Russia ramps up its offensive near Selidove – reports
Source: National Guard of Ukraine
Russian forces have stepped up their assaults near Selidove in Donetsk oblast on Monday, concentrating large numbers of infantry in an effort to break through Ukrainian lines. The National Guard of Ukraine (NGU) reported fierce fighting in the area, with a surge in attacks along the Pokrovsk front.
National Guard troops said they have thwarted 17 Russian attempts to storm their positions over the past 24 hours. These engagements saw Russian troops suffering heavy losses, with 125 soldiers killed and another 148 injured.
The Pokrovsk area remains one of the most intense flashpoints on the eastern front. The General Staff of Ukraine warned on October 20 that the situation in this sector remains challenging though it was still “under control”. Ukrainian officials have voiced concerns over the potential threat to the town of Pokrovsk, which lies close to a critical coking coal mining region essential to the country’s steel industry. As of October 16, Russian forces have pushed to within 12 kilometres of the town.
The situation is serious at Kurakhove where Russian forces continue to push towards Hirnyk, Novodmytrivka, Kurakhivka, and nearby communities. The intensity of the fighting in this sector highlights the strategic importance of this region to both sides.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.