Victorious news of 610th day of war: F-16s will allow Ukraine to drive back Russian helicopters, Russians lost over 5,000 personnel in two areas

Russian losses in two areas amount to over 5,000 soldiers and 400 armored vehicles

The spokesman for the Tavria Defense Forces, Oleksandr Shtupun, said that since October 10, when Russia began active offensives, it has lost approximately 5,000 personnel in killed and wounded, as well as up to 400 armored vehicles in the Avdiivka and Marinka directions, Armiya Inform reports.

It noted that Russia continues to try to encircle Avdiivka, actively using aviation. From the southern part of Avdiivka, Russia tried to send forward mechanized columns, but suffered significant losses there.  

"Our troops are holding steadfastly the defense, the enemy's offensive was unsuccessful in the areas of Stepove, Avdiivka, Tonenke and Sieverne. Our troops repelled 15 attacks there. 

The enemy is also keeping up its activity in the Marinka direction. Ukrainian forces repelled 20 attacks near Marinka and Novomykhailivka," noted Colonel Shtupun.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces conduct offensive operations in the Melitopol direction. 

"We are recording cases of Russians refusing to move forward, in particular, some units of the Storm Z units are beginning to rebel. But the enemy is changing battalion for battalion, that is, withdrawing those that have suffered huge losses and bringing in others to take their place, transferring reserves from other areas. However, our intelligence officers record all this, and the command draws appropriate conclusions," the spokesman said.

With the arrival of F-16s, Ukraine will be able to counter Russian aviation more effectively

The arrival of F-16s equipped with certain air defense missiles in Ukraine will enhance the ability to engage Russian aircraft across various fronts, and Russia is already aware of this 

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for Ukraine’s Air Force Command, shared the information on Espreso TV.

"Russian pilots will realize that it may be a group of Soviet aircraft, or it may be a group of American aircraft. Therefore, the enemy will not dare to approach. When we manage to destroy a few of them, the enemy will stop performing missions. This will also allow us to drive away the helicopters of the Russian army aviation, which are attacking our troops every day. Therefore, the F-16 aircraft will perform a lot of functions," said Ihnat.

According to him, the western-style guided aerial bombs Ukraine uses are high-precision weapons. They are extremely accurate, which is not the case with Russian KAB guided bombs.

"These KABs, respectively, cause serious damage 20-30 km from the line of contact, which is actually the maximum they can reach now. To extend this range and successfully launch KABs, they must approach closer to our borders. However, at that point, they face the risk of encountering anti-aircraft missile systems that can target them. They tried to do this several times in the north of the country. They flew up and boldly thought that they could bomb Kharkiv and Sumy regions from the territory of the Russian Federation. But they were hit by fire from our complex, which was waiting for them in an ambush," Ihnat said.

4 representatives of Russia's FSB eliminated in Ukraine

On Monday, October 23, in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukrainian guerrillas blew up a car with 4 representatives of the Russian FSB. This action was carried out by Ukrainian resistance members on Michurin Street near the Jasmine Guest-House hotel, which was being used as a hideout by the FSB.

Among those killed was a Russian soldier who had tortured Ukrainian locals.

“After the car explosion, the local authorities in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region extended the curfew from 9:00 PM to 5:00 AM. The Russian special service agents left the hotel immediately and relocated,” the Main Intelligence Directorate said in a statement.

There will be more than one Russian unit in the Ukrainian Armed Forces

In the near future, there will be more military units with Russians in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This was stated by National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov, commenting on the creation of a battalion of Russians in the Ukrainian Defense Forces. He emphasized that many Russians are already fighting in Ukraine, and they are strongly opposed to the Putin regime.

"There are many representatives of the Russian Federation, Russian minorities fighting on our side who are categorically against the Putin regime, and they are helping us in this fight," Danilov said.

According to him, this is the only information he can make public now. "These cases are not isolated. I think we will see more than one such battalion in the near future," added the NSDC Secretary.

A positive political decision on Ukraine's accession to the EU is expected in December

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, Olha Stefanishyna, believes that Ukraine will manage to reach a good political decision on EU accession in December, although some countries and officials are trying to manipulate and promote their own interests in this matter. 

"We can already see that certain countries or even European officials are engaging in manipulation, trying to insert their personal preferences into the documents being prepared by the European Commission. Additionally, there are unfriendly countries that aim to diminish Ukraine's progress and undermine our efforts," explained the Deputy Prime Minister.

Stefanishyna emphasized that Ukraine addresses each such situation individually and urged partners not to be swayed.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and handling each case individually. We also encourage our allies to resist manipulation, especially when it concerns Ukraine's European integration. Ultimately, this is the choice of the Ukrainian people, and I am confident that our position is strong, and we will see a favorable political decision in December," she concluded.