News Feed

11:41 AM

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.

12:09 AM

Energy

With winter approaching, is Ukraine's energy system ready for renewed Russian attacks?

11:35 PM

Denmark allocates $14 million to purchase ammunition for Ukraine.

"The Ukrainians are still in a situation where they are acutely short of artillery ammunition… Denmark will contribute to more joint purchases of ammunition and remains prepared to support Ukraine in the long run," Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said.

11:13 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Oct. 1 strikes on Russian plant disrupted missile manufacturing, military intelligence says

10:46 PM

SBU: Sumy officials arrested for taking $58,000 bribe.

The mayor of Sumy and chief of the city council’s infrastructure department were arrested when receiving the last tranche of a Hr 2.13 million ($58,000) bribe, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) reported on Oct. 2.

10:14 PM

Kuleba: EU reaches consensus on Ukraine's membership bid.

The European Union has reached a consensus regarding Ukraine's membership in the bloc, which is "only a matter of time," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Oct. 2, as reported by European Pravda.

10:02 PM

High Anti-Corruption Court provides first monetary award to whistleblower.

Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) announced on Oct. 2 that it had ruled to pay Hr 13.3 million (about $360,000) to a whistleblower in the case of a $6 million bribe attempted by a former first deputy head of the Kyiv tax service back in 2020.

8:46 PM

Politico: White House more worried about corruption in Ukraine than it publicly admits.

U.S. President Joe Biden's administration prepared a confidential strategy document that sees corruption in Ukraine as the real threat, allegedly warning that Western support may depend on Kyiv's anti-graft efforts, Politico reported on Oct. 2.

8:37 PM

DTEK: Russian strikes damage warehouses in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Russian forces attacked warehouses of Ukraine's largest private energy company DTEK in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on Oct. 2, causing damage to cables, transformers, and other electrical equipment, the company said on the Telegram messaging app.

7:49 PM

Podolyak: Elon Musk's irony encourages Russian propaganda.

Elon Musk shared an insulting doctored meme of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Twitter on Oct. 2, insinuating that Zelensky asks for too much aid for Ukraine.

7:38 PM

Ukraine receives first set of refurbished Leopard tanks from Poland.

The first package of Leopard 2 tanks has been to Ukraine after being repaired in Poland from battlefield damage, the Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) announced on Twitter on Oct. 2.

6:51 PM

Prosecutor General's Office: 504 Ukrainian children killed during Russia's full-scale invasion, more than 1,100 injured.

The Prosecutor General's office reported on Oct. 2 that 504 Ukrainian children have been officially documented as killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion last year.

MORE NEWS

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

CNN: Military source says Ukraine 'likely' behind strike on Wagner forces in Sudan

watch us on facebook

News Feed

Edit post

White House on Prigozhin: Kremlin has 'long history of killing its opponents'

by Martin Fornusek August 29, 2023 10:58 PM 2 min read

Screenshot of Wagner mercenary group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claiming to be on the African continent in a video published to the "Razgruzka Vagnera" Telegram channel linked to the mercenary group on Aug. 21, 2023. (Telegram)

This audio is created with AI assistance

White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre implied during a press briefing on Aug. 29 that the Kremlin was behind the death of Wagner Group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, but stopped short of saying so explicitly.

Responding to a question about whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the plane crash that had killed Prigozhin and other top Wagner commanders last week, the spokesperson quoted U.S. President Joe Biden by saying that "not much happens in Russia that Putin is not behind."

"We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing its opponents," she noted, adding that Prigozhin's death is a result of Russia's internal dysfunction.

However, Jean-Pierre emphasized that the conclusions about the warlord's death are evident and provided no new official assessments on the matter.

Russia's Investigative Committee officially confirmed that Prigozhin was among the 10 victims of the fatal private jet crash in Russia's Tver Oblast on Aug. 23. The warlord's funeral took place today on Aug. 29 without Putin's attendance.

Following mounting tensions between Prigozhin and Russia's Defense Ministry, the Wagner Group launched a short-lived rebellion against the Kremlin in June, taking the city of Rostov and marching toward Moscow before abruptly ending the insurrection less than 24 hours after it began.

Prigozhin was allowed to walk free following an undisclosed deal allegedly brokered by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko.

While the reasons for the crash of Prigozhin's aircraft remain unclear, U.S. officials named a bomb onboard or "some other form of sabotage" as a likely cause of the incident. Biden commented for CNN simply that the news of the oligarch's death is not surprising.

According to experts from the Institute for the Study of War, Wagner's boss was "almost certainly" assassinated by the Kremlin as the Russian authorities aimed to "weaken, subsume, and destroy the organization."

Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press. He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukraïner. Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

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.