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Russia-Ukraine live updates: Putin declares martial law in occupied Ukrainian territories

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — More than six months after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion into neighboring Ukraine, the two countries are engaged in a struggle for control of areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose forces began an offensive in August, has vowed to take back all Russian-occupied territory. But Putin in September announced a mobilization of reservists, which is expected to call up as many as 300,000 additional troops.

Here’s how the news is developing. All times Eastern:

Oct 19, 8:31 AM EDT
Putin announces he is imposing martial law in four occupied Ukrainian territories

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he will impose martial law in four Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporozhye. All four regions were illegally annexed by Putin last month.

Marital law grants Russia’s authorities huge powers over the civilian population in the regions it is imposed. Martial law is set to go into effect on Thursday.

The decree, which Putin announced during a televised meeting with his security council, will now be sent to be rubber stamped by Russia’s upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council.

Putin has also granted new powers to governors in several regions bordering Ukraine.

Putin’s decree includes other points ordering the rest of Russia itself put into various levels of “readiness.”

The decree puts eight regions bordering Ukraine into a state of “moderate level of response,” but also imposes a “level of heightened readiness” in the southern and central regions that include Moscow. All other Russians regions are put on a “basic level of readiness.”

The decree says these statuses grant special powers to local authorities that are similar to martial law and includes points imposing increased security at key facilities, puts transport and communications into a special regime and also envisages the creation of “territorial defense headquarters” in some regions.

Oct 19, 7:35 AM EDT
Russian civilians to evacuate Kherson

Russia has announced the mass evacuation of civilians from the key city of Kherson, as well as all of its civilian occupation administration there.

Russia’s newly appointed overall commander for its war in Ukraine, Gen. Sergey Surovikin, said on Tuesday that “difficult decisions” may have to be made in the near future regarding Russia’s position in Kherson. In his first public remarks since his appointment, he said the situation around Kherson was already “extremely difficult.”

The evacuation combined with Surovikin’s comments has fueled speculation that Russia may be preparing to retreat from the city in the face of a Ukrainian offensive, in what would be a major defeat for President Vladimir Putin.

Other Russian officials though have suggested the evacuation is in preparation of Russian defense of the city. Kherson’s Russian-appointed governor on Wednesday denied Russia was planning to “give up” the city.

Another senior occupation official has said the battle for Kherson will begin in the “very near future.”

Kherson is the only regional capital Russia managed to seize in its invasion and is a capital of one of the regions Putin annexed last month.

The city is located on the western side of the Dnieper river and Russian forces’ position there has become increasingly difficult, after Ukraine succeeded in destroying the bridges needed to supply it.

With the bridges destroyed, thousands of Russian troops risk becoming surrounded in Kherson city and cut off from any supplies.

Russia has already begun evacuating civilians to the eastern side of the Dneipr river. Independent military researchers said Russia has quickly built a pontoon bridge near Kherson that could be used for evacuation or re-supplies.

The Russian-appointed governor said around 60,000 civilians will be evacuated, over the course of seven days.

Oct 18, 5:14 PM EDT
Russia trying to make Ukrainians ‘suffer,’ US officials say

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that Russia’s attacks on Ukrainian power stations shows Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to make Ukrainians “suffer” with deliberate attacks, speaking of attacks on Ukrainian power stations.

“He is trying to make sure that the Ukrainian people suffer,” Jean-Pierre said during a press briefing on Tuesday. “He’s making it very difficult for them.”

Pentagon press secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder echoed those comments, saying Russia is trying to “inflict pain” on Ukrainian civilians with its strikes on population centers and infrastructure.

“We do continue to see them target, among other things, civilian infrastructure, to include energy related targets — power grids, for example,” Ryder said.

He added, “In terms of why we think they’re targeting those areas, I think obviously trying to inflict pain on the civilian society as well as try to have an impact on Ukrainian forces.”

ABC News’ Ben Gittleson and Matt Seyler

Oct 18, 4:59 PM EDT
UN commission releases detailed report on war crimes in Ukraine

The United Nations’ Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine has released its first in-depth, written report on what it calls “an array of war crimes, violations of human rights and international humanitarian law” committed in the country during the first weeks of Russia’s brutal invasion.

The report outlines what investigators say are “documented patterns of summary executions, unlawful confinement, torture, ill-treatment, rape and other sexual violence.”

The inquiry zeroed in on four regions of Ukraine– Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy–and focused on incidents that took place following Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24 through the end of March.

Investigators traveled to 27 cities and towns, conducted nearly 200 interviews and “inspected sites of destruction, graves, places of detention and torture, as well as weapon remnants, and consulted a large number of documents and reports.”

Due to the sheer number of allegations, the commission could not investigate all the claims it received. The commission said it intends to “gradually devote more of its resources” to a broader investigation within the country, according to the report.

ABC News’ Shannon Crawford

Oct 18, 2:25 PM EDT
NATO to send Ukraine anti-drone systems: NATO Secretary General

Ukraine will receive anti-drone systems from NATO in the coming days according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“The most important thing we can do is deliver on what allies have promised, to step up and deliver even more air defense systems,” Stoltenberg said, according to Reuters.

He added, “NATO will in the coming days deliver counter-drone systems to counter the specific threat of drones, including those from Iran.”

ABC News’ Will Gretsky

Oct 18, 7:00 AM EDT
30% of Ukraine’s power stations destroyed

About a third of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed by Russian attacks in the last week, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday.

“Since Oct. 10, 30% of Ukraine’s power stations have been destroyed, causing massive blackouts across the country,” he said on Twitter. “No space left for negotiations with Putin’s regime.”

ABC News’ Guy Davies

Nord Stream pipeline leaks caused by ‘powerful explosions,’ Danish police say

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — A preliminary investigation of damages to the two Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Danish part of the Baltic Sea shows that the leaks were caused by “powerful explosions,” Copenhagen police said Tuesday.

Swedish and Danish authorities are investigating four holes in the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, which link Russia and Germany through the Baltic Sea. The investigations confirmed there is extensive damage to the pipelines, according to police.

Copenhagen police have set up a joint investigation group handling the investigation of the incidents which includes the Norwegian Police Intelligence Service and the Norwegian Armed Forces.

Danish officials said it is not possible to determine when the investigation can be expected to be completed, declining to reveal any other information from the investigation into the gas leaks.

Last week, Germany announced it has also opened an investigation into the damage to the pipelines.

Last month, President Joe Biden called the damage to the pipelines a “deliberate act of sabotage,” vowing to work with allies to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused the West of sabotaging the Russian-built pipelines, a charge vehemently denied by the United States and its allies.

The dispatchers of the Nord Stream 1 control center registered a pressure drop on both strings of the gas pipeline on Sept. 26. Pressure in both pipelines was stabilized on Oct. 3, according to the company that operates the pipelines.

Last week, Putin said Russia is ready to resume supplying gas to Germany through Nord Stream 2, but Berlin rejected the offer. Berlin claimed Russia halted supplies through Nord Stream 1 as a political gambit and questioned why supplies through Nord Stream 2 would be any more reliable, according to Reuters.

According to Swedish newspaper Expressen, at least 50 meters, or 160 feet, of the pipeline appears to be missing after the explosion.

NATO has doubled its presence in the Baltic and North Seas to over 30 ships supported by aircraft and undersea activities, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said last week.

“We will further increase protection of critical infrastructure in light of the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines,” he said.

Soaring inflation may mean lower tax bills for some as IRS raises brackets

October 19, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Some Americans may have lower tax bills when they file for 2023 after the IRS adjusted tax brackets and increased deductions to counter the soaring price tags on groceries and other daily staples.

Tax brackets will increase by about 7% in an attempt to counter rapid inflation, the IRS said in a statement on Tuesday.

Those updated brackets could mean that Americans whose wages haven’t kept pace with inflation will land in lower brackets and owe relatively less when they file.

Consumer prices rose by about 8.2% in September from the year-earlier period, with grocery prices spiking 13%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. Increases in pay haven’t kept pace for many workers, with average hourly wages decreasing 3% year over year in September, when seasonally adjusted, according to the bureau’s statistics.

About 60 tax provisions will be updated to counter those rising costs, including standard deductions for single and married filers, the IRS said.

The standard deduction for married couples will increase to $27,700, up $1,800 from the previous year. For single filers, it will be $13,850, up $900, the IRS said. Those increases mark an acceleration from the previous year’s standard deduction hikes, which were $800 for married filers and $400 for single ones.

Heads of household will see an increase of $1,400 to $20,800 for their standard deduction, the IRS said.

Marginal tax rates are being adjusted for inflation, with the lowest tax rate of 10% now applying to single filers making $11,000 or less per year, up from $10,275. Couples would need to make less than $22,000, up from $20,550.

The top tax rate will remain unchanged at 37%, but will now be applied to single filers earning more than $578,125 and couples making over $693,750. That highest rate had been applied to filers making $539,900 or couples making $647,850 in the previous tax year, the IRS said.

The monthly limit for qualified transportation and parking benefits will climb to $300, up $20. Gift exclusions will jump $1,000 to $17,000.

Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russian civilians to evacuate from key city