Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:23 The next target of the Russian army may be Zaporozhye, writes The Economist, citing a high-ranking Ukrainian official. He also suggests that Russia may have already recaptured up to half of the territory occupied by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region in August 2024. Read more in the article Forecasts of the course of the war .
22:19 The US has information about the arrival of 3,000 North Korean troops in Russia, said John Kirby, coordinator of strategic communications for the White House National Security Council: "North Korea has sent at least 3,000 soldiers to eastern Russia. We estimate that these soldiers arrived by ship from North Korea to Vladivostok, then to various training units in eastern Russia, where they are currently undergoing training." At the same time, Kirby clarified that the US does not have information about whether these soldiers from the DPRK will participate in the war in Ukraine.
21:24 Biden announced a $20 billion loan to Ukraine using Russian assets: "As part of the G7 package, the United States is announcing today that we will provide Ukraine with a $20 billion loan, which will be repaid through interest earned on frozen Russian sovereign assets. That means Ukraine can get the help it needs now without burdening taxpayers."
20:47 The number of people wounded as a result of today's Russian shelling of the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region has increased to four, reported the head of the OVA, Serhiy Lysak.
18:26 The EU Council has finally approved a mechanism for providing Ukraine with a loan of up to 35 billion euros from excess profits from frozen Russian assets, the Hungarian presidency reported.
18:13 Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called reports about sending North Korean troops to Russia "fake news and hype." She claims that "Russian cooperation with the DPRK in the military and other spheres, firstly, complies with international law and does not violate it. Secondly, it does not cause any harm or damage to South Korea." Zakharova also threatened Seoul with consequences in the event of "entering the Ukrainian conflict."
In addition, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that inviting Ukraine to NATO cannot be the subject of negotiations with Russia "either today or in the future."
17:57 The Foreign Ministry, commenting on the BRICS summit, stated that Russia failed to "export" its neo-imperialist views on changing the world legal order and global security architecture due to aggression against Ukraine to the meeting participants. "Moscow's attempts to impose the idea of ​​an allegedly alternative position of the so-called Global South regarding Russian aggression against Ukraine have suffered another fiasco," the department stated.
17:22 The intensity of enemy shelling has decreased in the Kramatorsk, Toretsk and Seversk directions - the Russians have probably taken a tactical pause, said Anastasia Bobovnikova, spokesperson for the Luhansk operational-tactical group. "We attribute this to the fact that the enemy has most likely taken a tactical pause to bring in, perhaps, some reinforcements of manpower," she noted. According to Bobovnikova, the enemy can also use the pause to replenish ammunition, weapons and transfer equipment.
17:14 As a result of Russian shelling of the city of Kurakhovo in Donetsk Oblast, the community center housing the office of the Maryinka District Organization of the Ukrainian Red Cross was destroyed. The organization's technical and material assets were destroyed, but employees and volunteers were not harmed. "We categorically condemn the violation of international humanitarian law, the shelling of civilian objects and humanitarian organizations," the Ukrainian Red Cross said in a statement.
16:35 The German Foreign Ministry reported that it had summoned North Korea's chargé d'affaires amid reports of North Korean troops being drawn into Russia's war against Ukraine. The ministry stressed that such support for Russia by Pyongyang "directly threatens Germany's security" and is a "serious violation of international law."
16:08 In their final declaration, the BRICS countries called for the situation in Ukraine to be resolved through "negotiations and diplomacy." "We emphasize that all states must act in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter in their entirety and interrelatedness. We note with satisfaction the relevant offers of mediation and good offices aimed at ensuring a peaceful settlement of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy," the document says.
15:54 North Korea has sent 3,000 of its troops to Russia to take part in the war against Ukraine, while Pyongyang has promised to provide about 10,000 troops in total, with deployment expected to be completed by December, Reuters reports, citing South Korean intelligence. One South Korean official also said that North Korean authorities are resettling and isolating the families of selected soldiers "in order to effectively control them and thoroughly combat rumors." He also said that Russia has recruited "a large number" of translators for North Korean soldiers and is training them to operate military equipment, including drones.
15:30 Russians used a drone to strike a car that was moving between the villages of Stepnogorsk and Primorskoye in the Vasilievsky district of the Zaporizhia region; two people were killed, said the head of the OVA Ivan Fedorov.
15:19 US Ambassador to NATO Julian Smith said that the Alliance is not currently ready to offer Ukraine either membership or an invitation. At the same time, she added that "the intention of the US is to continue to bring Ukrainians closer to NATO."
15:13 Chinese leader Xi Jinping, during the BRICS summit in Russia, called for preventing the escalation and spread of the war in Ukraine: "The conflict in Ukraine is dragging on... Therefore, we must firmly adhere to three principles: not allowing the expansion of the geography of military actions, not allowing escalation, and not allowing provocations that increase tensions." He also stressed the need for "a speedy de-escalation of the Ukrainian conflict" and called for "abandoning the policy of adding fuel to the fire."
15:07 The GUR I Want to Live project recorded a video in Korean in which it called on the DPRK military to surrender. The video shows a new camp for holding prisoners of war from North Korea. "The first North Korean occupiers will arrive here soon," the video says.
15:04 All children have been evacuated from Mirnohrad in Donetsk Oblast, and 59 children remain in Pokrovsk, said OVA head Vadim Filashkin. He also said that thanks to the support of international partners, the situation with water supply in the north of the oblast, where the Russians are actively destroying water infrastructure, has been improved.
14:27 US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that North Korean troops are in Russia: "There is evidence that there are North Korean troops in Russia. What exactly are they doing there? We have to figure that out. That's something we have to figure out."
13:39 Russians have attacked one of the energy facilities in the Belopolsky district of the Sumy region, more than 21 thousand consumers have been de-energized. Power engineers have reconnected them to backup lines, Sumyoblenergo reported. In total, as of 12:00, more than 8,000 consumers in the region have been de-energized as a result of Russian attacks. The Sumy district, as well as the Glukhovskaya, Belopolskaya, Seredino-Budskaya, Putivlskaya, Velikopisarevskaya and Konotop communities are suffering the most from the shelling.
13:14 The agreement between Russia and North Korea contained a secret clause on sending North Korean troops to Ukraine, The Wall Street Journal writes, citing a former Russian intelligence officer. He said that under the agreement, Pyongyang would be able to send about 1,000 of its soldiers to Ukraine at first, and more later. Most of them are currently far from the front line, but the Russians are teaching them logistics and modern drone warfare tactics.
The newspaper writes that such cooperation is beneficial to the DPRK, because the experience of a real war will be useful in the event of a new conflict with South Korea. And a clash between the DPRK and South Korea is beneficial to Putin, analysts believe, because due to a new conflict Ukraine will receive less support.
12:57 Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said after a visit to Kiev that the US is not giving Ukraine permission to strike Russia with ATACMS missiles, since Russia has allegedly already moved the aircraft it uses to launch guided air bombs beyond the ATACMS range by 300 km from the Ukrainian border. According to the US Secretary of Defense, the Ukrainians "are capable of continuing to strike at long range, and they will."
12:09 France will send Ukraine the first batch of three Mirage 2000-5 aircraft early next year, La Tribune reports. The aircraft will be armed with Scalp cruise missiles and AASM bombs for air-to-ground combat missions.
11:58 Lithuania will invest 10 million euros in the production of the Palyanitsa drone missile, the Defense Ministry reported. The financing will be based on the "Danish model", i.e. through direct investment in the Ukrainian manufacturer.
11:26 BBC-Ukraine writes, citing sources, that Zelensky ordered another plan to be developed by the end of the year - about what Ukraine itself, not its allies, should do. It concerns the military-industrial complex, defense, economics, social policy, etc. "The goal is to do everything possible to maintain unity and achieve results in various areas of the country's development," the publication's source said.
10:42 In Cherkassy district, Russians attacked infrastructure facilities at night, said the head of the OVA Igor Taburets. In particular, as a result of the attack, the building of the bus station in Cherkassy and the administrative building of a private enterprise were damaged. The fire was quickly extinguished, no one was hurt.
10:23 The SBU and the National Police detained two agents of the Russian GRU who were preparing a terrorist attack in Kiev. They were supposed to prepare homemade explosives and detonate them in one of the crowded places of the capital. The goal of the Russians was the maximum number of deaths among the civilian population of Kiev in order to spread panic.
The traitors turned out to be a 20-year-old resident of Zaporizhia and her 26-year-old partner. Before committing the terrorist act, the perpetrators had to carry out a "control" task - to set fire to several units of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region. They were caught red-handed when they tried to set fire to an infantry fighting vehicle. The perpetrators are in custody without the right to post bail, they face life imprisonment with confiscation of property.
09:50 Britain is providing an additional $155 million for naval support for Ukraine, the country's government said. London is also seeking partners to jointly finance the delivery of naval drones and surveillance radars to protect the grain corridor.
09:37 At night, Russians attacked the village of Lesnoye in the Kharkiv district, three people were injured, reported the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, the day before, one person died in the village of Kucherovka in the Kupyansk district and one was injured in Kupyansk.
09:11 Air defense destroyed 57 out of 81 enemy drones (Shahed and unspecified types) in the Odessa, Mykolaiv, Vinnytsia, Sumy, Cherkasy, Khmelnytsky, Ternopil, Kirovohrad, Kyiv, Poltava, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions at night, the Air Force reported. Another 15 Russian drones were lost, up to nine remain in Ukrainian airspace. In addition, at night, the Russian Federation attacked the Odessa region with a Kh-31P guided air missile.
08:35 In the Kherson region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, two people were injured, reported the head of the OVA, Oleksandr Prokudin.
08:22 Three people were killed in Donetsk Oblast as a result of Russian shelling on October 22: two in Aleksandro-Kalinovo and one in Reznikovka. Another seven people in the region were injured in the past 24 hours, said OVA head Vadim Filashkin.
07:54 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of October 23:
- personnel - about 683,040 (+1460) people,
- tanks - 9088 (+9),
- combat armored vehicles - 18,229 (+30),
- artillery systems - 19,674 (+51),
- MLRS - 1234 (+0),
- air defense systems - 981 (+0),
- aircraft - 369 (+0),
- helicopters - 329 (+0),
- Operational-tactical level UAVs - 17,489 (+85),
- cruise missiles - 2625 (+0),
- ships/boats - 28 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 27,217 (+106),
- special equipment - 3509 (+10).
01:52 UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Kazan, Russia, on Tuesday, October 22, on the day the three-day BRICS summit began, Voice of America reports. Putin's meeting with Guterres is scheduled for the last day of the summit. Xi Jinping, with whom Putin has already met and discussed, in particular, the war in Ukraine, also arrived at the summit. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also present at the summit and once again called for a peaceful end to the war.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is outraged by the UN Secretary General's visit to Russia. The department recalled that Guterres had previously rejected Kyiv's invitation to the first Global Peace Summit in Switzerland. The Foreign Ministry stressed that this only harms the UN's reputation.
00:49 Zelensky said that a mutual cessation of strikes on energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine and Russia could be a step toward ending the hot phase of the war, the Financial Times reports. According to him, any negotiations do not exclude defensive and offensive actions, but the adoption of political decisions leads to the end of the hot phase.
According to the president, the end of attacks on the energy sector will lead to a "lowering of the temperature," as will the end of Russian attacks on the grain corridor, Ukrainian ports and ships.
00:20 Turkey has secretly banned the export of American military goods to Russia following a warning from the United States, the Financial Times reports, citing sources. According to them, Ankara has adjusted its customs systems in recent weeks to block the export of more than 40 categories of American-made goods that Washington and its allies consider vital to Russia's war in Ukraine.
"Turkey's electronic customs system no longer allows exporters to continue sending to Russia batches of so-called battlefield goods that were previously allowed for export," the newspaper's source said.