Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in several directions, including Kupyansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, Ground Forces Commander Oleksandr Syrskiy said on Telegram. “The Ukrainian army continues its counteroffensive action to the south of Bakhmut, inflicting losses on the Russian army,” he said.

Finland’s government was preparing to close further border crossings on its demarcation with Russia if its neighbour continued to organise and transport asylum seekers to Finnish border stations, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.

Austin visits Kyiv to signal US support

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin arrived in Kyiv for talks on a mission to reaffirm Washington’s continued backing for Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.

Austin said in a post on X on Monday that he was in Kyiv to meet Ukrainian leaders. “I’m here today to deliver an important message — the United States will continue to stand with Ukraine in their fight for freedom against Russia’s aggression, both now and into the future,” Austin said.

Ukraine’s closest European allies are increasingly concerned about the US’s ability to sustain support for Kyiv amid a thorny political spending debate ahead of next year’s presidential elections. Worries focus on tensions over funding in the US Congress that threaten to leave Ukraine without sufficient aid to beat back Russia’s invasion.  

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the head of the military’s medical support service as he called for a “fundamentally new” level of care for troops wounded in the war.

Zelensky appointed Major-General Anatoliy Kazmirchuk to replace Tetiana Ostashchenko as head of the Medical Forces Command. Kazmirchuk was head of the main military hospital in Kyiv.

There was an “obvious” need to improve medical support for troops “from high-quality tourniquets to full digitalisation and transparency in medical supplies as well as training and sincere communication with combat medics”, Zelensky said in his regular video address, explaining the decision. “Changes need to be made quickly.”

Polish farmers to join truckers in protest at Ukraine border

A strike by Polish truckers on the border with Ukraine threatened to spread with a group of farmers planning to join the protest at a fourth crossing in a dispute that may put humanitarian aid to a war-stricken country at risk.

The blockade, which began two weeks ago, has left as many as 20,000 vehicles stuck on either side of the border and prompted authorities in Kyiv to offer help to evacuate stranded drivers.

Truckers from Poland and several of the European Union’s eastern member states have argued that temporary concessions put in place in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion have created unfair competition from Ukraine and want them scrapped.

Current tensions are reminiscent of a conflict over grain shipments from Ukraine that led Poland and Hungary to put in place unilateral import bans earlier this year. They come as Ukraine is struggling with a stalling offensive and faces doubts over additional financial aid from the EU and the US.    

About 100 farmers from the Betrayed Countryside association were planning to stage a three-day protest at the Medyka crossing on Thursday, Lukasz Martyn, one of its organisers, told Bloomberg. “Farmers were the first group to suffer,” he said. “Now there are transportation companies, the question is who will be next.”

Members of the International Road Transport Union, an industry group, from Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Lithuania have called in a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to review an agreement that allows traffic liberalisation with Ukraine, which expires in June 2024. 

The EU’s executive said on Thursday that any reintroduction of permits or quotas for road transport from Ukraine wasn’t legally possible as it would violate the current agreement between the EU and Kyiv. 

The current protest comes as pro-EU opposition parties in Poland prepare to take power after they won a parliamentary majority in the 15 October election. Outgoing Infrastructure Minister Andrzej Adamczyk said he had urged Ukraine to open additional lines on their side of the border to ease traffic.

Finland may shut more border points with Russia

Finland’s government was preparing to close further border crossings on its demarcation with Russia if its neighbour continued to organise and transport asylum seekers to Finnish border stations, Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said.

The Nordic country closed its four busiest crossings at midnight on Saturday as a signal to Russia that it should stop assisting migrants to the border in what the government in Helsinki considers a hybrid operation threatening its national security.

Read More: Finland closes Russian border crossings, citing security risk

Four checkpoints remained open for road traffic, and two of them accepted asylum applications. Migrant flows were promptly directed to those checkpoints.

Finland was ready to act quickly with measures that would have sufficient impact, Orpo told reporters on Monday, declining to comment on whether the government would close the entire border. No new measures were needed if Russia ended the migrant flows, Orpo said, warning his government “won’t wait for long” to see if that happens. DM