Ukraine troops near the frontline in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, October 30, 2024

Monday’s Coverage: Zelensky — “We Can Develop Europe’s Shared Defensive Capabilities”

UPDATE 1433 GMT:

At least six civilians have been murdered and 35 injured by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past day.

Air defenses intercepted 127 of 136 drones. At least five drones evaded defenses and struck three locations.

The fatalities were in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where 19 people were injured.

Casualties were also reported in the Sumy, Kherson, Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions.

UPDATE 1413 GMT:

Ukraine has received its first payment of $1.5 billion under a new International Monetary Fund program.

The IMF approved a 4-year lending agreement last week, days after Hungary blocked the European Union’s loan of €90 billion ($105 billion) for Ukraine’s defense and budgetary needs through 2027.

Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko posted:

UPDATE 1314 GMT:

Ukraine has liberated nine settlements in the Oleksandrivka sector in the southeast of the country, says Ukrainian Air Assault Forces.

“Three additional settlements in the area have been fully cleared of Russian troops, while fighting continues for several more,” the Forces said in a statement.

The operation in the Oleksandrivka sector began on January 29, coinciding with the cutoff of Starlink terminals to Russian forces.

The Oleksandrivka sector is at the junction of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukrainian forces regained more territory in February than Russia captured during the same period.

UPDATE 0730 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine will soon complete the technical work needed to open negotiations for accession to the European Union.

Zelensky, who is seeking membership by 2027, called on the EU to agree a firm date. He said the commitment would provide an important guarantee of Urkaine’s future security.

Zelensky acknowledged, “We are ready, but not all leaders of the European Union are….I mean, not everyone is ready to give Ukraine this opportunity.”

UPDATE 0727 GMT:

At least eight civilians were murdered by Russian attacks across Ukraine on Monday, including a strike on a passenger train.

Five of the fatalities were in the Donetsk region in the east of the country.

UPDATE 0711 GMT:

Ukrainian drones shut down the Sheskharis oil terminal in southwest Russia on Monday.

Officials said the attack injured five people, damaged 20 buildings, and set a fuel terminal on fire. An official in Ukraine’s State security service SBU said six of seven loading facilities and Russian warships were struck.

Ukraine’s General Staff said the drones also struck a naval base and an S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system.

Sheskharis, located in the port of Novorossiysk, is Russia’s major oil outlet in the Black Sea with loading of 700,000 barrels per day of crude oil.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russia has struggled in its slowest advance on the Ukraine frontline in almost two years.

The invaders gained only 123 square km (48 square miles) in February, the lowest seizure of territory since April 2024.

Moscow’s grinding assault in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine was almost offset by Ukrainian advances in the Zaporizhzhia region in the south.

The defenders liberated several hundred square kilometers, including 61 square km on February 15 and more than 50 square km on February 21 and February 23.

Russia seized 0.8% of Ukraine last year, but still occupies less territory than it did in June 2022. The invaders currently hold between 19% and 20% of Ukraine.

Moscow’s troops have been hindered by last month’s cutoff of access to Starlink satellites. Elon Musk blocked unverified terminals at the request of Ukraine Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov.