The Iranian leadership admits for the first time that it has supplied combat drones to Russia. The Ukrainian President Zelenskyj does not buy Tehran's "confession" and at the same time is planning his own drone coup. Meanwhile, military experts fear a secret Russian mobilization. The 255th day of the war at a glance.
Heavy fighting around Cherson
Heavy artillery battles continue in eastern and southern Ukraine. This emerges from the military data of the Ukrainian and Russian sides. Ukrainian fighters destroyed Russian positions in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, sources in Kyiv said. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry again states that 600 Russian soldiers were killed within 24 hours. The information cannot be independently verified and differs greatly from the official announcements from Moscow.
Heavy fighting has been fought between Ukrainian troops and Russian occupying forces around the southern Ukrainian city of Cherson. According to the Russian account, various front sections in the region came under heavy artillery fire. In some places larger troop transfers and movements of Ukrainian armored units have been registered. "Apparently the Ukrainian troops are preparing a new attack," speculated Russia's deputy chief of administration for the occupied region, Kirill Stremusov.
ISW: Mobilization in Russia is probably not over
Meanwhile, independent experts assume that Russia will probably continue its mobilization for the ongoing war - and covertly. Decrees recently signed by President Vladimir Putin indicated that the partial mobilization had not achieved sufficient troop levels, contrary to Russian claims, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank. This is also supported by the fact that Putin has not yet signed a decree officially ending the mobilization announced at the end of September.
According to ISW information, the Russian information is not consistent with Putin's decree this Friday that Russian authorities also allow the entry of civilians who are not yet convicted of serious crimes. Furthermore, Putin is said to have signed decrees expanding the list of conscripts to include men who served in volunteer formations and making exceptions for the conscription of alternative conscripts.
Selenskyj counters Iranian drone confession
Iran has admitted for the first time that it supplied drones to Russia. "We have supplied Russia with a limited number of drones," the state news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian as saying. However, the weapons were delivered before the war, the minister stressed. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed this as a lie, referring to the crowd.
"Even with this confession they lie," said the Ukrainian leader in his daily video message. The number of Iranian combat drones shot down by the Ukrainian air defense system exceeds the "few" drones mentioned by Iran, Zelenskyj justified his accusation. "And the more Tehran lies, the more the international community will scrutinize this terrorist cooperation between the regimes in Russia and Iran."
When it comes to sea drones, Ukraine wants to go on the offensive
After the spectacular attack by Ukrainian sea drones against the Russian Black Sea Fleet in their naval port near Sevastopol in Crimea, Ukraine wants to buy more weapons of this type. "We will start another fundraising campaign next week, we want to collect funds for a whole fleet of sea drones," announced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his video address. The purpose of these drones is clear. "Everyone has already seen how it works."
According to the Ukrainian account, three Russian warships were hit during the attack on Sevastopol last weekend, including the new flagship "Admiral Makarov". The Russian military has only admitted some minor damage without providing more details.
Ex-ambassador Melnyk accuses Mützenich of staging himself as a victim
The former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, has rejected statements made by SPD faction leader Rolf Mutzenich about an alleged Ukrainian "terrorist list". Mützenich had accused the government in Kyiv of putting him on such a list because he advocated a ceasefire in the war against Ukraine. Melnyk wrote on Twitter: "Mimimi. There is no 'terror list' by the Ukrainian government. Stop portraying yourself as an 'innocent victim'."
Report: Russia can't beat HIMARS missile launchers
The Russian armed forces have not yet succeeded in destroying the US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers. Politico reports, referring to a senior Pentagon official. However, Ukraine still needs a significant amount of artillery for the upcoming battle, the official added. Consumption rates in this war are high, according to Politico: Ukraine fires 4,000 to 7,000 artillery shells every day, while Russia fires 20,000 per day.
Scholz: Putin should make a move for real talks
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called on Russia's President Vladimir Putin to clear the way for dialogue on the Ukraine conflict. "Now it's up to the Russian President to make a move, namely to enable real talks," said Scholz at the SPD debate convention. "And it would be a good step if he were to withdraw his troops." Putin must get away "from his idea that he can militarily enforce a dictated peace against Ukraine," said Scholz. "That's his concept. And on that basis, it will never work out." At the end of every war there should be "agreements and diplomacy".
Scholz also demands a clear no from Russia to nuclear strikes. "It is not allowed, it is unacceptable to use nuclear weapons in this conflict," said Scholz at the SPD debate convention in Berlin. "We call on Russia to clearly state that it will not do this. That would be a limit that must not be crossed."
Ukraine continues to ration power supplies over Russian attacks
In Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, the power supply has been further restricted. "Today the Ukrenergo control center was forced to introduce additional restrictions in the form of emergency shutdowns for all categories of consumers," said state-owned electricity utility Ukrenergo. In view of Russia's massive rocket attacks on the energy infrastructure in Ukraine, power supply has been rationed for several days. According to Ukraine, the attacks destroyed at least a third of the country's power plants. In order to prevent the entire distribution network from being overloaded, the electricity in many regions, including the capital Kyiv, is regularly cut off for several hours.
Assassination attempt on judge who sentenced three foreigners to death
In June, two Britons and a Moroccan man were sentenced to death in the pro-Russian separatist-controlled Donetsk region. They had fought as volunteers with the Ukrainian troops, had been taken prisoner of war and accused of mercenary activity. The judge Alexander Nikulin, who sentenced her to death, has now become the victim of an assassination attempt. As several media reports, he survived the attack on Friday night in Wuhlehirsk. However, he is in the hospital with life-threatening gunshot wounds. The three convicts were released in September as part of a prisoner exchange.
London: Russian recruits get almost no training
According to British experts, the Russian military is overwhelmed with the training of new recruits due to the war of aggression in Ukraine. This emerges from the daily intelligence update from the Ministry of Defense in London. Accordingly, Moscow was already having difficulties organizing training for the approximately 300,000 reservists drafted during the partial mobilization. According to the British, the problem is likely to worsen for the approximately 120,000 conscripts regularly drafted in the fall.
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