• Moscow: “The Burevestnik nuclear missile was successfully tested”
• Russian attack on Kupyansk: at least 51 dead
• Putin: “I suggested that Russia join NATO, they refused.”
• Russia is now on the defensive on the Black Sea: the army is moving some ships from Sevastopol and Novorossiysk
6:37 a.m. – Mayor Kharkiv, the city is under attack
Russian forces attacked the central part of the city of Kharkiv today. This was reported by Mayor Ihor Terekhov. “The city is under attack. There is information about a raid in the central part of Kharkiv,” the mayor wrote on Telegram this morning.
6:24 a.m. – Mr. Human Rights Commissioner, Russia has set up 70 re-education camps for our children
Russia has set up at least 70 “forced re-education camps” for deported Ukrainian children. Dmytro Lubinets, human rights commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada (Kyiv’s unicameral parliament), said this during a live television broadcast. According to Lubinets, there are camps for the “re-education” of Ukrainian children both in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. “Everyone is drafted, this is the official educational program on the territory of the Russian Federation for Ukrainian children. I underline that they are trying to enroll them in various military organizations and undergo such “training” in order to train a new generation of Russian soldiers who (…) will have to fight against Ukraine or other states again in the future. They are the “Janissaries” of the modern world. “At the moment we can say that there are no less than 70 such camps on the territory of the Russian Federation, in the temporarily occupied territories and in Crimea,” Lubinets said.
6:22 a.m. – Washington is considering using State Department grants to fund military aid
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is considering using a State Department grant program to fund additional military aid to Ukraine as the federal Congress continues to debate whether to provide new funding. This was reported by two US officials briefed on the discussions, Politico quotes. The White House is reportedly exploring a range of options to find additional sources of funding to provide military support to Ukraine after weapons refinancing was eliminated in a last-minute congressional agreement to avert the federal government shutdown. Biden on Wednesday hinted at the possibility of resorting to government grants, saying, “There’s another way we might be able to find funding.”
6:13 a.m. – Explosions in Kharkiv, local authorities report new Russian attack
Explosions occurred in the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine this morning, immediately after an air alert was declared for the entire region. This was announced by the regional governor of Kharkiv, Oleh Synyehubov, via Telegram. The explosions occurred around 6:46 a.m. local time (5:46 a.m. in Italy), the governor said. “To the residents of Kharkiv and the region: stay in the emergency shelters!” demanded Synyehubov. Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the attack hit the central part of the city.
05:27 – Explosions in Cherkasy, alert in eight regions
Local media reported that explosions were heard overnight in the central Ukrainian region of Cherkassy. The air raid alarm was also sounded today in seven other oblasts: Odessa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Chernivtsi, Kirovohrad. Explosions had also previously been reported in the cities of Kiev, Odessa and Mykolaiv.
04:39 – Governor Sevastopol, attack repelled in Kiev
Attacks by two Ukrainian unmanned boats were repelled in Sevastopol. This was said by the governor of the city Mikhail Razvozhaev on his Telegram channel. “Loud noises in the area of the North Pier are coming from the crews of the Black Sea Fleet. According to preliminary information, they are repelling an attack by two unmanned sea vessels,” Razvozhaev wrote. Ukrainian forces regularly bomb Russian border areas and carry out drone attacks and acts of sabotage.
4:22 a.m. – Russians bomb Sumy Oblast, one dead
Russia bombed eight communities along the Ukrainian border in Sumy Oblast yesterday, carrying out 22 attacks. The military administration of Sumy Oblast announced this via Telegram. At least 131 explosions were recorded. The municipalities of Bilopillia, Krasnopillia, Khotin, Seredyna-Buda, Velyka Pysarivka, Esman, Znob-Novhorodske and Yunakivka were targeted. Seredyna-Buda was attacked with Grad multiple rocket launchers and one civilian was killed.
03:10 – 8 Kiev drones shot down in Belgorod
Moscow said on Friday it had destroyed eight Ukrainian drones in western Russia after a deadly Russian attack on a village across the front lines. The Russian Defense Ministry said the attempted drone attacks in Belgorod and Kursk took place on Thursday evening. “The Kiev regime’s attempt to carry out an aerial terrorist attack using a drone against objects on the territory of the Russian Federation has been foiled,” Telegram said. One drone was destroyed over Kursk and seven was shot down over Belgorod and the surrounding region a few hours later. The governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, initially spoke of six drone attacks in his region and said on Telegram that there were “no victims according to preliminary information.” “The emergency services are clarifying information about the consequences on site,” he wrote.
3:08 a.m. – €580 million in aid for UK families
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced new humanitarian aid to support Ukrainians in the second winter of Kiev’s war against Russia. According to Sunak’s office, the aid includes a World Bank loan guarantee of almost 580 million euros to ensure Ukraine can financially support three million families through the winter. London will also send almost 40 million euros to the United Nations and charities to provide Ukrainians with shelter and winter clothing, as well as more than 11 million euros to support domestic electricity supplies following Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
3:07 a.m. – Explosions in Odessa, alarm throughout the region
Explosions occurred overnight in the port city of Odessa in southern Ukraine. The local media reported about it. The air raid alarm went off throughout the region. There had previously been explosions in Kiev and Mykolaiv.
01:54 – Ukrainian media, explosions in Kiev and Mykolaiv
An explosion was heard in the Ukrainian capital Kiev in the early hours of today. This was reported by local media, which also spoke of two explosions in the southern port of Mykolaiv.
11:48 p.m. – Zelensky: “We will have other air defense systems and long-range weapons”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky summarized the results of his visit to Spain on the occasion of the European Political Community Summit in Granada, emphasizing that he held numerous important meetings at which agreements were reached on strengthening Ukrainian air defense and supplying long-range artillery weapons to Ukraine. In his usual evening video message, quoted by Ukrinform, Zelensky spoke of “many meetings, important negotiations.” We will have more air defense – there are clear agreements. This is very important before winter. Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain – thank you! Our soldiers will have more artillery. There will be more long-range weapons. And there will certainly be more justice.”
According to the Kiev leader, Ukraine’s main message to the world is that evil has no right to prevail. “And only now, only in Ukraine, can this principled moral position be represented. But everything together! I would like to thank all the heads of state and government of our partner countries for today’s meetings! I thank the European Union and the European Parliament for their clear support. Thank you, Spain, for giving us all the opportunity today to strengthen European unity. Unity is the answer. We will do everything we can to preserve it.”
7:56 p.m. – White House: terrible Russian attack, supports Ukraine
“We continue to see Russian attacks like this one today: 49 innocent people were killed in a Russian shopping raid.” It’s terrible. This happens every day in Ukraine. We must continue to support Ukraine, because this is the reality that the population experiences every day,” said White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, commenting on the attack in a grocery store in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region.
6:05 p.m. – The Kupiansk massacre
(By Marta Serafini) It is not only one of the deadliest attacks since the beginning of the war. Yesterday’s raid on the village of Hroza hit one of the areas most affected by this war. The Kharkiv region has been at the center of clashes between the Russian and Ukrainian armies since February 2022. Captured by the Russians and liberated on September 10 last year, Kupiansk is one of the region’s main centers and an important military supply hub. It is no coincidence that in this area the hypothesis was put forward that both a new Russian offensive could begin and a counter-attempt by the Ukrainians to continue the counter-offensive that began last fall.
Kupiansk is located 385 kilometers north of Mariupol as the crow flies and is an important logistics, railway and military hub. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited front-line troops on Tuesday, presenting medals and inspecting a Leopard tank donated by allies in the forest just outside the town, which lies right between the Hroza front line. During the visit, Zelensky himself also stated that the front line between Kupiansk and Lyman, further south, was one of the “hottest areas of the war.” It is no coincidence that the Kiev authorities ordered the evacuation of civilians from the area six weeks ago. But as is often the case, especially in the eastern regions of the country, many residents have decided not to leave their homeland. According to initial reconstructions, a funeral service was held in the café in Hroza that was hit by the Russians with an Iskander rocket yesterday in memory of a dead villager who was certainly not a military target.