President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that a Russian missile attack which killed 51 people gathered for a wake in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region was “no blind strike”. Zelensky's words came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is tasked "with building a new world" and reiterated his position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine. Read our live blog for all the developments on the war in Ukraine. This live page is no longer being updated. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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10:11pm: EU says can't fill US funding gap supporting Ukraine
The EU vowed steadfast support for Ukraine Thursday but warned it would be unable to fill any funding gap left by the United States.
Fears have been ignited by political turmoil in Washington, which have prompted President Joe Biden to admit that it “does worry me” that US support for Ukraine might get derailed.
“Can Europe fill the gap left by the US? Well, certainly Europe cannot replace the US,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at the meeting of the European Political Community in Spain.
9:52pm: Hroza strike: 'Images of devastation have become sadly familiar to Ukrainians'
"It's the deadliest missile strike since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of the Kharkiv region," says FRANCE 24's Ukraine correspondent Emmanuelle Chaze from Kyiv.
"The youngest victim is a six-year-old child ... Images of devastation have become sadly familiar to Ukrainians."
9:28pm: Zelensky says Russian attack on Hroza was 'no blind strike'
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that a Russian missile attack which killed 51 people gathered for a wake in a Ukrainian village was “no blind strike” and Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were striking.
“A deliberate missile strike on a village in Kharkiv region on an ordinary store and cafe,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address, delivered while attending a summit of the European Political Community in Spain.
“Russian troops could not have been unaware of where they were hitting. This was no blind strike.”
7:48pm: Putin suggests Prigozhin was killed by hand grenades on plane
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday suggested that the plane crash which killed Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin in August was caused by hand grenades detonating inside the aircraft, not by a missile attack.
The private Embraer jet on which Prigozhin was travelling to St Petersburg crashed north of Moscow, killing all 10 people on board on August 23, including two other top Wagner figures, Prigozhin’s four bodyguards and a crew of three.
Putin suggested the plane was blown up from inside, saying that the head of Russia’s investigative committee had reported to him a few days ago.
“Fragments of hand grenades were found in the bodies of those killed in the crash,” Putin told a meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
“There was no external impact on the plane – this is already an established fact,” Putin said, seemingly rubbishing assertions by unidentified US officials who said shortly after the crash that they believed it had been shot down.
7:34pm: Search for survivors in Hroza strike over, official says
Rescue operations to find survivors of a Russian strike on the eastern Ukrainian village of Hroza on Thursday that killed 51 people were completed, Ukrainian authorities said.
"As of 7.20 pm (1620 GMT) emergency and rescue work in the village of Hroza, Kupiansk district, has been completed," Ukraine's state emergency service said. "A total of 51 people died, including a child born in 2017, and six people were wounded."
7:26pm: Western leaders condemn Hroza strike
The White House on Thursday condemned the "horrifying" strike that killed at least 51 people in a village in eastern Ukraine, saying the attack underscored the need to keep supporting Kyiv against Russia.
"It is incredibly horrifying for the people of Ukraine," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. "This is why we're doing everything that we can to help Ukraine."
Jean-Pierre's comments came after UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell offered their own condemnations.
"Intentional attacks against civilians are war crimes," Borrell posted on X.
7:13pm: Putin holds out possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing
President Vladimir Putin on Thursday held out the possibility that Russia could resume nuclear testing for the first time in more than three decades and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty.
Putin, the ultimate decision maker in the world's biggest nuclear power, also said Moscow had successfully tested a nuclear-powered and nuclear-capable cruise missile – the Burevestnik – whose capabilities he has called unmatched.
The Kremlin chief said there was no need to change Russia's nuclear doctrine however, as any attack on Russia would provoke a split-second response with hundreds of nuclear missiles that no enemy could survive.
"Do we need to change this? And why? Everything can be changed but I just don't see the need for it," Putin said of the nuclear doctrine - the Kremlin policy setting out the circumstances when Russia might use its weapons.
6:54pm: Putin says Russia has no objection to Ukraine joining EU
Russia has always opposed Ukraine’s potential accession to NATO as it poses a threat to Moscow’s security, but it would have no objection to Kyiv joining the European Union, Putin said Thursday.
Ukraine applied to join the EU soon after Russia’s invasion on February 24 last year and has received formal candidate status from the EU, but the process of meeting its entry requirements is likely to take many years.
5:52pm: Putin says Europe is erecting a new iron curtain
Europe is shutting off Russia with a new iron curtain, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday, saying Western sanctions on Moscow over Ukraine had hurt the European economy while the US and Asian economies had become more competitive.
Putin, who said Russia was not shutting itself from Europe, was speaking during a question-and-answer session at the Valdai Discussion Club in Sochi.
5:43pm: Death toll in Russia strike on Hroza raised to at least 51
The death toll in a Russian strike in the eastern Ukrainian village of Hroza on Thursday has been raised to at least 51 people.
5:33pm: Slovakia freezes decisions on Ukraine military aid
Slovakia has frozen decision-making on providing military aid to neighbouring Ukraine after politicians opposed to military aid for Kyiv have won a parliamentary election, the presidency said Thursday.
Spokesman Martin Strizinec told journalists President Zuzana Caputova shared the view of the outgoing premier "that a decision on this question must reflect the result of recent legislative elections".
4:55pm: UN envoy says 'appalled' by 'horrifying' attack in east Ukraine
The UN's humanitarian envoy for Ukraine on Thursday condemned a Russian attack that killed 50 people in the eastern village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region.
"I am appalled by the reports of a Russian strike that, shortly ago, ripped apart the village of Hroza, in the Kharkiv Region, killing dozens of civilians. The images arriving from the locality, home to just above 300 people, are absolutely horrifying," Denise Brown said in a statement.
4:41pm: Spain offers Ukraine more HAWK air defence systems
Spain has offered Ukraine another six HAWK air defence systems to protect the country’s grain export corridor and critical infrastructure against Russian attacks, a Spanish government source told journalists on Thursday.
Spain has earlier sent six US-made HAWK launchers to Kyiv, according to the defence ministry. The Spanish army will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use these news systems as well as provide more demining equipment, the same source said earlier.
4:39pm: Putin says Russia tasked 'with building a new world', calls out US 'arrogance'
President Vladimir Putin said Russia is tasked "with building a new world" on Thursday and reiterated his position that Russia did not start the war in Ukraine but launched what it calls a “special military operation” to try to stop it.
In his yearly speech to the Valdai Discussion Club, being held in Sochi, Putin said "[Russia is] tasked, essentially, with building a new world," adding the West was aiming for global "hegemony".
He said the conflict was not therefore imperial or territorial but about the global order, and that the US, which had lost its hegemonic power and always needed an enemy, had lost touch with reality and grown arrogant.
“All the time, we hear ‘You must’, ‘You have to’, ‘We’re seriously warning you’. Who are you anyway? What right do you have to warn anyone? Maybe it’s time you yourself got rid of your arrogance, stopped behaving that way towards the world,” Putin said about the US.
Putin said Russia saw all civilisations as equal and was ready for “constructive cooperation” while the West, having forgotten the meaning of compromise, saw any country that opposed it as an enemy. He listed China, India and Arab nations as examples.
Putin also said the Russian economy was undergoing structural changes and, although it faced some challenges, had overcome all its problems connected to Western sanctions.
4:32pm: Russian attack kills at least 50 in Kharkiv, Ukrainian officials say
A Russian attack killed at least 50 people, including a six-year-old boy, in the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said.
Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov said that a cafe and a shop had been attacked at around 13:15 (10:15 GMT) in the village of Hroza in the Kupyansk district of Kharkiv, and that many civilians had been there at the time.
“The rescuers continue to work on the site,” Synehubov said on the Telegram messaging app.
Hroza was hit with an Iskander missile according to the Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.
The strike generated fresh Ukrainian calls for more air defences.
3:09pm: European Political Community: 'We're beginning to see cracks in unity'
Volodymyr Zelensky is in the Spanish city of Granada to lobby his Western allies for more military aid and air defence systems ahead of what officials warn could be intensified Russian strikes over the winter.
"This is a critical moment for Ukraine," says FRANCE 24's foreign affairs editor Rob Parsons.
"We're beginning to see cracks in unity ... that's what Zelensky is in Granada for, to try and rally the European troops as it were."
2:48pm: Zelensky meets Armenian PM Pashinyan, discusses security in South Caucasus
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Thursday on the sidelines of the European Political Community Summit in Spain, and discussed the security situation in the South Caucasus.
"Ukraine is interested in the region’s stability and friendly relations with its nations," Zelensky said on X.
2:35pm: Ukraine to pause WTO complaints against three neighbours, says trade official
Ukraine has paused complaints against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia at the World Trade Organization and is working on a “complex solution” to their trade dispute, Ukrainian trade representative Taras Kachka said Thursday.
“We see that this problem will be eliminated in the coming weeks and months. Therefore, while we are looking for a practical solution, our disputes in the WTO are on hold for today,” Kachka was quoted by Interfax-Ukraine news agency as telling reporters during a visit to Brussels.
1:50pm: Slovakia puts military aid for Ukraine on hold as country forms government
Slovakia’s president has refused a plan by her country’s caretaker government to send further military aid to Ukraine, saying it doesn't have the authority and parties that oppose such support are in talks to form a government following last week’s election.
The presidential office said in a statement Thursday that the current government of technocrats has only limited powers because it lost a mandatory confidence vote in Parliament on June 15, a month after President Zuzana Caputova swore it in.
The technocrat cabinet was created with the aim of leading the country to Saturday’s early election.
1:39pm: Zelensky asks Europe for more help in emotional speech
President Volodymyr Zelensky told more than 40 European leaders gathered in Spain he was confident of America’s continued support, and asked for their continued assistance in Ukraine's fight against Russian aggression.
In an emotional speech, Zelensky said school children in Kharkiv in east Ukraine were learning remotely or attending classes underground in subway stations because of air raids.
“Until there is a fully effective air defence system, children cannot attend school,” he told the European Political Community summit, held in Granada, Spain.
He voiced confidence in continued US support despite what he called a “political storm” there recently after aid to Ukraine did not make the cut for a last-minute Congress deal to avoid a government shutdown.
“I am confident in America. They are strong people with strong institutions and a strong democracy,” he said.
1:27pm: Spain offers air defence, anti-drone systems to Ukraine
Spain has offered new air defence and anti-drone systems to Ukraine to protect its energy and port infrastructure, a government source said on Thursday.
The Spanish army will also train Ukrainian soldiers to use these news systems as well as provide more demining equipment, the source added.
12:44pm: Moldova introduces free gas transit to Ukraine for winter supplies
Moldovan authorities have enacted regulations calling for the free transport of European gas to and from storage facilities in neighbouring Ukraine to ensure the country's winter needs are met.
The Commission on Emergency Regulations called on Moldova's gas transport system regulator late on Wednesday to provide shipment of European-sourced gas free of charge to storage areas through four points on the Ukraine-Moldova border.
With Moldova subject to a state of emergency since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 – and renewed every 60 days – the commission's decisions must be implemented by law.
The commission said transporter VestMoldTransGaz was obliged to act in order to ensure sufficient winter supplies. The company is owned 75 percent by Romania's TransGaz, with the remainder held by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
12:04pm: EU's Borrell hopes US will change stance to keep supporting Ukraine
Infighting in Washington that has cast doubt on continuing support for Ukraine is "bad news", European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said on Thursday, expressing hope that it was not yet the final position.
He spoke at the start of a meeting of the European Political Community Summit, a forum bringing together leaders from almost 50 European countries.
European leaders gathering in Granada are expected to assure Zelensky of long-term support after US President Joe Biden voiced fears that Republican infighting in Congress could hurt US policy on continuing aid to Kyiv.
12:00pm: Bangladesh accepts first fuel delivery for Russia-backed nuclear plant
Bangladesh on Thursday accepted the first uranium delivery for its Russia-backed nuclear plant, a project aimed at bolstering its overstretched energy grid but complicated by sanctions on Moscow.
"Today is a day of pride and joy for the people of Bangladesh," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said during a videoconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin to mark the handover.
11:58am: Ukraine says more than 26,000 missing since Russian invasion last year
Ukraine said Thursday that over 26,000 people, including many civilians, were still unaccounted for since Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year.
The number of officially missing people is difficult to estimate, as Russian forces still occupy around a fifth of the country and neither side regularly releases data on military casualties.
"As of now, more than 26,000 people are wanted and are missing under special circumstances. Of these, 11,000 are civilians and about 15,000 are military personnel," deputy interior minister Leonid Tymchenko said on national television.
This only includes people whose data has been officially verified, interior ministry spokeswoman Mariana Reva told AFP, adding that the "figures could grow".
Large swathes of Ukrainian territory have remained under Russian occupation since the beginning of the war, which has devastated whole towns and cities and killed thousands.
11:46am: Zelensky worried about US support amid 'difficult' election period
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Thursday that he was worried that Washington political rhetoric in the run up to next year's election could undermine US support for his country.
Arriving at a European summit in Granada, Zelensky said Kyiv had been assured of US President Joe Biden's backing but acknowledged that it was a "difficult election period for the United States".
"Different voices. Some of the voices are very strange. About this also, we will speak about this," he said, before the meeting of the European Political Community.
11:15am: Russia's FSB detains man accused of cooperation with Ukraine
Russia's FSB security service said Thursday it detained a Russian citizen from the western region of Vladimir on suspicion of handing information to the Ukrainian special service.
Since launching its assault on Ukraine last year, Russia has repeatedly detained citizens it suspects of working with Ukrainian intelligence to carry out sabotage.
"The suspect was tasked with providing information about the movement of trains with military equipment across the territory of the Vladimir region," the FSB said.
Law enforcement opened a case against him for confidential cooperation with a foreign intelligence agency, which carries between two and eight years in prison.
The detained man had reached out to Ukrainian services on his own initiative and was hoping to "receive remuneration for actions aimed at damaging the security of the Russian Federation," the FSB said.
Its statement did not specify when the suspect, a resident of the town of Gus-Khrystalny, was detained.
10:58am: Russia says Ukraine hit border town with cluster munitions
Russia on Thursday accused Ukraine of using cluster munitions to attack a border town, injuring one person and damaging several buildings.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of using the controversial weapons since the United States agreed to supply them in July, including to attack Russian border regions.
"The border town of Rylsk was shelled with cluster munitions from Ukraine," said Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region.
Rylsk, a town of around 15,000 people, is fewer than 30 kilometres (about 20 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Humanitarian groups have criticised the use of cluster munitions, which can indiscriminately scatter small explosive charges over a wide area.
Russia also has stockpiles of the weapons and has been accused by Ukraine and monitoring groups of using them on the battlefield and against civilian areas.
10:01am: Two people killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine's Kherson
Two people were killed in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, the head of the Ukrainian president's office said on Thursday.
Andriy Yermak, the president's chief of staff, said on the Telegram messaging app that one of the dead was a utility worker who trimmed trees.
9:30am: Ukraine's Zelensky in Spain for European summit
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that he was in the Spanish city of Granada for a summit bringing together leaders from almost 50 European countries.
The visit comes as Zelensky lobbies his Western allies for more military aid and air defence systems ahead of what officials warn could be intensified Russian strikes over the winter.
"Granada, Spain. Summit of the European Political Community. We will work in joint formats and have important bilateral meetings," Zelensky said in a social media post.
"The key for us, especially before the winter, is to strengthen air defence, and we already have the basis for new agreements with our partners. We are preparing to confirm and implement them," he said.
9:25am: Putin orders regulated prices for fuel oil in some Russian regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to provide state funds to ensure a smooth heating season, including the introduction of regulated prices for fuel oil supplied for household heating in some regions, the Kremlin said on Thursday.
Russia has been tackling shortages and high fuel prices in recent months. Fuel oil is in high demand for the Arctic and other regions, which are facing a severe winter.
The document, published on the Kremlin web site, said the government will provide funds for the Murmansk and other Arctic regions to prepare for the heating season of 2023/2024, and for "the introduction of price regulation for fuel oil supplied for the heating season".
Despite being one of the world's top oil producers, Russia has suffered high domestic prices and shortages of gasoline and diesel in recent months as high export prices made it advantageous for refiners to sell their products abroad.
Russia on September 21 introduced a ban on fuel exports to fight high gasoline and diesel prices as well as fuel shortages during harvesting season. There is no time frame for the restrictions to be lifted.
8:31am: Russia plans naval base on Black Sea coast of breakaway Georgian region, reports Russian newspaper
Russia is planning to build a naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia, the leader of the region was quoted on Thursday as saying by the Izvestiya newspaper, a day after meeting President Vladimir Putin.
Aslan Bzhania, the self-styled president of the Russian-backed breakaway region, said an agreement had been signed for a permanent naval base in the Ochamchira region.
"We have signed an agreement, and in the near future there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district," Bzhania told Izvestiya.
"This is all aimed at increasing the level of defence capability of both Russia and Abkhazia, and this kind of interaction will continue," he said. "There are also things I can't talk about."
Russia recognised Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war that ended on August 12, 2008.
6:57am: Ukraine downs 24 drones launched by Russia, says military
Ukraine's air defences downed 24 out of 29 Russian drones launched in attacks on its territory overnight, the Ukrainian general staff said on Thursday.
Ukraine's Air Force said the drones were destroyed over the southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, as well as the central Kirohovrad region.
"The enemy continues its attempts to destroy the port and other infrastructure of the south, is terrorising the central regions as well," Ukraine's southern command said.
It said an unspecified infrastructure facility was hit in the Kirohovrad region and the resulting fire had been contained.
There was no information about casualties.
1:39am: Ukraine says its forces making headway in south, hold gains in east
Ukrainian forces made some headway in their drive southward as part of a gruelling counteroffensive to recapture areas seized by Russia in its 19-month-old invasion of its neighbour, military officials said Thursday.
Ukrainian officials also said Kyiv's forces were resisting Russian attempts to reverse gains on the eastern front made by Ukraine since it launched its counteroffensive in June.
Russia's Defence Ministry reported a measure of success by its troops on the eastern front. FRANCE 24 was unable to verify the battlefield reports.
Ukraine's southern group of forces outlined advances as Kyiv presses on with a drive towards the Sea of Azov to split Russian-occupied territory in the south and east.
Key developments from Wednesday, October 4:
The US transferred 1.1 million rounds of ammunition that it seized from Iran to Ukraine, US Central Command confirmed Wednesday in a statement. The delivery was announced after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Kyiv was doing "everything" to make sure the war-torn country receives more air defence systems in the next few months.
Russia downed 31 Ukraine-launched drones overnight over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk bordering Ukraine, the defence ministry said Wednesday.
And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Azerbaijan's leader Ilham Aliyev affirmed principles of "territorial integrity" for states during phone talks, in the wake of Azerbaijan's takeover of separatist Nagorno-Karabakh.
Read yesterday’s live blog to see how the day’s events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
