October 13, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

Rescuers work at the site of an apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike in Mykolaiv, on October 13.

The bodies of a 31-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman have been found by first responders in the ruins of a residential building hit by Russian strikes in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, its mayor said on Thursday.

“So far, rescuers have pulled out the bodies of two dead residents,” Oleksandr Senkevych said on his telegram channel.

The search and rescue is still ongoing, according to Senkevych.

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, five more people remain under the rubble. 

“As of 13:00, 9 units of equipment and 37 rescuers were involved,” the emergency services said. 

Earlier on Thursday, local officials reported that seven people were missing after the Russian strike.

A satellite view of damage at the Tets-5 power station, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 12.

The Ukrainian national electricity company Ukrenergo said power cuts “were not applied” in Kyiv, the Kyiv region and the entire central region of the country despite ongoing Russian attacks on electricity infrastructure. 

The company does not plan to introduce any further emergency shutdowns on Thursday, according to Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, CEO of Ukrenergo, in a statement.

It comes after strikes across the country targeting energy infrastructure resulted in rolling power outages across Ukraine earlier in the week. 

“Yesterday evening, dispatching constraints were not applied in Kyiv, in the Kyiv region and the entire central region, restrictions were lifted in the Northeastern regions of our country since 7:55 p.m.,” said Kudrytskyi Thursday.

Ukrenergo and regional utilities have managed to stabilize the energy supply and residents in central Ukraine reduced consumption, he said. 

“Whether there will be restrictions in the future depends primarily on whether there will be no new shelling and destruction,” he said. 

The head of the press office of the Ukrainian energy ministry Larysa Shustenko told CNN that they cannot anticipate when the grid and infrastructure will be fully restored because “attacks continue and some places were hit twice already.”

Russia has summoned the ambassadors of Germany, Denmark and Sweden in Moscow over the European investigation of leaks at Nord Stream pipelines, according to Russian state media TASS. 

“Moscow does not recognize any ‘pseudo-results’ of the investigation of the emergency at Nord Stream if Russian specialists do not participate in it,” the foreign ministry said, according to TASS. 

European countries were investigating unexplained leaks last month in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark — infrastructure at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Several European officials said sabotage appeared to be the likely cause, while Russia, which built the network, did not rule it out. 

The Russian foreign ministry has received information about the “involvement of the United States in the investigation of incidents at Nord Stream,” TASS added. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is “a crusade against what Putin calls the collective West,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday.

“A crusade against liberal democracy, a crusade against the rules based on liberal order, a crusade against freedom and progress. A crusade against our way of life, a crusade against what Putin calls the collective West,” he said.

Scholz added that Germany will support Ukraine financially, economically and for humanitarian and military needs.

“Including heavy weaponry, modern air defense system and tanks and make no mistakes we will continue our support as long as it takes,” he said.

On Wednesday, Germany’s Economy Minister Robert Habeck said he is convinced Putin’s attempt to destabilize Europe’s economic order will fail.

“Putin will fail in his attempt to destabilize the basic economic order, the same way he will fail on the battlefield in Ukraine,” Habeck said, speaking at a news conference in Berlin. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech during the 6th CICA Summit, October,13, in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow is “making every effort to provide critical products” to countries impacted by recent volatility in prices, while speaking at a summit in Kazakhstan on Thursday.

“Other regional associations have to deal with many acute problems, including the increased volatility in world prices for energy resources, food, fertilizers, raw materials and other important goods,” Putin said while delivering remarks at the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in the Kazakh capital Astana.

“This leads to a deterioration in the quality of life in developed and developing countries. Moreover, there is a real threat of famine and widespread social upheaval, especially in the poorest countries.”

“Russia, for its part, is making every effort to provide critical products to countries in need. We call for the elimination of all artificial, illegitimate barriers to the restoration of the normal functioning of global supply chains in order to address urgent food security challenges,” Putin said.

The Russian leader did not reference the war in Ukraine in his remarks. However, he again criticized NATO for the “failure of their policies,” referencing their role in Afghanistan.

“After more than 20 years of the military presence of the United States and NATO [in Afghanistan], the failure of their policies, was unable to independently resolve the problems associated with terrorist threats,” Putin said.

Putin said that, together with other Asian countries, Russia is looking to form a “system of equal and indivisible security based on the universally recognized principles of international law of the UN Charter.”

Some context: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February sent the prices of energy and other commodities soaring.

In the case of wheat, prices later fell back sharply after spiking to an all-time high in March, as investors cheered a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to restart exports of grain from key Ukrainian ports.

However, natural gas prices increased further as Russia toyed with supply to Europe via key pipelines and heat waves pushed up electricity usage, with the economic impact of the war in Ukraine still being felt around the world.

“Kamikaze” drones carried out attacks targeting infrastructure facilities in the Kyiv region, according the head of the regional police. 

Three “kamikaze” drones hit the district of Bucha, the head of Kyiv region police Andrii Nebytov said.

There are no casualties, according to a preliminary assessment.

The police chief did not elaborate on what kind of infrastructure facilities were targeted in Bucha.  

Drones also struck targets in the Makariv community in the Kyiv region overnight, he said. 

Oleksii Kuleba, head of Kyiv region military administration, also posted about the drones on Telegram.

“Today, around 5 am, the Russians carried out an attack on the Kyiv region. In one of the communities of the region, there were three attacks by enemy kamikaze drones on an infrastructure facility. This caused a fire,” he said.

“There are no casualties. At 06:45, the fire was localized, there is no open fire. 43 people and 12 units of emergency services equipment were involved in extinguishing the fire,” added Kuleba.

He asked residents not to film the location of the attacks or share on social media.

“Do not specify locations and places of incoming hits. Be responsible, because our safety depends on it,” Kuleba added.

Some context: Thursday’s “kamikaze” drone attacks come after three consecutive days of deadly Russian strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine, including the capital region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during a video address to the European Council, on October 13, in Strasbourg, France.

As deadly Russian airstrikes in Ukraine continued into a fourth day, President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his plea for more air defense capacities, saying Kyiv has only about 10% of what it needs to combat Moscow’s blitz.

“There is nothing I can add about that, we have about 10% of what we need,” Zelensky told European lawmakers.

He called on Western countries such as the United States and France to increase their military aid to Ukraine.

Zelensky’s plea comes amid one of the fiercest bombing campaigns that Russia has waged against Ukraine since invading the country in late February.

Ukraine has received additional emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), according to the Ukrainian prime minister.

“Ukraine received $1.3 billion of additional emergency financing support from the International Monetary Fund. The funds will be used to finance priority needs: Strengthening defense capabilities, paying pensions, social programs and supporting the economy,” said Denys Shmyhal.

“In total, the IMF has provided our country with $2.7 billion since the beginning of the full-scale war,” he said.

On October 7, the IMF executive board approved the additional funds “under the food shock window of the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to help meet Ukraine’s urgent balance of payments needs.”

“The scale and intensity of Russia’s war against Ukraine that started more than seven months ago have caused tremendous human suffering and economic pain,” the IMF said in a press release last week.

“This disbursement under the RFI (equivalent to 50 percent of Ukraine’s quota in the IMF) will help meet urgent balance of payment needs, including due to a large cereal export shortfall, while playing a catalytic role for further financial support from Ukraine’s creditors and donors,” the IMF added.

Satellite image showing damaged transformers at the Tets-5 power station, in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 12.

Heating season in Ukraine will not be delayed by Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure, a Ukrainian minister has said.

“The heating season will start on time, without any postponements or changes. It will start as planned: as soon as the average daily temperature is below 8 degrees Celsius for three days. Even the weather is on our side,” Minister for Communities and Territories Development Oleksii Chernyshov said. 

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said about 30% of energy infrastructure in Ukraine had been hit by Russian missiles since Monday. 

Kyiv is urging all Ukrainians to save electricity, especially from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, fifth right, speaks during the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Astana, Kazakhstan, on October 13.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan reiterated his calls Thursday for an end to the war in Ukraine while speaking at a conference in Kazakhstan, where Russian President Vladimir Putin is in attendance. 

Later Thursday, Erdoğan and Putin are expected to meet for a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) summit in the Kazakh capital Astana, according to Russian state-run news agency TASS.

Erdoğan has repeatedly called for an end to the war and played a key role in the UN-brokered deal between Moscow and Kyiv this summer to allow the resumption of grain shipments from Black Sea ports in Ukraine.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, shakes hands with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg during a news conference on the second day of a meeting of the alliance's defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on October 13.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reiterated their support for Ukraine ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Thursday. 

UN vote: Stoltenberg praised the UN General Assembly’s approval Wednesday of a resolution telling Russia its annexation of four Ukrainian zones is illegal and not valid, calling the vote a “clear condemnation of the illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories and a clear call on Russian President [Vladimir] Putin to reverse these decisions and respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

“I absolutely agree with you … and I couldn’t have put it better,” Austin said, reiterating that the US will continue to support Ukraine “for as long as it takes.”

Austin reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to Article 5 — the principle that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members — and to “defending every inch of NATO’s territory.”

An apartment building damaged by a Russian military strike, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine, on October 13.

At least seven people are missing as rescuers search through the rubble of a residential building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv following Russian shelling overnight, the Mykolaiv regional military administration said on Telegram on Thursday. 

An 11-year-old boy has been rescued and is receiving medical treatment, they said. 

The administration said the city had been hit by eight S-300 missiles overnight. 

The attacks mark the fourth consecutive day of Russian strikes targeting civilian infrastructure across Ukraine.

The Russian military appears to have embarked on a new tactic in its efforts to turn the tide of its faltering war: trying to overwhelm Ukraine’s largely Soviet-era air defenses with dozens of missiles and drones from multiple directions.

As Ukraine races to shore up its missile defenses in the wake of the assault, the math for Moscow is simple: A percentage of projectiles are bound to get through.

Russia’s aerial onslaught of the last few days has been largely directed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, using a variety of missiles and newly acquired Iranian drones. But while the damage has been substantial, Ukraine claims that it has taken out around half of the missiles fired — and it expects that success rate to improve as new air defenses arrive from Germany, the US and elsewhere.

Over the last three days, the Russians have been using a mix of their missile stocks. The majority were air-launched cruise missiles, some delivered by bombers based near the Caspian Sea. But they also deployed ship-launched Kalibrs from the Black Sea, ground-launched Iskander cruise missiles and dozens of attack drones.

The great unknown is just how far such a blitz is depleting Russian inventories — and whether increasingly they will resort to stocks of older, less accurate but equally powerful missiles.

Estimating Russian missile inventories is guesswork. In May, President Volodymr Zelensky said Russia had launched 2,154 missiles and had probably used up 60% of its precision-missile arsenal. That now looks like wishful thinking.

Read the full analysis:

TOPSHOT - Investigators examine a crater next to a damaged bus, following a missile strike in Dnipro on October 10, 2022, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. - The head of the Ukrainian military said that Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine on Monday morning, with fatal strikes targeting the capital Kyiv, and cities in the south and west. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP) (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Russia's hit-and-miss missile blitz forces a frantic race to shore up Ukrainian defenses | CNN

US President Joe Biden said “the world has sent a clear message,” after the UN General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Wednesday condemning Russia’s annexation of four Ukrainian zones as illegal.

Some 143 members of the United Nations voted to condemn Russia’s illegal annexation attempt of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia following referendums derided by Western leaders as a sham. Only four UN members sided with Moscow — Belarus, North Korea, Nicaragua and Syria.

The city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine, after a missile attack overnight, on October 13.

The southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv was “massively shelled” overnight, the city’s Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said on Telegram early Thursday. 

He said rescuers are working at the scene. The mayor did not say if there were any injuries or deaths. 

Another southern city, Nikopol, also reported shelling overnight, Ukrainian member of parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko said on Telegram. 

Goncharenko said a 59-year-old man was injured and about 30 high-rise buildings and private houses were damaged, leaving around 2,000 families without electricity.

The latest attacks follow three consecutive days of deadly Russian strikes on civil infrastructure across Ukraine.

A “kamikaze” drone attacked a community in Ukraine’s Kyiv region on Thursday, according to Ukrainian military officials.

Authorities urged people to stay in shelters “until the air raid siren stops,” the administration said.

The administration did not say if there were any injuries or reports of damage from the attack, which follows three straight days of deadly Russian strikes on civilian targets across Ukraine, including the capital region.

New satellite images from Maxar Technologies taken Wednesday show cars crossing the Kerch bridge in Crimea just days after a deadly explosion damaged the only road and rail link between Russia and the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.

The explosion Saturday, which killed at least three people, was a major blow to Moscow and the Kremlin has responded with deadly attacks against Ukraine’s civil infrastructure over the past three days.

A close view of the traffic and the repair work on the Crimea Bridge over the Kerch Strait, in Crimea on October 12.

The images show limited car and rail traffic has restarted on the bridge following the blast as repairs are ongoing.

The photos also show long lines of cargo trucks waiting to be ferried to Crimea from Russia.

A number of cargo trucks are seen queuing at the ferry terminal and at an abandoned airport waiting to make the crossing to Crimea from Russia on October 12.

Though car traffic on the bridge has resumed, larger vehicles like trucks, vans and buses are now traveling by ferry across the Kerch Strait.

Russian authorities have detained eight people in connection with the attack on the bridge, state media reported Wednesday.

A satellite image of a ferry carrying trucks across the Kerch Strait is seen on October 12.

The Crimea bridge is a critical artery for supplying the peninsula with both its daily needs and supplies for the Russian military. Over the past few months, dozens of Russian military convoys have used the bridge, carrying vehicles, armor and fuel.

Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the blast on the 19-kilometer (about 12-mile) long bridge, which was was opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield address the UN General Assembly, before it voted on a resolution condemning Russia's illegal referendum in Ukraine at UN headquarters on Wednesday Oct. 12.

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) overwhelmingly approved a resolution on Wednesday telling Russia its annexation of four Ukrainian zones is illegal and not valid.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the resolution “historic” in a tweet and thanked the states that voted in favor.

During the assembly’s emergency special session on Ukraine, US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the vote “is important not just to the future of Ukraine and the future of Europe, but to the very foundations of this institution.”

The US diplomat said the resolution calls for peace and de-escalation, and “makes clear that we reject Russia’s attempted annexations. That we reject this affront to territorial integrity, to national sovereignty, to peace and security.”

She noted that “today it is Russia invading Ukraine. But tomorrow it could be another nation whose territory is violated. You could be next. What would you expect from this chamber?” 

Smoke rises from a Russian artillery strike in Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast, Ukraine on October 12.

Russian forces in occupied Ukraine continue to launch offensive operations amid the much higher tempo of missile attacks, according to the Ukrainian military.

In an update late Wednesday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said enemy forces were “trying to conduct offensive actions at the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions,” both in the eastern Donetsk region. Those attacks and others in Donetsk had been repelled, it said.

It said that parts of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions also came under attack, especially the town of Orikhiv.

Svitlana Mandrych, deputy head of Orikhiv, said a total of 324 shells had landed in the town on Wednesday

“We still have a night to survive ahead. Now we hear explosions again,” Mandrych said. 

The General Staff said Russian forces continued to use cruise missiles as well as drones and multiple launch rocket systems. Another 10 Iranian-made drones had been shot down Wednesday, it said.

It said the Ukrainian air force was again active — carrying out 27 strikes. 

Ukraine’s weapons wish list includes multiple launch rocket systems, artillery and air defense as current top weapons priorities, according to a handout provided to defense ministers participating in a Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting hosted by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Brussels on Wednesday. 

Ministers of defense from several countries are gathering to discuss weapons requirements and how the countries can continue to support Ukraine militarily as they battle Russia’s ongoing invasion of their country.

Under Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), the handout states that Ukraine needs “additional NATO-standard MLRS systems and ammunition.” Under artillery, the handout states Kyiv needs more artillery for towed howitzers, self-propelled tracked howitzers and non-standard wheeled howitzers as well as large quantities of “additional 155mm, 152mm, and 122mm ammunition,” the handout states.  

The third priority is “air defense” including missiles for Ukraine’s current medium-range air defense systems, the S-300 and SA-11. The list also states Ukraine needs a “transition to Western-origin layered air defense systems” and “additional Western and Soviet-era SHORAD systems.” Ukraine has been asking for more air defense systems, but the need has become more urgent as Russia has increased its use of Iranian-made drones. 

Other priorities listed include radars, coastal defense, tanks and electronic warfare equipment.

Ukraine’s government has appealed to people to reduce their electricity consumption to avoid blackouts as Russian missiles target the country’s energy infrastructure, saying peak demand needs to be reduced by 25%.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal called on citizens and businesses to reduce electricity consumption from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. in order to stabilize the power system, after the damage caused by Russian missile attacks this week.

But to avoid power outages, he said, “it is necessary to achieve a deliberate reduction in electricity consumption from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. across Ukraine by 25%.”

Read more:

Employees prepare coffee in a cafe without electricity in western Ukrainian city of Lviv, after three Russian missiles fired targeted energy infrastructure on October 11, 2022. - In Lviv, the largest city in the region of the same name, the mayor said on October 11, 2022 that one-third of homes were without power. (Photo by Yuriy Dyachyshyn / AFP) (Photo by YURIY DYACHYSHYN/AFP via Getty Images)

Related article Ukrainian PM calls for 25% cut in electricity use during peak hours to avoid outages | CNN

Ukraine says its forces have continued to advance in the southern region of Kherson, liberating five more villages in a slow push southwest. 

Yaroslav Yanushevych, head of the Kherson region administration, said Wednesday: “The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated 5 more settlements in the Kherson region: Novovasylivka, Novohryhorivka, Nova Kamynka, Tryfonivka, Chervone.

The five villages are relatively close together in a largely rural part of the region. 

More on Ukraine’s southern counteroffensive: Last week, a senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine’s military had recaptured 2,400 square kilometers (more than 926 square miles) of territory in the Kherson region “since the beginning of the full-scale war.”

Ukrainian forces have been making steady progress in Kherson since beginning an counteroffensive at the end of last month, and their successes have sparked rare criticism of Moscow’s war effort among pro-Russian figures.

Kherson is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Russia has claimed it is annexing in violation of international law.