Victorious news of 600th day of war: operation in Enerhodar, blasts in occupied Melitopol

The first armored ambulance purchased with United24 funds has arrived in Ukraine

The first armored ambulance for evacuating the wounded, purchased with funds from United24, has arrived in Ukraine. A total of 13 vehicles have been ordered and will be manufactured in Canada.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Health.

The cost of all ordered vehicles is UAH 124 million.

The vehicles are designed to evacuate the wounded from the front line to the nearest medical facility. Each vehicle meets NATO ballistic standards, namely STANAG 4569 Level II.

US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery arrives for her first visit in Kyiv

On October 16, Penny Pritzker, the United States Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery and Reinvestment, arrived in the Ukrainian capital for a visit.

This was reported by US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink on Twitter (X).

This is Pritzker’s first visit to the capital of Ukraine since her appointment as US Special Representative for Ukraine's Economic Recovery.

In her new position, Pritzker will help implement the reforms necessary for Ukraine to become a member of the EU and the Western trading bloc. According to the American, she will closely monitor Kyiv's compliance with the conditions and whether the Ukrainian authorities manage money properly.

OSCE Chairman-in-Office Osmani arrives in Ukraine

The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia, Bujar Osmani, announced this on Twitter.

Osmani visited one of the Kyiv schools that was shelled by Russia.

"It’s a stark reminder of urgent need for peace. Every child deserves safety, education & bright future. The OSCE provides psycho-social help to affected children," he wrote.

Also, on the eve of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office's arrival in Kyiv, the Macedonian media outlet Civil Media interviewed Osmani in a train carriage. In it, the official stressed that Ukraine is a priority during his country's chairmanship of the OSCE, because it is in Ukraine that the future of the security situation in Europe is decided.

New details of the Ukrainian special operation near Zaporizhzhia NPP have been revealed

The landing lasted about two months.

This was stated by the commander of the man-portable air defense system group of the Artan special unit, Oleksandr, alias Liutii, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.

One of the first missions he took part in was a landing in the temporarily occupied town of Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia region, near a nuclear power plant.

"It was already quite cold then, and it was a boat landing. It was difficult. I can't disclose a detailed list of tasks that we performed then, but we managed to complete them," said Oleksandr.

The operation reportedly lasted about two months, from early September to late October 2022.

"There, we were constantly – almost every two days – organizing raids along the Dnipro River to provoke the Russian forces to fortify that particular area. This, in turn, served to benefit the Kherson direction," Liutii explained.

For reference:

In August 2022, the Ukrainian special forces carried out an operation, crossing the Kakhovka Reservoir, which was still full at the time, near Enerhodar by boat.

During the first operation, the fighters landed near Enerhodar but failed to gain a foothold. 

According to the unit commander, they lacked artillery support. After staying on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the special forces were forced to retreat under pressure from superior enemy forces.

Nevertheless, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine did not give up trying to liberate Enerhodar and ZNPP. The fighters tried to land on the left bank of the Dnipro twice more. The last of these attempts involved several hundred people, one of whom was Vadym Popik, a commander of the Foreign Legion. He recalls that even soldiers from other countries took part in these actions. In particular, the New Zealanders, who had the necessary experience, could stay in the water for a long time and perform tasks.

Ukrainian war veterans set a world record at Schwarzenegger's strongman tournament

This was reported by the Ukrainian Strongman Federation.

At the competition in Madrid, Ukrainian veterans pulled four trucks weighing 35 tonnes 20 metres in 30.69 seconds in a sit-up and set a new world record in this discipline.

The tournament was attended by eight Ukrainian defenders who sustained serious injuries and traumas during the fighting and are winners of the first all-Ukrainian round of the Strong of Ukraine adaptive sports competition among veterans: Oleksandr Shvachka, Viacheslav Tsyukh, Vladyslav Shatilo, Yevhen Smaha, Artem Marchenko, Artem Pogorilyi, Mykhailo Drobotenko and Denys Barchuk.

Veterans set a world record in the strongman. Photo: Ukrainian Strongman Federation

According to the captain of the Ukrainian team, Oleksandr Shvachka, the team wants to draw attention to the problem of sports rehabilitation of war veterans and initiate the organization of international competitions among veterans under the auspices of Ukraine in 2024.

The number of women in Ukrainian Armed Forces has increased

Over the past 2 years, the number of women in the Armed Forces of Ukraine has increased by 12,000, or 40%. Almost 43,000 women are currently serving in the armed forces.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

The ministry compared data for 2021 and 2023. The growth was mainly due to the lifting of all restrictions on female servicewomen.

"If earlier women could serve mainly as medical specialists, signalmen, accountants, clerks and cooks, nowadays a woman in the army can be a driver, grenade launcher, deputy commander of a reconnaissance group, commander of an infantry fighting vehicle, repairman, machine gunner, sniper, etc.", the Ministry of Defense said.

Explosions are heard near Melitopol – Russian bases and training grounds are under attack

This was reported by the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov.

"Residents of the city and surrounding villages report explosions in the south - from the side of the Molochny Estuary," he said, adding that "the occupying Russian forces in Melitopol hear loud sounds not only because of thunder and lightning."

According to Fedorov, Russian enemy has set up military bases and training grounds there to train future "cannon fodder".

"First they train, then they are destroyed," the mayor stated.

A mural in support of Ukraine called Unbreakable appeared in Vilnius

On October 12, the world's only robot muralist, Albert, completed a neo-mural in support of Ukraine, Unbreakable, in the center of Vilnius.

This was reported by Espreso.TV.

Photo: Evaldas Chinga

The mural is 25 meters high, and its area is 200 square meters. The neo-fresco depicts Tetyana Drobotya, whose photo is featured on another mural in support of Ukraine in Vilnius. The photo was taken by photographer Olena Tita.

Ukrainian aviation launches 4 strikes on Russian enemy 

This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

During the day, the aviation of the Defense Forces carried out 4 strikes on the areas where enemy personnel, weapons and military equipment were concentrated.

Missile troops targeted one enemy artillery unit.