[Korrespondent] 23:58 The United States does not see any preparation of the Russian Federation for the use of a "dirty bomb" or tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She also noted that neither Russia nor Ukraine is now demonstrating the mood for negotiations.
23:07 Zelensky said in an evening video message that the situation on the front line has not changed significantly: "The toughest battles are in the Donetsk region: the Bakhmut direction, Avdiivka. The madness of the Russian command is now most visible there: day after day for months they drive there people to die, they concentrate the maximum power of artillery strikes there. All our soldiers who hold positions in these directions in the Donetsk region are simply heroes."
In general, according to the president, the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the front are strengthening their positions everywhere, reducing the capabilities of the occupiers, destroying their logistics and "preparing good news for Ukraine."
22:52 Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during her speech in the Senate stressed that she supports the continuation of military assistance to Ukraine as the only condition for the possible achievement of peace between Kiev and Moscow. But her government has enough odious friends of Putin. For more details, see Weapons to Ukraine, Friendship to Putin .
21:49 The United States personally informed Putin about the consequences of Russia's use of nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with Bloomberg. Commenting on the allegations of the Russian side about the alleged preparation of a "dirty bomb" by Ukraine, Blinken called it "another fiction", recalling that the Russian Federation has repeatedly attributed to others the actions that it is preparing to take itself.
The head of American diplomacy also assured of further US support for Ukraine, noting that it is important and necessary for Washington and its allies to "stay with Ukraine."
20:53 Italian Prime Minister Georgia Maloney, during her speech in the Senate, stressed that she supports the continuation of military assistance to Ukraine as the only condition for the possible achievement of peace between Kiev and Moscow.
19:44 Germany handed over two more MARS II multiple launch rocket systems to Ukraine - thus, the Ukrainian army already has five such MLRS in service, according to the website of the German government. Ukraine also received four more Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled artillery mounts. The Germans are implementing this project together with the Netherlands: in total, they have already transferred 14 of these self-propelled guns. In addition, the deliveries indicate the transfer of two surface drones, what exactly is involved and whose production is unknown.
The German government has also updated the list of announced military aid. In particular, Ukraine was promised to transfer another 6,100 artillery shells of 155 mm caliber and 186,000 shells of 40 mm caliber for grenade launchers.
19:23 The Russian Foreign Ministry used photographs of Slovenian government presentations, declaring Ukraine's intention to create a "dirty bomb", European Pravda reports. In particular, the Russian Foreign Ministry on Twitter said that two Ukrainian organizations received a direct order to create a "dirty bomb". The message was brought to the attention of the Slovenian government, which replied that one of the photographs belonged to the Slovenian Agency for Radioactive Waste and was taken in 2010. The image was used in specialist lectures and information materials and was made available to the general public.
The photo shows objects wrapped in plastic bags with the symbol of radioactivity and the inscription "radioaktivno", which means "radioactive" in Slovenian. According to Ljubljana, we are talking about smoke detectors, which are in common use. Ionization smoke sensors contain weakly radioactive substances, therefore they must be disposed of as nuclear waste.
19:11 President of Guinea-Bissau Umaru Shisoku Embalo became the first leader of an African state to visit Ukraine after February 24. Zelensky said that during the first talks in the history of relations between the two countries, they discussed Ukraine's efforts to overcome the global food crisis, as well as ways to simplify the entry of Ukrainian business into the markets of African countries.
Zelensky also said that the Russian side had conveyed through the President of Guinea-Bissau a request to "build bridges" and "unblock relations." "I said that in order to have bridges between certain states, it is necessary that the infrastructure is not blown up in one of the states. Then, it seems to me, we can talk about something in the future. The second question is who to talk to," the head said. states.
Commenting on the proposal of the Russian Federation to "unblock relations", Zelensky stressed that the Black Sea should be unblocked first. According to the Ukrainian president, Putin's desire to talk is a planned rhetoric aimed at his domestic audience and those countries that have not yet isolated political relations with Russia. Zelensky stressed that for a dialogue with any country, one state must respect the other, its sovereignty, territorial integrity and borders. So far, Russia is not doing all this.
18:48 More than 700 Azov residents and more than 2,000 defenders of Mariupol remain in Russian captivity, said in an interview with Dmitry Gordon the chief of staff of the Azov regiment, who returned from Russian captivity, Major Bogdan Krotevich (Taurus).
18:14 The United States expanded sanctions against the Russian Federation, adding eight individuals and 12 organizations to the sanctions list. Among the people who fell under the sanctions is the singer Jasmine, the country's Ministry of Finance said. In addition, the United States imposed sanctions against the Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc.
17:29 The Russians are increasing pressure on the ZNPP personnel and are campaigning for cooperation with Rosatom, Energoatom reports. Andrey Petrov, the first deputy general director for operational management of Rosatom, and Alexander Shutikov, the first deputy head of Rosenergoatom, have already been involved in the campaign. Today they gathered the employees of Zaporozhye NPP and made an appeal, the main idea of ​​which was the necessity and expediency of joining Rosatom.
According to Energoatom, this attempt failed just like all the previous ones: nuclear workers were skeptical about the propaganda of the occupiers and once again demonstrated that they would not work for the invaders.
17:18 Australia will send 30 Bushmaster armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, and will also deploy up to 70 instructors in Britain to train the Ukrainian military, the ABC broadcasting corporation reported.
17:14 Russians in the Kherson region are reformatting, Natalia Gumenyuk, speaker of OK Pivden, said: "We understand that even their maneuvers of moving from the right bank to the left are not a full-fledged evacuation that they arrange for civilians, this is a reformatting. Elite units retreat deeper, and those who are not sorry, who will hold back the first pressure, remain at the forefront.
17:11 Indian Defense Minister Rajnat Singh, in a telephone conversation with Shoigu, said that "it is unacceptable to resort to the nuclear option." The Indian side said that the conversation took place at the initiative of Shoigu, who reported on the allegedly possible use of a "dirty bomb" by Ukraine. Singh reaffirmed India's position on the need for dialogue and diplomacy "to resolve the conflict as soon as possible."
He stressed that "neither side should resort to the nuclear option, since the prospect of using nuclear or radiological weapons is contrary to the basic principles of humanity."
17:07 The head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, said that tomorrow he intends to discuss in the UN Security Council the creation of a safe zone around the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
16:55 The Polish Senate adopted a resolution recognizing the Russian government as a terrorist regime . The decision was taken unanimously. The senators also noted that the Russian Federation should answer for the crimes committed in Ukraine. "These crimes require an international response not only in terms of humanitarian and military assistance, but also legal assistance," said Senator Alexander Potsei.
16:53 In the Izyum district of the Kharkiv region, a car of pyrotechnicians of the State Emergency Service ran into an enemy mine, previously an anti-tank one. One person died, five were injured, the condition of three wounded is serious, said the head of the OVA Oleg Sinegubov. In addition, yesterday in the Kharkiv region near the village of Kazachya Lopan a woman was blown up by a mine, she was grazing goats, she was hospitalized.
16:46 The "dirty bomb" fake is an absolutely disastrous information and psychological operation of the Kremlin, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, said: "The Kremlin's statements about Ukraine's intention to allegedly use a "dirty bomb" are not only a psychological, but also a geopolitical to the outside world in order to force Ukrainians to accept the fact of occupation and negotiate with the aggressor."
However, the whole world did not believe in this outright fake, Yusov emphasized. According to intelligence information, on October 24, a closed meeting was held in Moscow with representatives of diplomatic and other missions in Russia, where the special services tried to scare the international representatives with a terrible threat from Ukraine. "Of course, no one believed. Because it was all done somehow, there is no evidence. In addition, the whole world sees in reality who the aggressor is and who attacked whom, who is engaged in terror against the civilian population," Yusov added.
16:37 Stoltenberg called the Kremlin's statements about Ukraine's preparations for the use of a "dirty bomb" absurd: "We see that Russia accuses Ukraine of preparing to use radiological" dirty weapons ". This is absurd. The allies reject these false accusations. Russia should not use false accusations. reasons for further escalation of the war.
The NATO Secretary General stressed that Russia's threats will not force the allies to reduce support for Ukraine, it will continue for as long as necessary. Stoltenberg also called for the continuation of the grain agreement.
16:34 The office of the president announced that, together with regional energy companies, mayors of cities, representatives of regional military administrations, Ukrenergo and the Ministry of Energy, they are working to improve the power outage schedule to make it more convenient and fair for consumers.
16:18 At present, there is no reason to believe that the Russians will undermine the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, Andrey Yusov, a spokesman for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, said: “Potentially, since we are dealing with an inadequate state, an inadequate government, there are any threats ... As for the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station , today ... the necessary work has not been carried out, the hydroelectric power station and the dam have not been mined to the extent that it could be blown up."
Speaking about the possibility of Russia's use of nuclear weapons, Yusov noted that "Putin will rattle them as loudly as possible so that they hear him, pay attention to him." In his opinion, the use of nuclear weapons is an unlikely scenario, and if implemented, it will bring the end of Russia closer.
16:01 Saldo said that the remains of Prince Potemkin, as well as monuments to Potemkin, Ushakov, Suvorov and Margelov, were taken from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper.
15:42 As a result of another exchange of prisoners, ten Ukrainian servicemen were returned , including one officer and nine privates and sergeants, Yermak said. The body of an American volunteer, US Army veteran Joshua Alan Jones, who fought for Ukraine and died in battle with the invaders, was also handed over.
15:26 "Head" of the Kherson region Volodymyr Saldo said that more than 70 thousand people left the right bank of the Dnieper for the left.
15:11 Kuleba said that Ukraine fully complies with the terms of the grain agreement, and Russia is lying, stating that most of Ukrainian grain exports go to Europe. According to the head of the Foreign Ministry, since the beginning of the deal, as of October 23, more than 8.5 million tons of grain have already left Ukrainian ports, of which two-thirds went to African and Asian markets, and a third to Europe.
14:47 Putin said that Ukraine has become an instrument of US foreign policy and has practically lost its sovereignty, "Ukrainian territory has been turned into a testing ground for biological experiments, and now they are being pumped with weapons." Putin also added that he knew everything about Ukraine's plans to use a "dirty bomb".
14:33 The Kremlin said that under the leadership of Putin, a training of ground, sea and air strategic deterrence forces was held, during which practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place. Shoigu added that training had been held to deliver a massive nuclear strike in response to an enemy nuclear strike.
14:29 After the announcement of mobilization in the Russian Federation, about 3,000 Crimean Tatars left Crimea, the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Refat Chubarov, said. At the same time, he added that "there are those who foresaw this and left earlier."
14:21 Commander of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Valdemaras Rupshis said that at the next meeting of the State Defense Council of the country, he would propose not to transfer the PzH 2000 self-propelled guns and NASAMS air defense systems to Ukraine: "The capabilities that we have are on the border when we no longer We can give back. We must understand that we also have obligations to NATO."
14:15 Yesterday's explosion in the center of Melitopol is the result of a war between two clans of the occupying authorities, said the current mayor of the city, Ivan Fedorov. According to him, since the beginning of the occupation of the territories of the Zaporozhye region, the invaders have identified Melitopol as an administrative center and are fighting among themselves for influence. On the one hand - the General Staff of the RF Ministry of Defense, which is represented by Gauleiter Evgeny Balitsky, on the other - the FSB, whose local protege is Vladimir Rogov.
Yesterday in Melitopol near the building belonging to the Balitsky family, a car exploded. But the building itself is symbolic for the Russians: from the first days of the occupation, it was seized by the FSB units to accommodate personnel. Even Balitsky was not allowed into the premises. A few months later, the building housed propaganda media that relayed their programs to the entire occupied part of the Zaporozhye region. Not far from the building there is a TV tower, over which it is important for the invaders to establish control.
14:08 After a visit to Ukraine, Steinmeier said in an interview with Tagesschau that "everything is much scarier" there than they think in Germany: "Everything is much scarier than we imagine in Germany. I was shocked by the stories we were told." According to the president, "everyone who can think and sympathize wants the fighting in Ukraine to stop."
Steinmeier also said that "the world must be fair": "This means that the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine must be preserved. Now we are not at that stage."
13:59 Instead of proper training, the mobilized Russians are thrown straight to the front line, said Colonel Sergei Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces. According to him, Russian soldiers who arrived here no more than 10-12 days ago were seen in the areas of hostilities. The occupiers do not have proper military training, they fight clumsily, without motivation, because they see their losses.
13:54 The war in Ukraine will last until mid-2023, says the head of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Department Mikk Marran. According to him, Putin in Ukraine "is still carrying out a kind of religious mission" and is preparing his country and its army for a long struggle. But, according to Estonian intelligence, the Kremlin will not be able to seize the initiative on the battlefield even by mobilizing 300 thousand people, although this will allow it to prolong the hostilities.
According to Marran, the Kremlin is approaching mobilization from a "Darwinian" position, believing that most of those mobilized will be killed and those who remain will become battle-hardened warriors. Marran also believes that Putin is using the nuclear threat to stop new arms supplies to Ukraine, while Russia may turn to nuclear weapons if military defeats at the front continue.
13:43 With the help of the EPPO mobile application, a Russian cruise missile was shot down in Ukraine for the first time. According to one of the developers, Gennady Suldin, on October 22, Ukrainians noticed a flying rocket in the south of the country and reported it through the application. Due to the low altitude and terrain, the enemy target was not observed by location, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine received an alert in the EPPO and destroyed the Caliber from the Igla MANPADS.
An Android version of the EPPO app has now been released, and an iOS version will be available soon. Testing and integration with the Diya application has also been completed.
Ukrainians are asked to help the Armed Forces of Ukraine and report data on enemy missiles and drones. This is especially true for rural areas, since most often rockets and drones go through lowlands in sparsely populated areas.
13:25 Shoigu spoke with the defense ministers of India and China, brought to them his "concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine using a" dirty bomb ".
13:18 Yermak said that weapons for Ukraine are the West's investment in its own future: "Modern air defense systems for Ukraine are a shield of Europe. Weapons for us are the West's investment in our own future. Putinism is like a virus. And viruses need to be destroyed. We we can do it - we need more tools."
13:14 About a thousand bodies of the dead were exhumed in the newly liberated territories, the Ministry of Reintegration reported. In particular, about 450 bodies were exhumed in Izyum - on the site of one of the largest mass graves. In the process, shocking facts of the atrocities of the invaders are revealed: among the dead are not only military personnel, but also civilians - adults and children.
12:47 Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog, speaking in Washington, said that Russia is using Iranian drones against Ukraine. He showed photos of drones shot down in Ukraine and stressed that pictures of the hull and motors prove that Iran is selling its drones to Russia. According to him, the Israeli authorities have a large amount of evidence and are ready to provide it in order to "expose the lies" of Iran.
"The world needs to reveal this truth and ask Iran these questions. Can the international community negotiate with Iran when they are accelerating towards building a nuclear bomb and doing other horrific things at the same time?" Duke emphasized.
12:18 According to the channel's calculations, we can explain that in the month since the announcement of "partial mobilization" in Russia, 42 mobilized people have died in hostilities in Ukraine - we are talking only about those whose death was confirmed either by local authorities or their relatives and the media. At the same time, 20 victims among the mobilized are from the Urals.
The publication concludes that in the regions of the Urals, mobilized people are more often sent to the front than in other regions. Judging by media reports, the share of those mobilized there does not exceed 2%, while, for example, in the Amur Region and Karachay-Cherkessia, the share of those mobilized exceeded 7%, while there is no information about a single death in open data.
11:59 Iran imposed retaliatory sanctions against the European Union, which had previously included drone manufacturer Shahed-136 on the sanctions list. Tehran's retaliatory sanctions have been imposed against individuals and non-profit organizations of the EU, among which, in particular, the state media Deutsche Welle and Radio France Internationale.
11:37 Russia's statements about Ukraine's intentions to use a "dirty bomb" are part of a new phase of the disinformation campaign, Reznikov said in an interview with Fox News: "They are trying to block the provision of packages of any assistance to Ukraine in this way. They also seek to create another their use of any nuclear threat."
11:32 Reznikov said in an interview with Fox News that he does not believe that the Russians will conduct street battles in Kherson: "I do not quite believe that the Russians will be able to conduct street battles. Because this is not the best option for them. We control all bridges on the Dnieper River using HIMARS and other artillery, and it is risky for them to stay in Kherson because they cannot escape, as they did in Izyum."
11:29 The command of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine warned the media that coverage of the combat work of the air defense is not expected. The same applies to the process of receipt of IRIS-T and NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems in Ukraine and their combat work.
11:11 UAF liquidated the command post of the Kadyrovites in the Luhansk region last night, said the head of the UVA Serhiy Gaidai. As a result of targeted artillery strikes of the Defense Forces in Novoivanovka, Luhansk region, an ammunition depot and more than ten Kadyrovites were destroyed. The same number of invaders were destroyed in Svatovo.
10:40 In the Kiev region, the sounds of explosions are possible today - in the Buchansky and Vyshgorodsky districts, sappers will destroy explosive objects. In addition, activities are planned in the Brovarsky district to survey water areas, the OVA reported.
10:19 At night, the invaders fired from the MLRS on the city of Orekhov and the village of Preobrazhenka, Zaporozhye region. As a result of the attack, fires broke out in a high-rise building in the city center and private houses around. Information about the victims is being specified, but it is already known that two people died and one was injured in the village of Preobrazhenka, said the head of the OVA Alexander Starukh.
09:38 The General Staff announced the approximate losses of the enemy on the morning of October 26.
- personnel - about 68,900 (+480) people liquidated,
- tanks - 2628 (+17),
- armored combat vehicles - 5351 (+30),
- artillery systems - 1686 (+12),
- MLRS - 379 (+2),
- air defense systems - 192 (+2),
- aircraft - 271 (+0),
- helicopters - 248 (+0),
- UAV operational-tactical level - 1379 (+7),
- cruise missiles - 350 (+0),
- ships/boats - 16 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tankers - 4076 (+22),
- special equipment - 149 (+0).
09:32 British intelligence writes that on October 24, the governor of the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation reported an explosion on the railway near the village of Novozybkovo, about 15 km from the Russian-Belarusian border. The line is the main rail link between Russia and southern Belarus. The Russian anti-war group Stop the Wagons (STW) claimed responsibility for the incident. This is at least the sixth incident of sabotage against Russian railway infrastructure since June that STW claims.
Analysts note that this is part of a wider trend of dissident attacks on railways in both Russia and Belarus. Russian authorities have previously suppressed STW's online activity. The Russian military mainly relies on rail transport to transport troops to Ukraine, but with a network of more than 33,000 km, mostly crossing isolated areas, the system is extremely difficult to defend against physical threats.
09:11 The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the Russian authorities are using the declaration of martial law to facilitate mobilization. Analysts also note that Russian officials are increasingly trying to rhetorically reconcile Russia's war in Ukraine with religious concepts ostensibly available to both Christians and Muslims, likely to cater to religious minority groups within the Russian military. In particular, there were calls to fight "Satanism" in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Russian security officials continue to express dissatisfaction with Russia's military actions in Ukraine, which likely indicates that Putin will try to calm the military representation, ISW notes.
09:04 In the Donetsk region over the past day, as a result of Russian shelling, one civilian died - in Bakhmut. In addition, law enforcement officers found the bodies of four civilians who died during the occupation in Drobyshevo. Also yesterday, four people were injured, said the head of the OVA Pavel Kirilenko.
09:02 Biden and new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during a telephone conversation agreed to work together to support Ukraine and confront China, the White House said.
08:59 The offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Kherson has slowed down somewhat due to adverse weather conditions, Reznikov said in an interview with Fox News. According to him, the war in Ukraine is now in its third stage - the gradual liberation of the occupied territories. At the first stage, it was necessary to stop the Russian army, at the second - to stabilize the situation along the entire front line. Also, Ukraine has established full control over the bridges across the Dnieper, which affects, in particular, the logistics of the invaders - they will not be able to leave Kherson.
08:50 The number of victims of yesterday's strike on the Dnieper has increased to four, three of them are in serious condition, said the head of the OVA, Valentin Reznichenko. The death toll remained unchanged - two people.
08:17 Russia is trying to recruit Afghan specialists for the war in Ukraine, writes Foreign Policy. We are talking about former soldiers of the Commando Corps - the most combat-ready unit of the Afghan army, trained by American and British instructors. Behind the recruitment may be PMC Wagner.
07:42 Over the past day, units of the Defense Forces repelled attacks by invaders in the areas of the settlements of Ivangrad, Bakhmut, Bakhmutskoye, Soledar, Kurdyumovka, Krasnogorovka, Novomikhailovka, Nevelskoye and Ternovaya, the General Staff said in the morning report .
02:58 Ukraine "very soon" will receive the first two NASAMS anti-aircraft missile systems from the United States, Greg Hayes, CEO of Raytheon Technologies, said: "We have just delivered two NASAMS systems. We handed over two systems to the US government a couple of weeks ago. They will be deployed in Ukraine very soon."
01:19 Two high-ranking Iranian military men were shot dead in a car in broad daylight. One of them, an officer of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Colonel Molashakhi, was responsible for the supply of Iranian kamikaze drones to Russia, Tasnim news agency writes. Second military man Javad Kikha was one of the commanders of the Basij organization, which is accused of brutally suppressing protests in Iran over the past 15 years.
00:04 Rishi Sunak, after talking with Zelensky, confirmed his intention to meet with the Ukrainian president in the near future. The Prime Minister also assured that the support of Ukraine from the UK will remain unchanged.