Did you miss the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Between the strong declarations, the advances on the front and the results of the fighting, here is the essential of this Tuesday, the 993rd day of the war.
Fact of the day
Despite human losses and weariness, the majority of Ukrainians remain opposed to territorial concessions to Russia to achieve peace, the results of a poll published on Tuesday showed. The kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) conducted a telephone survey of 2,004 people living in territory under kyiv control between September 20 and October 3, just before Donald Trump's victory in the American presidential election.
According to the results, “at the beginning of October 2024, despite difficult circumstances, the majority of Ukrainians (58%) oppose any territorial concession.” This figure is up three percentage points compared to May, the date of the previous survey carried out, but down significantly compared to the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022 (82% opposed at the time).
Currently, 32% of those surveyed are ready, conversely, to make territorial concessions to “preserve the independence” of Ukraine. If this figure has tripled since May 2022 (10% at the time), it still remains in the minority in public opinion, according to this survey.
Today's statement
« “Support for this country attacked by Russia remains an absolute priority” »
The words are signed Emmanuel Macron this Tuesday. Meeting in Paris, the French president and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte called for maintaining resolute military support for Ukraine while the election of Donald Trump in the United States casts doubt on the continuation of aid American in kyiv.
“The recent deployment of North Koreans to the front line is a serious escalation. And we will continue to advocate for NATO and its allies to provide full support to the Ukrainian army for as long as it takes,” he added. For the French president, “this is the only path to negotiations. And I want to be clear, when the time comes, nothing will have to be decided on Ukraine without the Ukrainians, nor on Europe without the Europeans.”
Alongside Emmanuel Macron, the new NATO Secretary General on Tuesday called on the West to “do more than just allow Ukraine to fight”.
The number of the day
700. This is the number of Ukrainian volunteers expatriated in Europe who have registered to join the Ukrainian Legion, a new formation of the army which is then supposed to be deployed against Russian troops on the front, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday.
Subjected to heavy losses after almost three years of Russian invasion, Ukrainian forces are seeking to recruit among the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian men living in Europe, particularly in Poland and Germany. Some had fled their country illegally, precisely for fear of being mobilized. kyiv announced in early October that it had opened a first recruitment office in the Polish city of Lublin, with the aim of encouraging Ukrainians to enlist in the army from abroad.
“To date, the Ukrainian Legion recruitment center has received around 700 applications from Ukrainians,” Ukrainian Lieutenant Colonel Petro Gorkoucha was quoted as saying in a ministry statement. Candidates applied from several countries including Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany and Ireland, he added.
The trend
Russia has reinforced its military contingent and intensified its bombings in anticipation of an assault on the southern front, where positions have remained largely unchanged in recent months, a Ukrainian military spokesperson assured Tuesday.
A Russian offensive in the southern region of Zaporizhia would pose a challenge for the Ukrainian army, already struggling on the eastern front and which is still engaged in an incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, on the northern border.
“The Russians have been preparing for some time, for several weeks, to carry out assault operations in several directions, in particular in the direction of Zaporizhia,” said Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Ukrainian army in the sector. south.
Our file on the war in Ukraine
He specified that the Russian army was strengthening its troops, particularly in the sectors of Vremivka, Gulyaïpole and Robotyné. “Every day, it carries out aerial and technical reconnaissance there, and restocks with ammunition. For several weeks, the enemy has been preparing to use armored vehicles,” he continued.
Vladyslav Volochyn refused to give the number of Russian soldiers gathered in this sector of the front, but according to him, small groups are already launching several attacks every day.
