Ukraine Daily
Tuesday, October 11
Russia’s war against Ukraine
On the morning of Oct. 10, Russian missiles and kamikaze drones struck central Kyiv and other major cities in Ukraine in the largest-scale coordinated missile attack against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion began on Feb. 24. Dozens of other explosions were reported across Ukraine, including in Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Lviv, Dnipro, Ternopil, Kremenchuk, Khmelnytskyi, and Zhytomyr.
According to the latest figures of the General Staff, a total of 84 cruise missiles and 24 kamikaze drones were launched at Ukraine on Oct. 10, of which 43 and 13 were shot down respectively.
As a result of the attacks, at least 105 people were injured, and 19 were killed across the country. 117 different sites around the country were hit, dozens of which were residential. Eleven sites of critical infrastructure were reportedly hit in the attacks.
Power outages occurred across the country and in the capital, and residents were asked to reduce electricity consumption while government workers repaired power grids damaged by Russia’s attacks. Ukraine was also forced to stop exporting electricity to Europe in order to stabilize its own grid after the strikes hit heat generation and electrical substations in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the missile attack by recording an address outside the President’s Office building in central Kyiv – only blocks away from where some of the missiles hit. According to Zelensky, Russia aims to destroy Ukraine’s energy system and to cause panic and chaos among people. “There may be temporary power outages now, but there will never be interruptions in our confidence in (Ukraine’s) victory,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky later said he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had agreed to hold an urgent G7 meeting following Russia’s coordinated attacks across Ukraine. “My speech is scheduled, in which I’ll tell about (Russia’s) terrorist attacks,” Zelensky wrote on Twitter. Zelensky added that he and Scholz also discussed “increasing pressure” on Russia and “aid in restoring damaged infrastructure.”
In a video address published on Oct. 10, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin said Russia launched a mass missile strike with high-precision weapons on Ukraine’s infrastructure. Putin said that Russia targeted Ukraine’s “energy facilities, military command and communication centers.” Putin made further threats, saying that if Kyiv “continues to attack Russian territory,” Moscow will give a “brutal” response. Earlier, Putin called the Oct. 8 explosion at the Crimean Bridge that connects the occupied Ukrainian peninsula and Russia “a terrorist attack” and accused Ukraine’s Security Service of conducting it.
Following the attack Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s appeasers, referring to Putin as “a terrorist who talks with missiles.” Kuleba also called on Ukraine’s partners to provide the country with more air defense systems, anti-missile systems, and diesel generators.
In response, Ukrainians announced ‘revenge’ fundraising for weapons after Russian strikes, raising $485,000 in the first hour. Comedian, politician, and volunteer Serhiy Prytula and activist Serhii Sternenko have organized a “revenge” crowdfunding campaign to buy Ukrainian-made RAM ІІ kamikaze drones for the army. Within eight hours, the fund had raised over $5.7 million.
Forbes estimated that Russia’s Oct. 10 missile strikes cost $400-700 million. Russia launched 84 cruise missiles and 24 drones all across Ukraine on Oct. 10, with an average total value of $400-700 million, according to Forbes. Forbes calculated the cost based on the assumption that most of the missiles Russia launched were the expensive and highly accurate Kh-101, S-300, and Tornado-S missiles, while the remaining were aimed at overloading Ukraine’s air defenses.
Education Minister Serhii Shkarlet called on Ukraine’s regional administrations to switch schools to remote learning until Oct. 14. On the morning of Oct. 10, Russia conducted missile and air strikes across Ukraine, including Kyiv.
Moldova’s Foreign Minister said Russian missiles targeting Ukraine violated Moldova’s airspace. “Three cruise missiles launched on Ukraine this morning from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova’s airspace,” Moldovan Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said on Oct. 10. Popescu said he has called for Russia’s ambassador to be “summoned to provide an explanation.” Popescu added that Moldova condemns “Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine.”
Read our exclusive coverage
Why Russia’s military massacre won’t save it in Ukraine. Russia’s missile attacks all across Ukraine on Oct. 10 raised several questions. Why did Russia choose to do this? What was it trying to accomplish? And how long can it keep it up?
Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/ Getty Images
Flashbacks of first day of war as Russia strikes central Kyiv. The morning of Oct. 10 in Kyiv was like no other since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Photo: Sergei Supinsky/ AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainians react to Russian missile barrage: ‘We won’t break.’ Cable welder Dmytro Mykhalchuk and his colleagues ran out the door gasping for air after a Russian missile hit their office building in Dnipro.
Photo: Wolfgang Schwan/ Getty Images
International response
Biden: Russian missile strikes demonstrate ‘utter brutality’ of Putin’s war. U.S. President Joe Biden has condemned Russia’s mass missile strike on Ukraine on Oct. 10 that ’killed and injured civilians and destroyed targets with no military purpose.“ Biden also pledged advanced air defense systems to Ukraine in a phone call with Zelensky on Oct. 10.
Germany to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T air defense system. The German government plans to provide Ukraine with the first of four new IRIS-T SLM air defense systems in the coming days, Spiegel reports, citing German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht. “The renewed missile fire on Kyiv and many other cities makes it clear how important it is to deliver air defense systems to Ukraine quickly,” said Lambrecht.
Macron: France to step up its support for Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron told Volodymyr Zelensky in a telephone conversation that France will increase its support for Ukraine “in response to the needs formulated by Kyiv, including those related to military equipment,” European Pravda reported, citing the Elysee Palace.
British Prime Minister to call urgent meeting of NATO leaders after Russia’s latest attacks. British Prime Minister Liz Truss will join a virtual gathering of Group of Seven leaders, which will also include Ukrainian President Zelensky, on Oct. 11. Truss will ask countries “to maintain biting sanctions” against Russia and will call for a full meeting of NATO leaders in the coming days, according to a statement by the prime minister’s office.
Duda: Russia committed ‘mass war crimes’ on Oct. 10. Polish President Andrzej Duda talked on the phone with President Volodymyr Zelensky “about the need to isolate Russia,” following Moscow’s mass missile strike across Ukraine on Oct. 10.
Michel: Russian strikes on Ukraine show Kremlin’s ‘growing desperation.’ European Council President Charles Michel said he condemned the “horrific and unacceptable strikes” that Russia conducted across Ukraine on Oct. 10, reported European Pravda newspaper. “The indiscriminate targeting of civilians is a war crime,” Michel said.
Politico: EU may provide Ukraine with 1.5 billion euros each month in 2023. The European Commission is currently working on a plan to provide Ukraine with sufficient budgetary support for the next year – 1.5 billion euros per month, undisclosed sources told Politico. PM Denys Shmyhal estimated Ukraine’s budget gap to be around $3.5 billion per month next year; the U.S. has already pledged to cover $1.5 billion per month.
Media: EU to extend refugee status for Ukrainians for 1 more year. Ylva Johansson, the EU home affairs commissioner, said that Ukrainians who return home will be able to retain their EU protection status should they have to suddenly flee again, as quoted by media outlet EUObserver.
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