News Feed

6:16 PM

Media: Danish Leopard 1 tanks donated to Ukraine have defects.

Denmark's Defense Ministry has discovered that 12 out of 20 Leopard 1A5 tanks it had sent to Ukraine are faulty, the Danish government-owned TV2 channel reported on Sept. 22.

6:14 PM

Media: US to send small number of ATACMS to Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden had told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would provide Ukraine with a small number of long-range ATACMS missiles, NBC News reported on Sept. 22, citing three U.S. officials and a Congressional official familiar with the discussion.

5:46 PM

Latvia plans to expel cars under Russian, Belarusian registration.

The Latvian government is preparing a bill preventing cars under Russian and Belarusian registration from staying in the country, Latvia's Justice Minister Inese Lībiņa-Egnere said on Sept. 22.

5:14 PM

Bloomberg: EU Commission to recommend Ukraine membership talks.

The European Commission is planning to recommend starting EU membership talks with Ukraine in October, Bloomberg reported on Sept. 22, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.

4:34 PM

Government postpones launch of oligarch register until after war.

The government decided to postpone the launch of the register of oligarchs until three months after the end of martial law, according to an official document dated Sept. 19 and recently made public.

4:23 PM

Large-scale cyberattack reported in occupied Crimea.

Russian proxies in occupied Crimea announced on Sept. 22 that there was a cyberattack of an “unprecedented” scale.

3:59 PM

Romanian president: Russian drones not directly targeted at Romania, still a problem.

Russian drones are not intentionally targeting Romania, but the situation is still "unacceptable," Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said.

3:27 PM

Opinion

Svitlana Romanko: UN climate summit offers chance to confront Russian fossil fuels, climate crisis

3:25 PM

Podcasts

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 26 – Is the counteroffensive almost over?

2:51 PM

Minister: Three more cargo vessels using temporary Black Sea corridor.

Another three cargo vessels that have agreed to use the Black Sea temporary corridor set up after Russia’s withdrawal from the grain deal are moving towards Ukraine’s ports, Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov reported on Sept. 22.

2:48 PM

Shmyhal: Ukraine receives another 1.5 billion euros in macro-financial assistance.

Ukraine was transferred another 1.5 billion euros (about $1.6 billion) installment of the European Union’s macro-financial assistance package, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced on Twitter on Sept. 22.

1:58 PM

Nagorno-Karabakh

Azerbaijan claims to seek amnesty for Armenian Nagorno-Karabakh fighters who surrender their weapons.

Azerbaijani authorities project a situation in which ethnic Armenian fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh will receive amnesty in exchange for laying down their arms, said Hikmet Hajiyev, a foreign policy advisor to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, in an interview with Reuters.

1:42 PM

Russian Defense Ministry confirms strike on Black Sea Fleet headquarters.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sept. 22 that a Ukrainian missile strike on Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea damaged the building of Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters.

12:53 PM

Belarus weekly

Belarus Weekly: Lukashenko seeks closer ties with Russia, North Korea

12:15 PM

Biden: 'Next week, the first Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine.'

U.S. President Joe Biden announced at a press conference on Sept. 21 that the first tranche of U.S. Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine next week.

11:17 AM

Governor: Russian forces shell Kherson, killing 1, injuring 1.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Sept. 22 that Russian forces shelled residential neighborhoods of Kherson. A 25-year-old man was killed, and another was injured, Prokudin said on Telegram.

10:36 AM

CNN: Zelensky pledges to liberate Bakhmut, two other crucial cities.

“We will de-occupy Bakhmut. And I think we will de-occupy two more cities,” Zelensky said, according to CNN.

9:06 AM

General Staff: Russia has lost 274,950 troops in Ukraine.

This number includes 480 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.

7:57 AM

Zelensky arrives in Ottawa, greeted by PM Trudeau.

President Volodymyr Zelensky arrives to Ottawa late on Sept. 21 for his first official visit to Canada since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

6:56 AM

Zelensky: Ukraine to produce weapons together with US.

In his evening address on Sept. 21, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that there is a "long-term agreement" between the U.S. and Ukraine to produce weapons.

5:59 AM

ISW: Ukraine advancing past final Russian defensive line in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Geolocated footage shared on Sept. 21 and analyzed by the Institute for the Study of War indicated that Ukrainian armored vehicles advanced south of the anti-tank ditches breaching the Russian tri-layered defense, and engaging in limited combat just west of Verbove on the southern Zaporizhzhia front.

3:35 AM

Stolen cultural property returned to Ukraine.

Cultural artifacts stolen from Ukraine during the ongoing Russian invasion were restored to President Volodymyr Zelensky at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., the president's office reported on Sept. 21.

2:25 AM

US announces $325 million in new security assistance for Ukraine.

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced via press statement on Sept. 21 that the U.S. has authorized a new round of security assistance for Ukraine worth $325 million.

1:48 AM

Pistorius: 'We are not refusing to deliver cruise missiles.'

In an interview with French media outlet Le Monde on Sept. 21, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany is "not refusing" to send long-range Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.

12:49 AM

Explosion and blackout reported in Tula, Russia.

A loud explosion in the city of Tula, Russia, on Sept. 21 was followed by a major power outage in one district, the Russian independent media outlet Meduza reported on Telegram.

MORE NEWS

Ukraine strikes Russian military base of drone operators

General: Ukraine had only 1,500 soldiers in south when Russia launched full-scale invasion

UK Defense Ministry: Thousands of Russian airborne troops redeployed to Robotyne as infantry

Military intelligence: Chechen warlord Kadyrov in critical condition

watch us on facebook

News Feed, Politics, Wagner operation

Edit post

RFE/RL: 5 intelligence agents involved with Wagnergate had their passports revoked

by Max Hunder November 25, 2021 3:32 AM 1 min read

This audio is created with AI assistance

Ukraine revoked the international passports of five former intelligence operatives who were involved in the botched July 2020 operation to capture Russian Wagner Group mercenaries, RFE/RL reported on Nov. 25.

According to a recent Bellingcat investigation, Ukrainian intelligence lured 33 mercenaries to Belarus and planned to intercept them en route from Minsk to Istanbul. However, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, reportedly delayed the operation, which caused it to fail. Yermak’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak denied the allegations.

The five intelligence operatives, including Main Intelligence Directorate head Vasyl Burba, were fired a week later. One of the agents, Yurii Semeniuk, told RFE/RL that Ukrainian border guards seized and annulled his passport when he tried to go on vacation to Egypt in May 2021.

The Border Guard Service claimed to be acting on the Migration Service’s instructions, which the Migration Service denied issuing. Semeniuk told RFE/RL he believes the passport revocation could be pressure from Zelensky’s administration.

Zelensky’s presidential administration has been changing its narrative about the operation. Previously, Yermak and Zelensky denied that Ukraine’s intelligence was behind it.

Max Hunder

Business reporter, editor

Max Hunder is a business reporter at the Kyiv Independent. He previously worked as a business reporter at the Kyiv Post focusing on infrastructure and energy. He is a graduate of Eton College and University College London, and has reported for international publications from London, Kyiv and Yerevan.

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.