Ukraine complained that there were attacks in Kharkiv on two consecutive days in which civilians died. This attack killed more than fifty people, including minors. However, the Kremlin has defended its actions after ensuring it only attacks military targets. The latest event occurred on October 6 at a residential complex in the northeast of the country, a day after the deadliest attack in recent months and marks a new point in Kiev’s counteroffensive.
First change: June 10, 2023 – 5:58 p.m
4 mins
Russia claims its troops only target military targets and not civilians.
These statements come after the October 6 attack on residential buildings in central Kharkiv, attributed to Moscow, that killed a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother and injured at least 28 people.
It is the second most important city in the country and follows the attack registered a day earlier in the town of Groza, a few kilometers away. The attack left more than 50 people dead, including at least two minors, and is considered the worst in recent months.
The bombing of Groza hit a cafe and grocery store in the town where the memorial service for a soldier killed in battle was taking place.
“The Russian military does not launch attacks against civilian targets,” presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that “the attacks are carried out against targets of military infrastructure, places where soldiers are concentrated and high-ranking army officials.”
Local resident Valentyna (left), 73, cries as she sits with her husband Volodymyr (right), 76, outside their damaged home after a Russian attack hit a shop and cafe in the village of Groza, about 30 kilometers west of Kupiansk . , on October 6, 2023, in the middle of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Russian attack on October 5, 2023 killed at least 52 people who had gathered for a vigil at a shop and cafe in a village in eastern Ukraine, according to authorities. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said the victims had gathered to remember a deceased villager in Groza in the Kharkiv region, population 330. AFP – GENYA SAVILOV
This small and almost deserted city is one of Russia’s current targets and one of the few where it has made recent progress, although the war appears to have once again entered a period of calm despite Kiev’s counteroffensive.
Meanwhile, excavators were used to expand the Groza cemetery, which had about 300 residents before the Russian invasion, then there were about 100 and after the bombing it was almost uninhabited.
On the same October 6, the Ukrainian parliament approved an increase in its defense and security spending for the rest of 2023, equivalent to 26.6% of the country’s GDP.
“These changes represent two records in the history of Ukraine. General budget spending will exceed 88 billion euros for the first time and the deficit will exceed 51.9 billion,” said Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of the Ukrainian parliament.
This photo taken and released by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Service on October 5, 2023 shows President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hugging each other during the European Political Community Summit at the Congress Palace in Granada, south of Spain. Europe’s pursuit of a common geopolitical goal brought four dozen of its leaders to Grenada, but its credibility took a hit when the Azerbaijani president stayed away. AFP – HANDOUT
The budget still needs to be signed by President Zelensky, who is holding meetings in Spain during the European Political Community summit and is asking for more support from his European counterparts.
Russia claims it has no intention of conducting nuclear tests
This was the Kremlin’s statement amid growing fears that Russia would withdraw its ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The Kremlin spokesman said that the Chamber of Deputies is examining the possibility of withdrawing from the said treaty, but this does not mean that Russia is interested in moving forward with possible nuclear tests.
Moscow added that it was a “mirror reaction” since the United States had not yet ratified the CTBT.
“This is a question for the members of the House of Representatives. Theoretically, this ratification can be withdrawn. If we do it, it will be more than enough,” President Putin said a day earlier, referring to the issue.
House Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said via Telegram that the legislature will consider repealing the CTBT at its next session, echoing Putin’s words.
Ukraine recovers remains of soldiers killed in battle
According to the Kiev government, the remains of at least 64 Ukrainian soldiers were recovered on Russian territory.
Several security agencies and the International Committee of the Red Cross mediated to make this possible.
“Ukraine continues to actively take all possible legal measures within the norms of international humanitarian law to establish the whereabouts of the defenders of Ukraine who have disappeared or been captured,” it said in a statement.
The Ukrainian government promised to continue to ensure the “safe transfer” of the remains and the identification of the bodies.
With EFE and local media