Key developments for October 22:
Zelensky: US to provide Ukraine another $800 Million to boost domestic long range capabilities
Local authorities claim that Ukrainian drones have targeted Russian alcohol plants at night.
Newsweek reports that North Korea has sent its pilots to Russia in order to join the war in Ukraine.
Yonhap reports that South Korea is considering sending military personnel to Ukraine in order to monitor North Korean troops.
Nikkei reports that the G7 has plans to freeze Russian assets after the war in Ukraine ends.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, told journalists on October 21 that the U.S. plans to provide Ukraine an aid package worth $700-800 millions for the development of long-range capability in Ukraine.
On the same day, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced a new 400 million military aid package in a surprise trip to Kyiv. Zelensky said that Washington was also preparing to provide an additional $800 million in aid for the production drones in Ukraine.
Zelensky, a representative of the Kyiv independent, said that the next tranche should be in the amount $700-800 millions. He was referring to the package for long-range capability.
Zelensky & Austin also discussed the amount of $8 billion in US aid announced late September that could be allocated to Ukrainian production by this year’s end.
Ukraine’s defence strategy relies heavily on long-range weapons produced domestically, as Western partners are unwilling to authorize deep strikes against Russia using foreign-made missiles.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on October 21 that Ukraine has invested more than $4 billion into its defense production. He urged international partners, citing the recent successes of Ukrainian drone manufacturers, to invest even further.
Despite Zelensky’s appeal to Washington, during his recent White House Visit, the U.S. policy on long-range attacks has not yet changed.
Local authorities claim that Ukrainian drones have targeted Russian alcohol plants overnight.
Russian local authorities claim that Ukrainian drones attacked four Russian plants overnight in the oblasts of Tula, Tambov, and Voronezh on October 22.
The Russian Defense Ministry claims that its air defenses have destroyed 11 drones in Bryansk Oblast. Three more were destroyed over Belgorod Oblast. Two others were destroyed over Kursk Oblast. One was destroyed over Tula Oblast.
According to Maxim Egorov, the Governor of Tambov Oblast has confirmed that a drone from Ukraine was set to burn the Biokhim distillery located in the town Rasskazovo.
According to the Biokhim site, it produces “products that are of strategic importance for our state”, in particular, ethanol, which is a solvent used in a variety of products, including explosives.
Governor Dmitry Milyaev reported that two more distilleries were attacked overnight in the settlements Efremov & Luzhkovsky, Tula Oblast.
Alexander Gusev of Voronezh Oblast claimed that a drone attack was responsible for a minor fire in one of the floors of a factory.
No casualties reported.
The Ukrainian military has yet to comment on the reports that cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine has conducted a number strikes against airbases, military facilities and other military installations in an attempt to weaken the Russian Air Force’s more powerful capabilities and limit Moscow’s ability launch devastating aerial attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Newsweek reports that North Korea has sent its pilots to Russia in order to join the war in Ukraine.
Newsweek, citing South Korean TV network TV Chosun on October 22, reported that North Korea had dispatched pilots capable of flying Russian warplanes in order to join the conflict in Ukraine.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow plans to include Pyongyang into the full-scale conflict against Ukraine in the next few months, and around 10,000 North Koreans are preparing to join the Russian Army.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s chief of military intelligence, said earlier in October the first group of 2,600 troops would be deployed in Russia’s Kursk oblast. This is where Ukraine began an cross-border incursion into Russia in August and still controls significant territory.
North Korea has denied sending troops to join Russia in the war in Ukraine.
This could mean that pilots will be trained on Russian combat aircraft.
If the report is true, Russia will be the first country to host North Korean pilots outside of their country since the Vietnam War. They had also participated in combat operations against the Syrian and Egyptian forces during the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
On October 15, a Western official told Kyiv Independent that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were already in Russia. Kyrylo Budanov of Ukraine’s HUR Military Intelligence Service put the number at 11, and said that they would be “ready for battle” by November 1.
Online, a video purporting to show them at a Russian military training camp has also surfaced.
Moscow and Pyongyang are enhancing their military cooperation, as Russia looks for arms and other support to wage a full-scale war on Ukraine.
North Korea also supplies Russia with vast quantities of artillery and ballistic missiles.
Yonhap reports that South Korea is considering sending military personnel to Ukraine in order to monitor North Korean troops.
Yonhap reported on October 22, citing a source unnamed, that South Korea was considering sending a team to Ukraine to monitor North Korean forces that Russia could involve in waging a full-scale war.
Source: “There is the possibility that personnel could be sent to Ukraine in order to monitor the tactics of the special forces of North Korea dispatched to support Russia.”
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Moscow plans to include Pyongyang into the full-scale conflict against Ukraine in the next few months, and around 10,000 North Koreans are preparing to join the Russian Army.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s chief of military intelligence, said that a first group of 2,600 troops will be deployed in Russia’s Kursk Oblast. This is where Ukraine began an incursion across the border in August and still controls significant territory.
He said that close 11,000 North Korean soldiers are in Russia and “will be ready to fight” in Ukraine on Nov. 1.
A South Korean team that is deployed may include members of the intelligence services who can analyze Pyongyang’s warfare tactics and participate in interrogations with North Koreans.
According to reports, the government is also considering providing Ukraine with military support. Seoul has provided only humanitarian aid to Kyiv up until now. However, it has been reported that the country indirectly supplied artillery rounds via the U.S.
In June, South Korea announced that it would reconsider its policy not to directly supply Ukraine with weapons following the signing of a security accord between North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang.
Source: “While watching for signs of North Korea and Russia military cooperation, response measures will be taken step by step,” the source told Yonhap.
Sources said that defensive weapons would be sent before lethal ones. They also added that even if South Korea provides lethal weapons, it will consider sending them to Kyiv in an indirect manner.
While the U.S. is cautious in confirming Russia’s plans for Pyongyang to join its war, South Korea has raised the alarm and called such a scenario “a grave security threat” for the international community.
The National Intelligence Service of South Korea (NIS) believes that North Korea will send four brigades, totaling 12,000 soldiers, to the war in Ukraine. This includes 1,500 special forces.
Nikkei reports that G7 plans to freeze Russian assets after the war in Ukraine ends
The Group of Seven (G7) intends to freeze Russian assets even after the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Nikkei, a Japanese news agency, reported this on October 22, citing undisclosed G7 sources.
Around two-thirds (300 billion dollars) of the Russian sovereign assets immobilized following the outbreak of a full-scale conflict are held by European countries. The European Union is hesitant to confiscate assets outright but has devised an idea to use windfall profits for Ukraine’s defense and reconstruction needs.
According to the draft prepared this year by Italy, the G7 leaders will release a joint declaration in October stating that “Russian sovereign assets will remain unmobilized until Russia ceases its aggression and pays the damages it has caused Ukraine.”
Nikkei, citing a draft, reported that the bloc would also guarantee a loan of $50 billion to Kyiv.
During the G7 summit held in Italy in June, G7 leaders confirmed publicly a deal that Ukraine would receive the $50 billion loan before the end of the current year. The loan will be paid back using the interest on billions of frozen Russian assets.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, announced in September that a loan up to 35 billion euro ($39 billion) would be made as part of this pledge. In October, World Bank‘s Executive Committee approved the creation a new fund that will help fulfill G7’s 50 billion loan.
Estimates of damage caused by Russia’s aggression to Ukrainian infrastructure in the last decade vary. The World Bank estimated in February that the damage could be as much as $486 billion.
According to the G7 plan the profits from Russia’s assets that have been frozen will be used gradually to repay the loan. EU officials have stated that the loan will be “undesignated”, “untargeted” and allow Ukraine to spend the funds in any way it chooses. The EU plans to distribute the money as early as next year.
We are the Kyiv Independent’s news team. We want to ensure that our readers receive timely, essential updates on the events in Ukraine. Please contact us by email with any feedback or news alerts.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com