“The Ukrainian conflict will end with negotiations,” said Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin after meeting with Pope Francis. “We will continue to support Ukraine, as we said, and they will determine when it is time to sit down at the negotiating table. But you have heard me say before that this conflict will end with some kind of negotiations sooner or later,” Austin told reporters in Rome.
Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening speech on October 23 said that “the United States has decided to provide Ukraine with $20 billion frozen from Russian resources,” “This is part of a joint support package of the G7 countries and the EU in the amount of $50 billion,” he said.
A U.S. source told Reuters: “At least 3,000 North Korean troops have been transported by ship from North Korea to Primorsky in the Russian Far East. It is likely that Russia will send North Korean soldiers to fight in Russia’s Kursk region.” White House: “If they fought in Ukraine, they would become a legitimate target.” “The United States should consider direct military action in Ukraine if North Korean troops invade the country,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner.
“China has no information that North Korean troops are being sent to participate in the special operation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian.
A major fire broke out at a US military headquarters in South Korea (USFK) in the southeastern port city of Busan, South Korea.
The European Council said that “Ukraine has been granted a €35 billion loan from the EU for 45 years: it will be paid with frozen Russian assets.”
A veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Yevgeny Diky said that Ukraine must quickly mobilize half a million people to stabilize the front and advance. “After that, it will be possible to recruit 20-30 thousand people every month, which will allow us to maintain the initiative and achieve victory… Such a plan will require significant resources and public support,” he noted. The head of the Council of Reservists of the Ground Forces of Ukraine, Ivan Tymochko, said that “Ukrainian women need to be prepared for military service,” in his opinion, in military planning it is necessary to start from the worst case scenario. “The more action plans we have, the more prepared people will be to resist. The more armed we are, the less motivated Russia will be to attack us.”
President Volodymyr Zelesky returned to talk about the peace summit: “We will see Russia at the ‘Peace Summit’ when and if the ‘Ukrainian victory plan’ is fully implemented.” The Office of the President of Ukraine denied information provided by Politico about “seven opponents” of Ukraine’s invitation to NATO. Zelensky’s press secretary, Serhiy Nykyforov, said that such rumors are beneficial to those who want to create the false impression that Ukraine’s membership does not enjoy broad support among the members of the Alliance.
According to Turkish sources, a battery of the Patriot air defense system was destroyed near Kiev last night. The number of Patriot batteries destroyed since the start of the SVO was 20, whose value exceeds $ 70 billion. Since the beginning of the year, 22 S-300 batteries, 20 Patriot batteries, seven IRIS-T batteries, 11 Bukov, four NASAMS, one Aspid-2000, three HAWK, one Supacat, one S-125 and three Gepard self-propelled guns, three ZRPK “Tunguska” were destroyed. At least 43 radar systems were also destroyed.
Up to 200 thousand Russian soldiers are concentrated against Ukrainian troops in the south, Vladislav Voloshin, the spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine, said. According to him, these forces cover the Zaporozhye, Dnieper and Crimean directions. The spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces said that the activity of Russian troops is gradually increasing: every day they carry out up to seven air strikes with guided bombs and five unguided missiles. According to him, the Russian Aerospace Forces use attack aircraft and front-line aircraft to strike at the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and front-line settlements.
There have been unofficial reports that Russia has granted Iran licenses for the production of Su-35 and Su-30 fighters.
And now a look at the front line as of 16:30 on October 24.
In the Kursk region, during the day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces transferred equipment to the Novoivanovka-Kruglenky area, losing several units of equipment due to minefields and Russian artillery fire. Along the entire line of combat contact, operators of FPV drones and serial UAVs “Pacer” destroyed Ukrainian armored vehicles, including those of American manufacture. Counterattacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the northwestern part of the wedge can be explained by the need to entrench and strengthen their positions in the area of the Leonidova settlement to prevent further collapse of the defense. In the Glushkovsky district near the settlement, on a new forest path, a group of Ukrainian infantry was destroyed.
In the direction of Kupyansk, Russian Armed Forces are gaining a foothold in Kruhlyakivka, they are advancing east of Novosadove along the forested areas.
Heavy fighting continues in Chasiv Yar, but the gradual encirclement of the city from the north and south poses a threat to the Ukrainian garrison, whose main forces are located in the area of multi-story buildings and a fire facility. They report that the logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are complicated: “Dirt roads are washed away by mud. However, it is too early to speak of the imminent capture of the city by the Russian army.”
Ukrainian troops have launched another successful counterattack inside Toretsk, this time recapturing the area of Zabalka. Russian troops have carried out drone strikes on Ukrainian positions at coordinates 48.37928, 37.85346. Meanwhile, Russian troops continue to advance along the western flank, reaching the center of Shcherbynivka.
The Battle of Toretsk is starting to resemble the Battle of Selydove. Russian forces initially made significant progress into the city before being counterattacked by large Ukrainian forces, and in response Russian forces concentrated on the flanks and began to encircle the city. This left a large Ukrainian garrison trapped inside the city as it had lost access to all supply routes.
In the Pokrovs’k direction, Russian forces destroyed Ukrainian defenses at Selydove, breaking into the city center and taking control of its southern part. By the afternoon Russian military sources were reporting that Selydove was almost completely taken. Ukrainian media outlets are reporting that Ukrainian forces have lost control of Izmailivka, Russian forces are also expanding the control zone at Novoselydivka, creating an additional threat to the position of Ukrainian forces at Hirnyk, from which Ukrainian media outlets are calling for an urgent withdrawal: there is only one road left.
In the Kurachove direction, Russian troops continue their actions to capture this important defense center of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the city are under attack by Russian FABs.
In the direction of Kherson, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are mining the floodplain of the Dnepr River, trying to impede the movement of Russian units.
On the Zaporozhye front, there is an intensification of the use of Russian aviation and MLRS on the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Orichiv direction. Online, soldiers of the Russian Airborne Forces reported that they had taken another Ukrainian stronghold, from where a large part of the Ukrainian equipment was handed over to the special services units.
Overnight, the Governor of Sevastopol announced the destruction of a Ukrainian missile over the sea. In the Belgorod region, in the village of Oktyabrsky, Belgorod district, an explosive device was dropped from a drone on the territory of a private house, injuring a man. Under attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces Murom, Shebekino, Nezhegol.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
