A petrol station set ablaze by Russian drone strikes on Kharkiv in northeast Ukraine, February 10, 2024
Saturday’s Coverage: “Close to Criminal Neglect” If US Congress Holds Up Aid to Kyiv — Biden
UPDATE 1103 GMT:
Ukrainian military intelligence say Russia is using Elon Musk’s Starlink terminals on the frontlines of Moscow’s invasion.
In a clip from an intercepted phone call, Russian soldiers discuss having successfully set up a Starlink terminal. The troops are from the 83rd Assault Brigade based in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
Spokesman Andrii Yusov told RBC-Ukraine that Moscow’s use of Starlink is increasing to systemic levels. Ukrainian soldiers say that for months the terminals have been delivered to Russia through intermediaries like Dubai in the UAE.
Early in the Russian invasion, Musk boasted that he had provided Starlink through his company SpaceX to Ukrainian forces. However, he then threatened to withdraw it unless the US Defense Department paid for the service, as he echoed Kremlin lines over the invasion and a “peace deal” in which Russia would retain seized Ukrainian territory.
SpaceX officials posted on Thursday that the company “does not do business of any kind with the Russian Government or its military. Starlink is not active in Russia, meaning service will not work in that country. SpaceX has never sold or marketed Starlink in Russia, nor has it shipped equipment to locations in Russia.”
UPDATE 0738 GMT:
Carrying out his “renewal” of Ukrainian forces, including the replacement of commander-in-chief Gen. Valerii Zalushnyi, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy met military and government officials on Saturday.
Zelenskiy has named Oleksandr Pavliuk, former First Deputy Defense Minister, as the new commander of Ukraine’s ground forces. He succeeds Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who is the new commander-in-chief.
The President also appointedd deputies for drones and for technological innovation to Syrskyi, and designated General Staff deputies in charge of operational planning and management, logistics, and training.
The meetings also considered weapons and ammunition production and the state of air defense.
Today, I had meetings with military and government officials. We are continuing the management renewal process in Ukraine's Defense Forces.
Taking over duties are people who are well-known in the army and know well what the army needs. This war's combat commanders, whose… pic.twitter.com/V2pOYo9bnz
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 10, 2024
Zelenskiy also posted about his “positive and focused” phone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, thanking him and the French people for their “unwavering support”.
The discussion covered the battlefield situation and Ukraine’s military needs, including drones, artillery and ammunition, electronic warfare, and air defense systems.
The Presidents also discussed a bilateral agreement on security commitment to “demonstrate Europe’s leadership, motivate Ukrainian society and warriors, and send a strong signal to Russia about Europe’s unwavering support for Ukraine”.
UPDATE 0731 GMT:
Ukraine’s air defenses downed 40 of 45 Iran-made attack drones launched by Russia from occupied Crimea overnight.
Wreckage of a downed UAV injured at least one civilian and damaging a gas pipeline and residential buildings in the port of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine.
The drones were intercepted over the Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kherson regions.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has killed seven civilians, including three children, and injured 57 in the latest mass murder of its 23 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine.
The strike by three Iran-made drones early Saturday on Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv detonated a gas station, with the ensuing fire engulfing 15 nearby houses. Among the victims were an entire family —- district prosecutor Olha Putiatina, her husband, and their three sons, ages 7, 4, and less than 6 months.
Olha Putiatina, her husband and their three young boys burnt alive at home last night in Kharkiv because of the russian terrorist attack. I am still speechless, it's heart wrenching. Let their souls rest in peace
Photo: prosecutor's office pic.twitter.com/UNu8ISezlv— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) February 10, 2024
Serhii Bolvinov, the head of the regional police’s investigative department, said that it was “impossible to identify the body of the baby at the scene. The burning temperature was such that the bones and the baby’s body almost turned to ashes.”
The other two victims were a husband and wife.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded to the mass killing:
Reality always speaks louder than any words. An entire family was killed in a fire last night as a result of a Russian strike on Kharkiv using "Shahed" drones. Parents and their three children were killed. Oleksiy, the older son, was seven; Mykhailo, the middle son, was six; and… pic.twitter.com/qRKKujZRbQ
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) February 10, 2024
Russia seized much of the Kharkiv region, in northeast Ukraine on the border, in the first days of its invasion. However, Kharkiv city held out against the onslaught.
A Ukrainian counter-offensive liberated the region in autumn 2022, but Russia has continued regular, deadly attaks with drones, missiles, and artillery.
Ukraine War, Day 699: 8+ Killed in Russia’s Missile Strikes on Kyiv and Kharkiv
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