ISW says Russian military able to sustain artillery fire in Ukraine, Trump says Russia stole a US ‘super duper rocket’ during the Obama administration

It is day 608 of the war in Ukraine. 

The US Institute for the Study of War believes that Russia’s production of artillery shells and ammunition imports from North Korea will likely allow Russian forces to sustain intensity of artillery fire in Ukraine next year.

Former US President Donald Trump announced that Russia had stolen the blueprints of a US “ super-duper rocket” during Barack Obama’s administration.

The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea reported an attack by “Ukrainian underwater forces” on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. 

Novaya-Europe’s news roundup will brief you on the main developments overnight.

ISW: Russia able to sustain intensity of artillery fire in Ukraine

The domestic production of artillery shells, supplemented by increased ammunition imports from North Korea, will likely allow Russian forces to sustain sufficient rates of artillery fire in Ukraine next year, albeit at a relatively lower level to that of 2022, the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its daily bulletin on Monday.

The Estonian military intelligence chief Ants Kiviselg stated on 20 October that Russia still had around 4 million artillery shells remaining, which it could use in “low intensity” warfare for an additional year, the ISW reported. According to Kiviselg, there were reports that North Korea had shipped up to 1,000 ammunition containers to Russia each with 300 to 500 pieces of artillery ammunition in them.

The ISW predicted that Russia would likely be able to maintain a sufficient rate of fire in the medium term despite the general decrease in shelling intensity. “The Russian forces are unlikely to face widespread shortages which would chronically undermine defensive operations, and the drop in the rate of fire will not inherently provide Ukrainian forces an advantage,” the ISW report wrote.

Trump says Russia stole blueprints of “super duper” US rocket

Russia stole the blueprints of a “super duper” US rocket, former US President Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday.

“You know that Russia stole a super-duper rocket, those fly super fast. They stole during the Barack Obama administration [2009–2017]. They stole classified drawings and built it,” Trump said during a speech in New Hampshire.

Trump also said the United States needed to design an air defence system equivalent to Israel’s Iron Dome to repel potential missile attacks launched by China, Iran, and Russia.

In his speech, Trump also mistakenly referred to the Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as “the leader of Turkey”. “He’s probably, like, one of the strongest leaders anywhere in the world,” Trump said.

Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol reports ‘possible underwater attack’ on fleet

The Russian Black Sea fleet was repelling “a possible underwater sabotage attack”, Mikhail Razvozhaev, the Russian-installed governor of the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, reported early on Tuesday. It was not clear if Razvozhaev was reporting a drill or an actual attack.