Because the battle enters its 605th day, these are the principle developments.
Right here is the scenario on Saturday, October 21, 2023.
Preventing
- A person was killed and a girl was left in a essential situation after a Russian missile hit houses in Kryvyi Rih within the central Ukrainian area of Dnipropetrovsk.
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the south of the nation the place he mentioned his armed forces had repelled a brand new Russian offensive towards the jap city of Avdiivka and Ukrainian forces had been holding their floor.
- Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russia’s Southern Army District, positioned lower than 100km (60 miles) from Ukraine’s southeastern border. Putin was briefed on the battle by the Chief of the Common Workers, Valery Gerasimov, the Kremlin mentioned.
- The Ukrainian navy mentioned combating was raging alongside the entrance line, with about 90 fight clashes prior to now 24 hours. That compares with a mean of about 60 every day clashes per week in the past.
- Russian forces have intensified assaults round Avdiivka and Kupiansk. Kyiv mentioned the navy goal of the Russian assaults round Avdiivka and Kupiansk was to attract in Ukrainian troops from different entrance traces and to attempt to achieve floor earlier than winter units in.
- The Institute for the Examine of Warfare, a US-based suppose tank, mentioned Ukrainian forces appeared to have damaged via on the jap financial institution of the Dnipro river in Kherson.
- Kyiv has not commented and Russia’s defence ministry mentioned it had thwarted makes an attempt by Ukrainian troops to determine a foothold on the Russian-controlled financial institution of the Dnipro river.
- Russia named a substitute for the previous head of the nation’s Aerospace Forces. State media reported that Colonel Common Viktor Afzalov, appearing head of the air power, had formally changed Common Sergei Surovikin – who got here below suspicion following the revolt by Wagner mercenaries towards Moscow’s navy leaders earlier this 12 months.
Politics
- Russia ordered Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to be detained for 3 extra days, after prosecutors mentioned she had did not register as a “international agent”. Kurmasheva, who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media outlet, was detained by regulation enforcement officers within the Russian metropolis of Kazan.
- Kyiv’s iconic Motherland statue representing a feminine warrior towering over the capital has reopened for public viewing after its Soviet-era hammer and sickle emblem was changed with the Ukrainian trident.
Diplomacy
- Biden and European Union leaders delivered a message of help for each Ukraine and Israel. “These conflicts present democracies should stand collectively,” European Fee chief Ursula von der Leyen mentioned of each international locations. Biden mentioned: “We stood collectively to help the courageous folks of Ukraine within the face of Putin’s aggression. We’re standing collectively now to help Israel within the wake of Hamas’s appalling terrorist assault.”
- Russian Overseas Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed claims by Ukrainian officers that Moscow has profited from the Israel-Hamas battle, which had taken public consideration away from Ukraine.
Army assist
Regional safety
- Russia’s defence ministry launched a video exhibiting a UK reconnaissance above the Black Sea being intercepted by Russian jets to forestall it from coming into Russian airspace.
- US intelligence reported that Russia is utilizing its spy community, state-run media and social media platforms to undermine public belief in elections around the globe.
- The Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) mentioned an “unprecedented” cyberattack it suffered in September was in all probability “espionage” geared toward undermining its work. The assault comes as Russian investigators have opened felony circumstances towards the ICC’s prosecutor and judges who issued an arrest warrant for Putin for battle crimes earlier this 12 months.