WAR IN UKRAINE: October 16, 2022
Despite continued Russian aggression in many parts of Ukraine, business owners and entrepreneurs continue to press ahead with plans an events. At this trendy neighborhood restaurant in central Odesa, seasonal mushroom dishes are prepared over an open fire during the port city’s long Indian Summer.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS: Day 235
Russian forces continue to target civilian infrastructure in towns and villages across Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops are fending off repeated Russian attacks on the strategic eastern town of Bakhmut and reports of a deadly Russian military range shooting. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has announced further arms deliveries to Ukraine worth a total of $725 million - RFE/RL
In less than two days, Ukrainians managed to raise over $4-million (€4.1M) for "Shahedi Hunters" - systems that will help destroy drones being used by Russia in Ukraine, said Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov. The online campaign accelerated after Monday’s deadline Russian strikes on several Ukrainian cities, which also utilized Iranian-made kamikaze drones.
Russia is using rape and sexual violence as part of its "military strategy" in Ukraine, a UN envoy says. “When you hear women testify about Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s clearly a military strategy,” Pramila Patten, UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict, said in an interview with AFP on Thursday. She added that many cases involved children and also said that the true number of victims was likely to be far higher than official figures suggested because sexual crimes are often “under reported.” The claim follows data released by a panel of UN experts recently that verified “more than a hundred cases” of rape or sexual assault incidents reported in Ukraine since February.
Governor: Fire breaks out at oil depot due to shelling in Belgorod, Russia. Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia's Belgorod Oblast, said that emergency workers had extinguished the fire. On Oct. 13, Gladkov said an ammunition warehouse was blown up in Belgorod, blaming Ukraine’s Armed Forces for the explosion - Kyiv Independent
At least 11 people have been killed after an attack at a Russian military training ground on Saturday. During a firearms training session, two men opened fire on a group who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine, state-owned news agency Ria reported. The attackers were from a former Soviet republic, the Russian defence ministry said, but did not give further details. They were also shot dead during the incident in the Belgorod region of Russia, which borders Ukraine. A further 15 people were wounded - BBC
US billionaire Elon Musk tweeted on Saturday that SpaceX will continue funding Starlink internet service in war-torn Ukraine, apparently reversing course after SpaceX asked the United States military to pick up the tab. SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet services have been a vital source of communication for the country’s military during the war with Russia, but as CNN exclusively reported earlier this week, SpaceX warned the Pentagon that it may stop funding the service in Ukraine unless the US military kicks in tens of millions of dollars per month, according to documents obtained by CNN. The letter also requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine’s government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months. The report elicited a torrent of tweets from social media users both defending and criticizing the move. A tweet from Musk’s verified account posted Saturday said, “The hell with it … even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we’ll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free” - CNN
