News Feed

8:15 PM

Reuters: Western allies raise pressure on countries helping Russia sell oil above cap.

This cap, introduced in 2022, only began to be enforced recently. It forbids Western companies from providing maritime services like transportation, insurance and finance to any craft that help Russia get around the price cap.

7:43 PM

Human story

Ukraine’s fight to heal millions of children scarred by Russia’s war

6:57 PM

Military: More than 5,000 explosive devices removed over past week.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian military has removed more than 150,000 explosive devices across Ukraine, including territories liberated from Russian occupation.

6:18 PM

UEFA leaves Russian football team out of Nations League for 2024/2025 season.

The national team of Belarus was included in the schedule, although there was a stipulation that it would not play in any matches against the Ukrainian national team.

5:22 PM

SBU requested Poroshenko's travel permission be canceled over planned meeting with Orban.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Dec. 2 that it had requested Ukraine's parliament cancel the permission of lawmaker and ex-President Petro Poroshenko to exit the country due to a planned meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Poroshenko claimed that the cancellation was for political reasons and hinted that the decision came from high up.

4:53 PM

Russia's war

As sanctions bite, Russia eyes Ukraine’s mineral resources to fund its invasion

4:47 PM

Germany hands over new military aid package, includes vehicles, drone-detection systems.

The package included four HX81 tractors and their semi-trailers (used for the transportation of tanks and other heavy equipment), eight Zetros off-road trucks, four other vehicles, 15 HLR 338 precision rifles and 60,000 rounds of ammunition, five drone-detection systems, laser range finders, and more than 4,000 155mm shells.

3:54 PM

Media: 2nd group of Ukrainian soldiers complete Patriot air defense training in Germany.

Bundeswehr Lieutenant General Andreas Marlow, who oversaw the training, said that the Ukrainian soldiers will now be able to operate the systems independently.

3:09 PM

UK Defense Ministry: Russia seeking to suppress domestic anti-mobilization sentiment.

Russian authorities have sought to discredit the rare public display of dissent as well as offering increased cash payments for the families of mobilized soldiers if they agree to not protest.

1:56 PM

ISW: Shoigu refers to offensives as 'active defense' to lower expectations.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu falsely characterizes Russian offensive operations in Ukraine as "active defense" in order to "temper expectations" about his military's ability to meet objectives, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest report on Dec. 1.

1:23 PM

General Staff: Russia has lost 331,110 troops in Ukraine.

This number includes 1,070 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

1:11 PM

Sports Ministry developing plan to allow fans back in stadiums.

Ukraine is developing a procedure to allow spectators to attend sports games, which have been closed to the public since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, the Sports Ministry announced on Dec. 1.

12:21 PM

Military intelligence: Resistance blow up Russian refueling station in Melitopol.

Ukrainian resistance forces blew up a gas station used by Russian occupation forces to refuel military equipment in Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Dec. 1, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) reported on Dec. 2.

11:31 AM

Overnight blackout reported at Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant.

The Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was forced to rely on diesel generators overnight during a blackout, threatening the safety of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Energoatom reported on Dec. 2.

10:51 AM

Rheinmetall aims to start production of armored vehicles in Ukraine in 2024.

German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall plans to build the first armored vehicles on-site in Ukraine from the summer of 2024, CEO Armin Papperger said in an interview with German business magazine WirtschaftsWoche on Dec. 2.

10:07 AM

Russian Media: Moscow police raid LGBTQ clubs.

Police in Moscow raided several LGBTQ clubs overnight, independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported on Dec. 2, citing eyewitness reports and local Telegram channels.

9:22 AM

Air Force: Ukraine downs 10 drones, 1 missile launched by Russia overnight.

Ukrainian forces downed 10 of the 11 Shahed attack drones and a Kh-59 cruise missile launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported on Dec. 1.

7:54 AM

US deploys fresh sanctions on entities trading Russian oil.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Dec. 1 imposed fresh sanctions on three transnational entities involved in violating the Treasury Department’s price cap on Russian oil sales.

6:37 AM

Zelensky acknowledges need for greater war mobilization as manpower slumps.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Dec. 1 said changes to mobilization are necessary as he ordered a strategic turn focused on defense following a lackluster counteroffensive in Ukraine’s southern regions.

5:39 AM

Ukraine, Poland discuss crisis as Slovak truckers join protests.

Ukrainian and Polish officials met in Warsaw on on Dec. 1 to work on a solution to end a protest by Polish truckers who want the EU to restate entry permits.

3:56 AM

Ukraine secures extra 500 MW of electricity imports from EU.

Ukraine has secured an additional 500 MW hours of electricity imports from Europe, increasing the total to 1,700 MW hours, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Dec.1

2:20 AM

Russian drones use Ukrainian SIMs for flight guidance.

Ukrainian SIM cards issued by the Kyivstar operator have been found in downed Shahed drones, local media reported on Dec. 1.

1:54 AM

First Lady says she doesn’t want a second term.

First Lady Olena Zelenska told The Economist that she does not want President Volodymyr Zelensky to lead another term and that he needs to find something new in life.

12:57 AM

Central bank lifts restrictions on FX sales.

The National Bank of Ukraine on Dec. 1 lifted all restrictions on financial institutions linked to the sales of foreign currencies to the public, the central bank announced.

12:30 AM

Defense chief appoints new head of Ukraine’s medical forces.

Major General Anatoly Kazmirchuk on Dec. 1 officially accepted the role of Commander of the Medical Forces of Ukraine, according to the Defense Ministry.

MORE NEWS

News Feed, Hot topic, Brovary helicopter crash

Edit post

Helicopter crash kills interior minister, top officials, children

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 18, 2023 10:34 AM 3 min read

Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyi was killed in a helicopter crash in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, on Jan. 18, 2022. (Interior Ministry)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Editor's Note: This story is being updated as new details of the crash emerge.

The crash of a State Emergency Service helicopter in Brovary, a city just east of Kyiv, killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky, his deputy, Yevhen Yenin, and the ministry's secretary Yuriy Lubkovych, as well as two children, National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said in a Facebook statement on Jan. 18.

According to the State Emergency Service, 17 people, including four children, were killed in the crash.

Nine of the victims were on board the helicopter. According to the State Emergency Service, they included six employees of the Interior Ministry, including its top leadership, as well as three emergency service personnel.

The State Emergency Service said that 25 people were injured, including 11 children.

The helicopter crashed next to a kindergarten and started a fire on the morning of Jan. 18, according to Kuleba.

Yuriy Ihnat, the spokesman of Ukraine's Air Force, said on television that it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, adding that the incident has to be investigated.

According to Ihnat, the crashed helicopter was the Aérospatiale AS.332 Super Puma, provided by France.

Military stand at the site of a deadly helicopter crash near a kindergarten in Brovary, Kyiv Oblast, on Jan. 18, 2023. (Photo by Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the President's Office, said that the leadership of the Interior Ministry was on its way to a "hot spot" of Russia's war when it crashed in Brovary.

During a briefing at the scene of the crash, Tymoshenko said that some of the hospitalized victims were on life support. Surviving children have been evacuated from the building, while emergency services are working to see if anyone remains trapped in the rubble. He said that given the morning hour, it's possible that the victims may include random pedestrians as well as parents taking their children to kindergarten.

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his condolences to the loved ones of the victims in a statement published on Telegram, calling the crash "a horrible tragedy."

He said that he had instructed the Security Service, the National Police, and other agencies to find out all the circumstances of what happened in Brovary.

Author: The Kyiv Independent news desk

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