Live blog: Ukraine shelling on Russian-controlled southern Kherson kills 9 – local official

Friday, November 3, 2023

1734 GMT — Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-controlled part of the southern Kherson region has killed nine people, the Moscow-installed authorities said.

The strikes came as Kiev is pushing a counteroffensive to retake territory from Moscow's forces, focused on the south of the country.

"Nine dead people were pulled out from under the rubble," Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled Kherson region, told Russian state television on Friday.

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1711 GMT — US announces $425M in new military aid for Ukraine

The United States announced a new $425 million military assistance package for Ukraine that features air defence and artillery munitions and anti-tank weapons to aid its fight against Russia

That equipment, along with small arms ammunition, demolitions munitions and other items, is part of $125 million in gear drawn from US existing military stocks.

The package also includes $300 million in laser-guided munitions to counter drones, which will be funded via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI).

1626 GMT — Russia expels Bulgarian reporter in tit-for-tat move

Russia said it was expelling a Bulgarian reporter in response to Sofia having kicked out a Russian reporter earlier this week.

"(We) are compelled to take mirror measures with regard to Angel Grigorov, the chief correspondent of the Bulgarian National Radio in Moscow," Russia's foreign ministry said. "He has been ordered to give up his accreditation certificate and leave Russia."

Aleksander Gatsak from Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta state newspaper was ordered to leave Bulgaria on Wednesday after the authorities deemed him a "threat to national security."

1556 GMT — Russia says intends to continue nuclear test moratorium

Russia intends to stick to a nuclear test ban moratorium despite withdrawing its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the foreign ministry said.

"We intend to keep the moratorium that was introduced more than 30 years ago in place," said a ministry statement. But any nuclear tests by the United States would "force us to do the same," it added.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday signed off on a law revoking Russia's ratification of the treaty.

1536 GMT — Zelenskyy 'weighing' whether to hold elections in 2024: minister

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is "weighing" whether it will be possible to hold presidential elections next year given Russia's military campaign, his foreign minister said.

All elections including the presidential vote set to take place next spring are technically cancelled under martial law that has been in effect since the war began.

"I think there is no other country in the world that would be even considering holding elections against the background of such a large-scale invasion," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told a conference. "But, we are not closing this page. The President of Ukraine is considering, and weighing different pros and cons," he said.

0840 GMT — Ukraine reports 'massive' drone attack by Russia

Russia launched 40 drones overnight in a "massive" attack on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure but over half of them were downed, officials said.

"Last night there were about 40 'Shaheds'. More than half of them were shot down," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on social media.

Russia has used hundreds of Iranian-made self-detonating Shahed drones to attack targets across Ukraine since the start of the conflict. Zelenskyy said the Russian drones were launched at 10 regions including Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia on the front lines, the capital Kiev and Lviv in the west of the country.

0905 GMT — US sanctions won't 'defeat Moscow': Russia

Russia dismissed new US sanctions over the war in Ukraine, saying that the United States would never defeat Moscow, while the boss of Russia's fastest-growing natural gas company quipped the sanctions were a badge of success.

The United States earlier targeted Russia's future energy capabilities, sanctions evasion and a suicide drone that has been a menace to Ukrainian troops and equipment, among others, in sanctions on hundreds of people and entities.

"This is a continuation of the policy of inflicting as they call it — a strategic defeat on us," Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, told Russian state television when asked about the new sanctions. "They will have to wait in vain forever before that happens."

2311 GMT — EU should become stronger to effectively respond to challenges: Kuleba

The Russia-Ukraine war has shown that the European Union should become stronger in order to respond effectively to the challenges it is currently facing, Ukraine’s foreign minister said.

A statement from the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quoted Dmytro Kuleba as saying ahead of a ministerial conference in Berlin that the strengthening of cooperation between Kiev and Brussels in the field of defence industries will become a cornerstone of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy.

"We need a strong and proactive European Union capable of solving and preventing conflicts. And this is the contribution that Ukraine can make," Kuleba said.

For our live updates from Thursday (November 2), click here.