These days, Russian losses are really impressive, and it is exactly the kind of losses of the occupier that Ukraine needs – address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

20 October 2023 – 16:50

I wish you health, fellow Ukrainians!

Today my team and I are in Kherson region, in Mykolaiv. There are a lot of tasks.

A meeting with the military – Commander-in-Chief Zaluzhny, Chief of the General Staff Shaptala, Commander of the Odesa operational-strategic grouping of troops Hnatov and Commander of the Marines Sodol, Head of the State Border Guard Service, General Deyneko. A special format, a narrow circle. Regarding the situation in Kherson and the region, in the south in general, as well as in Donetsk region – first of all, Avdiivka. I am grateful to all our guys who are holding their ground and destroying the occupier day after day. These days, Russian losses are really impressive, and it is exactly the kind of losses of the occupier that Ukraine needs. We also discussed the Kupyansk direction in Kharkiv region.

I held a meeting in Mykolaiv with the leadership of the region and the city, the military, the law enforcers to discuss the protection of the region, our infrastructure, our ports, corridors in the Black Sea. We also analyzed social issues that are important for Mykolaiv and the cities and villages of the region: energy, heat supply, water supply to Mykolaiv and the region, the quality of water supplied to the city, social services, economic activity. All the things that really need attention at all levels of government.

I am especially grateful to Denmark for their effective support of Mykolaiv, for their sincere assistance to the city, just as we agreed with Prime Minister Frederiksen.

I visited our warriors in Mykolaiv hospital who are undergoing treatment after being wounded in battles. I thanked them for their strength and thanked the doctors for their dedication to their work.

An important report by the regional head of the Security Service of Ukraine on the protection of Mykolaiv and the region from subversive activities of Russia and collaborators. Thank you for your work, guys!

Special attention is paid to protecting the sky from Russian bombs and missiles. We are working to bolster air defense. I thank everyone in the world who helps us with this.

In particular, I spoke with Olaf Scholz – regarding air defense as well. We are working together to ensure that Patriots in the hands of Ukrainian warriors can do more – already this winter. I invited Germany to take part in a meeting of advisors on the Peace Formula, which we are preparing for late October. We also discussed the situation in the Middle East with the Chancellor. I thank Olaf that our agreements are being strictly implemented.

President Biden delivered a very important, indeed historic speech. Yesterday we spoke with him – it was a good conversation, and now there is his address – powerful, timely, one that really adds to our confidence. Thank you for your unwavering support for Ukraine. The democratic world understands how important Ukraine’s resilience is for the freedom of all free nations – and not only in Europe. We can overcome all threats.

The speech by President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen the day before is also inspiring. I am grateful to Madam President for her clear call to speed up Ukraine’s path to victory. A call to everyone in Europe and the free world to be as united as possible, as long as it takes to defeat the terrorists who seek to destroy our states and our lives. Europe must prevail, not those who are trying to turn our lives into ruins.

And one more thing.

Today is the 20th anniversary of the intelligence of the Border Guard Service of Ukraine. They are heroic warriors. I had the honor to congratulate them today, to recognize them with state awards. I held a separate meeting with the border guards on the tasks they perform – they perform them effectively. And I am proud that the Border Guard Service of Ukraine and its units are only getting stronger. Glory to all of you, warriors! Glory to our strong nation! And thank you – Kherson, Mykolaiv – for today.

Glory to Ukraine!

I thank @POTUS Joe Biden for his powerful address. Together, we will not allow hatred destroy freedom, and we will not let terrorists destroy democracy.

Ukraine is grateful for all the U.S. support and its unfaltering belief that humanism, freedom, independence, and rules-based…

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) October 20, 2023

I put this in a comment last night, but it needs to be in the actual post. As I feared and predicted:

Ukrainian forces not receiving these 'tens of thousands' of 155mm shells earmarked for use in Ukraine is not significant in its own right. It does, however, amplify an existing downward trend for 2024 when it comes to stockpiling artillery ammunition for future 🇺🇦operations.

— Franz-Stefan Gady (@HoansSolo) October 20, 2023

Axios‘s Barak Ravid has the details:

The Pentagon plans to send Israel tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells that had been destined for Ukraine from U.S. emergency stocks several months ago, three Israeli officials with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.

Why it matters: The Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Ministry of Defense told their U.S. counterparts they urgently need artillery shells to prepare for a ground invasion in Gaza — and a potential escalation of the war by Hezbollah along the Israel-Lebanon border, Israeli officials say.

• U.S. officials have suggested that diverting the shells from Ukraine to Israel would have no immediate impact on Ukraine’s ability to fight against Russian troops.
• Less clear is whether U.S. military supplies to Ukraine could be stretched if the Israel-Hamas war becomes a broader regional conflict, but the Pentagon played down such concerns Thursday.
• “We are confident we can support both Ukraine and Israel in terms of their defensive needs,” Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson, told reporters.

Flashback: Starting in early 2023, the U.S. began drawing down 155mm artillery shells from its considerable ammunition stockpiles in Israel to send to Ukraine.

• At the time, the Israeli military told then-Prime Minister Yair Lapid and then-Minister of Defense Benny Gantz that there was no immediate scenario in which Israel would need an emergency supply of shells.
• That all changed on Oct. 7, Israeli officials said.

Between the lines: The ammunition that had been destined for Ukraine was part of a U.S. weapons stockpile that is kept in Israel as part of an agreement between the countries.

• Only U.S. military personnel have access to the weapons storage sites. But according to the agreement between the countries, Israel can use the ammunition in a war scenario in short order, with U.S. approval.
• Israel was granted access to the ammunition during its war with Lebanon in 2006 and also during the 2014 Gaza conflict.

Driving the news: After the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, the IDF conducted an initial assessment of its urgent weapons needs and gave it to the Pentagon.

• One of the requests was to get tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells back to fill the depleted U.S. emergency stocks in Israel, in case the Israeli military needed to use the shells on short notice, the Israeli officials said.

• The Israeli officials said the U.S. agreed and will be sending the artillery shells to Israel in the coming weeks.

Avdiivka:

Avdiivka front. Russian TOS-1 220mm MRLS split into atoms by the FPV drone of the 59th Brigade of Ukraine. 🌞https://t.co/4S7jizLlqB pic.twitter.com/Bh2cAM7m58

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 20, 2023

Avdiivka, some more Russian tank losses during ongoing Russian attack attempts.
Previously undocumented Russian losses:
-1xT-80BVM obr.2022
-1xT-72B3M obr.2022
-1xT-72B3M
-1xT-72Bhttps://t.co/AtBy5ENMLUhttps://t.co/ig43QrbIdF pic.twitter.com/Hjjgou7ckV

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 20, 2023

It’s like the drone gave the tank the finger at the 5 second mark.

Avdiivka. Repelling another Russian attack attempt. https://t.co/z20ADmEjhB pic.twitter.com/yVoK0ds1t1

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 20, 2023

Cluster munition vs Russian infantry https://t.co/ir5jgGpZrc pic.twitter.com/WhclwngiQb

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 20, 2023

Top 10 anime betrayals https://t.co/uVlPMrqvIb pic.twitter.com/KFi9gsRrQS

— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) October 20, 2023

A quick update from Avdiivka:
"Last night, the [Russians] got so f*cked that they had to pause the offensive.

Since morning and until now we already f*cked 4 of their tanks, and stopped counting BMPs and infantry.

“It’s not yet evening,” said the fighters"

TG: @stas_osman pic.twitter.com/rKRTG4PklX

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 20, 2023

Source: https://t.co/d4LgRPkg6F

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 20, 2023

I don’t know why the tweet above says show more as there isn’t anything else to actually show.

Russian channels continue commenting on Avdiivka with some fascinating levels of doom:

"Judging by the enemy’s video recordings, we have ALREADY lost no less equipment than they did during the entire summer campaign near Rabotino. And if they initially did not intend to hit… pic.twitter.com/YCvJpcGCNL

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 20, 2023

Russian channels continue commenting on Avdiivka with some fascinating levels of doom:

“Judging by the enemy’s video recordings, we have ALREADY lost no less equipment than they did during the entire summer campaign near Rabotino. And if they initially did not intend to hit with all their might, but only imposed local activity all summer, then the plan is quite workable.”

https://t.me/Dead_heads/519

More from Tatarigami on the ATACMS strikes in Berdiansk and Luhansk:

Recently, there has been some debate surrounding the extent of damage to Russian helicopters on Berdians'k and Luhansk airfields, sparked by @GeoConfirmed statement that at least 21 Russian helicopters were either destroyed or damaged.

While their number slightly exceeds our… pic.twitter.com/V8CF22p5Ha

— Tatarigami_UA (@Tatarigami_UA) October 20, 2023

Recently, there has been some debate surrounding the extent of damage to Russian helicopters on Berdians’k and Luhansk airfields, sparked by @GeoConfirmed statement that at least 21 Russian helicopters were either destroyed or damaged.

While their number slightly exceeds our team’s public estimate, it’s important to note that their estimate is based on solid grounds. The challenge arises from the limitations of commercially available imagery, which do not provide the resolution needed to detect hundreds of small scorch marks around helicopters in Berdiansk.

In the case of Luhansk airport, it’s much easier since you can clearly see it from our higher-resolution imagery purchased from Planet Labs.

However, we can independently verify that multiple scorch marks from explosions are clearly visible around Mi-8 helicopters on imagery for non-commercial distribution. Unlike most Ka-52 helicopters, which were burned and destroyed, the Mi-8s likely didn’t carry ammunition that would cause explosions. Consequently, the damage might not be easily visible from the satellite or visible at all.

We opted not to incorporate these helicopters into our report because, while we recognize the possibility of their damage, there are no publicly available means to definitively substantiate it. Nevertheless, it’s worth noting that even based on images from the Russian Telegram channel (link included in the image description), one can observe multiple holes on the affected helicopter, suggesting that many helicopters sustained damage, even if they did not catch fire.

It’s also worth noting that these helicopters are not in flyable condition. To transport them, the Russians had to remove their rotor blades, a process typically done to prepare helicopters for ground transportation. This observation makes the claim of damage highly plausible, which is why GeoConfirmed likely included them and reached a total number of 21

Link to their investigation, which was also based on our materials:

Kherson Oblast:

President Zelenskyi, Commander Zaluzhnyi in Kherson Oblast discussing key questions of the main frontline directions. pic.twitter.com/IO55GSTgjh

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 20, 2023

Lyman direction.

Touch not the cat bot a glove!

Ukrainians showcasing the Swedish version of the Leopard 2 tank in their service (Lyman direction).⁰⁰Source: Radio Liberty https://t.co/Wn9FKP2aLX pic.twitter.com/1755YUVktl

— WarTranslated (@wartranslated) October 20, 2023

Little Odesa:

Spider-Man 2 swings into Little Odessa, flying Ukrainian flags high. Nice 😊 pic.twitter.com/7Vg0XAvUrQ

— Maria Avdeeva (@maria_avdv) October 20, 2023

For those web head aficionados, that’s the Advanced Suit from the 2018 Marvel Spider-Man video game. Excelsior!

Rostov on Don:

Putin visited the Russian army headquarters in Rostov last night and met chief of General Staff Gerasimov. “Other conversations took place with representatives of the senior leadership of the Ministry of Defense,” Kremlin press poll says. https://t.co/vfri7oVlRQ

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) October 20, 2023

Ukraine is making advances on its judicial reforms despite the war. Reuters has the details:

KYIV, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Vira Levko, a judge in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, typically handles dozens of administrative cases and several criminal hearings every day. And she says there are others who are far busier than her.

When Levko tells colleagues abroad about her workload, they find it hard to believe.

“They don’t understand how a judge can hold so much information in their head,” she told Reuters at the Dniprovskyi district court.

Ukraine is desperately short of judges, and is kick-starting a long-delayed nationwide hiring spree to fill more than 2,000 vacancies and vet around as many sitting judges for potential malfeasance.

The ambitious effort, undertaken during the country’s war with Russia, is key to clearing a backlog of cases that has delayed justice for many Ukrainians.

It is also central to cementing the rule of law, a condition for Ukraine to one day join the European Union.

Even before Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had signalled his desire for Ukraine to join the EU, meaning that the fight against corruption and embracing good governance became priorities.

A poll released this month by the Razumkov Centre think-tank in Kyiv suggested only 18% of Ukrainians trust the courts, the legacy of a judicial system long eroded by corruption.

The European Commission, in a 2022 memo, said “the judiciary continues to be regarded as one of the least trusted and credible institutions”.

‘CATASTROPHE’

Attempts to reform the courts after the 2014 Maidan Revolution, which toppled a pro-Russian president and set Kyiv on a pro-Western course, were only partly successful and ran into systemic resistance, watchdogs say.

Two judicial governance bodies responsible for hiring and disciplining judges were effectively frozen for years, resulting in some 2,600 vacancies, or roughly one third of the judiciary, as judges retired or were dismissed.

Court cases have piled up across Ukraine as a result. Some courtrooms have been turned into storage spaces stacked high with case files.

The regional appeals court in northeastern Ukraine’s Sumy has only four judges left out of a full staff of 35. It faces total deadlock if just two judges retire, as they currently have the right to do.

“There is not a single court in Ukraine whose workload is normal,” said Ruslan Sydorovych, deputy head of the High Qualification Commission of Judges (HQCJ), which oversees the selection of judges.

“It’s just that in some places it’s big, and in others it’s simply a catastrophe,” he said.

The war adds an additional burden, as around 100,000 alleged Russian crimes are already being investigated.

The two governance bodies were recently relaunched under EU pressure, and around 1,100 appeals and local court vacancies will be filled in the coming months.

Sydorovych described it as the first step in a “super marathon” of hiring that could take several years and likely involve up to 7,000 interviews.

Selecting judges is only part of the challenge. Some 2,000 sitting judges also require integrity checks, part of the judicial house-cleaning launched, but never finished, after Maidan.

Halyna Chyzhyk, who served on a civic advisory council that monitors judges, said the entire process was manageable but that authorities shouldn’t try to rush it.

“If the priority is on (ensuring) quality, then you’ll need to sacrifice a bit of speed, and I think Ukrainian society understands that,” she said.

POLITICAL INDEPENDENCE

Ensuring that Ukraine’s top courts, long plagued by scandal, do not become instruments for wielding political influence could prove an even tougher task.

“We have judges who helped raid billions in property, who massively violated human rights, who hold Russian citizenship and actively helped Russia in the first days of the war,” said Mykhailo Zhernakov, of the DEJURE Foundation, an NGO in Kyiv.

The Constitutional Court, in particular, drew the ire of the EU and democracy campaigners by attempting to dismantle anti-corruption reforms before the war, and its former head is wanted in connection with several criminal cases, including bribing a witness.

Oleksandr Tupytskyi, now living in Vienna according to Ukrainian media reports, has denied wrongdoing and said the cases against him are political.

The EU recommended that Kyiv pass legislation giving international experts greater say over the make-up of the Constitutional Court, which currently has five vacancies.

But that is not an instant fix, said Zhernakov.

According to DEJURE, which tracks judicial reforms, at least two recent Ukrainian appointees to the court’s selection committee were “politically affiliated individuals with questionable reputations”.

“The biggest political difficulty is to build institutions that would be independent enough,” Zhernakov said.

The overhaul of the judiciary coincides with a broader bid to crack down on corruption, as tolerance among Ukrainians for official abuse wears thin at a time when tens of thousands have died defending Ukraine’s fragile democracy.

More at the link.

That’s enough for tonight.

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