Skip next section What you need to knowWhat you need to knowRussia has significantly bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in the east, Ukrainian sources say.
“In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defense to active actions,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the ground forces, wrote on Telegram messenger.
Russian troops captured Bakhmut after a prolonged and bloody battle in May. Ukraine has been trying to recapture the town since June.
Separately, Ukraine said it had struck part of Russia’s air defense system in annexed Crimea overnight, as Moscow said it repelled a major attempted missile strike on the peninsula.
Here’s a look at the latest developments in Russia’s war in Ukraine on Monday, October 30:
Skip next section Dutch F-16s for Ukraine to arrive in Romania within two weeksOctober 30, 2023
Dutch F-16s for Ukraine to arrive in Romania within two weeksThe first US-made F-16 combat aircraft the Netherlands is donating to Ukraine will arrive in Romania’s training center within two weeks, outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said.
“I expect the Patriot missiles to be delivered shortly, to aid Ukraine in the upcoming winter. And the same speed applies to the F-16s,” Rutte said during a video conference with Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“The first ones will be shipped to the training center in Romania within the next two weeks so that day we will get ready for further training,” he added.
Denmark, Norway and Belgium have also announced they will give F-16 jets to Ukraine.
“What is happening now in Gaza and the terrorist attack on Israel and all the follow-up from that will not, shall not and cannot distract us from what is happening between you and Russia, the fact that you are fighting off the Russia aggression,” Rutte said.
The US ambassador to Ukraine said on Thursday that Ukrainian pilots were undergoing training in the United States on F-16 fighter aircraft. In August, the US approved sending F-16s fighter jets to Ukraine once the training is completed.
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https://p.dw.com/p/4YD7tSkip next section Ukraine says it hit Russian air defense system in CrimeaOctober 30, 2023
Ukraine says it hit Russian air defense system in CrimeaUkraine said it had struck part of Russia’s air defense system in annexed Crimea overnight, as Moscow said it repelled a major attempted missile strike on the peninsula.
“The Armed Forces successfully hit a strategic object of the air defense system on the western coast of occupied Crimea,” the Ukrainian army’s strategic communications unit said on social media. It gave no further details and Russia gave no official comment.
Later on Monday, Russia said its air defenses had successfully shot down eight Ukrainian missiles fired towards Crimea.
“On October 30, at around 13:00 (1000 GMT), an attempted attack by the Kyiv regime with eight Storm Shadow cruise missiles at targets on the Crimean peninsula was stopped,” Russia’s defense ministry said, adding that all missiles were shot down.
Storm Shadows are British-supplied missile systems with a range of over 250 kilometers (155 miles) that enable Kyiv to hit targets deep behind the frontlines in the east and south of Ukraine.
Russia has been using Crimea as a supply base for its war against Ukraine, which it has been waging for more than 20 months. In recent weeks, Kyiv has stepped up its attacks on military assets in Crimea.
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https://p.dw.com/p/4YCggSkip next section Ukraine says civilian killed by Russian attacks in southOctober 30, 2023
Ukraine says civilian killed by Russian attacks in southRussian shelling and missile strikes killed an elderly woman and injured five people in the southern Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Odesa, Ukrainian officials reported.
Missiles damaged an administrative building and equipment in a shipyard in the Black Sea region of Odesa in the morning, local prosecutors said, adding that four workers had been hurt.
“The attack caused a fire, which was quickly extinguished by our rescuers,” Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper said in a Telegram messenger post.
Meanwhile, an 85-year-old woman was killed in heavy overnight shelling of the front-line city of Kherson, Roman Mrochko, head of the city’s military administration, said on Telegram. “In the central district of the city, high-rise buildings and one of the social institutions were hit,” Mrochko added.
The attacks followed attempted Russian drone strikes on southern, central, and northern Ukraine. Kyiv’s military said air defenses destroyed all 12 drones and two missiles launched against the Mykolaiv, Kherson, Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Dnipro regions.
https://p.dw.com/p/4YChXSkip next section Shoigu accuses West of seeking to expand Ukraine war to Asia-PacificOctober 30, 2023
Shoigu accuses West of seeking to expand Ukraine war to Asia-PacificRussian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu accused the West of wanting to expand the conflict in Ukraine to the Asia-Pacific region, Russian state media reported.
Speaking at the Xiangshan Forum, China’s biggest military diplomacy conference, Shoigu said the US-led NATO alliance was “covering up the buildup of military force in the Asia-Pacific region with an ostentatious desire for dialogue.”
“Having provoked an acute crisis in Europe, the West is seeking to spread conflict potential to the Asia-Pacific region, and in several directions,” he added.
Shoigu also said US forces’ exchanges of missile launch information with Tokyo and Seoul were intended to deter Russia and China.
According to Shoigu, Moscow was ready for talks on the post-conflict settlement of the Ukraine crisis and coexistence with the West, but only once Western countries stopped seeking Russia’s strategic defeat.
https://p.dw.com/p/4YChuSkip next section Russian paratrooper commander to head Dnipro military group — reportsOctober 30, 2023
Russian paratrooper commander to head Dnipro military group — reportsThe commander of Russia’s airborne forces, Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, has been named as the new commander of Russia’s Dnipro military group in Ukraine, the state-run TASS news agency reported on Monday, citing a source.
Teplinsky replaces Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, the newspaper Izvestia reported separately.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War said on October 19 that Ukrainian forces appeared to have broken through Russian lines on the left, southern bank of the Dnipro River. Russia said it had foiled attempts to cross the river, however.
Teplinsky was appointed in June 2022 to head the elite airborne forces, which had suffered heavy casualties in the earliest days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
British military intelligence said he was dismissed from a senior role in Ukraine in January, but later reinstated. It said he was likely to be one of the few senior generals “widely respected by the rank-and-file.”
https://p.dw.com/p/4YCj9Skip next section Russia beefs up forces near Bakhmut, Ukraine commander saysOctober 30, 2023
Russia beefs up forces near Bakhmut, Ukraine commander saysRussia has significantly bulked up its forces around the devastated city of Bakhmut in the east and has switched its troops from a defensive posture to taking “active actions,” a Ukrainian military commander said.
Russia captured Bakhmut, the scene of some of the bloodiest fighting of the 20-month war, in May. Ukraine has been on the counteroffensive since June to try to retake occupied land in the south and east, including the town.
“In the Bakhmut area, the enemy has significantly strengthened its grouping and switched from defense to active actions,” General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces, wrote on Telegram messenger.
He described the situation in the east as difficult, with Russian forces particularly active near the northeastern Ukrainian-held town of Kupiansk. According to the Ukrainian general, Moscow’s troops there were trying to advance simultaneously in several directions.
In its daily report on the fighting, the Ukrainian General Staff said Russian forces continued in their attempts to regain control over Andriivka to the south of Bakhmut, which Kyiv’s forces said they had retaken in September.
Russia has also been pushing in recent weeks to encircle and capture the eastern town of Avdiivka, near Donetsk.
dh/dj (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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