The delayed public reaction from Putin after the Kerch Bridge incident meant one thing—he was planning a retaliation attack. Putin wants revenge, and that led to mass missile attacks across Ukraine.
Russian missiles were targeted at civilian infrastructures across Ukraine–bridges, buildings, playgrounds and shops. The attacks began during the morning rush hour for maximum damage, and to cause chaos, and Russia has admitted it already and has stated the attacks would continue. These are the words and actions of a deranged dictator
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Air raid sirens sound across Ukraine, and the countries that had hesitated to supply weapons (that would intercept the long range missiles) are being vocal and are delivering weapons. How many lives could have been saved if they had done this earlier
This was an anticipated escalation in the war, and it is hard to see how relations between the two countries can be healed given that many innocent lives have been lost already.
Day 229 (10 October 2022)
Last night, the front pages of the newspapers were dominated by the headlines of the Kerch Bridge explosion. It was the ultimate humiliation for Putin and the Kremlin, but everyone was wary of the Russian response. That came the next day where the Russians used long-range missiles to target civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.
Putin chaired a meeting of the Security Council and stated that Ukraine has carried out terrorist acts which justifies the missile strikes that Russia was carrying out across Ukraine. He stated that further terrorism against Russia will be met with further strikes. In the address he also accused Ukraine of bombing the Turkish stream gas pipeline, and claimed that Ukraine had attacked the Kursk nuclear power plant in August, and that it was Ukraine who has been shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Basically, the meeting was to plan attacks on Ukraine and to try and justify them.
Should attempts to carry out terrorist attacks on the territory of the Russian Federation continue the response will be harsh and proportionate to the level of the threats. (Putin)
The action is also a response to the Putin critics (hawks) who have not been happy with the Russian retreats, and the lack of Russian strength in maintaining control of the occupied areas. This is a way for Putin to tell his supporters that he is still on control.
Around 8 am in Ukraine, just as the rush hour began, Russian missiles descended across the country, Kyiv, Lviv, Kharkiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Kremenchuk, Khmelntsky, Ternopil, and other regions. Playgrounds, schools, civilian buildings, residential buildings, healthcare facilities, monuments, museums and bridges were targeted. Russia has targeted anything that is Ukrainian in an attempt to wipe out the race
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Power was down in several regions, and Ukraine has said it will need to stop supplying energy to the EU from tomorrow in order to stabilise the power in the country for the time being. Water supplies were also hit and has affected several regions. As this is an ongoing situation with more attacks, this causes another humanitarian crisis. Diesel is being used to power emergency generators, as mobile phone networks, and the internet were down, public transport such as trams cannot operate, and traffic lights are also out. People are being urged to conserve power and to stock up on food, and water and to charge power banks.
Emergency services have been dealing with fires and rescuing people across the country, and this will continue as the threat from Russia has escalated. Ukrainians are not afraid, but are angry that Russia is still invading their country,
The International Committees of the Red Cross is pausing their operations in Ukraine, citing that it is too dangerous, and the decision is based on security issues. This means that humanitarian aid to those displaced will also cease.
More than 83 Russian missiles have been fired into Ukraine, and 43 were shot down by Ukraine, thanks to weapons supplied by the West. This has prompted Germany to deliver more air defence systems, and France has said they will supply additional weapons. At this point, you have to wonder what is going on, for they wait until there is another attack with more deaths and destruction before supplying weapons that could have prevented it in the first place.
Germany announced they will supply IRIS-T SLM air defence systems, and have delivered one of four that they have promised to supply. Ukraine has use of the UK Starstreak air defence systems. and SAM systems, S-300 and Buk-M1 SAMs, which are surface to air weapons, and other weapons from the US, but it isn’t enough when Russia is targeting multiple regions. The German weapons use GPS and and INS navigation making it a far more advanced weapon that the ones Ukraine currently have
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Still in Germany, Arne Schenbohhm, the head of the national cyber security agency has been accused of having contact with the Russian secret service, and reports state he has been fired.
Among the targeted areas that have been reported are; Shevchenko Park in central Kyiv, and the Hrushevsky monument (near the Ukrainian Secret Service HQ). Video footage of a pedestrian bridge (Klitschko) being hit by a missile has been shown on social media, where a pedestrian managed to escape the attack. The German consulate office was also hit, but was not in use at the time.
It’s hard to say how many people have been killed and injured, but early reports say about 14 people have been killed, and 90 injured, although I expect the numbers for both to increase. People are taking shelter in underground stations, and Russia has admitted to the attacks, stating there will be more. On the accusation of targeting playgrounds, they denied this and claimed it was Ukrainian weapons.
An emergency G7 meeting will be held, and Zelenskyy will made an address by video link.
In liberated areas, there is a lack of food, heat, and running water. One may think the residents are all happy to be liberated, but some are passive and don’t care who is in charge as long as they have water and heat. It is this apathy that allowed the Russian proxies to gain a foothold over the years, but is typical of small village mindsets where people just want to live in peace and don’t care about politics or what happens outside their door.
The Russian soldiers who fled, left behind their weapons and ammunition, in fact more ammunition that the Ukrainians had. This has helped the Ukrainian troops, but the counteroffensive is in a delicate stage as the Russians will do what they can to retain control of the occupied regions and that could mean a bloody confrontation.
The foreign minister of Moldova has stated that some Russian cruise missiles had crossed into its airspace, and has summoned the Russian ambassador to give explanation for the violation of the airspace. Moldova shares a border with Western Ukraine, and also has some land annexed by Russia (Transnistria).
Belarus, is entering the war as Lukashenko order his troops to enter Ukraine alongside Russian troops (as a joint task force), claiming that NATO and Ukraine are about to attack Belarus. He offered no evidence of these claims.
I've said already that today Ukraine is not just discussing, but planning strikes on the territory of Belarus. (Lukashenko)
The Belarusian defence minister has also claimed that the West should not provoke war, thus blaming the West for any actions that they are planning. Another claim is that Polish, Lithuanian, and Ukrainians were training Belarusian militants to carry out terrorist attacks. What he means is that Belarusians who do not support Lukashenko’s vision have chosen to fight for Ukraine against Russia in order to have a free Belarus.
China has called for de-escalation, even though it has supported Russia from the sidelines. It is Russia that has escalated the war, and Russia that illegally invaded Ukraine. It is for Russia to de-escalate by leaving Ukraine.
Zelenskyy has again asked for help to defend the skies, and has spoken to many of the world leaders today including the UK, the US, Canada, France and Germany. He made this request back in February and March, and it fell on deaf ears as everyone feared upsetting Putin and escalating the war. Well, Russia has escalated it as expected.
Ukraine needs an air shield to protect civilians and critical infrastructure.
As usual, all the world leaders and the UN have made statements condemning the attacks, and supporting Ukraine, but quite frankly we are tired of reading the same script each time Russia attacks Ukraine. They all knew that Russia would retaliate in this manner, yet they knew they had not provided Ukraine with sufficient weapons to defend itself against the attack today. I’m afraid, the West must accept some blame for the death and destruction that happened today in Ukraine. They had the means to provide weapons to prevent such a disaster, but waited for it to happen before providing the weapons or to open discussions on what can be provided.
It seems that whatever counte-roffensive Ukraine accomplishes this is 'terrorism', however, Russia can invade, torture, destroy buildingsinfrastructure and attempt to exterminate Ukrainian civilians which Putin considers 'legitimate' to his military operation. Has Ukraine claimed responsibilty for blowing up the bridge?
Today is Thanksgiving Day here in Canada and as we shared our Thanksgiving dinner tonight giving thanks for being safe in Canada, we said a prayer for the people suffering in Ukraine. How tired they must be of listening to all the talk, talk, talk of how other countries support them, while they watch the deaths and destruction escalate.