Metro AG is one of the world’s largest retailers, specializing in food wholesale and food distribution to restaurants and hotels. Metro AG first entered the Russian market in 2001 and now operates 91 wholesale stores, employing around 9,000 employees in the country.

Russia is planning to spend 17.1 trillion roubles ($202.58 billion) on its military in 2027, an increase of around 27% over the previously budgeted amount.

The president said that Russia is looking to "increase the involvement of foreigners" in its armed forces. North Korea is preparing to deploy another 10,000 troops against Ukraine, in addition to the more than 8,000 military personnel currently stationed in Russia.

On the last day of his official visit to France, Pope Leo XIV called for concessions to create peace between Russia and Ukraine. The pontiff did not give details on what a peaceful resolution for the war would entail.

In 1991, Ukraine inherited the second-largest defense industrial complex of the Soviet Union. It was so big that almost a third of the Soviet space industry sat on Ukrainian soil, and the system employed millions of people. Pivdenmash, a rocket and space technology juggernaut, built the most powerful intercontinental missiles on the planet. Antonov, a world-famous brand, produced the world's largest aircraft. The city of Kharkiv designed tanks, and Mykolaiv launched aircraft-carrying cruisers.

Ukraine just angered another partner — one sitting on an arsenal of weapons that Kyiv wants. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s Sept. 23 announcement at the U.N. General Assembly that Ukraine’s two North Korean prisoners of war (POWs) were sent to South Korea was not well received in Seoul. "It was appropriate in every aspect not to disclose, considering the many problems it may cause when disclosed, and (we) had agreed to do so," South Korean President Lee Jae Myung responded, claiming that Kyiv

Key developments on Sept. 28: * Medical center, science academy struck in downtown Kyiv as all-day Russian drone attacks continue * Ukraine's Operation Vivaldi liberates 3 more settlements, inflicts 2,000 Russian losses, 3rd Army Corps announces * Trump wants Zelensky to ease strikes on Russian refineries, Ukraine official says deal must go both ways * Poland to ease rules for shooting down drones, missiles entering from Russia * Ukrnafta installs concrete shelters at Kyiv gas stations ami

Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the drone struck Ukrainian territory around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Dorohusk crossing and did not enter Polish airspace.

When asked what concerned them most, 50% of Ukrainians cited corruption, while 40% cited Russia’s mass missile and drone attacks.

There has been little movement in EU circles on the question of using over 200 billion euros ($227 billion) of immobilized Russian assets since Sweden reopened the topic a month ago, but those wanting to move the matter forward are increasingly going public with their ideas. Months after the idea of directly using Russian assets was shot down in Brussels, Sweden led a new push on Aug. 27 to reopen the question as a way to deliver new support to Ukraine without hurting EU taxpayers and voters.

The shelters will initially be installed at stations in densely populated areas and near major roads and will be available to anyone nearby, Ukrnafta CEO Bohdan Kukura said.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation (UCF) issued a protest on Sept. 28 after Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Presidential Office, accepted the title of vice president at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) alongside a former Russian minister.

The Ukrainian judicial watchdog Dejure argued in June that "rather than improving the integrity declaration system, (the integrity declarations law) effectively dismantles integrity declarations as a meaningful tool for holding judges accountable."

Ukraine’s defense technology industry has moved fast to meet battlefield demands, but it rests on a fragile foundation as it depends on foreign suppliers for essential components. Natalia Denikeieva, a deputy minister of digital transformation, says producing more of those components at home is a question of survival. "We are not technological and innovative because one day we woke up and decided to be," she told the Kyiv Independent in an interview in central Kyiv. "For us, it’s a matter of s

Visual identification of targets by pilots would not longer be required, Poland's Deputy Defense Minister said.

The Kyiv Independent community helped raise more than $24,000 through an online store collection launched to mark World Press Freedom Day, enabling the purchase of 26 drone detectors to help protect independent journalists reporting from Ukraine’s front lines.

Viktor Kytsyuk is one of the most high-profile judges accused of issuing unlawful rulings against protesters during the the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, or Revolution of Dignity, which ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.

In the city center, local media and Telegram channels reported a strike next to the main campus of Kyiv's Taras Shevchenko National University.

The sanctions list includes three judges from Russia's Supreme Court and an official from the country's Prosecutor General's Office, according to an EU press release.

A Ukrainian official told Kyiv Independent that Ukraine would agree to stop attacking Russian refineries, but only if Russia also agrees to an energy truce.

The projects aim to address the EU's shortfalls in key defense areas, namely air defense, maritime security, space, drone and counter-drone capabilities, and security along the EU's eastern flank.

The villages of Ridkodub, Nove, and Katerynivka were liberated amid newly-reported territorial gains of 51 square kilometers.

France's National Rally (RN) party and its allies secured a record 14 seats in France's 348-seat Senate, a result RN co-leader Marine Le Pen hailed as a "historic victory."

The number includes 2,090 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.

The priest recalled that Ukrainians came to the monastery following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022 and received support from local residents. He urged the community to continue showing that support.

Over central Kyiv, air defense systems were reported to be active, filling the city with sounds of blasts and explosions. Multiple attacks across the capital injured nine, said Klitschko. Six of the injured were hospitalized, including one child.

The journalists note that the actual number of deaths is likely significantly higher, as their verified information comes from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities.

President Zelensky said the long-range strikes hit several targets in Russia and the Black Sea.

"More critical facilities now have additional backup power, important infrastructure elements have greater protection, and we have accumulated more reserve equipment and spare parts while increasing the number of repair crews and machinery," he said.

The plant, located in the city of Azov, is part of Russia’s Tactical Missiles Corporation and produces opto-mechanical and optoelectronic equipment, as well as electronic systems for artillery, missile, and anti-tank weapons.

Key developments on Sept. 26-27: * Russian attacks kill 14, injure 57 across Ukraine, with Odesa Oblast targeted in 'mass strike' * Russia launches third consecutive attack on Kyiv, killing 1, injuring at least 4, setting off fires * Zelensky says over 10,000 Russian troops killed or wounded this week as Ukrainian military advances in Lyman sector * Ukrainian military delivers 4 tons of food to occupied Oleshky by drones, according to regional authorities * Russia plans to spend $12 billio

Resigning early, Vucic can now run as the Serbian Progressive Party's right-wing populist candidate for prime minister in the Oct. 25 elections.