Key developments on Oct. 13:
- Ukraine is holding front line in Kursk Oblast despite Russian attacks, Zelensky says
- Prosecutors open investigation into alleged killing of 9 POWs by Russians in Kursk Oblast
- Russia's illegal use of Starlink terminals hastened fall of Vuhledar, WP reports
- Zelensky: Russia has used around 900 aerial bombs against Ukraine this week
Ukrainian troops are holding the front line in Russia's Kursk Oblast despite Russian attempts to break through, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 12.
"There were attempts by Russia to push back our positions. But we are holding the defined lines," he said.
Zelensky posted the comments on his official Telegram channel after Russian military sources claimed the prior day to have recaptured nearly two dozen settlements in Kursk Oblast.
"Russian forces have likely advanced within at least 13 settlements in Kursk Oblast that Ukrainian forces had previously reportedly operated in as of Oct. 11," according to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, also commented on the issue on his Telegram channel on Oct. 12.
"Active fighting continues in Kursk Oblast," he said. "After (Ukrainian troops) partially regained the positions where the Russians had entered, (Russian troops) began to send columns to attack again."
Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in early August, allegedly seizing around 100 settlements and over 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles). Russia began a counteroffensive in the region in September, with reportedly minimal success.
Earlier in the week, U.S. officials assessed that Ukraine has the ability to hold territory in Kursk Oblast for months.
James Beardsworth
Prosecutors open investigation into alleged killing of 9 POWs by Russians in Kursk Oblast
Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin announced on Oct. 13 that his office had opened an investigation after Russian troops reportedly shot nine Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners in Kursk Oblast.
"The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and an international crime. A criminal case has been opened over the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder," Kostin posted on X.
"We are doing our utmost to identify and prosecute all those responsible for the aggressor's crimes committed against Ukraine and Ukrainians."
The shootings are said to have occurred on Oct. 10, the crowd-sourced monitoring group DeepState reported on Oct. 13, citing sources in Ukraine's First Tank Brigade.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiga posted on X on Oct 13, calling for the international community to take immediate action by issuing warrants for Russian executioners, increasing sanctions, and demanding access to detention sites.
"Russia's mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is absolute barbarism, grave violation of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war. Executions are becoming more frequent, 95% of POWs are subjected to torture according to the UN, denied basic needs and access," he wrote.
Ukraine's Obudsman Dmytro Lubinets said that he had submitted information about the execution cases in Kursk to the U.N. and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Summary executions by Russians of Ukrainian prisoners of war have sharply risen in the past year.
Kyiv knows of 93 Ukrainian POWs who were summarily executed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield throughout the full-scale war, a senior representative of the Prosecutor General's Office said on national television on Oct. 4.
Martin Fornusek
Russia's illegal use of Starlink terminals hastened fall of Vuhledar, WP reports
Russian forces are using black-market Starlink internet terminals en masse on the front lines in Ukraine, contributing to territorial gains, the Washington Post (WP) reported on Oct. 12.
Elon Musk's company SpaceX began providing Starlink terminals to Ukraine shortly after the full-scale invasion, giving Kyiv a crucial battlefield advantage. While SpaceX does not sell units to Russia directly, Russian troops in Ukraine continue to obtain Starlink terminals through shadowy supply chains and intermediaries.
The proliferation of Starlink terminals among Russian front-line troops has contributed to Moscow's recent battlefield gains, including the occupation of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast, the WP reports, citing several Ukrainian soldiers and military officers.
"They just overpowered us," an officer in the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, one of the units defending Vuhledar, told the WP.
The officer said Russia's access to Starlink was a key factor in the loss of the city, along with weapons and personnel shortages.
A drone platoon commander with the 93rd Mechanized Brigade said that while Ukraine's Starlink terminals previously gave them a technological edge over Russian forces, that advantage has now disappeared.
"Before, the Russians couldn't control some of their movements, maneuvers, artillery, infantry," he said.
When Ukraine intercepted Russian radio transmissions, they observed soldiers frequently giving incomplete or wrong information to their commanders, the platoon commander said. That has now changed.
"Now they will only improve, and unfortunately, that's what's happening across the board," he said.
Martin Fornusek
Zelensky: Russia has used around 900 aerial bombs against Ukraine this week
Russia has used around 900 guided aerial bombs against Ukraine this week alone, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 13.
Guided aerial bombs are precision-guided munitions that have a shorter range than missiles, but are far cheaper to produce. The weapons are launched from aircraft within Russian territory, outside the range of Ukrainian air defense.
Russia also launched more than 40 missiles and 400 combat drones of various types, Zelensky said in a video address posted on Telegram.
"No nation should go through such trials alone. Our partners have the opportunity to provide the necessary quantity and quality of air defense systems, to make decisions about our sufficient range, and to ensure the timely delivery of defense assistance to our soldiers," Zelensky said.
"We must not waste time - we must give the necessary signal of determination."
Dominic Culverwell
