The Daily Kyiv Attacks By Russian Missiles And Iranian Drones
In the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, more staff are kidnapped by Russians
Over the past 48 hours, Russia has continued to fire missiles across Ukraine targeting civilians infrastructures such as energy supplies and water supplies. Kyiv and other regions have been plunged into darkness overnight as emergency services repair the damage done on a daily basis. Some areas no longer have water supplies and this was the intent of the Russians. The only way to stop these missiles and drones are air defence systems. We have seen images of police officers shooting down drones with automatic weapons because that's all they have.
Elon Musk appears to have rescinded his request for the US government to pay for the Starlink satellites. It is unclear as to the situation, with the Pentagon claiming that an agreement was made with Musk, and with the EU discussing ways to fund the satellites. The consensus is that such an important service should not be in the hands of a single person who considers profit essential to the service provided.
In Russia, a military aircraft that was training, crashed into apartment blocks killing at least 13 people. I've also been reading accounts from Russians who are opposed to the war, who feel helpless to do anything due to the current government. It was only during the partial mobilisation that we saw tens of thousands of Russian men leave the country rather than fight for the army. What are they actually fighting for? It's not as if Russia is under attack and that they have to defend the country. I watched a few interviews where Russians feel as if the government is committing genocide to the Russian people. Who will save the Russians from the Kremlin? Many of the younger generation acknowledge that the country cannot change with the present government in place, and that they cannot be removed legitimately either. Those who protest tend to fall out of windows, are imprisoned or tortured, or flee into exile.
Day 236 (17 October)
Kyiv and other regions woke up to being attacked by missiles and kamikaze drones. Apartment buildings were targeted and destroyed and energy power lines were again targeted. There was another curfew, where residents in Kyiv were requested to limit their consumption of power again in order to save energy and allow repairs to the damage done during the day. It seems to be a Groundhog Day event and the air defence systems that have been promised from other countries can't come fast enough and even when they do arrive is there enough for the entire Ukraine? Many regions are running on backup power supplies, but the question is how much longer till this continue?
Russia makes no disguise that they are behind the attacks, were one of the drones had “For Belgorod’ on it. This comes after the Russians claimed that Ukraine had attacked Belgorod, yet Ukraine had denied the attack.
Drones have also targeted grain silos and sunflower oil refineries. Putin claims he doesn't want to destroy Ukraine, but he wants to destroy any means they have to survive economically.
Now that Belarus has officially declared that they are assisting the Russians in this invasion, Kyiv is again the focal point. Putin has claimed that the only targets were in the Donbas region, but we all know that Kyiv is the main target. If he detained Zelenskyy or killed him, that would overthrow the government and control of Ukraine would be in the hands of the Russians and the proxies. Reports claimed that the Russian troops in Belarus are the new recruits being trained. That may well be true, but does that make them any less of a threat?
We must remember that this invasion began with new conscripts on a military drill, that was then told this is the real thing. The 9,000 new recruits in Belarus are merely cannon fodder, and the entire world those that. Meanwhile, Belarus and Russia claim that this action is purely defensive due to the alleged threats by the Ukrainians. Of course this is untrue, because Ukraine has not actually attacked Russia, and any action near the borders has been defensive, in line with legitimate the targeting military posts or supply chains.
The call for air defence systems from other countries is critical, and this has been a request from the Ukrainian government since the start of the invasion. These recent attacks are the first ones that have targeted central Kyiv, and the Ukrainian Interior Ministry have requested residents not to use their own AK firearms to shoot down the drones in case of further casualties. Residents have been requested to take shelter in bunkers and underground stations for their own safety
The EU has agreed a further €3.1 billion of military assistance for Ukraine, which will also include specialised training for the armed forces.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost external power again after shelling by the Russians. In addition to the assistant director general being kidnapped (Oleh Oshenka), the head of IT (Oleh Kostiukov) has also been kidnapped by the Russians.
It defies belief that thus can happen under the watch of the UN and IAEA, where are the rest of the world wonder what actual power the UN has when such activities continue and they appear to do nothing, and their presence is not a deterrent.
Israel is allegedly supplying Ukraine with information on the Iranian drones that are being used by the Russians in order to help them defeat the attacks. Russia has responded by stating that if Israel supplies weapons to Ukraine it would destroy any bilateral ties it has with the country.
Ukraine has called for sanctions to be imposed against Iran for supplying drones to Russia that have killed Ukrainians.
A warship in Sevastopol is poised to launch missiles headed towards Ukraine. Many of the missiles have been launched from the Black Sea, and Caspian Sea already, and have targeted Odesa and Mykolaiv.
There has been another prisoner swap, 110 prisoners for 110. In this swap this has been mainly women who have been exchanged. 108 women returned to Ukraine some were military, but also included 37 Azvostal evacuees.
A military aircraft Su-34 fighter bomber, that was training crashed into residential buildings in Yeysk, which is near the border of Ukraine. The pilots managed to eject before the crash which was due to an engine been on fire, however, reports state at least 13 people died as a result of the crash.
Day 237 (18 October)
The headlines begin again with attacks across Ukraine, especially Kyiv where there are power outages. Dnipro, and Zhytomyr have also suffered damage to their critical infrastructures with power stations being targeted and some regions without electricity.
The Russian attacks have destroyed 30% of Ukrainian power stations, as blackout will become the norm across Ukraine while the attacks continue.
Elon Musk, has commented on the Starlink satellites again. Apparently he has rescinded the request for the Pentagon to pay for the service that has been provided in Ukraine. CNN however, has discovered that mosque did not solely pay for the service and that various other countries had contributed to the funding and other privat organisations. It is a pity that he has damaged his own reputation by questioning why he should continue to pay for a service he can provide that can save lives. In a recent tweet he has suggested that he put a donation button on the website, but then again who would be overseeing the infrastructure of the funding through crowdfunding? From recent reports, it seems that mosque did not solely pay for the service that he claim to be paying for and that is what the public dislikes – basically someone who is disingenuous and is also the richest man in the world.
Musk had requested $124 million funding for the rest of 2022, but reports claim that the company only funded 15% of the 20,000 terminals being used in Ukraine and the rest was being funded by other governments as well as private entities. This poses a rather difficult scenario, because the world thought that Elon Musk was providing the service as a humanitarian gesture, where is clear he is concerned about profits now. Is the backtracking due to it being revealed that SpaceX does not solely fund the use of the satellites as claimed?
The deadline for the ICRC to visit the Olenivka prison is today, and the Ukrainian government has held talks with the ICRC to discuss access to the facility. It has been nearly 4 months since the missile attack there were 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed. Under international law, the UN has the right to visit prisons, so what issues are there? It can only be from the Russian side, but all this does is weaken the credibility of the UN, what is left of it at least.
The Hungarian Embassy in the US posted a comment on social media, effectively stating that that government has made harsh anti-Western and anti-American comments, yet they still consider the country as an American ally. As I said from the start of the invasion, I had concerns over the Hungarian position. Over the last few months it has become clear to the world that Hungary is using their positions within the EU and NATO for their own benefit, whilst also supporting Russian interests knowing that neither the EU or NATO have the guts to kick them out. Hungary needs the EU and NATO more than they need Hungary.
This makes it very difficult for either alliance to act decisively should difficult decisions have to be made in terms of warfare. Hungary has already denied the use of the land as a means of transport for any weapons across Europe into Ukraine, and that was a huge signal from the start that they were not supportive of Ukraine, yet the EU, again like the UN is powerless in many respects, or rather those in positions of power do not have the guts to enforce the rules to oust potential traitors who could do harm to the alliances.
Overnight I thought about the two minute ABC prestentation and rewatched it to include direct quotes. 'Moscow targets Ukraian power and water supplies in renewed aerial assault', 19 Oct., 2022. 3 Russian drone bombs on a single plant in the outskirts of Kyiv, as well as, a dozen other zones targeted. Denise Browne, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Ukraine, stated that as a result, ' a high risk of mortality in the winter months with families who have been left with absolutely nothing.' President Zelensky, 'Thanks to Iranian drones the terrorists still have hope and illusion, but this will all fall apart, just like their previous tactics'. Greg Jennett, the ABC correspondent, ' kamikaze drones, Russia's weapon of choice: it is almost impossible for Ukraine to defend its assets; there is simply too many of them'. There was mention of international condemnation, but the fact that Russia is not ceasing or listening and death/destruction continues which is reminiscent of WW11 genocide; the only difference we are aware and helplessly witnessing it as it's not being hidden or secret.
Just watched a very brief coverage of Russia's current barbarism in Ukraine. It seems thsy are intent on destruction of energy and water supplies by bombarding civilians and infrastructure with cheap drones that can't be intercepted. Putin's goal is to destroy and disrupt: civilians will die now or later freeze to death. The people are staying brave and encouraging resilience, even the children. President Zelensky is talking tough and appealing to the international community, but looks exhausted. It is hard to believe that the Russian people can tolerate and be complicit in such tyrannical inhumanity where people (en masse), essential services/resources and buildings are dispensible.