The situation at a glance: Ukraine hit again by serious drone attacks

According to Ukrainian authorities, a woman was killed in a massive Russian drone attack on the port city of Odessa. At least eight other people were injured in the nighttime attack, including a nine-year-old boy, Odessa’s military governor Oleh Kiper wrote on Telegram. “Residential buildings, a church and vehicles were damaged.” Fires broke out in several places due to the impacts. In addition, a district heating pipe was hit. A thermal power plant failed.

Russia has long been systematically bombarding civilian targets in its neighboring country with drones and missiles. The Russian attackers are particularly targeting energy and heat supplies, and this has serious consequences for people as winter approaches. About half of Ukraine’s electricity capacity was knocked out of service by Russian attacks.

In recent weeks, the number of drone attacks has increased in parallel with the falling temperatures. According to the US broadcaster ABC, the number of attacks rose by 44 percent in the week after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election in the United States. Trump has announced that he will broker a quick peace between Russia and Ukraine.

There are fears in Ukraine and its European supporting countries that the USA, as its most important ally, could soon stop its aid to Kiev – and that Russia will effectively emerge as the victor from the war of aggression that Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin launched in February 2022 through a unilateral peace settlement at the expense of Ukraine had.

Zelensky announces ten-point plan for internal security

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj wants to present a plan next week that is intended to ensure the internal security of the attacked country. There will be a doctrine developed with civil society and business representatives that should give the country stability, Zelensky said in his evening video message. Among other things, it is about energy supply and the production of weapons. He did not give any further details.

Most recently, Zelenskyj had already promoted a so-called “victory plan,” which is primarily aimed at foreign countries. Among other things, it provides for the delivery of further armaments and the release of long-range weapons that have already been delivered for attacks on Russian territory. A just peace for Ukraine can only be achieved through strength, argued Zelensky

In his video message he also commented on the situation at the front – but only vaguely. Zelensky praised the efficiency of Ukrainian defenders in the Kupyansk area. There had previously been reports that armored Russian vehicles had entered the strategically important small town in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv. The General Staff in Kyiv later declared the attack repelled. The information cannot be independently verified.

Russian troops occupied Kupyansk from February to September 2022 before the city was recaptured by the Ukrainians. The Russians have now moved close to Kupyansk again. The Ukrainian defenders are under heavy pressure along the entire front line.

Ukrainian soldiers complete military training in France

Meanwhile, the training of around 2,300 Ukrainian soldiers for a new brigade is coming to an end in France, as French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced after a visit to the training site. For several weeks, the Ukrainians have been training in a secret area in eastern France on French weapons and vehicles that have been handed over to the military to help them repel Russian attacks. According to French information, the vast majority of them have only recently joined the army. They are trained both individually and as a group in three infantry battalions. The soldiers are expected to return to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

At Ukraine’s request, the training will take place in conditions that are as similar as possible to those at the front, as the French army said. The soldiers are exposed to stress, simulated combat noise and flying drones. The trenches have also been adjusted. In addition to the soldiers trained in France, members of the 4,500-strong brigade are to be trained in Ukraine by Ukrainian forces.

Minister admits looting by Russian soldiers

The ex-governor of the Russian border region of Kursk, Roman Starovoit, admitted that soldiers sent by Moscow to defend the region had looted there. “There are facts of looting by both civilians and the military,” said the politician, who has since become the country’s transport minister, at a meeting with residents of the Glushkovo district, which directly borders Ukraine.

The admission was greeted with applause by the audience, according to a video excerpt from a local news portal on Telegram. Residents in the region had complained several times about break-ins in the houses they had left behind.

Ukrainian troops have captured part of the Kursk region in their surprise summer counteroffensive. The Russian armed forces – according to media reports now supported by North Korean soldiers – are trying to push these troops out of the country again. The Russian state news agency Tass accused the Ukrainians of looting the towns they had conquered – and cited the town of Glushkovo as an example. This was never under the control of the Ukrainians.

Moscow usually cracks down on reports of crimes committed by Russian soldiers in the war of aggression against Ukraine, suppressing or punishing them. Dozens of war opponents are in prison for allegedly discrediting the Russian army. The fact that Russian soldiers are robbing in their own country is therefore a rare admission from the Moscow leadership.