Ukraine troops update in their efforts to reach the Sea of Azov and cut off Russian troops supplies to their units South of them down to the Crimea.
Ukraine missile strikes are forcing Russian Land and Sea based assets to move farther away from the front lines…
Ukraine’s military appears to have confirmed reports that its troops have crossed on to the Russian-occupied left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River.
The armed forces general staff listed Pishchanivka village in the southern Kherson region, 3km (two miles) east of the river, as being shelled by Russia.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 4km east of the river.
Russia’s Vladimir Putin insisted that Ukraine’s operation was failing.
Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in the south in June, seeking to sever Russia’s land corridor to the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014.
Kyiv aims to reach the Sea of Azov coast, splitting Russian troops in the region in two, and making the Kremlin’s supply lines more complicated.
The counteroffensive has so far been slow, bringing only limited territorial gains.
Ukrainian troops have made a number of smaller raids across the Dnipro river before – but the latest reported advance appears to be an attempt to expand the area under their control in anticipation of a larger offensive cross-river operation.
In its report on Thursday morning, the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russia had carried out air strikes on Pishchanivka in the past 24 hours.
It provided no details on whether there were any Ukrainian troops in or near the village.
Hours earlier, the ISW quoted Russian sources as claiming that “likely company-sized elements of two Ukrainian naval infantry brigades conducted an assault across the Dnipro River on to the east bank” on 17-18 October.
“Geolocated footage published on 18 October indicates that Ukrainian forces advanced north of Pishchanivka (14km east of Kherson City and 3km from the Dnipro River) and into [the village of] Poyma (11km east of Kherson City and 4km from the Dnipro River),” the US-based think tank added.
Russian military blogger WarGonzo claimed on Thursday that the Ukrainian units fighting on the eastern bank of Ukraine’s main river had been previously trained in the UK.
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The White House asked Congress today to approve a $106bn (£87bn) package of emergency aid to Israel and Ukraine, as well as to the southern US border. The request includes $61.4bn for Ukraine, $44.4bn of which is to provide defence department equipment for the country. For Israel, the Biden administration is asking for $14.3bn. In addition, the package includes $9.15bn for the US state department to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.
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A United Nations commission of inquiry found additional evidence that Russian forces had committed “indiscriminate attacks” and war crimes in Ukraine, including rape and the deportation of children to Russia.
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The Security Service of Ukraine has sent an indictment to the court against the former abbot of the Ukrainian Orthodox monastary Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra. Authorites charged Metropolitan Pavel with the violation of the equality of citizens as an official, and justification, recognition as legitimate or denial of armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine as an official. This comes one day after Ukraine’s parliament voted overwhelmingly to advance legislation seen as effectively banning the Ukrainian Orthodox Church over its ties to Moscow, despite the church’s insistence it is fully independent and supportive of Ukraine’s fight against Russian invaders.
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Ukraine has recovered 14 archaeological items allegedly stolen by a Russian man,
from Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The return of the artefacts is a small victory amid the widespread destruction and pillaging of historical sites and treasures that has accompanied the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian authorities have estimated total losses as being in the hundreds of millions of euros, and the ministry of culture reports that the number of buildings of cultural value damaged or destroyed has reached at least 623. After Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Kherson, authorities discovered 16,000 items missing from the art museum. -
A Ukrainian strike on Russian helicopters and air defence equipment this week could prompt Moscow to once again move its operating bases and command and control nodes further from the frontline, the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence briefing.
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A Russian-American journalist has been detained in Russia on charges of violating its foreign agents law, reportedly due to her coverage of Russia’s military mobilisation for its invasion of Ukraine. Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor with Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty’s (RFE-RL) Tatar-Bashkir service, was detained on Wednesday.
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European leaders are frustrated about the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, in Beijing this week. “As it has been repeatedly shown, Putin does not meet European leaders with the aim of achieving peace in Ukraine,” said Petr Pavel, the president of the Czech Republic. “Peace can be achieved without any negotiations on his part simply by ceasing attacks and withdrawing his troops from Ukrainian territory.”
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Ukraine claimed to make a small incremental gain of 400 metres to the south-west of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun said the southern advance was still difficult because of Russian minefields and heavily fortified defences.
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Nato is stepping up patrols in the Baltic Sea after recent damage to undersea infrastructure. “The increased measures include additional surveillance and reconnaissance flights. A fleet of four Nato minehunters is also being dispatched to the area,” Nato said in a statement…..