The Ukrainian authorities said - today, Thursday - that the electricity and water networks are gradually returning to cities, including the capital, Kyiv, a day after the Russian missile strikes that disrupted a large part of the electricity and water networks, while the European Union Commission said that the bloc is preparing a ninth package of sanctions against Moscow.

And the regional authorities in Kyiv stated that only 25% of the capital's homes are still deprived of electricity supply, adding that water network services have been restored in a number of regions.

And the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy said today that the three nuclear plants that are still controlled by Kyiv have been re-connected to the electricity network throughout the country, after the large-scale Russian air strikes yesterday led to the interruption of the connection between them.

The ministry added that the three nuclear plants will be operational later today.

The authorities of Odessa and Mykolaiv, southwestern Ukraine, said that they had restored electricity in most areas of the two provinces after a disruption caused by the Russian bombing, and Kyrillo Tymoshenko, deputy director of the President's office, Volodymyr Zelensky, announced the restoration of power supplies to the regions of Kirovohradska (center of the country) and Vinnitsa (west).

Russian exile

Moscow denied that its missile strikes had targeted the civilian infrastructure of the energy network in Ukraine, and its delegate to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzya, said yesterday - during an emergency meeting of the Security Council - that his country is striking with precision weapons on the energy infrastructure that is used for military purposes, adding that Ukraine "hits its infrastructure infrastructure and trying to accuse Russia of that."


On the other hand, the Ukrainian president called yesterday on the international community for a firm response to the Russian strikes that targeted the energy infrastructure in his country, and Zelensky said in an emergency meeting of the Security Council that his country was hit by 70 missiles during the day, and accused Moscow of trying to turn the cold winter in his country into a weapon of mass destruction. .

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken tweeted on his Twitter account, saying, "The continuous Russian attacks on infrastructure aim to keep civilians in Ukraine in the cold and darkness, and these horrific tactics will not break the resolve of Ukraine and its partners."

Sanctions package

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said today that the EU is preparing a ninth package of sanctions against Russia in response to its continued attacks on Ukraine.

"We are working hard to strike Moscow in order to limit its ability to finance its war on Ukraine," Der Leyen said in a press conference, adding that she is confident that the Group of Seven and the rest of its main partners will soon announce a global ceiling for Russian oil prices.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to stop exporting its oil to all countries that put a ceiling on Russian crude prices.

Russian security

The Russian Federal Security Service said today that it had thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian intelligence services to carry out what it said was sabotage of the South Stream gas pipeline.

The "South Stream" pipeline project was intended to transport Russian gas across the Black Sea to Bulgaria, but it was later canceled and replaced by the "Turk Stream" project to transport Russian gas to Turkey and Europe.

‼️🇷🇺 FSB officers prevented an attack on the South Stream gas pipeline.

According to the department, citizens of Russia were involved in this - they were detained.

#Russia pic.twitter.com/QrscgH1JKM

- Maimunka News (@MaimunkaNews) November 24, 2022

The Russian agency "RIA Novosti" broadcasted via Telegram a video clip that it said documented the moment when Russian security forces thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to target the "South Stream" pipelines.

Prisoner exchange

Reuters reported - quoting informed sources - that representatives from Russia and Ukraine met in the UAE last week to discuss the possibility of an exchange of prisoners of war, which may be linked to the resumption of Russian ammonia exports to Asia and Africa through a Ukrainian pipeline.

The sources stated that the talks were mediated by the UAE, and did not include the United Nations, and according to the same source, these ongoing negotiations in the capital, Abu Dhabi, aim to barter the resumption of Russian ammonia exports for a deal to exchange a large number of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners.

Yesterday, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced a new deal of exchange of prisoners of war with Ukraine, which included 35 Russian military personnel.

On September 21, an exchange of 200 prisoners of war took place, with Turkish mediation, following diplomatic talks conducted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts, Vladimir Putin and Zelensky.