After the end of the Russian partial mobilization, around 82,000 reservists are already deployed at the front, says Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. British intelligence services are assuming that the new soldiers will be used to fill sparsely manned positions along the Dnipro River. Ukraine claims to have shot down hundreds of Iranian kamikaze drones. And Chechen leader Kadyrov admits losses of his own. The 247th day of the war at a glance.

Ukrainian Air Force: Already shot down 300 Iranian drones

The Ukrainian military says it has shot down more than 300 Iranian Shahed-136 kamikaze drones since mid-September. It is assumed that Russia has ordered 2,400 such drones, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told journalists. It is not known how large the stock actually is. The Russian army uses these combat drones mainly at night and in several waves. Kamikaze drones circle over a target area for a period of time and then crash onto a designated target with an explosive charge.

Moscow: 82,000 reservists already at the front

Russia’s partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine has been completed, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Around 82,000 of the men are already deployed at the front, and the rest are currently being prepared for combat in Russia. New mobilization measures are not planned, and from now on volunteers will be used on a contractual basis, Shoigu said at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin near Moscow.

Putin once again acknowledged that there were many problems with the partial mobilization that began more than a month ago. The soldiers often did not have the right equipment or were not prepared for deployment in the war zone in accordance with Russian regulations. Many reservists also returned in coffins.

London: Russia sends reservists to troops in Cherson

According to British intelligence services, Russia is increasingly focusing on defending its positions in Ukraine. In the past few weeks, Russian troops have taken up a long-term, defensive position in most sectors of the front, the Ministry of Defense reported. The heavily undermanned, poorly trained troops in Ukraine are currently only capable of defensive operations, according to the daily report by the secret services. Russia has apparently bolstered some recently extremely weak troops along the Dnipro River with recently mobilized reservists, it said.

Russian occupiers: Cherson cleared of civilians

According to their own statements, the Russian occupiers have cleared the Ukrainian city of Cherson and the area north-west of the Dnipro River of civilians. Deputy chief of administration Kirill Stremousov did not say how many people had left the region where a Ukrainian attack is expected. Another member of the occupation administration, Yekaterina Gubareva, said 36,400 civilians had been evacuated. The number cannot be verified. People were brought across the Dnipro by boats.

Kadyrov admits high losses in his own unit

The ruler of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, admitted high losses in his own ranks after an artillery shelling by Ukrainian troops. “23 fighters died and 58 were injured,” Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel. Ukrainian sources reported earlier in the week that a Chechen unit in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson was hit by artillery fire.

Selenskyj denounces Russian terror

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy compared his country’s struggle against Russia to resistance against the Nazis in World War II. Russia is pursuing the same goals as National Socialism once did, said Zelenskyj in a video message. “The form of evil has changed, but the essence is unchanged.” Zelenskyy said that Russia had turned from neighbor to aggressor and terrorist. Peaceful cities are repeatedly attacked with bombs and rockets, said the 44-year-old. Russia mines and occupies power plants, steals grain and also abducts children, he said on Friday night. Referring to the Second World War and the fight against the Nazis at the time, Zelenskyj said that “evil had risen again from the ashes after 80 years”.

Ukraine is ‘not afraid of the dark’

Zelenskyy complained that the aggressor Russia had fired 4,500 rockets at Ukraine since the beginning of the war and had carried out a total of 8,000 airstrikes. But his country will not be broken, he stressed. In view of the power cuts due to the destroyed energy infrastructure, he said that life without light is not dark, but rather without freedom. The Ukrainians would also survive the harsh winter. “We are not afraid of the dark.”

Steinmeier invokes German “spirit of resistance”

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier prepared the people of Germany for a difficult future as a result of the Ukraine war. “It’s beginning an epoch against the wind for Germany,” he warned. The period before the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine on February 24 was an “epoch with a tailwind” in which the Germans benefited greatly from the peace dividend after the end of the bloc confrontation. “The peace dividend has been used up. An epoch against the wind is beginning for Germany.” He predicted, “There are tougher years ahead, rough years ahead.” In his speech, Steinmeier also invoked the Germans’ spirit of resistance.

Russians spend more money on antidepressants

In Russia, meanwhile, significantly more drugs against depression have been purchased since the beginning of the year than in the previous year. By the end of September, 8.4 million packs of antidepressants worth five billion rubles (about 80 million euros) had been sold, the state news agency TASS reported, citing statistics from the Center for Perspective Technologies. The increase in packs is therefore 48 percent, and in expenditure even 70 percent. It is not clear whether the higher sales of anti-depression drugs are directly related to the Ukraine war.

IAEA plans inspections in Ukraine later this week

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) plans to send an observer mission to Ukraine shortly after allegations by Russia that Kyiv is planning to use a “dirty” bomb. At the request of Kiev, experts are to carry out inspections at two locations. Putin had also called for such a mission.

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