Ukraine updates: Klitschko says power, water back in Kyiv

Kyiv’s mayor Vitali Klitschko said that water and power supplies have been restored in the Ukrainian capital. 

In a post on social media, Klitschko wrote, "Water supplies to the homes of Kyiv residents have been fully restored.” He added, “Electricity supplies in Kyiv have also been restored."

Klitschko noted though that there would still be planned power cuts in the city "because of the considerable deficit in the power system after the barbaric attacks of the aggressor."

Ukraine said Russia launched a series of 55 cruise missiles targeting civilian infrastructure in the country on Monday. 

Amid the ongoing war, water and power supplies have remained disrupted as Russian strikes have destroyed around a third of its power stations. 

Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Tuesday, November 1:

Russia blames UK for Nord Stream 'sabotage'

Russia on Tuesday accused Britain of being behind the blasts on the Nord Stream pipelines that occurred in late September.

"Our intelligence services have data indicating that British military specialists were directing and coordinating the attack," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "There is evidence that Britain is involved in sabotage, in a terrorist attack on vital energy infrastructure, not Russian, but international." 

"We expect that despite the unacceptable silence of the European countries, this analysis will nevertheless be carried out," he said.

He did not provide any details. London has denied any involvement in the incident.

Japan PM 'worried' about nuclear threat posed by Russia

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has warned Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

Signals from Russia have been "very worrying" of late, he said after meeting German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

The history of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 77 years ago should not be neglected, said the Japanese prime minister.

"If Russia were to use nuclear weapons, it would be a hostile act against all humanity."

Steinmeier thanked Kishida for Japan's "clear stance" on Russia's war of aggression.

"Japan, like us, has rejected this brutal war in Ukraine, which is contrary to international law," he added.

Zelenskyy and Macron discuss restoring energy facilities

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had spoken to French President Emmanuel Macron about restoring damaged energy infrastructure in Ukraine. Russia stepped up attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the past few weeks.

The Ukrainian leader said he also discussed strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities during a call with his French counterpart.

He did not elaborate on what, if anything they agreed on but said it was an "extremely important and productive conversation."

Russia fines Wikimedia over Ukraine articles

The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, plans to appeal against a fine of two million rubles (€32,813 or $32,600) imposed by a Moscow court over articles relating to the war in Ukraine.

The head of the foundation's Russia chapter, Stanislav Kozlovsky, told the Reuters news agency the penalty was imposed for not deleting entries that Russia wanted removed.

The two articles, in Russian, were titled "Non-violent resistance of Ukraine's civilian population in the course of Russia's invasion" and "Evaluations of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine".

Wikipedia entries are written and edited by volunteers

Earlier this year the Wikimedia Foundation was fined five million rubles for refusing to remove information in three other articles on the war.

Kozlovsky said there is a risk of more cases against the Wikimedia Foundation with the number of entries and articles on the war continuing to grow.

Ukraine seeks Russia's expulsion from G20

In a post on Twitter, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Ukraine would like to see Russia kicked out of the Group of 20 major economies.

Nikolenko added that President Vladimir Putin's invitation to a G20 summit in Bali next month must be revoked.

"Putin publicly acknowledged ordering missile strikes on Ukrainian civilians and energy infrastructure," Nikolenko wrote. "With his hands stained in blood, he must not be allowed to sit at the table with world leaders.”

Russia was suspended from the G8 in 2014 in response to its annexation of Crimea. It is now known as the G7 in Russia’s absence.

Scholz rejects Russia's 'dirty bomb' claims

Ukrainians have been urged to save on electricity as much as possible.

Russia's claims that Ukraine is preparing to use a so-called "dirty bomb" have no grounding in reality, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.

The chancellor rejected Russia's accusations during a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday evening.

"The chancellor firmly rejected the accusations made by Russia that Ukraine was preparing to use a so-called 'dirty bomb' as groundless," according to a statement from Scholz's office.

"The chancellor agreed with the Ukrainian president that the independent investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency initiated by the Ukrainian side would remove any doubts about this," the statement added.

The UN's nuclear watchdog began its investigations in Ukraine on Monday, after Kyiv called for an independent probe of Moscow's claims.

According to the IAEA, "verification activities" are underway at two sites in Ukraine. The watchdog is set to release the results later this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Moscow intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but instead has claimed that Kyiv is planning to detonate a radioactive weapon to discredit Russia.

The Ukrainian government and its Western allies have sharply rejected Putin's claims. Kyiv has spoken of potential "false flag" plans to use such a weapon at the Kremlin instead.

A "dirty bomb" is a conventional bomb laced with radioactive, biological or chemical materials which are spread in the explosion. They have a much more limited area of effect than typical fission bombs. The potential impact on a small area is hard to judge, though, as such weapons have never been used, only tested.

Russia announces wider deportation from Kherson

Russia ordered more civilians out of larger parts of the occupied Ukrainian city of Kherson. Tuesday, Russian-installed officials ordered more people along the Dnipro River to leave their homes.

Last week, Moscow said it had completed its "evacuation" operation to move at least 70,000 civilians out of the city.

Ukraine has previously described the "evacuations" as the forced depopulation of occupied territory.

Ukrainian forces have recaptured large territory near Kherson city, in Ukraine's south.

'Massive shelling' cuts power, water

Russia's bombardment of Ukraine on Monday — which involved 55 cruise missiles — has caused blackouts and water shortages around the country.

Local authorities in Kyiv said around 40% of residents were without water and 270,000 homes have had their electricity cut.

On Tuesday morning, presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovich said it was "one of the most massive shellings of our territory" by Russia. However, he added that "the destruction is not as critical as it could be."

In a televised press conference on Monday, Putin said: "That's not all we could have done."

More DW content on the war in Ukraine

After Russian bombardment caused widespread blackouts and water shortages in Kyiv, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko sat down with DW. In the interview, he urged Europe to "please stay with Ukraine."

Thousands of military age men have fled Russia in order to avoid conscription. DW interviewed three wives of men who fled the country.

jsi, lo, mf, zc, rs/ar, msh (AFP, dpa, AP, Reuters)