The U.K. Defense Ministry said on Dec. 3 that Russian forces had “highly likely” made small advances south of Bakhmut in recent days after five months of trying to capture the besieged town in Donetsk Oblast.
The ministry said that Russia likely plans to encircle Bakhmut with “tactical advances to the north and the south,” investing a significant portion of its military effort in capturing the town.
After Russia's battlefield defeats in Ukraine’s northeast and the south, “there is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut’s capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia,” it added.
While seizing Bakhmut could allow Russia to launch more attacks on urban areas such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast, it would have “limited operational value," according to the U.K. Defense Ministry.
“The campaign has been disproportionately costly relative to these possible gains,” the report reads.
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Saturday, October 18
A Latin American citizen was fatally stabbed after a dispute in the western Ukrainian city of Ternopil, local police said.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported downing 136 drones launched by Russia overnight.
An electrical substation in Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast is in flames following a reported Ukrainian drone strike, Russian Telegram media channels reported on Oct. 18.
Saturday, October 18
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"Hopefully, we'll be able to get the war over without thinking about Tomahawks," Trump told reporters before closed-door talks with Zelensky.
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The Crimean Wind Telegram channel earlier reported explosions and a fire at the site, with visual confirmation of burning fuel infrastructure.
Ruslan Lavryk reportedly has heart problems and needs hospitalization after prolonged captivity and torture.
(Updated: )
In Donetsk, a Russian ammunition depot was hit in a drone attack, with fires and explosions reported in the occupied city.
A co-founder of the New York Group — a collective of Ukrainian emigre writers — Tarnawsky helped to expand and redefine contemporary Ukrainian literature through his embrace of narrative structure experimentation and linguistic innovation.
Of those respondents, 58% said that criticism should be balanced and constructive, in order "to not destabilize the situation in the country."
(Updated: )
The announcement followed a phone call between the two leaders, during which they also agreed to hold a high-level U.S.-Russia meeting next week.
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