October 11, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The Belarusian Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that the joint deployment of forces with Russia is a defensive measure. 

“The tasks of the Regional Grouping of Forces are purely defensive. And all the activities currently being carried out are aimed at an adequate response to actions near our borders,” Minister of Defense Lt. Gen. Viktor Khrenin said in a statement. 

The moves were to ensure "security" along the border between Belarus and Ukraine, Khrenin added. “Again, based on threats, regrouping can be carried out to cover certain areas.”

Some background: On Monday, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko announced that Belarus and Russia will "deploy a joint regional group of troops” that deepens the military cooperation between the two countries. He had also claimed that Ukraine is planning to attack Belarusian territory, but the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said, "this information is not true."

Hours later, Andrei Kartapolov, head of the Russian Duma's Defense Committee, said "there is no need" for Belarusian troops to participate in Moscow's "special military operation" — the term used by Russian President Vladimir Putin to refer to the country's invasion of Ukraine.

Russian rockets have hit two “energy facilities” in the Lviv region of western Ukraine, according to a military official.

“As of now, it’s known about three explosions at two energy facilities in the Lviv region,” Maksym Kozytskyi, head of the regional military administration, said on Telegram Tuesday.

Kozytskyi warned that power outages were possible.

Parts of the region were already without power following Russian strikes on energy facilities in Lviv and other major Ukrainian regions on Monday.

A doctor at the Okhmatdyt children's cancer hospital in Kyiv was among those killed by Russian missile strikes on Ukraine Monday, according to the organization.

“Her car burned to the ground in the center of Kyiv,” the hospital said on Facebook.

Leontieva was a hematologist who had worked in Okhmatdyt’s bone marrow transplant unit for 11 years. 

“This young woman was a true professional and support for her patients and colleagues,” the hospital added.

“She was a dedicated and responsible person and doctor ... Our condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Oksana Lentieva. This is a great loss for Okhmatdyt and all of Ukraine.”

The Kremlin launched a series of deadly attacks across Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities Monday, which left 19 people dead and injured more than 100 others.

Moscow's fatal strikes on Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities Monday were a “logical consequence” of recent events in the war, according to a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in Paris.

“Russia has been kind until the last moment, giving (President Volodymyr) Zelensky and his regime the opportunity to think and show common sense,” Alexander Makogonov, a spokesperson for the Russian Embassy in France, said Tuesday.

“Do not mistake our kindness for weakness,” Makogonov told French radio station Franceinfo.

“On the contrary, the Ukrainian authorities have preferred to overdo it. Notably through this atrocious attack on a critical civil infrastructure object which is the Crimean bridge,” he added. 

Russia launched a wave of violent airstrikes across Ukraine earlier this week, two days after an explosion damaged a crucial bridge to Crimea and dealt a strategic blow to the Kremlin.

Putin's recent military escalation in Ukraine comes as Russia contends with heavy losses on the battlefield and low morale among troops.

A children's playground in Kyiv was among the sites hit by a rocket or missile. When asked to explain the destruction seen at the playground, Makogonov said that those were the result of malfunctioning Ukrainian air defense systems.

"You should know that the Russian army, when carrying out this kind of strikes, uses very sophisticated weapons. These are the weapons of the new generation of very high precision," he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke with Angolan President João Lourenço on Monday about the war in Ukraine as well as "important issues of co-operation."

Zelensky has been contacting African leaders to build relationships and support against Russia. Angola was among 17 African countries that abstained from a United Nations resolution in March that condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The Angolan presidency confirmed the meeting in a statement posted on Facebook : "On Monday afternoon, the President of the Republic, João Lourenço, spoke by phone with the President of the republic of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky. The military conflict in which Ukraine has been involved since last February was the topic discussed."

“Indestructible Brotherhood-2022” was the name of the joint military exercises Russia was supposed to be conducting with five of its close allies in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan this week.

Instead, host country Kyrgyzstan canceled the exercises, which were to be held October 10 to 14, a day before they were scheduled to begin.

Some context: Kyrgyzstan has accused Tajikistan, another Russian ally and fellow member of the Collective Security Treaty Organization military alliance, of launching a deadly cross border attack in September that killed 63 Kyrgyz citizens and displaced more than 140,000 people.

“How can we host the Tajik troops to take part in exercises on our territory?” Baisalov said.

The government of Tajikistan accused Kyrgyzstan of triggering the cross-border hostilities on September 16.

Putin's few friends: While leaders of both countries were invited to a meeting hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin on his 70th birthday last week, only Tajikistan’s president, Emomali Rahmon, attended, alongside several other leaders of former Soviet republics.

Putin awarded Rahmon the “Order for Merit to the Fatherland” for “ensuring regional stability and security,” a gesture that was derided in Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan's deputy prime minister suggested Russia’s war in Ukraine had distracted Moscow from being a guarantor of peace and security in former Soviet Central Asia. 

“We know that [the Russians] have quite a lot of problems elsewhere, but that’s what they are a superpower for,” Baisalov told CNN. “If they are a superpower they should be able to pay attention to all geographic areas of responsibility.”

Kyrgyzstan, along with Tajikistan, has remained publicly neutral on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.  

Russia launched another round of missile attacks across Ukraine on Tuesday morning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) said on Facebook. 

The missiles were launched from two Russian aircraft at around 7 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to the Ukrainian military, which claimed four missiles were shot down.

Air raid sirens have sounded in multiple regions of Ukraine, with officials appealing to residents on the messaging app Telegram to stay in shelters. 

“A missile has been taken down in one of the districts,” Oleksiy Kuleba, governor of the Kyiv region, said. 

“Explosions are being heard in the Khmelnytsky region,” the head of the Khmelnytsky regional military administration, Serhii Hamalii, said. He claimed Ukrainian air defenses had shot down a drone.  

The Vinnytsya region “has been struck”, governor Sergiy Borzov said on Telegram. 

New commander: Mykolaiv Gov. Vitaliy Kim linked the barrage of missile strikes on Monday and Tuesday to the new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.

On Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the appointment of a new commander for what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine, according to Russian state media.

This post has been updated to reflect that the Ukrainian military said the missiles were launched from Russian aircraft, not aircraft carriers.

At least 19 people were killed and 105 others were injured in Russian missile attacks across Ukraine on Monday, according to preliminary data, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said Tuesday. 

Multiple explosions rocked Kyiv and several other Ukrainian cities reported blasts and power outages on Monday following a barrage of Russian strikes.

Critical and civil infrastructure was hit in 12 regions and the capital, where more than 30 fires broke out, the emergency services said, adding the blazes have been put out. 

As of early Tuesday morning, some areas in the regions of Kyiv, Lviv, Sumy, Ternopil, and Khmelnytsky remained without power, the emergency services said.

More than 1,000 people were involved in putting out fires and rescue operations, it added.

Global outrage: International leaders, including US President Joe Biden have condemned the Russian attacks. Biden said the US would provide Kyiv with the support to defend itself, including advanced air defense systems.

Additionally, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court said the agency would be conducting a criminal investigation. 

At least one person has died after Russian missiles hit the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early Tuesday, Oleksandr Starukh, head of the Zaporizhzhia regional military administration, said on Telegram. 

Starukh said 12 S-300 missiles hit public facilities, including a car dealership, a school and a medical dispensary. 

Dozens of people have been killed and wounded in Russian missile attacks on Zaporizhzhia over the past week. 

Some context: The city is Ukrainian-controlled, but lies in a region occupied by Russian forces, not far from the front line and the site of a nuclear power plant that the international community is watching warily. The Zaporizhzhia region is one of four areas of Ukraine that Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed measures to annex, in violation of international law.