October 28 2024

Weekend Wrapup

President Zelenskyy, along with The Verkhovna Rada, (Ukraine’s parliament) signed into law a bill allowing foreign soldiers to become officers, previously, foreign volunteer soldiers could only reach the rank of Sergeant. Additionally, foreign soldiers can be much more easily recruited into the Armed Forces of Ukraine if they want to volunteer.


Canada has delivered a batch of LAV 6.0 ACSV medical armored personnel carriers to Ukraine. In September 2023, Canada promised to send 50 of these vehicles over three years. They first arrived in Germany in June 2024 and Ukrainian crews were trained to operate and maintain it. The number of vehicles delivered so far remains unknown.


Ukraine will not hold elections until after the war is over, according to Andriy Yermak, Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. He said, Zelenskyy wants everyone to be able to vote and it doesn’t make sense to hold elections when millions of Ukrainians would not be able to vote, and holding elections can cost a lot of money which is needed for the war.


Resident Zelenskyy will be in Reykjavík, Iceland from October 28-31 to participate in the 76th Nordic Council. The main topic of this event will be peace and security in the Arctic region. Additionally, there will be a discussion on a possible renewal of the Helsinki Agreement.


Israel launched an airstrike that damaged a ballistic missile production facility and an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system in Iran. The strike was confirmed by satellite imagery. This will disrupt Iran's missile production capabilities and possibly its ability to supply missiles to Russia in the future.


Russian Mi-28 attack helicopter crashed into the ocean in the Kerch Strait. 2 pilots died and a third was considered missing. It was conducting patrols to protect the Kerch Bridge from possible attacks.


A Russian Mi-2 helicopter crashed near the village of Beleenki in Kirov Oblast, Russia, killing all four people on board. It was used as an air ambulance. Those on board included a pilot and three medics. The aircraft had been in service for 38 years.


Ukraine successfully destroyed two 203mm 2S7 Pion self-propelled guns in the Horlivka area. It has a range of up to 47 km. The Pions were destroyed when a drone dropped bombs on them, causing them to be consumed by fires.


At the European Athletics Awards, Ukrainian athlete Yaroslava Mahuchikh has been named as Europe’s best athlete in 2024. She set a new world record of 2.10 meters in the high jump, beating a record that had stood since 1987. She also won a gold medal in the Olympics.


Dina Wong, a spokesperson for Ukraine's 1st Separate Siversk Tank Brigade, said that Russian troops were ordered not to take prisoners in the Kursk region.


A hospital in the Dnipro region was severely damaged in a ballistic missile strike on the city. The attack on the I. I. Mechniko Dnipro Regional Clinical Hospital led to two people being injured; a doctor who was cut by glass shards and a patient who received a head injury. Chief Doctor Ryzhenko Serhii said, “There is not a single window, bedside table, or device that has not been affected.” He added that the damage caused scheduled surgeries to be delayed. The Dnipropetrovsk Regional State Administration, Serhii Lysak, said that the attack caused 3 deaths, one of whom was a child. In addition to those fatalities, 21 people were injured, with 7 of those people being hospitalized. A 17-year-old boy remains in critical condition. A 2-story residential building and a garage were destroyed while 2 private homes, 13 apartment buildings, and 30 vehicles were damaged.



4 people were arrested in Poland for sabotage activities. They sent packages containing explosives and hazardous materials to the EU and UK, with the ultimate goal of sending similar packages to the US and Canada. The packages would combust or detonate during transit. The group has been connected to warehouse fires in the UK and at a German airport. Additionally, a delivery truck caught fire near Warsaw. The package that caught fire at the airport in Leipzig, Germany contained a timer and a flammable substance. If it was not for a two-hour-long delay, the firebomb would have been loaded onto a plane.

This operation is believed to have been orchestrated by the Russian government. One suspect reportedly confessed that he was operating under orders from Russian Special Services. Two more suspects have been placed on international watchlists.


Soldiers of the 54th Mechanized Brigade managed to capture a Russian T-90S. The T-90S is the export version of the tank Russia intended to sell to foreign nations, but Russia has begun using it in Ukraine to make up for equipment losses. According to Oryx, Russia has lost at least nine T-90Ss.


A fire broke out near the Michurinsk Oil Refinery in Tambov Oblast in Russia after a drone attack on October 27, according to the Telegram channel Astra. Tambov Oblast Governor Maksim Yegorov described the incident as a "minor fire resulting from an explosion."


Ukraine published a video showing a strike on a Tor-M2 air defense system. It was hit twice by what was reported to be Switchblade 600 drones. The video shows the Tor M2 burning. The Switchblade 600 has the same warhead as the javelin, so the damage should be quite extensive.


Ukraine's military intelligence report that they intercepted communications showing that Russia is using civilian-marked Kamaz trucks to transport North Korean military reinforcements to the front lines. These troops are being sent to reinforce the 810th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, which is known to be in the Kursk area.


On the 26th, Drones attacked an airfield in Lipetsk, Russia. There were reports of explosions and air raid sirens. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have shot down four Ukrainian drones over the region. Little information is available about this strike currently.


On October 26 Ukraine's Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin and Indian officials met to discuss potential cooperation between the defense industries of their countries.


The Come Back Alive Foundation has provided 20 new interceptor drones to the military as part of its “Dronopad” project, aimed at providing the military with enough drones to destroy 1,000 Russian reconnaissance UAVs. On October 27, the foundation reported that 173 reconnaissance drones had been downed with assistance provided by the project. 50 of these downed drones were ZALA UAVs, 40 were Supercam UAVs, and 33 were Orlan UAVs.


In Chelyabinsk, Russia, a former Wagner mercenary got partially undressed and attacked people with a knife. The police were called and tracked him to an apartment building. He was fatally shot by the Russian National Guard after he tried attacking them as well.


Ukraine successfully targeted 2 Russian distilleries on the 27th. Andriy Kovalenko, an official from Kyiv's National Security and Defense Council, reported successful strikes on distilleries in Krasnoye and the Anninsky district of the Voronezh region. Voronezh regional governor Alexander Gusev reported that several buildings were damaged and 2 employees were injured. Several videos show fires that resulted from the attack. Russian sources say they were attacked by 10 drones. The distillery in Krasnoye was also targeted on the 22nd of October.

Ukrainian milblogger war_home:

“...The distillery is a strategic object that is a part of the military-industrial complex.

Ethyl alcohol is used to produce ethylene glycol nitrate (EGDN), a type of explosive used to make detonators for a wide range of ammunition.
Ethyl nitrate is a liquid explosive similar to nitroglycerin
Ethanol is also used as a component of rocket fuel”

According to the Office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine, the Russians have intentionally attacked and killed civilians in the village of Selydove, Donetsk. A video published on Telegram shows that, on October 24, 2024, Russian troops shot at a civilian car in Selydove, injuring one of the two passengers inside. The Ukrainian military managed to arrive on the scene to provide first aid and evacuate the civilians. In another incident, the bodies of two women were discovered. Their bodies were found in a residential area not heavily impacted by fighting and were under Russian control. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s office has opened an investigation into these events. Ukraine reports that Russia has committed over 173,000 war crimes.


Russia is refurbishing and expanding a biological weapons research center near Moscow according to The Washington Post. Satellite imagery shows obstructionist at the site. The facility was used by the USSR for biological weapons research. Ten new buildings are being built and renovations are ongoing to previously existing ones. Russian authorities claim the work will focus on studying deadly viruses like Ebola. The facility may meet BSL-4 safety standards necessary for studying the most dangerous microbes and viruses like ebola and for making bio-weapons. Additionally, Russia is also restoring its nuclear test site in Novaya Zemlya.


Quote of the Day:

“Wise men speak only of hedgehogs.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien