Live blog: Multiple deaths as Russian missile hits Ukrainian school — Kiev

Wednesday October 11, 2023

1716 GMT — A Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.

"As a result of the Russian strike, four people died: a 72-year-old man and three women aged 69, 67 and 60," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on the Telegram messaging app, alongside a video of emergency officials digging through ruins.

Two people who were injured were receiving medical assistance, he added.

Klymenko said earlier that the victims were employees of the educational institution.

Serhiy Lysak, the regional governor, said 50 private homes and two infrastructure facilities had been damaged.

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1749 GMT — Ukraine needs $42B budget support this year and next: PM

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country would need budget support of about $42 billion this year and next year to plug a massive deficit and aid reconstruction from the devastation caused by Russia's attack.

Shmyhal told a high-level roundtable to support Ukraine held during the International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, that Ukraine's state budget deficit would be about 20 percent of the country's GDP this year and 21 percent in 2024.

"We expect support from all our partners, both in equal amounts, Shmyhal said.

"This will allow the government to meet its basic social obligations to pay pensions, salaries to doctors and teachers, and to help those whose homes have been destroyed by Russia."

1700 GMT — Yellen tells Ukraine's Zelenskyy: Anti-corruption fight is key to future

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen pledged continued US support for Ukraine for "as long as it takes," and urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to stay focused on fighting corruption and strengthening governance.

Yellen said the fourth meeting of a high-level roundtable on Ukraine, taking place during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, reflected "continued condemnation of Russia’s aggression and of the robust international support for Ukraine from its allies and partners."

She said the United States would continue to provide robust economic support to Ukraine, but countries affected by Russia's blockade of Ukrainian food exports also needed more help.

1650 GMT — Ukraine to get 1.7B euros from frozen Russian funds: Belgium

Ukraine is to receive 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) from taxes on interest generated from Russian funds frozen in the wake of Moscow's attack on its neighbour, Belgium's prime minister said.

The money will be made available to Kiev next year, Alexander De Croo told a Brussels news conference held jointly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Belgium has already allocated 600 million euros to go to Ukraine this year on the same basis, according to a government official.

"The taxes on the interest of these assets should go 100 percent to the Ukrainian people," De Croo said.

1531 GMT — 'Thousands' of pieces of evidence against Russia in Ukraine: Eurojust boss

An international team of prosecutors seeking to put Russia's top brass on trial over Ukraine has already gathered "thousands" of pieces of evidence, the president of EU judicial agency Eurojust said.

Prosecutors are sifting through wiretaps, videos, satellite imagery and witness testimony, building a mountain of evidence that could eventually run into the "hundreds of thousands", Ladislav Hamran said in an interview at his office in The Hague.

Eurojust is coordinating an unprecedented team from several European countries, Ukraine, the United States and the International Criminal Court seeking to bring the Kremlin's senior leadership to justice over the Ukraine attack.

1454 GMT — Denmark, Netherlands, US spearhead creation of future Ukraine air force

Denmark, the Netherlands and the United States will spearhead a new international coalition to help Ukraine establish a future air force based on F-16 fighter jets, the Danish Ministry of Defence said.

The new coalition intends to build infrastructure around F-16s, including maintenance facilities to support the operation of the planes, the ministry said in a statement.

Denmark and the Netherlands were the first two countries to commit to donating F-16 jets to Ukraine, whose current air force has a fleet of ageing Soviet-era fighter jets, in its war with Russia.

"This is a natural move following the leading role Denmark already has in relation to the military support for Ukraine and especially in relation to the donation of F-16 fighter jets," Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.

1440 GMT — Russian court fines dissident Orlov over Ukraine criticism

A Russian court fined veteran rights campaigner Oleg Orlov for repeatedly "discrediting" the Russian army, a charge the Kremlin frequently uses to stifle dissent, over his Ukraine criticism.

An AFP journalist present in court said a judge "found Orlov guilty" and decided to "impose a fine of 150,000 rubles ($1,490)," a rare lighter form of punishment for speaking out against the Kremlin's military offensive.

1133 GMT — Belgium will send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from 2025

Belgium will send F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from 2025 and provide their maintenance, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo has said after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Brussels.

"Belgium from 2025 on will be in a position to supply F-16 to Ukraine," De Croo told a press conference.

"They will be at your disposal, depending on the decision of the government that there is at that moment," De Croo said.

Belgium, home to NATO and the European Union headquarters, will provide the maintenance of the planes and training to Ukrainian personnel so they are able to do the maintenance.

1042 GMT — Ukraine identifies suspected informers in deadly wake strike

Ukraine's security service said it had identified two suspected informers who allegedly helped Russia strike at a wake last week, killing over 50 people.

The SBU named two local men now living in Russia, saying they were suspected of giving information that led to a missile attack on the village of Groza in the Kharkiv region, one of the deadliest strikes of the war.

The SBU named the suspects as 30-year-old Volodymyr Mamon and his 23-year-old brother Dmytro Mamon, who have both fled to Russia.

The two men are suspected of jointly plotting high treason and deliberately collaborating with Moscow.

1023 GMT — US to provide $200M in new aid to Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the United States will provide a new $200 million military assistance package for Ukraine, as opposition from hardline Republican lawmakers puts future aid for Kiev in doubt.

"I'm proud that the United States will announce its latest security assistance package for Ukraine, valued at $200 million," Austin said alongside President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the opening of a meeting of Kiev's international supporters in Brussels.

The package includes air defence munitions, artillery and rocket ammunition and anti-tank weapons, among other items, the US defence chief said.

0958 GMT — Kremlin says it is not 'on same path' as Russians who left and support Ukraine

The Kremlin said it was not "on the same path" as Russians who fled the country after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine and adopted what it called strong anti-Russian positions, but said such people were in the minority.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was answering questions on the subject a day after Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, suggested that Russians who support Ukraine and now wanted to come back should be sent to a far eastern region known for its Stalin-era Gulag prison camps.

0705 GMT — Zelenskyy says NATO visit key to Ukraine's winter 'resilience'

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is making his first visit to NATO's headquarters in Brussels since the start of Russia's war in February 2022, the military alliance has said.

President Zelenskyy said his visit to NATO headquarters would be "critical" for ensuring Ukraine is protected this winter as the country prepares for an intensification of Russian strikes.

He said on X, formerly Twitter, that the visit "will be critical to our resilience this winter".

0603 GMT — Putin to travel to Kyrgyzstan in first known trip abroad since ICC arrest warrant

Vladimir Putin will visit Kyrgyzstan on Thursday, the presidential office of the Central Asian country said, in what would be the Russian leader's first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest.

"At the invitation of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, on October 12 of this year, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, will make an official visit to the country," the Kyrgyz presidential administration said in a statement on its website.

Putin is to also to take part in ceremonies dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the opening of an air base in Kant, which is home to the Russian Aerospace Forces' 999th Air Base, the Kyrgyz presidential office said.

0403 GMT — Chinese firm sold satellites for intelligence to Russia's Wagner: contract

Russian mercenary group Wagner in 2022 signed a contract with a Chinese firm to acquire two satellites and use their images, aiding its intelligence work as the organisation sought to push Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to a document seen by the AFP news agency.

The company Beijing Yunze Technology Co Ltd sold two high-resolution observation satellites belonging to the Chinese space giant Chang Guang Satellite Technology (CGST) to Nika-Frut, a company then part of Prigozhin's commercial empire.

The over $30 million (235 million yuan) price was for the satellites themselves and additional services.

The contract also provides for the provision of images on demand, which allowed Wagner to obtain satellite pictures both of Ukraine and areas in Africa where its mercenaries were active including Libya, Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Mali, the European security source told the agency, asking not to be named.