In the midst of much news, including the Hamas attacks on Israel, the Russian-Ukrainian War has been incredibly neglected, and coverage on this tragic event has been anything but sufficient.
From shooting innocent civilians in their houses, to increased numbers of battles, to more land sieges, the Russian-Ukrainian War is relentlessly raging and is far from over.
For starters, on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at least six people were brutally murdered and sixteen others were injured after a Russian missile struck a logistics company building in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. Russian forces launched two missiles from the Belgorod region near the Ukrainian border. Despite Kharkiv having been liberated from Russian occupation last year, this has still been a huge target for aerial bombardment by Moscow.
Bridget Brink, the US Ambassador to Ukraine, called this attack “horrific” and emphasized how “Again, overnight horrific images of Russian violence against civilians in Ukraine – a missile attack on a postal office in Kharkiv killed 6 people and seriously injured more.” Brink places emphasis on the significance of this attack, ultimately exploiting Russian dehumanization and their “disregard for life” now being “for all the world to see.”
While ambassadors like Brink have been heavily invested in the conflict, the United States as a whole has also been quite involved in trying to provide Ukraine with aid. On Tuesday, October 17, 2023, the US carried out a secret delivery of long-range ATACMS missiles in an attempt to destroy Russian helicopters and a munitions depot. This served as progression on the battlefield and for public morale, as US funding toward Ukraine has been quite limited lately and Ukraine has been asking for the US’s missile system for multiple months. “Ukrainians are greatly encouraged by the delivery of ATACMS, and our warriors are putting them to good use on the battlefield,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commented after speaking with US President Joe Biden.
However, despite that huge aid leverage, battles are still raging in Ukraine, especially within Avdiivka in the Donetsk region due to Russia’s continuous attempts to encircle and siege the city and launching massive attacks, which have been reciprocated effectively by the Ukrainian troops within that area. While Russia’s ultimate goal is to encircle Avdiivka and take over that area of high ground given the industrial nature of the city and providing control to Ukrainian supply roots, Ukraine has been persistent in forbidding that to occur.
In fact, Ukraine has done such an effective job at reciprocating that more Russian personnel and tanks were destroyed within one day than any other day since the initiation of the conflict, resulting in quite “catastrophic” Russian losses, according to Zelensky.
Another one of Ukraine’s notable incursions was when they organized a cross-river operation in Kherson when Ukrainian troops crossed the Dnipro River, according to pro-Russian military bloggers.
“Ukrainian troops are trying to gain a foothold and pull up reserves to develop their initiative on the Dnipro bank controlled by the Russian army,” a popular Russian military blogger commented.
The troops also supposedly broke through some more Russian defenses and pushed into the villages of Poyma and Pishchanivka on the eastern bank, which is heavily guarded by Russian forces.
Regarding more minor events, on the morning of Friday, October 20, 2023, Russian airstrikes murdered an elderly woman in the town of Beryslav in the southern Kherson region, injuring seven others. The head of the Kherson region military, Oleksandr Prokudin, reported this incident, saying that the woman’s death was immediate due to her injuries.
Another relatively minor event occurred in Kyiv, Ukraine, when a family of nine with two young children were found shot dead in their residence in the Ukrainian town of Volnovakha, which has been occupied by Russian forces since March 2022. It’s suspected that Russian occupying forces are behind the killing and two Russian soldiers have allegedly been arrested over this matter, according to Russian authorities.
The Ukrainian Donetsk Region’s Prosecutor’s Office shared some insight on how these murders followed armed men in military uniform demanding that the family depart their residence to accommodate a Russian army unit. However, the owner of the house refused, and the attacker threatened violence on the family and fulfilled his promise just days later, shooting the family of nine dead in their sleep.
Currently, the event is under investigation in regards to tracking down the culprit. “The suspects were detained and taken to the investigative department, investigative and procedural actions aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, as well as consolidation of the evidence base are being carried out with them,” the Russian investigative committee claimed.
While the headlines have been dominated by other sensitive and alarming topics, the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia remains a very current and complicated matter. With the loss of lives, destruction of infrastructure, and increasing number of refugees, this conflict is still a cause for concern and it is crucial that the international community remains engaged and informed. So, stay informed on other current events, but don’t forget about this one, as every ounce of support and knowledge is priceless.
