🔗 Share this article

Moscow is implementing a psychological influence campaign of threats to discourage the US from delivering precision-guided weapons to Kyiv, according to defense experts. A senior official declared: “We know these projectiles thoroughly, how they fly, how to shoot them down, we tested against them in Middle East operations, so there is nothing new. Those delivering them and the operators will face consequences … We will develop strategies to damage those who oppose our interests.”

Kyiv's Counteroffensive Progress

Ukrainian forces were inflicting heavy losses in a military operation in the Donetsk front, the central battlefield, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday. The Ukrainian president's account, derived from a briefing from his top commander, contradicted Moscow's speech before senior Russian officers a day earlier in which he said Russian troops maintained the operational control in all frontline sectors.

Based on evaluation from early October, military analysts said Russia was experiencing substantial casualties, especially due to drone strikes by Ukraine, in compensation of limited tactical advances. Kyiv's troops, the president stated, were “protecting our positions along all other directions”, mentioning particularly Kupiansk, a heavily damaged city in Ukraine's northeast under heavy Russian assaults for an extended period.

Local Developments

The regional governor in the Kherson area of Kherson said military strikes on midweek caused three deaths in and around the urban center of the same name. The governor of northern Sumy, on the border area with Russia, said three people died in unmanned aerial strikes in various areas. Ukrainian aerial defense said it intercepted or jammed most of the attack and decoy UAVs through the evening.

A Russian attack significantly harmed a Ukrainian energy facility, officials reported on midweek. Two employees were wounded in the assault, based on information from industry sources. Sources gave minimal specifics, about the plant's location, but Ukrainian authorities said Russia struck critical utilities in the Chernihiv region, southern Kherson and the Dnipropetrovsk area.

Civilian Effects

In the northern Ukrainian city of Shostka, hit hard by the military campaign against the energy infrastructure, officials have established temporary shelters where residents may find shelter, drink hot tea, charge their phones and receive psychological support, as reported by regional head.

Global Reactions

Ukraine's ambassador to Nato on Wednesday encouraged NATO members to accelerate procurement of United States armaments for Kyiv. “It's not that we favor United States armaments instead of allied or alternative military systems – the challenge remains that we are requesting the US for equipment that EU members can't provide,” said the ambassador.

German federal police will immediately gain permission to shoot down drones, security chief announced on Wednesday, following multiple drone sightings suspected as foreign operations to gather intelligence and deter. Announcing legal changes, the official said security forces could legally “to employ sophisticated countermeasures against drone threats, such as EMP technology, electronic interference, GPS interference, but also with physical means”.

EU Protection Challenges

European leader stated on Wednesday that EU nations need to enhance its defenses to counter Russia's “hybrid warfare” after air incursions, cyber-attacks and damage to undersea cables. “This doesn't represent coincidental events. They constitute a systematic and intensifying operation,” the leader said in a speech to the European lawmakers. “Two incidents are coincidence, but several, many, frequent – this constitutes a intentional and focused hybrid threat strategy against Europe, and European countries should answer.”

Displacement Status

The Swiss government has continued its refugee protection provided to displaced Ukrainians to at least 4 March 2027. Protection status S, which allows people to travel abroad as well as work in Switzerland, is normally capped at a single year but can be extended. “The decision shows the persistent dangerous conditions and ongoing military actions across large parts of Ukraine,” said a official communication. “Notwithstanding international peace efforts, a lasting stabilisation that would allow for safe return is not anticipated in the foreseeable future.”