WAR IN UKRAINE: October 11, 2022
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 225
Russia lashed out on Oct. 10, striking many Ukrainian cities with missiles and exploding drones, reported Kyiv Independent. It was the largest-scale coordinated missile attack against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24. According to the latest figures of the General Staff, a total of 84 cruise missiles and 24 kamikaze drones were launched at Ukraine on Oct. 10, of which 43 and 13 were shot down respectively - Kyiv Independent
As a result of the attacks, at least 105 people were injured, and 19 were killed across the country. 117 different sites around the country were hit, dozens of which were residential. Eleven sites of critical infrastructure were reportedly hit in the attacks.
Three missiles, presumably bound for western Ukraine, violated the air space of Moldova, where civilian aircraft are still operating. It prompted outrage and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Russian ambassador
The places they hit were all civilian — multiple power plants but also a children’s playground in the center of Kyiv. Most strikes seemed to be timed to the Monday morning rush hour, as if trying to kill as many commuters as possible.
Speaking to Radio 4's World at One, the city's deputy mayor says the last two mornings have been "very tough" with more than 15 missiles targeting the city. "Yesterday we had troubles with electricity, water supply. But unfortunately this morning again we have more than four hours of alarms, and so also several Russian missiles target our city, and again critical infrastructure," Andriy Moskalenko says. There are problems with water and electricity supplies once again today, he says. He insists Russia is not targeting military infrastructure in the city because there is none there - BBC
Forbes estimated that Russia's Oct. 10 missile strikes cost $400-700 million. Forbes calculated the cost based on the assumption that most of the missiles Russia launched were the expensive and highly accurate Kh-101, S-300, and Tornado-S missiles, while the remaining were aimed at overloading Ukraine's air defenses - Kyiv Independent
"Strategic and long-range aviation units received orders to prepare for massive missile attacks,” the General Intelligence Directorate said in a statement. “The targets were objects of critical civilian infrastructure and the central regions of densely populated Ukrainian cities.”
Repair works were deployed immediately in Kyiv, Lviv and other impacted cities. In Lviv, power was restored to most homes by midnight. A correspondent for Hromadske Radio said water has also been restored. “There was no panic, just some inconveniences. The communal services worked very well. Two power plants were seriously damaged.” A major road bombed out in Ukraine's central-eastern city of Dnipro has been rebuilt overnight, local officials have said.
The US said the "brutal" attacks had hit non-military targets, including a university and children's playground, and promised ongoing military aid. US President Joe Biden was one of many foreign leaders to speak with President Zelensky, and he "pledged to continue providing Ukraine with the support needed to defend itself, including advanced air defence systems", the White House said.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply shocked". He described the strikes as "another unacceptable escalation of the war" for which civilians were paying the highest price.
Russian troops have kidnapped the Deputy General Director of the National Nuclear Power Plant Valery Martynyuk and are probably torturing him - "Energoatom.” According to the company, Martyniuk was abducted in order to obtain information about the personal affairs of employees of Zaporizhzhia NPP. In this way, the Russians want "to force Ukrainian personnel to work for Rosatom as soon as possible".
Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian president, have agreed to form a joint group of troops on the Ukrainian border, amid fears of a new ground invasion of Kyiv - Guardian
Required reading..
Even amid irrepressible jubilation here in Ukraine in the aftermath of a massive explosion that hit the hugely strategic and symbolic Kerch Straight bridge over the weekend, fears of retaliation by the Kremlin were never far away.
On Monday, those fears were realized.
Early in the morning, missile strikes hit the capital Kyiv for the first time in months and in areas far closer to the center of power.
The large-scale Russian bombardment struck several cities – including far reaches of western Ukraine close to NATO’s eastern flank – across the country almost simultaneously, propelling the conflict into a new phase and coming just as much of the country was starting to roar back to life.
Read my full CNN Opinion piece here