Russia launches a major drone attack at Ukraine’s military and critical infrastructure overnight. Russian forces try to again seize Kupyansk, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s Ground Forces Commander says. North Korea sent one million rounds of artillery to Russia, South Korea says. The European Commission will recommend opening accession talks with Ukraine, Politico says.
Russia launches major drone attack at Ukraine’s military and critical infrastructure
Overnight on November 1, Russia carried out a major drone attack that sought to strike Ukraine’s military and critical infrastructure. Russian forces launched 20 Shahed drones and a Kh-59 guided missile at Ukraine. Ukraine’s Air Force said that air defenses shot down 18 drones and a missile.
A drone hit an oil refinery in Kremenchuk, in Poltava region, sparking a fire. The fire was extinguished. There were no casualties. The refinery is not operational, head of the Poltava regional military administration, Filip Pronin said on Telegram. Explosions also rocked western Khmelnytskyi region, and central Cherkasy and Kirovohradska regions overnight.
“The focus of the attack was Poltava region, the attack came in several waves. The drones were flying in groups and later split into pairs and individual drones. They actually reached the western regions,” spokesperson for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said on national television. Russia is also using drones to detect weaknesses in Ukrainian air defenses, Ihnat added.
Russian forces try to again seize Kupyansk, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine’s Ground Forces Commander says
Commander of Ukraine’s Ground Forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russia’s goal in the area is to again seize the city of Kupyansk, in Kharkiv region.
“The enemy has achieved no strategic success on the Kupyansk axis. The goal of the Russians is clear — they want to occupy the city once again,” Syrskyi said on Telegram. Ukrainian troops are repelling Russian attacks, derailing attempts to gain ground toward Kupyansk, he added.
The Kupyansk direction remains one of the hottest on the front lines. Describing the situation on the Kupyansk axis, in an area that falls within the responsibility of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on November 1 that the enemy conducted unsuccessful assault operations near Synkivka and Ivanivka in Kharkiv region, and Nadiya in Luhansk region. Ukrainian troops repelled more than 10 Russian attacks, it added.
North Korea sent one million rounds of artillery to Russia, South Korea says
North Korea has sent more than one million rounds of artillery to Russia that President Vladimir Putin appears to be using in his bombardment of Ukraine, Bloomberg said, citing a lawmaker briefed by South Korea’s spy agency.
There have been about 10 shipments of weapons from North Korea to Russia since August, the National Intelligence Service said in a closed-door briefing with South Korean lawmakers Wednesday, Yoo Sang-bum, a member of the ruling People Power Party who is on a parliamentary intelligence committee, told reporters.
North Korea also sent advisers to Russia on the use of the munitions, which would be enough for about two months’ of shelling, Yoo cited the intelligence service as saying.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare trip to North Korea in late July. Soon after that, Russia sent a VIP military jet to Pyongyang, stoking concerns that Pyongyang was about to embark on a major arms transfer with Russia.
EU Commission will recommend opening accession talks with Ukraine, Politico says
The European Commission will publish its report card on the progress of Ukraine and other aspiring EU members toward accession on November 8.
In that document, EU officials and diplomats tell Politico, Brussels will recommend opening accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova — conditioned on “technical” caveats where the countries need to make more progress, from building a solid and independent judiciary, to protecting minority rights and implementing anti-corruption measures.
The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will likely to go to Ukraine in early November, RFE/RL journalist Rikard Jozwiak said on X, formerly Twitter. “She wouldn’t go there that close to the publication of the Commission’s enlargement reports (on November 8) if she didn’t have good news,” he added.
Role of renewable energy in rebuilding Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Ukraine in Flames #527
The energy strategy of Ukraine until 2050 involves the restoration of the energy sector using the most modern technologies, strengthening the stability of the system and strengthening the energy security of Ukraine and the European continent as a whole. The key task of the strategy is to transform Ukraine into the energy hub of Europe, which will help the continent finally get rid of dependence on Russian fossil fuels thanks to the clean energy produced in Ukraine. Watch Ukraine in flames #527 to find out about the revitalization of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, the various physical and cyber risks it faces, and explore potential collaboration directions between the EU and Ukraine within the field of renewable energy.
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