A massive Russian bomb attack on the Ukrainian port of Odessa on Thursday night left one woman dead and at least two others injured, according to the military governor.
“Residential buildings, a church and cars were damaged,” wrote Oleh Kiper on Telegram.
Fire broke out in many places because of this problem, and the district’s heating pipe was also affected, he said. The main heating pipe was damaged and one heating zone had to stop working.
Russia has systematically targeted populated areas in Ukraine with drones and missiles, leaving nearly 50% of Ukraine’s power out of action as winter sets in.
Earlier on Thursday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called on members of the alliance and other Western allies to provide more support to Ukraine as the cold weather intensified.
Speaking after a meeting with Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs at the Adazi military base, Rutte warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin “will use winter as a weapon.”
Rutte said that Russia will try to destroy Ukraine’s electricity supply system: “That is why we must all increase our support to Ukraine, including air defense to protect critical infrastructure.”
To strengthen their defense capabilities, NATO members will have to increase their defense spending and increase weapons production, Rutte said.
Rinkēvičs also asked NATO partners to spend more money on defense, especially representing a figure of 2.5 or 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP). NATO’s official target for military spending is currently 2%.
Zelensky outlining a 10-point plan for home security
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, on the other hand, intends to present a 10-point plan next week that addresses the supply of energy and the production of weapons among other topics to ensure the internal security of the conflicted country.
Zelensky, in his late-night video address on Thursday, did not provide further details.
He talked about the front and praised not only the efficiency of the defenders of Ukraine in the area of Kupiansk.
Earlier, there were reports that Russian armored vehicles entered the most important small town in northeastern Ukraine, Kharkiv. The General Staff in Kiev later announced that the attack was over. Information cannot be independently verified.
Russian troops occupied Kupiansk from February to September 2022 before the city was retaken by Ukrainians.
The former governor admits that Russian soldiers looted the border region
The former governor of the Russian border region of Kursk on Thursday admitted that soldiers sent by Moscow to protect the region had looted homes.
“There is evidence of looting of civilians and soldiers,” said Roman Starovoit, who has become Russia’s transport minister, in a meeting with residents of the Glushkovo district, which borders Ukraine.
A video clip from local news website Telegram showed the reception – unusual among Moscow’s leadership – met with applause from the audience. Residents of this region have often complained about their abandoned homes being broken into.
In their surprise attack this summer, the Ukrainian army captured part of the Kursk region. The Russian military is now trying to push the Ukrainian army out of the country.
The Russian state news agency TASS accused the Ukrainian army of looting the villages it conquered, citing the village of Glushkovo as an example. But this town was never under Ukrainian rule.
Two elderly women have been killed in eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia
Two women were killed in an attack by Ukrainian troops in the Russian-held eastern region of Luhansk, according to authorities.
On a road near the city of Lysychansk, Ukrainian forces attacked a car carrying civilians with a drone, local authorities wrote on Telegram. An old woman died and a man was injured.
In Lysychansk itself, two houses were destroyed by Ukrainian military bombs, the authority said, and one old woman died.
The claims could not immediately be independently verified. Ukraine has previously insisted it is not targeting civilians.
Before the war, Lysychansk was a large city with about 100,000 people. It was captured by the Russian army in the summer of 2022 after a fierce battle.
According to project managers, at least 13 people were injured by bombs in the center of the city of Horlivka in the neighboring region of Donetsk.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russian aggression for almost 1,000 days and is trying to retake its territories.
Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics (R) speaks with the military and Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte. They visited the mission of the international NATO force stationed in Latvia, which is currently being formed and trained together in full force for the first time. Alexander Welscher/dpa
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