Zelensky: Ukraine's Front-Line Positions Are the Strongest in a Long Time
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said after a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff that Ukraine's front-line positions this year are the strongest in a long time. The same day, a Russian strike on Kharkiv killed three people, while Ukrainian drones targeted sites in Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky chaired a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff on Monday, 13 October, to review the situation at the front in Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. In his evening address, he said Ukraine's positions remain strong and are the strongest in a long time this year.
Zelensky said Russian losses have grown in recent months. In the Dobropillia area alone, Russian forces reportedly lose around two hundred people every day, and many more are seriously wounded. According to the president, Ukraine's armed forces are holding back all enemy attempts to advance and break through to the rear. He added that in some sectors Russian troops outnumber Ukrainians by six to eight times, yet Ukraine is still achieving the results it needs.
Strikes on both sides
On Monday evening a Russian strike on Kharkiv killed three people and injured 11 more, Mayor Igor Terekhov said. Local authorities had earlier reported missile strikes on the city's Kholodnohirskyi and Shevchenkivskyi districts, hitting residential blocks and civilian infrastructure.
Vladimir Vladimirov, governor of Russia's Stavropol region, said Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Solnechnodolsk, targeting industrial facilities he did not name. He had earlier reported a drone attack on the industrial zone of Nevinnomyssk. Both places host large power facilities: the Nevinnomyssk and Stavropol state district power plants.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin reported that 41 drones heading for the Russian capital were shot down during the day.
Trump on the "energy truce"
Asked about his announced agreement to halt strikes on energy infrastructure, which neither Russia nor Ukraine confirms, US President Donald Trump claimed both leaders had agreed. He said he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants a deal more than Zelensky does, and acknowledged that violations had come from both sides.
Ukraine's General Staff says Russia's total combat losses since 24 February 2022 stand at about 1,555,700 personnel, including 1,390 over the past day. Ukraine does not regularly publish its own casualty figures.
