News from Ukraine, Eastern Europe

"As of now, the Foreign Ministry has not received any such requests or notifications from foreign diplomatic missions regarding plans to relocate," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.

Wealthy Russians have already contributed a total of 471 billion rubles (over $5.6 billion) to the state budget in 2026, according to Reuters. The payments are listed as "voluntary receipts" in budget documents.

The Russian special services are targeting military facilities, critical infrastructure, and communication systems, Ukraine's military intelligence service (HUR) warned.

Among those returned were people held under forced medical treatment and at risk of mobilization by Russia, according to Ukraine's human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

One of the Russian glide-bombs "completely destroyed" a residential building, Kharkiv city mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Ukrainian Telegram channel Dossier of a Spy said that the Mi-8 was mistakenly shot down by a Su-35 during Ukraine's drone attack.

In this report, the Kyiv Independent travels to Odesa and the surrounding region to document how intensified Russian attacks are threatening the city, its ports, and Ukraine’s vital Black Sea trade route.

The sanctions target Artur Orlov, head of Russia's Movement of the First, a state-backed organization for children and young people, as well as five heads of its regional branches in occupied parts of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts and Crimea.

Ukraine is testing five types of high-speed interceptor drones designed to shoot down the faster Russian weapons, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Kyiv City Military Administration said on Oct. 2 that the Southern Bridge is closed in both directions.