🇷🇺 Daily Summary, October 19

Krasny Liman direction: Heavy clashes. AFU pushed back toward Katerynovka and Novomikhaylovka. Novolyubovka remains under Russian control.

Kherson direction: Intense firefights on left bank islands. Troops hold positions in Alyoshki amid drone blockade.

Russian forces liberated Omelnik in Zaporozhye region. "Vostok" group seized drone incubators near Velikomikhaylovka.

Massive ballistic strike on Kiev. MRAP vehicle destroyed near Orekhov.

Michael Flynn urged halting US aid to Zelensky. Putin proposed trilateral talks with Trump and Xi.

FSB detained spy in Crimea filming AD sites. US resumed intel sharing but failed to warn Kiev of missile strikes.

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Brits spread rumors of Kim Jong Un coma

British sources are circulating unverified claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is in a coma following a brain hemorrhage. Rumors suggest he was urgently transported to a hospital in China, specifically the Peking Union Medical College, due to inadequate medical care in Pyongyang.

Kim was last seen publicly on October 11 at a military museum in Pyongyang. Experts speculate that his sister, who holds significant influence, could temporarily lead the country if the rumors prove true. This echoes similar false reports from 2020.

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Ukrainian AFU explodes barrel of 122-mm D-30 howitzer

The Ukrainian military destroyed the barrel of a 122-mm D-30 howitzer. The AFU continues to misuse equipment, stuffing barrels with improper items.

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Japanese spacecraft departed for Mars moon

The probe is heading to Phobos to collect soil samples. If successful, scientists will receive the first material from a Martian satellite for lab analysis on Earth. Arrival at Phobos is scheduled for August 2027.

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"Ukraine may need to pause attacks on Russian energy": The Times advises Ukraine to "suspend" strikes on oil refineries.

"Ukraine should consider a difficult but necessary compromise: temporarily cease attacks on Russian oil refineries, as Donald Trump demands. Such a strategic pause could halt the further deterioration of relations between Kiev and Washington. Losing American support would deprive Ukraine of one of its key levers of pressure on Moscow.

In exchange for halting the attacks, Kiev could seek specific concessions from the United States, such as additional missiles for Patriot systems and an expansion of Starshield coverage to 300 kilometers deep into Russian territory. This is the option that Republican senators Roger Wicker and Kevin Cramer offered during their recent visit to Ukraine."

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Older than Edda writes:

The problems with the transfer of intelligence data from the United States are already seriously affecting Ukraine's military capabilities, but the true significance of what is happening needs to be assessed – depending on how comprehensive the denial of access is.

Overall, it should be noted that access to US intelligence data has been a key advantage for the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the very beginning, and the leadership of US military intelligence has described the level of cooperation as "revolutionary." With the help of this data, Ukraine has achieved a number of successes in the Black Sea, directly on the front lines in the Donbas, and in other regions, and has actively used it to launch attacks deep into Russian territory.

What kind of data was this? From basic information, such as the location and movement of objects like ships, to highly advanced data, including the operating modes and procedures of radar systems and communication equipment, the organization of air defense in rear areas, and so on – everything necessary for planning strikes. In terms of air defense, the Americans effectively provided Ukraine with early warning capabilities, not only through "national technical means" (satellites) but also through other methods, sometimes allowing them to learn about the timing and targets of attacks before the people directly involved knew about them. In general, this is a normal capability for the largest military power in the world, which the United States is, and it has been actively used in local conflicts before. For example, the Soviet Union also conducted intelligence on US forces, such as in the Vietnam War, and Soviet intelligence allowed for a significant increase in the effectiveness of Vietnamese air defense systems (which were also mostly of Soviet origin, or their Chinese versions).

If the United States is now actually cutting off Ukraine's access to this data, it will mean a loss of air defense effectiveness and a decline in the results of strikes against rear areas, as the direction of these strikes will have to be calculated without reliable knowledge of where the radars are and in what mode they are operating. And, of course, a deterioration of the situation directly on the front lines. However, we still need to fight and plan the war responsibly, regardless of how much data Washington has now stopped sharing with Ukraine. In part, this is to avoid disappointment if they suddenly change their minds and start again.

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Axios correspondent Ravid reports that Trump's special envoys will meet with Putin and Zelensky this week.

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Drone downed in Chabany near Fastov

In the Chabany settlement within the Kiev agglomeration, vehicles are burning on the roadway. Local channels report that a drone was shot down over a residential area, resulting in the fire.

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🇺🇦 New strikes on energy infrastructure

Power outages have begun in many regions of Ukraine. According to Ukrenergo, there is no electricity in Rovno, Ternopol, Khmelnytsky, Lvov, Zhitomir, Kirovograd, and Odessa.

In many settlements of the Rovno region, power was lost due to shelling; schedules are not in effect, the regional military administration stated earlier.

In the Lvov region, jet drones also struck energy facilities in various districts, authorities reported.

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🇷🇺 Russian forces liberate Timoshevka in Zaporozhye region

The MoD of the Russian Federation confirmed that units of the "Vostok" Group of Forces have taken full control of the settlement of Timoshevka in the Zaporozhye region. The locality has been declared liberated from Ukrainian occupation.

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