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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.

5:41 PM

Kyiv Independent journalist wins Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism.

Kyiv Independent journalist Asami Terajima was announced as one of the winners of the 2023 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, the Thomson Reuters Foundation announced on Oct. 3.

5:31 PM

Governor: Russian air strike on Kherson Oblast village kills 1, injures 7.

Russian forces launched an air strike on Antonivka, a northeastern suburb of Kherson, killing one person and wounding another seven, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Oct. 3.

4:53 PM

Zelensky meets soldiers fighting on Kupiansk-Lyman axis.

President Volodymyr Zelensky visited combat brigades on the front line in Kharkiv Oblast fighting on the Kupiansk-Lyman axis, the President's Office said on Oct. 3.

4:00 PM

Bloomberg: US military 'ready to deliver' cluster-armed ATACMS.

The U.S. military is ready to send Ukraine some of its long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) armed with cluster munitions once U.S. President Joe Biden approves the transfer, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 3, citing the U.S. military's chief weapons buyer.

3:10 PM

BBC: Burger King still 'open as usual' in Russia.

Burger King "remains open as usual in Russia," despite the fast food chain claiming at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that it would exit the country, the BBC reported on Oct. 3.

2:58 PM

Belarusian military to check its combat readiness.

The Belarusian military will conduct exercises in order to check its readiness for combat, the Belarusian Defense Ministry's press service announced on Oct. 3.

2:33 PM

Armenian parliament ratifies ICC's Rome Statute, following shattered relationship with Russia.

The Armenian parliament voted in favor of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 3. If signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian authorities will be obliged to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin if he sets foot in the country.

1:56 PM

Media: Putin may soon announce he will run for president in 2024.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin may soon announce that he will run for president again in 2024, the Russian state-controlled newspaper Kommersant wrote on Oct. 3.

1:46 PM

Minister: Agricultural cargo to be checked in Lithuania to speed up grain exports.

Ukrainian agricultural cargo headed for the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda will be checked directly at the port, instead of at the border with Poland, Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Oct. 3.

1:08 PM

Media: UK Minister says Ukraine has practically defeated Russia's Black Sea Fleet.

Ukraine's recent attacks on Russia's Black Sea Fleet have led to the "functional defeat" of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said at the Warsaw Security Conference on Oct. 3, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

11:59 AM

Russia's Investigative Committee charges top Ukrainian military officials with 'terrorism.'

Four top representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were charged with committing "terrorist acts on Russian territory," Russia's Investigative Committee announced on Oct. 3.

11:41 AM

Investigations

Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Russian drone downed by Ukraine is full of Western components

9:31 AM

Air Force: 29 of 31 drones, 1 missile shot down overnight.

Russia launched 31 Shahed drones and one Iskander-K ballistic missile at Ukrainian territory overnight on Oct. 3, the Air Force reported.

9:00 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 279,440 troops in Ukraine.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 3 that Russia had lost 279,440 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

8:50 AM

Ukraine downs drones, missiles in overnight attacks in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Ukrainian forces shot down 13 drones and one missile over Dnipropetrovsk Oblast during nighttime attacks on Oct. 2-3, Governor Serhii Lysak wrote on Telegram.

7:32 AM

ISW: Russia allegedly removed Bakhmut General due to poor performance.

Russian milbloggers are speculating that the Russian Ministry of Defense removed Lieutenant General Andrey Sychevoy from his post commanding the Bakhmut direction due to poor performance south of the city, near Klishchiivka and Andriivka, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its daily assessment on Oct. 2.

MORE NEWS

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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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NYT: US-based arms dealer makes fortune on Ukraine’s war

by Natalia Datskevych September 11, 2023 1:31 AM 2 min read

Ukrainian artillerymen from the 24th brigade load an ammunition inside of a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer at a position along the front line in the vicinity of Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast on Dec. 10, 2022. (Photo by Ihor Tkachov/AFP via Getty Images)

This audio is created with AI assistance

The U.S. Department of Defense has paid about $1 billion to an arms dealer who was once indicted for allegedly bribing foreign officials and has built a $200 million side business selling ammunition directly to Ukraine, the investigation published by the New York Times revealed.

Florida-based military contractor Marc Morales, leads Global Ordnance company which was awarded about $1 billion in contracts from the Pentagon.

According to the investigation, Morales paid a senior sergeant in the Ukrainian army, Volodymyr Koyfman, to arrange meetings in the Ukrainian government for his own contacts shedding light on “a quiet aspect of the Biden administration’s war strategy.”

“They operate in a notoriously shadowy, clubby arms trade, an industry made even more opaque as Ukraine rolled back years of anti corruption rules,” the report reads.

In total, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with more than $40 billion in military assistance, including HIMARS missiles and Patriot air defense systems.

Bryan Van Brunt, the general counsel for Global Ordnance, said the company followed the law and the Ukrainian government was aware of Koyfman's work at Global Ordnance.

At the same time, according to two of Morales's competitors, he has an unfair advantage, not because of his ties to Koyfman, but because of his ties to the Pentagon. In addition, the investigation showed that Morales was far from the only arms dealer with connections in the Ukrainian government.

Natalia Datskevych

Natalia Datskevych is a business reporter at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, she worked as business reporter for the Kyiv Post. She studied economic theory at Kyiv National Economic University and holds a Ph.D in economic science.

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