explosions in Kyiv, EU steps up support

by time news

► Explosions heard in kyiv

Several explosions were heard Monday, October 17 in the morning in kyiv, a week after the previous Russian strikes on the Ukrainian capital. Three explosions were heard successively around 6:35 a.m., 6:45 a.m. and 6:58 a.m. (French time). Air-raid sirens had sounded shortly before the first explosion. A residential building was hit according to Ukrainian authorities.

It’s about “kamikaze drone attacks”said the chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidency, after the series of explosions which shook the district of Shevchenkiv, in the center of the capital. “The Russians think it will help them, but it shows their desperation”he commented.

The management of the national railway services had previously confirmed that attacks had taken place ” near “ from the central station.

► The EU increases its support

The European Union is stepping up its military support for Ukraine with the launch on Monday of a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers on its territory and the granting of a new allocation of 500 million euros for the supply of weapons. “This is a great first for the EU”commented a European official. “We have never carried out a mission on this scale”he pointed out.

The foreign ministers of the 27 member countries must endorse these two decisions on Monday at a meeting in Luxembourg and the mission will be immediately operational, a diplomatic source said.

Several training courses are in fact underway in various Member States, notably in Germany and France, where Ukrainian soldiers are being trained to use guns, missile launchers and anti-aircraft defense systems supplied by the Europeans.

France will train “up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers” on its soil, announced on Saturday the French Minister for the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu. It is about providing a “general training” of a fighter, to respond to “specific needs reported by Ukrainians, such as logistics”and train them “on the materials provided”said the Minister.

► War impoverishes children

The war in Ukraine and the resulting rising cost of living have pushed millions of children into poverty in Eastern Europe and Central Asia in recent months, warns a study by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). ) published on Monday.

Russia, with 2.8 million additional children entering poverty, concentrates almost three quarters of the total increase measured by Unicef. Two factors explain this situation: Russia has a large population and Unicef ​​estimates that the country’s GDP will fall by 8%, the second largest drop among the countries included in the analysis.

► 11 dead in a shooting in a Russian military camp

At least 11 people died on Saturday and 15 others were injured in a shootout on Russian military ground in the Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, said the Russian Ministry of Defense, which denounced a “attack”.

This shooting comes in full military mobilization in Russia, decreed on September 21 after setbacks by the Russian army on the Ukrainian front, and while the bombardments from Ukraine have multiplied in recent days on the Belgorod region.

“In the shooting, 11 people were fatally injured. Fifteen others received injuries of varying severity and were taken to health facilities where they are receiving the necessary care.. According to the ministry, “the two terrorists were killed during a return fire”.

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