Friday, October 27

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The aftermath of a Russian air strike on Beryslav in Kherson Oblast on Oct. 26, 2023. (Kherson Oblast Prosecutor’s Office/Telegram)

White House: Russia endures heavy losses near Avdiivka, suffers from low morale. “We have information that the Russian military actually executed soldiers who refused to obey orders,” U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during the press briefing, according to European Pravda’s correspondent.

Zelensky signs law strengthening financial monitoring of politicians. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law on Oct. 26 on financial monitoring of politically exposed persons, which is a vital step on the country’s path toward EU membership.

Media: Zaporizhzhia reconstruction marked by overblown prices, non-transparent tenders. Zaporizhzhia city authorities allegedly commissioned the reconstruction of buildings damaged in Russian attacks at overblown prices, and after non-transparent tenders, an investigation by Hromadske published on Oct. 26 said.

Hamas delegation visits Moscow. A delegation of the militant group Hamas, which governs Gaza, arrived in Moscow on Oct. 26, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said without elaborating on the visit details. Hamas also reported on the visit via their official Telegram channel, saying that the delegation is headed by the group’s senior political member, Moussa Abu Marzouk.

Reuters: Export blockade threatens Ukraine’s steel industry. Ukraine’s massive steel industry has faced massive losses as a result of Russia’s war and the related blockade of the Black Sea, Reuters reported on Oct. 26.

Poll: Trust in government in Ukraine increases after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Around 73% of respondents trust President Volodymyr Zelensky, 54% trust the government, 49% and 51% trust the regional and local authorities, respectively, according to a recent poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS).

National Resistance Center: Russia actively recruiting Cuban mercenaries.

Russia is “massively” recruiting Cuban mercenaries to fight in Ukraine, the National Resistance Center claimed on Oct. 26. Cuban fighters are allegedly involved in current fighting around Bakhmut and Kupiansk.

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Ukraine reveals remote-controlled, wheeled drone that can drive under Russian tanks. Ukrainian military tech developers created a new unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) with the ability to carry explosives and drive under armored vehicles, the project’s spokesperson, Viktoriia Kovalchuk, told Business Insider on Oct. 25.

Foreign Ministry: 22 Ukrainians killed in Israel, Gaza. The number of Ukrainians killed since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel has once again risen to 22, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko to Ukrainska Pravda on Oct. 26.

Danilov: Ukraine to increase domestic ammunition production. Ukraine will soon step up its production of shells by involving private companies in the process, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilov said on Oct. 26.

Ukraine to evacuate children from 10 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast. Ukraine plans to evacuate 275 children from 10 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast’s Kupiansk district, the Reintegration Ministry announced on Oct. 26.

Military intelligence: Car carrying FSB agents explodes in occupied Berdiansk.

Four agents from Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) were allegedly inside a car that exploded in occupied Berdiansk on Oct. 23, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) said on Oct. 26.

Iohannis: Romania installs anti-drone system at Ukraine’s border. Romania has already installed an anti-drone system at the Danube Delta near the border with Ukraine, the country’s President Klaus Iohannis said on Oct. 26, Digi24 reported.

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Ukraine war latest: Russia endures heavy losses near Avdiivka, suffers from low morale, White House says

U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that according to Washington’s assessments, Russia is suffering significant losses and experiencing low morale due to its attacks on Avdiivka.

Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

As Bakhmut counteroffensive lags, soldiers burnt out from horrors of war

Fighting through what feels like an endless cycle of barely escaping death in a brutal war in which so many have already fallen, Ukrainian soldiers say they are exhausted by the horror they see daily.

Photo by Kostya Liberov/Libkos via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast kill 1, injure 1. Russian attacks on Kherson Oblast on Oct. 26 killed one civilian in the Beryslav district and injured a police officer in the regional center Kherson, local officials reported.

Minister: Russian shelling of Sumy Oblast village kills teenager. Russian troops shelled the village of Pozhnia in Sumy Oblast at around 1 p.m. local time, killing a 16-year-old boy, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Oct. 26.

Russian attacks in Kharkiv oblast kill 1, injure another. A woman was injured after Russian shelling in Kharkiv Oblast, and a 57-year-old man was killed by a mine, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported on Oct. 26.

Russian attacks in Kherson Oblast kill 2, including child, injure 4. Russian multi-weapon attacks in Kherson Oblast over the past 24 hours killed two, including a child, and injured four, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Oct. 26.

General Staff: Russia has lost 296,310 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on Oct. 26 that Russia has lost 297,120 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24 last year.

How Russia is raising a new generation of soldiers

International response

Denmark donates $520 million in military aid to Ukraine. Denmark has pledged a military aid package to Ukraine worth 3.7 billion Danish kroner ($520 million), including T-72EA tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, artillery shells, drones, and small arms, the Danish Defense Ministry announced on Oct. 26.

Zelensky asks EU leaders for endurance in face of Russia’s aggressive ambitions. “Russia needs to see that its ambitions as an invader will endure less than our ability to defend our freedom,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address to EU chiefs convening for a two-day European Council summit in Brussels.

US announces $150 million aid package for Ukraine. The aid package includes air defense capabilities, artillery shells, anti-tank weapons, and other equipment needed to repel Russian aggression.

Hungarian foreign minister visits Belarus for 2nd time in 2023. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto visited the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Oct. 26 to take part in the “Eurasian Security: Reality and Prospects in a Transforming World” conference, Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA said.

Bloomberg: EU behind track on provision of shells to Ukraine. The European Union is falling short of its target of providing Ukraine with one million rounds of artillery shells by March, unnamed sources told Bloomberg on Oct. 25.

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