“Did the War End?” is the Kyiv Independent’s podcast that brings together three young Ukrainians exploring what it means to be a nation at war, speaking with experts and everyday Ukrainians to help them answer pressing questions. (Illustration: Karolina Gulshani)
Azovstal, a steel plant in now Russian-occupied Mariupol, has become a symbol of Ukraine’s fierce resistance to the Russian invasion. Thousands of Ukrainian fighters defended the plant with little to no resources, refusing to surrender for nearly three months.
In this episode of our podcast “Did the War End?” we hear from John Spencer, a leading expert in urban warfare studies, about what it took for Ukrainian soldiers to defend the plant, despite being drastically outnumbered. We also talk to two family members of Azovstal defenders who are now in Russian captivity about what life was like at the besieged plant.
In the latest episode of Ukraine This Week, The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur reports on the wave of unidentified drone sightings across Europe — from Denmark to France — that have sparked airport closures, military investigations, and renewed calls to shoot them down.
Putin’s message comes as U.S. President Donald Trump has taken a more hostile stance against Russia in recent weeks after a summer of courtship that saw the U.S. roll out the red carpet for Putin during the Alaskan Summit in August.
The Georgian Dream candidates won all cities and municipalities in Georgia, with Kakha Kaladze receiving 77.4% of the vote in Tbilisi, cementing his third term as mayor of the country's capital.
"The good thing is that there is a territory between Hungary and Russia that is now called Ukraine. This is a strategic interest of Hungary that Ukraine exists," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said.
Lithuania's main airport was closed late on Oct. 4 following a sighting of 13 "contraband" balloons flying towards the site, Lithuanian outlet LRT reported.
Some protesters attempted to break through the palace fences, prompting Georgia's Interior Ministry to declare the demonstration illegal and order the crowd dispersed.
Ano party leader and billionaire Andrej Babis said on Oct. 4 that Ukraine is "not ready" to join the EU and that the Czech ammunition initiative should be taken over by NATO.
One of the sanctioned companies is Hardberry-Rusfactor, which produces drones and counter-UAV systems as well as neural network systems for automatic equipment recognition and target designation.
"The Russians have not abandoned their intentions to plunge Ukraine into darkness on the eve of the new heating season," Deputy Energy Minister Roman Andarak said.
A Russian drone struck the station in the city of Shostka, Sumy Oblast. Passengers and Ukrzaliznytsia workers were on the site at the moment of the attack, according to Zelensky.
