Ukraine Defense Contact Group meets in Brussels
At a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels on Wednesday, the Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said the country’s top priority is to strengthen the air defenses. The Group often referred to as the “Ramstein format” in Ukraine unites the country’s allies as they discuss and coordinate military assistance to Ukraine so that it can defend itself against Russia.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group made significant progress, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a news conference in Brussels, as quoted by Ukrinform.
Ukraine needs more air and missile defense systems, including long-range systems, and artillery systems, Austin said. The group also discussed ways to strengthen collective efforts while responding to new challenges, the U.S. Defense Secretary said.
Russia strikes central market of Avdiyivka
At least seven people were killed, and eight more were wounded as a Russian missile strike hit the central market of Avdiyivka, in Donetsk region on the morning of October 12.
“The Russians struck the central market where many people were at that time,” head of the Donetsk regional military administration Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. “Such attacks have no military logic. They try to kill as many our people as possible and intimidate all the rest. That’s what the Russians are about. As they are unable to stand against the Ukrainian troops, they are waging a war against civilians,” Kyrylenko proceeded.
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Ukraine’s counteroffensive advances
The Ukrainian Armed Forces recaptured 75 towns and villages in Kherson region since Russia’s full-scale invasion, of which 29 in October alone, head of the Kherson regional military administration Yaroslav Yanushevych said on television.
“The liberation of Kherson region continues. I can’t say more, we need to keep quiet [about the military operations]. We hope for good news every day,” Yanushevych said.
He also reported damages to houses, schools, hospitals, and kindergartens in retaken towns and villages. The Russian forces destroyed transmission lines, substations, gas and water pipelines, and heating plants.
How Ukraine’s medical workers save lives in war. Ukraine in Flames #216
In times of war, the work of paramedics, doctors and medical volunteers is as important as the work of the military. They are warriors in their own field who have to adapt to constant danger and risk their own lives while saving others’. Watch Ukraine in Flames #216 to look inside Ukrainian hospitals and learn how Ukrainian medics remain fearless, bringing the victory closer.
Speakers:
- Hennadiy Druzenko, co-founder and president, Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital
- Rozaliya Antypova, Kharkiv-based paramedic
- Halyna Shymanska, Truskavets-based doctor
- Serhii Horishchak, doctor and neurosurgeon, director of the Municipal Paediatric Clinic in Odesa
