Ukrainian troops likely advance on the Russian-held east bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson region, ISW says. Ukraine will receive U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles on a regular basis, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister says. The Ukrainian Parliament gives initial approval to a bill to ban religious organization affiliated with Russia.
Ukrainian troops likely advance on Russian-held east bank of Dnipro in Kherson region, ISW says
Russian sources expressed pronounced concern about ongoing Ukrainian activity on the east bank of Kherson Oblast and framed these activities as part of a potential larger Ukrainian operation, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report on October 18.
Ukrainian troops have reportedly advanced on the Russian-held east (left) bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson region, ISW said.
A prominent Russian milblogger claimed that two Ukrainian “assault groups” landed on the east bank of the Dnipro River and broke through initial Russian defenses on the afternoon of October 17, the report reads.
Ukrainian troops likely advanced north of Pishchanivka (14 km east of Kherson), ISW said.
In an evening report on October 18, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces listed Pishchanivka village as being attacked by Russia. “On the Kherson axis, Russia’s occupying forces launched air strikes near Novoberyslav, Kozatske, Olhivka, Prydniprovske and Pishchanivka in Kherson region,” the update says. The likely conclusion is that Ukrainian troops have advanced toward Pishchanivka on the east bank of the Dnipro in Kherson region.
Russian concerns about the ability of Russian forces to repel a potential Ukrainian offensive operation across the Dnipro River may be partially connected to the condition of the Russian grouping of forces on the left bank, ISW said. The Russian command has drawn relatively more elite units from the Kherson direction to support defensive operations in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast in recent months, and the current force composition in the area is likely relatively less combat effective, it added.
Ukraine to receive U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles on regular basis, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister says
Ukraine will receive U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles on a regular basis, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in televised comments Thursday.
Regular shipments of the missiles are “a direct result of the agreement between Ukrainian President Zelenskyi and U.S. President Biden, reached in Washington during a personal meeting in late September,” Kuleba added.
Ukrainian Parliament gives initial approval to bill to ban religious organization affiliated with Russia
A bill to ban religious organizations affiliated with Russia passed the first reading in the Ukrainian Parliament on Thursday. If passed, the bill would outlaw the Moscow-affiliated Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC).
The draft law no.8371 banning religious organizations affiliated with Russia passed by a vote of 267 to 15.