Sunday, October 29

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Women put small Ukrainian flags with inscriptions of the names of fallen Ukrainian soldiers in front of the monument to Viacheslav Chornovil during the rally on Oct. 28 in Lviv, Ukraine. (Les Kasyanov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Umerov: Russia has lost 4,000 soldiers in battle for Avdiivka. Russian losses in Avdiivka amount to approximately 4,000, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Oct. 28 in a phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense reported.

UK Defense Ministry: Russian forces in Avdiivka likely suffer some of the highest casualty rates in 2023. Russia has likely committed parts of at least eight brigades in the fight to capture Avdiivka, and the forces operating there have likely suffered some of Russia’s worst casualty rates in 2023, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 28.

Air Force: Ukraine downs 5 Russian drones. Ukraine’s air defense shot down five Shahed drones overnight on Oct. 29, the Air Force said in their morning update. The drones were launched from Russia’s port city of Primorsko-Akhtarsk in Krasnodarsk Krai.

Lukashenko urges talks between Russia, Ukraine. Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said over the weekend that Russia and Ukraine need to engage in negotiations as both sides find themselves in a protracted frontline stalemate.

Military: Russian troops arrive in Belarus to train local drone operators. Citing Belarusian opposition, the Ukrainian military said that Russian specialists are arriving at the military base in Byaroza, Brest region in western Belarus.

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Ukrenergo: Russian attacks damaged 70 large energy facilities in Ukraine. Russia’s campaign of mass strikes against Ukraine’s energy system damaged around 70 large facilities last fall and winter, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukraine’s state grid operator Ukrenergo, told Voice of America (VOA).

Russia claims 36 drones downed in Black Sea. The Russian Defense Ministry said on Oct. 29 that its forces have destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea and northwestern Crimea.

Reuters: War in Ukraine boosting US defense industry. The U.S. defense industry has seen increased profits as the U.S. has sought new contracts to refill depleted domestic stockpiles and European countries, wary of Russia, have placed new weapons orders, a Reuters report on Oct. 27 detailed.

ISW: Russia’s special forces commander confirms Rosgvardia recruits former Wagner fighters into Chechen battalion. Former Wagner Group mercenaries are joining Chechnya’s Akhmat battalion and heading to the war in Ukraine, Akhmat Battalion Commander Apti Alaudinov confirmed in an Oct. 28 interview, the Institute for the Study of War said in their latest report.

Read our exclusives

Is Ukraine’s new Black Sea corridor working? Experts say it has potential

Despite exporting significantly lower volumes than the grain initiative brokered by Turkey and the UN last year, experts say Ukraine’s new trade route may be picking up steam.

Photo: Oleksandr Kubrakov/ X

Human cost of war

Authorities: Russian attack on Kherson Oblast village injures 2. The victims, a 40-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman were hospitalized following the attack, according to the Kherson Oblast Military Administration.

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

International response

Hungary threatens to veto new EU sanction package on Russia. Hungary will veto the European Union’s proposed 12th sanctions package if it includes the gas, oil, and nuclear energy sectors of the Russian economy, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Oct. 28 in an interview with Russian state-run media Ria Novosti.

AP: Biden, Xi agree on meeting next month. U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have agreed to meet at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in mid-November, the Associated Press reported, citing an unnamed U.S. official.

Ukraine, Netherlands start talks on bilateral security guarantees agreement. According to the Ukrainian Presidential Office, the first round of consultations occurred on the sidelines of the Ukraine peace formula summit in Malta on Oct. 28.

In other news

President’s Office: 4 killed, 9 injured as gale-force winds hit Ukraine. The winds, gusting up to 90 kilometers per hour, felled trees and blew debris around the city, damaging power lines. In Kyiv alone, more than 250 trees have been knocked over, according to local authorities.

Minister: Deputy police chief suspended after journalists’ investigation. Deputy Police Chief Dmytro Tyshlek was suspended after a journalist investigation alleged that his wife held a Russian passport, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported on Oct. 28. According to the investigation, Oleksandra Balakai, Tyshlek’s wife, still holds a Russian passport she obtained in the 2000s while living in Russia.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Dinara Khalilova, Francis Farrell, Nate Ostiller, Oleksiy Sorokin, Alexander Khrebet, Olena Goncharova, and Brad LaFoy.

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