At least seven people were killed in a Russian missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, officials said.
The strikes came just hours after President Vladimir Putin declared Russia was moving to formally seize the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. The UN nuclear watchdog chief visited Kyiv on Thursday to discuss nuclear safety and said he’d travel to Moscow “very soon.”
Meanwhile, Kyiv’s forces continue to press ahead with gains in the south and east, including in regions Russia claims to have annexed in violation of international law. Ukrainian military officials said Thursday that their units crossed into the strategic eastern Luhansk region for the first time since the conflict began.
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Our coverage for the day has ended. Follow the latest Ukraine news here or read through the updates below.
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At least 7 people killed in Russian missile strikes on Zaporizhzhia, Ukrainian official says
From CNN's Yulia Kesaieva and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Ukrainian firefighters stand on rubble after a strike in Zaporizhzhia on October 6.
Oleksandr Starukh, the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, shared the update in a post on Telegram.
Starukh warned the death toll could increase, as five people are still missing. He also said at least 21 people have been rescued and that crews are still working to find others.
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of intentionally targeting civilians.
“There are neither military nor important objects near the hit site, only civilian buildings, and apartment buildings,” Starukh said.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said at least seven Russian missiles “hit people sleeping peacefully at their homes.”
Some context: Zaporizhzhia is a major city in southern Ukraine, not far from the frontline and the site of a nuclear power plant that the international community is watching warily.
Part of the wider region is occupied by Russian forces.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed measures this week to annex four Ukrainian regions, including Zaporizhzhia, in violation of international law.
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US will be watching for which countries side with Russia at an emergency UN session next week
From CNN's Kylie Atwood
The United Nations General Assembly will hold an emergency special session on Monday to introduce a resolution condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine as a clear violation of the UN charter and demanding that Russia withdraw its forces, a senior Biden administration official said on Thursday.
The US will call on all UN member states to support the resolution, which has been drafted by countries in the European Union. While Russia is expected to oppose the resolution, the US will be watching for which other countries oppose it.
After the resolution is introduced on Monday, a period of debate will follow.
“We expect that a number of member states will sign up to take the floor as we saw the last time this emergency special session was convened, and we expect the debate may well stretch into the following days of the week,” the administration official said, saying the resolution will be put for a vote when the debate is over.
To pass, the resolution will need “yes” votes from two-thirds of the countries.
The General Assembly vote follows a US-led effort to introduce a similar resolution in the UN Security Council last week. That failed after Russia, as a permanent member of the council, vetoed the resolution.
China, Brazil, Gabon and India also abstained from voting on the US resolution.
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European Union will send more arms to Ukraine, including French howitzers, Macron says
From CNN's Niamh Kennedy
The European Union will send more military equipment to Ukraine, including long-range weapons from France, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
The EU is continuing to “advance the demands” it has received from Ukraine, including for French-made CAESAR self-propelled howitzers, Macron said at a news conference in Prague on Thursday.
The announcement followed the first European Political Community Summit.
Macron said that all 44 nations at the summit “clearly expressed their condemnation for this Russian aggression” in Ukraine.
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2 Russian nationals seek asylum in the US after crossing to Alaska by boat, lawmakers say
From CNN’s Julia Vargas Jones and Priscilla Alvarez
Two Russian nationals have sought asylum in the US after arriving by boat in Alaska, according to the state’s senators.
The pair landed on St. Lawrence Island on Tuesday after crossing the Bering Strait and are now in federal custody in Anchorage, Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a news briefing Wednesday.
“This incident makes two things clear: First, the Russian people don’t want to fight Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine,” said Sen. Dan Sullivan, who joined in a statement with Murkowski. “Second, given Alaska’s proximity to Russia, our state has a vital role to play in securing America’s national security.”
They were transported to Anchorage for inspection, which includes screening and vetting, and were then processed in accordance with US immigration laws, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told CNN.
At its narrowest point, the distance between mainland Russia and Alaska is 55 miles, according to Alaska Public Lands Information Centers.
The governor warned of a storm currently hitting areas of northwest Alaska, saying that “any type of transiting the Bering Strait for the next couple of days could be dangerous.”
CNN has reached out to the Alaska Governor’s Office for further information.
CNN’s Ben Finley and Cheri Mossburg contributed to this report.
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Ukraine says it's recovered about 120 settlements in the last 2 weeks in northeast and southern regions
From CNN's Tim Lister
A senior Ukrainian military official said the country’s forces have recaptured around 120 settlements in the past two weeks as they advance in Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions.
Oleksii Hromov, a senior official with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that since Sept. 21, Ukrainian troops had managed to advance 55 kilometers (about 34 miles) in the northeast, “establish control over 93 settlements, [and] take control over more than 2,400 square kilometers.”
Hromov appeared to be referencing gains in Kharkiv region that were made before Sept. 21 but only confirmed later.
“Since Sept. 30, the enemy used 46 ‘Shahed 136’ kamikaze drones to strike military facilities, civilian infrastructure and troop positions; 24 of those drones were destroyed,” he said.
In total, Hromov said, Russia had used 86 of those drones.
In its operational update Thursday, the Ukrainian General Staff said that Russia continued to try “offensive actions” in the Donetsk region and had carried out more than 20 rocket attacks. Settlements in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions had been damaged, but Russian efforts to advance in the Bakhmut area and other parts of Donetsk had failed, the military said.
The General Staff said the Ukrainian Air Force had carried out 11 strikes Thursday but provided no details on the progress of the Kherson offensive.
Satellite imagery suggests that Russian forces have fortified defensive positions near the towns of Vesele and Nova Kakhovka on the Dnieper River.
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It's nighttime in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
All eyes were on Zaporizhzhia on Thursday after a Russian missile attack left at least one person dead in the southern city while the head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency met with Ukraine’s president for an update on the embattled power plant.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces pressed ahead with their counteroffensive in the south and east.
Here are the latest developments:
Nuclear watchdog in Ukraine: Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), visited Kyiv to discuss the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. There were several notable takeaways:
The nuclear agency head reiterated that Russia’s annexations in Ukraine are not accepted by international law — the legal framework that guides his organization.
Grossi said he’ll travel to Moscow next as part of his continued effort to prevent a nuclear accident. He said he could “neither boycott nor play along” with potential Russian attempts to operate the plant and make Zaporizhzhia staff employees of Russia’s Rosatom.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to urge Grossi for a stronger defense, saying “we expected a tough statement from the IAEA.”
Russian missiles strike Zaporizhzhia: Grossi’s visit came the same day as missile attacks on the key southern city, which killed one person and left seven hospitalized, including a three-year-old girl, according to local officials.
Kyiv gains more ground: Ukrainian troops re-entered the Luhansk region and will “keep moving in that direction” with difficult battles ahead, officials said. It’s the first time since the start of the conflict that they have advanced into the eastern area. More settlements in the south of Ukraine have also been liberated in the Kherson region, according to Zelensky.
Russia-backed leaders criticize war effort: Continuing the trickle of public criticism from regional officials in recent weeks, the Russian-appointed deputy leader of occupied Kherson blamed battlefield shortcomings on “incompetent commanders.” And the head of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee demanded officials report the truth about battlefield developments, saying senior figures need to “stop lying.”
This map captures the latest state of the counteroffensive and current areas of control:
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Zelensky: Ukrainians "expected a tough statement" from IAEA after Putin's decree claiming Zaporizhzhia plant
From CNN's Julia Kesaieva
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is seen during a press conference on September 9 in Kyiv, Ukraine.
(Alexey Furman/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appealed to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to denounce the decree by President Vladimir Putin unilaterally taking the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant into Russian ownership.
Zelensky also requested Grossi’s views on the presence of Russian forces at the plant, which he said was “not resolved.”
“According to our data, confirmed by the workers of the plant — there are around 500 soldiers there,” the Ukrainian President said.
Zelensky thanked Grossi for the IAEA’s assistance in securing the release of the director of the plant, Ihor Murashov, after he was detained by Russian forces at the weekend.
Earlier Thursday, Grossi told CNN’s Fred Pleitgen that the Zaporizhzhia plant is a Ukrainian facility and possible changes “would be a complex issue” that he’ll have to discuss during his upcoming visit to Moscow.
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Russian annexations are invalid under international law, UN nuclear watchdog agency head says
From CNN's Fred Pleitgen, Radina Gigova and Niamh Kennedy
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog agency said Russia’s annexations in Ukraine are not accepted by international law — and that is the legal framework guiding his organization.
Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks at a news conference in Kyiv Thursday. CNN’s Fred Pleitgen asked whether he will address Russia’s claim that it now owns the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear PowerPlant during upcoming meetings in Moscow.
“But there are practical consequences, and I am dealing with that as well,” he added.
During the news conference, the IAEA chief also highlighted the plight of the plant’s workers, who he said are “operating under almost unbearable circumstances.”
Grossi said uncertainty about the plant’s ownership has only exacerbated the stress workers are experiencing.
He also said the IAEA plans to increase the number of its staff members based at the plant from two to four, likely carrying out three-to-four-week rotations.
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UN nuclear watchdog agency head says Zaporizhzhia plant is a Ukrainian facility
From CNN's Fred Pleitgen and Radina Gigova
A general view of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on September 11.
(AFP/Getty Images)
Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is a Ukrainian facility and possible changes “would be a complex issue” that he’ll have to discuss during his upcoming visit to Moscow.
When asked by CNN’s Fred Pleitgen on Thursday if IAEA would boycott the process of Zaporizhzhia staff potentially becoming employees of Russia’s Rosatom, Grossi said “I can neither boycott nor play along. I have to do the right things and the right thing in this case is first of all to look at the security, the safety and the wellbeing of the staff.”
Grossi added that “when it comes to the contractual changes that may be coming as a result of the announcements, is something that I will have to be discussing in Russia in the next few days.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Wednesday that puts the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine under Russian state control.
But just as Putin was signing the decree, Ukrainian state nuclear operator Energoatom said its president would assume the duties of the plant’s director general.
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IAEA director general says he'll travel to Moscow to discuss nuclear safety
From CNN's Radina Gigova
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi speaks in a press conference at UN headquarters on September 21.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Thursday he will travel to Moscow to discuss nuclear safety and the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky in Kyiv.
“My work is to prevent a nuclear accident, and this is what I am doing,” Grossi told reporters at a press conference in Kyiv.
Grossi said he will travel to Russia “very soon” and that he believes the conversations he’ll have here will be at a “very high level.”
The staff at the plant are working in “unbearable circumstances,” but that the IAEA staff will continue their rotation at the plant, he added, saying there have been indications that there are mines in the perimeter of the plant, but not inside the plant itself.
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Ukrainian officials confirm advance into Luhansk region, saying units "keep moving in that direction"
From CNN's Tim Lister
Ukrainian soldiers stand at the entrance to the village of Hrekivka, inside Luhansk region.
(Obtained by CNN)
Serhiy Hayday, head of the Luhansk region military administration, has confirmed that Ukrainian troops have re-entered the eastern Luhansk region and will “keep moving in that direction.”
CNN reported Wednesday that Ukrainian units had entered the village of Hrekivka in Luhansk.
Hayday said he expected difficult battles ahead as Ukrainian forces push into Luhansk, now absorbed into Russia after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree declaring the annexation of the region.
“After liberating Lyman [in Donetsk at the end of last month], as expected, the main battles are on the direction of Kreminna. The occupiers are pulling their main forces there. This is where the beginning of de-occupation of Luhansk oblast lies,” Hayday said.
“Luhansk region liberation will be tougher than Kharkiv region. All those Russian military who ran from Kharkiv region and Lyman ran to our direction, so the occupation forces increased in number,” he added.
“There will be no element of surprise, like during the Kharkiv region operation. Now they had the time to prepare, to build fortifications, to entrench deeper, to bring in some equipment, some reserves. However, I believe in the Armed Forces of Ukraine and I believe that the forces of L/DPR [Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics] will not be able to hold the defense for long,” he continued.
More on Ukraine’s counteroffensive: Between April and June, the Ukrainian military was gradually pushed out of parts of Luhansk region that it held. Several towns and cities in the region were largely destroyed in weeks of bitter fighting.
Analysts expect Russian forces and their allies to seek to defend new lines running north from Kreminna to Svatove.
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Ukrainian refugees are being blocked from fleeing Russia and trucked away, Estonian interior minister says
From CNN’s Teele Rebana and Joseph Ataman
More than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees trying to enter Estonia from Russia have been stopped from fleeing and taken to an undisclosed location, according to Estonia’s interior minister.
The Ukrainian embassy accused Russia of blocking Estonians from crossing the border in a Facebook post Wednesday, following a visit by the Ukrainian ambassador and Läänemets to the border.
Läänemets said Estonia’s border guard is patrolling with drones in case Russia forces the Ukrainians across forested parts of the border back into Russia.
On Thursday, an Estonian border official said there are as many as a few hundred vehicles waiting on the Russian side of the southeastern Luhamaa and Koidula border crossings.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “partial mobilization” order has sparked a surge in border crossings. Earlier Thursday, the Kremlin said it does not have the “exact numbers” of people who have fled since the order was announced on Sept. 21.
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"We have to stop lying," Russian lawmaker urges senior officials to tell the truth about battle developments
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova, Josh Pennington and Alex Stambaugh
Chairman of the Committee on Defence of Russia's State Duma Andrei Kartapolov, center, takes part in the Immortal Regiment march on Victory Day in Volgograd, Russia, on May 9.
(Kirill Braga/Reuters)
The head of Russia’s State Duma Defense Committee demanded officials report the truth about developments on the battlefield in Ukraine, telling a journalist that senior figures need to “stop lying.”
“First of all, we need to stop lying. We brought this up many times before… But somehow it’s apparently not getting through to individual senior figures,” Col. Gen. Andrei Kartapolov said in an interview with Vladimir Solovyov, which was posted on Solovyov’s Telegram channel on Wednesday.
“The reports from the Ministry of Defense do not change in substance. They say they destroyed 300 rockets, killed Nazis and so on. But people know. Our people are not stupid. But they don’t want to even tell part of the truth. This can lead to a loss of credibility,” he continued, using Russian President Vladimir Putin’s false accusations of Nazism to justify his war in Ukraine.
Valuyki is in the region of Belgorod in western Russian, near the border with Ukraine.
CNN’s Lauren Said-Moorhouse and Mick Krever contributed previous reporting to this post.
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Kremlin says it welcomes reports that US intelligence believes Ukraine was behind Dugina assassination
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova and Tim Lister
Flowers and candles are placed next to a portrait of media commentator Darya Dugina in Moscow, Russia, on August 22.
(Maxim Shemetov/Reuters)
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov welcomed news reports in the United States that the US intelligence community suspected Ukrainian officials were behind the bombing that killed activist Darya Dugina near Moscow in August.
CNN reported Wednesday that the US intelligence community believed that the car bombing that killed Dugina, daughter of prominent Russian nationalist Alexander Dugin, was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government.
The US was not aware of the plan beforehand, according to the sources who spoke with CNN, and it is still unclear who exactly the US believes signed off on the assassination. It is also not clear whether the US intelligence community believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the plot or authorized it.
The intelligence finding was first reported by The New York Times.
Peskov added that he hoped US was not trying to distance itself from any future crimes allegedly planned by Kyiv.
“We really want to believe that this is not an attempt by American colleagues, having obtained some information, to relieve themselves of responsibility from the preparation of future terrorist acts by the Kyiv state,” Peskov said during the daily Kremlin call with reporters.
“If this is not a fake, then it is indeed positive that American intelligence agreed with this,” Peskov said.
More background: Ukrainian government officials did not immediately respond to CNN’s requests for comment. They have previously denied any Ukrainian involvement in the murder.
“Quite promptly, those responsible were established, and who the customers were is clear enough,” he said.
The Russian security service, the FSB, published the name of the alleged assailant within two days of the assassination, saying that she was working on behalf of Ukrainian special services. By then, she had left Russia via Estonia by car, according to the FSB. She has not been seen since.
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Ukrainian official: Teachers in Moscow-occupied regions are being ordered to promote "Russian world"
From CNN's Julia Kesaieva
Russian-backed authorities are beginning “to forcibly nationalize local enterprises and property and transfer them to the so-called local administrations,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Telegram on Thursday.
Maliar also alleged that educational institutions in Zaporizhzhia region had received an order that required teachers to promote the “Russian world” and explain the need for a referendum to the local population.
CNN is unable to independently verify these claims.
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Ukraine claims Russian mobilization is facing problems as recruits try to avoid serving
From CNN's Julia Kesaieva
Ukrainian intelligence indicates that Russian authorities are having multiple problems with the “partial mobilization” order announced last month, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said.
Maliar said on Telegram that according to the Ukrainian defense intelligence, “a significant number of men of military age fled abroad to evade mobilization or are trying to pay not to be drafted. Some people resorted to self-mutilation, faked illnesses and were even ready to receive a certificate of unfitness from psychiatric departments of hospitals.”
Recruits were often buying equipment at their own expense and the training of conscripts was “carried out in a very short time — or they were immediately sent from the military commissariats to the area of hostilities,” Maliar added, also claiming that “Russian command is massively burning the bodies of dead [soldiers], including those recently mobilized, to conceal real losses.”
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Russian-appointed leader in Kherson berates Putin’s "incompetent commanders"
From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Jo Shelley in London
Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed Kherson administration, is pictured in his office, in the city of Kherson, Ukraine, on July 20.
(Getty Images)
The Russian-appointed deputy leader of occupied Kherson in southern Ukraine said that “gaps” on the battlefield in the region are down to “incompetent commanders.”
“There is no need to somehow cast a shadow over the entire Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation because of some — I do not say traitors — but incompetent commanders who did not bother, and were not accountable, for the processes and gaps that exist today,” Kirill Stremousov said in a four-minute video posted to the Telegram messaging app on Thursday.
Stremousov contrasted what he called a “small number” of “corrupt marauders and other miscellaneous riffraff” in Russia’s Defense Ministry with “heroes” on the frontline.
“All those who gave their lives, who stand to the end, are heroes,” he said. “I know them personally, because I am at the forefront.”
What Kyiv is saying: Ukraine claimed on Thursday that it had liberated more than 400 square kilometers (155 square miles) in the Kherson region in an unspecified timeframe.
Stremousov denied this, saying in the caption to his video that Russian troops were “holding back the onslaught” and Ukraine’s advances “had been stopped.”
The Kherson region in southern Ukraine is partially occupied by Russia but the Ukrainian Armed Forces have made significant gains in the past week. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the communities of Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka had been liberated, suggesting that Ukrainian forces are making progress through the largely rural hinterland of Kherson.
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UN nuclear watchdog chief due in Kyiv after Putin announces seizure of Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
From CNN’s Jo Shelley
A serviceman with a Russian flag on his uniform stands guard near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar, Ukraine, on August 4.
(Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)
The head of the United Nations’s nuclear watchdog is set to arrive in Kyiv Thursday to discuss creating a protection zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the facility a federal asset.
Rafael Mariano Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will hold “talks aimed at agreeing and implementing a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant) as soon as possible,” according to an IAEA press release. Grossi will also visit Russia, it added.
“The need for a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone (NSSPZ) around #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is now more urgent than ever,” he tweeted Wednesday alongside photos from his journey to the Ukrainian capital.
Separately, there are plans to restart one of the six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which “are currently cold in shutdown,” according to the IAEA news release.
Senior Ukrainian operating staff told IAEA experts at the complex that arrangements are underway to start the reactor at a lower level of power to create steam and heat necessary for the plant.
“It will take some time to complete all preparations, including those related to necessary systems and equipment, before reactor operations can resume,” the press release said.
Some background: Grossi’s trip to Kyiv comes amid heated confrontation over the status of the plant, after Putin signed a decree on Wednesday that puts Zaporizhzhia nuclear power under Russian state control.
Just as Putin was signing the decree, the Ukrainian state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said its president would assume the duties of the plant’s director general – which has led the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to intervene.
The plant in the southeastern Ukrainian region is the largest in Europe and has been held by Russian forces for more than seven months, but is operated by its Ukrainian staff.
Moscow does not have full control of the land it claims to have annexed, holding just under three-quarters of Zaporizhzhia.
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Kremlin doesn’t have "exact numbers" on how many have fled Russia’s partial mobilization
From CNN's Uliana Pavlova
Finnish border guard officers look at cars queueing at the Vaalimaa border crossing between Finland and the Russian Federation on September 30.
(Alessandro Rampazzo/AFP/Getty Images)
Kremlin does not have the “exact numbers” of people who have fled Russia’s partial mobilization, a spokesperson said on Thursday.
Dmitry Peskov was asked about a Forbes Russia report – unconfirmed by CNN – that cited sources close to the Kremlin as saying 700,000 Russians had left the country since President Vladimir Putin announced a mobilization drive on Sept. 21.
“I do not have exact numbers, but they are far from 700,000,” Peskov said during his daily call with journalists.
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Swedish authorities conclude "detonations" caused damage to Nord Stream pipelines
From CNN’s Livvy Doherty
Gas leak in the Baltic Sea from Nord Stream photographed from the Swedish Coast Guard's aircraft on September 27.
(Swedish Coast Guard/AP)
The Swedish Security Police confirmed “detonations” were the source of damage to both Nord Stream pipelines, after concluding their crime scene investigation into gas leaks that were discovered more than a week ago.
Detonations had caused “extensive damage” to the pipelines in the Swedish economic zone, the Security Police said on Thursday, adding that their investigation had strengthened “suspicions of gross sabotage.”
News of the leaks sparked furore among several European leaders, who said sabotage appeared to be the likely cause. At the time President Joe Biden called the leaks in the Nord Stream pipelines a “deliberate act of sabotage,” though he stopped short of directly accusing Moscow for the leaks.
Russia, which built the network, did not rule it out.
Why this matters: Both pipelines have been flashpoints in an escalating energy war between European capitals and Moscow that has pummeled major Western economies, sent gas prices soaring and sparked a hunt for alternative energy supplies.
According to the Swedish police “certain seizures” had also been made as part of the investigation and were now being reviewed and analysed.
A continuing investigation would also show whether “someone can be served with suspicion and later prosecuted” the police statement said.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, the cordons around the scene were lifted, the Swedish Prosecutor’s Office confirmed in a statement.
CNN’s Chris Liakos, Allie Malloy and Maegan Vazquez contributed reporting to this post.
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It's 3 p.m. in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
A series of fatal Russian missile attacks have hit residential blocks in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, following Moscow’s claimed annexation of the wider Zaporizhzhia region.
The head of the UN’s nuclear watchdog is set to arrive in Kyiv Thursday to discuss creating a protection zone around the nearby power plant, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared the Zaporizhzhia facility a Russian federal asset.
Here are the latest developments:
Russian missiles strike Zaporizhzhia: Deadly missile attacks on the major Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia killed one person and left seven hospitalized, including a three-year-old girl, according to local officials. The shelling came soon after Putin signed into law the documents on the annexation of Zaporizhzhia and three other regions – despite only having partial control of the Ukrainian land it claims to have absorbed.
UN nuclear watchdog chief in Kyiv: Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will meet Ukrainian officials to discuss the instalment of “a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the ZNPP (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant).” It comes amid heated confrontation over the status of the plant, after Putin signed a decree on Wednesday that aims to bring Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant under full Russian state control.
US commits $55 million package to Ukraine: Samantha Power, the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), announced a $55 million investment in Ukraine’s heating infrastructure, as the war-torn country braces for a grim winter. The aid will bolster the equipment required to provide heating at various facilities across Ukraine, benefitting seven million Ukrainians in 19 regions, according to a USAID statement.
Kyiv gains ground in the south and east: More settlements in the south of Ukraine have been liberated amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky. Social media images also showed Ukrainian troops in at least one village in Luhansk, marking the first time since the beginning of the conflict in March that Ukrainian troops have advanced into the eastern area.
US intelligence sheds light on Darya Dugina: The US intelligence community believes the car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian political figure Alexander Dugin, was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government, sources briefed on the intelligence told CNN. The intelligence finding, first reported by the New York Times, would seem to corroborate elements of the Russian authorities’ findings that the car bombing was “pre-planned.”
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US gives $55 million heating package as Ukraine braces for winter
From CNN’s Victoria Butenko in Kyiv
Head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Samantha Power answers journalists' questions as she visits Kyiv on October 6.
(Efrem Lukatsky/AFP/Getty Images)
Samantha Power, the head of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced a $55 million investment in Ukraine’s heating infrastructure, as the war-torn country braces for a grim winter.
“This assistance will support repairs and maintenance of pipes and other equipment necessary to deliver heating to homes, hospitals, schools, and businesses across Ukraine,” according to a USAID statement.
“The new USAID assistance will directly benefit up to seven million Ukrainians in 19 regions,” it said.
“USAID will also provide power generators and alternative fuel sources to hospitals, centers for internally-displaced persons, and shelters for socially vulnerable citizens, helping provide Ukrainians with access to warm shelter during winter.
“The assistance will target parts of Ukraine that have been devastated by Putin’s war, including the regions of Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhya, and Zhytomyr,” the statement added.
Power arrived in the Ukrainian capital Thursday to meet a range of people, the US Embassy said in a post on Facebook.
Some background: The Biden administration has emerged as a staunch ally to Kyiv after Moscow launched its military assault on Ukraine earlier this year.
Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion in late-February, the US has committed more than $16 billion in security assistance to Ukraine.
Last week the Pentagon announced $1.1 billion in extra military aid to Ukraine, which a senior defense official called a “multiyear investment” in the country’s defenses.
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Second missile attack hits Zaporizhzhia after pre-dawn strikes
From Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
A damaged block is seen in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, after shelling on October 6.
(Anton Gerashchenko)
Deadly missile attacks on Zaporizhzhia have been followed up by another strike on the Ukrainian city, local officials said Thursday.
The alleged bombardment came several hours after pre-dawn missile attacks on the southern Ukrainian city left one person dead and seven hospitalised, including a three-year-old girl.
“Attention! There is another enemy missile attack. Stay in shelters!” Oleksandr Starukh said in a post on Telegram addressed to residents.
The pre-dawn bombardment comprised of seven missiles, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“So far, it is known about the death of one woman,” Starukh said in a separate Telegram post of the pre-dawn attack. “Seven people were injured…They were hospitalised, including one three-year-old child. The rescue operation is still ongoing.”
Starukh had initially said two women had been killed, but revised the death toll and said the second had survived.
The first attack hit high-rise residential buildings as people slept, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Anatoliy Kurtiev said on his Telegram channel. Among the damaged infrastructure was a flattened apartment building, according to photos posted on social media by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.
Zaporizhzhia is a major city in southern Ukraine, not far from the front line as Kyiv makes sweeping advances across the country’s southern and eastern regions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law the documents on the illegal annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, completing the last step of the annexation process, based on the Russian legal system. The annexation is illegal under international law.
Moscow only has partial control of the Ukrainian land it claims to have annexed, with just over 70% of the Zaporizhzhia region under Russian occupation.
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2 women killed in Russian missile attack on Zaporizhzhia, official says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, on October 6.
(Reuters)
Two women died and at least five people were trapped in rubble after Russian missiles hit buildings in the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine early Thursday, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram.
The acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia, Anatoly Kurtev, said in a separate Telegram post that eight people had been hospitalized.
Zaporizhzhia is one of the regions of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed — in violation of international law and the protests of Western governments.
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Russian forces fire missiles at Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine
From CNN's Josh Pennington and Mohammed Tawfeeq
Rescuers work on a residential building which was heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on October 6.
(Stringer/Reuters)
Russian forces fired several missiles on the city of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Thursday, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said in a post on Telegram.
He said fires broke out in the Ukrainian-controlled city as a result of the attack, and “residential buildings were destroyed.”
Acting Mayor of Zaporizhzhia, Anatoly Kurtev, also said residential buildings were on fire in a post on Telegram on Thursday.
It’s unclear whether there are casualties, but Starukh said “rescue teams are working” to determine that.
Some context: Zaporizhzhia is one of four areas of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed — in violation of international law and despite the protests of Western governments.
Russia has declined to clarify the borders of the territories it claims to have annexed and is not even in full control of these regions — with Kyiv’s forces making rapid advances in their counteroffensive across Ukraine’s south and east.
Moscow only controls just under three quarters of the southeastern region, not including the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia, which is situated along the Dnieper River – 120 kilometers (75 miles) north of the local nuclear power plant that bears its name.
The power plant has been the site of heavy fighting in recent weeks and has been under Russian military control for months.
On Wednesday, the Kremlin also claimed the facility as Russian federal property after President Vladimir Putin signed a decree amending the Constitution to admit new regions into the Russian Federation. Just as Putin was signing the decree, the Ukrainian state nuclear operator, Energoatom, said its president would assume the duties of the plant’s director general.
The confrontation over the status of the plant and the intense shelling that has damaged numerous installations has led the UN nuclear watchdog to intervene. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Wednesday that he was traveling to Kyiv.
“The need for a Nuclear Safety and Security Protection Zone (NSSPZ) around #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is now more urgent than ever,” he tweeted at the time.
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Zelensky says more settlements were liberated in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine
From CNN's Josh Pennington and Julia Kesaieva
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that more settlements in the south of Ukraine have been liberated amid a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region.
The communities of Novovoskrensenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka had been recaptured, he said in his daily address, suggesting that Ukrainian forces are making progress through the largely rural hinterland of Kherson.
However, Ukrainian forces remain some distance from Kherson’s capital and other strategically important areas.
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US believes elements within Ukraine's government authorized assassination near Moscow, sources say
From CNN's Natasha Bertrand and Katie Bo Lillis
The US intelligence community believes the car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian political figure Alexander Dugin, was authorized by elements within the Ukrainian government, sources briefed on the intelligence told CNN.
The US was not aware of the plan beforehand, according to the sources, and it is still unclear who exactly the US believes signed off on the assassination. It is also not clear whether the US intelligence community believes that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was aware of the plot or authorized it.
But the intelligence finding, first reported by the New York Times, would seem to corroborate elements of the Russian authorities’ findings that the car bombing was “pre-planned.” Russia had accused Ukrainian nationals of being responsible for the attack, which Ukraine had strongly denied in the aftermath of the explosion.
Asked to comment, a Ukrainian defense intelligence official told CNN Wednesday evening following publication of the latest reports that their agency had no new information on Dugina’s death. Shortly after her death, the same official had told CNN that Ukraine had nothing to do with it.
The National Security Council, CIA and State Department declined to comment.
Ukrainian forces advance into Luhansk region for first time since conflict began, social media images show
From CNN's Tim Lister
Ukrainian soldiers stand at the entrance to the village of Hrekivka, inside Luhansk region.
(Obtained by CNN)
Social media images from Wednesday showed Ukrainian troops in at least one village in the eastern Luhansk area, after crossing from the neighboring Donetsk region.
One photograph showed a Ukrainian unit kneeling and standing around a road sign at the village of Hrekivka, just inside Luhansk region.
More on Ukraine’s advances: All of the Luhansk region is claimed as Russian territory by the Kremlin, following its forcible annexation. But in recent days Ukrainian forces have been approaching the region from several directions, building on their successful offenses in Kharkiv and Donetsk.
Social media video also showed Ukrainian troops in the town of Terny in Donetsk region, about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from the town of Kreminna in Luhansk, which analysts believe is a critical defensive line for the Russians now they have lost ground in both Donetsk and Kharkiv regions.
The Ukrainian advances in the northeast come within days of the so-called referendums held by pro-Russian local authorities that led to the annexation by Moscow of Donetsk and Luhansk as well as much of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. Since the annexation measures were approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday, Russian forces have lost hundreds of square kilometers of territory in Donetsk and Kherson.
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Putin predicts annexed Ukrainian regions will stabilize despite Moscow's lack of control
From CNN's Lauren Said-Moorhouse, Mick Krever and Uliana Pavlova
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he expects the situation to stabilize in four war-torn regions of Ukraine after signing legislation to annex them on Wednesday, despite the fact that Russia’s military does not fully control those areas.
While Russian state television hailed Putin’s inking of the annexation process, pro-Kremlin pundits delivered rare dispatches on the growing setbacks faced by Moscow’s troops on the ground.
Russian forces appear to be buckling under growing pressure as Ukraine continues to regain territory in the south, where Russian soldiers have been forced to retreat from previously-held settlements as Kyiv progresses with its counteroffensive towards the Russian-occupied city of Kherson.
Despite losing territory in the south to the Ukrainian military at rapid pace, Putin on Wednesday signed several laws ratifying the Russian Federation’s claimed annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
In a bid to celebrate the news, Putin took the opportunity in a televised meeting for Teachers’ Day to congratulate educators from “all 89 regions of Russia,” a number that includes the newly annexed territories.
The annexations are illegal under international law. World leaders have said they are the result of “sham” referendums that will never be recognized.
