Shoppers pay at the cash registers in a Zara store, that belongs to the Spanish Inditex group, during brand store reopening in the Respublika Park shopping mall on April 3, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Spanish multinational clothing company suspended its operations in Ukraine. (Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
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Zara, Bershka, Pull&Bear, and other foreign brands reopened some of their stores in Kyiv on April 3.
Shoppers wait in line for fitting rooms in a Zara store, that belongs to the Spanish Inditex group, during brand store reopening in the Respublika Park shopping mall on April 3, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Spanish multinational clothing company suspended its operations in Ukraine. (Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry confirmed in March that Inditex, a Spanish-owned multinational company that owns Zara and other brands, would gradually resume operations in Ukraine.
Approximately 20 physical stores will reopen in Kyiv.
Many foreign brands suspended their business in Ukraine following the outbreak of the full-scale war in 2022.
Yellow and blue shirts hang on hangers on a rack in a Zara store, that belongs to the Spanish Inditex group, during brand store reopening in the Respublika Park shopping mall on April 3, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the Spanish multinational clothing company suspended its operations in Ukraine. (Yurii Stefanyak/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
McDonald's, H&M, the Danish jeweler Pandora, and French cosmetics company Yves Rocher are among some of the major foreign retailers that have reopened in Ukraine since then.
The foreign ministry said in a statement in March that it would continue to work on restoring international business in Ukraine, bringing in new companies in order to "deepen the country's integration into the global economy."
"They just overpowered us," an officer in the 72nd Mechanized Brigade, one of the units defending Vuhledar, told The Washington Post. The officer said Russia's access to Starlink was a key factor in the loss of the city.
The U.K. pledged to provide additional long-range weapons, artillery systems, and robotic systems, while French President Emmanuel Macron discussed the possibility of opening a training center for drone operators in France, according to the announcement.
Biden was supposed to convene a leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany on Oct. 12, where President Volodymyr Zelensky was expected to present his victory plan. However, he put off his visit in order to oversee the emergency response to Hurricane Milton.
The Kyiv Independent’s Anna Belokur explains the top stories of the week, from the postponement of the Ramstein summit to the two-month anniversary of Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk Oblast.
"The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and an international crime. A criminal case has been opened over the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder," Kostin posted on X.
Russia has lost 668,930 troops since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 13.
Russia also attacked Ukraine with two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and two Kh-59 cruise missiles, the Air Force said. The missiles targeted Chernihiv, Sumy, Poltava, and Odesa oblasts.
Through open-source research, Mediazona, a Russian independent media outlet, together with BBC Russia, confirmed the names of 72,899 Russian soldiers who had been killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will publicly unveil his "victory plan" to Ukrainians in "a matter of days," Presidential Office advisor Mykhailo Podolyak said on Oct. 12.
Ukraine is working with France to establish new joint defense production facilities, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Oct. 12.
The Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary "He Came Back," which uncovers sexual crimes committed during the Russian occupation of Kyiv and Kherson oblasts in early 2022, won the Best Film award at the Press Play Prague film festival on Oct. 12.
Iran has delivered two domestically manufactured satellites to Russia for an upcoming launch, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Oct. 12. This marks the latest instance of space collaboration between the two nations, both of which are under U.S. sanctions.
Dusan Bajatovic, CEO of the Serbian state-owned company Srbijagas, came to an agreement with Alexey Miller, CEO of Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom, and expects Russian gas supplies to reach 400 million cubic meters this winter.
Ukrainian troops in cooperation with the intelligence service (HUR) struck a depot containing oil and petroleum products used by the Russian military near the town of Rovenky, Luhansk Oblast.
Russia carried out mass attacks across Ukraine’s southern and eastern regions killing at least three civilians and wounding 14 in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian officials reported on Oct. 12.
Russia has lost 667,630 troops since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces reported on Oct. 12.
Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that a key priority of Poland's EU presidency in early 2025 will be the European integration of Ukraine and maintaining an "open door to Europe" policy for new members.
A proposed reform of the European Peace Facility (EPF) would make financial contributions voluntary, aiming to bypass Hungary's veto on military aid to Ukraine, which has caused a 6.5 billion euro ($7 billion) backlog.
"It's time to now craft a new strategy in terms of (the allies') specific positions," a senior U.S. official said. Defense ministers from NATO member nations will convene in Brussels Oct. 17-18 to discuss the matter.
Elsa Court
