To divide
A Ukrainian special unit apparently destroyed an entire convoy of vehicles. Moscow talks about failed attacks on Zaporizhia. News about the war in Ukraine.
- Tallest German in general holds Escalation of war possible: Carsten Breuer warns
- To protect against Russia’s attacks: Kharkiv builds first underground school
- Russia Photos drone about Bryansk: Ukraine’s new attack on western Russia?
- The information processed here comes from international media and news agencies, but also from the belligerent parties, Russia, Ukraine and their allies. In particular, information about the losses suffered by the armies involved in the Ukrainian war cannot be independently verified.
Update October 3, 5:18 pm: According to Moscow on Tuesday (3 October), Kiev’s attempts to break through Russian defenses on the front lines in the east and south of the country were unsuccessful. “The enemy’s attempts to break through our defenses in the Verbowe and Rabotino (Russian name for Robotyne) areas of the Zaporizhzhia front have failed,” Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian military officials, according to AFP.
Shoigu also said that the Russian army “repelled all attacks in the direction of Bakhmut” on the Eastern Front, in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. These claims could not be verified.
Losses for Russia: Ukrainian units apparently destroy entire columns
Update October 3, 1:20 pm: Ukrainian special forces apparently tracked down and destroyed an entire column of Russian combat vehicles in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine. The announcement was made by the Ukrainian General Staff, according to Ukrainian news website Ria Melitopol.
Thus, special forces scouts followed the column for two weeks in the area of the city of Tokmak, in southern Ukraine. Aerial reconnaissance finally discovered them in a forest and fired artillery at them. Five infantry vehicles and two trucks were destroyed in this way.
Ukrainian soldiers prepare to attack with artillery. © IMAGO/Aziz Karimov/Images SOPA
New figures released on Russia’s losses in the Ukraine war
Update October 3, 11:48 am: The Ukrainian General Staff has published new figures on Russia’s losses in the Ukrainian war. According to this, 360 Russian soldiers died in battle in one day. The Ukrainian army also destroyed 40 Russian artillery systems and 15 Russian tanks. The total number of Russian soldiers killed rises to around 279,440. The numbers cannot be independently verified; Russia only very rarely publishes its own data on the number of losses.
- Soldiers: 279,440 (+360)
- Tank: 4,732 (+15)
- Armored combat vehicles: 9,008 (+8)
- Artillery systems: 6,565 (+40)
- Vehicles and fuel tanks: 8,932 (+23)
- Drones: 5,080 (+20)
- Source: Ukrainian General Staff as of October 3, 2023. Information cannot be independently verified.
Germany’s top general believes an escalation of the war in Ukraine is possible
Update October 3, 10:51 am: The Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, Carsten Breuer, believes that a new escalation of the war in Ukraine and consequences for other European countries is possible. The question of what comes next remains, he said in a speech on German Unity Day in Brussels.
Breuer is therefore pushing for an expansion of Germany and NATO’s defense capabilities. The highest-ranking German soldier explained that it is necessary to support countries that are seen as possible new frontline states. Germany is doing this, for example, by creating a Bundeswehr brigade for Lithuania. In the past, it was good to have strategic patience and composure. But today you have to act quickly.
Update October 3, 10:02 am: Ukraine apparently fended off several Russian drones and a cruise missile overnight. In the east and south of the country, Ukrainian air defense destroyed 29 Iranian-made Shahed drones and an Iskander missile, the army said on Telegram. A total of 31 drones and one missile were fired from the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia.
“All that’s left is scrap”: Ukraine presents tanks destroyed after Russian attack
Update October 3, 8:13am: Ukraine-affiliated news portal Nexta is releasing a video on platform X, formerly Twitter, that appears to show Russian tanks destroyed near the small town of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region. Ukrainian troops are said to have repelled an attack by the Russian army at that location. “All that remained of Russia’s armored vehicles was scrap metal,” writes the news portal.
War in Ukraine: the origins of the conflict with Russia
See series of photos
To protect against Russian attacks: Kharkiv is building its first underground school
Update October 3, 6:51 am: The city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, is building the country’s first underground school to protect its students from Russian attacks. “This shelter will allow thousands of children in Kharkiv to safely continue their classes in person, even during rocket attacks,” writes Mayor Ihor Terekhov on Telegram.
While many schools in frontline regions were forced to teach online during the war, Kharkiv set up around 60 classrooms in metro stations before the start of the school year on September 1, capable of accommodating more than 1,000 students. Parts of the city are less than 35 kilometers from the Russian border and are subject to almost daily Russian air raids.
Attacks in the war in Ukraine: Russia shoots down drone over Bryansk
Update October 3, 6:40am: According to official information, Russian air defense once again repelled a Ukrainian drone over the southwestern border region of Bryansk on Tuesday night. The missile was destroyed, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on its Telegram channel.
There was no damage or casualties, Bryansk region governor Alexander Bogomas said, according to Russian state news agency Tass. Moscow has repeatedly reported similar drone attacks in recent weeks.
Update October 3, 6:25am: Following the historic visit of EU foreign ministers to Kiev, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed confidence in his country’s early accession to the EU. “We all know that it is only a matter of time before Ukraine becomes a member of the EU,” he said in a video speech on Monday (September 2). Regarding the visit of diplomats from the 27 EU states, he added: “So the meeting has already taken place in the EU.”
“Tactically complex” situation in Robotyne – Russia launches counterattacks
Update October 2, 9:58 pm: South of Robotyne, where Ukraine continues its counter-offensive in Zaporizhia Oblast, the situation is considered “tactically complex” and “dynamic”. This emerges from the current status report by the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW). According to ISW experts, tactically important defense facilities in the area change hands several times. This should be proven by evaluated satellite images. As part of their “elastic defense,” Russian troops would launch their own counterattacks.
In their counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces are trying to advance first to Tokmak, then to Melitopol, in order to create a barrier between Russian troops and cut off their supplies.
Consultations on Ukraine war: EU foreign ministers meet in Kiev
Update October 2, 5:35 pm: EU chief diplomat Josep Borrell described the meeting of European foreign ministers in Kiev as historic. It was the first time that the EU Council of Foreign Ministers met outside the European Union, he said at a press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kiev. It was also the first time they met in an EU candidate country and in a country at war.
The meeting also sent a strong signal to Russia. “We will not be intimidated by your missiles or drones,” Borrell said. “Of course we would have loved and preferred to have met under different circumstances,” he added. But these are exactly the circumstances and Ukraine must be supported to overcome this challenge. “With their visit to Kiev, the European Union’s foreign ministers sent a strong signal of solidarity and support for Ukraine in the face of this unjust and illegitimate war,” said Borrell.
Update October 2nd, 3pm: According to the Russian leader’s former speechwriter, Abbas Gallyamov, there is currently an “internal struggle” in Russia for recruits for the Russian army. In an interview with the Unian news agency, Gallyamov said advertisements and advertisements across Russia were trying to attract people to military service in Ukraine. The recruitment work will be supervised by former President Dmitry Medvedev, he emphasized. Since each governor of the Russian regions is obliged to regularly supply a certain number of recruits, there is an internal struggle between the individual regions. Richer areas, such as Moscow or St. Petersburg, are trying to attract residents from poorer regions to their own recruitment offices. “The entire regional administrative apparatus is focused on this work,” explained Gallyamov.
Baerbock reiterates call for a “winter protection umbrella” for Ukraine
Update October 2, 11:30 am: At the start of the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kiev, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock reiterated her call for a “winter protection umbrella” for Ukraine. This includes expanding air defense, providing electricity generators and strengthening global energy supplies.
“We saw last winter how brutally the Russian president is waging this war, deliberately attacking power plants,” the Green politician said on Monday in Kiev. Vladimir Putin is betting that water supplies will collapse at temperatures of 20 degrees below zero. “We have to avoid this as much as possible with everything we have.” Germany has already provided Ukraine with massive support with air defense systems such as the Iris-T and Patriot.
Special meeting of EU foreign ministers in Kiev on the war in Ukraine
Update October 2, 10:20 am: Foreign ministers from the 27 EU member states met on Monday for a special meeting in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev. The head of EU foreign policy, Josep Borrell, spoke on the online service X (formerly Twitter) of a “historic meeting” that aims to “express our solidarity and support for the Ukrainian people”. It was the first meeting of all 27 foreign ministers outside the EU, Borrell explained the importance of the meeting. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also spoke of a “historic event” in a joint press statement with Borrell. It is a meeting “within the future borders of the European Union”, said Kuleba.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) also reported from Kiev on Monday. On the online service X she published a photo of the Ukrainian capital with the addition: “Good morning Kiev!”
High Russian losses in the war in Ukraine: Kiev publishes current data
Update October 2, 8:50am: The Ukrainian General Staff published current figures on Russia’s losses in the Ukrainian war. According to this, around 510 Russian soldiers were killed or seriously injured in the fighting in one day. The numbers before the brackets refer to total losses since the start of the war. Information cannot be independently verified.
- Soldiers: 279,080 (+510 the previous day)
- tank: 4,717 (+15)
- Armored combat vehicles: 9000 (+9)
- artillery systems: 6,525 (+48)
- Drones: 5061 (+18)
- Vehicles and tankers: 8909 (+26)
- Source: Information from the General Staff of Ukraine as of October 2, 2023
War in Ukraine: EU Foreign Ministers travel to Kiev
Update October 2, 8:30am: In support of Ukraine, EU foreign ministers traveled to Kiev for an informal meeting. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced this on Monday. This is Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s second visit to Ukraine in just a few weeks.
US promises more aid to Ukraine
Update October 2, 6:30am: According to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, the US government has assured Ukraine of more military aid despite the budget dispute in Washington. Umerow writes about
Ukraine War: Fierce shootings in the east and south
First report: Kiev – The General Staff in Kiev reported violent firefights along the nearly 1,000-kilometer-long front in the east and south of the country. However, no change in the situation could be seen in the Sunday evening report. Russian attempts to regain lost positions were repelled near the city of Bakhmut in Donbass. The Ukrainian army continues its attacks near Bakhmut and Robotyne in the south. This military information could not immediately be verified.
Ukrainian attack on Sochi airport
According to unofficial information, Ukraine attacked Russia’s Sochi airport on the Black Sea with combat drones on Sunday (October 1). Kyiv media reported, citing intelligence sources, that the target was a helicopter parking area. Russia’s main seaside resort, Sochi, from where President Vladimir Putin frequently conducts his official business, is about 800 kilometers from Ukrainian-controlled territory. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced that a Ukrainian drone had been shot down in the region.
Ukrainian drone attacks were also reported in the Russian regions of Smolensk and Belgorod on Sunday. According to military reports from Moscow, two Ukrainian missiles were intercepted on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia. (With agencies)