Day 228 of the Invasion of Ukraine: At least 17 people Killed after Rocket Attack on Zaporizhzhia

World » UKRAINE | October 9, 2022, Sunday // 11:58
Bulgaria: Day 228 of the Invasion of Ukraine: At least 17 people Killed after Rocket Attack on Zaporizhzhia @pravda.com

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

At least 17 people have been killed in a rocket attack in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia

The Russian armed forces again launched rocket attacks on Zaporizhzhia last night, with the targets being mostly residential blocks. According to the local authorities in Zaporizhzhia, about 20 private houses and about 50 high-rise buildings have already been damaged (the numbers are increasing with each passing hour).

According to city council secretary Anatoly Kurtev, 17 people are currently known to have died. Rescuers and utility services have already dealt with the consequences of the explosions, but the exact number of dead will be known only after the debris is removed.

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the documents for the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

Ukrainian forces are engaged in very heavy fighting near the strategically important eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Russia is trying to capture, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his midnight video address, Reuters reported.

Although Ukraine's military has reclaimed thousands of square kilometers of land in recent offensives in the east and south, Ukrainian officials say progress is likely to slow as Kyiv's forces face more determined resistance, Reuters noted.

Russian forces tried several times to capture Bakhmut, which is located on the main road leading to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Both cities are in Donbas.

"We hold our positions in Donbas, in particular in the direction of Bakhmut, where it is very, very difficult now, there are very heavy battles," Zelensky said.

He reiterated the call for Western allies to provide greater quantities of anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine.

Russian forces continue to fire missiles at Ukrainian cities. Kyiv accuses them of also using Iranian kamikaze drones.

The number of victims of the Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia on Thursday yesterday reached 18 people.

The greatest damage was caused to a residential block, in which the entrances from the 1st to the 8th floor were destroyed.

Russian divers will today inspect the damage after yesterday's powerful explosion on the bridge connecting Russia and Crimea, which serves as a supply link for troops fighting in southern Ukraine.

Yesterday's explosion on the Crimean bridge, for which Russia has not yet blamed anyone, led to satisfaction among the Ukrainian authorities, but no acceptance of responsibility on their part.

"The situation is surmountable, it's not pleasant, but it's not fatal," the Russian governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters, adding that emotions had been unleashed to - I quote - "seek revenge." Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering an investigation into the case and tightening of security on the bridge, as well as infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to Crimea. Road traffic was restored about 10 hours after the explosion, the Russian transport ministry also gave the green light for the resumption of rail transport.

The adviser to the Ukrainian president, Mykhailo Podoliak, described the explosion of the Crimean bridge as an expression of the conflict between the Russian Federal Security Service and private military companies, on the one hand, and the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of Russia, on the other.

And President Zelensky commented veiledly on what happened:

"Today was a good and mostly sunny day in our country. Over most of the territory it was 20 degrees Celsius and sunny. Unfortunately over Crimea it was cloudy, but still warm. Whatever clouds there are, Ukrainians know what to do and they know that the future is sunny - a future without occupiers in our entire territory - and in particular in Crimea".

In his evening video address, Zelensky commented on the hostilities in the south and east:

 "The movements of our military, the Security Service, the National Guard and all others involved in the actions in the east and south continue. We hold positions in the Donbas, in particular - in the Bakhmut direction, where it is now extremely difficult. Fierce fighting is taking place".

Meanwhile, in Russia, this week's third appointment of a senior military officer was announced, Reuters writes. Sergei SurovIkin - the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, became the head of the offensive in Ukraine. He has a military background from Syria, Afghanistan, Chechnya and Tajikistan.

Putin signs decree to tighten security for Crimea bridge after explosion

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on enhancing security measures for the Crimea bridge, the Kremlin said on Saturday, following the explosion at the bridge that killed at least three people.

In a statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin also called for securing the energy bridge and the gas pipeline connecting the peninsula with mainland Russia. "The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation shall be vested with the authority to organize and coordinate protection measures for the Kerch Strait transport crossing, the power grid's energy bridge between the Russian Federation and the Crimean Peninsula, along with the main gas pipeline between the Krasnodar Region and Crimea, during their operation," TASS quoted the document.

This is done to enhance the efficiency of protection measures for the transport crossing, the energy bridge and the gas pipeline across the Kerch Strait, the report added.

A truck exploded on the road bridge, causing seven fuel tanks of a train heading to the Crimean Peninsula to catch fire. Three people were killed in the blast, which also led to the partial collapse of two spans of the road bridge, according to media reports.

Traffic reopened to cars and buses with a full inspection procedure needed on the road route of the Crimean Bridge, after an explosion on the viaduct on Saturday. Crimea's head Sergei Aksyonov said that trucks are still required to cross the Kerch Strait by ferry.

An initial assessment of the railway part of the Crimean Bridge has been carried out, and restoration work is underway, the Russian Ministry of Transport said.

The bridge was opened in 2018 by President Vladimir Putin, four years after Moscow annexed Crimea and was designed to link the peninsula to Russia's transport network.

The 19-kilometre bridge, which runs across the Kerch Strait and connects Crimea with mainland Russia, consists of a railway and vehicle sections. It became fully operational in 2020.

Earlier, the transport ministry had said the bridge, which consists of two parallel routes for automobiles and trains, will possibly open to trains by 8 pm Moscow time (1700 GMT) on Saturday.

"In light of the emergency situation on the Crimean Bridge, Putin heard reports from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Emergencies Minister Alexander Kurenkov and Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev, as well as heads of security services," the Kremlin statement said.

Putin instructed the Prime Minister to set up a government commission to investigate the incident and eliminate the aftermath as soon as possible.

Russia bans transport carried out by companies from the so-called “unfriendly” countries

Starting tomorrow, Russia will not allow road transport of goods through its territory to companies registered in unfriendly countries. The ban applies to the countries of the European Union, Great Britain, Norway and Ukraine.

Dimitar Dimitrov from the Bulgarian Chamber of Motor Carriers explained:

"Not only Bulgarian, but also European vehicles will not be able to move in Russia from October 10, as there is a 7-day grace period. They will be able to move only with certain goods that are on a list, from which the Russian side has deemed necessary. They will be able to move within the country. All others will be forced to a certain list of logistics bases to either remove the trailer or unload the goods. People who work in Russia will be extremely hard hit, accordingly transshipments are taking place, Serbian and Moldovan trucks are bringing them in. One way or another, these goods will not stop moving, but this work will be done by other people from other countries. And the question is those companies that are really Bulgarian, to the companies in question what they could do to protect their jobs in Bulgaria, to protect their business, so that we don't all suffer".

Francois Hollande: Winter will not end the war between Russia and Ukraine

Winter will halt actions in the Russian-Ukrainian war, but it will not end the conflict, former French President Francois Hollande said.

Hollande said at an economic summit in Uludag that he wondered if new conditions were possible in the spring, Anadolu Agency reported.

"Will (Vladimir) Putin want to break out of his international isolation, or on the contrary, will he do something else?" he asked.

"I expected an attempt, directly or indirectly, after the first war in Ukraine in 2014. That is, to put Ukraine under Russian domination. The war that should have lasted a few weeks will instead last a few months," said the former French president.

"Even the basic conditions have not been established for a discussion to begin. It will take a long time to start," Hollande added.

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