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7:17 AM

General CQ Brown succeeds Mark Milley as US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.

The chairman is the highest-ranking member of the U.S. military. Milley served in the role for four years before retiring on Sept. 29.

6:19 AM

ISW: Russia's FSB supports law expanding digital surveillance.

Amendments to a proposed bill in the Russian State Duma would allow law enforcement agencies direct access to personal data from Russian internet, banking, and telecom companies.

5:25 AM

Ukrainian refugee children in EU face 'perpetual uncertainty'.

Children who fled Ukraine for EU countries following Russia's all-out war struggle with language barriers, disrupted education, and psychological trauma, the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) reported on Sept. 29.

4:20 AM

Bryansk Oblast governor claims Ukrainian attack disrupted local power supply.

Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked the village of Pogar and disrupted the local power supply in the early hours of Sept. 30.

3:53 AM

Russian forces attack 9 communities in Sumy Oblast.

The communities of Esman, Shalyhyne, Mykolaiv, Putyvl, Velyka Pysarivka, Khotin, Krasnopillia, and Yunakivka came under fire.

3:29 AM

Putin declares holiday commemorating occupation of Ukrainian regions.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree marking Sept. 30 as a "reunification day" commemorating Russia's illegal annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts.

2:34 AM

Russian attack damages infrastructure in Vinnytsia Oblast.

On attack on Vinnystia Oblast the night of Sept. 30 damaged an infrastructure facility in the region, Oblast Governor Serhii Borzov reported via Telegram.

2:17 AM

Armenia sues Azerbaijan in International Court of Justice.

The request calls on the court to uphold the rights protected under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).

1:32 AM

Front-line photographer Volodymyr Myroniuk killed in action.

Myroniuk, aged 59, was an independent photographer who documented Ukrainian soldiers at the front.

12:37 AM

New round of Russian conscription will include Ukraine's occupied territories.

The fall 2023 conscription will include the illegally annexed areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

10:59 PM

Ukraine removes companies from 'international sponsor of war' list as part of military aid negotiations.

The NACP hopes that this will "lead to Hungary’s unblocking of €500 million of vital EU military aid for the Ukrainian people, and will also eliminate the possibility of Greece blocking the future EU sanctions package aimed at reducing Russia’s ability to continue the war."

9:15 PM

Deputy Economy Minister: Ukraine aims to reach pre-war levels of growth in 4 years.

Ukraine aims for its economy to regain pre-war levels of growth in four years, Deputy Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev said in an interview with Ukrinform on Sept. 29. Sobolev expects further integration with the European Union and joining NATO will be a prerequisite for strong growth in the future.

8:09 PM

Reuters: Romania moves air defense systems to border with Ukraine.

Romania is moving its air defense systems closer to its border with Ukraine, Reuters reported on Sept. 29. Additional measures include the deployment of four U.S. F-16 jets and an expanded no-fly zone.

7:54 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Russia reduces offensive pace on Kupiansk-Kreminna line

7:23 PM

Norway restricts entry to Russian cars.

Russian-registered cars with nine or fewer seats will not be able to enter Norway from midnight on Oct. 2, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry announced on Sept. 29.

6:44 PM

Gazprom reports gas production drop of 25%.

The state-owned Russian energy company Gazprom has released figures showing that its gas production fell by 25%, Russian news agency Interfax reported on Sept. 28. The reporting period compares the first half of 2023 with the first half of 2022.

5:30 PM

Russians to compete as neutral athletes at 2024 Paralympics.

Russian athletes will be able to compete as individual or neutral athletes at the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, the International Paralympic Committee announced on Sept. 29.

4:46 PM

Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: 2 Belarus delegations compete for attention at UN General Assembly

4:43 PM

UK sanctions Russians involved in organizing sham elections in occupied parts of Ukraine.

The U.K. has announced new sanctions against Russian officials for their involvement in organizing sham elections in occupied territories of Ukraine, the British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly announced on Sept. 29.

4:23 PM

Zelensky commemorates victims of Babyn Yar tragedy.

President Volodymyr Zelensky took part in a commemorating ceremony at Babyn Yar, where Nazi Germany committed a massacre of the Kyiv's Jewish population, Ukraine's Federation of Jewish Communities reported on Sept. 29.

4:01 PM

Ukraine names suspects for sabotage at military warehouses in Luhansk Oblast, Czech Republic.

Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation reported on Sept. 29 that it had identified Russian special service employees involved in the cases of sabotage at military warehouses in Ukraine and Czechia in 2014-2015.

3:46 PM

Podcasts

This Week in Ukraine Ep 27 – How Ukraine is destroying Russian military in Crimea.

Episode #27 is dedicated to the recent Ukrainian attacks in Russia-occupied Crimea.

2:15 PM

Media: Ukrainian strike destroys radar station in Russia's Kursk region.

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) used a drone to destroy the Russian radar system Kasta in the Kursk region on Sept. 28, Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske reported on Sept. 29, citing its source in the SBU.

1:40 PM

Putin asks former Wagner commander to create 'volunteer units' for Ukraine war.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed Andrei Troshev, the former chief of staff of the mercenary Wagner Group, to form 'volunteer units" for the war in Ukraine, according to a transcript of Putin's speech published by the Kremlin on Sept. 29.

11:59 AM

Energy Ministry: IAEA demands Russia immediately leave Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference has adopted a resolution on the immediate return of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant under Ukraine's full control, the Energy Ministry reported on Sept. 29.

MORE NEWS

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Moldova expels head of Sputnik’s Moldova branch

by Martin Fornusek September 13, 2023 3:59 PM 2 min read

Pro-Ukrainian protests at the Russian embassy in Chisinau, Moldova, April 9, 2022. (Photo credit: Pablo Miranzo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

The Moldovan authorities expelled Vitaly Denisov, the head of the Russian-controlled propaganda site Sputnik Moldova, for a period of 10 years, the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) reported on Sept. 13, citing the country's Migration and Asylum Office.

According to the official statement, Denisov was removed from the country under escort for his activities that were "threatening the informational security" of Moldova.

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Denisov's expulsion earlier on Sept. 13.

"They wouldn't let me pack my things or take my pets. They handed me a copy of the decision telling me that I have to leave the country as a person who represents a threat to the national security of the Republic of Moldova," the head of the local Sputnik branch told RIA Novosti.

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In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Moldova's charge d'affaires Sergiu Goncerenco to protest the expulsion, claiming it was "an attack against media."

Daniel Vodă, the spokesperson of the Moldovan government, commented that "the institution of which the respective citizen was a part was constantly dealing with informational attacks, lies, propaganda, and disinformation."

The Moldovan authorities blocked Sputnik Moldova shortly after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, citing the risks of "disinformation affecting national security."

Tensions between the countries have been growing recently as Chişinău accuses the Kremlin of clandestine hostile acts against Moldova.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu warned that Russia is devoting significant resources to disinformation and propaganda campaigns to sow distrust between Moldova's citizens and their government.

In July, the Moldovan authorities expelled 45 Russian diplomats and embassy staff after a media investigation identified spy devices on the Russian embassy building in Chişinău.

The relationship has been further strained by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on some occasions posing the risk of spillover of the conflict. Russia continues to occupy the Moldovan territory of Transnistria.

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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