All current developments on the war in Ukraine.
Russia says it repelled land and drone attacks
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Moscow said on Wednesday it had thwarted a wave of Ukrainian drones and an attempted landing by Kiev in Crimea.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, 31 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were intercepted over the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions bordering Ukraine.
No information about possible victims or damage was released.
Since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in June, Moscow has accused Kiev of attacking Russian territory almost daily – be it with drones, missiles or artillery.
The Russian Defense Ministry also reported on Wednesday that it had repelled an attempted landing by Ukrainian forces in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were on board a “fast military boat and three jet skis” on their way to Cape Tarchankout in the northwest of the Black Sea peninsula, it said.
This summer, Moscow repeatedly claimed that it had destroyed Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea that were headed toward Crimea.
No plans for new mobilization in Russia – Defense Minister
Sergei Shoigu claimed that no more men will be called up to fight in the Russian army, as hundreds of thousands have already signed up this year.
“There are no plans for additional mobilization,” the Russian defense minister said on state television. “The armed forces have the number of military forces necessary to carry out the special military operation.”
He claimed more than 335,000 people had entered military service in “volunteer formations”, with 50,000 signing contracts in September alone.
Russia is seeking to bolster its armed forces as the Ukraine war becomes more grueling, integrating fighters from the Wagner mercenary force. Shoigu’s figures suggest that Moscow has taken significant steps toward these goals.
President Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial mobilization” of 300,000 troops last September, leading to a mass exodus of Russians unwilling to fight and nationwide protests.
Putin has repeatedly claimed that there will be no more. Some Russian officials said the first was a mistake because it encouraged anti-war sentiment and caused so many to leave the country.
West says he’s running out of ammo
Ukraine’s Western allies have said their ammunition supplies have been exhausted, potentially affecting Kiev’s war effort against Russia.
Most of the thousands of shells that Ukraine fires every day come from NATO.
However, Admiral Rob Bauer, the top military official in the U.S.-led military alliance, told the Warsaw Security Forum that “the bottom of the barrel is now visible.”
Governments and manufacturers need to “increase production much faster,” he added.
The admiral pointed to a chronic lack of spending in NATO countries, which meant that ammunition stocks were already insufficient before Russia invaded Ukraine.
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“We need large quantities. The just-in-time, just-enough economy that we have collectively built over 30 years in our liberal economies is fine for many things – but not for the armed forces when a war is ongoing.”
British Defense Secretary James Heappey reiterated the claim that ammunition stocks were “looking a bit thin” and called on other NATO members to spend 2% of GDP on defense as they had agreed.
“If it’s not time to spend 2% on defense – when there’s war in Europe – then when?” he asked.
By comparison, analysts say Russia appears more capable of ramping up production to replenish depleted military stocks.
In July, an agreement was reached to accelerate the production of ammunition and missiles in Europe for supply to Ukraine.