The Ukrainian military said its artillery hit a Russian ammunition depot near a key bridge in the south adding that it now has the ability to hit almost all of Moscow’s supply lines in the occupied region. Portal reported that there was no immediate comment from Russian authorities on the report of the attack in Kherson province or the alleged range of Ukrainian firepower.
The UN calls for a demilitarized zone around the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant while Russia and Ukraine exchange accusations about more shells. The Ukrainian nuclear power company said the plant in the south-east of the country was shelled five times by Russian forces on Thursday, leaving employees unable to change shifts. Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region, reportedly said three civilians – including a boy – were injured in nighttime shelling in Marhanets, a town opposite the plant, on Friday.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told government officials to stop talking to reporters about Kiev’s military tactics against Russiawho said such comments were “frankly irresponsible“. After the massive blasts that destroyed a Russian airbase in Crimea on Tuesday, the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers quoted unidentified officials as saying Ukrainian forces were responsible. The government in Kyiv, however, declined to say whether it was behind the explosions.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the explosions at the Russian-operated Saky airbase in western Crimea earlier in the week were “almost certainly” due to the detonation of up to four uncovered ammunition dumps, although what triggered it remained unclear. At least five Su-24 Fencer fighter-bombers and three Su-30 Flanker H multirole jets were almost certainly destroyed or badly damaged in the blasts, according to British intelligence.
The devastation at Russia’s Crimean airbase suggests Kyiv may have gained new long-range attack capabilities with the potential to change the course of the war. The base is far beyond the range of advanced missiles that Western countries have so far sent into Ukraine, with some Western military experts saying the extent of the damage and the apparent precision of the strike hinted at a powerful new capability with potentially important implications.
Ukraine’s security agencies have issued a joint statement calling on the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send representatives to locations where Russia is holding Ukrainian prisoners of war. Friday’s request follows earlier claims in Kyiv that Moscow’s forces have tortured and executed prisoners, including by staging an explosion at a Ukrainian POW camp in Olenivka.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he had spoken to Pope Francis on Friday. “Informed about the aggression carried out by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, about the terrible crimes of Russia,” the President wrote on Twitter.
Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov said a shipment of M20 MLRS tanks had arrived in Ukraine. In a tweet he thanked British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace and the British for the previously promised donation. “Your support is great and so important for Ukraine.”
Jose Andres, whose World Central Kitchen group has served more than 130 million meals in Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February, called for better coordination of food aid efforts before what promises to be a brutal winter. Donations fell as the war dragged on, he warned, meaning WCK, which provides short-term emergency relief, must start shutting down operations as cold weather is likely to exacerbate the problems of millions of displaced Ukrainians.
India said Friday there was no pressure from Western countries or anywhere else over its energy purchases from Russia, while Indian firms are stepping up imports of oil and coal from the country shunned by others for its invasion of Ukraine. India, the world’s third-biggest importer of crude oil, overtook China to become the biggest buyer of Russian oil in July based on sea freight volumes, after buying very little from Russia before the war in Ukraine began in February.