October 29 2024


The Norwegian Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, announced a new €500 million aid package for Ukraine, €350 million of this is designated for military aid.


The Swedish government announced that they would allocate funds from a previous military aid package worth €63 million. The Swedish government also plans to allocate around €43 million for financial support toward a range of multilateral initiatives aiding Ukraine. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson added that Sweden is allocating €20 million towards supporting the development and production of artillery shells in Ukraine. Additionally, he announced that Sweden plans to join the program for supplying missiles for air defense, F-16s, and demining equipment.


Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo announced that Finland is preparing a new support package for Ukraine, that specifically will provide funds for the construction of shelters.


Japan will allocate $3.09 billion as part of the recently announced $50 billion loan developed by the G7. The loan will be repaid by the income generated from frozen Russian assets. The Japanese portion will not be used for military purposes and will be overseen by Japan to ensure this.


The United Kingdom has introduced new sanctions on several high-ranking Russian officials. This is in response to Russia’s attempts to undermine support for Ukraine’s democracy. For example, two of the sanctioned companies, the Social Design Agency (SDA), which is known to be tasked and funded directly by Russian authorities, and its partner company Structura attempted to conduct a series of interference operations aimed at undermining democracy and weakening international support for Ukraine.


Croatian Defense Minister, Ivan Anusic, signed a memorandum with his German counterpart Boris Pistorius, agreeing that in return for a discount on their purchase of up to 50 Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks, Croatia would supply Ukraine with 30 Yugoslav-era M-84 main battle tanks and 30 M-80 infantry fighting vehicles with spare parts and ammunition for both systems.


President Zelenskyy reported that 3,000 North Korean soldiers and officers are currently fighting alongside Russian troops in Ukraine and that he expects that this number could rise to 12,000 soon. He said this during the joint press conference at the fourth Ukraine-Northern Europe Summit in Reykjavik. Also at the summit in Reykjavik,  Zelenskyy stated that Iran had not yet supplied missiles to Russia, according to information that Ukraine has.  Previously, it was reported that Iran had provided Russia with Fath 360 missiles, even the Pentagon confirmed this claim. So this is an interesting development.

Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported that more than 3,000 North Korean soldiers have begun training exercises in Kursk. They mostly train at night and staff members from the North Korean embassy are functioning as interpreters.

According to Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesman for the Siversk Operational Strategic Group, Ukrainian forces in Kursk have not taken any North Korean prisoners or engaged in combat with North Korean forces yet. He said intel continues to indicate the North Koreans are in Kursk, however.

There are unconfirmed rumors that the North Korean troops have already taken casualties, including an unspecified number of deaths.

A South Korean delegation will brief the EU's Political and Security Committee on Tuesday before they visit Ukraine to discuss the North Korean troops and look for avenues of cooperation with the Ukrainian government.


Russia launched an attack on Kryvyi Rih using an Iskander-M ballistic missile and 48 Shaheds. By 9:00 a.m., 26 shaheds had been shot down, 20 were “lost” and one returned to Russia.

Russia attacked civilians in Antonivka in the Kherson region, targeting a 52-year-old local man with a drone, resulting in blast and shrapnel injuries in the legs, chest, and abdomen. An ambulance crew responding to the scene was also struck, leading to the death of a 64-year-old doctor. Two others, including a paramedic and a 52-year-old woman, are in serious condition.

On October 28, a 12-year-old and 13-year-old girl were wounded in a Russian kamikaze drone strike in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Both girls were hospitalized to treat their shrapnel wounds. Several houses were also damaged in the attack.

Russia fired on workers from DTEK, Ukraine’s largest energy company, as they were performing maintenance and repairs on Ukraine’s electrical infrastructure. No injuries were reported.

On October 28, a Shahed flew “dangerously close” to a power unit at the Khmelnytskyi Nuclear Power Plant.

On the evening of October 28, Russia struck Kharkiv with guided bombs. The attack caused damage to the Derzhprom, the State Industry Building. 8 people, including one police officer, were reported injured. The Derzhprom is a UNESCO World Heritage Center. The building’s construction was completed in 1928 and survived WW2. Oleh Syniehubov, Head of the Kharkiv Oblast Military Administration, said that the bombing also damaged a medical facility and local government buildings. Syniehubov said that hundreds of windows in numerous buildings were shattered. He said no serious injuries were reported. FAB-500s are believed to have been used in the attack.

Russia launched a missile attack on the city of Kryvyi Rih in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Serhii Lysak, Head of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration, reported that a three-story building in Kryvyi Rih was damaged in the strike. Eleven people were reported injured. Two men who are 39 and 40 years old are in extremely serious condition and 5 others were hospitalized. The building caught fire. Damage was also reported to a medical facility, a vehicle, and a gas pipeline.


On October 28 Swiss President Viola Amherd said that Switzerland should rethink its ban on allowing the re-export of weapons and military equipment to Ukraine. She said that she doesn’t want to allow direct supply of weapons to countries at war, but thinks it should be acceptable if intermediaries provide Ukraine with equipment they purchased from Switzerland. Switzerland is the world’s 14th largest weapons exporter. Amherd based her suggestion, at least partially, on the negative impact the re-export bans are having on their military industry. Countries are switching or are planning to switch to other weapons manufacturers to avoid export bans. The sales of Swiss arms declined significantly in 2023. Amherd said the risk to their industry affects Switzerland’s national security.


The Arctic LNG 2 gas terminal in Russia has stopped the liquefaction of natural gas because of Western sanctions that make it hard to transport and sell the gas. Daily gas production has fallen to 5.3 million cubic meters. The average in September was 12.1 million cubic meters. The terminal has limited access to specialized tankers and the number of foreign customers is shrinking. The plant is designed to produce 19.8 million tonnes of gas each year but only one production line is operating currently. That line can produce 6.6 million tonnes per year. In August, eight LNG shipments were shipped out and none found buyers.


A major explosion took place in the occupied city of Luhansk. Multiple videos show a thick column of smoke rising high into the air. The cause of the explosion is not yet known, but Russian sources claim it was struck by unspecified missiles. The location of the explosion was an old armored vehicle storage facility that the Russians have been using since 2014.


A Ukrainian soldier published footage of a drone dropping explosives on a Russian BMPT Terminator IFV in the Kurakhiv direction. The drone operator targeted the engine compartment of the vehicle.


On the 26th of October, a video was published showing the Russians testing a new self-defense system for Russian reconnaissance drones. They mounted a camera on the drone that caused the drone to maneuver and dodge if it detected an interceptor. Ukraine has published a video of downing a Russian UAV equipped with this system. They simply attack the UAV from a blindspot, a direction that the drone’s camera is not facing.




Ukrainian miblogger/mapper petrenko_iHs:

"Constantinople Direction (formerly Ugladar Direction):
In Shakhtarsk, the enemy has advanced along Naberezhnaya and Tsentralnaya streets.
Near Yasna Polyana (clarification to yesterday’s post), the enemy has entrenched along several tree lines and the Nalyvach ravine, extending up to 2.16 km deep.
North of Bohoyavlenka, enemy maneuvering groups have advanced toward the forest strip and the abandoned "Dobrovolye" airfield, reaching a depth of up to 450 meters.
Pokrovsk Direction:
On the southern flank, Russian troops have advanced in the area of Ostry and Aleksandropol toward the spoil heap and mine No. 1/2 "Ostry."
In Novoselidivka, the enemy has moved up to 1.25 km deep. Combat engagements are ongoing in the central and southern parts.
In the Vishnevy area, Russian assault groups continue to advance along the tree lines on the outskirts of the Glubokaya ravine. On the northern outskirts of Selidovo, the enemy is storming summer cottages."

Ukrainian soldier Bakhmut Demon:

“Hirnyk is all over, Selidove is almost the same. I'm in a bad mood.”

Ukrainian soldier muchnoyairborne: 

“Pokrovske direction: Lysivka and west of Novohrodivka, the enemy is attacking without success, the [Russians] are reaching the landings and dying! In the area of Novodmitrivka, the enemy has advanced to the center of the village, enemy aircraft and artillery are hitting the village of Zorya and southwest of Sontsovka, thus the enemy is already mapping out where their advance will go next! If they have successes to the west, we will have to withdraw from Kurakhivka to save their personnel!”

Quote of the Day:

    “Be a craftsman in hedgehog themed newsletters that thou mayest be strong, for the strength of one is the hedgehog, and a hedgehog is mightier than all fighting.”

― Ptahhotep