News Archive

Ukraine’s state nuclear monopoly Energoatom denied reports that a fire broke out at the second reactor of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, a Russian landmine exploded at the transmission line that supplies power to a nitrogen generator, and a short circuit occurred at the sixth reactor, Energoatom said. Russia, which has been shelling Ukrainian positions from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Russian-occupied Enerhodar, is accused of using it as a shield and a tool of blackmail.

After Ukrainian Ambassador Vitaliy Moskalenko made his second official request on Sept. 29, Bulgarian Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov said his country would never provide heavy weapons to Ukraine as long as he is in power and until the country's parliament decides otherwise. 

“They will likely target places along the frontlines with lots of personnel and equipment, key command centers, and critical infrastructure,” Vadym Skibitsky, a deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, told The Guardian. “In order to stop them, we need not just more anti-aircraft systems but anti-rocket systems.” Tactical nuclear weapons are approximately 100 times more powerful than the missiles that Russia has used against Ukraine so far, according to Skibitsky. 

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said that the council would make crucial and "fundamental" decisions. The council meeting was announced after Russia said that documents on the annexation of occupied Ukrainian territories would be signed on Sept. 30. Russia is planning to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts after holding sham referendums in the areas. 

Russian forces attacked Mykolaiv with cluster munitions, Hanna Zamazeyeva, head of Mykolaiv Oblast's legislature, said on Sept. 29. A cluster shell exploded near a public transport stop in a crowded place, according to Zamazeyeva.

The figure was provided by Oleksiy Hromov, a deputy chief of the General Staff’s main operations department. Russia has announced plans to mobilize 300,000 conscripts. “We understand that the announced figure of 300,000 is not final. The number of mobilized conscripts will most likely be far larger,” Hromov said.

According to a document obtained by the Kyiv Independent, the District Court of Nicosia in Cyprus has granted a worldwide freezing order against Ukrainian agricultural tycoon Oleh Bakhmatyuk for $79.4 million. The majority shareholder of UkrLandFarming, Ukraine's largest egg producer, Bakhmatyuk is accused of hiding assets from his company's major lender – U.S. investment fund Gramercy. 

The share of those who approve of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s performance dropped from 83% in August to 77% in September, according to a survey conducted by polling agency Levada Center on Sept. 22-28. The percentage of Russians who believe their country is going in the right direction declined from 67% to 60%. On Sept. 25, Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that over 260,000 Russian men had fled the country after Putin announced the mobilization of conscripts for the war against Ukraine on Sept. 21. 

Russia is sending newly mobilized Crimean men to the front lines in Kherson Oblast, according to Ukrainian non-governmental organization CrimeaSOS. "They are (already) being transferred from Sevastopol, where they had spent only two days since they received their draft summonses," said Oleksii Tilnenko, the head of the organization's board, on Sept. 29. The conscription of residents of occupied territories to the ranks of the occupying army is a war crime.

The damage to the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea most likely was caused by deliberate attacks, according to NATO. "All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless, and irresponsible acts of sabotage," NATO stated on Sept. 29.

Ivan Bohdan, the CEO of Ukrainian book retailer Yakaboo, has been suspended, following his sexist remark at a public meeting, Yakaboo wrote on Facebook on Sept. 29. Talking about his company's clients, Bohdan said that “overall, women buy more (books), as they always spend the money that's been earned by men.” 

The. U.S. officials are urging countries of the Pacific region to put pressure on Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and communicate to him that the use of nuclear weapons will have a harsh economic and diplomatic response, Politico reports, citing unnamed sources in President Joe Biden's administration. 

Russia released six more Ukrainian prisoners of war – four service personnel and two civilians – in a prisoner swap on Sept. 29, according to President's Office Head Andriy Yermak. "Our goal is to get all our people back. We are working on it non-stop," said Yermak.

Russian leaders will hold a ceremony to sign "the agreements" on the accession of the occupied Ukrainian territories to Russia, Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's press secretary, said on Sept. 29. At the ceremony, the Russian dictator will also deliver a speech and meet with Moscow-installed proxies, according to Russian-controlled news agency RIA Novosti.

Russian forces launched four missile strikes on Kramatorsk on the morning of Sept. 29, wounding 11 civilians and damaging a residential building, a hospital, and other civilian infrastructure, according to Oleksandr Honcharenko, the city mayor. 

Belarus is preparing to take in 20,000 newly mobilized Russian men who will replenish the units already stationed in the county, Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 29. Belarusian authorities are using civilian premises, buildings, and cars for accommodating and transporting Russian soldiers. 

"The better off and educated" Russians represent most of those trying to leave the country to flee mobilization, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry. The availability of labor is expected to shrink with the mass departure of educated people, it reported on Sept. 29. "The acceleration of brain drain is likely to become increasingly significant," the report reads.

Spokesperson of Sweden's coast guard Jenny Larsson on Sept. 28 told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper that a fourth gas leak on the Nord Stream pipelines had been discovered. Larsson told the newspaper that two gas leaks were in Swedish waters, while the other two were in Danish waters. 

Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Sept. 29 that Russia had also lost 2,325 tanks, 4,909 armored fighting vehicles, 1,385 artillery systems, 331 multiple launch rocket systems, 175 air defense systems, 224 helicopters, 262 airplanes, 995 drones, and 15 boats.

Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported that Russian forces killed two civilians in Toretsk, one in Bakhmut, one in Pivnichne, one in Blahodatne, and one in Mykolaivka. According to Kyrylenko, since the beginning of the full-scale war, Russia has killed 901 civilians in Donetsk Oblast, not including Mariupol and Volnovakha.

Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentyn Reznichenko reported that Russian forces attacked Dnipro overnight on Sept. 29, killing three people, including one child, and injuring five, including a 12-year-old girl. Rescuers continue to search for bodies under the rubble, Reznichenko said.

The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment that Russian authorities are sending untrained conscripts to strengthen degraded remainders of various units, including those considered as Russia’s most elite. According to the ISW, the addition of newly mobilized forces to these units of the Russian army is unlikely to increase their combat power.

Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said that Russian forces shelled the Krasnopillia community with mortars and self-propelled guns on Sept. 28. According to Zhyvytskyi, Russian troops also used drones. As a result of Russian shelling, two houses and a power line were damaged. There were no civilian casualties, Zhyvytskyi said.

Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” reported that Ukrainian forces killed 18 Russian troops and destroyed two tanks, three Orlan-10 drones, and six armored and military vehicles on Sept. 28.

Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, said on Sept. 28 at a press conference in Kyiv that the money would help strengthen Ukraine's food security.

Ukraine’s Air Command “East” reported on Sept. 28 that Russian Su-35 fighter jets fired five Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles. According to Ukraine’s Air Force, one missile was downed in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, one in Kryvyi Rih District in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and two in Synelnykove District in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

An alleged Russian sabotage attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines that caused large blasts in the Baltic Sea was “probably premeditated and planned for,” the Times newspaper reported on Sept. 28, citing a British defense source. Russia likely dropped an explosive device into the sea weeks before it was detonated, according to the Times. 

The U.S. Defense Department announced on Sept. 28 that the country would provide $1.1 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine. The new package will include about 18 more HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System), ammunition for them, and 12 Titan systems, which are used to counter drones, according to the Washington Post.

According to Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate Head Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine continues to negotiate prisoner exchanges, but the process takes a long time. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk earlier said that Russia currently keeps 2,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war.

Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration, didn’t provide any details about the recent strike. Russia has repeatedly targeted critical infrastructure in Kryviy Rih in September. 

Independent Russian media outlet Meduza reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the illegal annexation of occupied territories in four Ukrainian regions will be postponed as at the moment it will not have the desired "PR effect" on the Russian population, which has been dissatisfied with the mobilization. Russia will also postpone the ban on leaving the country for men of draft age, according to Meduza.

The Associated Press reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials, that the new U.S. $1.1 billion military aid package will include 18 HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) and other weapons "to counter drones that Russia has been using against Ukrainian troops."

The General Staff reported on Sept. 28 that Ukrainian forces had recently repelled Russian attempts to advance near the settlements of Zaitseve, Maiorsk, Zalizne, Odradivka, Mykolaivka Druha, Ozerianivka, Pervomaiske, Pobieda, Novomykhailivka, Pavlivka, and Bezimenne.

The National Guard of Ukraine reported on Sept. 28 that its service members, along with the 81st airmobile brigade, had liberated Novoselivka, a village in Donetsk Oblast, with a prewar population of 1,200 people. During the operation, the Ukrainian military also captured a Russian armored vehicle. 

During a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 28, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Russia's "unilateral" referendums held in Russian-occupied territories of four Ukrainian regions will complicate efforts to revive the "diplomatic process." According to a statement released by Erdogan's office, he also said that Turkey "stands ready to provide every kind of support for the settlement of the war through peaceful negotiations."

The package proposes to introduce a price cap for Russian oil sold to third countries, impose further trade restrictions, and target individuals who circumvent the EU sanctions.

If the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are not attended to immediately, salt water will quickly corrode the insides, wrote Tagesspiegel, citing unnamed high-ranking German officials. The crisis team of the German Federal Foreign Office is investigating the leaks, most likely caused by explosions along the pipeline.

Speaking to Lithuanian media outlet LRT, retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges said: "I hope that by the end of this year, Ukrainian forces will push Russian forces to the positions of Feb. 23, and that by the middle of next year, the Ukrainians will be in Crimea."

As of Sept. 28, Russia's popular homegrown social network VK (formerly VKontakte) and email service Mail.ru are no longer available for download on the App Store in any country. In a statement, Apple cited conflicts with British sanctions as the reason for the removal. Apps that are already downloaded can continue to be used, according to Apple.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development forecasted a 30% shrinkage in Ukraine's GDP in 2022. With high levels of uncertainty about the progress of the war and Ukraine's economic recovery, the EBRD also updated its expectations for a GDP rebound in 2023 from 25% to 8%.

The world-famous Spanish soccer club announced the figure, collected as part of their "All for Ukraine" campaign, in their annual review of last season's accounts. The funds were distributed to numerous Spanish humanitarian aid organizations working in Ukraine, as well local partners on the ground.

In a video address on Sept. 28, head Russian proxy in Luhansk Oblast Leonid Pasechnik called upon Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to officially pass a decree on the "joining" of the region to Russia. Less than an hour later, head Russian proxy in Kherson Oblast Volodymyr Saldo also called for the region's annexation, according to Russian state media.

A further 10 people were wounded over Sept. 27 in multiple Russian attacks on civilians in the region, according to Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. In Kharkiv Oblast, civilian areas in Kupiansk district were heavily shelled, with five wounded.

President Volodymyr Zelensky named the figure in a video address to students and staff of Harvard University. In his speech, Zelensky also emphasized the contributions of millions of ordinary Ukrainians to the war effort. "These are thousands of volunteers. These are our heroic doctors and nurses," he said.

Ukrainian forces continue to push east into the occupied parts of Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts after making successful crossings of the Oskil and Siversky Donets rivers in several locations, the U.K.'s Defense Intelligence wrote in their daily brief. These advances come despite Russian efforts to consolidate defensive lines after Ukraine's rapid counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast earlier in September.