Russia’s Resurgence: Biggest Gains in Ukraine Territory Since 2022 Invasion

Russia has recorded the largest increase in land since 2022. Zelensky is pushing for a NATO invitation from the Nordic Council. All the information in the news blog.

12:21 am: The Russian army has moved 478 square kilometers into Ukrainian territory since the beginning of October. This is the largest territorial gain in a month since the first weeks after the start of the war in 2022, as determined by the AFP news agency using data from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in the US.

By October 27, Russian troops had brought more territory under their control than in August and September, when the territorial gains totaled 477 and 459 square kilometers, respectively. During the two months there have already been significant changes in the front line, especially in the eastern region of Ukraine in Donetsk around the strategically important city of Pokrovsk. Two-thirds of Russia’s territorial gains in October were in the Donetsk region, where the Russians are closing in on Pokrovsk from the south and east. The Ukrainian army is in trouble on the Eastern Front in the face of more and better armed Russian troops.

The last time Russian troops succeeded in such an advance was in March 2022, when they advanced on Kiev. In all of 2023, they occupy 584 square meters of Ukrainian territory, the occupied area since January 1, 2024 is 2,660 square kilometers.

12:11 am: In a meeting with the heads of government of the Nordic Council in Iceland, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again urged his country to be invited to be a member of NATO. Kiev does not expect to join NATO during Russia’s ongoing war of aggression, but expects an invitation to membership as a concrete sign, Zelensky said in his speech in Reykjavik, which was also published on the X social network.

Zelensky asked the heads of government of the Nordic Council, which includes Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, to also put pressure on Germany. He said he expected “a political decision that would bring geopolitical clarity for Ukraine and Europe as a whole and strengthen us in diplomacy with Russia.” “If Ukraine accepts an invitation to join NATO, it will become an insurmountable defensive barrier against Russia’s imperial ambitions.”

Zelensky stressed that his country deserves an honest answer. “Work with partners across Europe – especially in Berlin – so we can achieve this geopolitical clarity together.”

10:19 pm: According to estimates by the US Department of Defense, the number of North Korean troops sent to Russia is around 10,000. “We estimate that North Korea has sent a total of around 10,000 troops to eastern Russia for training, which will likely reinforce Russian forces near Ukraine in the next few weeks,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. . Some of these soldiers have already moved closer to Ukraine. There are fears that North Korean troops will be stationed in the Kursk region of Russia near the border with Ukraine.

If the North Korean troops are actually deployed on the battlefield, this would mean further progress and also show the “growing desperation of President (Vladimir) Putin,” who has suffered “extraordinary losses” in the field of c’mon, said Singh. The move is “a sign that Putin may be in more trouble than people realize.” The use of North Korea in Russia’s war of aggression would also have “serious implications for security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.”