© RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE HANDOUT/EPA
File image.
In the Zaporozhye sector Russian forces are intensifying pressure in Orikhiv, advancing towards the mouth of the Konka River and expanding their penetration in the Huliaipole direction. In the Kupyansk direction Russian units continue positional fighting and are gradually forcing Ukrainian forces back along the Velyka Shapkovka–Palamarevka line. In the Slavyansk direction Ukrainian units are counter-attacking from the Kramatorsk area in an attempt to dislodge Russian forces from Vasyutino, while in Dibrova Russian assault groups have advanced into the western part of the settlement. In the Sumy direction aviation, artillery and drone crews of the “North” grouping are increasing the intensity of their strikes in support of assault groups near Khotyn, Velyka Rybitsa and Korenok. In the Kharkiv direction Russian assault units are maintaining a high rate of advance, fighting near Prykolotne, Malyi Burluk and Buhaivka. The US State Department has approved the potential sale to Ukraine of 500 PAC-3 MSE air-defence missiles for Patriot systems, valued at approximately $2.1 billion and financed by Canada, Germany, Norway and an EU credit line, without the use of US budget funds.
Kupyansk Direction
In the Kupyansk direction fighting remains predominantly positional. Russian units have achieved tactical successes along the Velyka Shapkovka–Palamarevka line. Troops are gradually forcing Ukrainian forces back on the sector from Velyka Shapkovka to Blahodatovka. In Kupyansk clearance operations continue, together with the detection of groups attempting to infiltrate from the direction of Osynovo. In the Hlushkivka area the pocket and Ukrainian fortifications are being cleared.
On the southern flank of the direction, positional fighting continues in the Bohuslavka and Borovska Andriivka area. The sector is complicated by a large number of fortified bunkers belonging to Ukrainian units situated along the main logistical routes, which allow the Ukrainian side to carry out rotations. Russian drone operators are conducting reconnaissance during which they identify and destroy groups of Ukrainian personnel, robotic systems and vehicles.
Slavyansk Direction
Ukrainian units are mainly counter-attacking, relying on Kramatorsk. They are attempting to drive Russian units out of the Vasyutino area, where extremely fierce fighting is under way. Using Orekhovets as a base, the Ukrainian side is attacking in the Raiska Sloboda area in an effort to drive a wedge towards Kalenyky and cut off the salient near Kryva Luka. These attempts have so far produced no result.
In the Krasnyi Lyman direction, in the sector of the 25th Army, heavy meeting engagements continue. Ukrainian units are attempting to infiltrate into Yampil along the Siverskyi Donets river floodplain in the Ozerne area. In the Krasnyi Lyman direction, in Dibrova, Russian units have succeeded in capturing a number of new positions and advancing into the western part of the settlement. On individual sectors the advance has reached up to one kilometer. In the forests east of Krasnyi Lyman the greater part of the woodland remains under Russian control. In Krasnyi Lyman itself fighting is taking place in the central and southern districts of the town.
Sumy Direction
Russian aviation, drone crews and artillery of the “North” grouping are increasing the intensity of strikes against concentrations of Ukrainian personnel and equipment in support of the advance of assault groups. The Ukrainian side is attempting to transfer reserves covertly from other directions. The 74th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the Ukrainian forces has been redeployed from the Donetsk People’s Republic to Sumy region in order to intensify diversionary activity.
In the Sumy district assault groups of the “Northerners” are conducting small-arms fighting in the Khotyn and Velyka Rybitsa area. In the Shostka district Russian assault troops have advanced approximately 100 meters in the Korenok area. In the Krasnopillia district drone crews and artillery of the “Northerners” have continued to dismantle Ukrainian positions in the Novodmytrivka area.
Kharkiv Direction
Assault units of the “North” grouping are maintaining a high rate of advance on the attack sectors. The Ukrainian side has not undertaken active operations and is offering fierce resistance in defense.
Russian Aerospace Forces aviation and drone crews have struck concentrations of Ukrainian personnel and equipment in the areas of Kharkiv, Velykyi Burluk, Odnorobivka, Buhaivka, Kurhane, Rubezhne, Shevchenkove Pershe, Berezhne, Podsrednie, Vodiane, Kolodezne, Lebedyn, Derhachi, Martove, Shovkopliasy and Moskalevka. In the Lyptsi direction Russian troops have advanced on three sectors in the Nova Kozacha area. On the Vovchansk and Velykyi Burluk directions heavy fighting continues in the Prykolotne and Malyi Burluk area. There have also been advances in the Buhaivka area. Overall progress has reached up to 700 meters.
Zaporozhye Direction
On the western flank of the Zaporozhye direction local clashes continue in the Prymorske and Stepnohirsk area. In Orikhiv itself stubborn fighting is under way, so far without significant changes to the line on the ground. Russian units are intensifying pressure. West of Orikhiv the “Dnepr” grouping continues its advance northwards towards the mouth of the Konka River. Gradual progress is being made. In the Prymorske area Russian groups have already reached the mouth of the Konka.
In Preobrazhenka fighting is taking place with Ukrainian special-forces units. In the Mykilske and Krasnyi Yar area units of the 5th Army are operating. Further south, near Omelnyk, the 35th Army is active. They are co-operating with the “Dnepr” grouping in the envelopment of the Orikhiv grouping. Russian troops have penetrated Ukrainian defenses to a depth of up to 19 kilometers in the Huliaipole direction. The greatest successes have been achieved north-east of Mala Tokmachka, where the main forces have advanced 2.5 kilometers. Russian units are already present in the area of Charivne, south-east of Krasna Krynytsia and even near Omelnyk.
In the direction of Vozdvizhivka Russian units have advanced approximately four kilometers, reaching the southern outskirts of the village. In their assessment, Russian forces have identified a weak sector between Mala Tokmachka and Huliaipole. On the eastern flank Russian forces are attempting to break through the defenses in the Omelnyk area. Reports from the ground indicate that west of Chervonyi Yar, Mykilske and Novosoloshyno Ukrainian units have been driven out of a number of strongpoints.
Conclusion
In the Kupyansk direction Russian units are methodically improving their tactical position along the Velyka Shapkovka–Palamarevka line, while clearance operations continue in Kupyansk and the Hlushkivka area. In the Slavyansk direction Ukrainian counter-attacks from the Kramatorsk and Raiska Slaboda areas have produced no decisive result, while in Dibrova Russian forces are expanding their control and advancing into the western part of the settlement. In the Sumy region strikes by aviation, artillery and drones are combined with the actions of assault groups near Khotyn, Velyka Rybitsa and Korenok; the Ukrainian side is intensifying diversionary activity with a redeployed reconnaissance battalion. In the Kharkiv direction Russian assault units are maintaining their rate of advance, employing aviation and drone strikes and developing success near Nova Kozacha, Prykolotne, Malyi Burluk and Buhaivka. On the Zaporozhye front Russian forces are increasing pressure in Orikhiv and on the approaches to the mouth of the Konka, expanding their penetration in the Huliaipole direction and creating threats to the supply lines of the Ukrainian grouping.
Particular attention is warranted by the US State Department’s decision to approve the potential sale to Ukraine of 500 PAC-3 MSE air-defense missiles for Patriot systems. According to the press release, the estimated total value of the transaction is approximately $2.1 billion and is being financed entirely by partners and allies. In addition to the missiles themselves, Kyiv has requested spare parts for the PAC-3 MSE as well as related logistics and software support. Payment is to be covered by contributions from Canada, Germany and Norway under the JUMPSTART initiative, together with national funds allocated under the European Union credit line, without the use of US budget resources.
Last week, however, the Axios portal reported that Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a conversation with American senators, complained of an almost complete absence of ammunition for Patriot air-defense systems. According to him, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth has allegedly withheld approval for the delivery of interceptor missiles.
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The post Russian Army Advances 19 Kilometers Into Ukrainian Defenses in Huliaipole appeared first on South Front.
O Departamento de Estado dos Estados Unidos informou nesta sexta-feira (30) que aprovou a venda de 500 mísseis Patriot PAC-3 para a Ucrânia por um valor estimado em US$ 2,1 bilhões (equivalente a cerca de R$ 11,3 bilhões).
A Ucrânia pagará pelos mísseis interceptadores defensivos com contribuições do Canadá, da Alemanha e da Noruega — canalizadas por meio do programa Jumpstart, dos EUA —, além de recursos próprios financiados pelo Empréstimo de Apoio à Ucrânia, da União Europeia, afirmou o Departamento de Estado americano em um comunicado.
Atrasos nas entregas de mísseis aumentaram a tensão entre a Ucrânia e os EUA, após o presidente Donald Trump anunciar um acordo sobre diesel com a Rússia e criticar Volodymyr Zelensky pela relutância em interromper os ataques a refinarias russas.
Zelensky declarou, no início desta semana, que o governo ucranaiano aguardava há quase um mês a autorização dos EUA para o fornecimento de mísseis cruciais, em um momento em que a Rússia intensificava os ataques contra a infraestrutura energética e civil.
O líder do país europeu tem solicitado repetidamente aos EUA que acelerem as entregas antes da chegada do inverno. A Casa Branca fornece mísseis adquiridos por aliados da Otan, a aliança militar ocidental, por meio de um programa conhecido como Purl.
A Lockheed Martin é a principal contratada para esta venda.
Os EUA têm fornecido grandes quantidades de armamentos a aliados, ao mesmo tempo em que utilizam munições em suas próprias operações militares — como no Irã —, o que gera preocupações quanto aos estoques de sistemas essenciais de defesa aérea e armas de precisão.
Em julho, o Exército americano firmou um contrato com a Lockheed, no valor de até US$ 58,6 bilhões, para a produção de mísseis interceptadores Patriot.
A empresa afirmou que esse acordo permitirá cumprir a promessa de triplicar a capacidade de produção dos mísseis PAC-3 MSE até o final de 2030, além de ampliar em 50% o número de postos de trabalho em sua fábrica em Camden, no Arkansas — passando de 1.200 para cerca de 1.850 empregos.
Anteriormente, a empresa havia anunciado que a produção de mísseis interceptadores Patriot PAC-3 alcançaria 2.000 unidades por ano.
Negociadores do Pentágono estão pressionando as empresas contratadas a acelerar significativamente o ritmo; acordos preliminares de produção, firmados no início deste ano, estão no centro dos esforços para aumentar a fabricação desses mísseis.
A plataforma X suspendeu 15 contas que promoviam o que se suspeita ser desinformação russa sobre as Midterms, as Eleições de Meio de Mandato dos Estados Unidos. No entanto, algumas contas influentes permanecem ativas, segundo uma organização que monitora a desinformação.
Especialistas afirmam que, até o momento, a interferência russa nas Midterms de 2026 tem sido limitada. Contudo, observou-se um aumento recente na atividade de contas nas redes sociais — possivelmente ligadas à Rússia — que disseminam alegações falsas sobre diversos candidatos democratas ao Senado.
Especialistas em desinformação informaram que as suspensões no X ocorreram na quinta-feira (29) e incluíram perfis com mais de 100 mil seguidores. Ainda assim, muitas das contas mais influentes que propagam esse tipo de conteúdo continuavam ativas até esta sexta-feira (30).
“O X demonstrou que, até certo ponto, está atento a essa questão”, afirmou Bret Schafer, diretor sênior do Institute for Strategic Dialogue, organização que identificou as suspensões.
“Muitas das publicações russas encobertas que detectamos foram removidas rapidamente. Por outro lado, outros elementos dessa infraestrutura continuam no ar”, adicionou.
Essa atividade online assemelha-se a esforços de desinformação observados anteriormente durante o ciclo eleitoral de 2024 — ações que, segundo agências de inteligência dos EUA, estariam ligadas a agentes do governo russo.
A CNN entrou em contato com o X solicitando um posicionamento sobre as remoções e aguarda retorno.
There are few more revealing characteristics of an authoritarian regime than its determination to silence independent journalism. Governments confident in their legitimacy do not need to fear awkward questions, investigative reporting or newspapers which challenge the official narrative. Those which seek to control every aspect of public life, however, understand that an independent press represents a threat to their authority.
The announcement that Russia’s celebrated independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, is to cease operations is therefore about considerably more than the disappearance of another media organisation. It represents another deeply disturbing milestone in President Vladimir Putin’s systematic dismantling of what remains of independent public life in Russia.
For more than three decades, Novaya Gazeta stood as one of the most important remaining symbols of independent Russian journalism. Established in 1993, with financial support from former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, it emerged during a brief period of optimism following the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Its journalists investigated corruption, exposed abuses of power, documented human rights violations and challenged the increasingly authoritarian direction of Russian politics. It was never an entirely comfortable publication for the Kremlin. That, of course, was precisely its purpose.
Now, editor-in-chief Sergei Sokolov, a beacon of independent journalism in a country where professional courage increasingly carries extraordinary personal risks, has announced that the newspaper can no longer continue.
The editorial team has attributed its demise to sustained pressure from Russian authorities and security services. Sokolov has said that on November 9 the newspaper will switch off its servers, leave its historic premises and bring its operations to an end.
The timing and manner of the closure are particularly significant. This was not simply a newspaper struggling commercially or losing its readership. According to the newspaper, its ability to function had been progressively dismantled: its media registration was revoked, its websites blocked, its printing facilities taken away, its financial support disrupted and its journalists subjected to searches, detention and criminal investigations.
In September, the entire editorial team was designated as foreign agents. In October, Sokolov’s home was searched and he was questioned by investigators. Journalist Oleg Roldugin had already been arrested and placed under house arrest. The newspaper was also ordered to vacate its historic Moscow headquarters.
One does not have to agree with every editorial position taken by Novaya Gazeta to recognise the significance of what has happened. Indeed, that is the very essence of press freedom: journalists must be free to investigate, question and criticise without first obtaining the approval of those they are investigating.
Sergei Sokolov deserves particular recognition. In an increasingly hostile environment, he continued to lead a newsroom whose journalists understood that reporting the truth was not merely a professional obligation but a responsibility to Russian society. His determination to keep the publication operating, even after the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, deserves admiration.
He inherited a formidable legacy. Former editor Dmitry Muratov, who shared the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for his defence of freedom of expression, had helped establish the newspaper’s reputation as a fearless investigative publication. Six of its journalists and contributors were murdered, including the internationally renowned investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya, whose reporting exposed alleged abuses committed during Russia’s wars in Chechnya.
Their deaths remain a terrible indictment of the dangers confronting journalists who challenge powerful interests in Russia. Sokolov’s decision to keep working despite intimidation and the threat of prosecution is a reminder that journalism is sometimes an act of extraordinary personal courage.
Yet the significance of this closure extends far beyond one newspaper and its employees. It illustrates a familiar pattern in authoritarian politics: first discredit independent journalists, then restrict their funding, impose increasingly punitive regulations, criminalise inconvenient reporting and ultimately remove the institutions themselves.
The terminology is often carefully chosen. Journalists become foreign agents. Investigations become threats to national security. Criticism becomes disinformation. Opposition to government policy is portrayed as disloyalty to the nation. It is an approach familiar from the darkest chapters of European history.
Putin’s Russia is hardly alone in understanding the political usefulness of controlling information. Throughout history, authoritarian governments have sought to monopolise the means by which citizens receive information.
The Soviet Union perfected the practice through censorship, state-controlled newspapers and the persecution of journalists who refused to conform. Independent thought was treated as a political offence, while propaganda was presented as patriotism.
There is an uncomfortable historical irony in the fact that Novaya Gazeta emerged from the relative openness of the post-Soviet period, only to be extinguished under a Russian president who has increasingly embraced the methods of the political system that preceded it.
The newspaper’s closure is also part of a much wider campaign. Since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, independent Russian journalists have faced increasingly restrictive censorship legislation, prosecutions and intimidation. Many have fled abroad. Others have been imprisoned or forced into silence.
The Kremlin has not simply sought to influence the national conversation. It has sought to determine which conversations Russians are permitted to have.
A government which controls the media can attempt to control the historical record, the public understanding of military failures, the exposure of corruption and, ultimately, the political choices available to its citizens. Without independent reporting, the public is left increasingly dependent upon information supplied by the very institutions whose actions require scrutiny.
There should be no complacency in European capitals about what this means.
Freedom of expression is not an optional extra in a democratic society. Nor is it a privilege which governments can withdraw when reporting becomes politically inconvenient.
The European Union has repeatedly condemned Russia’s persecution of independent journalists. In 2022, the then EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell specifically highlighted the intimidation which had forced Novaya Gazeta to suspend its activities. The European Court of Human Rights also ruled against Russia in cases involving restrictions on the newspaper and other journalists.
Those commitments must now translate into practical support for independent Russian journalism operating in exile and for those journalists who continue to take extraordinary risks inside Russia. The continued existence of Novaya Gazeta Europe, established by journalists who left Russia following the invasion, is encouraging. But it cannot replace the work of an independent newsroom reporting from Moscow itself.
Europe must also remember that defending press freedom means defending the principle universally, including when journalists publish opinions with which European governments or their supporters strongly disagree.
There is something particularly tragic about the departure of Novaya Gazeta. Its journalists continued working long after many would reasonably have concluded that the personal and professional risks had become intolerable.
Sergei Sokolov deserves to be remembered among those journalists who refused to surrender their professional principles when confronted by an increasingly powerful and intolerant state. His newspaper’s closure should not be interpreted as a victory for the Kremlin. It is, rather, an admission of how profoundly threatened an authoritarian government can feel by the simple act of independent reporting.
Putin may be able to close the offices, disable the servers and remove the newspaper’s name from Russia’s media landscape. He cannot, however, erase the investigations, the testimony, the historical record or the courage of those who produced them. The six journalists who lost their lives because of their work deserve to be remembered. So do those who remain in prison, those forced into exile and those who continue to report despite intimidation.
A government that fears its journalists has something to hide. A government that silences them has something to fear. The disappearance of Novaya Gazeta is not merely a Russian tragedy. It is a warning to every democracy that takes freedom of expression for granted.
And it is a reminder that when independent journalism dies, democracy is invariably among its victims.
The American peace initiative is still alive. Both sides of the conflict have voiced some interest in it, but the diplomacy is unfolding against a steady drumbeat of strikes, and the next round of talks may depend on what happens on the ground.
On October 29, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said that trilateral talks between Russia, the United States, and Ukraine are expected to resume after November 4. The timing, he added, will depend on the situation at the front and on Kyiv’s conduct during the holiday period. European representatives are not being considered for these consultations. Vladimir Putin offered a clarification of his own a day earlier. The recent phone calls, initiated by Finland and Norway, are seen in Moscow as a dialogue with those two countries, not with the European Union as a whole.
Diplomacy, however, has not slowed the strikes. Overnight, Kyiv reportedly came under eight ballistic missile strikes: two Zircon hypersonic missiles and six Iskander-M missiles.
In Kyiv and its surrounding oblast, the reported targets included a plant producing components for reconnaissance and strike drones, a workshop for assembling and storing Fire Point FP-1 and FP-2 drones, and the 330-kilovolt Novokyivska substation in Khotiv, which powers defense enterprises in the capital. In the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the Svitle substation, supplying military plants in Dnipro, was hit. In the Black Sea, a dry cargo ship delivering military and dual-use cargo to Odesa was also struck.
From the rear, the focus shifts to the front, where Sumy Oblast is drawing fresh Ukrainian reserves.
Russian aviation, drone crews, and artillery of the “North” grouping are intensifying strikes on Ukrainian troop and equipment concentrations, supporting the advance of assault units. The Ukrainian command is trying to stabilize the situation by quietly moving reserves from other sectors. The 74th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion has been reportedly sent to Sumy Oblast to expand sabotage activity, after an earlier buildup of Ukrainian special operations units there.
These moves suggest that Kyiv has not finished assembling a joint special-purpose force for a sabotage and psychological operation. Russian commentators warn of bloody provocations on Russian territory meant to push escalation to a new level. Such an operation could also derail the emerging peace process, in which Washington is, by Moscow’s reading, not playing on Ukraine’s side.
Moscow is setting conditions for the talks while its missiles keep striking Kyiv. Kyiv, meanwhile, is reportedly massing saboteurs in Sumy while its backers quietly explore other channels. When both sides prepare for the table with force, the talks themselves risk becoming one more front.
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SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
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The post The Provocation Risk: Can Kyiv Derail The Talks? appeared first on South Front.
Censura e repressão eram constantes e pelo menos seis jornalistas foram assassinados. O Comité Nobel mostra-se preocupado com o que classifica de "duro golpe para a liberdade de expressão"
Censura e repressão eram constantes e pelo menos seis jornalistas foram assassinados. O Comité Nobel mostra-se preocupado com o que classifica de "duro golpe para a liberdade de expressão"
Key developments on Oct. 30:
© TOMS KALNINS/EPA
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