Ukraine Daily
Tuesday, October 25
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Workers of emergency services extinguish a fire after a Russian attack targeted energy infrastructure in Kyiv, Ukraine on Oct. 18, 2022. (Photo by Ukrainian State Emergency Service / Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Poll: Most Ukrainians consider it necessary to continue armed resistance against Russia. Eighty-six percent of Ukrainians believe that their country should continue to fight Russia, even if it doesn’t stop attacking Ukrainian cities; 10% think Ukraine should proceed to negotiations to stop the strikes as soon as possible, including if it implies making concessions to Russia, according to a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
Budanov: Russia prepares for defense in Kherson – not retreat. Russian troops are only creating an illusion that they are leaving Kherson; instead, they are bringing new military units there to prepare for defense, Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s intelligence chief, told Ukrainska Pravda. Budanov called the evacuation of top Moscow-installed proxies and displacement of civilians in Kherson, announced on Oct. 18, “an informational operation and manipulation in many aspects.”
Defense Ministry: Ukraine liberates over 90 settlements in Kherson Oblast. The population of these settlements exceeds 12,000 people, the Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 24. “Stabilization measures are implemented” in liberated villages and towns, it stated. On Oct. 23, Natalia Humeniuk, Operational Command “South” spokeswoman, said that Russian troops are relocating to the left bank of the Dnipro River as Ukrainian forces approach the city of Kherson.
UK intelligence: Ukraine gets better at downing Iranian drones. Russian troops keep using kamikaze drones against Ukraine, but Ukraine’s Armed Forces got increasingly better at shooting them down, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 24. “Russia is likely expending a high number of Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs to penetrate increasingly effective Ukrainian air defenses… using them as a substitute for Russian-manufactured long-range precision weapons,” reads the report.
Ukrainian intelligence: Russian conscripts to be equipped with Iranian-made helmets, body armor. About 1,500 bulletproof vests and 1,500 helmets produced in Iran are already in storage in Russia, ready to be supplied to the Russian army, reports Ukraine’s Defence Ministry. According to it, the supply of body armor from Iran is response to a severe shortage of basic personal military equipment with which to supply hundreds of thousands of conscripts mobilized by Russia in the past month.
Reznikov discusses defense cooperation with Israel. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov held a telephone call with Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz, on Oct. 24. The two discussed the security situation in Ukraine, the development of security cooperation between the two countries, and the provision of humanitarian and medical aid to Ukraine.
Elon Musk: Starlink to work in Ukraine regardless of Pentagon funding. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said that, before the U.S. Department of Defense came back with an answer regarding taking over funding for Ukraine’s use of Starlink satellites, he told Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov that “SpaceX would not turn off Starlink even if (the Pentagon) refused to provide funding,” according to his Oct. 24 tweet. Fedorov confirmed his claim, adding that the technology was “critically important for Ukraine.”
Russia questions UN-backed Black Sea grain deal again ahead of planned renewal. Moscow takes issue with how certain elements of the Black Sea Grain Initiative are being implemented, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. In particular, Lavrov asked the U.N. to provide detailed information on which exact countries were receiving Ukrainian grain, the transport of which out of Ukrainian ports was renewed in August, after a five-month Russian naval blockade.
Bellingcat uncovers identities of individuals responsible for mass missile strikes against Ukraine. The names of dozens of high-ranking Russian military engineers responsible for launching Russian Kalibr, R-500 and Kh-101 high-precision missiles at Ukraine have been published by the international investigative journalism group after a six-month investigation in collaboration with Russian investigative media outlet The Insider and German magazine Der Spiegel.
Media: Arrested Motor Sich head holds Russian citizenship. Viacheslav Bohuslaiev, the head of Ukrainian aircraft engine manufacturing giant arrested on Oct. 23 allegedly for collaborating with Russia, has held a Russian passport since 2000, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
Mediazona: Marriage boom in Russia points to almost half a million mobilized men as of mid-October. A statistical analysis by Russian independent media outlet Mediazona suggests that around 492,000 men have likely been conscripted into the army since Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a “partial mobilization” of 300,000 men on Sept. 21.
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She survived occupation. Now she hopes her partner survives captivity. “He promised he would come back,” says Ukrainian student Anastasiia Buhera of her boyfriend, who was among the Azovstal defenders, and whose whereabouts she doesn’t know.
Photo: Anastasiia Buhera
Russia’s ‘blackout blitz’ on Ukrainian energy sites escalates ahead of winter. Using missiles and kamikaze drones, Russia has recently intensified attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, causing regular blackouts across the country.
Photo: Interior Ministry/Telegram
How Russia uses Iranian drones to try to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defense. Moscow has recently attacked power plants throughout Ukraine, damaging more than a third with big missile and loitering munition attacks.
Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba / Getty Images
The human cost of Russia’s war
Russia’s attacks kill 6, injure 5 in Donetsk Oblast. In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed six civilians in Kurdiumivka, Velyka Novosilka, and Bakhmut; they have wounded five in Bakhmut, Zarichne, and Terny, Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on Oct. 24. Since February, Russian troops have killed 1,085 people and injured 2,465 in Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha, according to Kyrylenko.
UN: 16,150 civilian casualties in Ukraine as a result of Russia’s war. According to the UN’s human rights agency, as of Oct. 23, Russia’s war against Ukraine has killed at least 6,374 civilians and injured at least 9,776. The agency notes the actual figures are likely considerably higher.
General Staff: Russia has lost 67,940 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 24 that Russia had also lost 2,590 tanks, 5,295 armored fighting vehicles, 4,044 vehicles, and fuel tanks, 1,673 artillery systems, 375 multiple launch rocket systems, 189 air defense systems, 270 airplanes, 245 helicopters, 1,370 drones, and 16 boats.
International Response
IAEA inspectors to visit two Ukrainian nuclear facilities. International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said that the agency is preparing to inspect two Ukrainian nuclear facilities amid Russia’s claims that Ukraine is developing a “dirty bomb.” “The IAEA inspected one of these locations one month ago and all our findings were consistent with Ukraine’s safeguards declarations,” Grossi said. “No undeclared nuclear activities or material were found there.” According to Grossi, the inspection will be carried out at the request of Ukraine.
Ex-US ambassador: Russian war reparations to Ukraine should be in the range of $750 billion to $1 trillion. Former United States Ambassador to Ukraine William B. Taylor Jr, now the vice president at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington, gave the figure during the first Parliamentary Summit of the International Crimean Platform.
Pelosi: Resolute US support for Ukraine is bipartisan. U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the comments at a joint press conference with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković on Oct. 24. Prior, U.S. President Joe Biden expressed concern for the continuation of U.S. aid to Ukraine if the Republicans, currently in opposition, were to win the House of Representatives.
Group of Democrats want Biden to negotiate with Russia. In a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden published on Oct. 24, the group urged a negotiated settlement and ceasefire, direct talks with Russia, and the exploration of a new European security arrangement “acceptable to all parties that will allow for a sovereign Ukraine.”
Latvia’s minister: Russia has enough resources to wage long war in Ukraine. Russia is ready for a long war in Ukraine, therefore it’s crucial to keep providing Ukraine with military and financial assistance to help it get through the winter and restore its civilian infrastructure, according to Latvian Foreign Minister Edgar Rinkevich, cited by Delfi. Russia hopes for the “fatigue” of the Western countries, that is why the West should not “relax” in terms of providing assistance to Ukraine, said Rinkevich.
In other news
NABU: Ukraine’s ex-central bank chief Shevchenko put on wanted list. Former National Bank Governor and Ukrgasbank head Kyrylo Shevchenko has been declared wanted on suspicion of embezzling more than $5.4 million, according to the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Shevchenko was informed about the suspicion at the beginning of October; since then, he has ignored calls to meet the investigators, NABU wrote.
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