Russian troops have lost “at least a brigade of troops” during their latest offensive in the ruined city of Avdiivka, with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky claiming they had suffered “painful losses”.
This comes as news emerged that Putin’s troops had been executed for retreating from the offensive in the eastern city in Donetsk, according to the White House.
“We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told a media briefing on Thursday.
Ukrainian forces have been repelling the Russian onslaught on the frontline in Donetsk for several weeks since mid-October.
In a call to Rishi Sunak, Zelensky said: “The invaders made several attempts to surround Avdiivka, but each time our soldiers stopped them and threw them back, causing painful losses. In these cases, the enemy lost at least a brigade.”
Meanwhile, Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine‘s southern groups of forces, said last week that Russian forces had suffered over 400 casualties a day in its campaign which has relied on small assault groups of 30 to 40 men.
On Avdiivka’s wretched battlefield, Russian soldiers who refuse to advance face an impossible decision
So brutal is the conflict in the heavily fortified battlefields around the city of Avdiivka, in eastern Ukraine, that Western intelligence suggests some Russian commanders are now executing soldiers who refuse to advance into the tempest of rocket and gunfire.
From Stalin to Putin, abortion has had a complicated history in Russia
They were banned under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin but commonplace under later Kremlin leaders. Now, after less than a century, official attitudes about abortion in Russia are changing once again.
Although abortion is still legal and widely available, new restrictions are being considered as President Vladimir Putin takes an increasingly socially conservative turn and seeks to reverse Russia’s declining population.
Having embraced the Russian Orthodox Church, he is stressing “traditional family values” — often used as code words to differentiate his country from Western social attitudes toward LGBTQ+ rights and other policies.
Dutch PM Rutte signals interest in NATO top job
Outgoing Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Saturday he would be interested in succeeding Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of NATO, although he only saw a small chance of being picked for the job.
“Such a role would be interesting as it would offer the chance to contribute for a few years on the international stage in a period of dramatic global changes,” Rutte said in an interview with radio station Den Haag FM.
“But there is a very big chance, given the political support for it, that this job will go to a European woman, which would also be very good.”
Rutte, who unexpectedly announced his departure from Dutch politics in July soon after handing in the resignation of his fourth cabinet, said he did not know if he was considered a front-runner for role as head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and would not start a personal campaign.
Stoltenberg has been in post since 2014 and is due to step down in October 2024.
His term was extended in July for a fourth time, as the alliance’s 31 member countries opted to stick with an experienced leader rather than try to agree on a successor with Russia‘s war in Ukraine raging on NATO’s doorstep.
Russian diplomats deny Moscow executed soldiers on battlefield
Russian diplomats on Friday dismissed as lies a White House allegation that Moscow’s military was executing its own soldiers if they refused to carry out battlefield orders in Ukraine.
“Whoever came up with these other-worldly lies could only have been a person with an imagination far into overdrive,” the Russian embassy in Washington said in comments carried by the RIA Novosti news agency.
“And all this simply to justify the failed, much publicised counteroffensive of its (Ukrainian) ward. Let us say with full responsibility that all insinuations about this in comments by the White House spokesperson are a lie.”
White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that the U.S government had information the Russian military had been executing soldiers who refuse orders.
“We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire,” he said.
War-weary mothers, wives and children of Ukrainian soldiers demand a cap on military service time
Scores of protesters gathered on the streets of Ukrainian cities on Friday to demand a cap of 18 months on mandatory military service, amid new suggestions of possible Ukrainian and international weariness with the 20-month war.
Both the warring sides are striving to keep their military momentum, though neither side is able to land a knockout blow, and the fighting is expected to drag on deep into next year.
The 18-month service limit would be the same maximum as before the war. It is currently open-ended for draftees. The protesters, who are part of a loose national network, want the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine’s parliament, to consider possible alternatives on service time.
Ukraine’s frontline troops say they are facing intensifying attacks by Putin’s forces – and ammo’s running out
In case you missed it…
As all eyes are on Israel and Gaza, Askold Krushelnycky speaks to military officers in Ukraine about facing Russian forces from multiple sides in the northern and eastern battlegrounds – and their fears that US support for Israel’s war on Hamas could drain the flow of essential munitions for their fight:
As all eyes are on Israel and Gaza, Askold Krushelnycky speaks to military officers in Ukraine about facing Russian forces from multiple sides in the northern and eastern battlegrounds – and their fears that US support for Israel’s war on Hamas could drain the flow of essential munitions for their fight
Moscow succession: What would happen if Putin dies?
Thyroid cancer, Parkinson’s disease, leprosy or declining in the aftermath of a stroke – just a few of the many unproven ailments rumoured to have afflicted the Russian leader in recent years.
Just this week, the Kremlin were forced to deny rumours that Vladimir Putin had suffered a cardiac arrest in his bedroom, months after they were forced to deny that he had soiled himself.
Since gripping the reins of power in 1999, Putin has established himself as one of the most infamous politicians in modern history, with a vicelike grip over Russia.
The prime minister would automatically become Russia’s leader in the interim but there are a number of big names with the potential to fill Putin’s shoes
Maryam Zakir-Hussain28 October 2023 16:30
Russia calls for condemnation after Ukrainian drone crashes into nuclear facility
Russia’s foreign ministry has called on other governments to condemn Kyiv after a Ukrainian drone crashed into a nuclear waste storage facility at the Kursk power plant in western Russia on Thursday, damaging its walls.
Ukraine must have known that its actions could have caused a full-scale nuclear catastrophe, the ministry’s statement said.
“We call on all governments to issue a strong condemnation of Kyiv’s barbaric actions, which are extremely dangerous and could lead to irreparable consequences,” said ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
“According to preliminary data, the drones used in the attack on the nuclear power plant used components supplied by Western countries,” she said, adding that such an attack must have had the permission or possibly of Ukraine’s allies or possibly been ordered by them.
Holly Evans28 October 2023 14:54
EU summit turns its eyes away from Ukraine despite a commitment to stay the course with Zelenskyy
It was a good thing Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Zelenskyy had his videoconference address to the European Union summit pre-slotted for the opening session.
Immediately afterward, EU leaders switched off and went to the order of the day — the Israel-Hamas war. They didn’t come back to the issue of Russia‘s war in Ukraine again before Friday’s closing day of the summit.
After dominating summit after summit since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the timing alone, anecdotal as it was, underscored a deeper reality: Zelenskyy will be facing tougher times to get all the attention and political, economic and military aid that Ukraine wants.
The European Union summit showed that Ukraine will be facing tougher times to get all the attention and political, economic and military aid that it wants
Holly Evans28 October 2023 12:24
Peace talks begin in Malta – without Russia
Peace talks that are being supported by Ukraine and representatives from more than 50 countries have begun in Malta, with Russia absteining from the discussions.
This follows similar summits in Jeddah and Copenhagen earlier this year, with Volodymyr Zelensky outlining 10-point plan to end the war.
“This meeting is a powerful signal that unity is preserved around Ukraine,” Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, said this week.
Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Malta talks have “nothing to do with the search for a peaceful resolution”.
Source : Independent
