This is the situation as of Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
finding
- The Ukrainian military used long-range ATACMS missiles supplied by the United States for the first time, inflicting heavy damage on airfields in Russian-held eastern Luhansk and southern Berdiansk. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address that the weapon had been “proven.”
- Oleksandr Stupun, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Forces, told state television that Russia continued its week-long offensive on the devastated eastern town of Avdiivka, with Ukrainian forces repelling 10 attacks. Štupun also said Ukrainian forces moving south towards the Sea of Azov had recorded “partial success” west of Verbove, one of the clusters of villages they aim to capture.
- At least seven people were injured in “massive” Russian shelling of the southern city of Kherson and surrounding areas, local officials said. Kiev also said it shot down six Iranian-made Shahid drones that were launched from Moscow-annexed Crimea toward the port city of Odessa.
- Meanwhile, Russia said it had shot down eight drones over Crimea and three others over the western Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
- The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southeastern Ukraine in June caused “staggering” losses and damage estimated at $14 billion, according to a Ukrainian government and United Nations report. Kiev has accused Russia of blowing up a dam across the Dnipro River, flooding surrounding areas with mine-contaminated water and leaving upstream areas without water. The Russian government denied responsibility for the information leak.
- Sweden’s Minister of Civil Defense Karl-Oskar Bolin said the Baltic communications cable between Sweden and Estonia remains operational despite damage to the Finnish-Estonian pipeline and cables at about the same time this month. . Separately, Finnish investigators announced on October 8 that they had identified vessels operating in the area where pipeline and cable damage occurred, including two Russian-flagged vessels and a Chinese-flagged vessel. He named the boat he owned.
politics and diplomacy
- Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in Beijing for the Belt and Road Forum and bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders are scheduled to meet on Wednesday.
- President Putin says the United States and President Joe Biden will “respect” Russia after telling CBS News that the U.S. and Europe can come together to avoid “the kind of problems he’s causing.” He said there was a need to learn. Putin told Beijing state television: “This is not about me personally. This is about the interests of the country. And it is impossible to suppress Russia’s interests.”
- President Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is also in Beijing for the forum, said the continued “geopolitical tensions” caused by the Ukraine war have not affected relations between the two countries, and emphasized the strong ties between the two countries. emphasized.
- Russia’s parliament voted 412-0 to revoke ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty during the first of three readings of the bill. Russian Security Council member Vyacheslav Volodin said the aim was to restore equality with the United States, which signed the 1996 treaty but has not ratified it.
- Russian police say they are investigating whether President Vladimir Putin’s former chief strategist, Vladislav Surkov, broke the law with an article suggesting that Russia and the West could someday work together. In an article titled “The Birth of the North,” published on September 27, Surkov argued that the great powers would not get what they wanted in the Ukraine war, and that Russia, the United States, and Europe would “become the Great North.” ”, he suggested.
weapons
- Multiple news agencies reported that Mr. Biden will ask Congress for a $100 billion aid package that includes defense aid for Ukraine. The White House has not yet confirmed the request.
- Sung Kim, the US special representative for North Korea, said the deepening relationship between North Korea and Russia is “very concerning.” The White House announced last week that North Korea had recently shipped weapons to Russia, which Kim said were “dangerous” and “destabilizing.” The United States is concerned that North Korean weapons could be used in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such allegations were not based on evidence.