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Ukraine's power grid under strain by 23 October 2022
Summary
A look back at the security picture on 23 October 2022, after a week of strikes on energy infrastructure, new martial law measures in Russia and reports of Iranian support.
What was the security situation in Ukraine on 23 October 2022? It was shaped by a week of Russian strikes on energy and water facilities, as well as by developments in occupied territory and in Russia's relations with Iran.
Strikes on energy and water
On 17 October 2022, Russian forces attacked the Shevchenkivskyi District of Kyiv and an energy facility in Sumy with HESA Shahed 136 suicide drones, killing eight people. The next day, Russian missiles killed three people in Kyiv and destroyed critical infrastructure, causing fires, explosions and power outages. Other cities were also hit in attacks on water supplies and energy facilities, and outages were reported in 1,162 towns and villages.
On 20 October 2022, a Russian missile struck a major thermal power station in Burshtyn, in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. Governor Svitlana Onyshchuk spoke of "quite serious damage". By 22 October 2022, power outages were reported across Ukraine, and citizens were advised to store water as the strikes continued to damage critical infrastructure and energy facilities.
Iran and the war
On 18 October 2022, Iran agreed to provide Russia with medium-range missiles, surface-to-surface missiles and combat drones for the war, as reported at the time. Two days later, the United States reported that Iranian troops were in Crimea, assisting the Russian military in using Iranian drones.
Occupied territory and martial law
On 19 October 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced martial law in the recently annexed territories of Ukraine, beginning at midnight on Thursday. An "intermediate level of preparedness" was also introduced in Crimea and in the federal subjects bordering Ukraine.
The same day, Russian forces began evacuating thousands of civilians from occupied areas of Kherson Oblast, according to the Russian-installed governor, Volodymyr Saldo. Ukraine called on residents to ignore the Russian orders to leave their towns and villages.
Other developments
On 18 October 2022, Ukraine accused Russia of kidnapping two senior employees of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The same day, the Verkhovna Rada passed a resolution recognising Chechnya as "temporarily occupied" by Russia and condemning war crimes committed by Russia during the First and Second Chechen Wars.
On 19 October 2022, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to "the people of Ukraine". Belarus said that day that international sanctions imposed over its role in the war left it unable to pay off its debt.
