Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 10-15-2024

Ministry of Finance changes structure of UAH bonds offering, central bank forced to increase interventions, and food prices increase above expectations. Weekly Insight for Oct. 14

Bonds: MoF changes structure of UAH bonds offering

The MoF paused the offering of two and three-year UAH bonds despite huge demand and their addition to the list of reserve bonds by the NBU.

The man said that he spent two months in an isolation cell with another inmate during his incarceration, and that “huge rats” were crawling around.

A Russian man jailed for “discrediting the army” after his daughter drew a pro-Ukraine picture at school was freed on Tuesday after serving his entire prison sentence, his lawyer said.

Alexei Moskalyov, 56, was detained in April 2022 after his daughter Maria drew missiles blasting toward a Ukrainian mother and child during an art lesson.

The once popular Ukrainian territorial defense units are going through hard times, as many of their members seek to transfer to other military units.

During January 2022, while the Russian full-scale invasion was still a month away, Territorial Defense (TRO) was being formed into regional centers. TRO units, unlike the regular army, gathered at weekends in abandoned factories to train with real or mock-up weapons in military skills such as coordination, assault, patrolling, offense, and retreat.

A Ukrainian news outlet citing intelligence sources says the servicemen left their positions on the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia.

The Suspiline news outlet, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources, reported that 18 North Korean soldiers fled their positions somewhere on the border between the Bryansk and Kursk regions of Russia, just 7 kilometers (4.4 miles) from the state border with Ukraine.

The source said the reason for them absenting themselves is not known but it said Russian forces were currently hunting them while the commanders in the area were trying to cover up the incident and to hide it from higher command.

The victory also marked the beginning of boxing history’s longest accumulated heavyweight title reigns, which ended when Klitschko lost to British boxer Tyson Fury in 2015.

On Oct. 14, 2000, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight belt returned to Ukraine’s Klitschko family after the then-24-year-old Wladimir Klitschko defeated 30-year-old US boxer Chris Byrd. Klitschko took the title that his older brother, Vitali, had lost to Byrd a few months before.

Wladimir’s victory would mark the beginning of boxing history’s longest accumulated heavyweight title reign, clocking in at 4,382 days in total, as noted by the Ukrainian news outlet “Champion.” Wladimir continued to gather other heavyweight belts after the 2000 match, though it was not without setbacks.

Hungarian foreign minister Péter Szijjártó also said that Budapest will veto European Union sanctions on Russia if the exemption for his country to purchase Russian oil is cancelled.

Hungary and Russia's Gazprom are negotiating a deal for additional gas supplies next year to Budapest, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told Russia's RIA news agency in remarks published on Tuesday (15 October).

"We have already signed one (additional agreement) for the last quarter of this year, which covers additional volumes at a competitive price. We are currently negotiating a deal for next year," Szijjártó told RIA.

The city lies south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region serves as a major logistics hub for Ukrainian troops and has witnessed intense fighting for months, its loss could spell trouble for Ukraine.

Russian troops have advanced in Toretsk, a key logistics hub for Ukraine and a prime tactical target for Moscow in the Donetsk region, according to open-source intelligence DeepState.

A military expert told the Ukrainian news outlet TSN that the fall of Toretsk could allow Moscow to move against Kostyantynivka, one of Moscow’s strategic targets in its quest to capture the entire Donetsk region.

Fake bomb threats were widely distributed across Ukraine, accusing Radio Liberty journalists, who had recently published an investigation into Russian intel services, of involvement in false flag ops.

Civil authorities, schools, business centers, hotels, embassies, newsrooms – including Radio Liberty – and other institutions received messages about a supposed threat of terrorist acts and bombings, causing evacuations to be carried out in many public buildings across Ukraine, including educational institutions.

On Monday, Oct. 14, the Radio Liberty newsroom reported that it received a letter signed by a representative of a “terrorist group” named after an anti-Ukrainian Telegram channel.

Russia’s key ally, North Korea, is stepping in to provide large-scale support – not only with weapons and military equipment but also by supplying personnel.

Russia is grappling with a significant manpower shortage on the front lines due to heavy casualties, both dead and wounded. In response, North Korea, a key ally, is stepping in to provide large-scale support – not only with weapons and military equipment but also by supplying personnel, according to Kyiv Post sources in Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR).

“Putin is doing everything possible to delay and avoid the decision to conduct a new full-fledged wave of mobilization on the territory of the Russian Federation,” the source said.

With the 2024 American presidential election just 20 days away, all eyes are on the race for the White House in anticipation of learning how a new leader may shake up US domestic and foreign policy.

The primary challenges that Ukraine will face with the next US president have been laid out by Ukraine’s former minister of Foreign Affairs – and the path forward will not be easy, no matter who takes the White House in January following next month’s election. 

Pavlo Klimkin identified five topics in US-UA relations that will be most affected by the upcoming change in leadership in an op-ed last week, giving his personal take on possible implications. 

In this episode of "Capital Questions," TVP World explores Germany’s changing role in the EU. Once a powerhouse of integration and strength, can Germany still lead in 2024?

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• Between 10 and 16 September 2024, the Russian Federation Navy (RFN] conducted OKEAN-24, a large-scale strategic exercise. This followed a two-year pause on any large-scale exercises by the Russian armed forces. Up until 2022, Russia would conduct an annual exercise involving all its armed forces - the Joint Strategic Exercise (SE) - but the last two have been cancelled almost certainly as a consequence of the demands of the war in Ukraine
• OKEAN-24 was likely an effort to demonstrate reach and capability in spite of the war. Initial Russian media reports stated that OKEAN-2024 would involve over 400 vessels, 120 aircraft, 7,000 vehicles and 90,000 personnel, with units conducting operations in the Barents, Baltic, Mediterranean and Caspian Sea as well as the Pacific and Arctic Oceans.
• The exercise did operate in these areas, but Russia has almost certainly grossly exaggerated these figures as there are currently only around 300 vessels available to take part.
• No OKEAN-2024 activity took place in the Black Sea, highly likely because of Ukrainian attacks in the first six months of 2024.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

India has withdrawn its envoy to Canada & other officials and diplomats whom Ottawa named as "persons of interest" in a matter related to alleged Indian state sponsored killing of Sikh separatist leader in BC last year. It brings bilateral relations to a new low and hands beleaguered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a renewed foreign policy crisis just as he prepares to head to the polls. India has also threatened further action against Canada. New Delhi rejected the "preposterous imputations" of the Canadian assertion, made in a diplomatic communication on Sunday, saying it was part of Trudeau's "political agenda" centered around "vote bank politics." Meanwhile, Trudeau said the Indian government has made a "fundamental error" as he accused it of supporting a campaign of violence against Canadians on Canadian soil. "I think it is obvious that the government of India made a fundamental error in thinking that they could engage in supporting criminal activity against Canadians, here on Canadian soil. Whether it be murders or extortion or other violent acts, it is absolutely unacceptable," Trudeau said during a Thanksgiving Monday news conference. "No country, particularly not a democracy that upholds the rule of law, can accept this fundamental violation of its sovereignty." 

Context: depending on how you look at it, India has just handed the beleaguered Canadian PM Justin Trudeau a political time bomb which paints him and his foreign minister as incompetent handlers of foreign policy. Or a pre-election gift - allowing Trudeau to ascend from rock bottom public opinion polling as ‘Captain Canada’ - standing up to a much larger bully, India. My guess is the former as India has the capacity to hurt Canada significantly by withdrawing more foreign students, slowing tourism and unleashing trade retaliation. Indian nationals make up almost 50 percent of all incoming foreign students to Canada.

The first of a series of articles by Frishberg & Partners, adapted by Kyiv Post, describes the steps foreign investors need to take to produce munitions and military equipment.

Setting up defense production facilities in Ukraine necessarily involves transfer of intellectual property rights, which can include dual application technologies applicable to both military and civilian materiel. 

For example, the US-based AeroVironment Inc, is working jointly with Ukrainian companies to produce its Switchblade 600 loitering munition in Ukraine using their dual application technology.  Initially it will ship the weapon’s components to Ukraine for assembly, followed later by the manufacture of certain components in Ukraine. This requires transfer of intellectual property rights (IPR) to the Ukrainian entities.

A key provision of the agreement states that if either Russia or North Korea is attacked and enters a state of war, the other party will provide military and other assistance using all available means

Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted a draft law to the State Duma on Monday, Oct. 14, to ratify a comprehensive strategic partnership agreement between Russia and North Korea.

This agreement, which implies potential military support, was made public through the Duma's legislative activity database.

Multiple districts came under attack, causing significant damage to infrastructure, a restaurant complex, shopping areas, residential buildings, and vehicles.

A ballistic missile attack on the southern city of Mykolaiv early morning on Tuesday, Oct. 15, killed one resident and injured 16 others, according to Vitaly Kim, head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration (OVA).

Germany, Kyiv's second biggest military backer behind only the United States, is itself being increasingly targeted by Russian spying and sabotage activities, they said.

Russia will likely be capable of launching an attack on NATO by 2030 and is ramping up efforts to disrupt Ukraine's Western supporters through sabotage, German intelligence chiefs warned Monday.

Germany, Kyiv's second biggest military backer behind only the United States, is itself being increasingly targeted by Russian spying and sabotage activities, they said.

Despite Russia’s claims that its economy is doing great, economic data coming out of Russia would indicate that the economy is not only overheating, but may be beginning to implode.

Russian officials claim that the national economy is flourishing, with a GDP growth rate of 4.6% in the first half of 2024. But a closer look at the numbers indicate that there might be trouble on Russia’s horizon as the ruble faces both inflation and devaluation.

Professor Steve Hanke, an economist at John Hopkins University, calculated earlier this year that real inflation in Russia is 27% – a stark contrast to the 9.1% claimed by the Russian Central Bank. Something that puts Russia’s plans, to increase 2025 military spending by 24% into perspective: It is actually less spending than in 2024 while representing a higher percent of the overall budget.

“Russians are doing everything that can be seen in the worst nightmares,” says Monika Andruszewska, who documents Russian war crimes, in an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post.

War crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine have been regularly investigated by Ukrainian prosecutors and international institutions such as the International Criminal Court (ICC) from the very beginning of war. In the near future, the Council of Europe will also establish an international tribunal tasked with examining these cases.

Investigating Russian crimes also involves collecting testimonies and working in areas where there were occupying forces.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from ISW:

• Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov arrived in the People's Republic of China (PRC) for an official visit on October 14, highlighting continued Russia-PRC defense cooperation against the backdrop of bilateral naval exercises in the Pacific Ocean.
• Russian forces struck civilian vessels docked at Ukrainian ports for the fourth time since October 5, part of an apparent Russian strike campaign targeting port areas to undermine Ukraine's grain corridor, spoil international support for Ukraine, and push Ukraine into premature negotiations.
• Russian sources claimed that Russian forces recaptured positions in Kursk Oblast.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained positions in central Toretsk.
• Russian forces recently conducted a reduced battalion-sized mechanized assault in the Kurakhove direction and recently made confirmed advances northeast of Vuhledar.
• Russian opposition outlet Verstka reported on October 11 that sources within the Russian Presidential Administration stated that the Kremlin's "Time of Heroes" program, which places veterans of the war in Ukraine into government positions after returning to Russia, is meant to increase the popularity of contract military service and boost recruitment.
• Russian occupation officials continue to pathologize Ukrainian identity in an effort to indoctrinate children in occupied Ukraine.