UKRAINE LAUNCHES DESPERATE DRONE STRIKE TO COVER-UP AVDEEVKA SITUATION

On 29 October, the Ukrainian Armed Forces carried out a massive drone strike on various Russian regions. Drones were intercepted in the Rostov Region and Krasnodar Region, where the Afipskyi oil refinery was targeted. The Ukrainian Armed Forces also targeted the Kursk nuclear power plant. That drone was intercepted as well. Around the same time, a massive attack on Crimea was launched for the first time in a month. Russian air defence and naval aviation of the Black Sea Fleet intercepted about 35 drones on the approach to the peninsula. On the night of October 30, the Ukrainian army carried out another combined attack on the Crimean peninsula using NATO missile weapons and unmanned boats. Two Ukrainian boats were eliminated. In its turn, the Russian Aerospace Forces launched a missile strike on targets in the Odessa Region on the morning of October 30. Ukrainian sources reported massive strikes in the area of the Odessa shipyard, where at least six missiles were targeted. On October 29 and 30, Russian military aviation taking advantage of air superiority carried out dozens of strikes on the concentration of soldiers and military equipment both on the line of contact and in the tactical depth of the Ukrainian military. Thus, in the Krasnolimansk direction in the areas of the Yampolovskyi and Torskyi, air and artillery strikes defeated the assault groups of the 21st and 63rd mechanized brigades of the AFU. Heavy fighting continues near Avdiivka, in the Donetsk region. The main activities are taking place in the northern section of the half-ring. The distance between the northern and southern sections of the pocket has already been reduced to 7 kilometers in a straight line. The supply of Ukrainian grouping there is significantly hampered. The Ukrainian command withdrew a good part of its headquarters units. On October 30, the Russian military significantly increased the intensity of artillery shelling of this area. Russian Defence Minister Shoigu, at an international forum in Beijing, announced that the total losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the offensive that began on June 4 were more than 90,000 killed, missing or captured. These are irrecoverable losses excluding the wounded. The irrecoverable losses in equipment are about 600 battle tanks and more than 1,900 combat vehicles of all other types. Shoigu also declared that the Western countries’ line of escalating the conflict with Russia poses a threat of a direct military conflict between the nuclear powers. Amid this, it is reported that an active phase of structural changes in the Russian Defence Ministry has been started. A set of measures is being implemented on the basis of the analyses of mistakes and experience gained. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that the backbone of the Defence Ministry leadership should be formed from those who proved themselves during the Special Military Operation. These structural changes affect almost all branches of the armed forces. The new structure of the Russian Defence Ministry is aimed at meeting the threats of a pan-European war or global conflict. The Russian military-political establishment seems to regard this scenario as highly realistic.