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Moscow is implementing a psychological influence operation of intimidations to prevent the US from providing long-range missiles to Ukrainian forces, based on analysis from conflict researchers. An influential legislator remarked: “We are familiar with these weapons thoroughly, how they fly, how to shoot them down, we encountered them in Syria, so there is nothing new. Those delivering them and those who use them will face consequences … We will identify methods to target those who cause us trouble.”

Ukraine's Defensive Operations Situation

Kyiv's troops were inflicting heavy losses in a counteroffensive in the Donetsk front, the central battlefield, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on midweek. Zelenskyy's assessment, following a briefing from his senior military officer, contradicted the Russian president's speech before high-ranking military personnel a day earlier in which he claimed Moscow's forces maintained the operational control in all frontline sectors.

Based on evaluation from early October, defense researchers said Russia was suffering significant losses, mainly because of drone strikes by Ukraine, in compensation of limited tactical advances. Kyiv's troops, Zelenskyy said, were “defending ourselves along various sectors”, highlighting especially Kupiansk, a heavily damaged city in the northeastern front under heavy Russian assaults for several months.

Local Developments

Administrative officials in the Kherson area of the Kherson oblast said military strikes on midweek killed three people in and around the city of the same name. Local authorities of Sumy region, on the northern border with the Russian Federation, said three people died in Russian drone attacks in various areas. Kyiv's air command said it intercepted or jammed most of the attack and decoy UAVs during the night.

Military action substantially impacted critical infrastructure, officials reported on midweek. Facility personnel were harmed during the strike, according to power utility representatives. They provided minimal specifics, including the site's whereabouts, but Ukrainian authorities said Russia struck power facilities in Ukraine's northern Chernihiv, the Kherson area and eastern Ukraine.

Humanitarian Impact

In the border community of northeastern Ukraine, severely affected by the military campaign against the electrical grid, officials have created emergency spaces where people can warm up, receive warm beverages, charge their phones and access mental health services, as reported by administrative leader.

International Measures

The Ukrainian diplomat to the military alliance on midweek called on NATO members to accelerate procurement of American military equipment for Ukraine. “The situation isn't that we prefer United States armaments over French or German or some other European weapons – the issue is that we require the US for weapons which EU members are unable to supply,” said Ukraine's NATO envoy.

Federal law enforcement will soon be allowed to intercept drones, interior minister announced on Wednesday, after a spate of drone sightings considered likely foreign operations to conduct surveillance and threaten. Presenting proposed legislation, the minister said police would be authorized “to employ sophisticated countermeasures against drone threats, for example with EMP technology, signal disruption, navigation system disruption, but also with kinetic methods”.

European Security Concerns

European leader declared on midweek that the European Union should enhance its protective capabilities to deter complex threat operations following air incursions, cyber-attacks and damage to undersea cables. “These aren't random harassment. They constitute a systematic and intensifying operation,” the official said in a speech to the European parliament. “Two incidents are coincidence, but multiple, repeated, numerous – that represents a deliberate and targeted ambiguous warfare operation against the European Union, and the EU needs to react.”

Refugee Conditions

The Swiss government has prolonged its protection status granted to people fleeing Ukraine to at least 4 March 2027. Humanitarian status, which enables individuals to journey internationally as well as work in Switzerland, is normally capped at one year but can be continued. “The decision shows the persistent dangerous conditions and continuing offensive operations across large parts of Ukraine,” said a federal announcement. “Notwithstanding worldwide negotiation attempts, a permanent peace that would allow for secure repatriation is not expected in the foreseeable future.”