Over 250,000 desertion, AWOL cases opened since 2022, prosecutors say

"The agreement opens the way for an exchange of experience," Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said.

The two soldiers, 25-year-old Yevhen, call sign "Izium," and 24-year-old Artem, call sign "Kolobok," had suffered severe limb injuries and were stranded in a contested area about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the Russian border.

The law fulfills Ukraine's commitments under the Ukraine Facility, an EU financial assistance program launched in 2024, and unlocks 137 million euros ($153 million) in budget funding, Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi said.

The move adds to tensions between the two countries after Lviv's council adopted decrees on Oct. 20 symbolically declaring 2027 as the Year of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and its military leader Romam Shukhevych.

Artem Koval suffered severe injuries in the drone strike and was taken to hospital. Despite a week of efforts to save him, doctors were unable to overcome his life-threatening injuries, the Vodolaha Village Council said.

A fire broke out on the territory of the Energia plant following the attack, the General Staff said, without specifying the extent of the damage.

"The worst thing would be if the whole world came to believe that everyone had been evacuated from Oleshky, whilst (people) were still there. And (they) would simply be forgotten," evacuation volunteer Kseniia Arkhipova said.

While 55% pointed to genuine efforts to tackle corruption, 41% said Ukraine was "hopelessly corrupt," a poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) found.

In May 2026, Ukraine’s 3rd Army Corps launched a secret counteroffensive now known as Operation Vivaldi, aiming to strengthen Ukraine’s defensive positions in the Lyman and Sviatohirsk sectors and disrupt Russia’s plans to encircle Ukraine’s key strongholds – the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.