Day 590 of the Invasion of Ukraine: 10-Year-Old Boy and his Grandmother were Killed after another Russian Attack on Kharkiv
Ukraine | October 6, 2023, Friday // 11:42| views
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Day 590 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:
- Dozens of victims after missile attack in Kharkiv
- Russia tests a nuclear-powered missile
- The Kremlin commented on the idea of canceling the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
- Russia raises the price of visa for Europeans
- Russian drones have attacked Odesa and Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Kirovgrad
- "Another heinous attack on innocent civilians." Strong reactions from Guterres, Borrell and Sunak
- The Biden administration is considering options for providing additional military aid to Ukraine
- Putin on the death of Prigozhin: Fragments of grenades were found in the bodies of the victims
- "Wagner" bought two Chinese spy satellites
Dozens of victims after missile attack in Kharkiv
A 10-year-old boy and his grandmother were killed in a new strike against the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Nearly 30 people were injured. Among the injured is a baby. 52 have already been killed in yesterday's rocket attack on a grocery store and cafe in Kharkiv region. In the attacked village of Groza, there is not a resident who did not lose a loved one in the attack.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk sent a field team to investigate the attack. According to the UN, there is every reason to believe that the strike on the Ukrainian village was carried out by a Russian missile. Moscow denies deliberately targeting civilians in Ukraine.
After the attack, three days of mourning were announced in the Kharkiv region.
Kharkiv, Russian strike this morning.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 6, 2023
A child, a boy, 10 years old... My condolences to his family and loved ones!
Over 20 people have been injured. All the injured are receiving the necessary assistance.
The rescue operation is ongoing, and I thank everyone who is helping our… pic.twitter.com/gfgAdsSq7N
Russia tests a nuclear-powered missile
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia had successfully tested a nuclear-powered missile and had almost completed work on a new type of ballistic missile. He also commented on the death of the leader of the private company "Wagner". Putin said that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims of the plane crash that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin.
After decades in oblivion, the name of the Barents Sea island of Novaya Zemlya, where Soviet nuclear tests once took place, has resurfaced. Satellites detected construction work there last month.
"The last successful test of Burevestnik - a missile with a nuclear engine of global reach was carried out. We have almost completed work on the Sarmat ballistic missile," said the President of Russia.
Putin's claims have not been confirmed by other sources, not even the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Kremlin also refuses to comment on whether the missile tests were carried out on Novaya Zemlya.
In a speech to the international discussion club "Valdai" in Sochi, Putin also commented on Russia's nuclear doctrine. He stated that he has no intention of changing it for the time being.
The Kremlin commented on the idea of canceling the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov assured that the possible cancellation of the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty does not mean an intention to conduct such tests.
This is how he explained President Vladimir Putin's speech at yesterday's annual meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club. Putin allowed the ratification to be revoked on the grounds that Russia had signed and ratified the treaty, while the United States only signed it.
"After they have signed but not ratified, and we have signed and ratified, we can act mirror (or reciprocally) with respect to the United States. This is a question for the deputies of the State Duma. Theoretically, this ratification can be revoked".
Today, the Speaker of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, said that the deputies will discuss at their next meeting the cancellation of the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
In his words, "the situation in which Washington and Brussels have started a war against Russia requires new solutions."
Russia raises the price of visa for Europeans
Russia will raise the price of the visa that European citizens need to visit the country. This is clear from a bill submitted by the government to the parliament, Interfax news agency reports.
According to the bill, the visa would cost between 50 and 300 US dollars, depending on the length of stay and the number of entries. The new tariffs will apply to citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland.
The reasons for the bill say that the increase in prices is expected to bring in almost three times more revenue to the Russian budget, and that the countries that will be affected have already raised the prices of the Schengen visas they issue to Russians.
Last September, the EU canceled the visa facilitation agreement with Russia, which increased the price of the Schengen visa for Russian citizens from 35 to 80 euros, and the number of multiple-entry visas issued was significantly reduced.
According to data from the Russian Tourist Association, as of February, only eight Schengen countries continue to issue visas to holders of Russian passports - Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Hungary, Switzerland, Slovenia and Croatia.
Currently, the price of a one-time Russian visa for European citizens is 50 dollars, and the electronic one - 52.
Russian drones have attacked Odesa and Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Kirovgrad
An air alert was declared this morning in the Kharkiv region, in the northeastern part of Ukraine. Earlier, the country's air force reported Russian drones targeting Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kirovgrad regions. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned yesterday's Russian missile attack on a village in the Kharkiv region, in which more than 50 people were killed, including a 6-year-old child.
The mayor of Kharkiv, Igor Terekhov, announced that Russian forces had struck the city's civil infrastructure, including a residential building. The head of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration, Oleg Sinegubov, said that after the morning attacks, 9 civilians sought medical help, including an 11-month-old child.
Russian drones also attacked port infrastructure in the area of the Ukrainian city of Odesa early today. A grain silo near the Danube River was damaged, the Ukrainian military said. There are no reports of people being injured in the impact.
The UN Secretary General has clearly stated that Russia is responsible for yesterday's attack on a grocery store and a cafe in a village in the Kharkiv region. Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian law and must stop immediately, António Guterres' statement added. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said it was "another disgusting attack on innocent civilians".
In his evening video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of deliberately attacking the village of Groza, west of the city of Kupiansk. At the time of the attack, about 60 local residents had gathered in a cafe for a commemorative ceremony. Zelensky once again called Russia "absolute evil":
"The Russian terrorists carried out an attack that cannot be described as brutal, because it would be an insult to animals. A deliberate missile attack on a village, on an ordinary grocery store and a cafe. The Russian military must have known where they were hitting and this was not a blind blow".
"Another heinous attack on innocent civilians." Strong reactions from Guterres, Borrell and Sunak
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the Russian missile attack on a village in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, in which more than 50 people were killed, DPA reported.
"Attacks against civilians and against civilian infrastructure are prohibited by international humanitarian law and must stop immediately," Guterres said through his spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The UN Secretary General has clearly stated that Russia is responsible for the attack.
The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said it was "another disgusting attack on innocent civilians".
"There are no signs that the appalling Russian terror against the Ukrainian civilian population is abating," Borrell stressed.
"International attacks against civilians are a war crime. Russia's leadership, all commanders, perpetrators and accomplices responsible for these atrocities will be held accountable. War crimes will not go unpunished," he added.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he discussed the attack with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Reuters adds.
"We discussed the horrific attack that just happened. It illustrates Russian barbarism," Sunak told reporters after meeting Zelensky at the European Political Community summit in Granada.
“Russian President Vladimir Putin can say whatever he wants. There is one person who is responsible for this illegal, unprovoked war and that is him... That is why the UK strongly supports Ukraine and will continue to do so”.
The Biden administration is considering options for providing additional military aid to Ukraine
The Joe Biden administration is considering using a State Department grant program to send additional military aid to Ukraine, Politico reports.
The White House is looking at a number of options to find more funding after Congress did not include funds for Kyiv in a proposal that would have allowed the government to avoid a temporary shutdown, according to sources familiar with the matter.
One option is a State Department program that provides grants or loans so that partner countries can buy weapons and equipment for Ukrainians or other countries affected by the conflict.
As of September 21, Washington still has 650 million dollars of the more than 4.5 billion under the program, which congressmen approved with two additional aid packages for Kyiv, Politico points out.
Meanwhile, a Defense Department official said the administration could ask Congress to redirect funds to the Pentagon budget to support Ukraine. However, that would require the approval of lawmakers, and a military spokesman said no concrete decision had yet been made. Last week, the department warned that they had exhausted almost all funds under the Initiative to Support the Security of Ukraine.
Putin on the death of Prigozhin: Fragments of grenades were found in the bodies of the victims
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of the victims of the plane crash that killed the leader of the private company "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigozhin.
According to Putin, the investigators have not established that the private plane suffered an external impact.
The plane in which Yevgeny Prigozhin was traveling from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed on August 23. All 10 passengers on board died.
Putin said investigators had erred by failing to conduct alcohol and drug tests on the dead.
The Russian president emphasized that in the past large quantities of drugs were found in Wagner's offices.
Investigators have not yet officially released the cause of the crash.
"Wagner" bought two Chinese spy satellites
The Wagner paramilitary group, long present in Ukraine and active in Africa, has signed a contract with a Chinese company to acquire two surveillance satellites and order images, giving it extraordinary power in intelligence, AFP reported.
The agency cited a European security source who said some of the images were used by the late Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who died in a car crash in August, to prepare his riot at the end of June, the biggest threat experienced by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his 20 years in power.
According to a commercial agreement written in English and Russian and signed on November 15, 2022, Beijing Yunze Technology Co. Ltd has sold two very high resolution (up to 75 cm) observation satellites belonging to Chinese space giant Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) to Nika-Frut, a Prigozhin circle of companies, for approximately 31 million US dollars.
The document also envisages the provision of imagery on demand from the CGST satellite system. According to the European security source, these photos allowed Wagner, which is in the process of disbanding after the death of its leader, to receive intelligence information in Ukraine and Africa (Libya, Sudan, Central Africa, Mali, etc.), where they operate their mercenaries.
Prigozhin's people also ordered at the end of May 2023 about 80 images of Russian territory, from the Ukrainian border to Moscow, the route Wagner traveled in late June during his rebellion, the same source told AFP. This riot, put down within 24 hours, sealed the final split between the Russian president and Prigozhin, a few weeks before the latter's death.
The image order from Russia, which did not appear in the aforementioned contract, could not be independently verified by AFP, the agency noted. But this leak may explain why US intelligence knew about Wagner's plotting of a coup, as CNN revealed in late June. The same applies to the French services, according to information in the publication "L'Opinion".
Deprived of its leader and several key members, the paramilitary group is now in a phase of reorganization. But much of its lucrative activities abroad appear destined to be preserved under the auspices of other paramilitary groups or a new leadership controlled by Moscow.
However, according to the same European source, the contract is still in force today. It envisages the acquisition of two Chinese satellites, JL-1 GF03D 12 and JL-1 GF03D 13, in orbit at an altitude of 535 kilometers. Through this contract, the customer also acquires rights to download data from other satellites in the system of the Chinese operator CGST, which today has about a hundred satellites and aims to reach 300 by 2025.
The contract stipulates that upon receipt of each customer order, "the service provider will orient the satellites" according to the requested images before they are transmitted to a ground station for processing and delivery. "The client will download the image data from the cloud" and be able to store it for seven days.
The Nika-Frut and Beijing Yunze groups had not responded to an AFP request for comment by midday on Thursday.
Why couldn't the Russian military directly provide these images to "Wagner"?
"Russia does not have that type of capacity. Their satellite program has not been performing well lately," Gregory Falco, a researcher at Cornell University in New York state, told AFP. "Conversely, Wagner sometimes had an intelligence capacity superior to that of the Russian military," he notes.
The supply of satellite images from China to "Wagner" will not surprise Washington, the agency notes. The US Department of Commerce decided on February 24, 2023 to sanction Beijing Yunze Technology Co. Ltd, as well as satellite imagery broker HEAD Aerospace Technology.
"These companies have contributed significantly" to supporting the Russian military in Ukraine and "are involved in activities contrary to the national security of the United States and (its) foreign policy interests," said an official ministry document available online.
On April 12, 2023, the State Department also imposed sanctions on "80 entities and individuals who continue to allow and facilitate Russian aggression." Among them was again HEAD Aerospace Technology, described as having "provided satellite imagery of sites in Ukraine to organizations associated with Wagner and Yevgeny Prigozhin".
AFP has also established the identity of the Russian who signed the contract with the Chinese company - one Ivan Mechetin. This 40-year-old man is the general director of Nika-Fruit, a subsidiary of Prigozhin's Concord group.
Mechetin also worked for a time in a unit that supplied weapons and ammunition to the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service, during the 2014 invasion of Crimea. Beijing Yunze contracts defense technology at Beijing's expense. HEAD Aerospace, according to several space experts, has a marketing agreement with CGST, writes AFP.
CGST "is the monster of Chinese space operations. They have done a lot of industrial espionage," Gregory Falco commented. Its one hundred satellites allow it a very high revisit rate, that is, the ability to pass over the same point of interest several times a day, offering a high recency of intelligence.
A huge question mark remains, notes AFP: Were senior officials in Beijing informed of orders for images of Russian territory by "Wagner" three weeks before his rebellion against Vladimir Putin?
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