Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 10-25-2024

Russia's financial difficulties soaring as inflation grows, interest rates are raised above 'emergency levels,' and no agreement with partners on an alternative international payment system achieved.

Russia's central bank hiked interest rates to 21 percent on Friday, taking borrowing costs to their highest level in more than two decades as Moscow's Ukraine offensive has triggered rapid price rises at home.

The increase takes rates above an emergency level introduced in February 2022 -- just after Moscow ordered troops into Ukraine -- to their highest since 2003, with the regulator battling to stem the economic fallout of the conflict.

Preview: According to reports, the targets were several tens of kilometers behind the front lines in the temporarily occupied Luhansk region.

The Ukrainian Defense Forces struck a Buk-M3 (NATO: Gollum) anti-aircraft missile system alongside a Buk-M2 (NATO: Grizzly) targeting and guidance radar station in the occupied Luhansk region, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).

The attack happened early on the morning of Friday, Oct. 25 by units of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, in coordination with other components of Kyiv’s defense forces. It was part of an effort to identify and dismantle Russian anti-aircraft defenses.

German Chancellor says N. Korean troops being deployed by Russia against Ukraine is serious and worrying.

Russia deploying North Korean troops in Ukraine would be a "clear escalation", Germany warned Friday, after President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow could send soldiers despatched by Pyongyang into battle this weekend.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz, speaking during a visit to India, called the development "very worrying" and said it showed that Russian President Vladimir Putin was facing difficulties in the war.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Russia provided targeting data for Yemen’s Houthi rebels as they attacked western vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles earlier this year, helping the Iranian-backed group assault a major artery for global trade and further destabilizing the region. The Houthis, which began their attacks late last year over the Gaza war, eventually began using Russian satellite data as they expanded their strikes said a person familiar with the matter and two European defense officials. The data was passed through members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps who were embedded with the Houthis in Yemen, one of the people said. The assistance, which hasn’t been previously reported, shows how far President Vladimir Putin of Russia is willing to go to undermine the US-led Western economic and political order. Russia, in this case, supported the Iran-backed Houties, which the West designates as a terrorist group, as they carried out a series of attacks in one of the world’s most heavily-traveled shipping routes - WSJ

Another former Trump administration official is warning that the former president has “authoritarian tendencies,” asserting he “does not follow the rule of law.” Elizabeth Neumann, the former deputy chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security, told Politico in an interview that she agrees with former president Donald Trump’s one-time chief of staff, retired U.S. Marine Corps general John Kelly, who said earlier this week that Trump meets the “definition of a fascist.” “Does he have authoritarian tendencies? Yes,” Neumann, now a supporter of Vice President Kamala Harris, told the outlet. “Is he kind of leaning towards that ultra-nationalism component? Absolutely. That is kind of his brand, right? He’s made nationalism the new definition of the Republican Party.” Harris has seized on Kelly’s recent bombshell disclosures, which also included the fact that Trump allegedly opined about the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals, calling the former president “increasingly unhinged and unstable.” Trump lashed out at Kelly on his money-hemorrhaging Truth Social platform, calling him a “bad general.” Politico via Daily Beast

Could Ukraine really develop a nuclear weapon? Isn’t it too poor for that?

The founder of Odd Systems, the company behind the project, said the domestically produced camera would cost as little as $150 per unit while performing better than existing variants.

Yaroslav Azhnyuk, the CEO of Ukrainian drone company Odd Systems, has announced his company’s new Kurbas-256 thermal imaging cameras for first-person view (FPV) drones frequently used on the front line.

“We studied the experience and took the wishes of FPV operators into account. And they created a Ukrainian product with full control of hardware and low-level software. From pilots, drone designers, and the people who made a million pet cameras,” said Azhnyuk in his Thursday Facebook announcement, referencing his other company PetCube, one of Ukraine’s top startups which specialized in pet monitoring cameras.

Russia will send North Korean troops into battle against Ukraine on Oct. 27-28, in what President Zelensky called a clear escalation while urging global leaders to respond decisively.

Russia will deploy North Korean troops into combat zones against Ukraine for the first time on Sunday or Monday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated on Friday, citing intelligence information.

On Oct. 25, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrsky, provide him with the information about the involvement of North Korean troops by Russia and their anticipated use on combat zones as early as this weekend.

The Wall Street Journal says nature of these conversations is being closely guarded, with only select members of the US administration aware of the ongoing dialogue.

Elon Musk, the influential CEO of SpaceX, Tesla, and social platform X, has reportedly maintained ongoing contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin since late 2022, according to The Wall Street Journal.

This revelation, sourced from several current and former officials across the US, Europe, and Russia, suggests that Musk and Putin discuss various topics, ranging from personal interests and business matters to pressing geopolitical issues.

South Korea and the United States said that thousands of North Korean troops are training in Russia, with Ukraine saying that soldiers have arrived in the “combat zone” in Kursk border region.

South Korea urged Russia to stop its "illegal cooperation" with Pyongyang and voiced "grave concern" Friday as Moscow moved to ratify its defence treaty with North Korea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned shortly after that Russia was planning to send North Korean troops into battle as early as Sunday, and urged world leaders to pile "tangible pressure" on Pyongyang.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• Russian Land Forces (RLF have almost certainly advanced into the coal mining town of Selydove, around 13km southeast from the major logistics hub of Pokrovsk. The town remains contested, with fighting likely continuing to take place within the town centre. Selydove is the last significant urban area screening the southern flank of Pokrovsk as well as the E50 highway - which connects Selydove to Pokrovsk.
• Since the beginning of October 2024, the RLF rate of advance towards Pokrovsk had slowed significantly, with the RLF remaining within approximately 7km of the city.The RLF have recently directed resources towards the southern part of the axis, targeting Selydove and partially encircling the town. Russia likely aims to use the E50 highway as a secondary route of advance to Pokrovsk if Selydove is taken.

Dozens of prosecutors allegedly obtained disability certificates from a corrupt medical commission, triggering calls for reform. But will this prove decisive?

A month ago, while rumors circulated that Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov, and HUR Chief Kyrylo Budanov were facing the sack, Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin’s position seemed strong and stable. Despite facing questions from anti-corruption activists and some MPs, his department was on top of its remit. It was actively documenting war crimes in the liberated Russian-occupied territories, and he continued to work undisturbed...

…until Oct. 7, when a corruption scandal involving a surprising number of disabled prosecutors emerged. Dozens of prosecutors reportedly obtained disability certificates from the corrupt Regional Medical and Social Expert Commissions (MSEC) in Khmelnytskyi which allowed them to evade the draft and to qualify for state pensions.

Putin confirmed there are North Korean troops in Russia amid the Ukraine war but denied responsibility for escalating the conflict, blaming the West.

At a press conference following the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time commented on the possible involvement of North Korean troops in his war against Ukraine. Putin was responding to questions on reports that North Korean soldiers had been seen on Russian territory, likely in preparation for participation in the conflict, according to Russian media.

An NBC News journalist, citing satellite images, asked Putin about the purpose of North Korean soldiers being in Russia, asking, “What are these North Korean troops doing here? And could this not be considered a serious escalation of the conflict?”

The Belarusian leader’s comments to Russian media were in response to a question concerning the challenges the Union State of Russia and Belarus is facing.

Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko rejected the notion of Belarus formally joining Russia during an interview with the Russian news outlet Izvestia.

The interview, published on Friday, had Lukashenko commenting on local geopolitical issues, including the war in Ukraine and the Belarusian presidential elections in 2025.

BRICS also failed to condemn Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine and euphemistically labelled it a "situation," once again confirming what it stands for.

When world leaders come to Russia to "visit" Putin, shake his hand and not condemn him for the bloody war he is waging in Ukraine using terrorist methods, this is a demonstration of a political stance and sympathy not only for Putin (against whom the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant), but also for the Iranian president (who also came to the BRICS summit and is the leader of a terrorist state).

The presence at the summit in Kazan of António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General who earlier this year ignored the peace summit initiated by Ukraine in Switzerland, is fatal for the UN and the Secretary-General's reputation.

The IMF blasts Europe with criticism of low productivity and low freedom for capital, goods and services – it holds the economic growth back and makes Europe poorer than the US.

Europe’s recovery is falling short of its full potential, the medium-term outlooks for its economy is “no better” as “Europe has fallen behind”, Director of the European Department of the International Monetary Fund Alfred Kammer said during a press briefing presenting October 2024 Regional Economic Outlook for Europe.

Europe’s economic policy was harshly criticized by the IMF official, concluding europeans have not become productive enough, trade become too fragmented and haven’t got enough advantage of the EU’s single market.

Russia will agree to a peace settlement with Ukraine only on its terms - that is, 'recognition of realities on the ground,' or, in other words, its seizure of Ukrainian territory, Putin reiterates.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday his relationship with the United States after the presidential election would depend on what attitude Washington adopts, as he welcomed comments by Donald Trump on his desire to end the Ukraine conflict as "sincere".

But the Kremlin leader struck a hardline tone, warning the West it was an "illusion" to think Russia could be defeated on the battlefield and that any peace deal would have to recognize Russia's control of swaths of Ukrainian territory.

Georgia will elect a new parliament on Saturday. Polls show strong support for EU accession, but the ruling Georgian Dream party recently enacted laws mirroring Russia's, limiting opposition.

Georgia will elect a new parliament on Saturday. While Georgians have repeatedly expressed clear support for the path towards EU accession in polls, the Georgian Dream party which has been in power since 2012 recently pushed through laws resembling those in Russia that restrict the rights of the opposition and civil society. The EU responded by putting the country's accession process, which began at the end of 2023, on hold.

At a crossroads

Zelensky this month unveiled his "Victory Plan", where chief among the proposals was a call for Ukraine to be given an "immediate" invitation to the join the US-led NATO military alliance.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday rejected Ukraine's request to immediately join NATO, made by President Volodymyr Zelensky when he presented his "Victory Plan" to Western allies.

"It is important to realise that a country at war absolutely cannot become a member of NATO," Scholz told public broadcaster ZDF. "Everyone knows that, there is no disagreement on this subject."

The guerrilla movement states that this move will enable operations directly inside military units and provide access to more up-to-date information.

The Atesh partisan movement has announced the mobilization of its agents into the ranks of the Russian Armed Forces, according to a report shared by the group on Telegram.

The report claims that, for the first time since the full-scale war began, Russia has openly started drafting Ukrainians from recently occupied territories for military service.

Georgia’s ruling party has adopted increasingly hostile rhetoric against the EU and the West as it seeks to clamp down on the opposition.

Georgia’s ruling party has adopted increasingly hostile rhetoric against the EU and the West as it seeks to clamp down on the opposition. Pro-Kremlin outlets in the country have readily aligned with government rhetoric ahead of the elections.

In recent years, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party’s pro-EU stance has sharply declined, signalling a growing rift between Georgia’s leadership and the country’s Western allies. Following its refusal to join EU sanctions on Russia after its unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the GD leadership began to subtly distance itself from its previous pro-EU agenda, despite publicly claiming otherwise. Since then, GD’s rhetoric has shifted to more explicit and open accusations against the West – particularly the US and the EU. This article retraces the evolution of this shift and highlights increasing alignment with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives and information manipulation.

Despite the 3.6% real GDP growth the IMF projects for Russia in 2024, the long-term economic prospects are constrained by high demand that local production and imports are unable to meet.

The Russian economy is facing high demand with the maximum supply capacity inside the country, alongside increasing inflation and tight monetary policy, Director of the European Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Alfred Kammer said during a press briefing presenting October 2024 Regional Economic Outlook for Europe.

“What we are seeing right now in the Russian economy and debt: It is pushing against capacity constraints. We have a positive output gap, or you could put it differently – the Russian economy is overheating,” Kammer said in Washington, DC during the October 2024 Annual Meetings.

The MAGURA V5 is a Ukrainian unmanned surface drone used for reconnaissance and destruction of enemy targets.

Recently unveiled footage, shared by Ukrainian military correspondent Andrii Tsaplienko and originally sourced from a Russian Telegram channel, unveils a chase involving a Russian Ka-29 multirole helicopter and a Ukrainian maritime drone, reportedly the MAGURA model.

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to deny the presence of North Korean military personnel in Russia on October 24, amid official Ukrainian reports that the first North Korean military units arrived in Kursk Oblast on October 23.
• Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko strongly hinted that Belarusian forces will not fight in Ukraine and appeared to question Russian President Vladimir Putin's likely efforts to introduce North Korean forces into Russia's war against Ukraine in the process.
• The Kremlin is reportedly attempting to portray the BRICS summit in Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan as evidence of widespread international support for Russia – especially to domestic audiences in Russia.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to project Russian confidence in the Russian military's ability to repel the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast at a press conference after the BRICS summit on October 24.
• Ukrainian authorities are investigating another execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by Russian forces in the Pokrovsk direction against the backdrop of Russian forces' increasingly frequent POW executions across the theater.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Toretsk and Pokrovsk.
• Russian forces recently advanced near Kreminna and Siversk.
• The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), Ministry of Defense (MoD), and Rosgvardia reportedly each have their own Akhmat units that perform different functions in different sectors of the front and rear.