When the attack came, residents were gathering at a cafe to honor a fallen Ukrainian soldier. Many people in the village, which was formerly occupied by Russia, speculated to The Washington Post that they thought a Russia sympathizer among them may have tipped off Moscow’s military about the event. The Post could not verify the claims. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the strike proof of Russia’s “absolute evil.”
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Post reporters at the scene witnessed the body of only one person wearing a uniform and morgue workers said they saw no evidence of multiple military personnel among the dead — despite Russia’s claims that it attacks only military targets. Several relatives of the fallen soldier were killed in the attack, including his widow. A child named Ivan was also among the dead.
The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, deployed a field team to the site to speak to survivors and gather more information about the attack, spokeswoman Liz Throssell said in a statement. It is clear that “everybody in this small community has been affected,” she said.
Zelensky warned in his nightly address that Russia “will once again try to destroy our energy system” this winter. Ukraine is “preparing for winter, protecting our generation facilities, ensuring electricity and heat,” he said.
Russian envoy Mikhail Ulyanov said that Russia plans to revoke its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty with the United States, in a post on social media Friday. The Kremlin said Friday that any decision to revoke its ratification of a nuclear test ban treaty with the United States would not signify intent to conduct nuclear tests, while Washington said the move would endanger global norms.
Ukraine has reportedly advanced in Western Zaporizhzhia, the Washington-based think-tank Institute for the Study of War said in an analysis Friday. Citing Ukrainian military sources, the institute said that Kyiv’s forces have conducted successful offensive actions south of Bakhmut and advanced toward a tree line between Robotyne and Verbove.
Another strike in the region of Kharkiv killed a 10-year-old boy and his grandmother on Friday, a local official said. Oleg Synyehubov, head of the Kharkiv regional administration, wrote on Telegram that 30 others were injured in the attack on the city of Kharkiv, including an 11-month-old.
The Netherlands will allocate about $108 million in a new support package for Ukraine, the Dutch government said Friday. About $32 million will go toward buying gas and bolstering electricity ahead of winter, and about $64 million will go toward Dutch companies that want to help with reconstruction in Ukraine, a statement said.
Russia will begin delivering grain to Africa within the next month and a half, the Russian news agency Interfax reported. In July, Moscow pulled out of a key deal that allowed for the safe wartime transport of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea, and has since said that it could replace Ukraine as a grain supplier to Africa.
The United States will restrict trade with 42 Chinese companies because of their support for developing Moscow’s military technology and providing Russia with U.S.-origin integrated circuits, the U.S. Commerce Department said Friday, Reuters reported.
Ukraine battles to shape the narrative on its grueling counteroffensive: Four months of brutal fighting and steep losses have not yielded the counteroffensive results that Ukraine and its Western backers hoped for, but in recent weeks they have focused on reshaping the narrative. They’re seeking to manage expectations and, as winter approaches, shore up support, which has begun to waver in some Western countries including the United States, Emily Rauhala, Alex Horton and Mary Ilyushina write.
In recent news conferences, typically restrained briefers have departed from their notes to urge journalists to look beyond trench-to-trench developments and to consider the “fuller picture” of the war instead.
Ables contributed from Seoul.
