The Kyiv Independent Live in London: October 2
Days until event:
The warhead was designed to destroy high-voltage pylons and steel bridges and contains a 40-kilogram main charge and four additional destructive modules, Serhii Beskrestnov said.
Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko has worked his way out of Western isolation before. Now, he seems to be launching yet another attempt. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sept. 21 announced a "massive" potash deal with Belarus, and only days later, Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski held talks with his Belarusian counterpart in the first ministerial meeting in seven years. Belarus has faced international isolation since the heavily disputed 2020 presidential elections, which Lukashe
Kyiv has faced repeated Russian attacks in recent days. A large-scale Russian missile and drone attack beginning on Sept. 30 killed four people and injured at least eight, while also damaging residential and energy infrastructure in the capital.
The number includes 1,520 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Ukrainian drones previously struck the Samara station in April, causing a large fire and damaging five crude oil tanks, each with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, a source in the Security Service of Ukraine told the Kyiv Independent at the time.
Putin repeatedly said in interviews in early March 2022 that conscripts were not being asked to participate in the invasion and would not be sent to fight. Only days later, Russia’s Defense Ministry to acknowledged that some conscripts had been deployed to Ukraine and captured.
"We fought until the last moment, both publicly and privately, to prevent this from happening," Sybiha said. "You removed two oligarchs, and we will add twenty."
The Kyiv Independent's coverage of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, after eight years of aggression against Ukraine that began in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea and fighting in Donbas. The war has resulted in tens of thousands of military and civilian casualties and displaced millions of Ukrainians. NATO and Western allies have provided military aid to Ukraine while the conflict continues across fronts in Ukraine’s south and east.
Compared to the most recent figure from July 2026, the decree increases total staff by only around 15,500, is the fourth such incremental raise announced this year.
