Destruction in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv after Russian missile strikes, October 10, 2022 (AP)


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EA on International Media: Facing Defeat, Putin Fires Missiles on Ukraine’s Civilians

Monday’s Coverage: Russia’s Latest Mass Killing in Zaporizhzhia; Strikes on Kyiv and Other Cities


Source: Institute for the Study of War


UPDATE 1635 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told leaders of the G7 nations — US, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada, and the UK — that President Vladimir Putin “is now in the final stage of his reign”. However, he is “a threat to all of us” because he still has “room for escalation”.

Zelenskiy thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden for provision of air defense systems but asked for more:

When Ukraine receives a sufficient quantity of modern and effective air defense systems, the key element of Russia’s terror, rocket strikes, will cease to work.

I am asking you to strengthen the overall effort to help financially with the creation of an air shield for Ukraine. Millions of people will be grateful to the Group of Seven for such assistance.

The President also called for an international monitoring mission on the Ukraine-Belarus border after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near northern Ukraine.


UPDATE 1630 GMT:

The first of four German IRIS-T SLM air defense systems has arrived in Ukraine.

Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said in a statement:

The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and the many other cities show how important it is to supply Ukraine with air defense systems quickly.

Russia’s attacks with missiles and drones terrorize the civilian population in particular. That is why we are now providing support, especially with air defense weapons.

The G7 pledged, “We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

The leaders cited the “indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constituting a war crime” by Russian forces, and said they would “never recognize” Russia’s “illegal annexation” of Ukrainian territory or “the sham referenda that Russia uses to justify it”.


UPDATE 1253 GMT:

Moscow’s forces have abducted another Ukrainian executive of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine./p>

The plant’s deputy director general for human resources, Valeriy Martynyuk, was seized and is being held in an unknown location, said Ukraine State nuclear agency Energoatom.

The agency said the Russians are “probably using methods of torture” on Martynyuk for information from personnel files. Moscow is hoping to “force Ukrainian staff to work” for Russian State nuclear agency Rosatom “as soon as possible”.

The head of the plant, Ihor Murashov, was seized by Russian forces on September 30 and held for three days.


UPDATE 1231 GMT:

New Zealand has announced sanctions on another 24 Russian proxy officials and 51 Russian oligarchs.

The measures were triggered by Vladimir Putin’s “illegal annexations” of occupied Ukrainian territory.

Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said, “Our sanctions apply to a further 24 so-called ‘officials’ in these regions, who are agents of annexation. We reject what they represent, and we will continue to identify and sanction them.”

Wellington has also extended sanctions on all Russian legislators who endorsed the annexations. A 35% tariff on Russian imports has been renewed until March 2025.

New Zealand has imposed sanctions on more than Russian-linked 1,000 individuals and entities since April.


UPDATE 1215 GMT:

Peter Beaumont of The Guardian says newly-mobilized, under-prepared Russian men are being thrown onto the frontline at Svatove in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region.

Svatove is one of the next objectives for the Ukrainian counter-offensive advancing in the east of the country.

The Guardian’s Moscow correspondent Andrew Roth writes, “First deaths being reported among Russians who were mobilized in late September and sent to the front in Ukraine just days later. You can see why some consider they’re being sent as cannon fodder.”


UPDATE 1208 GMT:

A doctor at a children’s cancer hospital in Kyiv is among the victims of Russia’s missile strikes on Thursday.

Oksana Leontieva worked bone marrow transplant department at the Okhmatdyt hospital. She was on her way to work on Monday morning after dropping her son at kindergarten./p>

Anton Gerashchenko, a senior Presidential advisor, tweeted:


UPDATE 0955 GMT:

Russia continues missile and drone attacks on civilian sites and infrastructure across Ukraine.

In the Vinnytsia region in west-central Ukraine, the Ladyzhyn thermal power plant has been struck by two Iranian-made Shahed-136 “kamikaze drones”.

In Lviv city in the west, an attack on “a critical infrastructure facility” has knocked out electricity.

In the Mykolaiv region in the south, Governor Vitaly Kim announces, “There are still missiles in the air.”

In the Dnipropetrovsk region in south-central Ukraine, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said air defense systems shot down four missiles. He urged residents to stay in shelters as “the attack continues”.

A spokesperson for the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said:

We are gravely concerned that some of the attacks appear to have targeted critical civilian infrastructure…indicating that these strikes may have violated the principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law.

We urge the Russian Federation to refrain from further escalation, and to take all feasible measures to prevent civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure.


UPDATE 0841 GMT:

The latest Russian attacks across the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine have killed six civilians and wounded eight.


UPDATE 0834 GMT:

One person has been killed in Russia’s firing of 12 S-300 missiles on Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine (see 0525 GMT).

An car dealership and an educational institution were hit.


UPDATE 0558 GMT:

The toll from Russia’s missile strikes on Monday has risen to 19 killed and 105 injured.


UPDATE 0534 GMT:

After Russian shelling of Kryvyi Rih in south-central Ukraine, 98 miners are still trapped underground.

Almost 900 men were initially caught in four mines following the attacks.


UPDATE 0532 GMT:

Air raid sirens are sounding again in Kyiv this morning.


UPDATE 0525 GMT:

Russian forces have again struck Zaporizhzhia, the city in southern Ukraine where almost 40 people have been killed by Moscow’s attacks since Thursday.

Governor Oleksandr Starukh said information on casualties and damage is awaited.


ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is asking the international community to help Ukraine defend against the desperate strikes of Vladimir Putin.

Under domestic pressure after battlefield defeats and the damage to his treasured Kerch Bridge, Putin oversaw attacks on the capital Kyiv and more than 20 other cities on Monday. Russian forces fired at least 84 cruise missiles, including from the Caspian and Black Seas, and used at least 24 drones launched from Belarus and Russian-occupied Crimea.

At least 14 people were killed, six of them in Kyiv, and 97 injured. The toll was limited by the downing of 43 of the missiles and 13 drones; however, the Russians were able to hit 29 infrastructure facilities, 4 high-rise buildings, 35 residential buildings, a university, a school, and a children’s playground.

In the capital, the missiles struck in and near Shevchenko Park and on a major intersection close to Government buildings about 8 am. Observers said casualties from the attacks would have been higher an hour later, during the morning rush to work and schools.

“Protect The Sky Over Ukraine”

Throughout Tuesday, Ukraine’s leaders hailed the resistance of citizens and appealed for further assistance with air defense.

Speaking from the street outside his office just after the strikes, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said of the attacks across the country, “The morning is difficult. We are dealing with terrorists….They want panic and chaos, they want to destroy our energy system.”

However, he assured, “Ukraine was here before this enemy appeared, Ukraine will be here after him.”

Zelenskiy addressed international supporters, “Fundamental and sufficient aid to Ukraine is needed….The provision of a sufficient number of effective air defense systems to Ukraine must be sped up.” Defense Secretary Oleksiy Reznikov amplified:

The best response to Russian missile terror is the supply of anti-aircraft and anti-missile systems to Ukraine – protect the sky over Ukraine!

This will protect our cities and our people. This will protect the future of Europe.
Evil must be punished.

Zelenskiy will take the message on Tuesday to a virtual summit of the G7 — US, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, Japan, and the UK: “We are dealing with terrorists. They have two targets: energy infrastructure and people.”

The President is expected to ask for longer-range missiles as well as air defense systems, and to seek a designation of Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism.

On Monday, Germany announced that it will accelerate the delivery of an Iris-T infrared-guided air defense system, with the first of four batteries arriving within days. A US defense official said two National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, pledged in July, will arrive within weeks.

After speaking with US President Joe Biden, Zelenskiy tweeted

Zelenskiy spoke to Joe Biden and tweeted later: “Air defence is currently the No 1 priority in our defence cooperation. We also need US leadership with the G7’s tough stance and with support for our resolution” in the UN General Assembly condemining Vladimir Putin’s “annexation” of occupied Ukrainian territory.

The White House said Biden “pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems”.

A spokesman for the German government, Steffen Hebestreit, said: “Germany will do everything in its power to mobilise additional aid and, in particular, to help repair and restore damaged and destroyed civilian infrastructure, such as the electricity and heating supply.”