Key developments on Oct. 8:
- 'Fights taking place at every building entrance' as Russia enters eastern Toretsk, military says
- France to deliver first Mirage 2000 jets to Ukraine in early 2025
- Russian forces outnumbered Ukrainians tenfold in battle for Vuhledar, commander says
- North Korea likely sending soldiers to Ukraine to aid Russia, Seoul says
- Russian strikes on Kharkiv kill 2, injure over 30
The situation in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast remains very difficult as Ukraine is fighting Russian forces in the eastern outskirts of the front-line town, a spokesperson of the Luhansk Operational Tactical Group said on Oct. 7.
"The fighting is taking place within Toretsk itself. The situation is unstable; fights are taking place literally at every building entrance," spokesperson Anastasia Bobovnikova said on air on national television.
Moscow has focused its efforts against Toretsk over the past month as part of its grinding offensive in Donbas. The situation grows increasingly difficult in Ukraine's east as Russia captured the town of Vuhledar and closes in on Pokrovsk.
Bobovnikova said it is difficult to assess which parts of the town are under Russian control but confirmed that Moscow's troops had entered the eastern outskirts, advancing along Tsentralna (Central) Street in the direction of the Tsentralna Mine.
"But the situation is constantly changing. Sometimes, we destroy their fire positions; sometimes, they destroy ours. But we are constantly regrouping and trying to regain what Russia captures," the spokesperson added.
Russian forces launched 11 attacks against Toretsk and nearby settlements on Oct. 7, according to Ukraine's General Staff. Twelve more ground assaults were launched overnight on Oct. 8.
The crowdsourced monitoring website DeepState indicates that settlements on the eastern outskirts of Toretsk – Pivnichne, Zalizne, Druzhba, and Pivdenne – are fully or almost completely in Russian hands.
According to the monitoring group, Russian forces have been advancing along Tsentralna Street since late September and have reached the town's center as of Oct. 7.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the claims.
Francis Farrell
France to deliver first Mirage 2000 jets to Ukraine in early 2025
Ukraine should receive the first Mirage 2000 fighter jets from France in the first quarter of 2025, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Oct. 8.
French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled in June that Paris would provide Kyiv with an unspecified number of Mirage 2000-5 planes to boost its airpower.
The planes "will be equipped with new equipment: air-to-ground combat capabilities and anti-electronic warfare defense," Lecornu said.
"The training of Ukrainian pilots and mechanics continues."
The first cohort of Ukrainian pilots have completed Alpha Jet training in France, the French Armed Forces announced on Sept. 20.
The Mirage 2000 is a multirole aircraft designed in the late 1970s and introduced in 1984.
The 2000-5 version has upgraded radar systems and can carry fuel drop tanks, greatly increasing its range. The French media previously reported that the version delivered to Ukraine would be equipped to hit ground targets.
Martin Fornusek
Russian forces outnumbered Ukrainians tenfold in battle for Vuhledar, commander says
Russian troops committed to the capture of Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast outnumbered defending Ukrainian forces by around 9:1, Oleksandr Okhrimenko, commander of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, said in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Glavkom published on Oct. 8.
Kyiv announced the withdrawal from Vuhledar on Oct. 2, after Russian forces first swarmed the town's flanks and then entered its urban area.
The 72nd Mechanized Brigade had defended Vuhledar, one of the key strongholds of Ukraine's defense of southern Donetsk Oblast, for over two years without rotations.
According to Okhrimenko, Moscow deployed Russia's 36th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, 39th Brigade, 57th Brigade, 91st Separate Rifle Regiment and other units to the final assault Vuhledar.
"The enemy's forces had superiority in tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, artillery systems, anti-tank weapons, and personnel," the commander said.
The attacking side can gain an advantage on the battlefield if it has three times as many forces and means as the other one, Okhrimenko said, referring to a ballpark ratio commonly upheld in military doctrine around the world.
"It was 1:9 in Vuhledar. You can objectively understand the chances to hold this settlement and the line of defense in the brigade's sector of responsibility," he added.
Kateryna Hodunova
North Korea likely sending soldiers to Ukraine to aid Russia, Seoul says
North Korea is likely to deploy regular troops to Ukraine to help Russia, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Yong-Hyun told lawmakers on Oct. 8, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"As Russia and North Korea have signed a mutual treaty akin to a military alliance, the possibility of such a deployment is highly likely," the minister said in the parliament.
Moscow and Pyongyang have deepened military cooperation as Russia seeks arms and other support in its full-scale war against Ukraine.
Asked about a recent report by Ukrainian media that North Korean service members were killed and injured near occupied Donetsk, Kim said that this is also likely true.
The group of North Korean soldiers arrived in the Russian-held part of Ukraine to exchange experience with their Russian counterparts, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Oct. 4, citing a military intelligence source. Six were reportedly killed and three injured in a missile attack.
"We believe there have been injuries and fatalities among North Korean troops in Ukraine," Kim said, according to Politico.
Chris York
Russian strikes on Kharkiv kill 2, injure over 30
Russian forces carried out two attacks on the city of Kharkiv on Oct. 8, killing two people and injuring more than 30 others, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said.
A Russian morning attack against the industrial part of the eastern city of Kharkiv injured at least 21 people. One of the victims is 16 years old.
Seventeen people have been hospitalized, while the others received medical assistance on the spot, local authorities reported.
The governor initially said that Russia used air-dropped glide bombs but later clarified that the type of weapon used is still being determined.
The city's infrastructure was damaged as a result of the attack, Syniehubov said without revealing additional details. Several hits were recorded in the city, resulting in a large-scale fire, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.
Later in the evening, Russia attacked Kharkiv with more glide bombs, killing at least two people and injuring five others.
Terekhov said that according to preliminary data Russia hit a multi-story building in the second attack. The strike damaged 15 apartment buildings in the Saltivka district, he added.
A woman and a man, both aged 70, are among the killed.
