As the Ukrainian Armed Forces successfully advance in the south, the prospect of the fight for Kherson nears. Russian forces are likely attempting to consolidate a new front line west from the village of Mylove in Kherson region, the UK defence intelligence said in its update on October 13. Western military officials estimate Ukraine could take Kherson up to the Dnipro as soon as next week, the Financial Times said. Meanwhile, representatives of the Russia-installed administration in Kherson released controversial statements on \u201cevacuation\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ukrainian troops destroyed a Russian command post in the Beryslav district of Kherson region, Ukraine\u2019s Operational Command South (Pivden) said on October 13. The damage to the Kerch Strait Bridge likely continues to slow down deliveries of Russian supplies and personnel to southern Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its report of October 13. Ukrainian online media \u201cKrym Realii\u201d published satellite imagery of over 1,000 trucks on the Russian side of the bridge waiting in a three-to-four-day line to cross the strait via the ferry. \u201cKrym Realii\u201d found that there are only four ferries operating with a capacity of 90 trucks and 300 people each, ISW said. Maxar satellite imagery also showed Russian military trucks using the ferry to cross the Kerch Strait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Ukrainian Armed Forces prepared ground to deoccupy the territory on the right bank in Kherson region,\u201d Ukrainian military analyst Dmytro Snehiryov told Radio NV. Ukraine\u2019s counteroffensive in the south advances at a steady pace and is successful. Reports of it being halted are not true, he added. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Russian-appointed head of the Kherson occupation administration, Volodymyr (Vladimir) Saldo, asked Russian officials on October 13 to support a wide-scale evacuation of civilians from Kherson region to occupied Crimea and neighboring Russian oblasts to \u201cprotect\u201d Kherson civilians from alleged Ukrainian missile strikes that target civilian facilities, repeating a Russian propaganda narrative. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cVladimir Saldo\u2019s request signals Ukraine’s fightback in occupied region is gaining traction,\u201d the Financial Times said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An appeal from the Russian-installed head of the region raised fears that Kherson will become a new frontline, the Guardian said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The self-proclaimed president of Belarus Alyaksandr Lukashenka said that Belarus\u2019s joint regional group of forces with Russia will number more than 70,000, mostly Belarusian troops. \u201cOur army consists of about 70,000 troops. That\u2019s the core. We will not demand 10,000-15,000 more troops from Russia now. They keep themselves busy with other problems, you name them. We will stick to that. We train the guys,\u201d Lukashenka said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He also said that Poland suggested hosting nuclear weapons, and half of the Poles support the move, according to a survey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Belarus and Russia agreed to deploy a joint regional group of forces in the west of Belarus. Lukashenka announced on October 10. \u201cResponding to an escalation on the western border of the Union State, we agreed to deploy a regional group of forces of the Russian Federation and Belarus,\u201d Lukashenka said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since its full-scale invasion, Russia has fired at Ukraine a total of 1,235 precision-guided long-range missiles worth USD 5.54-6.81 billion, \u201cUkrainska Pravda\u201d said, quoting the data on Russia\u2019s missile capabilities released by Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Russia has used two-thirds of its precision-guided long-range missile capabilities, an infographic released by Ukraine\u2019s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov shows. Russia has fired 776 Iskander missiles, 228 Kalibr missiles, and 231 Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
An Iskander missile is estimated to cost USD three million. Russia has spent USD 2,328 billion worth of the Iskander missiles it fired at Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Kalibr missiles costs USD 6.5 million, meaning Russia has fired USD 1,482 billion worth of missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Kh-101 costs USD 13 million, and a Kh-555 costs USD 7.5 million, open sources say. The total cost of the missiles that Russia fired since the full-scale invasion stands at USD 5.54-6.81 billion. <\/p>\n\n\n\n