Key developments for October 14:
* Russian Tu-134 Transport aircraft set on fire over 1,000 km away from Ukraine, claims military intelligence
* Russia claims capture a village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Kyiv says “situation dynamic”
* Russia’s top ombudsman claims that over 110,000 residents from the Kursk Oblast have been evacuated
Commander: First Ukrainian troops crossed into Kursk Oblast two days before incursion
Two people killed in a Russian drone attack in Kherson Oblast
The Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR), reported that a Russian Tu-134 transport aircraft was set ablaze at a military airport in Orenburg Oblast, overnight on October 13.
HUR reported that “such Soviet aircraft are primarily used to transport the Russian Defense Ministry’s leadership.”
According to the agency the plane, which was part of the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment, Russian Armed Forces, had been burned to the ground on the Orenburg-2 airfield.
Orenburg is located 6 km (3 miles) southwest. The city is located approximately 1,250 kilometers (780 mi) from the frontline in Ukraine, and 90 kilometers (60 mi) north of the Russia/Kazakhstan boundary.
HUR shared video footage of the fire, but did not claim responsibility for the incident.
The agency added, “Every crime committed against the Ukrainian people is going to be punished in full.”
The Kyiv independent could not verify this report.
The Tupolev Tu-134 was a twin-engined aircraft produced in the Soviet Union between 1966 and 1989. After the crash of a Tu-134, which killed 47 people in 2011, it was completely withdrawn from commercial use in 2019.
One VIP private jet is currently available for purchase in Russia. It costs $2.5 million.
Kyiv claims’situation dynamics’, while Russia claims that Zaporizhzhia Oblast village has been captured.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that on October 14, its forces had captured Levadne village in Zaporizhzhia Oblast despite ongoing hostilities.
The statement was made after Kyiv warned of a possible Russian push in southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, just as Moscow’s forces continue to advance in Ukraine’s eastern part. Reports claim that Russian troops have renewed their attacks in recent days in the Zaporizhzhia region.
Vladyslav Voloshyn of the Southern Defense Forces, in a comment to the Kyiv independent, refuted the claim that Russia has launched a major offensive, stating that Russia only conducts local ground assaults.
Voloshyn, when asked about the alleged seizure Levadne said that the situation was “developing quite dynamically”, and that both sides could regain the initiative.
Levadne lies 170 km (105 miles) west of Zaporizhzhia, in the village of Velyka-Nosilka.
In recent weeks, Russian troops intensified their attacks against Zaporizhzhia by targeting its civilian infrastructure using guided aerial bombs.
Voloshyn warned on Sept. 28 that Moscow was “amassing staff” in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The spokesperson stated that Russia was preparing a new maneuver close to the occupied village Pryiutne near Levadne, but added that an offensive would require more personnel.
Voloshyn stated on Oct. 5 that Russian forces were massing in preparation for a breakthrough towards Orikhiv, Mala Tokmachka and Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The area was the main front of Ukraine’s southern offensive in 2023. It led to the liberation Robotyne, but no major breakthrough.
The Russian chief ombudsman says that over 110,000 residents from the Kursk Oblast have been evacuated.
In an interview published in the Russian Emergency Ministry’s Oct. 14 publication, Tatyana Moskalkova, the Russian Ombudsman, said that 112,337 residents from Russia’s Kursk Oblast had left their homes because of hostilities.
Authorities in Russian border regions reported many Ukrainian attacks as hostilities spilled over the border after Russia launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine.
The evacuation effort intensified after Kyiv’s cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast early in August.
Moskalkova, speaking to Argumenty i Fakty (a Kremlin-controlled outlet), said that the number includes 12,328 people who are placed in temporary facilities throughout Russia and approximately 100,000 who live with relatives and friends.
Officials added that around 40,000 people had refused to evacuate, or were already back in their homes.
Moskalkova said that 30,415 residents from Belgorod, Kursk and other areas near the Russia-Ukraine borders were housed in 960 temporary housing facilities throughout Russia. She added that 7,670 of these residents are children.
This official claimed that this figure includes residents who “fled,” Russian-occupied parts in Ukraine’s Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts a year ago “due shelling.”
The Kyiv independent could not verify Moskalkova’s claims, as Russia has deported Ukrainian residents from occupied territories including children.
The Ukrainians launched their cross-border incursion in Kursk Oblast, claiming to have initially seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 sq miles). However, they are now facing increasing pressure from Russian reinforcements.
Kyiv stated that it would adhere strictly to international humanitarian law when dealing with Russian civilians in Kursk oblast, and invited the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to “join humanitarian effort.” The Kremlin dismissed the move as a “provocation.”
Commander: First Ukrainian troops crossed into Kursk oblast 2 days before incursion
Pavlo Rozlach said that the 80th Air Assault Brigade of Ukraine crossed into the Kursk Oblast just two days before Kyiv began its operation in the Russian area, assisting the subsequent offensive. The interview was aired by TSN on October 13.
Rozlach claims that a Ukrainian company snuck into Kursk Oblast and hid themselves in the forest in groups of six soldiers. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces assisted them in crossing the border.
The company attacked a Russian fort near the border when the operation began. The commander said that the successful operation had paved the way for Ukrainian vehicles to enter the country.
He added that Ukraine also disrupted Russia’s communication system which led to Russian forces being disoriented.
“There were certain dangers.” Rozlach stated that if the enemy had discovered this company, then the element of surprise was lost.
Two battalions, reportedly, broke through minefields in Kursk Oblast thanks to engineers.
After recent Russian attacks against the Ukrainian salient, Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian soldiers were holding the line in spite of Russian attempts to break through.
Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, said on October 10 that Moscow had transferred around 50,000 troops from other sectors to the front.
Two people killed in a Russian drone attack in Kherson Oblast
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported that a Russian drone attack on Kherson Oblast on October 14 resulted in the death of two women who were in their car.
In November 2022, Ukraine liberated Kherson in the south from Russian occupation. Since then, Russian troops have attacked the city and surrounding areas along the western banks of the Dnipro River on a regular basis.
Residents of Kherson reported that in recent weeks, Russian drones have been attacking civilian targets in the city of Kherson and other parts of the oblast. They called this new strategy a “human Safari.”
The regional prosecutor’s said that the most recent incident took place near Beryslav, which is located about 75 kilometers east of Kherson.
A civilian vehicle containing five people was targeted by an FPV drone. Two women, aged 72 and 56 years old, were killed, and a man, 72, and a woman, 63, were injured.
The Interior Ministry reported that the driver of the car was not injured.
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