Ukraine update: What happened that night
Ukraine reports heavy fighting near Avdiivka – Russian advance ends in disgrace
Particularly violent Russian attacks on the city of Avdiivka, which has been under dispute for months, were reported from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. “Heavy fighting continues north of the city,” said the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, Vitaly Barabash, according to Ukrainian media. The head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, also spoke of “massive attacks by Russian artillery”.
Meanwhile, an advance by Russian vehicles near Adwiivka ended in disgrace. A video shows a column of vehicles driving across a battlefield. But the vehicle in front falls while driving over a small bridge and lands on its side – thus stopping the entire advance of the column.
Federal government delivers “winter package” to Ukraine
The federal government wants to help Ukraine militarily over the coming winter with a comprehensive delivery of air defense systems, tanks and ammunition. The second Patriot air defense system, which was promised last week, will include, in addition to the fire control center and the radar device, eight additional launchers and more than 60 guided missiles, the Defense Ministry announced in Berlin on Tuesday.
In addition, Germany will deliver further Iris-T systems in October: a third Iris-T SLM with medium-range guided missiles and a second short-range Iris-T SLS, also with guided missiles. There are also three additional Gepard anti-aircraft gun tanks. The entire air defense package is worth around one billion euros.
Germany is also putting together a support package for the Ukrainian special forces, consisting of vehicles, weapons and personal equipment worth more than 20 million euros. In the next few weeks, another 10 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks, 15 protected transport vehicles and almost 20 protected medical vehicles are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine.
Romania promises Zelensky military aid for defensive fight
Romania’s President Klaus Iohannis also promised military support to his Ukrainian colleague Volodymyr Zelensky. Romania will help the attacked neighboring country “until the victory over Russia,” said Iohannis at a joint press conference with his guest from Kiev. Zelenskyj was officially visiting the neighboring country for the first time since Russia’s war of aggression against his country began almost 20 months ago. He later expressed his gratitude in his evening video speech: “Our strategic relationships are a new force for the entire Black Sea region.”
Iohannis did not provide any details about Romanian military aid. Zelensky said that in discussions with Iohannis on this point, the focus was on anti-aircraft defense. The Ukrainian also recalled that Ukrainian pilots will be trained on F-16 fighter jets in Romania in the future.
Moscow fails in election for UN Human Rights Council
Meanwhile, Russia failed in the election for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council. Bulgaria and Albania received the necessary majority of the 193 UN members in the vote for Eastern European states in the UN General Assembly in New York. Bulgaria received 160 votes, Albania 123, and 83 countries voted for Russia. The secret vote was seen as a test of how respectable Russia is again worldwide after the invasion of Ukraine.
What will be important on Wednesday
The defense ministers of the 31 NATO states are meeting in Brussels this Wednesday for a two-day meeting. The main topic will be cooperation with Ukraine and the planned expansion of the alliance’s deterrence and defense capabilities.
