On Wednesday 19 October Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law across the four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia — which he claims to have been annexed to Russia in September. Martial law in these occupied areas of Ukraine will allow Putin’s forces to legally detain people for up to 30 days, set up checkpoints, seize property and forcibly mobilise people and resources for the Russian war effort. Occupation authorities have been obliged to submit plans to create local “territorial defence” forces.
At the same time a second decree put every Russian region into new categories of increased “readiness.” Putin seems to have laid the basis for declaring a form of martial law across parts or even all of Russia, although the practical use of the new decrees still remains unclear.
In eight regions of Russian bordering Ukraine local authorities have been given powers to impose curfews, restrict travel and public assemblies, suspend activities of political parties, take over factories and transport, apply censorship and order the resettlement of people.
On 10 October, immediately following the appointment of a notorious thug, general Sergei Surovikin, as commander of Russia’s war in Ukraine, Russia began a campaign to destroy Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. Using missiles and Iranian drones Russia is attempting to create widespread misery and demoralisation amongst Ukraine’s civilian population. In fact, Russia’s campaign is probably rallying people around the state, increasing determination and defiance.
Although many Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones were shot down, others got through Ukraine’s limited air defences.
Ukraine’s energy minister, Herman Halushchenko, said that more than 30% of Ukraine’s electricity supply facilities have been damaged so far. On 22 October, the capital, Kyiv, and cities in western Ukraine experienced power cuts; 1.4mn households in seven regions were left without electricity.
Halushchenko added that prior to the Russian invasion 10% of Ukraine’s energy supply was made up of green energy, of which 90% of wind and 50% of solar facilities are now inoperable because of the war.
In August Russia bought 2,400 armed drones from Iran. Initially the Russians were unable to operate the drones effectively and Iran sent 20 members of its military to Crimea to train Russian personnel. The Ukrainian state claims Iranian trainers are also now in Belarus.
Why would Iran cooperate with Putin’s Russia? They have a common hatred of the US, and in busting US-led sanctions. They have both cooperated together in Syria to stabilise Bashar Assad’s murderous dictatorship. Neither of these dictatorships has any principled, moral objections to killing innocent Ukrainian civilians or committing the war crime of deliberately damaging civilian infrastructure. And as a Western nuclear deal with Iran seems very distant, there is no pressure on Iran to distance itself from Russia; it might as well take Putin’s money.
Iran is also providing missiles to Russia, and has just announced it will sell Russia 40 turbines for use in the gas industry.
Ukraine continues to attack the Russian occupation forces in north east Ukraine and the southern region of Kherson.
The commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, admitted the situation in Kherson was “difficult” and Russia was “not ruling out difficult decisions.”
Russia has probably mined the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant with the intention of blowing it up to cover their retreat from the right bank of the Dnipro.
The dam is 30m high and 3.2km long and holds back 18mn cubic meters of water. If the dam is destroyed a 5-metre-high tidal wave of water would rapidly flood settlements along the Dnipro River, including Kherson City.
The Russian military have destroyed a dam on the Dnipro before. On 18 August 1941 Stalin’s NKVD blew up the Hydroelectric power plant at Zaporizhzhya, apparently to obstruct the Nazi advance. However, over 20,000 civilians died, as well as Russian troops, and flooding spread to towns 80km downstream. The Russians would further damage Ukraine’s power infrastructure by blowing the dam. However, they would at the same time disrupt the water supply to Russian-occupied Crimea.
The northern section of Kherson oblast, north of the Dnipro river, appears to being evacuated by Russia. Russian military equipment, troops and officials who have been collaborating with the Russian occupation, are all being moved out. On 23 October Moscow-installed authorities in Kherson claimed that around 25,000 citizens have also been evacuated.
Kherson city is now a ghost town where remaining Ukrainian civilians hide-away in fear of Russian occupation troops and Chechen forces. Although the power is still on, medicines and baby milk are hard to get and the internet is blocked to stop Ukrainians from reporting on Russian troop movements.
The Russians are also looting the area, including removing the fire engines from Kherson fire stations.
The Russians are now forced to ferry materials and people on improvised barges across the river as Ukraine has used high-tech American weapons to make access by road and rail bridges almost impossible.
As Russia is moving experienced troops out of the area around Kherson city it is replacing them with 2,000 badly-prepared troops from the recent conscription drive. It seems that Putin considers the new draftees to be “expendable”.
