Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:36 Russians attacked Kiev with drones, a fire broke out in an apartment building in Solomensky district and apartments on the 17th, 18th and 19th floors of a 25-story apartment building were partially damaged, the State Emergency Service reported. Residents of the building are being evacuated, information about the victims is being clarified, said the head of the Kyiv City State Emergency Service Sergey Popko. In addition, debris fell in an open area in the Shevchenkivsky district, according to preliminary data, without casualties.
21:17 Zelensky said in an evening video address that civil society will be involved in working on an internal "victory plan." The president also said that he had instructed the development of a technological headquarters format: "The highest priority is drones, of course. Including drones that can shoot down "shahids" and other attack drones." In addition, Zelensky instructed the Main Intelligence Directorate, together with the Security Service of Ukraine, "to especially address the issue of releasing civilians from Russian captivity - the results are currently insufficient."
18:08 Scholz called on India to help in the political settlement of the war in Ukraine: "Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine affects Germany and India in many ways. No one can turn a blind eye to this conflict. That is why I insistently advocate that India should advocate for a lasting and just peace."
17:10 North Korea will soon send a second group of its soldiers to Russia for the war against Ukraine, Bloomberg writes, citing South Korean intelligence. Moscow plans to supply the North Koreans with weapons and combat uniforms, as well as fake IDs so that they appear to be residents of Russia's eastern regions.
16:49 Deputy Foreign Minister of North Korea Kim Jong-gyu stated that "if" the DPRK decided to send its military to Russia, it would comply with international law. At the same time, he noted that the DPRK Foreign Ministry has no direct relation to the activities of the country's Defense Ministry, and stated that he does not feel the need "to confirm anything separately."
16:27 Russia produces only 30% of the ammunition it uses in the war against Ukraine, with North Korea supplying another 60% and Iran supplying 10%, Bloomberg writes. According to the agency, North Korea has already supplied Russia with 8 million 122mm and 152mm artillery shells, about 100 Hwasong-11 missiles and Bulsae-4 ATGMs.
16:21 Polish President Andrzej Duda said that Ukraine had asked for weapons that Warsaw had bought from South Korea, but he had refused: "There is no scenario in which we would hand over to anyone weapons that we recently bought for billions of zlotys from the pockets of our taxpayers. These weapons must serve the security and defense of the Republic of Poland."
16:15 About 2,000 soldiers from the DPRK are already heading to the west of Russia to the border with Ukraine after completing training in the Far East, the Japanese agency Kyodo reports, citing a source among the Ukrainian military. According to him, the advance group consists of about ten officers.
14:56 Agence France-Presse writes that Zelensky refused to allow UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to visit Ukraine after his participation in the BRICS summit in Russia.
14:28 Syrsky denied Putin's statement about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine called this "blatant disinformation that does not reflect the real situation." According to Syrsky, Ukrainian troops continue active operations in the Kursk direction, destroying the enemy's combat potential for the third month in a row.
According to the Commander-in-Chief, from August 8 to the present, Russian troops in the Kursk region have lost 17,819 people , of which 6,662 were irretrievable losses, 10,446 were medical losses, and 711 were captured. During this period, the Russian army also lost 45 tanks, 256 armored combat vehicles, 565 vehicles, 99 artillery systems, and five multiple launch rocket systems.
14:09 Peskov called the Wall Street Journal's information about contacts between Putin and Musk false. The Kremlin spokesman said that Putin and Musk called each other only once, before the invasion of Ukraine, their conversation was "introductory in nature", they talked about the future and technologies. After that, there were no contacts. Peskov believes that this is a "plant" related to the US elections.
14:01 On the night of October 25, the Defense Forces hit an enemy Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system and destroyed the 9S36 radar target illumination and missile guidance station of the Buk-M2 air defense missile system. The targets were located in the temporarily occupied territory of the Luhansk region, several dozen kilometers from the line of combat, the General Staff reported.
13:22 Ukraine, through the mediation of Qatar, received from the Russian side lists of missing servicemen, as well as letters from Ukrainian prisoners of war to their relatives, Ombudsman Dmitry Lubinets reported. The parties also discussed the possibility of accelerating the process of exchanging prisoners of war and providing assistance to civilians who find themselves in difficult life situations, in particular assistance in restoring personal documents.
13:03 The first North Korean troops will be used by Russia in combat zones as early as October 27-28, Zelensky said, citing intelligence data. "This is an obvious escalatory step by Russia, which is significant, unlike all the disinformation that has been heard in Kazan these days. The actual involvement of North Korea in combat operations should be met not with closed eyes and confused comments, but with tangible pressure on both Moscow and Pyongyang for the sake of compliance with the UN Charter and punishment for escalation," the head of state emphasized.
The president also said that he had heard Syrsky's report on the situation at the front, with special attention to the Pokrovsky, Kurakhovsky and Limansky directions. "It's tough in Donetsk, but our combat brigades are holding their positions and doing everything possible to destroy the occupier," Zelensky added.
In addition, the president commented on the progress of the Kursk operation: "We are implementing our tasks. The buffer zone on Russian territory protects Ukraine from Russian attempts to expand the war in the east of our country and ensures tangible Russian losses. The commander-in-chief reported on the fulfillment of tasks by our units in certain areas of the Kursk region."
12:50 Putin said that Moscow is "ready to seek reasonable compromises to resolve the Ukrainian crisis," but that "any outcome of the settlement must be in Russia's favor and be based on the realities on the battlefield." Putin also praised the West for changing its "rhetoric on the situation in Ukraine, and for beginning to realistically assess the situation." He added that the degree of confrontation between Russia and the West is not decreasing, and that they continue to supply weapons to Ukraine.
Putin also said that Turkish partners have repeatedly approached Russia with proposals for initiatives allegedly from the Ukrainian side, but when Russia agrees to consider such initiatives, "Kyiv refuses them, this has happened twice."
12:34 Erdogan, after visiting the BRICS summit in Russia, said that "Putin is striving for a permanent ceasefire." According to the Turkish president, this was also confirmed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Istanbul. Erdogan also said that he discussed the exchange of prisoners between Moscow and Kiev with Putin in Kazan, and Ankara will continue diplomatic efforts.
12:25 Russians are shelling Selidovo in Donetsk Oblast with CABs, drones, and artillery, but are not destroying it completely - probably in order to use the city's infrastructure and geographic location in the future for an offensive on Pokrovsk, said Vitaly Milovidov, press officer for the 15th Brigade of the Kara-Dag National Guard.
"Selidovo is a very large city with many basements where it will be possible to quarter a huge number of personnel and hide equipment. In fact, Selidovo will improve their logistics and allow them to bring in more manpower and equipment in order to conduct further assault operations on Pokrovsk," explained Ruslan Mikula, an analyst for the Deep State monitoring project.
11:36 German defense concern Rheinmetall reported that it has transferred another 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The Marder 1A3 version supplied by Rheinmetall to Ukraine is equipped with additional laser rangefinders, which allows it to effectively and accurately hit targets. The total number of combat vehicles sent to Ukraine under the so-called "ring exchange" agreement will reach about 200 units, of which more than 100 are Marder 1A3 models.
10:38 Air defense destroyed 36 of 63 Russian UAVs (Shahed and unspecified types) in the Odessa, Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Vinnytsia, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Lviv, Rivne and Poltava regions at night. Most of the enemy drones were shot down in the Odessa and Kyiv regions, the Air Force reported. In addition, 16 Russian drones were lost.
09:57 The Wall Street Journal writes that Elon Musk has been in regular contact with Putin since late 2022. According to sources, Putin and Musk discuss personal matters, business, and geopolitical tensions in private conversations. This worries the White House, since Musk has access to certain classified information, and the United States is heavily dependent on the space developments of SpaceX.
In addition, after 2022, Musk communicated with several Russian officials, including the first deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation, Sergei Kiriyenko. Also, according to the newspaper, Putin asked Musk not to activate Starlink satellite communication terminals in Taiwan in late 2023 in order to do a favor to the leader of the PRC, Xi Jinping.
09:33 The head of the Zaporizhia OVA Ivan Fedorov called to "prepare for the worst" this winter: "We must prepare for the fact that there will be no electricity at all. Maybe they don't like it, because we operate with such categorical things. But let's prepare for the worst. It will be better - it will be super." According to Fedorov, in Zaporizhia there may not be a centralized power supply to water pumping stations, and cogeneration units will be installed at all major boiler houses of the city.
08:45 In the morning, Russian troops attacked the center of Kherson. An apartment building was hit, two people were injured, OVA reported. Over the previous day, five people were injured as a result of Russian shelling in the region.
08:16 Five people were killed in Donetsk Oblast as a result of Russian shelling on October 24: two in Alekseevo-Druzhkovka, two in Zelenoe and one in Dachenskoye. Another person in the oblast was injured in the past 24 hours, said OVA head Vadim Filashkin.
07:52 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of October 25:
personnel - about 685,910 (+1,630) people,
tanks - 9097 (+7),
combat armored vehicles - 18,287 (+33),
artillery systems - 19,753 (+34),
MLRS - 1238 (+2),
air defense systems - 982 (+1),
aircraft - 369 (+0),
helicopters - 329 (+0),
Operational-tactical level UAVs - 17,670 (+73),
cruise missiles - 2625 (+0),
ships/boats - 28 (+0),
submarines - 1 (+0),
automotive equipment and tank trucks - 27,365 (+79),
special equipment - 3535 (+22).
06:46 Russia attacked Kiev with drones at night, up to 15 enemy UAVs were neutralized, said the head of the Kyiv State Air Defense Forces Sergey Popko. In the Darnitsky district of the capital, the debris of the downed drones caused a fire in an open area of trees and grass. The fire was quickly extinguished, no information about casualties was received.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Armed Forces are waging fierce battles in the east and south of Ukraine.
The enemy carried out dozens of assaults in the areas of the settlements of Selidovo, Krasny Yar, Kruty Yar, Lisovka and Mirolyubovka.
Since the beginning of the current day, 125 combat clashes have occurred along the entire front line. Russian troops are particularly active in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhovsky directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in a report as of 16:00 on Friday, October 25.
Thus, two combat clashes occurred in the Kharkov direction. Our troops are repelling enemy attacks near Volchansk.
In the Kupyansk direction, two assaults near Golubovka have been repelled. A battle is underway in the Vishnevoe area.
In the Liman direction, the enemy is attacking in the areas of Grekovka, Terny and Torskoye. In total, since the beginning of the day, there have already been 19 combat clashes in this direction. Four are still ongoing.
In the Seversky direction, the Russians tried to advance in the areas of the settlements of Ivano-Daryevka and Vyemka. Three combat clashes occurred.
In the Kramatorsk direction, fighting continues in the area of Chasovy Yar.
In the Toretsk direction, the enemy, with the support of attack and bomber aircraft, attacked the positions of our troops. Fighting continues in the Toretsk area.
The hottest part is in the Pokrovsky direction. Fierce battles are taking place in the areas of Selidovo, Krasny Yar, Kruty Yar, Lisovka and Mirolyubovka. The enemy has made 35 assaults so far.
In the Kurakhovsky direction, five combat clashes continue in the areas of Ostroye, Yekaterinovka and Novodmitrovka. Twenty enemy assaults have already been repelled.
In the Vremivsky direction, the Russians organized 17 assaults in the areas of Bogoyavlenka and Novoukrainka. Seven combat clashes continue.
In the Dnieper direction, the occupiers once tried to force our units out of their positions and received a tough rebuff.
Let us recall that on October 24, Russian losses at the front exceeded 1,600 people. The total losses of the aggressor country Russia since the beginning of the war are approaching 690 thousand.
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[EngMilRU] From 19 to 25 October, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have carried out 42 group strikes by high-precision weapons as well as attack drones to hit the oil-gas and energy enterprises which supported Ukrainian defence industry, as well as infrastructure of military airfields, production workshops and storage areas of unmanned aerial vehicles.
In addition, ammunition depots, fuel facilities, temporary deployment areas of AFU troops, nationalist formations, and foreign mercenaries were hit.
Over the past week, the Sever Group of Forces has been eliminating the AFU formations in Kursk region.
Strikes by aviation, unmanned aerial vehicles, and artillery inflicted fire damage on manpower and hardware of a tank brigade, six mechanised brigades, three airborne assault brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a marine brigade, four territorial defence brigades, and two national guard brigades.
In Kharkov direction, formations of an AFU motorised infantry brigade, airborne assault brigade, and two territorial defence brigades were hit.
During the week in the Sever Group of Forces area of responsibility, the enemy suffered losses of over 2,720 troops, 10 tanks, and 74 armoured fighting vehicles, including four Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and two M-113 armoured personnel carriers made in the USA. Russian units destroyed 47 field artillery guns, 42 motor vehicles, 11 electronic warfare and counter-battery stations, as well as four field ammunition depots.
The Zapad Group of Forces liberated Novosadovoye of the Donetsk People's Republic.
Russian units hit manpower and materiel of a tank brigade, seven mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, an airmobile brigade of the AFU, and a territorial defence brigade.
Twenty counter-attacks launched by the AFU assault detachments were repelled.
The enemy's losses amounted to up to 3,180 troops, a tank, 11 armoured fighting vehicles, including four U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carriers, 28 motor vehicles, and 30 field artillery guns, 19 of which were manufactured by NATO countries. Six electronic and counter-battery warfare stations and eight field ammunition depots were eliminated.
The Yug Group of Forces continued to advance into the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated Zoryanoye and Serebryanka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian units engaged five mechanised brigades, two motorised rifle brigades, two infantry brigades, an assault brigade, a mountain assault brigade, an air assault brigade, two airmobile brigades of the AFU, territorial defence brigades, and national guard brigades. Eleven counterattacks launched by AFU assault detachments were thwarted.
The enemy losses amounted to more than 5,410 troops, a tank, seven armoured fighting vehicles, including three U.S.-made M-113 armoured personnel carriers, 45 motor vehicles, and 37 field artillery guns, 13 of which were Western-made. Five electronic warfare stations and eleven field ammunition depots were destroyed.
The Tsentr Group of Forces liberated Nikolayevka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian units hit manpower and materiel of six mechanised brigades, a motorised infantry brigade, two infantry brigades, a jaeger brigade, an airborne brigade, an air assault brigade of the AFU, two naval infantry brigades, two territorial defence brigades, two formations of the National Guard, and the Lyut Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine.
In addition, 72 enemy counter-attacks were repelled.
Over the past week, the losses of Ukrainian armed groups in this area amounted to 3,130 troops, 28 armoured fighting vehicles, including a French-made VAB APCs, as well as United States-made: four Bradley IFVs, seven M-113 and M-1117 APCs, and two HMMWV armoured fighting vehicles. In addition, 35 field artillery guns and 23 motor vehicles were neutralised.
The Vostok Group of Forces captured more advantageous lines and positions. Russian units engaged formations of a mechanised brigade, a motorised infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades, a national guard brigade.
The enemy lost up to 750 troops, three armoured fighting vehicles, 21 motor vehicles, and 16 field artillery guns, including 13 155-mm self-propelled artillery systems and howitzers made by NATO countries.
The Dnepr Group of Forces engaged the manpower and hardware of the three mechanised brigades, an infantry brigade, a mountain assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two marine brigades, three territorial defence brigades, and a national guard brigade.
The enemy's losses amounted to up to 440 troops, 37 motor vehicles, and nine field artillery guns. One German-made IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile launcher and seven field ammunition depots were neutralised.
Russian Aerospace Forces shot down one MiG-29 aircraft of Ukrainian Air Force.
Air defence units shot down three French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 39 U.S.-made HIMARS projectiles, and 521 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles during the week.
During the week, 55 Ukrainian servicemen surrendered, including 39 servicemen on the line of contact in Kursk region.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 647 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 34,304 unmanned aerial vehicles, 584 anti-aircraft missile systems, 18,871 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,478 MLRS combat vehicles, 16,761 field artillery guns and mortars, and 27,598 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise an enemy group, which broke into the territory of Kursk region.
The Sever Group of Forces continued offensive actions in which the formations of the 22nd, 41st, and 115th Mechanised brigades, 17th Tank Brigade, 82nd and 95th Air Assault brigades, 36th Naval Infantry Brigade, 112th and 129th Territorial Defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit close to Daryino, Zeleny Slyakh, Nizhny Klin, Novoivanovka, and Plyokhovo.
The Group's units repelled five enemy's counter-attacks in the direction of Aleksandriya, Novoivanovka, and Plyokhovo. The AFU lost up to 30 people killed and wounded, a tank, two armoured fighting vehicles, and a motor vehicle. Three AFU servicemen surrendered.
Moreover, one AFU attempt to break through the border of the Russian Federation in the direction of the Novy Put was thwarted. The AFU losses amounted to about 15 troops killed and wounded, and two armoured fighting vehicles. One serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surrendered.
Army aviation and artillery inflicted losses on the clusters of manpower and hardware of the 21st, 22nd, 41st, 47th, 61st and 115th Mechanised brigades, 17th Tank Brigade, 80th, 82nd, and 95th Air Assault brigades, 36th Marine Brigade, as well as the 103rd, 112th, and 129th Territorial Defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and 17th National Guard Brigade of Ukraine near Bondarevka, Viktorovka, Gogolevka, Guyevo, Daryino, Zelyony Shlyakh, Kazachaya Loknya, Kolmakov, Lebedevka, Loknya, Martynovka, Makhnovka, Mirny, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Nikolsky, Novoivanovka, Novy Put, Oleshnya, Plyokhovo, Sverdlikovo, and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.
Operational-Tactical Aviation and Missile Troops attacked concentration areas in the Sumy region and reserves of the 41st, 61st, and 115th Mechanised brigades, 95th Air Assault Brigade, as well as the 103rd, 107th, and 129th Territorial Defence brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and 1st National Guard Brigade near Basovka, Velikaya Pisarevka, Zhuravka, Miropolye, Pavlovka, and Shalygino.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 300 troops during the day, ten armoured vehicles including one tank, one armoured personnel carrier, and eight armoured fighting vehicles, as well as three artillery guns, five mortars, three motor vehicles, and one electronic warfare station. Four AFU servicemen surrendered.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk direction, the enemy lost more than 26,550 servicemen, 177 tanks, 93 infantry fighting vehicles, 105 armoured personnel carriers, 1,003 armoured fighting vehicles, 686 motor vehicles, 229 artillery guns, 38 multiple rocket launchers, including nine of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, nine anti-aircraft missile launchers, five transport and loading vehicles, 57 EW stations, 11 counter-battery warfare radars, three air defence radars, 22 pieces of engineering and other equipment, including 13 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, and three armoured recovery vehicles.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:00 There is an advance of the Russian Armed Forces in the area of the settlement of Kremknaya Balka and the settlement of Novoselidovka. 21:20 Information about the assault in Selidovo:
The fifth day of the assault on one of the key cities of the Pokrovsk agglomeration is coming to an end. The enemy, out of fear, is already preparing to defend Pokrovsk and even Pavlograd.
Enemy: Syrsky has completely lost control over the situation in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhovsk directions.
Highway E-50 to the fork to Pokrovsk. We got a little closer to the fork. The highway is under constant fire 24/7, the enemy will not be able to physically get through it (if they are lucky, of course). We are standing on the approaches to the fork, if we get there, we will cut off the Pokrovsk-Selidovo connection.
Air raid to the settlement of Vishnevoe. Just like E-50, under constant fire. Retreating along it is not the best option for the AFU, besides, in the settlement itself our assault forces are actively fighting.
City limits: 11th microdistrict, practically below us, the enemy is retreating in a hurry to a one-story building on the western outskirts of the city. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are trapped, all attempts to escape from the city are lethal due to the fact that the only route (to Vishnevoe is not an option, not at all) is the E-50 retreat to Pokrovsk under heavy fire.
The area south of Selidovo, the village of Novodmitrovka, Vishnevo. Assault operations continue. We can say for sure that full control over the eastern part of Novodmitrovka has been established, the flag of the Russian Federation has been hoisted.
19:39 A grenade hits the retreating Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area of ??the village of Urozhainoye, DPR.
18:31 Army aviation crews on Ka-52M helicopters as part of a mixed tactical group disrupted the rotation of Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the border area of the Kursk region.
17:08 Swedish IFV CV9040C of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was blown up by a mine. The surviving driver was finished off by a drone dropped by Tula paratroopers near the settlement of Novy Put in the Kursk region.
16:12 The command and temporary deployment point of the 2nd battalion of the 116th Territorial Defensebrigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the building of the Obzhora shopping center in Kupyansk was destroyed by an airstrike by the Russian army.
15:33 The Russian Ministry of Defense showed footage of objective control of the destruction by the Russian Aerospace Forces of a crossing over the Oskol River west of the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya in the Khar'kov region.
14:00 Operational data is coming in about our forces entering Kremennaya Balka and the beginning of assault operations in the village, monitoring sources report.
13:31 The main points from the new briefing of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
– The Russian Armed Forces liberated four settlements in the DPR in a week.
– The losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces over the week in the “Center” group zone amounted to 3,130 soldiers and 28 armored vehicles.
– The Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft shot down a MiG-29 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force.
– Over the course of a week, 55 Ukrainian servicemen surrendered, including 39 in the Kursk region.
– The “South” group repelled 11 counterattacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the week.
– The “North” group of forces destroyed more than 2,720 servicemen and 74 armored vehicles of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in one week, including one Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
– The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 440 fighters and seven field ammunition depots in a week as a result of the actions of the Dnepr group.
– Over the course of a week, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 42 group strikes with high-precision weapons and UAVs on Ukrainian military-industrial complex enterprises and energy facilities that support them.
– The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 750 soldiers in the area of responsibility of the East group of forces in a week.
13:22 The Ukrainian Armed Forces' losses over the week amounted to over 5,410 servicemen, 11 field ammunition depots were destroyed, the Ministry of Defense stated.
12:12 The crew of a T-90A tank from the Zapad group of forces destroyed a stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk direction with fire from a closed firing position.
11:33 Destruction of a tank by Ukrainian soldiers in the area of the settlement of Dalnee.
11:32 Bright lights in the night sky – the work of the 122mm BM-21 Grad MLRS crew of the Southern Guards Artillery Brigade against enemy personnel and equipment.
10:07 The Russian Armed Forces are calmly and methodically burning out the Ukrainian Armed Forces strongholds northeast of Novodonetske.
09:13 Guards Airborne Forces units of the Sever group of forces are pushing the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the border areas of the Kursk region. Thus, the Fagot ATGM crew of the Airborne Forces destroyed a group of Ukrainian infantry in a dugout.
09:12 Su-25 crews destroyed camouflaged armored vehicles and personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border areas of the Kursk region.
08:24 UAV operators of the Pacific Fleet naval infantry brigade destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in a shelter and a tower with a communications signal repeater near Ugledar.
08:22 Crews of 152mm 2S19 Msta-S guns of the Dnepr force group destroy armored vehicles, fortified positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and enemy boats in the Kherson direction.
08:17 122mm D-30 howitzer crews of the Southern Group of Forces destroyed the sheltered infantry of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donetsk direction of the Northern Military District.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Kamran Gasanov
Yes, yes — the country, not the state. Nonetheless, may the best candidate win.
The parliamentary elections in Georgia on October 26 will be truly fateful for the country. Georgians are making a choice not only in favor of certain domestic political, economic and social measures, but also determining the geopolitical future of the country. Most importantly, they have a chance to choose between peace and war.
In fact, this is what the leadership of the ruling party “Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia” has been trying to explain to the population since 2012.
The current leadership has made war and peace the main issue of its election campaign. In September, businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili, founder of the Georgian Dream, went to Gori, which suffered greatly during the 2008 war. There, he promised to hold a “Nuremberg Trial” for the instigators of the war in South Ossetia and assured that Tbilisi would find the strength to apologize for the fact that Mikheil Saakashvili’s government, on instructions from outside, “enveloped Ossetian sisters and brothers in flames.”
Ivanishvili recently said that the West offered former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili to start a war with Russia for 3-4 days. Ivanishvili's party uses photographs of war-torn cities in Ukraine in its campaign videos and banners. On one side of the stand are the ruins of Mariupol with the caption "No to war", and on the other side are rebuilt buildings and churches in Georgia with the caption "Choose peace".
Comparisons between war and peace are needed so that society can make the “right choice,” says Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. Kobakhidze presents the absence of new conflicts as the ruling party’s main achievement.
THE MAIN OPPOSITIONIST
The opposition, led by Saakashvili's party, renamed Unity - National Movement, uses any excuse to accuse the authorities of betrayal and collusion with Russia.
Its main election tool is to present the current government as “pro-Russian” (which is extremely toxic after the events of 2008), and businessman Ivanishvili as a “Russian oligarch.”
The laws on foreign agents and the ban on LGBT* propaganda adopted in parliament were called nothing less than “Russian” by Saakashvili’s supporters and their allies.
The country's president, French citizen Salome Zurabishvili, also uses these terms. Saakashvili is arrested and ill, and there is no bright figure among his fans - so she became the leader of the opposition.
Although Zurabishvili won the presidency in 2018 on the back of Georgian Dream, she has since made a U-turn, turning the presidency into a platform for criticizing the ruling party.
Thus, she fiercely criticized the law on foreign agents and expressed support for street protests. In her opinion, the ruling party's visual propaganda was made in a "KGB forge", and Zurabishvili calls Russia Georgia's main enemy: Moscow is allegedly waging a hybrid war against Tbilisi and preventing it from joining the EU. The president accuses the Georgian Dream of ignoring the "Russian threat".
According to experts, Zurabishvili expects to become the new prime minister if the opposition wins. It has already begun to unite dissatisfied forces around itself, offering them to sign the "Georgian Charter". The country's president proposes to repeal laws that hinder European integration.
MANY OPPONENTS
The main struggle in the elections was between the Georgian Dream on one side and four opposition alliances on the other.
The flagship of the opposition is a coalition of Saakashvili's Unity-National Movement party, along with two smaller parties, Strategy Agmashenebeli and European Georgia. Their campaign is clear even without reading the text, as the main points are printed on sheets of paper similar to an EU passport. Along with joining the EU, they call for improving the welfare of citizens, protecting pensioners, and cracking down on the "price mafia."
The second bloc is the "Coalition for Change". Its stronghold is the "Akhali" party, created by the former director general of the opposition TV channel "Rustavi 2" and former chairman of the "United National Movement" Nika Melia. The latter "became famous" for organizing the storming of parliament in the summer of 2019.
Then a Russian delegation headed by State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov arrived in Tbilisi to take part in the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO). The opposition raised a fuss because Gavrilov, as the event's chairman, sat in the chair of the speaker of parliament. The authorities were accused of seating a representative of the "occupying country" in the place of honor, and mass rallies began in Georgia.
After that, there was chaos in the government, prime ministers and ministers resigned one after another. The trail of that story lasted until 2021. When the Georgian Dream began investigations and Melia and 10 of his supporters were arrested, Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia did not agree with this decision and resigned.
The Coalition for Change also includes the Droa and Girchi – More Freedom parties, and the electoral list is headed by a person – a symbol of the demonstrations against the law on foreign agents, Nana Malashkhia. In March 2023, she waved the EU flag under a stream of water cannon. The main goal of this coalition is accession to the EU.
The third opposition coalition is Strong Georgia, its core is built around Mamuka Khazaradze's Lelo party. It is allied with Ana Dolidze 's For the People, Aleko Elisashvili 's Citizens and Levan Tsutskiridze's Freedom Square. For the sake of solidity, the alliance included former Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili, although his name is not on the party list, as he does not want to engage in parliamentary activities.
The financial bigwigs are behind this alliance. Khazaradze is the head of the country's largest bank, TBC Bank. He entered politics after his bank came into conflict with the country's authorities, and the Anaklia deep-water port project that he and his business partner Badri Japaridze were implementing was stopped. At the moment, Khazaradze and Japaridze are in a semi-legal position, since a criminal case for fraud was opened against them two years ago.
The alliance calls its election campaign "The Path of Ilia", named after the famous Georgian writer Ilia Chavchavadze. It contains proposals to create 200,000 jobs and increase pensions, as well as a number of anti-Russian measures - restrictions on the sale of land to Russian citizens, a ban on cars with Russian license plates entering the country, and a ban on flights from Russia.
Gakharia, who resigned, defected to the opposition and heads the fourth bloc: “Gakharia is for Georgia.” Although he positions himself as a fighter against the Georgian Dream, Gakharia still has a “black mark”: in June 2019, when 200 demonstrators and journalists were injured during the dispersal of rallies near the parliament, Gakharia was the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The party’s stronghold is made up of the same defectors from the Georgian Dream.
Gakharia positions his party as a force independent of Saakashvili's supporters and contrasts it with the National Movement. Gakharia promises to strengthen democracy, a European future, create jobs, fight corruption, expand women's rights and get rid of "Russian occupation". The Georgian president tried to unite Strong Georgia with the bloc of former Prime Minister Gakharia, but the alliance failed.
PRE-ELECTION FORECASTS
The opposition decided to come out against the Georgian Dream as a whole. To avoid the risk of not getting into parliament due to the five percent barrier, the opposition political forces created alliances.
But will the four opposition alliances together be able to win a majority of votes? Opinion polls give very different forecasts.
The pro-government TV channel Imedi, citing the results of the GORBI company, estimates the chances of Georgian Dream at 60.2%. Saakashvili's Unity can claim 15.4%, the Coalition for Change - 9%. Strong Georgia and Gakharia - For Georgia with 3.3% and 2.9% remain on the sidelines.
Opposition sources have the opposite picture. Edison Research estimated the odds as follows: Georgian Dream - 34%, Unity - 18%, Coalition for Change - 14%, Gakharia for Georgia - 11%, Strong Georgia - 10%, Labor Party - 5%. That is, together the opposition parties have more than half the votes.
The poll by the Mtavari TV channel looks roughly the same: Georgian Dream has 35%, and the four opposition blocs have a combined 52%.
The results will show who will actually win the parliamentary elections on October 26. All forces are hoping for a high turnout. Although Georgian Dream believes in its success, its executive secretary Mamuka Mdinaradze warned against the euphoria that arose after the Imedi poll. Supporters of the ruling party should not celebrate success prematurely.
“Our supporters are 80% motivated, and if we have potentially a million votes, then if the remaining 20% with low motivation do not come to the elections, we will not get a constitutional majority, but an absolute catastrophe,” he said.
Gakharia also asked all supporters to go to the polls. If the number of voters exceeds 2 million people, the Dream will receive no more than 30%, since its ceiling is 600 thousand votes, the former prime minister claims.
FOREIGN INTERESTS
It is an obvious fact that the EU and the US have done and are doing everything to ensure that the opposition wins. The EU has already announced that it is suspending Georgia's European integration. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, explained this decision by the government's actions, which "distance the country from the European path and indicate a shift towards authoritarianism." The European Union suspended grants to Georgian municipalities in October.
The US has already imposed several packages of sanctions against security officials, representatives and leaders of the Georgian Dream party. In July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the freezing of financial aid to the Georgian government in the amount of more than $95 million.
Despite the establishment of pragmatic relations with Russia, the refusal to join sanctions and the opening of air traffic with Russian cities, joining the EU and NATO are priorities of the Georgian Dream. So, the suspension of European integration should harm the reputation of Ivanishvili's party.
The second obvious fact is that the opposition will never admit its defeat.
The West has already prepared the ground for this. On October 1, observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) were outraged that some NGOs were not allowed to monitor the elections.
Ten days later, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODIHR) released a report suggesting the elections would be "undemocratic." There is allegedly a lack of trust in state institutions on the part of the opposition, and the rights of association and expression are insufficiently protected. ODIHR complains of "intimidation tactics" against the opposition by the government.
The Kobakhidze government has no illusions about Western interference. Will it really remain passive in the elections if they personally threatened Kobakhidze with reprisals and helped the opposition prepare an assassination attempt on Ivanishvili?
Saakashvili's party has vast experience in accusing the authorities of falsifications in parliamentary and municipal elections. They will definitely use such an instrument this time. The "falsification" argument should become a trigger for new large-scale protests, the ultimate goal of which is a repeat of the "Rose Revolution" of 2003.
But if this does not help, we cannot rule out the scenario of a civil war, which, as the Ukrainian experience shows, occurs as soon as demonstrators are killed. The opposition is already rehearsing a scenario with a sacred victim: the day before, Gakharia accused the Georgian Dream of attacking a member of his party, Levan Gogichaishvili, at one of the metro stations.
RUSSIA IS CAUTIOUS
Keeping the pragmatic Georgian Dream in power is entirely in Russia's interests. The ruling party there is establishing ties between the countries, fighting against the destructive attempts of the West to turn Georgia into another "anti-Russia" and giving hope for a peaceful solution to the problems of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. The arrival of Saakashvili's supporters leads to the risk of another war and the opening of a "second front".
Despite all its sympathies for Ivanishvili's party, Russia, unlike the West, knows how to restrain its emotions. This is understandable: due to the high level of anti-Russian sentiment, Moscow's support would have the opposite effect and harm the prestige of the Georgian Dream.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterates that Russia has no intention of interfering in the elections and is not doing so. However, senior government officials are warning the republic of future disasters.
Thus, the head of the SVR, Sergei Naryshkin, expressed hope that the people of Georgia will make the right choice, despite pressure from the West. In August, the SVR prepared a report that the US was preparing a "Maidan" in Georgia. Russia would like to prevent attempts at a color revolution, Naryshkin said at the time.
The situation in the South Caucasus is already quite difficult for Russia. Armenia is rapidly moving towards Europe and is becoming increasingly anti-Russian. If border Georgia returns to the same path, Moscow's influence in the region will weaken significantly.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] Recently, there have been many false rumors in the American media, so the Kremlin no longer considers the US press authoritative. This was stated at a briefing on October 25 by the press secretary of the Russian president Dmitry Peskov.
This is how he commented on the article in The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) about Russia allegedly transferring satellite data to Yemeni rebels to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea.
“We are not in the habit of reading these publications first thing over coffee, because we no longer perceive them as authoritative newspapers that tell only the truth,” the Kremlin representative emphasized.
On October 25, the WSJ reported that Russia allegedly provided Yemeni Houthis with satellite data to attack merchant ships in the Red Sea. According to one of the newspaper’s sources, the data was transmitted via members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who were in Yemen. According to the newspaper’s sources, this helped the rebels significantly “expand the scope of their strikes.”
Also during the briefing, Peskov refuted the WSJ publication about contacts between Putin and American businessman Elon Musk.
As reported by Regnum News Agency, in October The Wall Street Journal published an article about Ulyanovsk Region Legislative Assembly deputy Viktor Bout allegedly participating in negotiations with Yemeni Houthis on arms supplies. The parliamentarian called this publication a fabrication.
He explained that in the absence of significant media personalities, American media outlets are using the brand of the "arms baron" that they once promoted, known to the masses, and his name. According to him, all this is being done in order to attract more public attention to their publication and raise the publication's currently sagging ratings.
Peskov previously noted that the Kremlin had studied this WSJ publication and was inclined to classify it as fake or informational attacks on Russian deputies.
In July, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the work of the American media with facts ridiculous. Commenting on the material of the American newspaper The New York Times, the diplomat noted that the facts testifying to the Kiev regime's abuse of the civilian population in Donbass were presented by Russia, but the US media are doing everything to ignore this truth.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
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Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
