Ukraine has inflicted painful defeats on several Russian elite units in the battle for Lyman and in the Kherson region. President Selenskyj announced further reconquests and courted trust in the areas. what happened in the night
The Ukrainian army has succeeded in gaining further territory around Lyman and in the Kherson region. Ukrainian and Russian sources reported on Monday that Ukrainians had made “decisive breakthroughs” in the north of the Kherson region. After capturing Lyman, Ukrainian troops manage to push further east.
Particularly noteworthy: According to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Ukrainians brought some of Russia’s elite units to their knees. Parts of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division escaped from the Lyman region. The 76th Airborne Division, in turn, tried unsuccessfully to hold the north of the Kherson region.
According to the “ISW” experts, the apparent failure of Putin’s elite troops shows that even the best units are now severely weakened. This phenomenon had already become evident with the collapse of the 4th Panzer Division and the 1st Guards Tank Army. The two elite units had fought in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine had successfully launched a major counter-offensive there about a month ago.
In his televised address on Monday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had retaken more places. Which places it is exactly, Selenskyj did not say. “In many regions along the front there is a tough fight,” says Zelenskyj. More and more Russians try to flee. You’re suffering heavy losses.”
Zelenskyj had already confirmed on Sunday that Ukraine had recaptured the Arkhanhelske and Myroliubivka communities in the northern Kherson region. Then, on Monday, Ukraine announced that the village of Borova in the Kharkiv region had been successfully liberated.
Against the background of the Ukrainian offensive, Zelenskyy wooed the population in the occupied territories. “Russian propagandists intimidate people in the territories still controlled by the occupiers, claiming that Ukraine will consider almost anyone who stays in the occupied territories as collaborators. Absolutely crazy stuff, ”said Zelenskyj in his daily video speech on Monday. Anyone who hasn’t offered their services to the Russians has nothing to fear, he said.
The 44-year-old emphasized that there was only isolated support for the Russian occupiers, although “hundreds of thousands” were temporarily under the occupying power. In doing so, he contradicted the Russian narrative that the majority of people in the four occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia aspired to Russia. With this justification, Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin annexed the regions after holding sham referendums.
A fundraiser in the Czech Republic has raised enough money to give Ukraine a modernized T-72 main battle tank. Within about a month, 30 million crowns – the equivalent of almost 1.2 million euros – came together, as the organizers announced on Monday. More than 11,000 people took part in the Ukrainian embassy’s campaign under the motto “A gift for Putin”.
The tank already has a name: the organizers christened it “Tomas” after the co-founder and first President of Czechoslovakia, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova thanked everyone involved. They had given Russian President Vladimir Putin a “proper present” for his 70th birthday on October 7, she sarcastically noted. She called the Kremlin boss a “KGB agent, murderer and crook”.
The next step is to collect money to buy ammunition for the tank. The Ukrainian embassy in the Czech Republic has already received donations totaling more than 8.6 million euros. In addition, the Czech Ministry of Defense has delivered weapons and ammunition worth more than 160 million euros to Ukraine since the start of the Russian attack at the end of February.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of “terrorism” and currently sees no chance for peace negotiations. “Unfortunately, Putin made it very clear in his speech on Friday what his current level of willingness to negotiate is,” said Baerbock in an interview with the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung” (NOZ). “His negotiation offer went something like this: ‘We’ll rob your country, subdue your citizens, and you can then sign it.'” That, according to Baerbock, “is the opposite of peace. That is terror and lack of freedom.”
Nevertheless, they themselves and the government were constantly looking for a diplomatic solution. “We try every day. Every day since February 24, one of the more than 190 countries in the world or an international organization on behalf of the world community has asked the Russian President to stop bombing,” the foreign minister told NOZ. “The only answer from the Russian President is more atrocities.”
The war of aggression would end immediately if Russia stopped “destroying Ukraine,” Baerbock said. “However, if Ukraine stopped defending itself, then Ukraine would be over, and terrible crimes against the people would be everyday life in Kyiv too. That must be clear to anyone who is demanding that we stop supporting Ukraine or give in to Putin.”
In the south of Ukraine, the Kiev troops want to continue their advance along the Dnipro River in order to advance to the city of Kherson. In the north-east of the country, the Swatowe transport hub, which is still under Russian control, is being targeted.
Meanwhile, it is still unclear when the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, will visit Kyiv and Moscow. Grossi had announced that he would travel to both capitals in the course of the week to discuss the problem of nuclear safety – in particular the risks associated with the contested Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
Also read: October 3 Ukraine Update – Ukraine makes biggest breakthrough on southern front since war began
With a partial mobilization of the Russian armed forces, Kremlin chief Putin wants to bring about a turnaround in the war against Ukraine. Men are being rounded up across the country and sent to the front. But instead of patriotism, horror is spreading among the people – and resistance.
Putin has called for partial mobilization. But there are many indications that Russia is assembling a mass army. Is that purposeful? No, military experts believe. One historian even believes it will spell the end of Russia as we know it.
After the so-called partial mobilization was announced, thousands of Russians tried to leave the country. Yuri Rescheto reports from Riga.
