Day 610 of the Invasion of Ukraine: Russia continues to Sacrifice Soldiers in the Counteroffensive near Avdiivka

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Day 610 of the invasion of Ukraine. Summary of key events in the last 24 hours:

• Russia continues to sacrifice soldiers in the counteroffensive near Avdiivka
• The International Atomic Energy Agency made a statement after the Russian strike near the Ukrainian nuclear power plant
• With the new Black Sea Corridor, Ukraine expects to compensate for lost grain exports
• NATO: Russia must leave Moldova
• Slovakia freezes the delivery of weapons for Ukraine
• Russia says it will build close ties with North Korea 'in all spheres’
• Ukrainian pilots have begun training to fly F-16 fighter jets in the US

Russia continues to sacrifice soldiers in the counteroffensive near Avdiivka

Russian forces are ignoring their heavy losses at the front and are continuing their offensive to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, Ukrainian representatives announced today, quoted by Reuters and BTA.

Over the past two weeks, Russia has concentrated on the city of Avdiivka in Donetsk region, a city known in peacetime for its large coal plant but now considered a bastion of Ukrainian resistance.

"The enemy is trying to move forward, and we are pushing them back," Oleksandr Stupun, a spokesman for Ukraine's southern forces, said on national television. "So in no case can we talk about any fixed situation. Heavy fighting continues, although the activity has somewhat decreased. The enemy is going through some kind of regrouping," he specified.

Russian forces rely on infantry, using small assault groups of 30-40 men, Stupun said, noting that Russia's losses in the area in the past six days were 2,500 killed and wounded.

Vitaly Barabash, head of Avdiivka’s military administration, said Russia was pressing from the north but could not cross a railway line under Ukrainian control. He also dismissed reports that Russian troops had secured control of one of the large slag heaps that dominate the city's industrial zone. Russian reports of the latest fighting do not mention Avdiivka, but say Russian troops have repulsed 15 Ukrainian attacks near Kupiansk, far to the north.

Ukrainian officials also reported heavy fighting near Kupiansk, a town initially captured by troops but retaken by Ukraine during a rapid advance through the country's northeast last year. The authorities in the Kharkiv region said that they are imposing a mandatory evacuation of families from 10 settlements in the area.

Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began in June, has led to the capture of devastated villages in the east and some settlements in the south, but the pace is far slower than last year's advance through the country's northeast, Reuters noted.

Reuters could not independently confirm the information provided by either side.

The International Atomic Energy Agency made a statement after the Russian strike near the Ukrainian nuclear power plant

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed concern over the security and safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine following Russia's attack on Khmelnytskyi region on October 25. The strike damaged buildings near the nuclear power plant in the region.

Powerful explosions rocked an area near Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi nuclear power plant overnight, shattering many windows at the site and temporarily knocking out power to some external radiation monitoring stations.

“The fact that multiple windows at the site were destroyed shows how close it was. Next time we might not be so lucky. Hitting a nuclear power plant must be avoided at all costs,” said Rafael Mariano Grossi.

The IAEA was notified of these events through the Unified Incident and Emergency Information Exchange System by the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine. The Khmelnytskyi NPP has two reactors, of which only one is currently operating.

IAEA experts present at the plant in western Ukraine said air-raid sirens went off at 1:26 a.m. local time, followed later in the morning by the sound of two loud explosions. They were subsequently informed that two drones had been shot down at a distance of approximately five and 20 kilometers from the site, respectively, the IAEA publication said. Seismic monitoring stations installed near the NPP recorded the seismic effects of the explosions.

A statement posted on the IAEA website hours after the attack noted that there was no direct hit by the drones on the site and the explosions did not affect the operation of the nuclear power plant or its connection to the national electricity grid. However, the shock waves damaged the windows of several buildings at the site, including the passage to the reactor housings, an auxiliary building, a special equipment building, the training center and other facilities, the headquarters said.

A power outage in the nearby Slavuta area forced two of the plant's 11 external radiation monitoring stations to temporarily rely on backup power supplies until external electricity is restored.

Ukrainian officials have expressed concerns that Russia may escalate its attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure in the coming fall and winter months. The exact extent of the damage is currently being assessed by the IAEA team and further information will be provided.

Moscow has previously acknowledged that it has targeted Ukraine's energy infrastructure as one of its main targets. At the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the IAEA has spotted previously reported landmines at the facility.

Also on October 25, Russia announced a successful simulation of a massive nuclear retaliatory strike on land, air and water. The message released by the Kremlin said that during the exercise, ballistic and cruise missiles were launched, as well as Yars intercontinental missiles, launched from the Plesetsk cosmodrome towards the Kura missile range in Kamchatka, 6,000 km away. distance.

With the new Black Sea Corridor, Ukraine expects to compensate for lost grain exports

The Ukrainian government expects by the end of October to be able to export 1 million tons of grain through the new humanitarian corridor it established after Russia unilaterally pulled out of the UN agreement to deal with food shortages in the poorest countries in the summer.

"The situation is improving and if you look at September and the first half of October, there are already 700,000 tons (grain exports), and by the end of the month (October) it could be a million or more," said Deputy Minister of Agriculture Taras Vysotsky, quoted by Reuters.

Ukraine launched a "humanitarian corridor" for ships bound for African and Asian markets to try to circumvent the de facto blockade after Russia reneged on a deal this summer that guaranteed Kyiv's exports during the war.

Ukrainian authorities have reported that a total of 1.5 million tons of various cargoes have been exported by more than 40 ships on the new route since it began operating in late August.

Ukrainian agricultural producers this week said the new route could allow the export of up to 2.5 million tons of food per month, almost offsetting work on the previous Black Sea corridor.

That deal collapsed in July after Russia pulled out because its demands to lift sanctions on Russian banks and to ease conditions for insuring Russian cargo carried by ships were not met.

Ukraine's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday that as of Oct. 24, grain exports had fallen to 8.56 million tons in the 2023/2024 marketing season. For comparison, until October 28 last year, 12.34 million tons of grain were exported.

NATO: Russia must leave Moldova

“NATO fully supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Moldova, we call on Russia to withdraw its forces from the country's territory”, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said today at a meeting with Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, BTA reported.

"Moscow continues to put pressure on Moldova, including with blackmail in the field of energy and the spread of disinformation, seeking to destabilize society and undermine democracy in the country," Stoltenberg added.

He pointed out that Moldova has responded decisively to the war in Ukraine, condemning the Russian attack and improving its own security.

"Moldova, you can count on our support," added the Secretary General.

According to him, the alliance supports the improvement of Moldova's cyber defense and strategic communications. Stoltenberg expressed an expectation that this would help the country on its way to the EU.

Prime Minister Recean indicated that Moldova would like to participate not only in missions, but also in NATO exercises. “The Russian attack on Ukraine prompted us to take additional steps for our security and to strengthen society, institutions and our defense”, he added.

Slovakia freezes the delivery of weapons for Ukraine

The new Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, announced today that his country is stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine.

The support will be limited to "civil and humanitarian aid", reported AFP.

“We consider aid to Ukraine only civilian and humanitarian, we will not supply more weapons to Kiev”, Fico said, a day after he was appointed prime minister of a coalition government that includes a far-right pro-Russian party.

Left-wing leader Robert Fico will be prime minister for the fourth time. During his election campaign, he promised to end military support for Ukraine and criticized sanctions against Russia, Reuters recalls.

Fico's party "Direction - Social Democracy" won the elections on September 30 and formed a coalition with the center-left formation "Voice" and the nationalist Slovak National Party, BTA clarifies.

Russia says it will build close ties with North Korea 'in all spheres’

Russia said today that it plans to build close relations with North Korea in all spheres, Reuters reported.

The statement came a day after South Korea, Japan and the United States, which believe Pyongyang is supplying Moscow with weapons, condemned the shipments.

In response to a question about the accusation made by the three parties, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There are many such reports, all of them, as a rule, are baseless."

"North Korea is our neighbor and we continue to develop close relations in all spheres," Peskov also said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin met in Russia last month and discussed topics related to defense, the war in Ukraine and possible Russian aid to North Korea's satellite program.

The United States and its allies have raised concerns that Kim is supplying Russia with weapons and ammunition to use against Ukraine.

South Korea, Japan and the United States strongly condemn the supply of weapons to Moscow from North Korea, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington said in a joint statement released today, AFP reported. The three countries assure that Pyongyang has already delivered weapons to Moscow several times.

Russia and North Korea, which are historically allies, are subject to international sanctions, AFP notes.

"We emphasize that the supply of weapons to and from the DPRK (...) constitutes a violation of several UN Security Council resolutions," the joint statement by South Korea, Japan and the United States said.

Ukrainian pilots have begun training to fly F-16 fighter jets in the US

The US has begun training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, Ukrinform reported.

"The training schedule will be tailored to the basic knowledge and skills of each pilot and the training is expected to last several months," a US Air Force spokesman said in a statement.

A "small number" of Ukrainian pilots began training earlier this week with the Arizona Air National Guard's 162nd Airlift Wing to familiarize them with the basic skills of flying F-16 fighter jets, the spokesman said.

The aforementioned 162nd Airlift Wing trains pilots at Morris Air National Guard Base, which is located at Tucson International Airport. It is the only branch of the US Air Force that trains foreign pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets as part of its day-to-day operations. The air wing has trained pilots from more than 20 countries to fly F-16 fighter jets.

The standard training period lasts about six months. But US officials said Ukrainian pilots are unlikely to be trained under the standard program, as their training will be tailored to Ukraine's needs to defend its skies against Russian aircraft, drones and missiles.

Ukrainian pilots are trained to fly F-16 fighters in a number of European countries as well, Ukrainform points out.

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