President Vladimir Putin on Thursday doubled down on Russia’s attacks on critical civilian infrastructure in Ukraine ahead of the winter season. Putin admitted to targeting Ukraine’s energy grid and accused Kyiv of provoking the strikes, asking, “Who started it?”
Ukraine live briefing: Putin vows to continue strikes on civilian targets; Griner to land in U.S.
His comments came as WNBA star Brittney Griner was set to land in the United States after she was freed in a prisoner exchange with notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner, who spent 10 months in Russian custody, is expected to be reunited with her family at a medical facility in San Antonio.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
War has tamed Ukraine’s oligarchs, creating space for democratic change: Over two days in October, eight Russian cruise missiles screamed out of the sky and obliterated tens of millions of dollars’ worth of critical machinery at a hulking coal-fired power plant in the city of Burshtyn. The attacks were designed to leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter. But they also deepened a financial crisis for the plant’s owner, Rinat Akhmetov, the country’s richest man.
The war has diminished the power of a group of fewer than 20 wealthy Ukrainians who held outsize influence in the country and have been accused of corruption, The Washington Post’s Kevin Sullivan, David L. Stern and Kostiantyn Khudov report. Experts are optimistic it could portend a more democratic postwar society for Ukraine.
Source: WP
