UNITED24 Media Telegram Highlights
🙄 North Korea expands nuclear program — IAEA detects new uranium enrichment facility
A new building has been constructed at North Korea’s main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. The IAEA estimates that it could house up to 28 gas centrifuge cascades. This marks the second uranium enrichment facility at the site.
Additionally, the agency has detected signs that an expanded facility in Kangson, near Pyongyang, has begun operations. An additional building was constructed there earlier in 2024.
IAEA inspectors have not been present in North Korea since 2009, so the agency can only monitor the country’s nuclear activity through satellite imagery and open-source data.
Russia will exhaust its capacity to continue the war by 2028 if current loss rates persist, according to HUR chief Oleh Ivashchenko in an interview with The Times.
Ukrainian intelligence estimates that Russia recruits approximately 1,000–1,200 troops daily but loses more personnel than it can replenish. Western intelligence agencies estimate a monthly deficit of around 6,000 troops.
Ivashchenko states that fatalities now account for about 60% of Russian casualties. If the current intensity of the conflict continues, another 18 months of war could cost Russia approximately 766,000 troops in killed and wounded.
Meanwhile, the HUR claims that Russian generals intend to ask Putin after the elections to mobilize an additional 800,000 troops, even though the Russian army is capable of accepting and training no more than 300,000–500,000 personnel at a time.
The HUR also anticipates an increase in the North Korean contingent in Russia from the current 8,000 to approximately 50,000 troops.
🇨🇦🇺🇦 Canada is launching a military marketplace where the Ukrainian military will be able to order drones from Canada — Carney
The Prime Minister of Canada announced plans to manufacture millions of drones over the next two years, with one-third of them to be transferred to Ukraine.
Canada will also provide Ukraine with $430 million in loan guarantees for gas purchases and continue contributing to the Ukraine Energy Support Fund. He stated that cooperation between the two countries in the energy sector would be expanded.
Hackers, intelligence agencies, and arms manufacturers from Russia, China, and other countries are already using Anthropic’s AI for cyberattacks, weapons development, and mass surveillance, according to Politico.
A new report from Anthropic states that over the past eight months, malicious actors have bypassed restrictions on Claude using VPNs, as well as stolen and fake accounts. The models were used to automate cyberattacks, develop military technologies, spread propaganda, and conduct large-scale digital surveillance.
The company identified a Russia-linked group that attempted to use Claude to develop autonomous kamikaze drones, as well as several Russian hacking and information operations.
In five other instances, foreign researchers used Claude to work with dangerous pathogens and toxic substances in ways potentially linked to biological weapons programs.
Canada is ready to join the European anti-ballistic missile program FREYJA and contribute its technology, Zelenskyy said.
FREYJA is a joint project involving Ukraine and several other European nations to develop a homegrown missile defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles. Ukraine is tasked with developing and manufacturing the interceptor missile and launcher, while partners will supply radars and other components.
The project was launched in July. Major European defense companies are participating, including Thales, MBDA, Saab, Diehl, HENSOLDT, Leonardo, and Kongsberg. The primary goal is to create a European alternative to the scarce Patriot and other missile defense systems, as current production levels fail to meet the needs of both Ukraine and Europe.
Zelenskyy expects the first practical results by 2026–2027 and anticipates FREYJA becoming fully operational within a year.
In parallel, Ukraine and Canada are discussing a separate “Drone Deal,” which they hope to sign soon. The two countries have also signed a declaration establishing a 100-year partnership.
❗️Poland expects Russian strikes on border crossings with Ukraine, says Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
According to him, Polish and Ukrainian services thwarted a direct threat to one of the crossings last night. Tusk did not disclose further details. [...]Tusk also stated that he had received a “fairly precise report” from the CIA regarding potential developments in the coming months and urged Europe to prepare for various scenarios on the eastern flank.
Russian oil production saw its largest monthly drop since December in August amid intensified Ukrainian strikes, Bloomberg reports.
Russia produced an average of 8.718 million barrels per day, 160,000 barrels less than in July and 1.17 million barrels below its OPEC+ quota.
At least 19 people were injured in Russian morning strikes [10 Sept 26] on Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, including an eight-month-old infant. The city was hit by six FAB-250 aerial bombs equipped with UMPK guidance kits.
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna has also arrived in Kyiv.
British special forces personnel may have trained Russians for the war against Ukraine, The Telegraph reports.
The US believes Russia may step up sabotage operations in Europe this winter and attempt to sow widespread chaos.
This is according to Alexander Vindman, a former US National Security Council official, who wrote in a column for the Kyiv Post that Moscow is already intensifying its sabotage activities across Europe.
These incidents include explosions at defense industry facilities, suspicious drone sightings, navigation disruptions in the Baltic Sea, and disruptions to transport and other infrastructure.
Vindman believes the goal of these operations is to disrupt arms supplies to Ukraine, increase the cost of supporting Kyiv, and fuel discontent among the European public.
He assesses that Russia could escalate to larger-scale sabotage this winter, potentially including attacks that result in significant casualties.
OSINT analysts have revealed details of yesterday’s attack on NOVATEK’s Purovsky plant, located more than 3,000 km from Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones struck a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) dehydration unit, which processes the product to meet export standards. Without it, the gas retains excess methanol and water, creating issues for export, storage, and transportation.
The Purovsky plant is a key processing facility for NOVATEK. In 2024, it processed 13.2 million tonnes of gas condensate. The plant’s output is shipped, among other destinations, to the port of Ust-Luga for further processing and export.
Refueling restrictions for aircraft have been introduced at least 26 major Russian airports, reports Verstka.
Under the restrictions, aircraft at some airports may only be allowed to take on enough fuel for a single flight. According to Verstka, the restrictions began as early as June, with a new wave introduced in September.
At St. Petersburg’s Pulkovo Airport, for example, refueling has been limited to the amount specified in the flight plan since September 2. The measure is set to remain in effect until March 16, 2027. Similar restrictions apply at Kaliningrad’s Khrabrovo Airport.
The restrictions affect more than Russian carriers. At 15 of the 26 airports, they specifically target foreign airlines, generally allowing them to take on enough fuel for only one flight at a time.
The restrictions are currently in place at airports in Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Tyumen, Kazan, Saratov, Ufa, Abakan, Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Yakutsk, and other cities. In Orenburg, Irkutsk, Novokuznetsk, Sochi, Volgograd, and Astrakhan, they apply to all airlines.
The situation in southern Russia is particularly telling. Of the six operational airports, three — Sochi, Volgograd, and Astrakhan — have restrictions affecting both Russian and foreign carriers. In Krasnodar, the restrictions affect foreign airlines.
However, Verstka notes a crucial detail: once a notification expires, it disappears from the system. As a result, it is impossible to track every instance of such restrictions.
An intelligence memo cited by the publication claims that veterans of the British SAS and other Western special forces units trained Russians at private military camps in Bulgaria and Serbia, including after the full-scale invasion began.
One of the key sites identified is the Bulgarian camp Alfa-Metal, which is allegedly linked to a Russian security company based in St. Petersburg. Russians there may have received training in advanced close-quarters combat.
The memo is based on interviews with two former Australian special forces soldiers and one active reservist. They said they had been offered jobs as instructors at such camps.
However, there is a caveat: the SAS categorically denies the allegations. It points out that the community of former operatives is so small that such a story would almost certainly have become known.
Alfa-Metal also rejected the allegations, stating that it had never engaged former SAS soldiers or members of other Western special forces units to train Russians for the war against Ukraine.
Two people injured in the morning attack on a gas station in Kyiv have died in hospital, Mayor Klitschko reports.
A total of six people were injured in the attack.