Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:01 The Russians attacked the Kherson region from five SU aircraft - according to preliminary information, they fired nine guided bombs at four settlements in the Berislavsky region. Information about casualties and damage is being established, said the head of the OVA, Alexander Prokudin.
21:52 The DPRK has established regular supplies of ammunition to Russia - experts from the British Royal Defense Studies Institute (RUSI) came to this conclusion after analyzing dozens of satellite images taken over the base of the Russian Pacific Fleet in Fokino (Primorsky Territory) and the North Korean port of Rason.
In August, satellites recorded two Russian bulk carriers, Angara and Maria, which in total at least five times delivered several hundred containers to the ports of the DPRK, and then removed others from there. During flights, they hid their geolocation by turning off their transponders. The final point of the containers' route was an ammunition depot in Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Territory, 200 km from the border with Ukraine. The territory of this warehouse has expanded significantly since August 2023.
21:40 Over the past week, the Russian army has not achieved a quick breakthrough in the Avdeevka area of the Donetsk region. The occupiers had a rather slow pace of advance, analysts say. However, the Russians will most likely continue offensive operations in this area, but after regrouping. More details can be found in the article Russian Losses near Avdeevka .
21:14 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau - they discussed, in particular, the development of Ukrainian hydroelectric power generation, defense cooperation, and global security challenges. The President thanked Trudeau for his willingness to help with the evacuation of Ukrainians from the Gaza Strip and invited a Canadian representative to the next meeting of advisers, which “will take place soon.”
20:33 Zelensky said that he had a telephone conversation with the President of Finland Sauli Niinostyo, thanked for the 19th defense assistance package and effective participation in the implementation of the Peace Formula, in particular the clause on radiation and nuclear safety.
20:29 In the Donetsk region, the Defense Forces shot down the third enemy Su-25 attack aircraft in a week, said the commander of the Tavria group of troops, Alexander Tarnavsky.
19:55 NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that he had a conversation with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and emphasized the importance of supporting Ukraine: “I talked with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban about the situation in Ukraine and the importance of our support. At a time of increasing instability and global competition, we must continue to be strong together in NATO."
18:28 NSDC Secretary Alexey Danilov said that the FSB of the Russian Federation is now making active attempts to form a new intelligence network in Ukraine: “In the future, we are talking about the deployment of a political project focused on the remnants of the pro-Russian population, and in parallel with this, an information intervention is being carried out with attempts to undermine the process of internal Ukrainian destabilization."
According to Danilov, signs of such activity are “the sharp activation of various ‘experts’, ‘actor intelligence officers’ and other swindlers in promoting the Russian agenda in Russian.” They are the ones who talk about the “failure” of the counteroffensive, hint at the need to reconsider the goals of the war, give out advice on how to fight the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and give out false insights about “conflicts” among the military-political leadership. Danilov emphasized that Ukrainian law enforcement officers “carefully monitor manifestations of such hostile actions, identifying and suppressing them.”
17:36 Zelensky said that he had a meeting with the US Special Representative for the Economic Recovery of Ukraine Penny Pritzker. We discussed primarily the protection of energy infrastructure and the needs for the reconstruction of Ukraine, macro-financial support and the use of frozen Russian assets.
17:07 The Office of the President confirmed that Ukraine is returning home four children previously illegally deported by Russia. These are three boys - six, three and nine years old, as well as a 17-year-old girl.
16:59 In the port of Mariupol, Russians are unloading the first of three ships that recently arrived in the city. The video shows a large number of concrete reinforcements for dugouts, said Advisor to the Mayor of Mariupol Pyotr Andryushchenko.
16:24 Almost all imported drones used by Russia were supplied from China, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said at a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Budget and Taxes: “Today, drones are mostly from the People’s Republic of China. We are grateful to our partners. But we need to develop our own resource base, and the necessary money has been allocated... We are directing additional money to drones."
He clarified that the government has allocated more than 60 billion rubles for a new national project to develop its own unmanned base. “The goal is this: by 2025, 41% of all drones should be labeled “made in Russia,” Siluanov said.
16:07 US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during a meeting with the heads of financial departments of EU countries, assured that support for Ukraine remains the “top priority” for Washington amid the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
15:19 Putin announced the completion of repairs to the bridge in occupied Mariupol, through which the road to Crimea passes: “The major repairs of the bridge in Mariupol have been completed, which will restore transport links between several districts of the city. What is especially important is that this will speed up movement along the federal highway towards Crimea, will increase its transport accessibility."
14:34 The number of female military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has increased by 40% compared to 2021, the Ministry of Defense reports. Over two years, the number of women in the army increased by 12 thousand, to almost 43 thousand. During this time, the Ministry of Defense lifted all restrictions on the access of female military personnel to all positions. So, if previously women could serve in positions primarily in medical professions, communications specialists, accountants, clerks and cooks, now a woman in the army can be a driver, grenade launcher, deputy reconnaissance group commander, infantry fighting vehicle commander, repairman, machine gunner, sniper, etc.
In addition, previously the contract for military service was concluded by women from 18 to 40 years old, while men had no such restriction. Now, from 18 to 60 years old, representatives of both sexes can become contract soldiers.
13:40 British intelligence believes that the Redoubt PMC, controlled and financed by the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, has actually replaced the Wagner group: it is recruiting mercenaries under the guise of “volunteers,” including former Wagnerites. The group probably numbers more than 7,000 people. According to analysts, this approach helps Russia avoid declaring mobilization.
13:27 During the attack on Avdeevka, Donetsk region, the Russian army has already lost more than 200 military personnel, as well as more than 60 tanks and armored personnel carriers, writes Bild military analyst Julian Repke. According to him, the Russian plan was to create a large cauldron by bypassing Avdeevka from the west. To do this, they wanted to capture the villages of Severnoye, Stepnoye and Berdychi. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to stop the advance of the Russian army near Severny and on the railway line in Stepnoy.
According to the analyst's forecasts, Russian troops, despite the losses, do not intend to abandon the offensive on Avdeevka. In this regard, he suggests that Avdeevka can repeat the fate of Bakhmut.
12:56 The Russian authorities, even without mobilization, recruit tens of thousands of people into the army per month, said Andrey Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate. At the same time, according to him, everything is organizationally ready in the Russian Federation for open mobilization: “The machine is being prepared for new waves of mobilization. Legally, legislation and the powers of repressive bodies are increasing in such a way that at any moment an unexpected announcement of a decision on a new wave of mobilization cannot meet tangible resistance."
12:23 The media showed a map of Russia’s night strikes on Ukraine:
Russian attack on Ukraine on the night of October 16
11:25 US Special Representative for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Penny Pritzker has arrived in Kiev, US Ambassador Bridget Brink said. This is Pritzker's first visit to Ukraine since her appointment to this post in September 2023.
10:51 At night, the Russians attacked the Khmelnitsky region with attack drones, OVA reported. Air defense forces were working, there was no destruction or casualties.
10:18 Three Ukrainian children taken to the Russian Federation will be handed over to Qatari diplomats in Moscow this week. This is part of the mechanism created by Qatar to return children to Ukraine, writes Reuters. Recently, Qatar has already facilitated the return of one Ukrainian child who is traveling with his grandmother to Ukraine through Estonia. Qatari diplomats will accompany the children across the border into Estonia, Latvia or Belarus or into Qatar on a charter plane before returning to Ukraine.
Qatar's Minister of State for International Cooperation, Al Khater, said this is only the first step - the system created by Qatar after months of negotiations with Kiev and Moscow is now being tested. The Commissioner for Children's Rights of the Russian Federation, Maria Lvova-Belova, provided a team of Qatari diplomats with a short initial list of Ukrainian children who need to be returned. Diplomats checked each child.
09:46 The Russians attacked the Kirovograd region at night with missiles and drones, there were hits, said the head of the OVA Andrei Raikovich. One person was injured, but no civilian infrastructure was damaged.
09:10 In the Kharkov region, over the past 24 hours, the enemy has been shelling settlements in the Bogodukhovsky, Chuguevsky, Kupyansky and Izyumsky districts. One person was wounded in the village of Borovaya, Izyumsky district, said Oleg Sinegubov, head of the local police department.
09:07 Over the past 24 hours, the Russians carried out 134 strikes on 23 settlements in the Zaporozhye region, one person was wounded in Malaya Tokmachka, said the head of the OVA Yuriy Malashko.
09:00 From October 16, Ukrainian citizens, according to the decision of the Russian government, are allowed to enter Russia only through two border crossings: through the land crossing with Latvia Vientuli-Ludonka and through Sheremetyevo airport. However, from the same day Latvia closes the Vientuli-Ludonka border crossing. Thus, from today, Ukrainians will be able to enter Russia only through Sheremetyevo Airport. Citizens of Ukraine will be able to leave the Russian Federation through any border crossing.
08:37 At night, the Russians attacked the Dnepropetrovsk region with missiles: one was shot down, the second hit the territory of the Dnieper region, said the head of the OVA Sergei Lysak. In addition, the enemy hit the Nikopol region five times with heavy artillery and Grad MLRS. In Nikopol, two shops and two cafes, a private enterprise, a religious institution, a transport facility and a public garden, a five-story residential building, three private houses, a gas pipeline and four power lines were damaged. About 1,500 families were left without electricity. In the Marganets community, two houses, a religious site and electrical networks were damaged. No people were hurt.
08:29 Air defense at night destroyed two of the five Kh-59 guided missiles and 11 of the 12 Shahed-136/131 UAVs with which Russia attacked Ukraine, the Air Force command reported. In addition, the enemy used one Iskander M ballistic missile. The Russian Federation used aircraft missiles to attack the northern and eastern regions of Ukraine, and the enemy sent drones in different directions, in particular to the west.
08:25 The General Staff announced the estimated losses of the Russian Federation as of the morning of October 16:
- personnel - about 288,630 (+860) people,
- tanks - 4965 (+17),
- armored combat vehicles - 9385 (+23),
- artillery systems - 6910 (+44),
- MLRS - 814 (+1),
- air defense systems - 547 (+0),
- aircraft - 318 (+1),
- helicopters - 317 (+1),
- UAV of operational-tactical level - 5280 (+11),
- cruise missiles - 1531 (+0),
- ships/boats - 20 (+0),
- submarines - 1 (+0),
- automotive equipment and tank trucks - 9271 (+22),
- special equipment - 981 (+5).
07:51 At night, the Russians attacked the Poltava region with missiles and UAVs, and the sounds of explosions were heard in the Mirgorod region, said the head of the OVA, Philip Pronin. According to him, there were no hits on civilian or critical infrastructure, but several private homes were damaged by rocket debris. According to preliminary information, three people were injured, including one ten-year-old child.
07:28 Over the past 24 hours, about 70 military clashes took place, the General Staff reported in its morning report . In the Avdeevka direction, the enemy, with the support of aviation, conducted unsuccessful assault operations in the areas of Avdeevka, Keramik, Stepnoy, Tonenkoye, and Northern Donetsk region. In the Kupyansk direction, the Defense Forces repelled enemy attacks in the Sinkovka and Ivanovka areas of the Kharkov region; on Bakhmutsky - in the area of Kleshcheevka and Andreevka, Donetsk region; on Maryinsky - in the Marinka area of the Donetsk region; on Shakhtarsky - in the area north of Priyutnoye, Donetsk region; in Zaporozhye - in the Rabotino district of the Zaporozhye region.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue their offensive in the Melitopol direction and are conducting assault operations south of Bakhmut, Donetsk region.