Key developments on October 11:
* Russia launches new push in Kursk Oblast; Kyiv claims that attack was ‘thwarted.’
Official: Ukraine holds 40-50% Toretsk
* Scholz unveils $1.5 billion allied aid package, delivers IRIS-T air defense system
* Ukraine establishes supervisory boards for non-lethal and lethal procurement agencies
On Oct. 10, several Russian and Ukrainian Telegram Channels claimed that Russian forces had launched a new offensive against the left flank of Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
A Ukrainian official stated that “the Russian plan in Kursk Oblast was thwarted thus far” due to Russian forces suffering losses.
Early August, Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion in the Kursk Oblast. It claimed to have initially seized 1,300 square kilometers (500 sq miles), but has recently been under increasing pressure from Russian reinforcements.
“No details yet, but the Russian military suffered significant losses in equipment,” said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Russian channels that support war also broadcast parallel messages. The well-known pro war Rybar channel reported that Russian forces had launched several attacks on the Korenevsky district and Sudzhansky district, where Ukraine had established its foothold.
Rybar claimed that on October 10. “The advanced groups Russian troops reached Zeleny Shliakh at the end of the morning, which allows us claim at least a partially breakthrough in the Ukrainian Armed Forces defenses,” Rybar said.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed late on October 10 that its forces “penetrated” the Ukrainian-held territory of Kursk Oblast, and suffered losses in manpower and equipment.
On Oct. 11, DeepState reported the situation in the region remains difficult, but Ukrainian troops are succeeding to stabilize it. According to the channel’s report, it is not yet possible to recover all of the lost territory. However, Russian forces suffered significant casualties in the attack.
The Kyiv Independent was unable to verify all claims.
Official: Ukraine holds 40-50% Toretsk
Vasyl Chynchyk of the city’s Military Administration said that the Ukraine controls about 40-50% of Toretsk and the rest is under Russian control.
Toretsk is a town located 35 kilometers (20 miles), north of Donetsk Oblast. Russian troops are pushing Ukrainian defenders back step by step.
Chynchyk, speaking on national TV, said that approximately 1,150 people still remain in the ruined city. Toretsk was home to approximately 70,000 people before the invasion.
“We are doing everything we can to evacuate civilians… The security situation only allows for entering the town to evacuate the population during certain periods of time when there is a lull or favorable weather conditions,” said the official.
DeepState, a crowdsourced monitoring site, indicates that settlements in the eastern outskirts Toretsk, including Pivnichne and Zalizne as well as Druzhba and Pivdenne, are either fully or nearly entirely under Russian control.
Scholz announces $1.5 billion in allied aid during meeting with Zelensky
On October 11, President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Germany, where he received new pledges of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s support.
Zelensky is on a wider European tour, during which he hopes that he can increase support for Ukraine’s five-step plan to victory.
Scholz announced at a joint news conference that Germany had provided a package of assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 600 million euros. The package included a fifth IRIS T medium-range air defence system, armored cars, tanks, howitzers and ammunition.
Scholz said that “by the end of the calendar year, we will deliver a package worth 1.4 billion euro ($1.5 billion) to Ukraine with the help of our partners — Belgium. Denmark and Norway.” The package will include IRIS, Skynex and Gepard antiaircraft weaponry as well as artillery and armored vehicles. It will also include drones, radars and ammunition.
The Defense Minister of Ukraine says that Ukraine has established supervisory boards for both lethal and non-lethal acquisition agencies.
Separate boards have been set up for lethal and nonlethal procurement agencies. This is a major step towards conformity with NATO standards. Defense Minister Rustem Umerov stated this in a post on Facebook on October 11.
His post stated: “We have finally established Supervisory Boards for the Defense Procurement Agency(DPA) and Non-Lethal Defense Rear Agency(DOT)”.
In a shakeup of ministry staff earlier this month, Rustem Umerov reshuffled his cards by requesting that three of his deputy ministers be dismissed amid a NATO debate over plans to unify the military procurement into a single agency.
Umerov had planned to merge Defense Procurement Agency and State Rear Operator into one agency, but changed his mind when a NATO announcement said that the agencies should remain separate and that two separate supervisory board should be established.
Umerov posted on Facebook that the process of creating supervisory boards has concluded.
The DPA was first established in August of 2022 and focuses exclusively on procuring lethal assistance, while the DOT is formed to purchase nonlethal aid like food and clothing.
Russian troops renew assaults on Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, military says
Operational Command South reported on October 11 that since the beginning of the week, Ukraine has repelled 29 Russian assaults in the oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
“The defense forces in southern Ukraine, in the Kherson Oblast, repelled 29 attacks.” Five assaults were recorded during the last day in the Kherson direction and two in the Zaporizhzhia direction,” the command stated in a press release.
Operational Command South reported that Russia used 318 FPV-drones, including three Lancet-type drones and dropped 428 general purpose bombs. Despite ongoing attacks, no gains have been made.
The statement is in line with an earlier warning by Ukraine’s forces, that Russia would aim to make a breakthrough towards Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Mala Tokmachka.
The new Russian push into the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast coincides with Moscow’s continued advance in Ukraine’s eastern region.
Kyiv announced its withdrawal from Vuhledar, after Russian forces swarmed first the flanks of the town and then entered the urban area.
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