Russia unleashes killing spree against Ukrainian civilians on Thursday, targeting children, trains, and buses (Ukraine Battlefield update, Day 1,708)
Oleshky’s rare ceasefire has let some trapped civilians flee and aid convoys edge in. But now, both armies are racing to fortify positions for the next round of fighting across the Dnipro river.
The Russian army was killing city residents on Thursday morning. First, a warning to all readers: this latest edition of the Ukraine Battlefield update contains several videos and photographs of victims of Russian attacks that may be distressing. Consider whether you wish to continue reading today.
We do not usually publish such footage, but so much of it emerged within just a few hours today that we are publishing it to explain why, during October, Russia killed more Ukrainian civilians than at any time since the battle for Mariupol.
Ukrainian cities in the rear are currently suffering more than at any point since the start of the war. This is partly because the United States has stopped supplying missiles for Patriot systems, which Europe pays for anyway, and partly because of the mass deployment of jet-powered drones.
Shooting them down is more complicated, and the air defence success rate has therefore fallen. Russia is also attacking populated areas, which inevitably increases the civilian death toll.
Thursday morning was particularly tragic. Russian weapons killed people in Dnipro , Kremenchuk , and Chernihiv . In every case, the victims were ordinary residents, including children in several cases.
Roman Pataj is Head of the Opinion section at Denník N and, since 2022, the author of the Ukrainian Battlefield update. He graduated in political science and has worked as a journalist since 2002.
