Emergency workers search for victims after a Russian missile strike on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, August 9, 2024 (Iryna Rybakova/AP)

Friday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy on Raid Into Russia’s Kursk Region — “They Should Feel What They Have Done”

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1455 GMT:

Russian authorities have blocked the Signal messaging app.

State media regulator Roskomnadzor said Signal is barred “due to violations of the requirements of Russian legislation, compliance with which is necessary to prevent the use of the messenger for terrorist and extremist purposes”.

Users across Russia reported widespread outages of Signal on Friday, as well as problems with YouTube.

UPDATE 1148 GMT:

Four Russian officials, speaking to The Moscow Times, says Vladimir Putin and other military and political leaders have been shocked by Ukraine’s incursion.

One explained:

This is a strong slap in the face for the President. We have been unable to push back the enemy for 24 hours. A Russian region and population have been endangered….This is not how a country confident of its victory behaves.

A prominent businessman told The Washington Post:

This is a very big blow to the reputation of the Russian authorities, the military, and Putin because for 2 1/2 years, Russian territory — with the exception of the occupied territories [in Ukraine] — suffered minimal damage….

Now it is unclear how many victims there were, there is destruction, and it is obvious that they are not able to stop this quickly.

The Ukrainian military is claiming that up to 490 Russian soldiers were killed in a single attack on Friday, a strike on a column of Russian military vehicles near Rylsk.

A total of 14 Ural and KamAZ tarpaulin trucks with infantry were destroyed.

Video of Ukrainian troops inside Russia’s Belgorod region, claiming the capture of a settlement:

UPDATE 1132 GMT:

Amid Ukraine’s cross-border incursion, Russian officials have introduced a “counter-terrorism operation regime” in the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions.

The officials cited an “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation.” Civilian movement is restricted, vehicles can be seized, phone calls can be monitored, areas may be declared no-go zones, checkpoints have been introduced, and security is heightened at key infrastructure sites.

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1111 GMT:

The UN’s human rights office says July was the “deadliest month for civilians” in Ukraine since October 2022.

At least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured, the large majority by Russia’s attacks. In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, amid Russia’s offensive, civilian deaths have risen from 125 in May to 224 in June and 269 in July.

Russian forces were responsible for 90% of casualties and 86% of educational and healthcare facilities.

On July 8 alone, Russian attacks across Ukraine killed at least 43 civilians, including 5 children, and injured 147, including 7 children. One missile destroyed the toxicology department of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital in Kyiv and significantly damaged the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery.

Ukraine War, Day 867: Russia’s Missiles Kill 38+, Including in Children’s and Maternity Hospitals

UPDATE 0717 GMT:

The Ukraine military says it has destroyed another vessel of the Russian navy off the coast of occupied Crimea.

A Ukrainian unit used a sea drone against the high-speed cutter KS 701 near Chornomorske.

The cutter is used for patrols and logistics. Two others were destroyed and two damaged in May.

Ukraine’s scouts said of Friday’s mission, “Three more watercraft were also damaged. Their type is being established.”

UPDATE 0701 GMT:

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, has called on Ukraine and Russia on Friday to show “maximum restraint” amid the Ukrainian cross-border incursion into the Kursk region.

One of Russia’s largest nuclear power stations is in the region.

Grossi said an accident at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant would have “the potential for serious radiological consequences”. He noted two of the six nuclear reactors are operational, two are in shutdown, and two are under construction.

UPDATE 0649 GMT:

Two days after proclaiming that Ukraine’s raiding troops had retreated back across the border, the Russian Defense Ministry has acknowledged the seriousness of the Ukrainian attacks and advance into southwest Russia.

The Ministry said on Friday that it is sending rocket launchers, artillery, tanks, and heavy trucks to reinforce defenses in the Kursk region. They noted that 1,000 Ukrainian troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks were involved in the initial attack.

Ukraine’s incursion, which began early Tuesday, has moved up to 15 km (9.3 miles) inside Kursk. Video on Friday confirmed that the 61st Brigade has captured a major gas distribution station.

Speaking outside the offices of the Russian energy company Gazprom, about 1.4 miles from the center of Sudzha, the soldiers said, “The city is under the control of armed forces of Ukraine and quiet.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: In its latest mass murder of civilians during a 29 1/2-month invasion of Ukraine, Russia has killed at least 14 and injured 43 with a missile strike on a supermarket in the east of the country.

Two girls, ages 9 and 11, are among the slain. Forensic examinations are underway to identify six more individuals, including possibly one child.

A Kh-38 air-to-surface missile tore into the building early Friday in Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, around 13 km (8 miles) from the frontline. The supermarket was demolished, as a fire sent heavy clouds of black smoke into the sky. Throughout the day, the toll rose as rescuers combed through rubble.

The strike also damaged a freight department of Nova Poshta, Ukraine’s largest postal service, four houses, nine shops, a car wash, and 12 cars.

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said:

Russia always knows exactly where its missiles strike; this is a deliberate and targeted act of Russian terror. Another war crime for which the occupiers will be held accountable. They will answer before the courts and history, and they are already answering to the strength of our warriors.

“No situation on the battlefield can justify targeting civilians,” Ukraine Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin added.

The Russian Defense Ministry made no comment on the mass killing.

Moscow’s forces have regularly carried out aerial attacks and shelling of Kostiantynivka’s civilians. In September 2023, a strike on a local market killed 17 people and injured more than 30.