News Feed

1:42 PM

Update: Russian overnight attack on Odesa kills 2, injures 1.

Rescuers have found the bodies of two people under the rubble of a grain warehouse in Odesa hit in Russia’s overnight attack, the regional governor Oleh Kiper reported on Sept. 25.

1:15 PM

Russian airstrike on Beryslav in Kherson Oblast kills 2, injures 2.

A Russian airstrike against Beryslav in Kherson Oblast in the morning of Sept. 25 killed two people and injured two others, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

12:51 PM

FT: Russia avoids G7 price cap on most oil exports.

Russia is growing increasingly less reliant on Western services when shipping out its oil, allowing it to more successfully avoid the $60-per-barrel price cap set by the Group of Seven (G7), the Financial Times reported on Sept. 25.

11:36 AM

Odesa port infrastructure damaged in Russian overnight missile attack, 1 injured.

The attack also damaged a hotel on the Odesa Sea Port’s territory, which has been abandoned for several years, and destroyed several granaries, Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces said on Telegram.

10:17 AM

The Guardian: War crimes dossier to accuse Russia of using hunger as weapon of war.

Human rights lawyers and Ukrainian prosecutors are preparing a war crimes dossier to submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) accusing Russia of intentionally causing starvation during the full-scale war in Ukraine, the Guardian reported on Sept. 24.

8:46 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 276,270 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022.

Ukraine's General Staff reported on Sept. 25 that Russia had also lost 4,667 tanks, 8,927 armored fighting vehicles, 8,746 vehicles and fuel tanks, 6,260 artillery systems, 791 multiple launch rocket systems, 533 air defense systems, 315 airplanes, 316 helicopters, 4,895 drones, and 20 boats.

7:25 AM

Ukrainian forces down 19 Shahed drones over southern oblasts.

Russian forces launched 19 Shahed-136/131 attack drones overnight on Sept. 25 targeted against Odesa Oblast, as well as two Onyx supersonic missiles, according to Ukrainian military. At least 19 Shahed drones and 11 Kalibr cruise missiles were downed by Ukraine's air defense mostly over Odesa Oblast.

5:57 AM

National Resistance Center: Occupation forces prepare mobilization in Ukraine's south.

Russian-installed occupation officials are forming a system of military registration of conscripts among the residents of the occupied territories, the Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center reported on Sept. 24.

4:37 AM

BBC: British military bomb disposal teams training Ukrainian engineers to clear minefields.

As Ukraine remains the world's most heavily mined nation, the U.K. Army has stepped up training Ukrainian engineers at a military base in Poland, helping them clear large anti-tank mines, smaller anti-personnel mines, and other deadly devices planted by Russian forces.

2:46 AM

Russia shells 6 communities in Sumy Oblast.

Russian forces shelled six communities in Sumy Oblast on Sept. 24, firing almost 80 rounds from various types of weapons, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram.

12:22 AM

Russia claims drones shot down over Kursk, Bryansk oblasts.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that air defense units destroyed two drones over the border Kursk and Bryansk oblasts on the evening of Sept. 24.

11:19 PM

Power outage reported in St Petersburg airport.

On the evening of Sept. 24, power went out in Russia's Pulkovo Airport and the St. Petersburg district of Shushary, east of the airport.

11:10 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky praises new American aid package as 'historic'

9:58 PM

Zelensky praises new American aid package as 'historic'.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the new American defense package in his evening address on Sept. 24 as "historic."

9:35 PM

Ukrainian wrestler Zhan Beleniuk wins bronze at World Wrestling Championship, earns spot in 2024 Olympics.

Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler and politician Zhan Beleniuk won bronze at the World Wrestling Championship in Belgrade on Sept. 22 and earned a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics. The two-time world champion was defeated by Turkish wrestler Ali Cengiz in the 87 kg division.

9:07 PM

Ukrainian forces push forward near Melitopol.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive continues operations in the Melitopol sector, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces announced on Sept. 24.

8:32 PM

UPDATE: Russia attacks Kherson, injures 7.

Russian forces dropped two aerial bombs on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sept, 24, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

8:00 PM

Armenian, Azerbaijani leaders to meet in Spain in October.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will meet in Granada, Spain, with the leaders of France, Germany, and the European Council on Oct. 5.

6:50 PM

Governor: Russia drops aerial bombs on Kherson, injures 1.

Russian forces dropped two aerial bombs on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson on Sept, 24, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported.

5:59 PM

Military intelligence: Saboteurs hit Russian military targets in Moscow, Kaluga oblasts.

"Unknown saboteurs" attacked military facilities in Russia's Moscow and Kaluga oblasts overnight on Sept. 24, Ukraine's military intelligence agency reported.

4:45 PM

World

Zelensky, Netanyahu's meeting in New York highlights their differences

4:40 PM

Update: Number of injured in Kremenchuk attack rises to 55, including 6 children.

The number of injured in the Russian attack on Kremenchuk on Sept. 22 has risen to 55 people, including six children, Kremenchuk Mayor Vitalii Maletskyi reported on Sept. 24.

4:25 PM

PM hints that Armenia can't rely on Russia's protection amid Karabakh debacle.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan hinted on Sept. 24 that his country can no longer rely on Russia's protection after Azerbaijan's forces quickly defeated ethnic Armenian forces in the restive Nagorno-Karabakh region.

3:38 PM

Second grain freighter arrives in Turkey after grain deal disruption.

A second freighter with Ukrainian grain has reached Turkey since Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative in July, France24 reported on Sept. 24, citing maritime tracking data.

3:30 PM

Duda: Poland prepares transit corridors for Ukrainian grain

Poland has prepared transit corridors for Ukrainian grain to pass through and be "exported to where it is needed," Polish President Andrzej Duda said in an interview with local channel TVP1 on Sept. 24.

MORE NEWS

Ukraine strikes Russian military base of drone operators

Uncertain Triumph: Ukraine picks apart Russia's best air defenses in Crimea

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

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

watch us on facebook

News Feed

Edit post

Media: Incumbent top official at Ukraine's Defense Ministry supported Russia in Crimea.

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 31, 2023 6:32 PM 2 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

Oleksandr Liyev, an incumbent top official at Ukraine's Defense Ministry, has supported Russia and its proxies in Ukraine's annexed Crimea peninsula, according to media reports.

The Defense Ministry and Liyev have not commented on the reports yet. The ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

The media reports were cited on Jan. 31 by Vitaly Shabunin, head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center's executive board.

Liyev has been acting head of the Defense Ministry's department in charge of developing the country's armament capabilities and procuring weapons since the summer of 2022.

Liyev has a controversial background.

In 2006 he organized protests against the Ukrainian Navy when Ukraine had a dispute with Russia over the division of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, according to media reports cited by Shaninin.

He was also Crimea's tourism minister under pro-Kremlin President Viktor Yanukovych.

In 2013 Liyev was awarded a medal by the head of the Russian imperial house and wrote "I serve my homeland!" in an apparent reference to Russia, according to a Liyev post on social media cited by Shabunin.

In March 2014, when Crimea had already been invaded by Russian troops, Liyev called for "legalizing" Russia's fake referendum on the status of Crimea and holding it under joint Ukrainian-Russian supervision, according to an interview with Liyev published by Hromadske television. He also identified himself as "mentally Russian" in the interview.

He was fired from his ministerial position by the illegal Russian occupation government in Crimea in 2014 but promised to help the occupation authorities, according to media reports cited by Shabunin.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry has fallen under criticism amid a corruption scandal earlier in January.

On Jan. 23, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said that it had begun investigating possible corruption in the Defense Ministry’s food procurement.

The statement followed an investigation by Ukrainian news outlet ZN.UA, which alleged that the Defense Ministry was buying food for soldiers at inflated prices, indicating a possible corruption scheme. The ministry denied the accusations.

The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.