Updates from Ukraine
⚡️Reuters: US, allies to discuss Iranian drones at UN Security Council.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 19, 2022
The U.S, Britain and France aim to discuss alleged Iranian arms transfers to Russia at a closed-door U.N. Security Council meeting on Oct. 19, diplomats told Reuters speaking on condition of anonymity.
Reuters also reports that Ukraine has invited U.N. experts to inspect what it says are downed Iranian-origin drones used by Russia to attack Ukrainian targets in violation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) October 19, 2022
#Iran has deployed dozens of military instructors to the Kremlin-occupied Crimea peninsula and Kherson region to help the #Russian army launch kamikaze drone strikes against Ukrainian targets, independent Ukrainian news platforms said on Oct. 18https://t.co/SXTL2ApxVC pic.twitter.com/RaoV4QOEAj
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) October 18, 2022
Rebuilding Ukraine
Russia will likely need two to four years to rebuild its military to the strength before the Ukraine crisis, Estonia’s defense minister said Tuesday during a visit to Washington, D.C.
— CGTN America (@cgtnamerica) October 18, 2022
Government Statements
Another kind of Russian terrorist attacks: targeting 🇺🇦 energy & critical infrastructure. Since Oct 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country. No space left for negotiations with Putin's regime. @United24media pic.twitter.com/LN4A2GYgCK
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 18, 2022
International Opinions
Russian missiles crashed into infrastructure targets across Ukraine as Moscow stepped up what looked like a deliberate campaign to destroy electricity and water facilities before winter https://t.co/0xowBHNVA7 1/5 pic.twitter.com/wgkPuOS1Z7
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 18, 2022
Russia may prefer sabotage of critical infrastructure over nuclear weapons https://t.co/XXN8YdBTNt
— Financial Times (@FT) October 18, 2022
Russia has attacked several energy facilities across Ukraine, including in Kyiv, attempting to cripple its energy infrastructure.
— POLITICOEurope (@POLITICOEurope) October 18, 2022
Thirty percent of Ukraine's power stations have been destroyed in the last week, president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.https://t.co/aFMdofzITi
Russia is clearly hitting critical civilian infrastructure in order to destroy Ukrainians’ morale and will to fight back.
— Cliff Levy (@cliffordlevy) October 18, 2022
Zelensky warns that Russian attacks demolished 30% of Ukraine’s power stations and caused “massive blackouts across the country.”https://t.co/sg5ZkzL1Ou
Ukraine is scrambling to rebuild energy facilities damaged by a wave of deadly Russian strikes across the country
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 19, 2022
President Volodymyr Zelensky branded Moscow's use of Iranian-made drones in the attacks as 'military and political bankruptcy' pic.twitter.com/neM9aI1p6x
Zelensky says 30% of Ukrainian power stations out of action. Russia’s assault on basic infrastructure, clearly designed to cripple the country before winter, is having a huge impact. This, for now, is the face of escalation https://t.co/dglhZCByT3
— Paul Adams (@BBCPaulAdams) October 18, 2022
Two brothers, both priests. One lives in Russia, the other in Ukraine.
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) October 18, 2022
For Vasyl, the war is a crime propped up by lies. For Iosif, it’s a just mission to retake Russian lands.
This is the story of how the war split their family – and so many others too https://t.co/tzabc0hFKV
The Ivanchuk brothers both served in the Soviet army, both lived in Kharkiv in Ukraine as students, and both became priests at a time of spiritual revival as the atheist Soviet Union crumbled.
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) October 18, 2022
But in February, both came to opposing conclusions about the war – why? pic.twitter.com/lKDeFFiIah
I spent hours talking to Father Iosif in Russia. His siblings describe him as a kind father of six who helps his flock – but he watches Russian TV, backs Putin's war, and says he'd be proud if his sons went to fight. “The chaos happening in Ukraine is God’s retribution,” he says. pic.twitter.com/pWBULSdZ6E
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) October 18, 2022
When I visited his brother Vasyl in Kharkiv, he showed me his church damaged by a Russian missile and said he can't understand why Iosif denies Russian aggression when he has seen the destruction. “I tell him: You have a smartphone, you have alternative sources of information." pic.twitter.com/xjLvidsP1a
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) October 18, 2022
I was struck by their story because it reflects the fate of so many families riven by the war. Two parallel realities have emerged – and a gulf between siblings, between parents and children, and between husbands and wives. Read more here: https://t.co/tzabbZZwwN
— Matthew Luxmoore (@mjluxmoore) October 18, 2022