Another night of drones in the Ukraine war. This early morning, Russian troops attacked several Ukrainian regions with a massive strike using over 130 drones. Ukrainian air defenses shot down 80 of these drones and disrupted the flight path of another 44 through electronic interference, as Ukraine increasingly intercepts kamikaze Shahed drones and other types of unmanned aircraft used by Russia.
On the front lines, yesterday Russia announced the capture of a new locality in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the village of Maksymilianivka, during the Russian troops' offensive in eastern Ukraine.
The Russian military command has been reporting advances in the Donbas for several weeks, confirming their plans to secure the main strongholds of Ukraine in the country's east before winter arrives. The current Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine began in October 2023 after the Ukrainian counteroffensive failed.
Rutte says NATO increases support for Ukraine after hearing Zelensky's plan
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte stated on Friday that the Alliance is significantly increasing its support for Ukraine, a day after hearing firsthand from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky his "Victory Plan" against the Russian invasion, reports Efe.
"We are significantly increasing our support to Ukraine so that it can, one, defend itself from Russian aggression today, and two, deter Russian threats in the future," Rutte said during an intervention on the second and final day of the allied Defense ministers' meeting held in Brussels.
Kyiv claims 11,000 North Koreans will enter the war in November alongside Russia
The head of Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), Kirilo Budanov, stated in an interview with The War Zone publication that around 11,000 North Korean soldiers are receiving training in the Russian Federation to join Kremlin troops fighting against Ukraine starting on November 1, reports Efe.
"They will be ready to fight in Ukraine starting from November 1," Budanov said in the interview, echoed by the Ukrainian public news agency Ukrinform. According to Budanov, these soldiers are undergoing training in the eastern part of the Russian Federation.
Russia advances with significant losses in three Donetsk front zones
Russian forces have advanced in the last hours amid a high number of casualties and material losses in three different zones on the front line in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, according to the latest bulletin from the Ukrainian war analysis platform DeepState.
As explained by DeepState on their Telegram channel, Russia has gained ground in the Chasiv Yar area, as well as in Maksymilianivka and Tsukurene, both in the Pokrovsk district.
Orbán believes Zelensky's plan won't win the war
Hungarian Prime Minister, the ultranationalist Viktor Orbán, stated on Friday that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's 'Victory Plan' won't lead to winning the war caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, accusing the rest of the EU countries of being belligerent parties, reports Efe.
"With this plan, you cannot win, you can lose," Orbán affirmed in statements to the public radio Kossuth, without providing details, referring to the plan Zelensky presented in Brussels to the European Union leaders, which includes inviting Ukraine to join NATO.
Canada to provide 65 million Canadian dollars in military aid to Ukraine
Canada plans to deliver a military aid package of 64.8 million Canadian dollars (47 million US dollars) to Ukraine, including small arms, ammunition, and protective equipment, announced Defense Minister Bill Blair on Friday in a statement.
The aid package, which also includes funds for training Ukrainian troops, is part of a 500 million Canadian dollar military funding committed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in July.
Ukraine denies planning to develop nuclear weapons
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has officially denied in a statement that it is planning to develop weapons of mass destruction, as insinuated in a report by the German newspaper BILD, reports Efe.
"We officially refute the insinuations from anonymous sources in the BILD publication about Ukraine's alleged plans to develop weapons of mass destruction," stated the Kiev Foreign Ministry in a release, emphasizing the country's compliance with the non-proliferation treaty and recalling that Ukraine relinquished the nuclear arsenal it had upon gaining independence from the USSR.
US sanctions Chinese firms linked to manufacturing Russian drones used in Ukraine
The United States government announced sanctions on Thursday against Chinese companies associated with producing the drones deployed by Russia in its military offensive in Ukraine, reports Afp.
These are the first measures taken by Washington against Chinese firms "developing and directly producing complete weapon systems in collaboration with Russian companies," as reported by the US Treasury Department.
Seoul believes Pyongyang could send civilian personnel, not military, to the Ukrainian front
South Korean Deputy Minister of National Defense, Kim Seon-ho, stated that Seoul considers Pyongyang may have decided to send civilian personnel rather than military, as reported by Ukrainian sources, to the front lines in Ukraine to support Russia, reports Efe.
Kim mentioned that the South Korean government believes it is "possible that North Korea has provided personnel (civilian) instead of military forces" in an interview conducted in Brussels and published on Friday by the Yonhap agency.
Kim's remarks, made during his participation in the NATO ministerial summit in Brussels, where Asia-Pacific partners of the Alliance were also invited, come a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Pyongyang is preparing to send 10,000 soldiers to the front, a claim similar to recent reports from various Ukrainian sources.