Key developments on October 9:
Ukraine’s military reports that a Russian weapons depot, which contained North Korean missiles and shells, was set on fire after a drone attack.
* Ramstein-format meetings postponed following Biden’s cancellation of foreign visits
Zelensky: The current battlefield situation calls for decisive actions to end the war by 2025
Two more IRIS T anti-aircraft missile systems arrive in Ukraine
The General Staff of Ukraine reported that a Ukrainian drone attack set ablaze an arsenal in Bryansk Oblast that contained North Korean ammunition.
According to information available, missiles, artillery, and guided aerial bombs were stored in the warehouse, including those from North Korea.
“A significant number of them were located under open skies.”
The General Staff stated that the depot is the 67th Arsenal of Russia’s Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, located near the city of Karachev.
On Oct. 9, Telegram channel Astra reported that a warehouse was attacked in Bryansk Oblast. Local residents reported hearing air raid sirens early in the morning.
Videos that accompanied Astra’s posting showed multiple explosions in rapid succession coming from an area of a large blaze.
On October 9, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that 47 Ukrainian drones were shot down over night, including 24 in Bryansk Oblast.
It did not report any casualties or damage.
Ramstein-style meeting postponed following Biden’s cancellation of foreign visits
The next summit of Ukraine Defense Contact Group was scheduled for Germany on Oct. 12, but it has been postponed because U.S. president Joe Biden canceled all overseas travel in order to deal with Hurricane Milton, AFP reported Oct. 9 citing a Ramstein Air Base statement.
Biden was to convene the first meeting of the Ramstein Summit in Germany, weeks before the U.S. Presidential election. President Volodymyr Zelensky was to present his winning plan.
According to the White House spokesperson, the U.S. President postponed his visit to Germany and Angola to oversee the emergency response following Hurricane Milton.
No new date has been announced for the summit.
The statement stated that “announcements regarding future Ukraine Defense Contact Group Meetings will be forthcoming.”
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group, led by the United States, is a group of over 50 countries including all 32 NATO member states that meets at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base, Germany. The group’s last meeting in Ramstein on Sept. 6, was its 24th since it was established in April 2022.
Zelensky had already presented his five point plan to Biden when he visited the U.S. late September. The Ukrainian president also discussed the plan with Donald Trump, Kamala Harris and members of Congress.
Zelensky: The battlefield situation requires decisive action in order to end the war by 2025
During his visit to Croatia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the situation on the battlefield requires decisive action in order to end Russia’s full scale war against Ukraine by “no later 2025”.
“In October, December and November we have the chance to make a real difference in moving things towards peace and stability.” Zelensky stated that the situation on the battlefield provides an opportunity to choose a decisive course of action to end the conflict no later than 2025.
He said that, at the “Ukraine-South East Europe” summit, Kyiv relies on the leadership of U.S. president Joe Biden, as well as the “strong and wise” steps taken by the U.K. France, Germany and Italy, “to bring peace and security to Europe.”
Ukraine has faced challenges in 2024 in defending its front line, especially in Donetsk Oblast where Russia has consistently focused its offensive potential.
Zelensky made his remarks just days after Ukrainian troops withdrew their forces from Vuhledar. Vuhledar was one of the main strongholds in Ukraine’s defense of Donetsk’s southern Oblast. Russian forces are also concentrating their efforts on the towns of Pokrovsk & Toretsk where outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian troops are slowly losing ground.
According to Zelensky, Kyiv is working on the points for peace formula since July. It will finish a peace framework document by November and prepare for the second summit of peace.
Ukraine also developed a plan of victory “that can bridge between the current state and a successful peace summit.”
Zelensky stated that “when the plan is fully implemented Russia will lose its ability to threaten Europe.”
2,300 Ukrainian soldiers are being trained in France to form a new brigade
The French military is currently training and equipping Ukraine’s Anne de Kyiv Brigade in France. This is the first time a foreign country has trained a Ukrainian brigade within its borders, according to the French Embassy in Kyiv.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, the French Armed Forces are training 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers in the Grand Est region of the northeast.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and his French counterpart Sebastien lecornu, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to meet some of the 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers that Paris has been training since the full-scale Russian invaded.
“France is first country to train an entire Ukrainian brigade in its territory.” This initiative is unprecedented in terms of both the number of soldiers trained and the duration of training,” read the statement.
Under the new program Ukrainian soldiers are being taught in France and Poland. According to the embassy, the training simulates real combat operations using French equipment which will be given to the Ukrainian military.
The training includes armored combat using AMX10 RC wheeled tank and Milan missiles. It also includes air defense using Mistral rockets as well as unmanned aerial vehicles, snipers and Caesar artillery.
In June, Macron announced that Paris would supply Kyiv an unspecified amount of Mirage 2000-5 aircraft to increase its airpower. The French Armed Forces announced that the first group of Ukrainian pilots has completed Alpha Jet training.
The embassy stated that “the training of pilots forms part of the ongoing transfer AASM and SCALP Air-to-Ground Weaponry.”
Two more IRIS T anti-aircraft missile systems arrive in Ukraine
In an interview with RND published on October 9, German Major General Christian Freuding stated that Ukraine received two IRIS T anti-aircraft system from Berlin.
On September 4, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany had ordered 17 additional IRIS-T air defence systems for Ukraine. This is in addition to the seven systems already delivered.
Freuding stated that Ukraine will receive another two by the end the year.
Last month, it was reported that Ukraine would receive 24 IRIS T systems by 2026 — 12 medium-range and 12 short-range versions — from Germany.
Ukraine has asked international partners to increase their air defense capabilities following the intensification of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.
But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz still refuses to provide some key capabilities such as Taurus long-range rockets.
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