Day 237 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Three Children Killed as Death Toll rises to 13 in Russian Military Plane Crash in Yeysk

World » UKRAINE | October 18, 2022, Tuesday // 10:12
Bulgaria: Day 237 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Three Children Killed as Death Toll rises to 13 in Russian Military Plane Crash in Yeysk @Hromadske

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Air alert throughout Ukraine

New Russian strikes were launched this morning in Kyiv. The news was announced in Telegram by the mayor of the Ukrainian capital Vitaliy Klitschko.

According to him, Russian forces fired three rockets against energy infrastructure in the "Desniansky" district. Rescue teams are working on the spot. An air alert has been declared throughout Ukraine.

S-300 missiles were fired at a residential building in Mykolaiv - one person died. A local flower market was also shelled. Attack on energy infrastructure this morning in Zhytomyr as well. Electricity and water have been cut off in the city. For security reasons, the subway in Kharkiv has been stopped.

The victims of the plane accident in Russia are at least 13

According to the latest reports, 13 people have been killed and 19 injured after a Russian warplane crashed into a block of flats in the southern Russian city of Yeysk. Three children were among the dead, Russian Deputy Minister of Health Alexei Kuznetsov said, quoted by local media.

The two pilots ejected and reported that the cause of the incident was an ignition of one of the engines

The Su-34 supersonic fighter-bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces took off from an airport in the Southern Military District, the Ministry of Defense said. While gaining altitude during a training flight, the plane crashed near a nine-story apartment building and exploded. The fire has covered an area of ​​2000 square meters. 72 apartments were affected. 250 people, including 40 children, were evacuated from the building.

By order of President Vladimir Putin, the Governor of the Krasnodar Territory, Veniamin Kondratiev, the Minister of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, and the Minister of Health, Mikhail Murashko, went to the scene of the tragedy.

The investigative committee has started criminal proceedings, and the military prosecutor's office of the Southern Military District - an investigation in connection with the incident.

New exchange of prisoners of war - Russia freed 108 Ukrainian women

Russia and Ukraine announced a new exchange of prisoners of war - a total of 218 people.

From Kyiv, where another air alert was signaled, new Russian attacks were reported in the morning on Ukrainian cities. President Zelensky called on the international community to provide his country with more air defense systems.

Information about the exchange of prisoners of war came from Kyiv and was confirmed by Moscow, where 110 people have returned, including 72 of the crews of warships detained by Ukraine since February. The head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Pushilin, noted that it was agreed that each side would release 110 prisoners of war, but two Ukrainian women said they wanted to stay in Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said:

"The next stage of our citizens from Russian captivity took place. We managed to return 108 Ukrainian women. Among those released there are also those who were captured long before the start of the full-scale war. We do not forget any of our people. We must return all of them and we will return them."

"Russia has no chance on the battlefield. And it is trying to cover up its military defeats with terror," Zelensky added. His comment refers to weeks of successful counteroffensives by Ukrainian troops in the far eastern and southern regions occupied by Russian forces.

The mayors of two Kyiv suburbs have confirmed that Ukrainian forces have shot down Russian drones that are in abundance around the capital.

Officials in the southern Black Sea port region of Odesa also reported attacks by Russian drones, some of which they said were repulsed by surface-to-air defenses.

President Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine needs more modern air defense systems and missiles for them.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called on Iran to immediately end its arms supplies to the Russian side and warned that Tehran thus becomes an accomplice in Russian crimes.

SpaceX to continue funding Starlink Internet in Ukraine, withdraws Pentagon funding request

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk on Monday said that the company will continue to fund the Starlink Internet service in war-torn Ukraine and that he has withdrawn the request for funding to the Pentagon.

Making an official announcement on Twitter, Musk said, "SpaceX has already withdrawn its request for funding." Earlier, CNN reported that Space X had made a request to the US Department of Defense Pentagon in September as the rocket company was no longer able to donate its critical Starlink terminals or support the expensive accompanying service "for an indefinite period of time."

SpaceX asked the Pentagon to start paying for the service for the current terminals operated by the Ukrainian government as well as fund almost 8,000 new terminals and services for Ukraine's military and intelligence services.

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 USD 120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to USD 400 million for the next 12 months. The report elicited a torrent of tweets from social media users both defending and criticizing the move.

Since they first started arriving in Ukraine last spring, the Starlink satellite internet terminals made by Musk's SpaceX have allowed Ukraine's military to fight and stay connected even as cellular phone and internet networks have been destroyed in its war with Russia, reported CNN.

Musk on Friday had doubled down on SpaceX's request to the Pentagon in a series of tweets, reported CNN.

"SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable," read one post from Musk's verified account.

He also said that in asking the Pentagon to pick up the bill for Starlink in Ukraine, he was following the advice of a Ukrainian diplomat who responded to Musk's Ukraine peace plan earlier this month, before the letter was sent to the Pentagon, with: "F*** off."

SpaceX's suggestion that it would stop funding Starlink also came amid rising concern in Ukraine over Musk's allegiance. Musk recently tweeted a controversial peace plan that would have Ukraine give up Crimea and control the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky raised the question of who Musk sides with, he responded that he "still very much support[s] Ukraine" but fears "massive escalation."

"Washington Post": Iran will supply ballistic missiles to Russia

Iran is preparing to deliver Fateh-110 and Zolfaghar ballistic missiles to Russia, the Washington Post reported, citing familiar Ukrainian and American officials. The two types of short-range surface-to-surface missiles are capable of hitting targets at ranges of 300 and 700 kilometers.

The deal was finalized on September 18, when representatives of Tehran were visiting Moscow. If it goes ahead, it will be the first delivery of such missiles to Russia since the beginning of the war.

The increased flow of arms from Tehran could help make up for what Biden administration officials estimate are huge losses in Russian military equipment since the invasion began in February, as well as rapidly dwindling ammunition stocks.

Officials briefed on the missile deal said Iran was planning new deliveries of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia, including "dozens" of Mohajer-6 and Shahed-136.

ISW: A Russian commander called Allah a "coward" and that led to the carnage near Belgorod

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) published interesting details about the carnage that took place last Saturday at a Russian training ground in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine.

There, military personnel opened fire with automatic weapons against their colleagues. Moscow officially announced 11 dead and 15 wounded in the incident, for which no details were released. However, according to information from eyewitnesses in Telegram, the actual scale of what happened is even more impressive, and some publications talk about a "sea of ​​corpses". According to them, twenty-two died and 16 were seriously injured.

According to ISW, the conflict in the ranks of the Russian army came about because of a religious and ethnic scandal.

"The clash between mobilized servicemen at a training ground in the Belgorod region on October 15 is likely a consequence of the Kremlin's continued reliance on ethnic minorities, who bear the brunt of mobilization in the Russian Federation. Russian sources reported that the shootout occurred after mobilized servicemen from Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Adygea complained to their commander that the war in Ukraine was not their war, to which the commander replied that they were fighting a ‘holy war. He called Allah a ‘coward, leading to fighting between Muslim and non-Muslim servicemen." , writes the Institute's new analysis of the war in Ukraine.

ISW cites information from Russian sources who claim that three mobilized Tajik servicemen opened fire on the range.

"They killed the commander, contract soldiers and mobilized soldiers. Eyewitnesses claimed that the shooters told the Muslim soldiers to stand aside while they fired," the analysis also said.

According to ISW, the Russian news space immediately reacted to the incident with racist rhetoric against Central Asians and called for the introduction of a visa regime in Russia.

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