02/10/2024
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:43 Russian shelling triggers huge fire in Kharkiv – at least one dead +++
According to Ukrainian sources, at least one person was killed in a Russian drone attack on a gas station in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said that night that burning fuel had set 14 neighboring houses on fire after the drone attack on the gas station. Emergency services would continue to fight the fire and search for possible victims. The regional prosecutor’s office confirms the death of at least one person. Another person suffered burns to 40 percent of his skin.
+++ 04:54 Stoltenberg: Confrontation with Russia can last decades +++
According to its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, NATO must prepare for the possibility of a decades-long confrontation with Russia. “NATO is not looking for war with Russia,” Stoltenberg told “Welt am Sonntag.” “But we have to prepare ourselves for a confrontation that could last decades.” He once again calls on the allies to expand their arms industry more quickly. “If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wins in Ukraine, there is no guarantee that Russian aggression will not spread to other countries,” warns the Norwegian.
+++ 03:59 Heusgen: Don’t trust Putin to attack NATO territory +++
The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, believes that a Russian attack on NATO territory cannot be ruled out if Ukraine loses the war. When asked whether he would trust Putin to attack a NATO country, Heusgen told the “Rheinische Post”: “Of course. Putin has said several times that the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union.” Putin wants to restore a Greater Russia within the borders of the former Soviet Union, a Russian world empire in which he rules like a tsar, says Heusgen. “If Putin doesn’t lose the war in Ukraine, we have to expect that he will also reach out to the Republic of Moldova or the Baltic states.”
+++ 02:47 Munich Security Conference: Kamala Harris leads US delegation +++
As in previous years, US Vice President Kamala Harris will lead her country’s delegation to the Munich Security Conference. US President Joe Biden’s deputy will give a keynote speech on foreign policy and hold a series of bilateral talks at the international meeting next week, the White House said. Harris will emphasize the importance of the US’s international leadership role. The central topics this year are likely to be the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the war between Israel and the Islamist Palestinian organization Hamas. New US aid for Ukraine and Israel is currently stuck in the US Congress.
+++ 01:33 Podoljak: Of a million mobilized, only 300,000 are deployed in war +++
The Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, says on Ukrainian television that the new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyj, needs to take stock because out of a million soldiers mobilized for the war, only around 300,000 were deployed. It must be clarified who is deployed where. Only then can it be said how many recruits are still needed, says Podoljak. Many soldiers are therefore far removed from war. It also needs to be clarified how those who have already been in combat operations for almost 24 months can be replaced by rotation.
+++ 00:32 Major fire after air raids on Kharkiv +++
Russian drones hit a gas station in Ukraine’s second largest city, Kharkiv, triggering a major fire. According to local authorities, it also covers private homes. “There was a lot of fuel and that’s why there are these terrible consequences of the fire,” said the head of the local prosecutor’s office, Oleksandr Filchakov, in a video on the messaging app Telegram. The mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, said 14 private houses were destroyed and 50 residents were evacuated. According to official information, a hospital and a restaurant in the city of Velykiy Berluk, east of Kharkiv, were also hit by drones. Details about victims are still being clarified.
+++ 23:23 Biden: Congressional resistance to Ukraine aid “criminally negligent” +++
US President Joe Biden calls on the US Congress at a meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz to finally release billions in US military aid for Ukraine. It is outrageous that Congress is still refusing to do this, says Biden in Washington. “The failure of the United States Congress to support Ukraine amounts to criminal negligence. This is outrageous,” criticizes the US President.
+++ 22:00 “Shoot everyone!”: Drone video supposedly shows killing of Ukrainian prisoners +++
According to Ukrainian sources, Russian soldiers are said to have murdered two surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in a village near Bakhmut. A video is being circulated on social media that… according to the prosecutor’s office of the Donetsk region is intended to show Russian soldiers first shooting an unarmed prisoner and then killing another with a grenade. In the drone video you can hear how the commander, who sees that Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering, gives the order to shoot them. “Take no prisoners! Shoot everyone!” a male voice is said to say. It is unclear when the video was made. The Donetsk Region Prosecutor’s Office opened a criminal investigation into violations of martial law and premeditated murder.
+++ 21:20 Zelensky appoints new chief of general staff +++
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has appointed Major General Anatoly Barhilevich as the new Chief of the General Staff. He understands the tasks of this war and the Ukrainian goals, says Zelenskyj in his evening video speech. The appointment was made on the recommendation of Olexsandr Syrskyj, whom the Ukrainian president appointed as the new army chief on Thursday.
You can read all previous developments here.