News Archive

The loan will meet Ukraine’s urgent needs caused by Russia’s war. “(The loan is guaranteed by) the United Kingdom and Denmark: the loan repayment period is 19 years with a five-year grace period. The interest rate is 0.25% per annum," Ukraine's Finance Ministry said. The loan will help cover pension payments and certain state social programs, support for low-income families, children with disabilities, IDPs, and healthcare programs, the ministry said. 

Following a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression for as long as it takes, the White House said. The security assistance package includes HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems, ammunition, and armored vehicles. President Biden also affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia’s purported annexation.

Shevchenko, the chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, attributed his resignation to “health reasons”. Shevchenko told Bloomberg on Dec. 10 that he had endured political pressure since his appointment in 2020. In October 2021, Bloomberg reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to fire Shevchenko. Zelensky has publicly questioned Shevchenko’s performance and even said that he regretted appointing him. However, Zelensky said in November 2021 that he had no immediate plans to replace Shevchenko but may change his opinion in a month.

Ambassadors of NATO member states will discuss the application in Brussels, Ihor Zhovkva, a deputy head of the President's Office, said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 30 that Ukraine would apply for fast-track NATO accession shortly after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin declared the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Nine European countries have signed a joint statement in favor of Ukraine joining NATO. 

Ukrainian troops have recaptured five villages in the north of Kherson Oblast, according to videos posted by Ukrainian soldiers on social media. These include Davydiv Brod, Starosillia, Arkhanhelske, Velyka Oleksandrivka, and Myroliubivka. Ukraine's 35th Marine Brigade confirmed the liberation of Davydiv Brod. Ukrainian forces have also liberated the villages of Borivska Andriivka and Bohuslavka in Kharkiv Oblast, the region's Borova village council said. 

Forbes Russia cited sources close to Russia's Presidential Administration. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of conscripts for the war against Ukraine on Sept. 21. In early September Russia’s state statistics agency estimated that 419,000 people had left Russia since Jan. 1 - a figure that reflects massive emigration since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. This is double the number of Russians who emigrated in the same period in 2021.

Eugene Czolij, the head of nonprofit Ukraine-2050, has become one of Canada's best lawyers: He was included in the 17th edition of "The Best Lawyers in Canada" publication for his work in corporate and commercial litigation.

"Ukraine has proven to be a worthy ally, so it's time to move forward with the promises made in Bucharest in 2008," Estonian President Alar Karis said on Oct. 4, referring to the summit, at which NATO members agreed that Ukraine would join the alliance.

The International Monetary Fund will decide on Ukraine's request for $1.3 billion in additional emergency funding on Oct. 7, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. The fund believes that "Ukraine has received sufficient financial assurances from its global partners to meet the IMF's debt sustainability requirements and qualify for further emergency funds," according to the sources.

Russia has fulfilled plans for its “partial mobilization” by more than two-thirds, conscripting 200,000 personnel, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Oct. 4, citing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that over 2,000 Russian soldiers have called them to surrender in the past few weeks.

A train operated by the Russian secretive nuclear division was spotted in central Russia moving towards Ukraine, The Times reports, citing a Poland-based defense analyst Konrad Muzyka. This move "could be a form of signaling to the West that Moscow is escalating" or preparing for a "strategic deterrence exercise," said Muzyka.

President Volodymyr Zelensky replied to Elon Musk’s Twitter post about Russia’s war in Ukraine by asking people to vote on which Musk they liked better — the one supporting Ukraine or Russia. The CEO of Space X and Tesla wrote back to Zelensky: "I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world." 

North Korea has supported sham referendums that Russia had held in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts on Sept. 23-27, claiming they were organized “in keeping with the UN Charter,” the Korean News Central Agency reported on Oct. 4.

Russian routine autumn conscription cycle will begin on Nov. 1, a month later than usual, which indicates the "growing pressures on Russia's ability to train and equip a large number of new conscripted personnel," the U.K. Defense Ministry reports.

In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed one civilian in Krasnohorivka and wounded two in Kramatorsk and Bakhmut, reported Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko on Oct. 4. They have also attacked Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, with Grad multiple launch rocket system and artillery, wounding four people and damaging over 30 high-rise residential buildings and private houses.

Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 4 that Russia had also lost 2,424 tanks, 5,018 armored fighting vehicles, 3,823 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,407 artillery systems, 340 multiple launch rocket systems, 177 air defense systems, 266 airplanes, 228 helicopters, 1,028 drones, and 15 boats.

A 46-year-old woman was killed after Russian forces struck an industrial site in the Kholodnohirskyi District as well as critical infrastructure in the Novobavarskyi District of the city just after midnight on Oct. 4, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov reported on Telegram.

The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update that Russian news outlet RBK reported on Oct. 3 that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had replaced Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlev with Lieutenant-General Roman Berdnikov as commander of the Western Military District, whose units had mainly been operating in northeastern Kharkiv Oblast, in a possible attempt to redirect the increasing anger for Russian losses in Kharkiv Oblast and recently in Lyman.

The package, which could be announced as soon as Oct. 4, is expected to include four High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, munitions, mines, and mine-resistant vehicles, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Oct. 3.

California-based chipmaker Nvidia Corp. had already suspended its shipments to Russia but had maintained a presence there “to support our employees and their families,” the company said in a statement on Oct. 3, Bloomberg reports. It is now “ceasing all activities” in the country, the company said.

Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported that just after midnight on Oct. 4 Russian forces shelled an industrial site in the Kholodnohirskyi District and infrastructure in the Novobavarskyi District, without providing further details.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Oct. 3 that the Armed Forces successfully continue their counteroffensive. The president didn't name the liberated villages.

The AP and PBS used satellite imagery and marine radio transponder data to track three dozen ships making more than 50 voyages carrying grain from Russian-occupied Ukrainian ports to the Middle East.

Suspilne media outlet reported, citing residents, that explosions were heard in the city on Oct. 3. 

President Rumen Radev said on Oct. 3 that Bulgaria doesn't support the declaration adopted by nine European countries regarding Ukraine's NATO membership. However, he added, Bulgaria "reaffirms support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," as quoted by the BTA news agency. 

According to the General Staff, Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attempts to advance near the settlements of Maiorsk, New York, Zaitseve, Nevelske, and Pobieda, Donetsk Oblast. Over the past day, Russian troops had also launched two missiles and seven airstrikes across Ukraine, the Ukrainian military added.

Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Oct. 3 that the hospital building in the Kupiansk district was almost completely destroyed as a result of the attack.

International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Rafael Grossi said on Oct. 3 that Ihor Murashov, head of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, "returned safely to his family." According to the state nuclear company Energoatom, Russian forces kidnapped Murashov in occupied Enerhodar when he was on his way home on Sept. 30.

The Ukrainian military liberated the village of Borova, Kharkiv Oblast, on Oct. 3, according to the local council. Borova is located east of the Oskil River.

The crowdfunding campaign was run by the Ukrainian embassy in Prague and raised 33 million Czech crowns ($1.31 million) from 11,288 donors to buy a T-72 Avenger tank that has been modernized, according to the campaign statement.

Ukraine can count on Lithuania's "unconditional support" in relation to NATO membership "even if it looks like an elusive goal," said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, according to Lithuanian media outlet LRT. Despite the war in Ukraine, negotiations with 30 NATO member countries and other formal procedures should already begin, said Anusauskas.

Since Russia started its full-scale war of Ukraine, the European Union has decreased its consumption of Russian natural gas from 40% to 9%, even though it has hurt the European economy, Matti Maasikas, the head of the EU delegation to Ukraine, told RBK-Ukraine. "The EU and its member states are making a purposeful effort to stop importing Russia's gas completely," said Maasikas.

Ukrainian armed forces recaptured two settlements in the north of Kherson Oblast, Arkhanhelske and Myroliubivka, amid their counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky officially confirmed on Oct. 2.

Russian authorities are "consulting with the local population" to define the "borders" of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, which Russia claimed to annex on Sept. 30, according to Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov. He said there are no plans, however, to hold new pseudo-referendums in these territories, reported Russian state-controlled news outlet TASS.

Ukrainian troops are making progress in Kherson Oblast due to their skills and strategic use of weapons supplied by Western countries, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told CNN on Oct. 2. Ukraine has "changed the dynamics, and it's created an opportunity for the Ukrainians to maneuver," said Austin.

U.K. Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said that although Russia had the use of nuclear weapons in its doctrine, Putin is “highly unlikely” to use them in its war with Ukraine, because it would be unacceptable for Moscow's allies India and China, Evening Standard reported on Oct. 3. Putin’s actions, however, have been "totally irrational" so far, added Wallace.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has admitted his call-up isn't going well, and his "rapid acknowledgment of problems highlights dysfunction of the mobilization over its first week," the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Oct. 3.

In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed one civilian in Bakhmut and wounded eight in other cities of Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha, reported Pavlo Kyrylenko, the oblast governor. Russian troops have also shelled Kharkiv Oblast, wounding two people.

Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sept. 30 that Russia had also lost 2,380 tanks, 4,991 armored fighting vehicles, 3,811 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,405 artillery systems, 338 multiple launch rocket systems, 176 air defense systems, 265 airplanes, 228 helicopters, 1026 drones, and 15 boats.

Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh reported that Russian forces used nearly a dozen S-300 missiles, targeting the city and two villages in the region early on Oct. 3. According to Starukh, some infrastructure was damaged in Zaporizhzhia, including a rehab center for children with special needs. One person is in the hospital following the attack. 

The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment that Russia's loss of Donetsk Oblast's Lyman, combined with the Kremlin’s failure to conduct partial mobilization effectively is "fundamentally changing the Russian information space." Experts stress that the Kremlin-sponsored media and Russian military bloggers are criticizing the bureaucratic failures of the partial mobilization and attributing the defeat around Lyman and Kharkiv Oblast to Russian military failures to properly supply and reinforce Russian forces in northern Donbas. 

Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to Russia’s war in Ukraine “in the name of God and of the sense of humanity that dwells in every heart,” he said on Twitter on Oct. 2. Pope condemned the “grave situation” that has manifested recently, which is “contrary to the principles of international law,” and warned of the “uncontrollable and catastrophic (international) consequences” of nuclear escalation. 

Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi reported on Oct. 2 that Russian forces struck Yunakivka and Khotin communities at least 56 times. As a result of the shelling, 10 houses, and the local school were seriously damaged, including the classrooms, dining hall, and yard as well as two parked cars. Power lines, a gas pipeline, a water tower, and a transformer were damaged. In one yard, a shed was burned to the ground and animals were killed by shrapnel. There were no human casualties. 

Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported on Oct. 2 that Russian forces are continuing their forced mobilization efforts in the occupied territories. This includes making rounds to people's homes and compiling lists of men of conscript age. Passing through checkpoints has become increasingly complicated, Ukraine's military reports, as Russian forces require an extensive list of documents, conduct lengthy inspections of vehicles, remove gadgets, money, and other valuables, and often refuse to let vehicles through. 

In his evening address on Oct. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian Armed Forces have liberated two more settlements in Kherson Oblast adding to the growing list of territories liberated by Ukrainian soldiers. Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine's counteroffensive success is not limited to Lyman, a city Russian forces have used as a supply hub to launch attacks in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast since it was captured in May.