Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:17 Pentagon Speaker Pat Ryder said that training of Ukrainian pilots on the F-16 could last five months or longer, depending on the speed of progress.
21:46 Air defense destroyed two Shahed-type UAVs in the Dnieper and Krivoy Rog regions, the Air Force command reported.
21:34 Three Russian citizens in the United States were accused of smuggling electronics for the Russian army worth $10 million, the US Department of Justice reported. During the year, they organized the shipment of more than 300 shipments of prohibited goods, a significant part of which went to the needs of the Russian army. Some of the components imported into the Russian Federation were later found in Russian equipment on the battlefield in Ukraine.
20:03 Russia has already spent $22.8 billion on missile attacks on Ukraine and continues to increase production, Forbes reports. As of October, the Russian Federation had launched more than 3,000 missiles into Ukraine, and between $500 million and $1 billion are spent on missile attacks every month. According to the latest General Staff estimates, Russia has increased its production volume in 2023 to 100 missiles per month, and the intensity of use of Shahed-136 has increased sixfold compared to 2022.
19:31 The draft 12th package of EU sanctions against Russia will be announced to member states next week, Radio Liberty correspondent Rikard Jozwiak reported. According to him, a significant part of the package consists of measures against circumvention of sanctions, sanctions on dual-use goods and a ban on Russian diamonds.
19:19 Russian public pages write that the Atal battalion from Chuvashia was almost completely destroyed in Ukraine as a result of HIMARS strikes, more than a hundred people were killed or injured.
18:50 Public reports about a strike on a train carrying fuel in the Budennovsky district of Donetsk.
18:17 In the Netherlands, a Russian received 18 months in prison for supplying microchips to the Russian Federation in circumvention of sanctions, NOS reports. He spent seven months sending chips to defense companies through Maldivian shell companies. He was also awarded a fine of 200 thousand euros.
17:48 The EU plans to add more than 100 individuals and 40 legal entities to the list as part of the 12th package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, Bloomberg writes. Restrictions may affect chemicals, welding machines, technologies used for military purposes, processed metals, and software licenses. In total, more than $5 billion worth of exports and imports will be affected.
16:59 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said during a speech in the Senate that Russia will win the war if the United States stops supporting Ukraine. According to him, the current wars, including in Ukraine, “will determine global security in the coming years,” and Washington’s actions will help shape the world that children and grandchildren will inherit.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will today try to convince Congress to approve a single $106 billion package to support Ukraine, Israel and US border security.
15:40 For the first time, a trial was held in Uzbekistan in the case of participation in the war in Ukraine. As reported by Radio Liberty, 38-year-old Ildar Khairulin was sentenced to five years in prison under the article on mercenarism. He fought in Donbass against the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2014-2015.
15:01 The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed that the missile attack on the village of Groza in the Kharkov region on October 5 was carried out by the Russian army, and all 59 victims were civilians.
14:55 The Russians hit a motor depot in Kherson, two of its employees were injured. As a result of the missile strike, warehouses were completely destroyed and at least five vehicles were damaged, said the head of the OBA, Alexander Prokudin.
14:19 Zelensky said that he held a “long and important” meeting of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. We discussed security in the Black Sea region, the work of the grain corridor, the protection of energy facilities and port infrastructure in the Odessa region, and strengthening air defense. They also discussed the situation at the front, increasing domestic production of artillery systems and artillery shells of NATO standard, and delivery schedules from partners.
12:53 The FSB announced “irrefutable evidence” of the involvement of Ukrainian special services in the assassination attempt on ex-People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Oleg Tsarev. The coordinator of the crime was allegedly a resident of Yalta, who, “on instructions from the SBU,” organized surveillance of Tsarev and equipped a cache of weapons. The FSB claims that he was detained and gave “confession”; the search for the perpetrator of the assassination attempt continues. The FSB also reported that Tsarev’s health condition is satisfactory and there is no threat to his life.
11:58 In Russian Solikamsk, an explosion occurred at the Ural explosives plant. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation stated that no one was injured, the enterprise is operating normally. At the same time, a high column of smoke rises above the plant, local residents write that after the explosion, windows in neighboring houses were broken.
11:40 Russian media reported that Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, who commanded the Dnepr group, was replaced by the commander of the Airborne Forces, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky. British intelligence believes that this is an indicator of increased pressure on Russian forces in the occupied territory of the Kherson region. Intelligence reports indicate that fighting in the area has intensified in recent weeks.
Analysts recall that Teplinsky was responsible for the “relatively successful” withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson and the right bank part of the region.
11:28 The Russian Army fired at the Kherson region - on the highway in the direction of the village. A passenger car came under enemy attack in Naddnepryanskoye, the driver died, the prosecutor's office reported. According to the OVA, over the past 24 hours, one person was killed and 16 were injured as a result of Russian shelling.
11:16 In the morning, the Russians fired artillery at the settlements of the Kutsurub community of the Nikolaev region, two people were wounded, said the head of the OVA Vitaly Kim.
11:11 As a result of the Ukrainian missile attack on Crimea on October 30, the S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was damaged in the area of the village of Molochnoe, Saki region, reports the opposition Russian telegram channel ASTRA, citing sources. A diesel generator was also destroyed as a result of the attack, but there were no casualties.
10:29 The Defense Forces have “good results” on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region, but it is impossible to talk about them yet, said Natalya Gumenyuk, speaker of the Southern Defense Forces. According to her, “The Ukrainian Armed Forces forced the Russian Army to pull back its positions on the left bank.” Because of this, the number of artillery shellings on the right bank decreased, but now the enemy began to attack by air more often. Gumenyuk added that the Kherson direction is now not a priority for Russian troops, although “enough forces” are still concentrated there.
09:36 On the evening of October 30, the Russians fired at one of DTEK’s thermal power plants in the front-line region, the company reported. As a result of the shelling, equipment was seriously damaged, which left residents of one of the settlements near the station without electricity and water. No people were hurt.
08:59 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that Russian troops are using Storm-Z air assault units, made up primarily of former prisoners, for "meat assaults." A Russian military blogger claims that Storm-Z assault troops in the Avdeevsky direction and on the southern flank of Bakhmut are often destroyed after several days of active operations and on average lose from 40% to 70% of their personnel. ISW analysts recall that they have repeatedly reported on the ineffectiveness of Storm-Z units.
08:27 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of October 31:
- personnel - about 300,810 (+870) people,
- tanks - 5211 (+21),
- armored combat vehicles - 9804 (+29),
- artillery systems - 7227 (+25),
- MLRS - 844 (+10),
- air defense systems - 562 (+3),
- aircraft - 321 (+0),
- helicopters - 324 (+0),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 5440 (+21),
- cruise missiles - 1546 (+2),
- ships/boats - 20 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 9590 (+35),
- special equipment - 1016 (+2).
07:36 Over the past 24 hours, 36 military clashes took place at the front, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the Sinkovka area of the Kharkov region; on Bakhmutsky - in the Kleshcheevka area; in Avdeevsky - in the districts of Avdeevka, Tonenky, Pervomaisky of the Donetsk region; on Maryinsky - in the Marinka and Novomikhailovka districts of the Donetsk region; on Shakhtarsky and Zaporozhye - in the Staromayorsky district of the Donetsk region.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue their offensive in the Melitopol direction and assault operations south of Bakhmut, Donetsk region.
06:28 At night, the Russians launched a missile attack on the Mirgorod district of the Poltava region. According to preliminary information, no damage to civilian or critical infrastructure was recorded, no people were injured, said the head of the OVA, Philip Pronin.