"Russian Terror Must Be Stopped"

"Russian terror must be stopped. Russia needs this and similar terrorist attacks for only one thing; to make its genocidal aggression the new norm for the whole world."

"Now we are talking with European leaders, in particular about strengthening our air defence, strengthening our soldiers, giving our country protection from terror. And we will respond to the terrorists."

"The key for us, especially before winter, is to strengthen air defence, and there is already a basis for new agreements with partners."

"[We need] additional air defence systems for Ukraine, additional artillery and shells, additional long-range missiles and drones for our soldiers, as well as additional formats of support and security guarantees for nations threatened by Russia [to help protect Europe from potential Moscow aggression]."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Rescuers stand atop a destroyed residential building as they clear debris following a Russian missile strike in Kharkiv on October 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

Sergey Bobok | Afp | Getty Images

 

On Thursday Russia targeted drones at Ukraine's southern regions of which Ukraine's air defences were able to intercept 24 of the 29 Iranian-made drones launched at Odesa, Mykolaiv and Korovohrad regions. Later on Thursday a Russian rocket hit a village cafe and store in eastern Ukraine where a funeral wake was taking place. That strike alone succeeded in killing 51 villagers of the 60 people who were in attendance at the wake.

Ukraine's president received the news while attending a summit of 50 European leaders in Spain. He characterized the strike on the village of Hroza as a "demonstrably brutal Russian crime", "a completely deliberate act of terrorism". Which it most certainly was. the Russian military carefully selected a small town in a contested region to deliberately destroy the lives of civilians in their campaign of terror. An unmistakable war crime, among the many others attributable to Russia in this deadly conflict.

 

Rescuers conduct search and rescue operation in the central residential district hit by Russian Iskander missile on the morning on October 6, 2023 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. 

Oleksandr Stavytskyy | Getty Images News | Getty Images

 

It was an Iskander missile that hit the village. Leaving emergency crews to desperately search among the smouldering ruins of buildings reduced to rubble, for any possible survivors. Before the war Hroza had a population of about 500 souls in its location in northeastern Kharkiv region. A region seized early in the war by Russia, eventually recaptured by Ukraine a year ago. Kupiansk, a key focus of the Russian military is but 30 km from the village.

The European Political Community, formed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 met in Granada for a summit where President Zelinskyy addressed them restating Ukraine's urgent need for more arms to withstand and surmount Russian plans to destroy his country. With winter approaching the vision of Russia once again targeting Ukraine's energy system is not far from anyone's mind. Moscow has used energy and food as weapons in its war against Ukraine. 

Its role as a key supplier of natural gas to Europe has been interrupted, but new customers were waiting in the wings and China and India have replaced Europe as recipients of Russia's energy production. The shortages elsewhere have led to other disruptions, in shipping and rising production costs, all the more egregious in the wake of the global pandemic which had a similar effect on an unready world. Both Russia and Ukraine have traditionally supplied emerging economies in Africa with grain and that too has been disrupted.

At the Granada summit, Zelenskyy spoke further of a focus on "joint work for global food security and protection of freedom of navigation" in the Black Sea where Russia has targeted Ukrainian ports and grain shipments, overturning the UN-brokered agreement to ensure safe grain exports from Ukraine's ports. According to the U.K. Foreign Office, intelligence suggests Russia may lay sea mines in the approach to Ukrainian ports blaming Ukraine even as Russia targets civilian shipping.

"Russia almost certainly wants to avoid openly sinking civilian ships, instead falsely laying blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian vessels in the lack Sea", stated the U.K. intelligence. Adding that the U.K. was working alongside Ukraine to aid in the improvement of shipping safety.

 

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L) is greeted by British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the start of a plenary session of the European Political Community summit at the Palacio de Congreso in Granada, southern Spain on October 5, 2023.

Ludovic Marin | Afp | Getty Images

"[There was a] strong message to Putin from Dublin to Chisinau that we do not tolerate aggression against a sovereign state."

"It was very important that President Biden informed us at the beginning of this week what the support for Ukraine is concerned from the side of the United States."

"Here, in the European Union, we are working on a package of 50 billion euros [$52 billion] for Ukraine for the years 2024 to 2027. This is very important because Ukraine needs predictability and reliability in the direct budget support."

"As far as I oversee the situation in the United States, I am very confident of support for Ukraine from the United States. What the United States is working on is the timing."

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen