China Foundation News reporter Ivan is compiled from CCTV News, Global Times, Global Network, China News Network
Johnson quit!
According to the global network, British Sky TV, "The Guardian" and other British media reported on the 23rd, Boris Johnson has withdrawn from the Conservative Party leadership race, which is equivalent to leaving the road to 10 Downing Street to Sunak.
(Boris Johnson infographic)
Sky says former Prime Minister Johnson has the public support of 59 Conservative MPs but must reach 100 to continue running. Sunak has more than 140 supporters, and if Sunak wins, he will become Britain's third prime minister this year.
(Sunak infographic)
Reuters reported that Johnson had been persuading Conservative MPs to support him over the weekend, and that he had the public support of more than 100 Conservative MPs to continue running, while he claimed to have 102 support.
"I believe I have a good chance of winning the Conservative leadership election and returning to 10 Downing Street", Johnson said in a statement, adding that he had "crossed the threshold of 102 nominations", but in his final days he concluded that running was not the right thing to do and that "without a united party, you can't govern efficiently".
Sky said Sunak tweeted in response to Johnson's withdrawal, saying that "although he has decided not to run for prime minister, he hopes that he can contribute more to public life at home or abroad in the future".
Former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak tweeted:
Get ready to succeed Truss as the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
Global network news, according to Reuters, former British Chancellor of the Exchequer Sunak tweeted that he would succeed Truss as the next British prime minister.
"The UK is a great country but is facing a deep economic crisis," Sunak tweeted, "which is why I am ready to become the leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister." ”
According to a number of British media reports earlier, former British Prime Minister Johnson, who is regarded as Sunak's biggest contender, announced his withdrawal from the election on the 23rd local time.
Russia said to strike at the Ukrainian energy system
According to CCTV news, the Russian Ministry of Defense issued a battle report on the 23rd local time, saying that the Russian army used airborne long-range precision guided weapons to strike at Ukraine's military command and energy systems. All attacks of the Ukrainian army in the Kupyansk , Hongliman, southern Donetsk, Nikolaev-Krivoy Rog direction were repulsed. In addition, the Russian army also hit a number of ammunition depots and oil storage depots of the Ukrainian army.
(Source: CCTV News)
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukrainian forces launched shelling on the eastern outskirts of Energodar and the area near the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. Russian artillery units fought back, there were no casualties or damage to the nuclear power plant, and the radiation situation was normal.
(Source: CCTV News)
According to CCTV quoted by the Ukrainian News Agency, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on social media on the 23rd that the Ukrainian army repelled the offensive launched by the Russian army in several areas of Donetsk. Ukrainian fighters also carried out several air strikes on the concentration areas of Russian weapons and military equipment.
In an emergency, the US and Russian defense ministers called!
According to CCTV news reports, on October 23, local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with US Defense Secretary Austin again on the phone on the same day to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
(Shoigu infographic)
Earlier, the defense ministers of Russia and the United States made a telephone call on the 21st.
(Austin infographic)
The clouds of "street fighting" in Kherson are getting heavier and heavier
Local authorities urged all residents to "leave immediately"
According to the Global Times, the atmosphere in the city of Kherson in southern Ukraine has been particularly tense these days. This past weekend, the pro-Russian government in the city of Kherson urged all residents to move to areas controlled by Russian troops on the eastern bank of the Dnieper with unprecedented intensity. As for the Russian troops who remained in the city of Kherson, they were considered by the General Staff of the Ukrainian army to be "preparing for street battles." At the same time, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of trying to blow up the Kakhovka Dam on the Dnieper and create a "large-scale disaster." At present, the situation around the Kakhovka dam is increasingly similar to the plot that took place at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant. On the 22nd, the Ukrainian capital Kiev and other places were attacked by intensive missiles, and more than 1.5 million users lost power, while the Ukrainian army claimed to have shot down 18 cruise missiles of the Russian army. It is feared that the growing hostility between Russia and Ukraine will erupt in Kherson, a battlefield where both sides are determined to win.
Evacuate civilians to prevent escalation
According to the Associated Press on the 23rd, the pro-Russian local government of Kherson asked all residents who remained in Kherson to "leave immediately", including using boats to go to the east bank of the Dnieper River and move to the rear controlled by the Russian army, citing the tense situation on the front line, facing the threat of shelling, and Kiev planning a "terrorist attack". Local pro-Russian officials said on the 22nd that the city of Kherson plans to evacuate more than 60,000 civilians, and about 25,000 have crossed the Dnieper River.
Kherson is one of the first major cities controlled by the Russian army since Russia launched a special military operation against Ukraine on February 24. And now the Ukrainian army is launching a powerful counteroffensive here.
On the 21st, a group of evacuated Kherson civilians arrived at a station in Crimea.
According to the Russian "Viewpoint" report, Stremousov, a pro-Russian administrative officer in the Kherson region, declared on the 23rd that although the Ukrainian army constantly tried to break through the defensive line, the Russian army "repelled all attacks" in the Kherson region, and the Ukrainian army "suffered heavy losses" in manpower and technical equipment. He said the evacuation of civilians was continuing and that civilians had been relocated voluntarily.
The Ukrainian National News Agency reported on the 23rd that the Ukrainian military updated the past day's battle situation on Facebook on the 23rd, saying that in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson Oblast, the Ukrainian army struck the deployment site of the Russian army, and 150 Russian soldiers were injured. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian army, as of October 21, 88 settlements in the Kherson region have been "liberated" from the Russian army, and a considerable part of the residents have left the city of Kherson, and the Russian soldiers who remained in the city are dressed in civilian clothes and live in abandoned houses: "They are preparing for street battles in Kherson." ”
Russia and Ukraine accused each other of blowing up the dam
According to RIA Novosti, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Nebenja, said at the Security Council meeting on the 21st that Russia circulated a letter in the UN Security Council calling for "stopping Kiev from destroying the Kakhovka hydropower station dam." "For 5 months, Ukrainian troops have been constantly shelling the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region," he said. Up to 120 rockets come in every day, most of them American Haimas rockets, and the Ukrainians specifically target the Kakhovka Dam to break the dam and raise the water level, which will cause the surrounding area to be flooded. If that happens, it could result in thousands of civilian deaths and damage to thousands of homes. ”
Russia Today TV said on the 22nd that in addition to the Kakhovka Dam, Kiev also targeted the Antonovsky Bridge in Kherson and a pontoon bridge across the Dnieper River, with the aim of disrupting Russia's logistics in the region.
At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russian army of "planting explosives" inside the Kakhovka dam and planned to blow it up to cover their retreat, "now everyone in the world must act quickly and forcefully to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack, the destruction of the dam will mean a large-scale disaster."
The American Institute for War Research (ISW) released a report on the 22nd that blowing up the dam is not beneficial to Ukraine, which may flood 80 Ukrainian cities, however, Russia has every reason to blow up the dam to cover its retreating troops and prevent the Ukrainian army from penetrating into the Kherson region.
The Russian "expert" network ridiculed on the 22nd, saying that the destruction of hydropower stations is only beneficial to Ukraine from a military and economic point of view, and Ukraine's destruction of dams can create fear and panic. Leontyev, the pro-Russian administrator of the Novokakhovka region, told Russian media on the 22nd that Russia has no reason to bomb the dam, and once the Kakhovka reservoir dam and Kakhovka hydropower station are destroyed, the water supply of the Dnieper River to Crimea will be interrupted, "we will defend the hydropower station."
Who will give up Kherson?
Dan Soler, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer, said in an interview with Newsweek on the 22nd that the city of Kherson is of great strategic importance to Russia, "it is actually the largest land in the northwest of Crimea and the gateway to Crimea and Zaporozhye." The Associated Press reports that the city of Kherson not only has important industries and ports, but more importantly Kherson is located in a location in Ukraine where it can cut off the Dnieper River from supplying Crimea with fresh water. After the "public surrender of Crimea to Russia", it was from Kherson that Kiev blocked a number of supplies to the Crimean peninsula, including fresh water. Therefore, some scholars believe that this is one of the most important reasons why Putin launched a special military operation against Ukraine.
And for Ukraine, Kherson will never give up. Kherson is the key to the entire southern battlefield, and the capture of it is tantamount to locking the key supply lines of the Russian army, and the capture of Kherson is also the first prerequisite for Kiev's "recovery" of Crimea.
According to US media reports, the Russian army is carrying out a "tactical retreat" in the city of Kherson. The Southern Ukrainian Theater Command said Moscow was transporting ammunition, military equipment and troops by ferry from the west bank of the Dnieper to the east bank, leaving only about 2,000 Russian soldiers on the front line, shelling Ukrainian positions to cover their retreat.
Russian military expert Knutov told the Russian Federal News Agency on the 22nd that the proportion of Russian and Ukrainian troops in this area is very unbalanced. At least 30,000 people on the Ukrainian side are concentrated here, while the Russian side has only more than 10,000. At the moment, it is beginning to rain in the Kherson region, making it difficult for the Russian army to use front-line aviation and UAVs. "It must be admitted that the possibility of a breakthrough of the Ukrainian army near Kherson remains." Russia's "free media" analyzed on the 23rd that in the Kherson region, the delay in the offensive time will only be beneficial to Russia. First of all, the Russian army is actively building fortifications in the north of the Kherson region. Secondly, it is difficult for Ukrainian servicemen to launch an offensive in autumn weather conditions. Thirdly, the troops mobilized by Russia are being transferred to Kherson to stabilize the front line. Currently participating in military operations in Kherson are the most elite units of the Russian army - assault brigades and marine brigades, "who are able to effectively resist the offensive."
Russian officials said that the total amount of Western military aid to Ukraine amounted to $42.3 billion
According to China News Network, the Russian Satellite News Agency quoted Konstantin Vorontsov, deputy director of the Department of Non-Proliferation and Arms Control of the Russian Foreign Ministry, on the 22nd, saying that NATO countries are continuing to transport weapons and ammunition to the Kiev regime, provide it with intelligence, train soldiers for it, and give the direction of operation, getting closer and closer to the dangerous boundary of direct military conflict with Russia.
Konstantin Vorontsov noted that according to relevant data, the total amount of Western military assistance to Ukraine has reached $42.3 billion, of which most ($28.3 billion) comes from the United States.
According to TASS news agency on the 23rd, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova pointed out that the European Union has not shown the will to peacefully resolve the Ukrainian crisis, but continues to invest funds in ongoing hostilities.
The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the 22nd that the Russian Aerospace Forces struck at the workshop of a military manufacturing enterprise in Kharkov, destroying the Ukrainian "Neptune" anti-ship missile warhead produced by the enterprise.
Editor: Xiao Mo