Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says he believes Kyiv will have the opportunity to end the war with Russia next year if his country receives sufficient support from its allies.
“In October, November and December, we have a chance to move things toward peace and lasting stability,” he told the Ukraine-South East Europe summit in Dubrovnik. “The situation on the battlefield creates an opportunity to make this choice for decisive action to end the war no later than in 2025.”
He also used the summit to call on southeastern European countries to invest in weapons production in Ukraine.
Ukraine hits Russian ammo depot with nearly 400 Shahed drones
Ukraine’s military said its forces struck a base in southern Russia’s Krasnodar region storing hundreds of Shahed drones, scoring several hits.
A statement by the General Staff said the attack was carried out jointly by naval forces and the SBU intelligence service.
“Reportedly, nearly 400 strike drones were stored there,” the statement said. “Based on objective control results, a direct hit was made on the target. Secondary explosions were observed at the site.”
It said the attack was carried out near a village identified as Oktyabrsky.
Moscow’s troops reach key Ukrainian city
Russian troops have reached the Ukrainian city of Toretsk, an anchor of Kyiv’s defenses in the eastern Donetsk region, just a week after capturing the town of Vuhledar. Its capture could bring closer the prospect of Moscow securing the entire Donbas region.
The Ukrainian military said that the situation around the city of Toretsk was “unstable”.
“Fighting is taking place literally at every entrance,” Anastasiia Bobovnikova, spokesperson of the operational tactical group Luhansk, told Ukraine’s national broadcaster. “The Russians have entered the eastern outskirts of the city.”
Moscow’s defense ministry said yesterday that its forces inflicted damage to manpower and equipment near several settlements in the area, including near Toretsk.
Additionally, Russian military bloggers said Moscow’s troops were continuing to advance towards the center of the town.
For Ukraine, Toretsk has been a frontline city for 10 years, as it is close to territories seized by Russian-backed separatists in 2014.
For Moscow, it offers the promise of bringing closer the capture of the whole Donbas region, given that it has been described as the anchor of Kyiv’s fortifications there.
Russia claims to have captured two Ukrainian villages
Russia has claimed further advances in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk as fears spread that Moscow could capture a key city in the area.
The Russian defense ministry has claimed Moscow’s forces have captured the settlements of Zolota Nyva and Zhelanna Pershe.
The communities have an estimated population of a few hundred residents each, but they lie to the north and south of the town of Kurakhove, one of the focal points of military activity on the eastern front.
Ukraine can hold Kursk territory for months, US officials say
Ukrainian troops can hold their captured territory in Russia’s Kursk for several months, senior US officials said, citing their latest intelligence assessment.
Kyiv’s hold on the territory hinges on the reliable flow of supplies into the region and Russia’s focus on advances in eastern Ukraine, the officials told Bloomberg on the condition of anonymity.
Ukrainian troops are now receiving a steady supply of shells after facing months of dire ammunition shortages, the officials said.
In the past three days, Ukrainian and Russian forces continued assaults in Glushkovsky Raion, west of the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk, but did not make any confirmed advances, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
Village in Russia’s Adygeya region evacuated after drone attack
Russian officials evacuated the village of Rodnikovy in southern Adygeya Republic region due to a fire after a drone attack, regional officials said.
Region head Murat Kumpilov said the attack targeted the suburbs of the city of Maykop and there were no casualties. The Khanskaya military air base is located near the city.
Russia ramps up assault before muddy autumn conditions – ISW
The Russian military is looking to make significant advances on the battlefield before muddy ground conditions in the autumn set in, a US-based think-tank has said.
“The Russian military command has likely ordered Russian forces to conduct a relatively high tempo of mechanized assaults in Ukraine to pursue significant tactical advances before muddy ground conditions in fall 2024 constrain mechanized maneuvers,” the ISW said.
“Poor weather conditions in fall 2024 and early winter 2024-2025 will likely complicate and constrain both mechanized and infantry maneuvers, but Russian forces may seek to maintain their consistent offensive pressure in eastern Ukraine despite these difficulties.
“A Russian milblogger claimed on October 9 that muddy seasonal conditions have already started in Kursk oblast and are constraining maneuver for wheeled vehicles,” it said.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
