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10:43 PM

Media: Azerbaijan detains 4 ex-leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan's security services arrested three former presidents of the self-declared Nagorno-Karabakh Republic — Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, and Arayik Harutyunyan — Azerbaijani media reported on Oct. 3.

10:39 PM

Ukrainian farmers sow 3 million hectares of winter crops but exports drop.

By the start of October, farmers had sown 2.992 million hectares, including 1.7 million hectares of winter wheat, the Agriculture Ministry said in a statement on its website.

9:47 PM

Opinion

Opinion: Weakness is lethal. Why Putin invaded Ukraine and how the war must end

9:09 PM

Bloomberg: All Odesa ports receive cargo ships through temporary corridor.

In the past few weeks, 10 ships have used the temporary corridor set up by Ukraine's Navy following Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, the media outlet wrote, citing unnamed individuals familiar with the matter and ship-tracking data.

7:42 PM

The Telegraph: UK military aid stocks ‘running out'.

The U.K. is running out of military equipment to send to Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Oct. 2, citing information from a senior military chief.

7:28 PM

Ukraine to procure 100 high-voltage transformers to prepare for Russian attacks on energy infrastructure.

Ukraine will either manufacture or purchase 100 new high-voltage transformers as the country prepares for a repeat of last winter's Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, according to a report by The Economist on Oct. 2.

7:07 PM

Russian finance minister: Ukraine war is Moscow’s main budget priority.

The main priority for Russia’s budget for the next three years is strengthening the country’s military and “supporting participants” of its war against Ukraine, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Oct. 3, as cited by Forbes Russia.

6:50 PM

Ukraine adds Chinese oil, gas companies to 'international sponsors of war' list.

Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added the three largest Chinese oil and gas companies to its "international sponsors of war" list, the agency's press service announced on Oct. 3.

5:41 PM

Kyiv Independent journalist wins Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism.

Kyiv Independent journalist Asami Terajima was announced as one of the winners of the 2023 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, the Thomson Reuters Foundation announced on Oct. 3.

5:31 PM

Governor: Russian air strike on Kherson Oblast village kills 1, injures 7.

Russian forces launched an air strike on Antonivka, a northeastern suburb of Kherson, killing one person and wounding another seven, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Oct. 3.

4:53 PM

Zelensky meets soldiers fighting on Kupiansk-Lyman axis.

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited combat brigades on the front line in Kharkiv Oblast fighting on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis, the President's Office said on Oct. 3.

4:00 PM

Bloomberg: US military 'ready to deliver' cluster-armed ATACMS.

The U.S. military is ready to send Ukraine some of its long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) armed with cluster munitions once U.S. President Joe Biden approves the transfer, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 3, citing the U.S. military's chief weapons buyer.

3:10 PM

BBC: Burger King still 'open as usual' in Russia.

Burger King "remains open as usual in Russia," despite the fast food chain claiming at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that it would exit the country, the BBC reported on Oct. 3.

2:58 PM

Belarusian military to check its combat readiness.

The Belarusian military will conduct exercises in order to check its readiness for combat, the Belarusian Defense Ministry's press service announced on Oct. 3.

2:33 PM

Armenian parliament ratifies ICC's Rome Statute, following shattered relationship with Russia.

The Armenian parliament voted in favor of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 3. If signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian authorities will be obliged to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin if he sets foot in the country.

1:56 PM

Media: Putin may soon announce he will run for president in 2024.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may soon announce that he will run for president again in 2024, the Russian state-controlled newspaper Kommersant wrote on Oct. 3.

1:46 PM

Minister: Agricultural cargo to be checked in Lithuania to speed up grain exports.

Ukrainian agricultural cargo headed for the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda will be checked directly at the port, instead of at the border with Poland, Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Oct. 3.

1:08 PM

Media: UK Minister says Ukraine has practically defeated Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine's recent attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet have led to the "functional defeat" of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said at the Warsaw Security Conference on Oct. 3, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

11:59 AM

Russia's Investigative Committee charges top Ukrainian military officials with 'terrorism.'

Four top representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were charged with committing "terrorist acts on Russian territory," Russia's Investigative Committee announced on Oct. 3.

11:41 AM

Investigations

Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Russian drone downed by Ukraine is full of Western components

9:31 AM

Air Force: 29 of 31 drones, 1 missile shot down overnight.

Russia launched 31 Shahed drones and one Iskander-K ballistic missile at Ukrainian territory overnight on Oct. 3, the Air Force reported.

9:00 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 279,440 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 3 that Russia had lost 279,440 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

8:50 AM

Ukraine downs drones, missiles in overnight attacks in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Ukrainian forces shot down 13 drones and one missile over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during nighttime attacks on Oct. 2-3, Governor Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram.

7:32 AM

ISW: Russia allegedly removed Bakhmut General due to poor performance.

Russian milbloggers are speculating that the Russian Ministry of Defense removed Lieutenant General Andrey Sychevoy from his post commanding the Bakhmut direction due to poor performance south of the city, near Klishchiivka and Andriivka, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its daily assessment on Oct. 2.

6:24 AM

US preparing new aid package for Ukraine.

The Biden Administration is planning to deliver a new defense aid package "soon," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a press conference on Oct. 2.

MORE NEWS

Military intelligence: Sudan strike on Wagner signals Russia's decreasing influence in Africa

CNN: Military source says Ukraine 'likely' behind strike on Wagner forces in Sudan

UK Defense Ministry: Thousands of Russian airborne troops redeployed to Robotyne as infantry

General: Ukraine had only 1,500 soldiers in south when Russia launched full-scale invasion

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Kuleba: F-16 fighter jets may arrive as soon as pilots complete training

by Martin Fornusek August 17, 2023 1:26 PM 1 min read

US soldiers inspect F-16 fighter jets during an air force joint military exercise in the Philippines on May 9. (Photo credit: AFP via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine could receive F-16 fighter jets around the same time when Ukrainian pilots complete their training on the aircraft, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, Interfax-Ukraine reported on Aug. 17.

"I think that the Ukrainian pilots will return from training, and the planes will also arrive with them," Kuleba said on the air of the Snidanok 1+1 TV program.

"They may not arrive directly in the cockpits, but this will be a synchronized process," the minister commented, stressing that President Volodymyr Zelensky "has meetings every day" to speed up the progress.

"I think that there will be good news soon," Kuleba added.

The Washington Post reported on Aug. 11 that according to unnamed Ukrainian officials, the first six Ukrainian pilots will not be ready to fly the planes until the summer of 2024.

The Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said that Ukraine will not be able to defend its airspace with F-16s by the coming fall or winter.

Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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