WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Russian attack hits site in western Ukraine, limited evacuation ordered
Authorities in the western Ukrainian region of Vinnytsya ordered an evacuation early on Saturday, saying an infrastructure site had been struck in a Russian attack.
"At this time there is no need for a general evacuation, apart from the immediate area around the site of the hit, said Vasyl Polishchuk, head of administration for the town of Kalynivka, according to the town's website.
It did not say what target had been struck or what weapon had been used. Regional Governor Serhiy Borzov had reported the hit on an unspecified infrastructure site, a term Ukrainian officials sometimes use to refer to facilities involved in power generation or other industries.
Earlier reports said drones had been operating in the area.
** Seven countries order ammunition under EU scheme to aid Ukraine
Seven EU countries have ordered ammunition under a landmark European Union procurement scheme to get urgently needed artillery shells to Ukraine and replenish depleted Western stocks, according to the EU agency in charge.
The orders - placed under contracts negotiated by the European Defence Agency (EDA) - are for 155mm artillery rounds, one of the most important munitions in the war of attrition between Ukraine's troops and Russian invaders.
The scheme was set up as part of a plan worth at least 2 billion euros, launched in March with the aim of getting a million shells and missiles to Ukraine within a year.
Some officials and diplomats have expressed scepticism that the target will be met but the initiative marked a significant step in the EU's growing role in defence and military affairs, spurred by the war in Ukraine.
Until now, defence procurement has largely been the preserve of the bloc's 27 individual member governments.
"Seven Member States have already placed orders for 155mm ammunition through the EDA’s fast-track procedure," the agency said in response to questions from Reuters.
"More orders, for instance for national replenishment purposes, could materialise in the coming weeks and months."
The EDA declined to name the countries or state the size of the orders, saying much of the information was confidential.
In response to queries from Reuters, Lithuania and Luxembourg said they were among the seven.
Luxembourg's defence ministry said it had earmarked 2 million euros ($2.1 million).
SCRAMBLE FOR AMMO
Kyiv's Western allies have been scrambling to procure artillery ammunition for Ukraine and boost production capacity as the combatants have been firing thousands of rounds every day.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Kyiv on Thursday that the alliance now had overarching framework contracts for 2.4 billion euros' ($2.5 billion) worth of key ammunition, including 1 billion euros of firm orders.
"It was ... not sufficient only to deplete our own stocks," he said.
The EDA said the EU deals were for both complete shells and for components such as fuses, projectiles, charges and primers.
It said the scheme covered four "modern firing platforms designed and produced in Europe ... and most commonly used by the Ukrainian armed forces", naming them as France’s CAESAR, Poland’s Krab, Germany’s PzH2000 and Slovakia’s Zuzana C/2000.
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By placing orders before the end of this month, the countries are eligible for reimbursement from an EU-run fund, the European Peace Facility, for ammunition procured for Ukraine - although Luxembourg said it would not request this. ($1 = 0.9452 euros)
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Russian defenses stronger than expected – UK military chief
Russia’s defensive lines have proven to be more resilient than the West had initially anticipated, Admiral Tony Radakin, the chief of the British Defense Staff has admitted, noting that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could drag on for some time.
Speaking on ‘War on the Rocks,’ an American podcast, the military official stressed that the West must be “very careful of rushing to easy judgments” about Kiev’s counteroffensive and stated that expectations about what Ukraine’s forces can achieve in the near future should be “adjusted.”
Radakin pointed out that at the start of Kiev’s summer counteroffensive, it was still looking for more equipment and ammunition, the lack of which had impacted the operation. There was also the issue of incorrect assessments of Russia’s strengths. “In actuality, some of those Russian defenses have been stronger than first anticipated,” the admiral said.
Nevertheless, Radakin claimed that Kiev was “grinding through and making progress.” To that end, he insisted that Kiev’s Western backers must continue supporting Ukraine, as its ability to prevail in the conflict depended on it being able to outlast Russia.
“It’s the military that wins battles, but it's the economics and that sustainability that tends to win wars,” he said.
When addressing the challenges surrounding the counteroffensive’s limited success, the admiral cited the current hindrances faced by Ukrainian generals. These challenges primarily included managing a diverse range of military vehicles within their forces and addressing concerns related to the insufficient training of their soldiers.
“[Kiev’s] force is not a professional soldiers’ force; it’s a citizen army,”Radakin said, noting that there's a “humility and sobering element” to the fact that it is yet unclear how to get a citizen army to fight in a way that could overcome Russian defenses.
Ukraine launched its offensive in early June but has so far failed to gain significant ground, losing many Western-supplied tanks and armored vehicles.
This week, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Kiev’s forces had lost over 17,000 service members and more than 2,700 pieces of military equipment in September. Earlier this month, the ministry also claimed that Kiev’s forces had suffered 66,000 casualties and lost over 7,600 pieces of heavy equipment since the start of the counteroffensive operation.
** Putin congratulates Russians on reunion with new regions
Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated all Russian citizens on the occasion of the Day of Reunification of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, and the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions with Russia.
"A year ago, on September 30, a defining and truly historic event took place when agreements were signed to incorporate four new constituent entities into the Russian Federation," he said in a video address.
He pointed out that "millions of residents of Donbass and the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions made their choice to be with their Fatherland."
"This conscious, long-awaited, hard-won and genuinely popular decision was made collectively through referendums in full compliance with international norms," the Russian leader noted.
"People showed courage and integrity in the face of attempts to intimidate and deprive them of their right to determine their own future, their destiny, and to take away something every person values, namely, culture, traditions, and mother tongue, in a word, everything that was loathed by nationalists and their Western patrons who orchestrated a coup in Kiev in 2014 and then unleashed a full-scale civil war and terror against dissenters and organized blockades, constant shelling, and punitive actions in Donbass," Putin said.
Reuters/RT/Tass
