Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits a recovering soldier in the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, October 4, 2024

Friday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy — Partners “Dragging Out” Supply of Long-Range Weapons

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 0724:

An abducted Ukrainian café owner is confirmed to have died in Russian captivity, more than a year after she was seized in occupied Melitopol in southern Ukraine.

Vetiana Plachkova, 51, and Oleh Plachkov were taken away in a raid of their home in September 2023. Russian authorities claim Plachkov, who has not been seen since the abduction, is not in their custody.

The couple ran two cafés in Melitopol before Russia seized Melitopol in the opening days of the February 2022 invasion. They remained in the city, together with Tetiana’s mother.

After the September 2023 raid, Russian forces said they would bring back the couple after “establishing the situation”. Instead, they searched and interrogated their colleagues, warning that they might be called upon to testify in court.

In February, the couple’s daughter Liudmyla found out that her mother was in a coma and in the intensive care unit of a Melitopol hospital. Authorities did not allow Tetiana’s mother to visit her and refused to move her to another hospital. Liudmyla appealed to the Red Cross, but it does not have access to occupied territory.

UPDATE 0707 GMT:

The Kyiv Post, citing Ukraine intelligence, says six North Korean officers were among more than 20 troops killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on a Russian military facility on October 3.

The North Koreans were meeting Russian counterparts near occupied Donetsk city. Three North Korean soldiers were wounded.

The Post said the Russians were demonstrating the training of military personnel for offensive and defensive operations. A source quoted by Russia media said, “We were showing our friendly military how our fighters prepare for assault actions, for defense, how we resist American weapons.”

In June, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un signed a bilateral treaty on strategic partnership. Under its terms, Russia and North Korea will provide mutual assistance in the event of aggression against one of the countries.

North Korea has reportedly delivered ballistic missiles and nearly 5 million artillery shells to Russia. In return, Moscow supplied tanks, aircraft, and technology for the North Korean spy satellite program.

“Western intelligence sources” say half of all the artillery shells used by Russia in Ukraine are now being supplied by North Korea.

The sources said about 3 million shells per year are being shipped from Pyongyang to Moscow, though a large number are believed to be faulty.

UPDATE 0700 GMT:

Two civilians were killed and six injured by Russian attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Friday.

Shelling and airstrikes targeted Kherson city and 14 other settlements across the region. An agricultural enterprise and 17 private houses were damaged.

In the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, one person was killed and one injured in 17 strikes.

The fatality was in Chasiv Yar, where 16 private houses and two apartment blocks were damaged.

Two men, aged 44 and 46, were killed by Russian shelling of the village of Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region in southern Ukraine.

The bodies could not be retrieved for several hours because of the intensity of the shelling.

UPDATE 0653 GMT:

A Russian court sentenced a resident of occupied Crimea man to 14 years in a penal colony on treason charges.

The FSB security service accused Igor Kopyl, 47, who lives in Sevastopol, of assisting Kyiv’s armed forces and preparing a “terrorist” attack. It said Kopyl was a former member of the Ukrainian navy and had been recruited by Kyiv in 2022.

UPDATE 0639 GMT:

The head of security at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine has been killed in a car bombing.

Andrei Korotkiy was slain near his house in the city of Enerhodar, close to the plant.

Ukrainian military intelligence, publishing a video of the car exploding, said Korotkiy was a “war criminal” and collaborator. It accused him of repression of Ukrainians, of handing Russia a list of the plant’s employees, and of pointing out people with pro-Ukrainian views.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Amid the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has backed the “truly strategic” incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, controlling around 1,300 square km (500 square miles) since early August.

Zelenskiy visited the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, across from Kursk, on Friday. He conferred with commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine, and law enforcement officials.

Meeting soldiers involved in the Kursk operation and presented them with state awards, Zelenskiy said:

I am proud of the bravery of all our men, our warriors. It’s important to understand that the Kursk operation is truly strategic — it motivates our partners to stand with Ukraine, be more decisive, and apply pressure on Russia. Pressure that will help us end this war with justice.

The surprise cross-border incursion into Kursk effectively countered Vladimir Putin’s 31-month invasion, including a year-long offensive that has gradually advanced in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

But critics of the operation say it diverted forces from the defense of Donetsk. This week, after assaults since the start of the invasion, Russia finally overran the town of Vuhledar. Moscow’s forces are less than 7 km (4.3 miles) from the town of Pokrovsk, an important transport and logistics hub.