Around 1,000 civilians remain in Avdiivka

As of October 24, Deputy Prime Minister and Reintegration Minister Iryna Vereshchuk reported that approximately 1,000 residents still remain in the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast, which has recently been subjected to intense attacks by Russian forces. Vereshchuk urged people to evacuate the besieged town for their own safety, emphasizing that all children have already been evacuated, as per information from the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration.

Russia has escalated its attacks on Avdiivka in an attempt to encircle the front-line town. Vitalii Barabash, the head of the town's military administration, noted that Russian forces are targeting a vital road connection, disrupting evacuations and the flow of humanitarian aid. Despite this ongoing onslaught, Kyiv reports that Ukrainian defenders are holding their ground, inflicting heavy losses on Russian troops and equipment.

Avdiivka, a heavily fortified town, is situated several kilometers north of the occupied city of Donetsk and has been at the forefront of the Russia-Ukraine war since 2014.

Russian strikes in Kherson Oblast damage hospital, fire station, injure 2

On October 24, Russian forces launched an attack in Kherson Oblast, resulting in damage to a hospital and a fire station, as well as causing injuries to two individuals, according to local authorities.

The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that an airstrike damaged the roof and windows of a local fire station, but the firefighting equipment remained intact, and none of the personnel were injured.

Kherson's regional military administration also confirmed that Russian shelling during the night caused significant damage to a hospital in the village of Bilozerka, located approximately 15 kilometers from the city of Kherson.

Additionally, the village of Kozatske was targeted by Russian forces, leading to multiple injuries, including spinal wounds and soft-tissue damage, sustained by a 63-year-old woman and another 66-year-old resident.

Since the liberation of the city of Kherson and its surrounding areas in November 2022, Russian forces have continued to relentlessly shell the region, resulting in numerous civilian casualties and injuries.

Ukraine's Parliament to research foreign experience of holding elections in wartime

Ruslan Stefanchuk, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine’s Parliament), appealed to other countries' parliaments to help research holding elections during a war.

"I appealed to my fellow parliamentarians from many parliaments with a request: please provide us with the experience of your parliaments, how you conducted or did not conduct elections during the war.

And now we are exchanging these experiences. I think we will have a solution soon."

"But at the same time, there are certain inconsistencies in Ukrainian legislation regarding the possibility or impossibility of holding elections both at the parliamentary level and at the presidential level. We are now discussing these issues," said Stefanchuk.

According to Stefanchuk, in order to hold elections during the war, it is necessary to solve "five or six" very important problems, the first of which is how to ensure the right of Ukrainian servicemen to vote and be elected into civilian offices. 

The second issue that needs to be resolved for the elections, Stefanchuk said, is how Ukrainian refugees will participate in the voting, with about 7 million of them staying abroad.

He added it is also necessary to solve the issue of how to organize elections in the temporarily occupied territories and the issue of financing. The question of free access to the media during the election campaign also remains open.

"And during this period, we need to understand how to ensure free access to the media, but at the same time to prevent Russia from using freedom of speech to spread its narratives inside the country," the speaker of the Ukrainian parliament said.

Stefanchuk also noted that there are even smaller issues related to the holding of elections. "But I think when we find answers to these main five, Ukraine can decide to hold elections," Stefanchuk said.

Russians are trying to capture Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi

The Russian Federation troops are trying to capture a strategically significant railway junction on the Kupiansk front, known as Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi. Denys Yaroslavskyi, the Commander of the intelligence unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reports that the enemy is relentlessly launching around-the-clock attacks. Their primary objective is to regain control of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, a vital railway junction. They target various crossings and key facilities to isolate the area from Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi.

Their goal is to encircle Kupiansk, and the Ukrainian forces well understand this. Despite incurring losses, the enemy rapidly replenishes its ranks by deploying additional troops. There is no indication that the number of Russian forces is diminishing; they are preparing for another assault shortly. The situation remains highly challenging and fluid.