Chris Lange, FISM News
[elfsight_social_share_buttons id=”1″]
At least seven people were killed and over two dozen injured as Russian drone and missile strikes pounded Ukraine overnight. The Kremlin continued targeting Ukrainian infrastructure with air strikes that destroyed more power and gas and plants while heavy fighting was reported in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in Ukraine’s east.
Authorities in Kyiv said workers continued efforts to restore power to tens of millions of Ukrainians in the aftermath of Tuesday’s bombardment of key infrastructure facilities described as the worst to date in the nine-month war.
Ukraine’s military said its forces shot down two Russian cruise missiles, five drones, and five air-launched missiles within a 24-hour period, Reuters reported.
The United Nations has warned of a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine as millions are facing a brutal winter without power and water. The European Union, meanwhile, convened an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss additional emergency funding for Ukraine through the winter months.
Torture chambers discovered in Kherson
Investigators in areas of the Kherson region recaptured by Ukraine last week reported finding evidence of torture on 63 bodies recovered so far. Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, released a video of what he described as a torture chamber used by Russian forces in which he said up to 25 people were kept at a time and subjected to electric shocks.
Mass graves and bodies bearing signs of torture left behind by retreating Russian forces in other towns and villages in Ukraine have been documented with photographs and video. Moscow continues to deny that its forces have committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians.
Critical grain deal extended
The U.N. on Thursday announced that an agreement had been reached with Russia, Ukraine, and Turkey to extend a grain and fertilizer export deal set to expire Saturday, The Associated Press reported. The 120-day extension of the July pact aimed at averting a global food crisis has been fraught with uncertainty amid ongoing Russian objections to the way in which it has been carried out. Moscow said that, with the extension, it expects to see progress on the export of its own food and fertilizer products.
Investigators confirm sabotage caused Nord Stream ruptures
Danish and Swedish investigators have confirmed that gas-spewing holes discovered in the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in September were the result of sabotage. The Swedish Prosecution Authority said investigators found “traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered” and that their findings confirm “gross sabotage,” Reuters reported. Without elaborating on the kind of explosives used, the prosecution said investigators in the ongoing probe may be able to determine who was responsible for the explosions.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that Moscow will wait for a complete damage assessment before deciding whether or not to repair the pipelines.
“The very fact that data has already begun to come in, in favor of confirming a subversive act or a terrorist act… once again confirms the information that the Russian side has,” Peskov told his daily call with reporters.
“It is very important not to stop, it is very important to find the one behind this explosion.”
Russia’s defense ministry last month accused the British navy of blowing up the pipelines, which London denied as absurd.