Battle | Shaheed attacks on civilian targets in Kharkiv

Day 618: Britain says Russia has air defense problems. A Ukrainian commander warns of trench warfare. All information on news blog.

10:19 am: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has complained of the use of “almost 40” Russian combat drones against ten regions of the country. “Unfortunately there were casualties. According to preliminary information, there were no victims,” ​​the head of state said on social networks on Friday. According to him, it affected three regions: Kharkiv in the east and Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in the west. Only half of the drones were intercepted. The Ukrainian Air Force had earlier reported 24 casualties.

Zelensky promised to further strengthen anti-aircraft defenses. Russia wants to do more damage as winter approaches, he said. Earlier in the day, Zelensky’s office manager Andriy Yermak announced that Russia had deployed 243 Iranian Shahed drones in Ukraine in October alone. The mortality rate is said to be nearly 94 percent.

10:07 am: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called for “more confidence” in his country given Ukraine’s counteroffensive and the coming winter months. “Believe in us, support our struggle, and our victory will be your victory,” Kuleba told ZDF’s “Morgenmagazin” on Friday. He was convinced that Ukraine would withstand Russian attacks this winter.

Despite waning media attention to the war in Ukraine, Kuleba said he sees no decline in political support for his country. “Exactly the opposite case.” Ukraine got the message from pro-Ukraine capitals that even as the Middle East conflict escalated, the priority was still on Ukraine.

Kuleba told “Morgenmagazin” about the central government’s reluctance to supply Taurus cruise missiles: “If a country asks us to limit the range of weapons to a certain area, we will do it.” In such a case, Ukraine would pledge not to use the weapons outside its own country. “We are fulfilling our promises,” the foreign minister assured.

7:53 am: Russia accused the US of a “confused, illogical” sanctions policy in view of a new set of US punitive measures. Anatoly Antonov, Moscow’s ambassador to Washington, said on Friday that the aim of the US’s new “frontal strike” is to damage Russia’s economy, break the country’s internal unity and attack its citizens. But the damage is more to the West than to Russia, he said. The US has imposed new punitive measures against dozens of people, companies and organizations (see entry from 10:07 pm).

Before presidential elections in March, Antonov expects a “further increase in sanctions pressure.” Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, who has been waging war against Ukraine for more than 20 months, is expected to run for re-election. So far, Russia’s economy has withstood the pressure of Western sanctions, Antonov said. But the West has run out of options. “The White House’s moves in this direction are confusing, illogical and cannot be explained by common sense,” Antonov said.

3:15 am: According to its Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine has felt no shortage of international assistance in its fight against Russia. Kuleba told the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner” that despite the war in the Middle East, he currently does not see his partners’ support diminishing in any way. Instead, Kiev has received assurances at all levels that support for Ukraine will continue.

Regarding the discussion on the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, Kuleba said he understood that Germany still needed time to make a decision. However, the reach argument is pointless; It’s about trust. His country had promised that such weapons would not be used on Russian territory. “We stand by our word,” Kuleba said. Read more about the Israel and Ukraine debate at “Maybritt Illner” here.