On Sunday, October 2, the Ukrainian army announced that it had begun advancing towards a new city to its east to retake the so-called “Triangle City”. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization announced its preliminary position on Kyiv’s request to join the organization.
Sergei Heidi, head of the Luhansk regional administration, said it was possible for Ukrainian troops to retake Kremina (eastern Ukraine) from Russian troops. He also said it would be the second step after the retake of Donetsk’s strategic city of Liman on Saturday, October 1.
Shortly after declaring full control of the strategic city of Liman, Kyiv confirmed that its forces had begun to advance towards Cremina, aiming to regain control of the so-called “triangular cities” of Severo-Donetsk, Lysichansk and Rubizhny These are the most important cities in Luhansk province.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had restored full control of the city of Liman. It is worth mentioning that the city is an important hub of the Eastern Ukraine railway and has important strategic significance. He also stressed that more Ukrainian flags will be flown in the Donbas region, including the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, within a week.
battlefield developments
As for developments on other battlefields, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that fighting broke out in the Nikolayev region near Andreyevka in the Kherson region. The ministry also said more than 240 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 31 tanks destroyed.
The ministry also said it targeted Ukrainian army positions in Kherson, Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Donetsk and Nikolayev, and destroyed seven Ukrainian weapons and Ammunition Depot.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces were trying to launch simultaneous attacks on the axes of Nikolayev, Andreyevka and Kriverich.
In addition, pro-Russian separatist forces have posted on their website photos of what they claim are Russian troops targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure along the Kherson axis.
The photos show the site of the explosion of weapons and ammunition depots that the websites claim belonged to the Ukrainian army.
On the other hand, the Ukrainian Security Service announced that Russia had bombed the residential area of Nikolayev, causing civilian casualties. Ukrainian police in the city found that more than 20 residential buildings, as well as some government and private institutions, were damaged.
NATO’s position
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said any decision regarding Ukraine’s membership in NATO must be approved by all member states. He also warned that “any deliberate attack on the infrastructure of NATO members will be met with a firm and unified response.”
Stoltenberg believes that the best way to deal with Russia’s annexation of Ukraine is to continue to support Ukraine. He also pointed out that if Russia used nuclear weapons, it would have serious consequences for Moscow. He also called Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement about the use of nuclear weapons “dangerous and reckless.”
Two days ago, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky announced that Ukraine had taken what he called a decisive plan to sign up to a request to join NATO quickly. Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of Ukrainian regions such as Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporozhye and Kherson to Russia amid widespread opposition from the international community. Zelensky’s request was in response to Putin’s above-mentioned actions.
German military support
In a related context, German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht announced the supply of 16 Slovak-produced howitzers to Ukraine in 2023, worth a total of $92 million.
On Sunday, October 2, Lambrecht told the German Public Broadcasting Union (ARD) that the “Zuzana” howitzer will be produced in Slovakia and financed by a partnership between Denmark, Norway and Germany.
The statements came after the German defense minister returned on October 3 from his first visit to Ukraine since Russia began its attack on Ukraine on February 24.
The “Zuzana” howitzer is the main product of the Slovak defense industry and the only heavy weapon system produced in Slovakia.
During his visit on Saturday, October 1, the German minister promised Ukrainian Foreign Minister Alexy Reznikov that Germany would deliver the first announced batch of the latest IRIS-TSLM air defense system to Ukraine within a few days.
Notably, on a one-day visit to Odessa, Lambrecht had to take shelter in cover twice after airstrikes and missile and drone threat sirens.