additional assistance to Ukraine. Artillery systems will be produced in the Slovak Republic with delivery in 2023.
In addition, the United States has just delivered 4 additional HIMARS.
Russia makes material from Belarus
The American Institute for the Study of War in its latest assessment explains that Russia is in the process of sending equipment to this territory. Convoys of trains loaded with ammunition and equipment are transferred south and east. According to experts, “such activity is incompatible with creating the conditions for a large-scale Russian or Belarusian ground attack” against Ukraine from Belarus.
Russian strikes in the Zaporizhia region
New Russian strikes hit the Zaporizhia region in the evening, where “Russian terrorists (…) bombarded Orikhiv and Stepnoguirsk”, killing seven and injuring seven, according to the Ukrainian presidency.
Macron on France 2
War in Ukraine, energy crisis, return of the nuclear threat: Emmanuel Macron inaugurates at 8:30 p.m. the new political program of France 2, “L’Evénement”, in the midst of soaring energy prices, while Vladimir Putin has partially closed gas taps to Europe as winter approaches. One hour of interview 100% devoted to the international.
Biden refuses to meet Putin
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he had “no intention” of meeting Vladimir Putin at the next G20 summit, but added “it depends”, in particular if the Russian president wants to discuss the fate of an American detained in Russia.
“I have no intention of meeting him. But if, for example, he came to see me at the G20 and told me I want to talk about the release of (American women’s basketball star Brittney) Griner, I would meet him. What I mean is that it depends,” he said in an interview with CNN.
Also, Joe Biden felt that Russia is not going to use its nuclear weapons. “All I meant was that it could lead to a horrible outcome,” he said, adding, “And not because someone intends to make it a world war or anything, but just once you use a nuke, the mistakes that can be made, miscalculations, who knows what would happen.”