Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, said at a press conference with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Oct. 21, that the U.S. has provided Ukraine with over $64 billion in military aid since Russia’s full scale invasion began in 2022.
The Pentagon chief visited Kyiv in an unexpected visit earlier in the day to discuss the future support for Ukraine in light of the uncertain U.S. Presidential election.
Austin announced during his visit a new $400-million military assistance package to Ukraine. This included HIMARS air defence systems, 155 mm artillery ammo, and other weapons and training gear.
“This is important, especially before winter sets in. Russia has not abandoned its intention to plunge Ukraine into darkness and cold. Your unwavering commitment is more than a token of friendship. It’s a powerful sign of the shared values which bind our countries together”, Umerov said during an event attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.
Umerov stated that Ukraine had invested more than $4 billion into its defense production. He urged international partners, citing the recent successes of Ukrainian drone specialists, to invest even further.
“Our drones are a real danger to the enemy. They can reach targets thousands of kilometers from their location and have destroyed more than 200 Russian military installations. The minister stated that the potential of Ukraine’s defense industry could be as high as $20 billion.
Umerov also emphasized Austin’s role within the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (also known as a Ramstein format meeting).
“You have played an important role in bringing together the free world and coordinating the cooperative efforts of more than fifty democracies, to combat the threat of tyranny. To fight what now appears to be a coalition dictatorships,” Umerov continued.
Austin, in turn, said he finds it “moving” to look around the long table at the Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where the group formed, and to see the global outrage over (Vladimir Putin’s) crimes in human form.
As a percentage of the GDP, the U.S. Secretary of Defense also stated that “a dozen U.S. partners and allies” provide more security assistance than does the U.S. He added that the group members had provided more than $1 billion in direct assistance to Ukraine.
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.
The next meeting will take place in a virtual environment in November.
“Your unwavering commitment is not just an act of friendship. It’s a powerful sign of the shared values which bind our nations,” said Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s defense minister, alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Local authorities reported that on October 21, Russia attacked the towns Kurakhove, Myrnohrad and Pokrovsk in the Donetsk Oblast district. Three people were killed and two others injured.
On the morning of October 21, Russia struck the residential area in the city and damaged 30 buildings.
In an interview with the BBC published on October 21, Yulia Navalnaya said, “I will participate… as a Candidate” in the elections when the time is appropriate.
Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon chief, said that ammunition, military equipment and weapons would be included.
Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, said that the referendum on Moldova joining the EU which was held alongside elections in the nation, was a result of “unprecedented” interference by Russia and its proxy states.
“North Korea sending soldiers to fight alongside Russia’s troops in Ukraine would be a significant escalation,” NATO secretary general Mark Rutte stated on social media after a conversation between South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol.
In September, the largest government reshuffle since World War II took place. Herman Smetanin became the new head of the Strategic Industries Ministry.
The Air Force reported that Ukrainian air defenses destroyed 59 of 116 Shahed type attack drones launched overnight by Russia. According to reports, 45 drones “lost” in Ukraine and 10 others were still present at the time of publication.
The General Staff of Ukraine‘s Armed Forces announced that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Buk M3 air defense system over night on October 21.
The election results were tainted with allegations of Russian interference. Moldovan lawmakers claimed that Moscow spent millions in a campaign against Maia Sandu, the pro-Western incumbent and voted down the EU referendum.
According to reports, the attack involved seven tanks and eleven infantry fighting vehicles. Ukrainian forces destroyed seven pieces of Russian equipment.
Interfax, the state-controlled media agency, reported that Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Russian government and media said: “We see a great deal of contradictory data.”
According to the National Guard of Russia, Russian troops regularly conduct mechanized attacks near Selydove. These assaults involve three to five armored vehicle.
Yonhap reported that South Korea summoned Georgy Zinoviev as the Russian ambassador to Seoul on October 21 to protest the dispatching of North Korean troops in support of Moscow’s war with Ukraine.
According to internal documents of the agency, the IAEA has signed at least two agreements for research in Crimea that included fieldwork. The deals were signed from 2016 to 2019, and the first deal was reportedly extended during the summer of 2019.
A military intelligence source told Kyiv Independent that Russian authorities had detained 18 North Koreans who had abandoned their positions in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Dmitry Rogozin is a Russian official who heads the Russian occupation in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. He said that the Black Sea Fleet was forced to change its registration, because their large ships were large targets for the enemy unmanned boats.
According to Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR), Russian Pilot Dmitry Golenkov sustained multiple head injuries. These were probably caused by a heavy hammer.
Read More @ kyivindependent.com