G7 leaders will discuss new Ukraine assistance and energy issues in Tuesday's meeting, officials say
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
France's President Emmanuel Macron, second right, participates in a video conference with G7 leaders on the situation in Ukraine, at the Hotel Marigny in Paris, France, on October 11. (Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images)
Heading into today’s G7 meeting, officials said they expected two areas of primary focus for the group of leaders: determining where they can bolster support for Ukraine’s air defenses and the uncertain energy situation as winter approaches.
The meeting, which is underway now, had been in the works ahead of Monday’s bombardments in Kyiv and other cities but the meeting assumed a new urgency as Russia targeted civilian targets.
Officials have been working on a joint statement from the G7 to release when the meeting concludes, but it wasn’t clear that it would include major new joint announcements on sanctions, security assistance or energy independence from Russia. One European official said major deliverables weren’t expected to come out of the meeting.
Instead, the leaders hope to again demonstrate Western unity as they hear from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who officials expect will continue to call for better air defenses and more sanctions on Russia.
On Monday, Zelensky had separate phone conversations with six of the seven leaders of the G7 — US President Joe Biden, France’s Emmanuel Macron, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, the UK’s Liz Truss, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and Italy’s Mario Draghi.
Biden also spoke with German Chancellor Scholz, the G7 president, this weekend, partly to prepare for today's call. While the White House didn’t mention the nuclear threat from Russia in its readout, the topic did arise in the conversation.
8:32 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
Former Russian foreign minister says "terror is the only thing left" for Putin
From CNN’s Alex Hardie in London
Rescuers at the aftermath of a missile attack in Zaporizhzhia, southeastern Ukraine, on October 11. (Albert Koshelev/Ukrinform/Abaca/Sipa USA/AP)
Former Russian Foreign Minister Andrei Kozyrev told CNN Tuesday that “terror is the only thing left” for Russian President Vladimir Putin, “like for any miserable terrorist in the world.”
Putin has launched missiles attacks at Ukraine on Monday and Tuesday because he “is desperate, because he made miscalculations,” Kozyrev told CNN's John Berman.
Kozyrev detailed what he thinks are Putin"s “three major miscalculations.”
“One, that Ukraine could be defeated in two, three days. Second, that the United States and the West will not come to the rescue to help Ukrainians. And third, that he brought the war back home when he announced this mobilization.”
“He’s desperate and he returns to what he’s doing: intimidation, that is, threatening nuclear weapons — which he will not use — and terror actions in Ukraine and in Russia,” he said.
Kozyrev explained why he doesn't think Putin will use nuclear weapons.
“He is human being, so he does not want to commit suicide with strategic nuclear weapons,” Kozyrev added.
8:32 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
Russia confirms it’s targeting Ukrainian energy facilities
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London, Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Uliana Pavlova
Smoke rises over power lines after Russian missile strikes in Lviv, Ukraine, on October 10. (Pavlo Palamarchuk/Reuters)
Russia is targeting Ukrainian military and energy facilities in attacks on Tuesday, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow.
“Today, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue launching the massive attack using high-precision long-range air- and sea-based armament at the facilities of military control and energy system of Ukraine,” the ministry said in a post on Telegram.
Air raid sirens sounded across Ukraine on Tuesday as regional governors reported explosions at various “energy facilities.”
Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the Lviv regional military administration, said there were “three explosions at two energy facilities in the Lviv region.”
The Ladyzhynska power plant in the west-central city of Vinnytsia was also hit by so-called "kamikaze drones," according to the plant's owner, the DTEK Group.
Tuesday’s attacks targeted some of the same facilities that were hit on Monday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
“Primary targets of Russian strikes are energy facilities. They’ve hit many yesterday [Monday] and they hit the same and new ones today,” Kuleba said on Twitter. “These are war crimes planned well in advance and aimed at creating unbearable conditions for civilians — Russia’s deliberate strategy since months."
10:18 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
It's 3 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
As Russia ramps up military strikes across Ukraine, the Kremlin threatened countermeasures against the US and other European allies due to their "increasing involvement" in the war.
Here are the latest developments:
Russia launches new strikes: Russia cast a fresh round of missile attacks across central Ukraine early Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian military. Air raid sirens sounded in multiple regions, with officials appealing to residents to stay in shelters.
Embassy calls shelling on Ukraine "logical consequence": Moscow's fatal strikes on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities Monday were a “logical consequence” of recent events in the war, said Alexander Makogonov, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in France, referring to a huge explosion on the Crimean bridge Saturday.
G meeting: The G7 is having an emergency meeting via video with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Tuesday morning.
Moscow in state of "desperation": Russia is running thin on military weapons and staving off "desperation at many levels inside Russian society," Jeremy Fleming, director of Government Communications Headquarters — the UK's intelligence, cyber and security agency — told the BBC.
Children's doctor died in Kyiv attack:Oksana Leontieva, a doctor at the Okhmatdyt children's cancer hospital in the Ukrainian capital, was among the 19 people killed by Russian missile strikes across the country Monday.
Belarus-Russia deployment is "defensive": The Belarusian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the joint deployment of forces with Russia is a "purely defensive" measure. Earlier Monday, a senior Russian Duma official said "there is no need" for Belarusian troops to participate in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
7:52 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
British spy chief says Russia is "desperate" amid low military supplies and dwindling morale
From CNN's Zahid Mahmood and Sana Noor Haq
Destroyed armored vehicles and tanks belonging to Russian forces outside the city of Lyman in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, on October 5. (Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)
Moscow is running thin on military weapons and staving off "desperation at many levels inside Russian society," according to the head of the UK's largest spy agency.
“We believe that Russia is running short of munitions, it’s certainly running short of friends," Jeremy Fleming, director of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), told BBC Radio 4's 'Today' program.
“We’ve seen, because of the declaration for mobilization, that it’s running short of troops. So I think the answer to that is pretty clear. Russia and Russia’s commanders are worried about the state of their military machine,” Fleming said Tuesday.
When asked if the Kremlin is desperate amid President Vladimir Putin's faltering military campaign in Ukraine, Fleming added: "We can see that desperation at many levels inside Russian society and inside the Russian military machine."
Fleming's comments came after Russia launched a wave of deadly strikes across Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities Monday, damaging critical infrastructure and killing at least 19 people.
“Russia, as we’ve seen in the dreadful attacks yesterday, still has a very capable military machine. It can launch weapons, it has deep, deep stocks and expertise. And yet, it is very broadly stretched in Ukraine," Fleming said.
The violent strikes follow Putin's announcement of immediate military escalation in September, in which he threatened the possibility of nuclear retaliation.
"I think any talk of nuclear weapons is very dangerous and we need to be very careful about how we're talking about that," Fleming said when asked about Putin's nuclear threats.
GCHQ Director Jeremy Fleming delivers a speech at the Watergate House in London, England, on February 14, 2019. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
"I would hope that we would see indicators if they started to go down that path. But let's be really clear about that, if they are considering that, that would be a catastrophe in the way that many people have talked about," he added.
In a speech later Tuesday, Fleming will also say Russians are increasingly counting the cost of the invasion of Ukraine and are seeing "how badly" Putin "has misjudged the situation."
“With little effective internal challenge, his decision-making has proved flawed. It’s a high stakes strategy that is leading to strategic errors in judgement. Their gains are being reversed,” Fleming will say in an address at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) annual security lecture in London.
The costs to Russia — in people and equipment are staggering. We know — and Russian commanders on the ground know — that their supplies and munitions are running out. Russia’s forces are exhausted.”
The senior spy chief will also say that ordinary Russians are “fleeing the draft.”
"They know their access to modern technologies and external influences will be drastically restricted. And they are feeling the extent of the dreadful human cost of his war of choice," he will say.
7:41 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
Russian and Turkish presidents scheduled to meet in Kazakhstan on Thursday
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova
Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Kazakhstan to meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The two will discuss Ukraine and bilateral issues, Peskov said in a call with journalists.
Putin is expected to travel late Wednesday, he added.
7:43 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
UAE president to emphasize "de-escalation" in Ukraine during "prescheduled" meeting with Putin
From CNN’s Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, center, attends a meeting with the French Prime Minister in Paris, France, on July 19. (Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)
UAE’s President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan will discuss "the importance of de-escalation" in Moscow's invasion of Ukraine during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Their meeting was “prescheduled,” but the recent escalation in the war in Ukraine “has given this trip added impetus,” the UAE’s presidential adviser Anwar Gargash told CNN on Tuesday.
“This was a prescheduled official trip which was supposed to focus mostly on bilateral issues but the recent escalation in the war in Ukraine has given this trip added impetus,” Gargash said, adding that the UAE's president will meet Putin in Moscow where he will now also discuss “seeking a political and diplomatic course.”
Some background: Sheikh Mohammed's visit to the Russian capital comes less than a week after OPEC+, the international cartel of oil producers, agreed to slash production by 2 million barrels per day — twice as much as analysts had predicted and in the biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic.
The UAE is a member of the organization led by Saudi Arabia and Russia.
An intense pressure campaign by the US to dissuade its Arab allies from the cut ahead of the decision failed. Russia is already pumping below its OPEC+ ceiling, and the bulk of the cuts will be made by Gulf producers.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem in Abu Dhabi contributed reporting.
Bodies of 62 Ukrainian soldiers were returned on Tuesday, officials say
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
The bodies of 62 Ukrainian soldiers were "returned home" on Tuesday after “difficult” negotiations, according to the country’s Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporary Occupied Territories.
“62 fallen heroes were returned home,” the ministry's statement said, adding that the bodies included those of soldiers who had been held at a prison in Olenivka.
Olenivka is in the part of the Donetsk region that has been held by pro-Russian forces for eight years. In July, an attack on the facility resulted in the deaths of at least 50 prisoners.
7:18 a.m. ET, October 11, 2022
Belarus says joint troop deployment with Russia on border is a "purely defensive" measure
From Uliana Pavlova
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko meets with military officials in Minsk, Belarus, on October 10. (Maxim Guchek/BELTA/AFP/Getty Images)
The Belarusian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the joint deployment of forces with Russia is a defensive measure.
“The tasks of the Regional Grouping of Forces are purely defensive. And all the activities currently being carried out are aimed at an adequate response to actions near our borders,” Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Viktor Khrenin said in a statement.
The moves were to ensure "security" along the border between Belarus and Ukraine, Khrenin added. “Again, based on threats, regrouping can be carried out to cover certain areas.”
Some background: On Monday, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that Belarus and Russia will "deploy a joint regional group of troops” that deepens the military cooperation between the two countries. He had also claimed that Ukraine is planning to attack Belarusian territory, but the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, "this information is not true."
Hours later, Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian Duma's Defense Committee, said "there is no need" for Belarusian troops to participate in Moscow's "special military operation" — the term used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to refer to the country's invasion of Ukraine.
