News Feed

5:41 PM

Kyiv Independent journalist named winner of Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism.

Kyiv Independent journalist Asami Terajima is the winner of the 2023 Kurt Schork Local Reporter Award, 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.

6:24 AM

US preparing new aid package for Ukraine.

The Biden Administration is planning to deliver a new defense aid package "soon," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated at a press conference on Oct. 2.

4:56 AM

Russian forces shell 5 communities in Sumy Oblast.

Russia shelled five communities along the Sumy Oblast border on Oct. 2, firing 13 times throughout the day, the Sumy Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram. 50 explosions were recorded.

2:56 AM

Drone shot down over Bryansk Oblast, Russian official claims.

Bryansk Oblast Governor Alexander Bogomaz claimed the drone was shot down over the region's Trubchevsky district. No casualties or damage were reported.

2:33 AM

AP: Pentagon running out of money for Ukraine.

Pentagon Comptroller Michael McCord warned the U.S. Congress that diminishing funds for Ukraine could cause delays in critical weapons and supply shipments, the Associated Press reported on Oct. 2.

1:37 AM

US State Department: Congress must 'take action' on Ukraine funding.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a stopgap measure on Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown. The bill funds the government for 45 days, but does not include provisions for further Ukraine aid.

1:19 AM

War analysis

Our readers' questions about the war, answered. Vol. 4

12:45 AM

PM Shmyhal: EU-Ukraine Association Council to meet in December.

The meeting was planned during a gathering of EU foreign ministers in Kyiv led by EU High Representative Josep Borrell.

12:32 AM

Ukrainian State-Owned Enterprises Weekly — Issue 104

12:13 AM

Germany delivers ammunition, other equipment to Ukraine.

Germany has transferred over 32,000 rounds of 40-mm ammunition, dozens of all-terrain and border protection vehicles, and other military equipment to Ukraine as part of its latest aid package, the German government reported on Oct. 2.

MORE NEWS

Military intelligence: Sudan strike on Wagner signals Russia's decreasing influence in Africa

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

watch us on facebook

News Feed

Edit post

Prigozhin accuses Russian Defense Ministry of placing mines along Wagner exit routes from Bakhmut

by Kate Tsurkan June 2, 2023 11:12 PM 2 min read

Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks in a video filmed in front of dozens of corpses, allegedly of Wagner fighters killed in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, published on May 5, 2023. (Telegram)

This audio is created with AI assistance

Wagner mercenary group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin accused "representatives of the Russian Defense Ministry" of placing mines along Wagner troops' exit routes from Bakhmut.

Responding to a question on the Telegram channel for his press service, Prigozhin said that 99% of Wagner troops had withdrawn from Bakhmut since claiming on May 20 that they had captured the city and begun handing over positions to the regular Russian army.

Kyiv has not formally acknowledged the fall of Bakhmut, but both official statements and reports from soldiers on the ground shared with the Kyiv Independent depict a similar scenario.

According to Prigozhin, there were explosive devices placed in around a dozen locations along Wagner troops' exit routes, including "hundreds" of anti-tank mines.

"We conducted investigative actions jointly with law enforcement agencies to document everything. Currently, investigations are underway," Prigozhin said.

Those who placed the explosive devices were "representatives of the Russian defense ministry."

"When asked why they did it, they pointed their fingers upward," Prigozhin added, suggesting that the orders came from higher-ranking officials.

There was "no need" to place the mines to hold back Ukrainian forces in those locations, according to Prigozhin, leading him to believe that they were intended as "public chastisement" for Wagner forces.

Prigozhin's years-long feud with the Russian Defense Ministry became even more public during the Battle of Bakhmut as he blamed them in numerous tirades for not supplying enough ammunition and failing to achieve the primary objectives of Russia's war in Ukraine.

Kate Tsurkan

Reporter

Kate Tsurkan is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She is a writer, editor, and translator. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Harpers, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine. Originally from the U.S., she resides in Chernivtsi, a city in the west of Ukraine.

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.