Saturday, October 28

Russia’s war against Ukraine

The building of a fire station in Izium, Kharkiv Oblast, struck by a Russian missile attack overnight on Oct. 27, 2023. (Ihor Klymenko/Telegram)

Wanted pro-Russian politician reportedly shot in Crimea. Oleg Tsaryov, a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician who fled Ukraine in 2014, was shot in the early hours of Oct. 27 in Russian-occupied Crimea, according to Russian reports.

Media: SBU behind attack on pro-Russian politician Tsaryov. According to an undisclosed intelligence source of Ukrainska Pravda, Tsaryov “has long been on the list of traitors who must answer for their crimes and is therefore an absolutely legitimate target.”

Infrastructure Ministry: Over 1 million metric tons of cargo exported via temporary Black sea corridor. More than 1.3 million metric tons of Ukrainian agricultural products and other cargo has been exported by 37 ships using the temporary corridor in the Black Sea, the Infrastructure Ministry reported on Oct. 27.

Russia claims drone attack on Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Three drones attempted to attack Kursk Nuclear Power Plant on the evening of Oct. 26, the Russian state atomic energy corporation Rosatom claimed on Oct. 27.

First Ukrainian demining machine developed in Kharkiv. Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the equipment was “significantly cheaper than foreign counterparts,” but no less efficient. The machine is reportedly capable of defusing 95% of mines.

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General Staff: Russia tries to regain lost ground at Andriivka, Verbove. Russian forces tried to regain lost positions near Andriivka in the Bakhmut direction, and northwest of Verbove in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its evening report on Oct. 27.

UK Defense Ministry: Russia pauses air-launched cruise missile strikes against Ukraine. Russia’s Long Range Aviation hasn’t conducted air-launched cruise missile attacks against Ukraine for over a month, one of the longest gaps in such strikes since the full-scale invasion began, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 27.

Investigators conduct searches at Kyiv power plant over suspected embezzlement. The Bureau said it obtained information that a company contracted last year to repair damages at the plant caused by Russian attacks never carried out the work despite receiving payment for it.

Russia hikes interest rates to 15% amid soaring inflation. This marks the fourth time Russia’s Central Bank has raised lending costs this year. Since July, the bank has raised rates by a total of 7.5 percentage points.

Poll: Over half of Ukrainians in front-line, liberated regions lack news about war progress. In Ukraine’s front-line and liberated regions, 57% of residents would like to see more news about the progress of the war with Russia, a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found.

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Ukraine war latest: Zelensky says Russia has lost at least a brigade trying to capture Avdiivka

A brigade in the Russian army can include between 2,000 and 8,000 personnel, according to open sources. Moscow has reportedly thrown in extensive forces to encircle Avdiivka, suffering heavy losses in manpower and equipment in the process.

Photo: Kostya Liberov / Libkos via Getty Images

‘I never planned to fight against Ukraine:’ Forcibly conscripted by Russia, Ukrainians await fate in POW camp

While Russian prisoners of war have the chance to be exchanged, under Ukrainian law, forcibly conscripted Ukrainians caught while fighting for Russia can face lengthy prison sentences and even high treason charges for betraying their country.

Alexander Khrebet/ The Kyiv Independent

‘We can’t allow Putin to prevail,’ says Speaker Johnson after being elected, but his track record says opposite

Representative Mike Johnson, elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 25, has been deemed bad news for Ukraine.

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Opinions and insights

Sławomir Sierakowski: What’s next for Poland?

“Poland’s democratic institutions may have been weakened during the years of PiS misrule, but its people have proven more than capable of mobilizing against the threat of an entrenched authoritarianism,” writes Sławomir Sierakowski, senior fellow at the German Council on Foreign Relations.

Photo: Omar Marques/Anadolu/Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russian attacks kill 2, injure 11 in Ukraine. Russia launched six Shahed-type drones to attack Ukraine’s southern regions and targeted Kharkiv Oblast with an Iskander ballistic missile overnight on Oct. 27, the Air Force reported.

Russian strike on Kherson injures 7. A Russian strike on the city center of Kherson on the evening of Oct. 27 injured seven residents and damaged or destroyed over a dozen houses, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

Russian shelling of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast’s Nikopol injures woman, child. A Russian artillery strike on the city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Oct. 27 injured a 5-year-old boy and a 58-year-old woman, Governor Serhii Lysak reported.

General Staff: Russia has lost 297,680 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 27 that Russia had also lost 5,145 tanks, 9,726 armored fighting vehicles, 9,513 vehicles and fuel tanks, 7,162 artillery systems, 834 multiple launch rocket systems, 556 air defense systems, 320 airplanes, 324 helicopters, 5,390 drones, and 20 boats.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 31 – Why murderers of EuroMaidan protestors still enjoy impunity

International response

EU Commission confirms work on 12th Russia sanctions package underway.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has confirmed that the work on the 12th Russia sanctions package, which may include restrictions on Russian diamond exports, is underway, European Pravda reported on Oct. 27.

Hungary, Slovakia voice criticism of Ukraine aid at EU summit. Orban, “for the time being,” rejected the planned 50 billion euros ($53 billion) aid package for Kyiv, and Fico named corruption in Ukraine as a potential challenge to future support, Euroactiv said.

EU affirms security commitments to Ukraine, pledges winter aid. The European Council promised “to provide strong financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes.”

Germany delivers IRIS-T air defense system, other aid to Ukraine. Germany has handed over an IRIS-T SLM air defense system, IRIS-T SLS missiles, 5,000 155mm artillery shells, and other defense assistance as part of its latest aid deliveries to Ukraine, the German government said on Oct. 27.

EU organizes online film festival in Russia despite invasion of Ukraine. The delegation of the European Union to Russia has announced its festival of European film will go ahead this year, after opening the event with a screening of a Spanish film in a Moscow cinema on Oct. 25.

Experts: Ukraine’s EU candidacy highlights need for major bloc reforms. Ukraine’s accelerated candidacy has hastened the EU’s need to implement comprehensive reforms, including treaty reform and changes to the bloc’s voting structure..

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Teah Pelechaty, Dinara Khalilova, Elsa Court, Martin Fornusek, Oleg Sukhov, and Abbey Fenbert.

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