Mark Rutte new NATO Secretary General
Former Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte took over as NATO Secretary General from his predecessor Jens Stoltenberg on October 1st. He noted that Ukraine would be the main issue on his list of priorities as the new head of the alliance, and he promised that in his position he would try to fulfill the alliance’s commitments to Ukraine – especially in view of the irreversibility of the alliance Ukraine’s path to joining NATO.
Rutte urged not to listen to Russia’s nuclear threats and stressed that allies currently see no direct risks in the use of nuclear weapons. As the Ukrainian newspaper “Yevropejska Pravda” reports, he said of the Kremlin chief’s recent statements about changing the conditions for Russia’s use of nuclear weapons: “Of course we regularly hear threats from the Kremlin, and this rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible. But at the same time I must clearly emphasize that we see no imminent danger from the use of nuclear weapons. That’s what I have to say about the current state of things.” He added that a dangerous precedent would be set if the world as a whole made concessions in the face of Putin’s threats. “Then it will turn out that the use of military force allows a country to achieve what it wants,” said Rutte.
Rutte also said that the decision to give Ukraine permission to attack the Russian Federation with long-range Western weapons should be made by the allies who supply those weapons. He also emphasized that he understood Ukraine’s request to be allowed to attack Russia with Western long-range weapons and that he supported the position of his predecessor Jens Stoltenberg on this issue.
Russia bombs market in central Kherson
On the morning of October 1, the Russian army attacked the central part of Kherson. This is reported by Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the regional administration. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office reported that six residents of the city were killed in the shelling. Five civilians were taken to hospital.
Russia repeatedly bombs Kherson. On September 29, it was reported that the Russian occupiers had shelled the city’s public transport three times in one day. On September 17, it was reported that the Russians had dropped explosives on a car in Kherson. Authorities reported one death and four others injured.
Russian attacks on Zaporizhia
On October 1st, Russian occupying forces attacked Zaporizhzhia. According to preliminary information, nine people were injured and one person was killed. This was announced by the head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, Ivan Fedorov, on social networks. According to him, the occupiers had previously dropped six bombs. The enemy targeted residential areas and infrastructure facilities. Fedorov reported that high-rise buildings and homes were damaged.
