Moscow is unlawfully utilizing obtained Starlink devices for military objectives.
19:51 Ukraine: Russian Assault with 30 Tanks Repelled
Ukrainian troops claim to have thwarted a significant Russian assault near Kurachove in eastern Ukraine. A convoy featuring around 25 armed combat vehicles and five tanks was spotted by air surveillance as it approached, the paratrooper command reported on Facebook. This Russian troop amassment was subsequently decimated by Ukrainian artillery and suicide drones, with seven armed combat vehicles and two tanks reportedly disabled. These assertions cannot be confirmed independently at this moment.
19:21 Ukraine's "Victory Plan" Set to be Unveiled Soon
First details of Ukraine's "Victory Plan" will be disclosed in the coming days, according to Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, in an interview with ZDF. This plan involves military, diplomatic, and economic measures to compel Russia to the negotiation table and imposes sanctions on Russia.
20:19 Zelenskyy: North Koreans Filling Ranks of Russian Troops in Ukraine
According to Zelenskyy, North Korea isn't just supplying weapons to Russia, but also dispatching personnel to their armed forces. "We observe an intensifying alliance between Russia and regimes such as North Korea. It's no longer merely about the transfer of weapons; it involves the transfer of people from North Korea to the occupation troops," the Ukrainian president declared in his evening address, exhorting his country's allies to beef up their support. The front line requires greater assistance, Ukraine needs extended-range capabilities and crucial supplies for its forces, as the aim is to "amplify pressure on the aggressor to prevent a broader conflict," Zelenskyy said.
21:05 Erdogan Presents Putin with a Vase on His Birthday - Kremlin Delighted
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gifted Russian leader Vladimir Putin a vase on his birthday, as per the state-run Russian news agency TASS, citing Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. Putin celebrated his 72nd birthday on October 7. Erdogan presented his gift prior to their telephone conversation held on the same day, Ushakov mentioned. "It's a lovely vase," Ushakov said.
19:12 Rama: Putin's Attack on Ukraine Boosted EU Accession Readiness
Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama hopes that the Western Balkans summit at the Chancellery will lead to a final agreement on the regional free trade agreement CEFTA and aims to bring his country to EU accession readiness by 2030. "Tomorrow will be crucial to... finalize the CEFTA mechanism," Rama said in a Reuters TV interview ahead of the Western Balkans conference at the Chancellery. On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced a breakthrough had been achieved in negotiations on the Central European trade agreement, which is seen as a prelude for EU accession. Rama commended the Berlin Process, which started in 2014 and strengthened cooperation between the six Western Balkan countries, bringing them closer to the EU. Surprisingly, Russian President Vladimir Putin's attack on Ukraine also contributed, Rama stated. "That was the minute when the European Union acknowledged that the geopolitical strategy of the Western Balkans was not only theoretically advantageous but also practically important," Rama said. Since the Russian attack, there has been "a substantial shift in pace" in negotiations between the EU and Albania, Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, and Montenegro. The goal of his government is for Albania to be EU-ready by 2030, at which point it will be determined whether the EU is capable of accepting it.
18:47 Russians Assault Nikopol with Suicide Drones
Russian troops attacked the Ukrainian city of Nikopol four times throughout the day, employing suicide drones, according to Serhiy Lysak, head of the regional military administration of Dnipropetrovsk, on Telegram. Two vehicles were damaged, but no injuries were reported. Experts are currently assessing the damage. The day before, Nikopol was subjected to 20 attacks, as reported by the news agency "Ukrinform".
18:17 Ukraine Reports 80 Engagements Along Front Lines
Since the start of the day, there have been 80 engagements along the front lines, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff's Facebook post. Eighteen of these are still ongoing in seven sectors. Settlements along the Sumy border were hammered by artillery fire emanating from Russian territory. The Russian army also conducted aerial bombardments on the settlements of Sosnivka, Myshutine, Hlukhiv, Obody, and Bila Berizka, utilizing 13 guided bombs.
17:51 Alleged Executions of Ukrainian POWs Spur Sybiha's Call for International Action
Amid reports of Ukrainian prisoners of war being executed by Russian soldiers, Foreign Minister Andrij Sybiha has solicited international assistance. He has urged the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants against "Russian executioners and torturers," as he wrote on X. Simultaneously, he requested access for international observers and doctors to prisoner-of-war camps. "Executions are becoming increasingly frequent, with 95 percent of prisoners of war reportedly tortured according to UN statistics," he lamented. The backdrop is reports of the execution of nine Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered after exhausting their ammunition during combat in Russia's Kursk region. They are believed to have been killed on the spot, according to Ukrainian media. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office in Kyiv has since opened an investigation, as reported by, among others, "Ukrainska Prawda" (see entry 15:39).
EU foreign ministers are set to deliberate on imposing new sanctions against Iran at a gathering in Luxembourg on Monday. The EU and its associates blame Iran for furnishing ballistic missiles to Russia. Besides, the situation in Ukraine will be discussed, with a video conference planned with the new Ukrainian diplomat chief, Andrij Sybiha. The EU recently approved another financial aid package worth 35 billion euros for Kyiv.
Meanwhile, the new NATO Secretary General, Mark Rutte, is heading to Germany for a meeting with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. According to NATO, Rutte will visit the new NATO headquarters for Ukraine aid in Wiesbaden on Monday alongside Pistorius. The creation of this headquarters was announced by Rutte's predecessor, Jens Stoltenberg, at the NATO summit in July. Before his trip to Wiesbaden, Rutte intends to visit the headquarters of the Allied Command Operations (ACO) in the Belgian city of Mons, as per NATO.
Moscow asserts that it targeted a concentration of Ukrainian troops near the border with Russia's western region of Kursk with guided bombs. The attack reportedly targeted "a strong point and a concentration of Ukrainian troops," the Defense Ministry said, without disclosing the outcome of the attack. The Russian claims cannot be substantiated at this time. There has been no comment from the Ukrainian side on this matter yet.
The Federal Ministry of Defense is examining rumors that German soldiers might have participated in a competition where Russian military personnel were also present. The "Bild" newspaper reports this, citing the international military sports federation CISM (Conseil International du Sport Militaire). According to the report, archery competitions organized by CISM took place in Bangladesh at the end of February 2024. The newspaper displays a photograph of Russian soldiers standing next to the head of the German delegation, Lieutenant Colonel Christian Lützkendorf. As "Bild" further reports, Lithuania has heavily criticized the German Ministry of Defense's actions. Vilnius has been boycotting competitions with Russian participation since 2022. A representative of the hybrid threats department in the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense believes that Russia is attempting to gain international recognition by participating in the competition despite the ongoing sanctions. The Ministry of Defense promptly responded to the publication of the photographs on Friday and discussed the issue with the leadership. "The participating soldiers of the German Armed Forces at the CISM competition were made aware. It was communicated that such photographs are unacceptable," a ministry spokesperson told the newspaper.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinez is demanding an investigation into allegations that Russian soldiers have murdered Ukrainian prisoners of war. He has referenced this as "another crime committed by the Russians" in letters to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross, Lubinez stated in a Telegram message. According to the Ukrainian website "DeepState" for analyzing battlefields, which is close to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russian troops reportedly shot nine Ukrainian "drone operators and contractors" who had already surrendered on Thursday in the Russian region of Kursk. In early October, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office claimed that Russian troops had killed 16 captured Ukrainian soldiers in the partially occupied Ukrainian region of Donetsk. There has been no immediate response from the Russian side yet.
The British Ministry of Defense suggests that Russia may have exaggerated the number of ships involved in the strategic large-scale exercise OKEAN-24 of the Russian Navy in September, as the exercise aimed primarily to demonstrate the fleet's capabilities amidst the ongoing war. Moscow is said to have feared conducting exercises in the Black Sea, as reported by the British Ministry of Defense, citing intelligence data. It was Russia's first naval exercise since 2022. Before 2022, Russia held annual exercises involving all its forces, but the last two were likely canceled due to the war in Ukraine, the statement claims. According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces, Russia has lost 28 warships and a submarine since the start of its invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian defenders are reducing the Russian fleet in the Black and Azov seas thanks to homemade marine drones and weapons, the statement adds. Notably, the Ukrainian military managed to sink the guided missile cruiser "Moskva" in April 2022, which was the flagship of the Russian Federation's Black Sea Fleet.
A joint operation by Ukrainian defense forces and Russian partisan groups has allegedly uncovered a "brutal and inhuman practice." According to reports, Russia is exploiting weak, intellectually disabled children to construct weapons for its aggressive war against Ukraine. Ukrainian news agency "Ukrinform" reports this, citing the platform "Resolute Square." Shocking videos have surfaced on the Telegram channel of a Russian volunteer group, showing intellectually disabled children and adults being exploited for free labor in the production of parts for the Kremlin's war machine. Further investigations have established a clear link between the organization "Craftsmen" that employs these workers, the non-governmental organization "Boomerang for Good" that provides these workers, and the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Russian President Putin continues to express an interest in talking with German Chancellor Scholz, as stated by Kremlin spokesperson Peskow to Interfax. Peskow mentioned that they have consistently expressed a willingness to engage, but no formal proposal for a phone conversation has been received from Germany thus far. This comes in response to German Foreign Minister Baerbock's statement suggesting Putin is no longer interested in dialoguing with the Chancellor over the phone.
13:58 Gynaecologist: Russian Power-based Sexual Violence in Occupied Regions
Ukrainian gynecologist Natalia Lelyukh works with women who have suffered sexual violence at the hands of Russians in occupied territories. She noted that this isn't about sexual desire but power play. The victims range from 5 to 74 years old. Lelyukh explained that sexual violence in these areas often occurs in two stages. The first wave takes place during territorial invasions when the invaders seek to assert their dominance. Despite the brutal nature of these attacks, many women manage to survive. The second wave occurs when Russian troops withdraw from previously seized territories, leading to an incredibly brutal and traumatic experience for the women. Lelyukh was shocked at the sheer number of individuals capable of such acts.
13:31 Biden's Germany Visit: No Rescheduled Ramstein Meeting
U.S. President Biden is set to visit Germany this coming Friday after postponing his initial trip. According to reports, the visit will be a more focused, working trip. The planned Ramstein meeting with leaders from western countries to support Ukraine will not be rescheduled since Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is scheduled to embark on an Europe tour soon.
12:49 Russia Takes Control of Village Near Pokrovsk
Russian forces have reportedly gained control of yet another village in their eastern Ukraine advance, as announced by Russia's defence ministry. The village of Mykhailivka has fallen to the invaders, and it lies along a strategic highway southeast of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. Although Pokrovsk has been under heavy Russian attack for months, Ukrainian forces have managed to hold off the onslaught so far.
12:20 Zelensky Appeals for Swift Aid Following Germany Visit
After meeting with various European leaders during his recent trip, Ukrainian President Zelensky is urging expeditious military aid in their fight against Russian aggression. Zelensky insists that time is of the essence and that a strong show of support is essential. He believes his partners have the capability to provide sufficient air defense systems, expand long-range capabilities, and ensure timely delivery of necessary defense aid to his troops. Last week, Russia dropped approximately 900 guided bombs on Ukraine.
11:58 Iran Rejects EU Sanctions Over Ballistic Missile Supplies to Russia
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has denounced planned EU sanctions aimed at curbing Iran's ballistic missile exports to Russia. Araghchi argued that Iran is not engaging in this illegal activity, thereby making the proposed sanctions unjustified and politically motivated. The EU sanctions, scheduled to go into effect the following day, would include penalties against individuals and organizations involved in Iran's ballistic missile program as well as its arms supply to Russia.
11:47 Ukraine Suspects Execution of Nine POWs by Russians
Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, has submitted a UN complaint regarding the suspected execution of nine Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces in the Kursk region. According to Lubinets, the killing of these prisoners would be a violation of the Geneva Conventions, which prohibit inhumane treatment, intimidation, and bodily harm toward captured soldiers. The UN should intervene to ensure these individuals' immediate release and repatriation following the cessation of hostilities.
10:52 Doc on Russian Sexual Violence Wins Czech Film Award
The documentary "He came back" has emerged victorious in a Czech film festival, highlighting sexual violations perpetrated by Russian forces during their occupation of Kyiv and Kherson regions in 2022. The film features interviews with two survivors who recount their harrowing experiences and identify their attackers and commanding officers. The film exposes the existence of 292 cases of Russian soldiers committing sexual violence, a figure believed to only represent a fraction of the true extent of the issue.
10:22 Zelensky to Unveil "Victory Plan" Publicly
Advisor to Ukrainian President Zelensky's Presidential Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, has announced that the President will reveal his "victory plan" to the public in the near future. The plan encompasses five key components, covering both military and diplomatic strategies, including Ukraine's potential invitation to join NATO. Although the specifics have yet to be disclosed, the plan aims to strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position and increase pressure on Russia to seek a just peace agreement.
09:37 Russia enhances combat effectiveness with illicit Starlink terminals Russian troops have been reportedly enhancing their lethality and agility with the aid of unauthorized Starlink terminals. These devices allow them to improve attack planning, conduct more drone operations, and deliver precise artillery strikes on Ukrainian forces. The Washington Post has obtained information from six Ukrainian soldiers serving in different units in Donetsk, stating that the terminals provide real-time battlefield visuals via drones and facilitate secure communications between soldiers. Despite regulatory bans on selling these devices to Moscow, a purported black market for Starlink terminals allegedly exists, enabling their distribution to Russian forces at the frontlines.
09:16 Poland prepares to activate US missile base The Polish government has announced the imminent activation of a US air defense missile base situated in northern Poland. According to Ukrainska Pravda, the base near Puck, located on the Baltic coast, is slated to be operational within weeks. Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski stated that discussions are underway with the US to ensure that the missile defense systems can intercept not only incoming Iranian missiles targeting the US but also Russian missiles threatening Poland.
08:51 Ukraine reports nighttime Russian attacks involving 68 drones Russia launched nighttime attacks against Ukraine with 68 drones and four missiles, as per Ukrainian reports. Two Iskander-type ballistic missiles struck the Poltava and Odessa regions, and two guided missiles were fired at the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. Air defense units managed to intercept 31 drones, while a further 36 drones were possibly neutralized by electronic warfare. One drone remained airborne until morning.
08:17 Ukraine confirms loss of 1300 troops by Russian adversaries The Ukrainian General Staff declared 1300 casualties on the Russian side within the previous 24 hours. Since the onset of the conflict in February 2022, the total number of dead or injured adversaries has reached approximately 669,000, according to Ukrainian data. On top of that, nine enemy tanks, 49 armored vehicles, 29 artillery systems, and two air defense systems were destroyed. Forty-five Russian drones were also shot down.
07:48 Russia asserts to have downed 13 Ukrainian drones over three border regions Russia claimed to have successfully shot down 13 Ukrainian drones during nighttime operations over three border regions. The air defense system intercepted six drones in the Russian regions of Belgorod and Kursk, as well as one drone in the Bryansk region, as per the Kremlin’s defense ministry announcement on Telegram.
07:16 DeepState reports Ukrainian successes and Russian advances in Donetsk Information gathered by the military expert group DeepState suggests that Ukrainian forces made gains in the Donetsk Oblast, recapturing lost positions in the vicinity of Nowohrodiwka. In contrast, Moscow's troops were reported to be advancing near the settlement of Veseloye.
06:30 Lithuanians vote with bipartisan support for Ukrainian aid Today, Lithuanians are casting their votes for a new parliament. Opinion polls forecast a shift in power, with the Social Democrats set to surpass the current conservative Homeland Union as the strongest force. Moreover, the Morning Star of Nemunas could possibly become the first populist party to enter Lithuania's parliament, which represents a population of just 2.8 million individuals. The major parties agree that Ukraine should continue to receive support and that the country's defense against Russia should be strengthened.
04:39 Research reveals that Russia sends older soldiers to combat Data collected and published by the Russian oppositional media project, Mediazona, in collaboration with BBC Russia, indicates that Russian soldiers engaged in the conflict with Ukraine are growing older. The initial wave of deaths during the first 6 months of the war primarily consisted of individuals between 21 and 23 years old. However, the aging trend is a result of partial mobilization, the use of prisoners, and the recruitment of volunteers, among other factors.
01:05 Zelensky seeks Western investments to bolster Ukrainian weapons production Ukrainian President Zelensky aims to extensively expand weapons production with financial support from the West. Speaking in his evening video message, Zelensky noted that Ukraine has the industrial capacity to generate a higher volume of drones, ammunition, and military equipment than its financial capabilities permit. He expressed hope that the West will finance Ukraine's weaponry needs to address the current shortage, with many countries unable to provide sufficient aid due to their own stockpile constraints. A new Ukrainian-French model was reportedly discussed during Zelensky's visit to Paris, which will be further refined by defense ministers.
23:31 Zelensky confirms Ukrainian defenses in Kursk region In his evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were continuing to maintain their positions in the Russian border region of Kursk. Despite Russian Ministry of Defense reports of recapturing two villages in Kursk, the Ukrainian forces have managed to maintain their designated lines, as stated by President Zelensky. In August, around a thousand Ukrainian soldiers infiltrated Kursk, marking one of the largest attacks on Russian territory since the conflict began in February 2022, assaulting the state boundary using tanks and armored vehicles.
You can explore preceding developments here.
The European Union is actively considering imposing new sanctions against Iran due to its alleged supply of ballistic missiles to Russia. (from the given text)
The European Union, through Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev, is planning to disclose Ukraine's "Victory Plan" which involves military, diplomatic, and economic measures to compel Russia to the negotiation table and impose sanctions on Russia. (new sentence)
The European Union, with its ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, has acknowledged the geopolitical strategy of the Western Balkans as not only theoretically advantageous but also practically important, following Putin's attack on Ukraine. (new sentence)
