Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Says Moscow Aims to Sow Energy Chaos

(Bloomberg) --

Ukraine’s president said Moscow is looking to sow “political chaos” by manipulating Europe’s energy supplies. “This winter, Russia is preparing for a decisive energy attack on all Europeans,” Voldymyr Zelenskiy said. 

Europe is bracing for another spike in energy costs and potential rationing after Russia’s Gazprom PJSC didn’t reopen the key Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline as planned on Saturday, citing a newly discovered fault. The EU said Gazprom was acting on “fallacious pretenses.” 

Germany’s government announced a $65 billion cost of living support package. Tens of thousands of Czechs protested on Saturday, demanding help with rising energy bills, and petitions circulated calling for a direct contract with Russia for cheap gas supplies. 

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Key Developments

• Europe Looks Set for Energy Rationing After Russian Gas Cut
• Germany Takes Aim at Cost of Living Crisis in $65 Billion Plan
• Thousands Protest in Prague Over Energy Crisis 
• White House to Seek $11.7 Billion in Additional Ukraine Aid 
• Russia Wheat Shipments Falter While Ukraine Ramps Up Exports 
• Sweden Sets Up $23 Billion Emergency Backstop for Utilities

On the Ground

Russian shelling of port town of Ochakiv in the southern Mykolaiv region destroyed an elevator with several thousands tons of grain, deputy mayor Oleksiy Vaskov said. The shelling also destroyed several houses, he said. Russia continues to focus on establishing control over the territory of the Donetsk region, holding the captured areas of the Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Mykolaiv regions, Ukraine’s defense ministry said. It said Russian troops launched more than 10 missiles and more than 24 air strikes on military and civilian targets in Ukraine in the past day. Russia’s defense ministry said Sunday it had destroyed a Ukrainian command unit in the Kharkiv region. 

(All times CET)

Ukraine Says Black Sea Grain Shipments Reach 2 Million Tons (2 p.m.)

Grain shipments from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports continue steadily under a safe-transit deal reached in July with the help of the UN and Turkey, which runs a joint coordination center for the cargoes in Istanbul.  

Another dozen ships loaded with grain left Ukrainian ports Sunday morning, Turkey’s defense ministry said on Twitter. Oleksandr Kubrakov, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, put the flotilla at 13 ships carrying a total of 282,500 tons to eight countries.

So far the Black Sea initiative has moved 2 million tons, Kubrakov said. Shipments from Ukraine have helped alleviate global shortages and driven a sharp drop in grain prices. 

Zelenskiy Speaks With Von der Leyen (1:30 p.m.)

Ukraine’s president spoke by phone Sunday with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, he said on Twitter. 

Among the topics were the next tranche of European aide to Ukraine, which is expected to be offered this week, and potential further sanctions on Russia. 

Scholz Puts Blame on Putin for Germany’s Gas Squeeze (12:16 p.m.) 

Germany’s leader put the responsibility on Russian President Vladimir Putin as the government in Berlin announced a new support package to help citizens cope with spiraling energy costs.  

“Putin’s Russia has broken its contracts,” said Chancellor Olaf Scholz. “This is part of the new reality...Russia is no longer a reliable supplier.” 

Scholz nonetheless assured Germans that the nation would have enough gas to get through the winter, even though Russian supplies from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have been suspended indefinitely. Germany’s energy regulator said Sunday that storage levels are already at 85%.  

Ukraine Expects 5 Billion Euros in EU Aid This Week, PM Says (12:03 p.m.)

Ukraine expects to get 5 billion euros ($5 billion) in European Union assistance this week, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said after meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin. Schmyal also said Germany will provide 200 million euros to support some of the millions of people displaced within Ukraine. 

“We are grateful to Germany and all countries of the European Union for financial assistance,” Shmyhal said in an emailed statement. The funds will be used to “ensure our economy’s resilience, army support and going through heating season,” he said. 

Ukraine also hopes to get more heavy weaponry from Germany, and expects to receive a “super modern” Germany-made air defense system IRIS-T this fall, he said.

Germany Inks Deal for $65 Billion Cost of Living Aid (11:20 a.m.) 

German’s coalition government agreed on a relief plan worth about 65 billion euros ($65 billion) to help millions of households struggling with soaring prices as Russia once again cut off gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. 

“The rapid and appropriate relief for citizens and the economy is necessary due to the sharply increasing burden of high energy prices,” the government said. 

Energy Rationing Looking All But Inevitable in Europe (8:56 a.m.)

Energy rationing in Europe this winter is looking all but inevitable after Russia’s Gazprom made a last-minute decision not to turn the crucial Nord Stream pipeline back on after maintenance.

The European Union has already created a voluntary 15% demand reduction target for gas, with the option of making it obligatory if needed. The bloc’s energy ministers plan an emergency meeting on Friday to decide on next steps. 

Europe Looks Set for Energy Rationing After Russian Gas Cut

Russia Looks to Sow ‘Political Chaos’ Across Europe, Zelenskiy Says (8:30 a.m.)

The eleventh-hour move by Russia’s Gazprom to keep the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline closed is part of “a decisive energy attack on all European,” Ukraine’s president said. 

In his nightly video address on Saturday, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia “wants to weaken and intimidate the entire Europe, every state.” President Vladimir Putin’s government “is trying to attack with poverty and political chaos where it cannot yet attack with missiles,” Zelenskiy said. 

His comments came hours after tens of thousands of Czechs took to the streets in protests tied to high energy costs and a cost of living squeeze. 

IAEA’s Grossi Plans Report on Ukraine Nuclear Situation (8 a.m.)

The head of the UN’s atomic agency said he plans to publish a report within days on “the situation with physical, nuclear security and guarantees” across Ukraine.

A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency led by director general Rafael Mariano Grossi visited the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday. Grossi called the ability to establish a permanent presence of IAEA monitors at the plant “a game changer.” 

Separately, the mayor of Enerhodar, the town nearest the atomic plant, said Russian troops were impeding the delivery of humanitarian aid for citizens including medication, baby formula. and material to repair windows shattered by shelling.  

Russia Failing to Properly Equip, Pay Its Troops, UK Says (7:30 a.m.)

Russian forces in Ukraine are likely to be suffering from morale and discipline issues as the invasion grinds toward its seven-month mark, the UK defense ministry said. 

“One of the main grievances from deployed Russian soldiers probably continues to be problems with their pay,” the UK said, offering no direct evidence for a claim that “sizable combat bonuses” aren’t being paid. 

UK Likely to Join EU Security Meeting, FT Says (7:51 p.m.)

The EU is planning to invite the UK’s next prime minister to a summit of an expanded group of European countries that’s meant to strengthen cooperation after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Financial Times reported.

While invitations to the meeting on Oct. 6 in Prague are pending, the UK is likely to be on the list, the FT said. The grouping, which includes EU neighbors such as Ukraine, Moldova and Balkan countries, was floated by French President Emmanuel Macron in May. 

Zaporizhzhia Goes Off-line Again, IAEA Says (6:54 p.m.) 

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine again lost connection to its last external power line, although a reserve line continued to supply electricity, the International Atomic Energy Agency said. 

Fighting continues in the area of Europe’s largest atomic power plant, the UN agency said in a lengthy statement. 

IAEA experts at the site were informed less than two days, after they arrived at the plant with the agency’s head, Rafael Mariano Grossi, that the plant’s fourth and last operational power line was down. 

Russians Bid Farewell to Gorbachev, Last Soviet Leader (2:11 p.m.) 

A farewell ceremony for Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, concluded in Moscow with crowds chanting “thank you” as his hearse pulled away, Interfax reported.

President Vladimir Putin pointedly did not attend the ceremony, which didn’t  not bear the pomp of past state funerals of Russian leaders, including Boris Yeltsin. Among the dignitaries to attend were Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and journalist Dmitry Muratov and the former leader of the liberal Yabloko party, Grigory Yavlinsky.

Gorbachev, whose policies of openness and reform helped end the Cold War and unraveled the Soviet Union, died Tuesday at 91. 

Read more: Mikhail Gorbachev, Soviet Leader Who Ended Cold War, Dies at 91

Medvedev Warns Against Seeking Russia’s Collapse, Brandishes Nukes (1:04 p.m.)

A top Russian official accused the US and its allies of attempting to seek the disintegration of his country and warned it could lead to doomsday.

Dmitry Medvedev, former president and the deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, said in a post on Telegram that such attempts could lead to “chess game with Death” given Russia’s vast nuclear arsenal.

Medvedev, who’s taken on a bellicose posture on social media since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, made the post after attending a Saturday farewell ceremony for Mikhail Gorbachev. 

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