War in Ukraine
Updated on October 12, 2023, 5:35 a.m
Avdiivka is one of Ukraine’s most important bastions and is repeatedly attacked. (Archive image from May 15, 2023)
© IMAGO/ABACAPRESS/Smoliyenko Dmytro/Ukrinform
Without external support, Ukraine would not be able to resist the attack from its overpowering neighbor Russia. President Zelenskyj returns home from Brussels with new promises. What happened since Wednesday evening – and what will be important on Thursday.
The Russian army is trying to encircle one of Ukraine’s most important bastions in Donbass: the industrial city of Avdiivka in the immediate vicinity of Donetsk. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that the assault attacks had been repelled – 13 attacks near Avidiyivka itself and ten attacks near the village of Stepove, a little to the north.
But the offensive, supported by aircraft, artillery and dozens of tanks, is the Russian army’s largest in weeks. On Thursday night, Russia again attacked the south and east of Ukraine with numerous combat drones, as the Ukrainian Air Force announced.
Offensive against front-line city Avdiivka
Avdiivka is just over 15 kilometers from Donetsk and has been a frontline town since 2014, when fighting began in the east between the Moscow-led separatists and the Ukrainian army. When Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022, the city, which was dominated by a large coking plant, still had over 30,000 residents. Only a few hundred people are said to be holding out there despite the shelling. According to military experts, the Russian offensive is intended to take pressure off other sectors of the front and tie down Ukrainian forces.
The military administration chief of Avdiivka, Vitaly Barabash, called the Russian attacks the heaviest since the invasion began in February 2022. Around 60 tanks were deployed on Tuesday. Russian infantry groups are currently attacking with air support but without tank technology, he told the Donbass Realiji radio station. On Wednesday alone, 23 rockets were fired into the city. Russian sources reported gains in terrain north of Avdiivka. The information could not initially be independently verified.
$500 million worth of aid
At the meeting of its supporting countries in the so-called Ramstein format, Ukraine received aid worth 500 billion US dollars (471 million euros). Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umarov said this after the meeting in Brussels on Wednesday. The list includes anti-aircraft defense, ammunition, help for the coming winter and F-16 fighter aircraft, said Umerow.
Zelenskyj personally took part in a Ramstein meeting of defense ministers for the first time during the visit to Brussels, which was not announced in advance. He spoke with US department head Lloyd Austin, the new US chief of staff Charles Brown and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. In addition to aid packages from the USA, Great Britain and Finland, Belgium promised to deliver F-16s.
“So it was a strong day!” said Zelensky. “Belgium, thank you! To all Ramstein allies: Thank you! I am grateful to the United States for its leadership and support! Every day our soldiers and all our people become stronger.” The new commitments are important for the attacked country because the supporters’ front is becoming fragile in some places. A budget dispute in the USA is blocking the financing of further aid for Ukraine.
What was unusual was that Zelensky filmed himself speaking on a train – with driving noises in the background. For security reasons, foreign politicians currently only travel to Kiev by night train. It is assumed that Zelenskyj also takes the train on his trips abroad and back that have not been announced in advance.
Night air and artillery attacks
The warnings about the Russian Shahed drones, which descend on their target in a kamikaze style with explosive charges, affected many Ukrainian areas on Thursday night. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, explosions were reported in the areas of Kharkiv in the east and Odessa and Kherson in the south. There was no information yet on possible damage.
Conversely, the Russian side reported two deaths after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack in the border region of Belgorod. Rescue workers recovered the bodies of a woman and a man from the rubble of a house, the state news agency Tass reported, citing Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. A child is still suspected to be under the pile of rubble. This information could not initially be verified.
According to authorities, Russian artillery shells continued to hit the regional capital Kherson, which was recaptured by Ukrainian troops in November 2022, on Wednesday evening. Several high-rise buildings were damaged. Kherson lies directly on the Dnipro River, whose southern bank is occupied by Russian troops.
Earlier in the day, Russian shelling hit the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Rescue teams recovered four dead people from the rubble of a school by evening, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced.
That will be important on Thursday
Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan and wants to speak to President Sadyr Japarov there. The Russian-led defense alliance CSTO is also holding military maneuvers in the high mountain country. Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan are involved. (dpa/mbo)
© dpa
“This is how the editorial team works” informs you when and what we report on, how we deal with errors and where our content comes from. When reporting, we adhere to the guidelines of Journalism Trust Initiative.