Rescuers work at a site of a residential building heavily damaged by a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine October 9, 2022. REUTERS/StringerRussia Ukraine War Highlights, October 9: At least 17 people were killed in an overnight shelling in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeast Ukraine, local official Anatoliy Kurtev said early on Sunday. The city is about 125 km (80 miles) from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Russian divers will examine on Sunday the damage caused by a powerful blast on Russia’s road-and-rail bridge to Crimea that hit a prestigious symbol of Moscow’s annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route to forces battling in southern Ukraine. Saturday’s explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait, for which Russia did not immediately assign blame, prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials but no claim of responsibility.
Three people have been found dead so far as the result of a truck explosion on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea, Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Saturday, reports Reuters. “They are believed to be passengers of a car that was near the truck that exploded. The bodies of two victims, a man and a woman, have already been recovered from the water and their identities are being established,” the committee said in a statement. The investigators have also established the details of the truck and its owner, registered in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region, and begun searching his place of residence, it added.
Russian state-backed media reported the fire on the Kerch bridge linking mainland Russia with the Russian-controlled Crimean peninsula. Traffic was suspended on the road-and-rail bridge, opened in 2018 and designed to link Crimea into Russia’s transport network.
(Compiled from AP, Reuters reports)
Russian recruits take a train at a railway station in Prudboi, Volgograd region of Russia, Sept. 29, 2022. (AP)
The White House on Sunday declined comment on an explosion that damaged Russia's road-and-rail bridge to Crimea but said it will continue to supply Ukraine with arms and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had started the war and could end it if he chose.
"We don't really have anything more to add to the reports about the explosion on the bridge. I just don't have anything to contribute to that this morning," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC's "This Week" program. "What I can tell you is that Mr. Putin started this war, and Mr. Putin could end it today, simply by moving his troops out of the country." (Reuters)
Russian divers were to examine on Sunday the damage from a powerful blast on a road-and-rail bridge to Crimea that is an imposing symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route to its forces battling in southern Ukraine.
Saturday's explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials but no claim of responsibility. Russia did not immediately assign blame for the blast, which images showed blew away half of a section of the bridge's roadway, with the other half still attached.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said the divers would start work in the morning, with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day's end, domestic news agencies reported.
"The situation is manageable - it's unpleasant, but not fatal," Crimea's Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters. "Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge."
Russia's transport ministry said freight trains and long-distance passenger trains across the Crimea Bridge were running according to schedule on Sunday. Limited road traffic resumed on Saturday around 10 hours after the blast.
Aksyonov said the peninsula had a month's worth of fuel and more than two months' worth of food, he said. Russia's defence ministry said on Saturday its forces in southern Ukraine could be "fully supplied" through existing land and sea routes.
Russia seized Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and the 19-km (12-mile) bridge linking the region to its transport network was opened with great fanfare four years later by President Vladimir Putin.
Kyiv demands that Russian forces leave the Black Sea peninsula, as well as Ukrainian territory they have seized in the invasion Putin launched in February.
It was not yet clear if Saturday's blast was a deliberate attack, but the damage to such a high-profile structure came amid battlefield defeats for Russia, and could further cloud Kremlin reassurances that the conflict is going to plan.
Elsewhere, at least 12 people were killed as a result of shelling in Ukraine's southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia in the early hours of Sunday, and 49 people were hospitalised, including six children, Ukrainian officials said.
A nine-storey building was partially destroyed overnight, five other residential buildings were levelled and many more damaged in 12 Russian missile attacks, said Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region.
Reuters could not independently verify the reports.
Zaporizhzhia city, about 52 km (30 miles) from a Russian-held nuclear power plant that is Europe's largest, has been under frequent shelling in recent weeks. (Reuters)
A Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia overnight struck apartment buildings and killed at least 17 people, a top official in the Ukrainian city said on Sunday.
City council Secretary Anatoliy Kurtev said the city was struck by rockets overnight, and that at least five private houses were destroyed and around 40 were damaged. The Ukrainian military also confirmed the attack, saying that there were dozens of casualties.
The strike came after an explosion Saturday caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin's faltering war effort in southern Ukraine and hitting a towering symbol of Russian power in the region.
Zaporizhzhia has been repeatedly hit in recent weeks and is in the Ukrainian controlled-part of a region that Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed in violation of international law last week. A part of the region currently in Russian control is home to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest. (AP)
- At least 17 people were killed in an overnight shelling in Zaporizhzhia, a city in southeast Ukraine, local official Anatoliy Kurtev said early on Sunday. The city is about 125 km (80 miles) from the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
- Ukrainian troops are involved in very tough fighting near the strategically important eastern town of Bakhmut, which Russia is trying to take, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as Kyiv's counteroffensive is expected to meet more determined resistance.
- Shelling cut power to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which needs cooling to avoid a meltdown, forcing it to switch to emergency generators, Ukraine's state nuclear company and the United Nations atomic watchdog said. (Reuters)
Russian divers will examine on Sunday the damage caused by a powerful blast on a road-and-rail bridge to Crimea that is a prestigious symbol of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula and a key supply route to forces battling in southern Ukraine.
Saturday's explosion on the bridge over the Kerch Strait prompted gleeful messages from Ukrainian officials but no claim of responsibility. Russia did not immediately assign blame.
Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said divers would start work at 6 a.m. (0300 GMT), with a more detailed survey above the waterline expected to be complete by day's end, domestic news agencies reported.
"The situation is manageable - it's unpleasant, but not fatal," Crimea's Russian governor, Sergei Aksyonov, told reporters. "Of course, emotions have been triggered and there is a healthy desire to seek revenge."
The peninsula had a month's worth of fuel and more than two months' worth of food, he said. Russia's defence ministry said its forces in southern Ukraine could be "fully supplied" through existing land and sea routes. (Reuters)
Russia's Transport Ministry said on Saturday that road traffic would resume shortly on the intact lanes of the Crimean Bridge, which was damaged by an explosion on Saturday morning.
The ministry said traffic would be limited to crossing the bridge in alternating directions. (Reuters)
Official in one of four Russia-annexed regions in Ukraine announces a partial evacuation of civilians. (AP)
An explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia on Saturday, damaging a key supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. Three people were killed in the blast, Russian authorities said. View Photo Gallery here. (Reuters)
Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, has lost its last remaining external power source as a result of renewed shelling and is now relying on emergency diesel generators, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Saturday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said that the plant’s link to a 750-kilovolt line was cut at around 1 am on Saturday. It cited official information from Ukraine as well as reports from IAEA experts at the site, which is held by Russian forces. Read more.
An explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia on Saturday, damaging a key supply artery for the Kremlin’s faltering war effort in southern Ukraine. Three people were killed in the blast, Russian authorities said.
The speaker of Crimea’s Kremlin-backed regional parliament immediately accused Ukraine, though Moscow didn’t apportion blame.
Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge and some lauded the attack, but Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility. Read more.
A truck bomb Saturday caused a fire and the collapse of a section of a bridge linking Russia-annexed Crimea with Russia, Russian officials say, damaging a key supply artery for Moscow's faltering war effort in southern Ukraine.
The speaker of Crimea’s Kremlin-backed regional parliament immediately accused Ukraine, though the Kremlin didn't apportion blame. Ukrainian officials have repeatedly threatened to strike the bridge and some lauded the attack, but Kyiv stopped short of claiming responsibility.
The bombing came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin turned 70, dealing him a humiliating blow that could lead him to up the ante in his war on Ukraine.
Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that the truck bomb caused seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a “partial collapse of two sections of the bridge.”
The Crimean Peninsula holds symbolic value for Russia and is key to sustaining its military operations in the south. If the bridge is made inoperable, it would make it significantly more challenging to ferry supplies to the peninsula. While Russia seized the areas north of Crimea early during the invasion and built a land corridor to it along the Sea of Azov, Ukraine is pressing a counteroffensive to reclaim them. The bridge has train and automobile sections.
Russia’s National Anti-Terrorism Committee specified that the explosion and fire led to the collapse of the two sections of one of the two links of the automobile bridge, while another link was intact. Russia’s Energy Ministry said Crimea has enough fuel for 15 days, adding that it was working on ways to replenish stock.Authorities suspended passenger train traffic across the bridge until further notice. Putin was informed about the explosion and he ordered the creation of a government panel to deal with the emergency.The 19-kilometer (12-mile) bridge across the Kerch Strait linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov opened in 2018 and is the longest in Europe. It has provided an essential link to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The $3.6 billion project is a tangible symbol of Moscow’s claims on Crimea. It was Russia’s only land link to the peninsula until Russian forces seized more Ukrainian territory on the northern end of the Sea of Azov in heavy fighting, particularly around the city of Mariupol, building a land corridor to Crimea earlier this year. The speaker of Crimea’s Kremlin-backed regional parliament blamed Ukraine for the explosion, but downplayed the severity of the damage and said it would be promptly repaired.“Now they have something to be proud of: over 23 years of their management, they didn’t manage to build anything worthy of attention in Crimea, but they’ve managed to damage the surface of the Russian bridge,” Vladimir Konstantinov, Chairman of the State Council of the Republic, wrote on Telegram. (AP)
A dramatic video of the attacked bridge on social media shows balls of fire engulfing a part of the Kerch bridge.
?? Putin signed a decree on Friday establishing a new operator for the Exxon Mobil Corp-led Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East, the oil giant's largest investment in Russia.
?? The International Monetary Fund said on Friday its executive board approved Ukraine's request for $1.3 billion in additional emergency funding to help sustain its economy as it battles Russia's invasion.
?? UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team are working to expand and extend a deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, which could expire in late November, a UN spokesman said on Friday. (Reuters)
Russian authorities said Saturday that a truck bomb has caused a fire and the collapse of a section of a bridge linking Russia-annexed Crimea with Russia. Russia's National Anti-Terrorism Committee said that the truck bomb triggered seven railway cars carrying fuel to catch fire, resulting in a “partial collapse of two sections of the bridge.” The committee didn’t immediately apportion blame. (AP)
Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant lost its connection to external power supply early on Saturday as a result of shelling, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said, blaming Russia.
Energoatom said the plant was now getting power to cover its own needs from its backup diesel generators.
"The diesel generators started automatically. The available supplies of diesel fuel for their operation in this mode will be enough for 10 days," the company wrote on Telegram. (Reuters)
A Ukrainian presidential advisor posted a message on Twitter after conflicting reports of an explosion or fire Saturday that damaged the bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea, calling it "the beginning" but not directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility.
"Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote. (Reuters)
A video of the moment when a truck bomb hit the Crimea bridge has been shared on social media.
?? A fuel tank was on fire early on Saturday on the Kerch bridge in Crimea, which was designed to link the peninsula into Russia's transport network, Russia's RIA state news agency said, while Ukraine's media reported an explosion.
?? A US Navy reconnaissance aircraft flew near the site of the Sept. 26 rupturing of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline in the Baltic Sea hours after the first damage emerged, according to tracking reviewed by Reuters, a flight Washington said was routine.
?? Putin marked his 70th birthday with little fanfare as signs grew that key parts of his Ukraine invasion were unravelling to trigger unprecedented criticism at home.
?? Ukrainian authorities found a mass grave in the recently recaptured eastern town of Lyman, said regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, while the Ukrinform news agency cited a senior police official as saying the grave contained 180 bodies. (Reuters)
A fuel tank was on fire on the Kerch bridge in Crimea early Saturday, Russia's RIA state news agency reported, while Ukraine's media reported an explosion.
“According to preliminary information a fuel tank on fire on one of the sections of the Crimean bridge, the shipping arches are not damaged,” RIA reported citing a local official. Traffic on the bridge was suspended.
Ukraine's media reported that a blast took place on the bridge at around 6 am (8.30 am IST). (Reuters)
Russia’s latest wave of threats to use nuclear weapons and cut energy supplies even further so far haven’t scared off Ukraine’s allies in the US and Europe, only hardening their will to see Kyiv win.
What they’re not so sure about is whether they want Vladimir Putin to lose.
Joe Biden brought the tension into the open Thursday, warning that the Russian president’s nuclear threats may not be a bluff as his other options for salvaging his invasion of Ukraine narrow.
“We’re trying to figure out what is Putin’s off-ramp? Where does he get off? Where does he find a way out?” the US president said Thursday at a fundraiser in New York City. “Where does he find himself in a position that he does not, not only lose face but lose significant power in Russia?” (Read more)
Britain Friday rejected Russia's call for a secret ballot in the UN General Assembly next week on whether to condemn Moscow's move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine and requested that the 193-member body vote publicly.
Moscow has moved to annex four regions in Ukraine — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — after staging what it called referendums. Ukraine and allies have denounced the votes as illegal and coercive.
The General Assembly is set to vote on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referenda" and the "attempted illegal annexation." It also reaffirms the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine, and calls on states not to recognize Russia's move.
In a letter to UN states earlier this week, Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia lobbied for a secret ballot, arguing that Western lobbying meant that "it may be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly." (Reuters)
Billionaire Elon Musk, days after floating a possible deal to end the war between Russia and Ukraine that drew condemnation in Ukraine, suggested that tensions between China and Taiwan could be resolved by handing over some control of Taiwan to Beijing.
“My recommendation . . . would be to figure out a special administrative zone for Taiwan that is reasonably palatable, probably won’t make everyone happy,” Musk, the world’s richest person, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Friday.
Musk made the remarks when asked by the newspaper about China, where his Tesla electric car company operates a large factory in Shanghai. (Read more)
A series of explosions rocked the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv early Saturday, sending towering plumes of illuminated smoke in the sky and triggering a series of secondary explosions.
The blasts came as Russia concentrated attacks on Friday in its increasingly troubled invasion of Ukraine on areas it illegally annexed, while the death toll from earlier missile strikes on apartment buildings in the southern city of Zaporizhzhia rose to 14.
It was not immediately clear what caused the Kharkiv blasts or what was hit. (Read more)