News Feed

10:47 AM

Lithuania opens transit corridor for Ukrainian grain.

"Russia destroys food, Lithuania delivers it," Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis wrote on the social platform X. "A corridor for grain transit to Baltic ports has been accepted and agreed upon, relieving pressure at the Ukrainian border and increasing supply to Africa and beyond."

10:25 AM

Russian attacks kill 1, injure 24 over past day.

In Donetsk Oblast, seven people were injured in Russian attacks, the Donetsk Oblast Military Administration reported. Three residents were wounded in Illinivka, three more in Vyshneve, and one in Avdiivka, the officials clarified.

9:54 AM

Czech president: Europe must reduce defense reliance on US.

"The dominant role of NATO as a security provider must no longer mean that Europe neglects its defense obligations," Czech President Petr Pavel said at the College of Europe in Bruges.

9:31 AM

France agrees to provide military equipment to Armenia.

"France has agreed to sign a contract with Armenia on the provision of military aid," French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said during a press conference in Yerevan with her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.

8:41 AM

NATO official: Ukraine's allies running out of ammunition, production must increase.

"The bottom of the barrel is now visible," Chairman of the NATO Military Committee Admiral Rob Bauer said. "We need the industry to ramp up production in a much higher tempo."

8:11 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 279,890 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 4 that Russia had lost 279,890 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022. This number includes 450 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.

7:53 AM

Russia claims 31 drones downed overnight.

Russia's Defense Ministry said via its Telegram channel that its forces shot down 31 Ukrainian drones overnight on Oct. 4 over the Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk regions.

7:13 AM

Investigation: Baltic-registered crypto firms service payments for Russian private army, allow sanctions evasion.

5:49 AM

ISW: Russia's Defense Ministry signals support for Chechen units in Ukraine amid interethnic tensions.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu expressed gratitude to Chechen Head Ramzan Kadyrov for overseeing the creation of military units in Chechnya during an Oct. 3 conference with Russian military leadership, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

3:55 AM

Russia shells 8 communities in Sumy Oblast.

Explosions occurred in the communities of Khotin, Mykolaivka, Krasnopillia, Velyka Pysarivka, Bilopillia, Yunakivka, Shalyhyne, and Esman.

3:20 AM

Bloomberg: Hungary wants to cut EU funding to Ukraine in half.

The proposal adds weight to fears that international support for Ukraine could be waning following U.S. lawmakers' decision to remove aid for Ukraine from a government spending bill passed on Sept. 30.

1:46 AM

Charles Michel: Ukraine could join EU by 2030.

“Ukraine may indeed become a member of the EU in 2030 if both sides do their homework," European Council President Charles Michel said.

1:14 AM

US Congress ousts McCarthy as speaker.

The move follows a tense battle over funding legislation that nearly resulted in a government shutdown. Funding for Ukrainian military aid became a focal point of the legislative fight.

12:38 AM

Biden, world leaders coordinate military support for Ukraine.

The participants discussed strategies for supplying the Ukrainian military with ammunition and weapons, bolstering Ukraine's air defenses, and fortifying energy infrastracture ahead of the winter months.

12:18 AM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky meets soldiers fighting on Kupiansk-Lyman axis

11:59 PM

Russia claims Ukrainian Neptune missile destroyed over occupied Crimea.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces shot down a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile near the Crimean coast late on Oct. 3. Kyiv hasn’t commented on the allegation.

11:07 PM

Prosecutors: Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast injure 4.

Russian attacks against Avdiivka and Illinivka in Donetsk Oblast wounded four civilians on Oct. 3, the regional prosecutor's office reported.

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.

MORE NEWS

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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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Navy: Ukraine's control of Black Sea oil rigs a serious 'security issue' for Russia

by Elsa Court September 12, 2023 2:38 PM 2 min read

A still from a video Ukraine's Military Intelligence produced about the operation to regain control of the 'Boyko Towers' oil drilling platforms, published online on Sept. 11, 2023. (Ukraine's Military Intelligence / Facebook)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukrainian control over a set of gas and oil drilling platforms in the Black Sea has serious consequences for Russia's ability to maneuver in the area, the Ukrainian Navy told Suspilne on Sept. 12.

The loss of control over the platforms "is a security issue" for Russia, according to Dmytro Pletenchuk, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy.

Ukraine's Military Intelligence announced on Sept. 11 that Ukraine had regained control over the platforms, informally known to Ukrainians as the Boyko Towers, named after pro-Russian politician Yuriy Boyko, as well as two mobile rigs.

The drilling platforms were procured by Ukraine when Boyko served as energy minister under then-President Viktor Yanukovych. Russia occupied the rigs following the 2014 illegal annexation of Crimea.

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A post shared by Kyiv Independent (@kyivindependent_official)

Since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces turned the platforms into a military site, adding equipment like radar and helipads, according to military intelligence.

During the operation to control the platforms, Ukrainian forces dismantled the radar system.

The Russian Navy is therefore now unable to effectively monitor the situation in the surrounding area of the Black Sea, Pletenchuk said.

Russian forces "will not be able to react in time or plan something" in Ukrainian territorial waters, Pletenchuk explained, adding that this was "great importance" for the security of the sea around Odesa.

Ukraine will be able to better defend its coast, but full control over its waters will only come when Ukraine has air superiority, according to Pletenchuk. He said he hopes this will be solved by the delivery of weapons like F-16 jets.

Elsa Court

News Editor

Elsa Court is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She was previously an intern at the Kyiv Post and has a Master’s in Conflict Studies and Human Rights from Utrecht University. Before joining the Kyiv Independent, she worked at the Netherlands Red Cross programme to arrange hosts for Ukrainian refugees and as a freelance writer and editor. Elsa is originally from the UK and is based in the Netherlands.

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