What the war's spillover looked like on 2 November 2022

How far was the war reaching beyond Ukraine's borders? On 2 November 2022, reports from several directions suggested the answer was: further each week.

That day, the United States said North Korea was secretly supplying artillery shells to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. The claim pointed to a new source of support for Moscow's campaign.

In Poland, Defence Minister Mariusz Błaszczak announced the construction of a barrier along the border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Poland believed Russia would use that border to transport African and Asian immigrants into Europe illegally.

Neighbours on alert

The days just before had already shown the pressure on countries near the front. On 31 October 2022, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced that the country's military alert level would rise the following day. He cited military drone sightings near offshore oil rigs over the previous few weeks.

The same day, a Russian cruise missile, reportedly shot down by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft system, crashed on the outskirts of Naslavcea in Moldova. The Moldovan government said no casualties were reported, though some houses were damaged by the blast.

Damage inside Ukraine

Inside Ukraine, the strain on civilians was more direct. On 31 October 2022, Russian forces again damaged critical infrastructure in Kyiv, leaving parts of the capital without energy and water. Energy facilities were also damaged in Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Cherkasy.

A widening picture

Taken together, the reports from 31 October and 2 November 2022 showed a conflict whose consequences were being felt in Norway, Moldova and Poland, while Ukrainian cities dealt with damage to energy and water supplies. Washington's statement about North Korean shells added another country to the list of those linked to the war.