Forced mobilization in Melitopol, downing of drones, successes of Ukrainian army in the south: last night's highlights

17 October 2022 10:51

In Melitopol, the Russian occupiers forcibly mobilized up to 3,000 citizens, in the south, the Armed Forces of Ukraine killed at least 50 Russian troops and shot down 9 kamikaze drones in the space of an hour. Here is what you may have missed from the previous night.

Suicide drones downed

In the evening, the Russian occupiers again attacked the southern regions of Ukraine with Iranian kamikaze drones. Within a day, the Ukrainian military destroyed 11 such drones, including nine in one hour.

Forced mobilization in Melitopol

In the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol, Zaporizhzhya Oblast, the occupying "authorities" have already forcibly mobilized up to 3,000 residents of the city, said the mayor of Melitopol Ivan Fedorov.

He stressed that the forced mobilization in the city continues. He also confirmed that Russians take Ukrainian children from the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhya Oblast to Crimea and to Russia.

Export of Ukrainian food

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since July, when the "grain deal" came into force, Ukraine had exported almost 8 million tons of food by sea.

According to him, 60% of these products were sent to Africa and Asia. Zelenskyy called it Ukraine's "global mission" and said that thanks to Ukrainian supplies, entire regions of the world maintain social and political security.

Call for the establishment of a special tribunal

The foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania issued a joint statement calling on the EU, together with international partners, to help Ukraine establish a Special Tribunal for the leadership of the Russian Federation.

Successes of the Armed Forces in the south

The JFO "South" reported that on October 16, the Russian occupation troops on the southern front lost:

at least 50 soldiers;
two tanks;
three Msta howitzers;
a Giatsnint cannon;
a self-propelled artillery unit;
mortar;
anti-aircraft missile system Tor;
electronic warfare stations;
three armored vehicles.

Blocking of Ukrainian website in Russia

The website of the Ukrainian state project "I want to live", through which Russians could surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, was blocked in Russia.

Shelling of Sumy Oblast

On October 16, the Russian military continued shelling Sumy Oblast. There were no casualties, but a number of settlements in the region were de-energized as a result of the attacks.

As a result of shelling of Velykopysarivska community with Grad rocket systems and mortars, a civilian agricultural enterprise was damaged. In total, 54 strikes were recorded in the community. Russians also fired 20 rockets from helicopters at the outskirts of one of the villages.