Training Ukrainian troops makes France direct participant in combat, says Russian FM Lavrov The fact that #Paris is training #Ukrainian soldiers at a military base in France means it is directly involved in the conflict, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference after taking part in the #G20 summit. "[French President Emmanuel] Macron has been one of the most vocal and biggest material supporters of the war, advocating for victory over Russia, for Russia’s strategic defeat. Ukrainian servicemen are currently completing their training in France, an entire assault shock brigade is being prepared. In essence, they are directly participating in the combat," the top Russian diplomat pointed out. "The same goes for talk about using French-made SCALP missiles [in Ukraine] which are identical to the UK’s Storm Shadow," Lavrov added.

Russia says its forces downed 5 ATACMS missiles that Ukraine fired into Bryansk Region #Ukrainian forces launched #ATACMS missiles toward Russia’s #Bryansk Region overnight, but air defenses shot down five of them and damaged another one, the Russian Defense Ministry said. "At 3:25 a.m. this morning the enemy struck a site on the territory of the Bryansk Region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used. As a result of an anti-missile battle, five missiles were shot down and one was damaged by crews of S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems," the ministry said. According to the ministry, the missiles fell on the technical territory of a military site in the Bryansk Region, causing a fire, which was extinguished. "There are no casualties or damage," the ministry stated.

[BREAKING] Biden authorizes use of US long-range weapons to strike inside Russia Joe #Biden has allowed #Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range ballistic #missiles to strike inside #Russia, The New York Times said, citing US officials. The newspaper noted that the decision was made two months before Biden vacates the presidential office. "Mr. Biden’s decision is a major change in U.S. policy," it wrote, adding that this decision has divided his advisers. According to The New York Times the long-range missiles, known as the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS will be used against the Russian and North Korean military "to help [Ukraine] defend its forces in the Kursk region of Russia."

Houthis say they attacked US aircraft carrier in Arabian Sea The #Houthis from #Yemen's rebel Ansar Allah movement have attacked the US Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian sea and two US destroyers in the Red Sea, the movement’s military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said. According to the spokesman, the Houthi air forces conducted two military operations. "In the course of one of the operations, they attacked the American USS Abraham#Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea with the use of cruise missiles and drones when the American enemy was preparing for hostile operations against our country," he said, adding that the Houthis also attacked "two American destroyers in the Red Sea with ballistic missiles and drones." The operations, in his words, lasted for eight hours. He also said that the Houthis place responsibility for "turning the Red Sea into a zone of military tension" and the impact on navigation in the area on Washington and London. The Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV channel reported earlier on Tuesday that American troops had attacked a civilian car in the As Sawma’ah District. The Dubai-based Al Arabiya television channel said, citing a source, that an American drone had attacked a car carrying Houthi leaders. Apart from that, the US delivered a strike on Houthi military targets in the Al Bayda governorate.

Houthis claim to have targeted three ships Yemen's Houthi rebels announce three separate operations targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea Yemen's #Houthi rebels announced on Monday that they launched three separate operations targeting ships in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, Reuters reported. The group's military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, said the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at the vessel Motaro in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. In addition, Sarea claimed that the Maersk Kowloon was targeted by a missile in the Arabian Sea, while the SC Montreal was struck by two drones. The claims come a day after the Houthis published footage from a military drill they had carried out, which combined land and naval forces and simulated a large-scale attack against Yemen. According to the Houthis, the drill was carried out on the east coast of Yemen, and is said to have been part of a campaign that the Houthis are waging "for Gaza and for Lebanon". The Iranian-backed Houthis have upped their attacks in the region since the start of the war in Gaza last October, having launched drones towards Israel and targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea region. In the wake of the uptick in Houthi attacks, the US formed a coalition, made up of more than 20 countries, aimed at safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by the Houthis. The Houthis have been unfazed by the strikes, saying that the campaign against the "Zionist enemy" will continue and that the attacks against the American and British ships will not stop.

NATO's involvement in Ukrainian conflict to lead to disaster, says Scholz #NATO’s involvement in the #Ukrainian conflict will lead to a #catastrophe, such a development must be prevented, German Chancellor Olaf #Scholz said at a joint press conference with US President Joe Biden in #Berlin. "Our position is clear. We support Ukraine as much as we can. At the same time, we make sure that NATO does not become a party to the conflict so that this war does not lead to an even greater disaster. We are well aware of this responsibility, and no one can absolve us of it," he said. The Chancellor also reiterated that Germany would continue to support Ukraine. On October 17, Germany updated the list of weapons transferred to Kiev. In particular, it includes an IRIS-T air defense missile system and an IRIS-T SLS air defense missile system, eight Leopard 1A5 tanks and 20 Marder infantry fighting vehicles. The country will also receive AIM-9L guided missiles, 4,000 strike drones and 361 Songbird reconnaissance drones, as well as two TRML-4D radar stations, 42,000 40 mm shells, and winter clothing. Germany is the second largest arms supplier to Ukraine after the US. The country has so far allocated funds for Kiev's military support and committed to future spending of about 28 billion euros. Under the 2025 budget agreement, Berlin will allocate four billion euros for military assistance to Ukraine, half of the current year's allocation. The Russian authorities have repeatedly stated that pumping weapons into Ukraine will not weaken Russia's resolve and will not change the course of the special military operation.

Ukrainian attack on Russia’s Kursk region fails to produce results, explains British diplomat The #Ukrainian army’s attack on #Russia’s borderline #Kursk Region did not produce the results that Kiev had expected, John Foreman, former British military attache in Moscow (2019-22) and Kiev (2014), told the Daily Telegraph. "Russian progress actually picked up after Kursk," he said, as cited by the newspaper. "Politically, the Kursk offensive didn’t change much in Washington, D.C., or Europe. I’m still unconvinced of its strategic merit," the diplomat added. According to the Daily Telegraph, "Ukrainian officials had hoped that the invasion of Russia would impress their allies, who would agree to increase weapon supplies and allow Western missiles to be fired at targets in Russia." However, neither Washington nor London has yet approved "Ukraine’s request for a license to expand missile strikes," while the Ukrainian army is retreating not only in Donbas but also in the Kursk Region, which appears "to have come as a surprise to Ukraine and the US."

Zelensky to leave US without permission to attack Russia with Western weapons Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky will return from the United States without achieving the lifting of a ban on strikes deep into Russia with Western weapons, The Times reported. The newspaper pointed out that during a meeting with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Ukrainian leader personally asked to lift restrictions on strikes with British Storm Shadow and American ATACMS missiles on Russia. However, "no shift in Washington’s stance on the use of the long-range missiles was announced," the newspaper said. Instead, according to The Times, Democratic presidential candidate Harris, standing next to Zelensky, began talking about her political rival in the upcoming election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Earlier, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov compared Zelensky's visit to the United States to a Hollywood show. He emphasized that under the applause of American politicians "the blood of soldiers and civilians will continue to pour" in Ukraine, which is the essence of Zelensky's "victory plan." The Ukraine's Zelensky met with Biden and Harris in Washington on September 26.

The connection between Yemen and today's killed Hezbollah officer The Iran-proxy #Houthis shot THREE missiles at Tel Aviv in response to IDF killing in Beirut today of Muhammad Sarur - WHY? The shooting from Yemen comes after confirmation by #Hezbollah of the assassination of Mohammed #Sarur, a senior Hezbollah member who was a military adviser to the Houthis in the previous decade. The Al-Arabiya network published the documentation of Muhammad Sarur, a senior Hezbollah official who was eliminated, while he was training the Houthis in 2016. According to the report, he assisted them in preparing to attack Saudi Arabia. Reports claim THREE missiles were shot, and not one as thought before (unverified by IDF) It is said that Sarur returned just a few days before from Houthi-controlled area of Yemen

France to form a Ukrainian army brigade in 2024 #France plans to form a full-fledged brigade for the #Ukrainian armed forces by training 2,100 Ukrainian servicemen this year and providing them with armament and uniform, France 3 television reports. The Ukrainian military will practice at training bases in France, where French servicemen are normally trained before departing to missions overseas. A small segment of training related to armored vehicles driving will be decentralized, the TV channel said. The training course is designed for two months. Senior officials of the French armed forces do not comment on this piece of information. The TV channel says the training goal is to prepare a brigade for the Ukrainian army by December 2024. 128 VAB armored personnel carriers, 18 Caesar self-propelled howitzers and 24 light tanks will be handed over to the Ukrainian military. Paris will further hand over military trucks, antitank guided missiles and radars to Kiev in 2024.