Russia's attack on the city of Huliaipole killed the deputy head of the local municipality, Oleksandr Kosarenko, and Oleksandr Savytskyi, chairman of municipal enterprise Blahoustriiservis, Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh said on Oct. 5.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey – not the U.S. or other Western countries – is "number one" in the world in providing humanitarian support to those in need, including in Ukraine, reported Anadolu news agency.
Vladimir Putin has signed four federal laws to try to formalize the illegal annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. The borders of "the new subjects" will be determined by the borders that "existed on the day of their acceptance into the Russian Federation," according to Russian-controlled news agency TASS.
Ukraine's Armed Forces continue to make progress in offensive operations along both the northeastern and southern fronts, according to the U.K. Defense Ministry. “It is highly likely that Ukraine can now strike the key Svatove-Kreminna road with most of its artillery systems, further straining Russia’s ability to resupply its units in the east,” the ministry said.
In the past 24 hours, Russian troops have killed one and wounded six civilians in Donetsk Oblast, Pavlo Kyrylenko, its governor, reported on Oct. 5. He added that four civilian bodies were also exhumed in liberated Sviatohirsk.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 5 that Russia had also lost 2,435 tanks, 5,038 armored fighting vehicles, 3,841 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,414 artillery systems, 341 multiple launch rocket systems, 177 air defense systems, 266 airplanes, 232 helicopters, 1,032 drones, and 15 boats.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov reported early on Oct. 5 that Kholodnohirskyi and Novobavarskyi districts of the city were targeted by Russian missiles. According to the mayor, some infrastructure and industrial objects were hit. There is no information about casualties at the time of the publication.
Ihor Kolomoisky spent about 45 minutes at the Kyiv office of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU), Ukrainian investigative journalism outlet Bihus.Info reported. Detectives searched Kolomoisky's apartment in September and were expected to question him on Oct. 4. The search was part of an embezzlement case into oil company Ukrnafta. Kolomoisky has not been charged in the case yet and denies wrongdoing.
The U.S. Department of Defense provided a breakdown of its new $625 million security assistance package for Ukraine. The package includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and associated ammunition; 16 155mm howitzers; 75,000 155mm artillery rounds; 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds, and 1,000 155mm rounds of Remote Anti-Armor Mine (RAAM) Systems. Other items on the list are 16 105mm howitzers; 30,000 120mm mortar rounds; 200 MaxxPro Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles; 200,000 rounds of small arms ammunition; obstacle emplacement equipment, and Claymore anti-personnel munitions.
Ukraine will receive the macro-financial assistance package in October, November, and December, Reuters reported, citing European Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis.
The attempt to create a border follows Russia's illegal annexation of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts. As a result of the annexation, Russian authorities have banned local men of the age subject to conscription from leaving Russian-occupied territories in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Starukh said.
Ukrainian troops liberated the villages of Lyubymivka, Khreshchenivka, Zolota Balka, Biliaivka, Ukrainka, Velyka Oleksandrivka, Mala Oleksandrivka, and Davydiv Brid, Operational Command South said. Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that dozens of settlements had been liberated in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson oblasts during the past week. “Ukrainian forces are moving fast and powerful in the south as part of the ongoing defensive operation,” Zelensky said in an evening address.
Russian troops tortured locals, veterans, and soldiers in a basement in the village of Pisky-Radkivski, Kharkiv Oblast, before it was liberated by Ukrainian troops, Sergiy Bolvinov, head of Kharkiv Oblast police's investigative department, said on Facebook. The police found a dildo, a box of torn-out dentures, wires, and ropes, he said.
The Federation Council, the Russian parliament's upper house, on Oct. 4 unanimously rubber-stamped the illegal annexation following its approval by the Constitutional Court and the State Duma, the parliament's lower house. To become Russian law, the annexation bill must be signed by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. On Sept. 30, Putin signed treaties to illegally annex Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson oblasts after staging sham referendums in the areas. The United Nations, the U.S., and other Western countries have opposed the annexation of the Ukrainian territories by Russia.
The loan will meet Ukraine’s urgent needs caused by Russia’s war. “(The loan is guaranteed by) the United Kingdom and Denmark: the loan repayment period is 19 years with a five-year grace period. The interest rate is 0.25% per annum," Ukraine's Finance Ministry said. The loan will help cover pension payments and certain state social programs, support for low-income families, children with disabilities, IDPs, and healthcare programs, the ministry said.
Following a call with President Volodymyr Zelensky, U.S. President Joe Biden pledged to continue supporting Ukraine as it defends itself from Russian aggression for as long as it takes, the White House said. The security assistance package includes HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, artillery systems, ammunition, and armored vehicles. President Biden also affirmed the continued readiness of the United States to impose severe costs on any individual, entity, or country that provides support to Russia’s purported annexation.
Shevchenko, the chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, attributed his resignation to “health reasons”. Shevchenko told Bloomberg on Dec. 10 that he had endured political pressure since his appointment in 2020. In October 2021, Bloomberg reported that President Volodymyr Zelensky wanted to fire Shevchenko. Zelensky has publicly questioned Shevchenko’s performance and even said that he regretted appointing him. However, Zelensky said in November 2021 that he had no immediate plans to replace Shevchenko but may change his opinion in a month.
Ambassadors of NATO member states will discuss the application in Brussels, Ihor Zhovkva, a deputy head of the President's Office, said. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 30 that Ukraine would apply for fast-track NATO accession shortly after Russian dictator Vladimir Putin declared the illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. Nine European countries have signed a joint statement in favor of Ukraine joining NATO.
Ukrainian troops have recaptured five villages in the north of Kherson Oblast, according to videos posted by Ukrainian soldiers on social media. These include Davydiv Brod, Starosillia, Arkhanhelske, Velyka Oleksandrivka, and Myroliubivka. Ukraine's 35th Marine Brigade confirmed the liberation of Davydiv Brod. Ukrainian forces have also liberated the villages of Borivska Andriivka and Bohuslavka in Kharkiv Oblast, the region's Borova village council said.
Forbes Russia cited sources close to Russia's Presidential Administration. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin announced the mobilization of conscripts for the war against Ukraine on Sept. 21. In early September Russia’s state statistics agency estimated that 419,000 people had left Russia since Jan. 1 - a figure that reflects massive emigration since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. This is double the number of Russians who emigrated in the same period in 2021.
"Ukraine has proven to be a worthy ally, so it's time to move forward with the promises made in Bucharest in 2008," Estonian President Alar Karis said on Oct. 4, referring to the summit, at which NATO members agreed that Ukraine would join the alliance.
The International Monetary Fund will decide on Ukraine's request for $1.3 billion in additional emergency funding on Oct. 7, Reuters reported, citing two unnamed sources. The fund believes that "Ukraine has received sufficient financial assurances from its global partners to meet the IMF's debt sustainability requirements and qualify for further emergency funds," according to the sources.
Russia has fulfilled plans for its “partial mobilization” by more than two-thirds, conscripting 200,000 personnel, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Oct. 4, citing Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, said that over 2,000 Russian soldiers have called them to surrender in the past few weeks.
A train operated by the Russian secretive nuclear division was spotted in central Russia moving towards Ukraine, The Times reports, citing a Poland-based defense analyst Konrad Muzyka. This move "could be a form of signaling to the West that Moscow is escalating" or preparing for a "strategic deterrence exercise," said Muzyka.
President Volodymyr Zelensky replied to Elon Musk’s Twitter post about Russia’s war in Ukraine by asking people to vote on which Musk they liked better — the one supporting Ukraine or Russia. The CEO of Space X and Tesla wrote back to Zelensky: "I still very much support Ukraine, but am convinced that massive escalation of the war will cause great harm to Ukraine and possibly the world."
North Korea has supported sham referendums that Russia had held in occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts on Sept. 23-27, claiming they were organized “in keeping with the UN Charter,” the Korean News Central Agency reported on Oct. 4.
Russian routine autumn conscription cycle will begin on Nov. 1, a month later than usual, which indicates the "growing pressures on Russia's ability to train and equip a large number of new conscripted personnel," the U.K. Defense Ministry reports.
In the past 24 hours, Russian forces have killed one civilian in Krasnohorivka and wounded two in Kramatorsk and Bakhmut, reported Donetsk Oblast Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko on Oct. 4. They have also attacked Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, with Grad multiple launch rocket system and artillery, wounding four people and damaging over 30 high-rise residential buildings and private houses.
Ukraine’s General Staff reported on Oct. 4 that Russia had also lost 2,424 tanks, 5,018 armored fighting vehicles, 3,823 vehicles and fuel tanks, 1,407 artillery systems, 340 multiple launch rocket systems, 177 air defense systems, 266 airplanes, 228 helicopters, 1,028 drones, and 15 boats.
A 46-year-old woman was killed after Russian forces struck an industrial site in the Kholodnohirskyi District as well as critical infrastructure in the Novobavarskyi District of the city just after midnight on Oct. 4, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Synehubov reported on Telegram.
According to the General Staff, Ukrainian troops repelled Russian attempts to advance near the settlements of Maiorsk, New York, Zaitseve, Nevelske, and Pobieda, Donetsk Oblast. Over the past day, Russian troops had also launched two missiles and seven airstrikes across Ukraine, the Ukrainian military added.
Ukraine can count on Lithuania's "unconditional support" in relation to NATO membership "even if it looks like an elusive goal," said Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas, according to Lithuanian media outlet LRT. Despite the war in Ukraine, negotiations with 30 NATO member countries and other formal procedures should already begin, said Anusauskas.
