Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine - NYT briefing

 

Welcome to the New York Times Russia-Ukraine War Briefing, your guide to the latest news and analysis about the conflict. October 27, 2022

Russia’s defense minister said that the draft was over and that no more enlistment notices would be sent to men to fight in Ukraine. In remarks that appeared to be aimed at conservatives in the West, President Vladimir Putin declared that Russia’s battle was with “Western elites.” A new U.S. program will track the $17 billion in arms sent so far to Ukraine to ensure they make it to the battlefield — and not the black market. Ksenia Sobchak, a Russian socialite and one of the best-known remaining critics of the Kremlin, fled Russia after the police raided her home. Get the latest updates here. Track the invasion with our maps. These photoschronicle the ordeal of the war.

Meal time for Ukrainian soldiers near the front line in the Kherson region yesterday.Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

Mud deepens, battles rage

As the war looks set to drag on over the winter, both the Russian and Ukrainian armies are dealing with autumn mud that is complicating movements across the battlefields. Fighting remains intense in the east, and what could be one of the most consequential battles of the war is shaping up in the south, around the city of Kherson.

In Russian, the word for the muddy season is “rasputitsa,” and in Ukrainian, it’s “bezdorizhzhya.” Both essentially mean “bad roads.” And without roads, the Ukrainian advance will move more slowly, Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, told reporters this week.

The Ukrainian military said today that Russia had sent roughly 1,000 troops to defend Kherson, the first major city to fall to the Russians after the invasion started eight months ago. Russian-installed officials said today that civilian evacuations from Kherson were complete.

The British defense ministry said in an intelligence update that Russia had most likely reinforced its troops in Kherson with mobilized reservists, and that Russian forces were transitioning to a “long-term, defensive posture on most areas of the front line.”

Ukrainian forces recaptured Velyka Oleksandrivka in the Kherson region this month.Ivor Prickett for The New York Times

Kherson is the gateway to both Russian-held Crimea in the south and Ukraine’s Black Sea ports to the west, including Odesa. Its loss would be a severe blow for Putin, who has rejected his commanders’ requests that their forces be allowed to retreat from the city.

Ukraine continues to hit Russian positions in and around Kherson, including carrying out a deadly strike this week on a building used by Russian forces. The Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who has sent units from Chechnya to fight in Ukraine, said at least 23 Russian soldiers had been killed and more than 50 had been injured.

In the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian forces were trying to surround the important city of Kreminna, which the Russians captured in April. Retaking Kreminna would allow Ukraine to disrupt a vital Russian logistical supply artery.

Also on the eastern front, Russian forces continued their assault on the city of Bakhmut, where they have failed to gain significant ground despite months of daily bombardments.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said this week that the fighting in Bakhmut was some of the heaviest in the war.

“The craziness of the Russian command is now most visible there,” he said. “Day after day for months, they drive people there to death, concentrate the maximum power of artillery strikes there.”

A basement of a school in Velyka Oleksandrivka, which Russian forces had used as a base.Ivor Prickett for The New York Times