Russia Says It Captures Another Village Near Pokrovsk in Eastern Ukraine

This photograph shows pigeons flying over a residential building damaged by shelling in the town of Kurakhove, located near the front line, in the Pokrovsk district of the eastern Donetsk region, on October 8, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows pigeons flying over a residential building damaged by shelling in the town of Kurakhove, located near the front line, in the Pokrovsk district of the eastern Donetsk region, on October 8, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russia Says It Captures Another Village Near Pokrovsk in Eastern Ukraine

This photograph shows pigeons flying over a residential building damaged by shelling in the town of Kurakhove, located near the front line, in the Pokrovsk district of the eastern Donetsk region, on October 8, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph shows pigeons flying over a residential building damaged by shelling in the town of Kurakhove, located near the front line, in the Pokrovsk district of the eastern Donetsk region, on October 8, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Russia's defense ministry said on Sunday that its forces had taken control of the village of Mykhailivka in eastern Ukraine, where they have been advancing towards the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk.

Reuters could not independently confirm the capture of Mykhailivka, which sits alongside a highway southeast of Pokrovsk.

The Ukrainian military said in its daily report that its troops repelled 36 Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk area, including near Mykhailivka.



Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
TT

Khamenei: Iran Doesn’t Have Proxies in the Region

Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran
Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei meets a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran

Iran’s supreme leader denied Sunday that militant groups around the region functioned as Tehran’s proxies, warning that if his country chose to “take action,” it would not need them anyway.
Ali Khamenei told a group of elegists and eulogists in Tehran, “They keep saying that the Islamic Republic has lost its proxy forces in the region! This is another mistake. If one day we want to take action, we do not need a proxy force,” according to his website.
Khamenei then attacked the United States and its ally Israel over developments in Syria, and hinted at internal criticism of Iran's regional role.
“Their plans in Syria led to unrest and chaos, and now the United States, the Zionist regime, and their allies, feeling victorious, have resorted to extravagant claims and nonsensical talk, like the followers of devil,” he said.
The Iranian leader then quoted an American official as saying that Washington will “provide assistance and support to anyone causing unrest in Iran.”
Such statements, he said, are an example of the enemies’ boastful rhetoric. “The Iranian nation with their strong steps will trample underfoot any US mercenary who accepts this role,” he added.
Khamenei then addressed the Israelis saying, “You Zionists haven’t won; you’ve been defeated. Yes, you were able to advance a few kilometers in Syria where there wasn't even one soldier with a gun to stop you. That’s not victory. Indeed, the courageous, devout, young people of Syria will definitely expel you from there.”
He added, “You wretched people! Where have you won? Have you won in Gaza? Have you destroyed Hamas? Have you freed your own prisoners? Is this victory to kill over 40,000 people without being able to achieve even one of your goals? Despite killing Hassan Nasrallah, have you managed to eliminate Hezbollah in Lebanon?”
Khamenei also affirmed that Iran has not lost its proxies in the region.
“Iran doesn’t have proxy forces. Yemen fights due to their faith. Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad fight because their beliefs compel them to do so,” he said.
IRGC commander Hossein Salami, five days after Assad's fall, had denied that Iran had lost its regional arms. “Some suggest the Iranian regime has lost its arms, but this is not true. The regime still has its arms,” he said.