War in Ukraine: three dead including a child in Chernihiv, long-range missiles, capture of Vougledar… update on the situation

Un bâtiment endommagé à Kharkiv le 3 octobre 2024. MAXPPP – Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Avalon

Tous les jours, Midi Libre fait le point sur la situation en Ukraine. Ce jeudi 3 octobre 2024, découvrez les dernières actualités autour de ce conflit.

Russian drone kills three, including child, in Chernihiv region

Two adults and a child were killed Thursday in a Russian drone attack on a truck delivering gas cylinders in the Chernihiv region in northern Ukraine bordering Russia, Ukrainian authorities said.

More broadly, the Russian military launched a salvo of drones on 15 regions of Ukraine on Thursday that caused damage to electrical infrastructure. The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 78 drones out of 105 devices fired by Russian forces. The governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Chaous, said on the Telegram messenger that “the Russians deliberately hit a truck delivering gas to the population with a drone”.

“Gas cylinders exploded. Residential buildings caught fire,”, he added. A six-year-old child was among the dead, he said, adding that a four-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, both seriously injured, were among four people hospitalized following the attack.

Images he posted with his message showed the wreckage of a truck completely burned out and flames near houses. In kyiv, where the air raid lasted more than five hours, about 15 drones were destroyed, city authorities said. Fires were reported in three areas around the capital. In Odessa, in the south of the country, power lines were damaged and several thousand homes were left without power.

Several dozen drones also targeted the Poltava region, southwest of Kharkiv, where six commercial buildings, a residential building and a kindergarten were damaged, according to local governor Filip Pronin. According to the Ukrainian Energy Ministry, power lines and substations were hit in the kyiv, Odessa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions in the west of the country.

Zelensky accuses Western countries of “dragging” deliveries

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused the West of “dragging”deliveries of long-range missiles to his country, amid debate over their use to strike Russia.

“We need sufficient quantity and quality of weapons, including long-range weapons, with which, in my opinion, our partners are already dragging their feet,”, Zelensky said while receiving the new NATO chief Mark Rutte in Kiev.

Russia claims capture of eastern Vougledar town Ukraine

Russia claimed on Thursday the capture of the town of Vougledar in eastern Ukraine, from which Ukrainian forces had announced their withdrawal the day before, following a fierce battle lasting more than two years.

“Thanks to the resolute actions of the units of the Eastern group of troops, the town of Vougledar was liberated", the Russian Defense Ministry said on Telegram.

New NATO Secretary General in Kiev for first official trip

New NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited Ukraine on Thursday for his first official trip, during which he discussed with Volodymyr Zelensky his “peace plan”, aimed at ending the conflict with Russia.

The Ukrainian president said at a joint press conference with Mark Rutte that he would like to see kyiv's allies destroy Iranian missiles and drones used by Russia, as Israel's allies did Tuesday during an Iranian attack on the Jewish state.

The Ukrainian president has again called on the allies to authorize deep strikes on Russian territory with weapons supplied by the West, accusing them of "delaying" their decision. Mark Rutte reaffirmed the commitment of the Atlantic Alliance to integrate Ukraine into its ranks.

“Ukraine has never been closer to NATO and it will continue on this path until it becomes a member of NATO”, he said.