Prepared by Sofia Oliynyk, Maryana Zaviyska, Anna Dovha
Photo: A woman rescued from the rubble in Kyiv during the morning attack/Armed Forces of Ukraine Telegram channel
Monday attacks.
Second week in the raw, Monday morning in Ukraine starts with a massive attack on Ukraine’s big cities. At least four explosions were recorded in Kyiv downtown, while the mayor of Kyiv confirmed the drone attacks. Due to the attack one object of non-residential infrastructure was damaged, as well as residential houses. Three Shahed-136 kamikaze drones hit industrial infrastructure facilities and a pharmaceutical warehouse in Mykolaiv. Russia hit objects of the critical infrastructure in Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy region. At least 26 drones were shot down in the South of the country.
Cities under attack.
Some frontline areas and settlements are under constant shelling. In particular, this applies to the Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhya and Sumy regions. There, the occupiers constantly attack the civilian infrastructure. Also, as of October 16, in three days, the Russian Federation carried out up to 130 strikes on civilian and energy facilities in Ukraine. Kharkiv region. On October 14, Damage to non-residential buildings in the Kharkiv district was recorded as a result of daytime strikes by the Russian military. As a result of Russian shelling, one person was killed in the border community of Kharkiv district, and one person was wounded in Kupiansk district. On October 15, the Russian invaders attacked settlements near the contact line and the border with the Russian Federation. During the day,3 people were injured in Kupiansk district. Mykolaiv region. At night on October 14, the Russian invaders shelled Bashtansk district of the region. As a result, trade facilities and administrative buildings were damaged. The next day on October 15, as a result of the attack on Mykolaiv district, one person was injured, one private house and an administrative building of the railway station were damaged. Villages located on the dividing line of the Bereznehuvatska community remain under constant fire. Zaporizhzhia region. On October 14, as a result of the Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia, some energy and industrial infrastructure facilities were destroyed. At night on October 16, the Russian invaders destroyed 2 schools in the region.
Dnipropetrovsk region. On October 14, the Russian invaders attacked the region all night. As a result, one person was injured, an industrial enterprise and private houses were damaged. October 15, the Russian invaders shelled Nikopol. As a result, 5 people were injured, 10 high-rise buildings and private houses, a transport company, several shops, a garage cooperative, cars and several offices were damaged. On October 16, the Russian occupiers continued shelling Nikopol where one person was injured, 30 high-rise buildings and private houses, an industrial enterprise, cars, several gas pipelines and power lines were damaged.
Cities under occupation.
Russia is conducting forced deportation of Ukrainians that likely amount to a deliberate ethnic cleansing campaign in addition to apparent violations of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Crimea. The Russian occupiers use Crimea as a base to keep abducted civilians from the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. Also, in Crimea, the occupiers are going to ‘evacuate’ local museums. Exhibits with the greatest material value are subject to priority removal. Berdiansk. In the city, the Russian occupiers are compiling a list of empty apartments, allegedly for the restoration of gas supply. In fact, relatives of the occupants are moved into empty apartments, or they are simply looted. Rubizhne. Chechen militants participating in the war on the Russian side are evicting local residents from their homes so that their ‘officers’ can live there. Melitopol. Due to the destruction of gas pipelines and the capture of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the heating season in Melitopol is in jeopardy, while leaving the city is almost impossible, the city is in a critical situation. Enerhodar. On October 15, the Russian occupiers began taking children from the city to the Russian Federation, calling it a ‘vacation’ trip to the Krasnodar Territory. Kherson region. The Russian occupation forces have begun evacuating Russian ‘state bodies’ from the occupied territory of the region and are intensifying filtering measures. In addition, Russian occupiers are also intensifying attacks on Ukrainians living in the occupied parts of the region, which could include invasively checking their personal belongings and breaking into houses.
Belarus.
A counter-terrorist operation regime has been introduced in Belarus on October 14, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus Uladzimir Makei reported. However, it has not been officially announced. The Belarusian media also received information that Lukashenko decided to carry out a covert mobilization under the guise of combat capability checks. In addition, on October 15, the first echelons with Russian servicemen, who are part of the regional grouping of troops, arrived in the Republic of Belarus.
Foreign policy.
Maria Mezentseva, head of the permanent delegation of the Verkhovna Rada to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, reported that Ukraine has already received the consent of about 15 countries to jointly establish a tribunal for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his entourage.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking at the Congress of the Party of European Socialists on October 15, called for the reform and expansion of the European Union, as well as for the abolition of the principle of unanimity when making decisions in foreign policy and some other areas.
Saudi Arabia allocates an additional humanitarian aid package for Ukraine in the amount of $400 million for the humanitarian aid.
Energy security.
On October 15, the operator of the Polish section of the Druzhba pipeline PERN restored the full functionality of the pipeline, which was used to deliver crude oil to Germany. Currently, oil supplies to German customers have been resumed.
Sweden shuns formal joint investigation of Nord Stream leak, citing national security and therefore rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, investigators of the German Federal Police, using an underwater drone, detected a leak with a diameter of eight meters on one of the threads of the Nord Stream. Also, they pointed out that this could only be the result of an explosion.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agecy Rafael Grossi after his visits to Kyiv and Moscow reported about the progress in moving closer to the establishment of a protection zone for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. At the same time, the head of Energoatom Petro Kotin said that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia NPP is extremely difficult, the territory is mined and employees are being tortured. He also noted that a nuclear accident almost happened three times already.
The mayor of Budapest Karácsony Gergely criticized the current Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban for energy dependence on Russian gas. “Cheap Russian gas is a huge scam,” he said.
Germany has declared its readiness to further help the Ukrainian energy sector and wants to facilitate the activation of support from European states to ensure reliable energy supply for Ukrainians during this winter. Also, Canada and the UK will support a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for Naftogaz and Ukrenergo before the start of the cold season in war conditions.
The France-based Darwin Climax Coalition and Ukrainian group Razom We Stand have filed a complaint against French energy giant TotalEnergies for ‘complicity in war crimes’ for allegedly helping fuel Russian planes that have bombed Ukraine, France 24 reported.
War crimes.
The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflicts, Pramila Patten, stated that Russia deliberately uses sexual violence in its military strategy to dehumanize victims. In addition, Russian soldiers received viagra in order to roll out sexual crimes orders. As of October 14, 35 places of mass graves were found on the de-occupied territories of the Donetsk region.
Food security.
The United Nations coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Mahmud Abdull, stated that the agreement on the export of Ukrainian grain will be extended.
Economic security. Minister of Finance of Ukraine Serhiy Marchenko was elected Chairman of the Board of Governors of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund for 2023.
According to the World Bank, Russia’s attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukrainian cities away from the front lines will complicate the dire economic situation facing the country, which has already seen a tenfold increase in poverty this year, Reuters reported.
Digital security.
The Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center has identified a new attack targeting organizations in the transportation and related logistics industries in Ukraine and Poland. Russia blocked Ukrainian website ‘I Want to Live,’ for soldiers wishing to surrender to the Ukrainian army, the Kyiv Independent reported.
Recent polls.
According to a survey conducted by ‘Suspilne’ media, 31% of Ukrainians have family members who, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, served or are serving in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, territorial defense, National Guard or Border Guard. At the same time 11.2% of respondents did not want to answer the question whether there are military personnel in their families.
Reading corner.
- How Moscow Grabs Ukrainian Children and Makes them Russian | Associated Press – Thousands of children have been found in the basements of war-torn cities like Mariupol and at orphanages in the Russian-backed separatist territories of Donbas. They include those whose parents were killed by Russian shelling as well as others in institutions or with foster families, known as ‘children of the state.’ Russia claims that these children don’t have parents or guardians to look after them, or that they can’t be reached. But the AP found that officials have deported Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories without consent, lied to them that they weren’t wanted by their parents, used them for propaganda, and given them Russian families and citizenship.
Statistics.
- General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the total estimated losses of the Russian military as of 10 a.m., October 17, 2022: personnel – around 65320, tanks ‒ 2537, APV ‒ 5205, artillery systems – 1599, MLRS – 366, anti-aircraft warfare systems – 187, fixed-wing aircraft – 268, helicopters – 242, operational-tactical level UAV – 1241, cruise missiles –316, boats and light speed boats – 16, soft-skinned vehicles and fuel tankers – 3969, special equipment – 144.
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