October 11, 2023
Ukraine war in the live ticker
+++ 05:08 Ukraine reports heavy fighting near Avdiivka in Donetsk region +++
Violent Russian attacks on the city of Avdiivka, which has been under dispute for months, are being reported from the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. “Heavy fighting is ongoing north of the city,” said the head of Avdiivka’s military administration, Vitaly Barabash, according to Ukrainian media. The head of the presidential office in Kiev, Andriy Yermak, also speaks of “massive attacks by Russian artillery.”
+++ 01:35 Great Britain announces aid for mine clearance +++
A group of European states led by Great Britain will provide Ukraine with a package of 100 million pounds (around 115.8 million euros) to support the Ukrainian armed forces. The British Ministry of Defense said the aid also included equipment for clearing minefields. Ukraine is “now the most heavily mined country in the world,” which is hindering the counteroffensive. Mine clearance capacities are essential to move the country forward. The package will be financed with funds from the International Fund for Ukraine – a group of countries such as Great Britain, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden.
+++ 22:15 Zelensky accuses Russia of supporting Hamas +++
Ukrainian President Zelensky accuses Russia of supporting Hamas’ actions in Israel. “We are sure that Russia, in one way or another, supports Hamas’ operations,” Zelensky said in an interview broadcast on French TV channel France 2. “Russia is really trying to carry out destabilization actions all over the world,” he adds. At the same time, Zelensky is concerned that international attention will be diverted from Ukraine by the violence in Israel and Gaza. “There is a risk that international attention will shift away from Ukraine, and that will have consequences,” says the Ukrainian president. The tragedies that befall his country and Israel are “different, but both are enormous.”
+++ 21:35 Lavrov is traveling to China next week +++
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is traveling to China next week. Lavrov will be in Beijing from Monday to Wednesday on the occasion of the third international forum “One Belt, One Road” (New Silk Road) and will hold talks with his Chinese colleague Wang Yi, Lavrov’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told journalists in Moscow. Russian President Putin is also traveling to China shortly. During a visit by the Chinese Foreign Minister to St. Petersburg on September 20, Putin accepted an invitation from Beijing in October. However, the official date for the trip is not yet known.
+++ 20:59 Report: At least 60 schools in Russia named after participants in the invasion +++
According to research by the independent Russian investigative website Important Stories, at least 60 schools in Russia bear the names of Russian soldiers who died in Ukraine. Almost half of these schools are located in the North Caucasus region of Dagestan. According to the website, most of the dead, after whom the educational institutions were named, were contract or professional soldiers. Two of the schools – in Vladivostok and Balashikha – bear the names of fighters from the Wagner mercenary group. According to the report, the two mercenaries had nothing to do with these schools.
+++ 20:11 Goods delivered for Russia’s war – arrests in Bulgaria +++
Twelve people have been arrested in Bulgaria, an EU and NATO member state, who are said to have illegally delivered dual-use goods to Russia for the war in Ukraine. There are seven Bulgarian citizens, three Russians, one Albanian and one Belarusian, according to the Bulgarian public prosecutor’s office, the Interior Ministry and the national security agency DANS. The goods, which can also be used for military purposes, reportedly went to the Russian special forces and the Wagner Group in Ukraine. The accused are said to have brought goods worth more than four million leva (a good two million euros) to Russia – such as binoculars. The goods were bought abroad, repacked in the southern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, then sent to the capital Sofia and from there delivered to Russia.
You can read more about the events of the previous day here.