Ukraine live briefing: Russia removes civilians from Kherson; concern grows over threat to hydroelectric dam

Kremlin-backed authorities are stepping up efforts to relocate civilians from the Russian-controlled city of Kherson, transporting them into Crimea and other occupied regions, in what Ukrainian officials have called an attempt by Moscow to “depopulate” areas of Ukraine that Kyiv is poised to recapture.

Meanwhile, concerns are growing that Moscow will seek to destroy the dam at a major hydroelectric plant in the area to delay a possible Ukrainian advance. Ukraine and Russia have accused each other of targeting the dam, which Russia controls.

Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.

1. Key developments

Occupying Russian authorities ordered residents to leave Kherson and urged them to take “documents, money, valuables and clothes” with them. Photos showed people boarding ferries and buses in Kherson, pets and luggage in tow. Officials are promising government payments of 100,000 rubles (about $1,600) and housing certificates to purchase an apartment for those who comply.The weekend order for all citizens to immediately leave Kherson is illegal, Ukrainian officials say. It could also cause lasting economic and social damage, according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War think tank.Russian authorities are reducing the volume of water in the reservoir behind the Nova Kakhovka dam east of Kherson to minimize damage if it is destroyed, a Russian-installed regional official said, according to Russian news reports. Vladimir Leontyev also claimed that it was Ukraine, not Russia, that would seek to destroy it. Meanwhile, Zelensky has accused Russia of laying explosive mines at the dam in an effort to create “a large-scale disaster” in an area it is on the verge of losing control of. The Washington Post could not verify either side’s claim. If the dam were damaged, it could flood cities and towns on the Dnieper River and compromise water supply in Crimea.Zelensky said a barrage of Russian strikes caused widespread blackouts in Ukraine’s north, south, east and west on Saturday. Crews restored power in some areas by the evening, “but in many cities, in many districts, recovery work is still ongoing,” he said. In the meantime, he urged residents to preserve power to avoid pressuring already-strained electrical grids.

2. Battleground updates

Russia is preparing to defend parts of Donbas it invaded from any Ukrainian counteroffensive, Britain’s Defense Ministry said. The ministry cited the head of the Wagner Group, a network of mercenaries working with Russian forces in Ukraine, who claimed to be building trenches and antitank defenses in Luhansk. This effort, the ministry said, suggests that “Russia is making a significant effort to prepare defences in depth behind the current front line, likely to deter any rapid Ukrainian counter offensives.”Russian forces struck Mykolaiv overnight with S-300 surface-to-air missiles, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said. Two residential buildings, a central heating line and a children’s playground were damaged, and one man was injured, though not severely, Senkevych added.The situation around Luhansk’s border remains “tense,” regional governor Serhiy Haidai said Sunday morning. During the previous day, Russian forces shelled border towns north of Luhansk city, while Ukrainian forces targeted Russian military equipment, Haidai said.The Ukrainian military claimed that Russia has moved its officers across the Dnieper River, leaving recruits behind on the western bank to fend off a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive. “Using such inexperienced forces to conduct a delaying action could prompt a Russian rout if Ukrainian forces choose to press the attack,” the Institute for the Study of War said. The British Defense Ministry said Russian forces have erected a “barge bridge” across the Dnieper, near the damaged Antonovsky Bridge, to secure the movement of troops and equipment as they struggle to retain control of Kherson.

3. Global impact

India launched a rocket carrying 36 internet satellites into space as part of a global project led by space connectivity firm OneWeb, the company and Indian officials said. The project was disrupted when OneWeb cut ties with Russia’s space agency Roscosmos in March after refusing to comply with demands that the company guarantee the satellites wouldn’t be used for military purposes. All of OneWeb’s previous satellite launches used Russian rockets, the Associated Press reported.Iran criticized European calls for a U.N. probe into Iranian-made drones that the organization says are being used by Russia in Ukraine. Tehran on Saturday denounced the accusations, calling them “false and baseless,” as France, Germany and Britain urged an investigation. Britain this week imposed sanctions on Iran, while the Canadian government condemned Iran’s “active support of Russian atrocities.” Moscow denies that it is using Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones.An international group of independent experts working on the implementation of sanctions against Russia has turned its attention to “all Russian propagandists, so-called opinion leaders and showbusiness representatives who support or justify terror,” Zelensky said. In the group’s sights are “Russian newsmen and stars” involved in the spread of Kremlin narratives about the war, he said.

4. From our correspondents

Massive strikes hit Ukraine electrical grid: Russia on Saturday unleashed another barrage of strikes on Ukrainian electricity infrastructure, as Ukrainians prepare for what could be a winter without heating, water and electricity in parts of the country.

Temporary power outages hit the regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, Poltava, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kirovohrad — an expanse stretching across the country from west to east.

Ukrainian officials say Russian strikes have destroyed about 30 percent of the country’s autotransformers, which are crucial for transmitting electricity along the country’s electrical grid, Post correspondents David L. Stern, Robyn Dixon and Isabelle Khurshudyan report.

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