Battles for Avdiivka, personnel changes in the SBU and shelling of a thermal power plant: highlights for October 23
In the Avdiivka area, the Russians do not stop the assaults despite the losses; the occupiers also fired at one of DTEK’s thermal power plants, and Zelenskyy fired the deputy head of the SBU and several other officials of this service. We have collected the key news for October 23, 2023.
The situation in the Avdiivka area
The head of the Avdiivka military civil administration, Vitalii Barabash, said that “the Russians are throwing their all like mad, dying by dozens and coming again in a short time.”
“The enemy is trying to send very large forces using armored vehicles and personnel. Their losses are really very high, enormous. At the same time, this does not stop them. More and more assaults are taking place all the time. The attack is very large […] The last few days have been a bit humid, so they are using less equipment, trying to work with infantry,” Barabash said.
He noted that the city itself is constantly “hot” during the day, but at night it is more or less calm; single hits are recorded in the old and central parts of the city. The destruction in the city is very extensive, noted the head of the military civil administration.
Personnel changes in the SBU
On October 23, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine Anatoliy Sandurskyy by decree.
The president also dismissed the head of the SBU Main Directorate in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, Volodymyr Petrychenko. He also dismissed Anatolii Denysenko, the head of the SBU Office in the Vinnytsia region, and appointed Petrychenko to replace him.
In addition, according to Zelenskyy’s decrees:
- Andrii Padalko became the head of the Department of Economic Support of the SBU;
- Andrii Shvets headed the Main Investigation Department of the SBU;
- Tamara Pashkovska was appointed head of the Department for Work with Personnel of the SBU.
Shelling of a thermal power plant
On the evening of October 22, Russian occupation forces fired at one of the thermal power plants of the DTEK company. As a result of the attack, the company's equipment was seriously damaged. After the shelling stopped, the power engineers began eliminating the consequences. There were no casualties.
The invaders also shelled the village of Dariivka in the Kherson region. One casualty is known.
The escape of Party of Regions member Yefremov
Former Party of Regions MP Oleksandr Yefremov, who is accused of treason, left for Moscow after the full-scale invasion and was registered in a luxury apartment, Schemes reports.
In March 2022, Yefremov left Ukraine by rail through the Chop (Strazh) checkpoint on the border with Slovakia and has not returned. As Skhemy found out, Yefremov is currently in Moscow.
The Prosecutor General's Office told journalists that Yefremov currently has no preventive measure and has not been put on the wanted list. No court hearings have been scheduled in his case, “which is probably due to the temporary occupation of Starobelsk”.
Other important news
- The Shakhtar football club terminated the contract with its 19-year-old junior player Oleksander Rosputko, who did not return to Ukraine after the UEFA Youth League match against Antwerp in Belgium.
- On the night of October 23, Russian troops used an unidentified type of drone against Ukraine. The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that the occupiers collect these from “what is at hand”.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a protocol on Sweden's accession to NATO. Now the decision must be supported by the Turkish parliament.
- The Cabinet of Ministers agreed on a bill to improve the educational process in universities. Students are offered the opportunity to independently regulate the timing of their studies, as well as choose a specific specialty after the 1st or 2nd year of study.
- Ukraine received the ninth tranche of macro-financial assistance for 1.5 billion euros from the European Union.
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