Key developments on Oct. 19-20:
- Ukraine says it struck airfield and 'largest explosives factory' in Russia
- Russian overnight missile strike on Kryvyi Rih injures 17
- Tens of thousands of Georgians rally in support of EU accession ahead of upcoming parliamentary election
- Ukraine’s NATO membership on 'irreversible path,' G7 defense ministers reaffirm
Ukraine said on Oct. 20 that it attacked Russia's "largest explosives plant" and an airfield overnight, the latest in a series of long-range drone attacks in the rear to slowly grind down the bigger foe's powerful war machine from afar.
A source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Kyiv Independent that the drones targeted the large state-owned Sverdlov Plant in the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Nizhny Novgorod region, some 900 kilometers deep into Russia.
The plant has been under sanctions by the U.S. and the EU since 2023, over what the U.S. State Department says is its work "acquiring goods in support of Russia's war effort." The factory produces explosives, industrial chemicals, detonators and ammunition, the U.S. said in a press release when the sanctions were announced.
The source told the Kyiv Independent that the plant produces aviation and artillery shells, aviation bombs, and warheads that help Russia continue waging its war against Ukraine.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported later in the day that Ukraine had also struck the Lipetsk-2 airfield in the Lipetsk region, located over 400 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. This attack targeted ammunition depots, fuel storage facilities and aircraft on an airfield known to be home to Russian Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 aircraft, it added.
The operations were carried out in cooperation between the SBU, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), and the Special Operations Forces, the SBU source said.
The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify the report.
Outmanned and outgunned on the battlefield Ukraine has turned to homemade drones to try to exhaust Russian combat capabilities as much as possible from afar, targeting Russian military-industrial complex facilities, airbases or oil refineries.
While Ukraine regularly claims attacks deep into Russia, it is difficult to verify the authenticity of the reports and the scale of the damage inflicted.
"The SBU worked on strengthening the sanctions against the Sverdlov plant," the SBU source told the Kyiv Independent.
"We added drones to the economic sanctions, which give an instant effect. Work on reducing the enemy's military capabilities will continue."
Earlier in October, another Ukrainian drone strike set ablaze a Russian weapons depot storing North Korean ammunition in Bryansk Oblast, Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 9.
In September, Estonian Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, said Ukraine's drone strike on the arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast destroyed two to three months' worth of munitions.
Kateryna Hodunova
Russian overnight missile strike on Kryvyi Rih injures 17
A Russian overnight missile strike on the central-eastern city of Kryvyi Rih injured 17 people, Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the city's military administration, reported on Oct. 20.
Russian troops struck the city, located in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, twice with ballistic missiles, according to Vilkul. Eight of the injured are currently in the hospital, but their conditions are "moderate," he said in a post on Telegram.
Vilkul said that Russia targeted "peaceful civilian sites," damaging 15 buildings, three educational institutions, three administrative buildings, seven businesses, a hotel, three fire trucks, and 20 cars.
Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelensky, has regularly faced missile attacks, as it is located not far from the front line.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow's forces have attacked military and civilian sites across the country using missiles and drones.
Kryvyi Rih, with a population of around 660,000, is the second-largest city in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The city is about 70 kilometers northwest of its nearest front-line zone.
Danylo Mokryk
Tens of thousands of Georgians rally in support of EU accession ahead of upcoming parliamentary election
A large rally in support of Georgia's accession to the European Union was held in Tbilisi's Freedom Square on Oct. 20, ahead of the upcoming parliamentary election scheduled for Oct. 26.
The "Georgia Chooses the European Union" march brought what appeared to be several tens of thousand of protesters to the streets of the Tbilisi, social media videos show. Protesters waved EU and Georgian flag while singing the country's national anthem.
President Salome Zourabichvili, a vocal opponent of the ruling Georgian Dream party, participated in the rally, urging protesters to vote for pro-European parties during the election. Zourabichvili said the protest "shows that Georgia has already won and will reintegrate with Europe."
Zourabichvili also addressed President Volodymyr Zelensky in her speech, stating that Ukraine is "fighting for Georgia as well. You will be victorious and we will enter the European Union together."
Ahead of crucial parliamentary elections in Georgia, massive pro- EU march is underway in #Tbilisi.
— Maria Katamadze (@mariakatamadze1) October 20, 2024
#GeVote2024 pic.twitter.com/VyLPUnX2vy
Georgia's received EU candidate status alongside Ukraine in December 2023. Although questions surrounding Georgia's candidacy continue to swirl as the ruling Georgian Dream party continues to rekindle relations with Russia.
Concerns about Georgia's democracy have reached a fever pitch after the ruling Georgian Dream party passed the foreign agents law, which requires organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as "foreign agents" and mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to crack down on Kremlin regime critics.
On Sept. 14, the de facto leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, as part of his party's larger trend of rapprochement with Russia declared that Georgia should "apologize" for Russia's 2008 war against the country.
Western officials have sanctioned in recent months Georgian officials who they deem as having a role in committing human rights abuses.
Moscow formally initiated processes cozying relations with Tbilisi on Oct. 10 as Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a presidential decree expanding visa-free entry for Georgian citizens who are working or studying in Russia.
Dmytro Basmat
Ukraine’s NATO membership on 'irreversible path,' G7 defense ministers reaffirm
Defense ministers of the G7 countries reaffirmed their commitment to supporting Ukraine's integration into NATO, according to the joint statement following their meeting in Naples on Oct. 19.
"We support Ukraine on its irreversible path to full Euro-Atlantic integration, including NATO membership,” the statement said.
The ministers also pledged continued military assistance to Ukraine, both in the short and long term, and emphasized the importance of training and educational support for the Ukrainian Defense Forces.
"We welcome the respective efforts of NATO and the EU under the NATO Security Assistance and Training Program for Ukraine and the EU Military Assistance Mission," the document states
The ministers also confirmed their goal of achieving a "comprehensive, just, and lasting peace" that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, as set out by international law.
However, the White House’s position regarding Ukraine’s accession has been that the invitation to NATO will likely not come in the short term, citing the need for reforms and fulfillment of security conditions.
We are not at the stage where the Alliance is discussing issuing an invitation in the short term," U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said on Oct. 16 ahead of a NATO defense ministers meeting in Brussels, Voice of America reported.
"But, as always, we will continue talks with our friends in Ukraine about how they can move toward the Alliance," Smith added.
Dmytro Basmat
