Two people injured in Russian overnight attacks on Ukraine, Germany announces new military aid package to Ukraine, death toll in Hroza strike rises to 55

Novaya-Europe’s roundup

It is day 595 of the war in Ukraine. Air raid sirens sounded in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine overnight, with two women injured in attacks on Ukrainian regions.

Russia has launched an offensive near the Donetsk region Avdiivka village in an effort to draw Ukrainian forces away from the area of the Robotyne village, whose recapture was announced by Ukraine in late August, ISW reported.

The death toll in the Russian missile strike on the village of Hroza has risen to 55.

Germany has announced a new military aid package to Ukraine estimated at €1 billion.

Novaya-Europe’s news roundup will brief you on the main developments overnight.

Night attack on Ukraine

Air raid sirens sounded in the Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava, Donetsk, and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force reported on Wednesday.

A 78-year-old woman was injured in a Russian artillery attack, the head of the Dnipro region Serhiy Lysak said. Furthermore, a woman was injured in Russian shelling of the Kherson region, according to the head of the region Oleksandr Prokudin.

The governor of the Russian southern Bryansk region Alexander Bogomaz reported that Ukrainian forces had attempted to attack regional facilities using drones. Two drones were destroyed by Russian air defences, with no damages or injuries reported, he said.

ISW: Russia launches offensive operations near Avdiivka to fix Ukrainian forces away from Robotyne

On 9 October, Russian forces launched “localised offensive operations” near the Donetsk region village of Avdiivka and southwest of Zaporizhzhia region city of Orikhiv in a likely effort to draw Ukrainian forces away from the area near the Robotyne village, whose recapture was announced by Ukraine in late August, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Tuesday.

According to the analysts, Russian soldiers are attempting to encircle Ukrainian forces in Avdiivka and capture the village, however it’s unlikely they will be able to achieve this goal due to their numbers.

“A successful encirclement of Avdiivka, one of the most heavily fortified areas of the Donetsk region front line, would very likely require more forces than Russia has currently dedicated to the Avdiivka-Donetsk City effort,” ISW said in its daily bulletin.

It was noted by ISW that Ukrainian troops continued counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut and the south of the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as “made confirmed advances” in the border area between the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Death toll of Russian missile strike on Hroza rises to 55

The death toll of the missile strike on the Kharkiv region village of Hroza carried out by Russian forces has risen to 55 people, with three more people considered missing, the head of the local prosecutor’s office Dmitro Chubenko said on Wednesday.

He confirmed that identities of 55 victims had been verified, while three people are still considered missing. “Taking into account the missing people reports, the death toll could still rise to 58,” he added.

The local police received 22 missing person reports, four of which were later confirmed as false, while 13 of the people reported were confirmed dead.

Germany announces new military aid package to Ukraine worth €1 billion

The German government announced on Tuesday a new military assistance package to Ukraine worth €1 billion aimed at strengthening Ukraine’s air defence efforts.

The new package will include Patriot and IRIS-T systems, three Gepard self-propelled anti-air systems, ten Leopard-1-A5 tanks, 15 armoured vehicles, 20 medevac vehicles, and 155 mm shells.

By the end of 2023, a total of 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers will have undergone training in German camps, the German Defence Ministry said in a statement.

Additionally, reports are circulating about the UK announcing a new aid package worth over £100 million later today.