Ukraine Daily Summary - Friday, October 14

PACE recognizes Russian regime as 'terrorist' -- Satellite images show 11 Russian strategic bombers close to Norwegian border -- Ukraine only has 10% of air defense it needs -- Ukraine is ready for possible attack from Belarus -- First deaths of mobilized Russian troops spark renewed criticism of Russian military command -- and more

Ukraine Daily

Friday, October 14

Russia’s war against Ukraine

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DONETSK, UKRAINE - OCTOBER 13: Tyehovskiy Serhiy Vitkorovich, 60, constructs a small wall from the rubble of his home which was destroyed by Russian attacks in the village of Yatskivka, recaptured by Ukrainian forces, while the village was occupied by Russian forces in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on October 13, 2022. (Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ukrainian MP: PACE recognizes Russian regime as ’terrorist.’ The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted a resolution stating that the Russian regime is terrorist, according to lawmaker and member of the Ukrainian delegation to PACE Oleksii Honcharenko. The resolution also declares the need to provide Ukraine with air defense systems and to create an international tribunal for Russian crimes, according to Honcharenko.

Zelensky: ‘Ukraine only has 10% of air defense it needs.’ “We are fighting a large state that has a large amount of equipment and missiles,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his address to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Oct. 13. Zelensky also added that there can be “no diplomacy” with Russia under the current conditions, European Pravda reports. “There can be no respect for the leadership that kills, captures, does not respect international law.”

Ukraine demands that Red Cross visits prison in occupied Olenivka in next 3 days. According to Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, a group of Ukrainian officials made a demand on Oct. 13 for the International Committee of the Red Cross to send a mission within three days to the prison in occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast, where Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed by an explosion on July 29. Some POWs are still kept there by Russian forces.

Official: Belarus declares counter-terrorist operation regime. A counter-terrorist operation regime has been declared in Belarus, and the country’s army and special services are “ready to respond to any provocations from neighboring countries,” Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei told Russian Izvestiya newspaper in an interview published on Oct. 14.

Ukrainian military: Country is ready for possible attack from Belarus. Ukraine is constantly monitoring the level of military threats from the Belarusian territory; it “takes measures” to ensure that Ukrainian troops are “in the appropriate number with the necessary weapons, military equipment, and combat potential,” according to Lieutenant General Serhii Naiev. “We are ready for an attack from the Republic of Belarus,” Naiev said.

Reuters: Russia threatens to withdraw from UN-backed grain export agreement. Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, told Reuters that Moscow could withhold support for the UN-backed grain deal’s renewal next month if the UN doesn’t address its concerns.

Ukraine returns 20 soldiers from Russian captivity. Andriy Yermak, the head of the President’s Office, announced on Oct. 13 that Ukraine had returned 20 soldiers from Russian captivity under a recent prisoner swap.

Media: Satellite images show 11 Russian strategic bombers close to Norwegian border. Russia has moved strategic bomber planes to the Kola peninsula, about 32 kilometers from the Norwegian border, according to satellite imagery obtained by Faktisk, a Norwegian fact-checking website. The images of the Russian Olenya Air Base on the Kola Peninsula near the Norwegian border show an increased presence of long-range strategic bombers, including Tu-160 and Tu-95.

Reintegration Ministry: Ukraine’s army has liberated over 500 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast. According to the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories, Ukraine’s Armed Forces have liberated 502 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast, 75 in southern Kherson Oblast, 43 in Donetsk Oblast and seven in Luhansk Oblast over the past month.

Ukraine investigates whether Antonov employees cooperated with Russia, leading to destroyal of Mriya. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has opened a probe against undisclosed employees from Ukraine’s Antonov company, the producer of the world’s largest cargo aircraft An-225 Mriya.

Governor: Russia again hits military facility in Lviv Oblast. According to Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi, Russia struck a military facility in the oblast’s Zolochivskyi District for the second time on Oct. 13. He didn’t specify what the facility was or when it was hit for the first time.

ISW: First deaths of mobilized Russian troops spark renewed criticism of Russian military command. The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest report that pro-war Russian military bloggers claim that the number of dead and wounded among newly mobilized servicemen is likely higher than official figures due to a lack of promised training, equipment, unit cohesion, and commanders. Russian media reported that five mobilized men from Chelyabinsk have already died in combat in Ukraine just three weeks after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s declaration of partial mobilization on Sept. 21.

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How Ukraine’s prodigy minister is innovating the battlefield. Mykhailo Fedorov and his team “make things happen,” Time magazine wrote when it selected Fedorov as one of its 100 emerging world leaders in September. Ukraine’s 31-year-old deputy prime minister and minister of digital transformation, keeps it modest about making it onto Time’s list.

Photo: Press service of Ministry of Digital Transformation

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Ukraine war latest: Russian-led militants call for evacuation from Kherson. Russian proxies in Kherson Oblast are losing control of the southern region they have occupied since early March. Russian-led militants now call for an evacuation from the occupied territory. The call comes as Ukrainian forces advance toward occupied Kherson.

Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images

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Naftogaz CEO Vitrenko: ‘Russian gas is a weapon.’ Naftogaz, Ukraine’s energy monopoly, will face an uphill battle to provide enough gas for this year’s heating season. This will be the most challenging winter in the company’s history.

Photo: Anna Yakutenko

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Governor: 11 year-old pulled out from under the rubble dies in Mykolaiv hospital. Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim said that an 11-year-old boy died after being hospitalized following a Russian strike on a residential building in Mykolaiv on Oct. 13.

Police open investigation over pensioner tortured to death in occupied Chaplynka, Kherson Oblast. The police opened an investigation after receiving a message reporting that a 62-year-old man was found dead with signs of a violent death after being abducted by Russians.

General Staff: Russia has lost 63,800 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 13 that Russia had also lost 2,511 tanks, 5,167 armored fighting vehicles, 3,935 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,556 artillery systems, 357 multiple launch rocket systems, 183 air defense systems, 268 airplanes, 240 helicopters, 1,182 drones, and 16 boats. The General Staff revised the data, that’s why the number of armored fighting vehicles, for example, is lower than on Oct. 12.

International response

Borrell: ‘Russian army will be annihilated’ in case of nuclear attack against Ukraine. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said on Oct. 13 that the people supporting Ukraine, the EU, its member states, the U.S., and NATO are “not bluffing” when speaking about the response in case Russia uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine.

Spain to provide Ukraine with 4 Hawk air defense systems. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement about Spain’s commitment to supply the American-made MIM-23 Hawk medium-range surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine during a press briefing on Oct. 13. Stoltenberg welcomed Spain’s decision.

Stoltenberg: NATO to send drone jamming devices to Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Oct. 13 that the Alliance will promptly provide Ukraine with hundreds of drone jamming devices to help neutralize the effectiveness of Russia’s drones and protect the Ukrainian population and infrastructure.

Estonia approves new military aid package for Ukraine. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on Oct. 13 that her country would send and “deliver fast” winter gear, equipment, and ammunition to Ukraine. “Let us all speed up our help, so Ukrainians can free their territories. This is the way to peace,” said Kallas.

14 NATO members, Finland to create joint European air defense system. Defense ministers of 14 NATO allies and Finland have agreed to develop an air and missile defense system called “European Sky Shield Initiative” to strengthen NATO’s ability to defend its members, the organization reported. “This commitment is even more crucial today, as we witness the ruthless and indiscriminate missile attacks by Russia in Ukraine,” said NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana.

Macron: France won’t strike Russia if it nukes Ukraine. “Our doctrine is based on the fundamental interests of (our) nation, and they are clearly defined. If there were a nuclear ballistic attack in Ukraine, these interests would not be called into question,” French President Emmanuel Macron told France 2 on Oct. 12, referring to France’s nuclear doctrine of deterrence.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Denys Krasnikov, Dinara Khalilova, Toma Istomina, Alexander Query, and Olena Goncharova.

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