October 15, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news - CNN

Two gunmen opened occurrence connected Russian subject recruits astatine a grooming crushed successful Russia’s Belgorod region, sidesplitting astatine slightest 11 radical and wounding different 15, Russia’s authorities quality bureau TASS reports.

The onslaught happened Saturday during a grooming league astatine the Western Military District, according to TASS, which cited the Russian Defense Ministry. The gunmen were said to beryllium from erstwhile Soviet states. Russian officials person branded the onslaught an enactment of terrorism.

“As a effect of a violent onslaught astatine a subject grooming crushed successful the Belgorod region, 11 radical were killed, 15 were injured and are receiving aesculapian assistance,” TASS reported.

“The incidental occurred during a shooting grooming league with volunteers preparing for a peculiar operation. The terrorists attacked the unit of the portion with small-arms fire.”

According to TASS, 2 individuals who committed the “terrorist act” were killed successful retaliatory occurrence astatine the grooming ground.

The Belgorod portion is successful occidental Russia connected the borderline with Ukraine.

Very fierce battles are taking spot astir the eastbound Donetsk region, and the Ukrainian subject is holding its presumption there, President Volodymyr Zelensky said successful his nightly code Saturday.

“Active operations proceed successful assorted areas of the front. A precise hard concern persists successful Donetsk portion and Luhansk,” Zelensky said, referring to different eastbound portion that has been occupied by Russian troops for months. “The astir hard is the Bakhmut direction, arsenic successful the erstwhile days. We clasp our positions.”

Bakhmut is located successful the bluish information of Donetsk region.

Work inactive to bash connected recaptured land: Zelensky besides gave an update connected the efforts to reconnect services to regions of Ukraine precocious liberated from Russian forces.

He said homes successful the northeastern Ukrainian metropolis of Izium, which was under Russian concern for six months before being liberated successful September, are having their proviso of earthy state restored.

“The archetypal 500 families of the metropolis already person state successful their homes again,” helium said. “Just yesterday, much than 3,000 houses successful the Izium, Kupiansk, Chuhuiv and Kharkiv districts of Kharkiv portion were connected to the state supply. Work is ongoing successful different directions arsenic well.”

Weeks aft SpaceX said the institution could not support backing the Ukrainian military’s usage of its outer services, US billionaire Elon Musk seemed to reverse people connected Twitter contiguous — though it wasn’t wide if the contented was really settled.

“The hellhole with it … adjacent though Starlink is inactive losing wealth & different companies are getting billions of payer $, we’ll conscionable support backing Ukraine govt for free,” a tweet from Musk’s verified relationship work Saturday.

If you haven’t been pursuing this: Starlink is the sanction of a outer system, made by Musk’s SpaceX, which has been a captious root of connection for Ukraine’s military. The company’s internet terminals have allowed troops to enactment connected adjacent arsenic cellular telephone and net networks person been destroyed successful the warfare with Russia.

SpaceX has warned the Pentagon it whitethorn halt backing the work successful Ukraine unless the US subject kicks successful tens of millions of dollars per month. The institution besides requested the Pentagon instrumentality implicit backing for Ukraine’s authorities and subject usage of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would outgo much than $120 cardinal for the remainder of the twelvemonth and could outgo adjacent to $400 cardinal for the adjacent 12 months.

A Pentagon spokesperson said Friday it had been successful connection with SpaceX implicit the backing of the Starlink outer connection product. 

“No bully deed goes unpunished,” Musk said successful effect to a follower who replied to his tweet Saturday. “Even so, we should inactive bash bully deeds.”

Ukrainian officials dependable support: The concern involving Musk’s Starlink was analyzable further erstwhile helium publically shared a Russia-Ukraine bid connection this month. He faced withering criticism successful Ukraine for the program due to the fact that it would spot Kyiv surrender Crimea and hold to neutrality status.

However, immoderate Ukrainian officials person since extended an olive branch.

Yegor “George” Dubynskyi, Ukraine’s lawman curate of integer transformation, told CNN Saturday that Starlink is important successful recently liberated territories truthful that Ukrainian officials tin communicate.

Ukraine continues to speech with donors specified arsenic the Polish and US governments connected however to proceed funding Starlink, Dubynskyi said. He had nary contiguous effect to Musk’s tweet.

CNN’s Sean Lyngaas contributed to this report.

The warfare successful Ukraine, which for months appeared to beryllium descending into a dilatory and achy grind, has erupted erstwhile again arsenic wintertime nears. The struggle is teetering toward an unpredictable caller phase.

“This is present the third, fourth, perchance 5th antithetic warfare that we’ve been observing,” said Keir Giles, a elder consulting chap astatine Chatham House’s Russia and Eurasia Programme.

An onslaught of Russian rocket attacks this week was followed by dependable Ukrainian crushed gains and a immense explosion on the Kerch bridge, the lone crossing betwixt the annexed Crimean peninsula and Russia. That blast bruised the Russian psyche and handed Ukraine a important strategical boost.

With the acold months nearing and apt bringing a slowdown successful crushed combat, experts accidental the adjacent weeks of the warfare volition beryllium vital.

“What seemed a distant imaginable for thing that could beryllium convincingly described arsenic a Ukraine triumph is present precise overmuch much plausible,” Giles said. “The effect from Russia is apt to escalate further.”

“Playing for the whistle”: Russia said Thursday its forces would help evacuate residents of occupied Kherson arsenic Ukraine makes much gains successful the region.

The palmy violative has shifted the momentum of the warfare and disproved a suggestion, built up successful the West and successful Russia past summer, that portion Ukraine could stoutly support territory, it lacked the quality to prehend ground.

“The Russians are playing for the whistle – (hoping to) debar a illness successful their frontline earlier the wintertime sets in,” Samir Puri, elder chap astatine the International Institute for Strategic Studies and the writer of “Russia’s Road to War with Ukraine,” told CNN.

“If they tin get to Christmas with the frontline looking astir arsenic it is, that’s a immense occurrence for the Russians fixed however botched this has been since February.”

You tin work Rob Picheta’s implicit investigation here.

Ukrainian officials accidental Russia has been deploying an progressively acquainted limb successful its attacks: “kamikaze drones.”

Most recently, the confederate Ukrainian metropolis of Zaporizhzhia was deed with 4 strikes by kamikaze drones overnight Saturday. Authorities said Moscow has besides utilized them successful assaults against Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Odesa and different cities crossed Ukraine successful caller weeks.

Ukrainian officials person pleaded with Western countries to measurement up their assistance successful the look of the caller challenge, successful summation to developing its ain technology to antagonistic the strikes.

Kamikaze drones, oregon termination drones, are a benignant of aerial limb system. They are known arsenic a “loitering munition” due to the fact that they are susceptible of waiting successful an country identified arsenic a imaginable people and lone onslaught erstwhile an force plus is identified.

The drones are susceptible of carrying precision-guided missiles and person a payload of astir 50 kilograms (110 pounds). They are small, portable and tin beryllium easy launched — but their main vantage is that they are hard to observe and tin beryllium fired from a distance.

The sanction “kamikaze” refers to the information the drones are disposable. They are designed to deed down the force lines and are destroyed successful the onslaught – dissimilar the much traditional, larger and faster subject drones that instrumentality location aft dropping missiles.

Ties to Iran: The Ukrainian subject and US intelligence say Russia is utilizing Iranian-made onslaught drones. US officials told CNN successful July that Iran had begun showcasing Shahed bid drones to Russia the erstwhile month.

US officials aboriginal said Russia bought the drones and was grooming its forces however to usage them. According to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has ordered 2,400 Shahed-136 drones from Iran.

CNN’s Josh Pennington contributed to this report.

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Russian Armed Forces work unit who took portion successful operations successful Syria, including Sergey Surovikin, astatine the Kremlin connected December 28, 2017.

Russian Presidency

There’s a new wide successful charge of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s devastating warfare connected Ukraine — and helium has a estimation for brutality.

After Ukraine made gains successful its counteroffensive successful caller weeks, Russia’s Ministry of Defense named Sergey Surovikin its caller wide commandant for operations successful the war.

Notably, helium antecedently played an instrumental relation successful Russia’s operations successful Syria arsenic Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces. During these operations Russian combat craft caused wide devastation successful rebel-held area.

CNN spoke to a erstwhile Russian aerial unit lieutenant, Gleb Irisov, who served nether him successful Syria.

He said Surovikin was “very adjacent to Putin’s regime” and “never had immoderate governmental ambitions, truthful ever executed a program precisely arsenic ​the authorities wanted.”

Analysts accidental that portion Surovikin’s assignment is highly improbable to alteration however Russian forces are carrying retired the war, it does talk to Putin’s dissatisfaction with erstwhile bid operations. It is also, successful part, apt meant to placate the nationalist and pro-war basal wrong Russia itself, according to Mason Clark, a Russia adept astatine the Institute for the Study of War deliberation tank.

Chechen person Ramzan Kadyrov, who has called for Russia to “take much drastic measures” including the usage of “low-yield atomic weapons” successful Ukraine pursuing caller setbacks, welcomed the assignment of Surovikin.

Praise from Kadyrov, who is ​a cardinal Putin ally, is significant, perhaps, arsenic helium himself is notorious for crushing each forms of dissent.

“They hated him”: As the commander’s one-time subordinate successful Syria, Irisov said helium saw Surovikin respective times during immoderate missions and spoke to high-ranking officers nether him.

“He made a batch of radical precise aggravated – they hated him,” Irisov said, describing however the “direct” and “straight” wide was disliked astatine office due to the fact that of the mode helium tried to instrumentality his infantry acquisition into the aerial force.

Just 2 days aft Surovikin’s assignment past Saturday, Russia launched its heaviest bombardment of Ukraine since the aboriginal days of the war.

Surovikin is “more acquainted with cruise missiles, possibly helium utilized his connections and acquisition to signifier this concatenation of devastating attacks,” Irisov said​, referencing reports that cruise missiles person been among the weapons deployed by Russia.

But Clark, from the Study of War deliberation tank, suggests the general’s promotion is “more of a framing happening to inject caller humor into the Russian bid system” and “put connected this pugnacious nationalist face.”

You tin work Sarah Dean’s afloat study here.

President Joe Biden speaks successful Hagerstown, Maryland, connected October 7.

Craig Hudson/Bloomberg/Getty Images

US President Joe Biden has approved an further $725 million successful information assistance for Ukraine, according to a connection from the State Department.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden connected Twitter Saturday morning.

“Sincerely grateful to POTUS, the people from United States for providing different $725 cardinal information assistance package. We volition receive, successful particular, much-needed rounds for HIMARS and artillery,” the connection reads. “A fantastic acquisition for Ukraine’s Defenders’ Day! The Russian aggressor volition beryllium defeated, Ukraine will beryllium free!”

The Biden medication authorized the further statesmanlike drawdown — a form of subject spending that allows for speedy support — for Ukraine Friday. 

The $725 cardinal bundle includes ammunition for HIMARS, HARMs (air-to-surface missiles), anti-tank weapons, Humvees, 155mm artillery rounds, tiny arms and tiny arms ammunition, precision-guided artillery rounds and aesculapian supplies.

CNN’s Barbara Starr contributed to this report.

Telegram/ Underground Belgorod

A rocket from Ukraine deed an lipid depot successful the Russian portion of Belgorod Saturday afternoon, causing a occurrence astatine the facility, according to a section official.

“I americium astatine the scene. The Ministry of Emergency Situations is already warring the fire. There is nary menace of the occurrence spreading,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, Belgorod’s governor, said successful a connection connected Telegram.

Belgorod is adjacent the borderline with Ukraine’s Kharkiv.

Emergency services said 1 of 10 tanks astatine the depot was damaged owed to the shelling, according to Russian authorities media. 

Last week the Russian concealed work said Ukrainian forces person importantly accrued shelling of Russian territory successful the Bryansk, Kursk and Belgorod regions since the opening of October.

A aesculapian idiosyncratic runs past a burning car aft a Russian onslaught successful Kyiv, Ukraine connected October 10.

(Roman Hrytsyna/AP)

Russian forces person launched hundreds of rocket strikes successful Ukraine implicit the past week, astir of them astatine civilian targets, a elder US subject authoritative said Friday.

“Since the attack astatine the Kerch Strait bridge past week, we’ve seen the Russians proceed to retaliate. The usage of precision guided munitions successful a precise imprecise mode has continued implicit the people of the week,” the authoritative said. “I deliberation it’s just to accidental we’re successful the hundreds successful presumption of the fig of missiles that the Russians person launched against Ukrainian targets.” 

The authoritative said Russians are chiefly targeting civilians, particularly civilian infrastructure including “electricity oregon bridges oregon otherwise.”

“They person been utilized astatine civilian targets either indiscriminately oregon surely successful a deliberate mode arsenic it relates to infrastructure targets similar energy oregon bridges oregon otherwise,” the authoritative said.

The latest was a onslaught connected vigor infrastructure successful the Kyiv region. A Russian rocket onslaught Saturday greeting severely damaged a facility, the Ukrainian nationalist vigor institution Ukrenergo said successful a statement, besides informing astir imaginable rolling blackouts.

The confederate metropolis of Zaporizhzhia was besides deed by evident Russian rocket and drone attacks Saturday, according to Oleksandr Starukh, the caput of the region’s subject administration.

The metropolis was struck by “10 oregon more” C300 missiles Saturday morning, pursuing 4 strikes by kamikaze drones overnight.

Putin’s deadly onslaught: Viewed arsenic retaliation for the span blast, the question of deadly rocket attacks began Monday and caused major harm to powerfulness systems crossed Ukraine, forcing radical to trim depletion to debar blackouts.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that determination is nary request for much “massive” strikes against Ukraine “at slightest for now.” He besides said helium had nary regrets for his actions.

Russia continues to look planetary backlash for the warfare and global outrage astatine its targeting of civilians. European lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Thursday to state Russia a “terrorist” regime.

CNN’s Kostan Nechyporenko contributed to this report

Russia’s subject uses rape and intersexual unit arsenic a portion of its “military strategy” successful Ukraine, a UN envoy said successful an interrogation with AFP connected Thursday.  

UN Special Representative connected Sexual Violence successful Conflict Pramila Patten said the United Nations has verified “more than a 100 cases” of rape oregon intersexual battle incidents successful Ukraine since February, citing successful portion the findings of a UN sheet of adept successful September.  

CNN did study astatine the clip connected the findings of the UN’s Independent International Commission connected Ukraine. The committee said it had uncovered grounds of warfare crimes, including cases of rape and torture of children, without specifying the fig of alleged cases.  

But Patten was much circumstantial successful her comments.

“When you perceive women attest astir Russian soldiers equipped with Viagra, it’s intelligibly a subject strategy,” Patten said connected Thursday. 

Patten repeated that the property of the intersexual unit victims successful the cases the UN has investigated ranges from 4 to 82-years old. She said “there are galore cases of intersexual unit against children, who are raped, tortured and sequestered.”

CNN cannot independently verify these claims. 

Patten besides said the fig of victims is “never going to bespeak reality,” due to the fact that it is an underreported crime.  

“I person not stopped since February to stress the value of having credible investigations into these cases of violence,” she said.

In June, Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Kateryna Pavlichenko said constabulary received astir 50 complaints of intersexual crimes committed by Russian soldiers. Prosecutors are besides investigating a fig of allegations of rape successful Kharkiv portion aft Ukraine precocious recaptured territory there.  

Russia’s authorities spokesperson Dmitry Peskov was asked successful September astir allegations of Russian forces committing warfare crimes successful Ukraine, anterior to the UN sheet reporting connected its findings, to which helium responded it was each a “lie.” 

Ukraine’s counteroffensive successful Kherson has intensified, according to a elder authoritative successful the confederate region’s Russian-backed administration.

“Indeed, the progressive signifier of fighting, which we expected, has begun,” Kirill Stremousov, the lawman caput successful Kherson said connected Saturday, portion speaking to the pro-Kremlin “Soloviev Live” show. 

He added the “(Russian) service is acceptable to repel each these attacks and basal to the end, due to the fact that Kherson portion is portion of the Russian Federation.”

According to Stremousov, the extremity of the Ukraine forces is to summation a foothold connected the close slope of the Dnipro river. He urged residents successful the country to “seize the moment, telephone the hotline, prime up the children and nonstop them connected vacation.”

On Thursday, the Russian-appointed caput of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, asked the Russian enactment to assistance evacuate locals to different regions successful bid to support them from rocket strikes.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive: Ukrainian forces person been making dependable advancement successful the portion since opening an violative astatine the extremity of past month.

Last week, the Ukrainian military said it has recaptured 2,400 quadrate kilometers (about 925 quadrate miles) of territory successful Kherson portion “since the opening of the full-scale war,” a elder Ukrainian authoritative said connected October 7.

Moscow announced evacuations of occupied areas, with Russia’s Rostov portion acceptable to person Kherson residents.

The archetypal radical of Russian soldiers to signifier a caller associated unit with Belarusian troops arrived successful the state Saturday, according to a connection from Minsk’s defence ministry.

“The archetypal echelons with Russian servicemen who are portion of the determination grouping of troops arrived successful the Republic of Belarus. The servicemen were warmly welcomed with breadstuff and salt,” the connection said.

“Due to the aggravation connected the occidental borders of the Union State, we agreed to deploy a determination grouping of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus,” Belarusian person Alexander Lukashenko said Monday, according to authorities quality bureau Belta.

The determination follows claims made by Belarus that Ukraine is readying to onslaught its territory. The country’s defence curate said Tuesday that it is simply a antiaircraft measurement and was to guarantee security.

The defence ministry besides published a video Saturday showing the accomplishment of Russian subject unit and equipment, which included a remark from the lawman commandant of a Russian subject company, Viktor Smeyan.

“We arrived connected Belarusian soil. The gathering was precise warm, precise pleasant. We arrived successful the Republic of Belarus to assistance the fraternal Belarusian people, we are acceptable to execute immoderate tasks that we person from the command. Everyone is successful a warring mood,” Smeyan said.

More background: Lukashenko’s announcement raised fears of deepened subject cooperation betwixt the adjacent allies and that Belarusian troops could formally articulation Russia’s invasion.

The interaction of specified an involution successful presumption of axenic manpower would beryllium limited; Belarus has astir 45,000 progressive work troops, which would not importantly bolster Russia’s reserves. But it would endanger different battle connected Ukraine’s bluish flank beneath the Belarusian border.

CNN’s Tim Lister and Rob Picheta contributed to this report.

Russian attacks person killed astatine slightest 11 civilians and injured 11 others successful Ukraine implicit the past day, a elder Ukrainian authoritative said connected Saturday. 

In the Donetsk region, 8 civilians died and six were injured, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the lawman caput of the Ukrainian president’s office, said successful a connection connected Telegram. He added 2 much radical were killed and 1 injured successful the Zaporizhzhia region.

Tymoshenko besides said 1 civilian was killed and different was injured successful the Kharkiv region. Other injuries were reported successful the Dnipro and Kherson regions, according to the official.

Some background: Russian forces person launched hundreds of rocket strikes successful Ukraine implicit the past week, astir of them astatine civilian targets, a elder US subject authoritative said Friday.

One authoritative said this is deliberate — Russians are chiefly targeting civilians, particularly civilian infrastructure including “electricity oregon bridges oregon otherwise.” The bombing of powerfulness installations appeared to beryllium an unsubtle hint astatine the misery Russian President Vladimir Putin could inflict arsenic wintertime sets in.

Read much astir the strikes here.

Russia has accrued information measures astatine subject registration and enlistment offices owed to “increasing attacks” connected those facilities, a elder Russian authoritative said Saturday. 

“Detention groups of the Russian Guard are deployed successful a fig of cities, including Moscow, to the buildings of the subject registration and enlistment offices. In addition, passim the state they are included successful the patrol routes of the non-departmental information crews of the Russian Guard,” Alexander Khinshtein, a lawman successful the Russian parliament, said successful a connection connected his Telegram channel.

Some context: Since Russia announced a program for mobilization past month, protests against the thrust person erupted successful taste number regions, and immoderate subject enlistment offices person been acceptable connected fire. The announcement besides prompted anti-war protests crossed Russia. 

According to Khinshtein, intruders person been caught “red-handed” trying to motorboat an onslaught connected subject enlistment centers. 

The battlefield is “complicated but controlled” arsenic Ukrainian forces propulsion up with their counteroffensive to instrumentality backmost parts of the state seized by Russia successful the aboriginal days of Moscow’s invasion, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Thursday.

Take a look astatine wherever the authorities of power stands successful Ukraine: