News Feed

3:30 AM

FIFA removes suspension on under-17 Russian athletes competing in international football.

FIFA announced that under-17 athletes from Russia will now be able to participate in international football competitions under neutral colors.

1:59 AM

Germany to provide Ukraine additional defense gear to safeguard grain shipments.

Germany announced it will send additional air defense systems to Ukraine to protect its grain shipments from Russian attacks, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 4.

11:45 PM

Sumy mayor held in custody on corruption charges.

Sumy's mayor, Oleksandr Lysenko, was being held in custody with the possibility of posting an Hr 3,000,000 bail (about $82,000), Ukraine's High Anti-Corruption Court (HACC) announced on Facebook on Oct. 4.

11:30 PM

Bild: Scholz blocking delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine for the foreseeable future.

Germany will not send long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine due to Chancellor Olaf Scholz's fears that the move will draw Germany into the war, Bild reported on Oct. 4, citing unnamed German and Ukrainian sources as well as Scholz's previous comments.

11:15 PM

War update

Ukraine war latest: Kyiv says special forces conducted operation in occupied Crimea

10:02 PM

UN report officially rejects Russian claim that HIMARS caused Olenivka prison explosions.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) categorically dismissed Russia's claim that the Olenivka prison massacre was caused by a Ukrainian HIMARS rocket, according to a report released on Oct. 4.

9:47 PM

Ukraine develops 'invisibility cloak' to protect soldiers from thermal imagery.

Ukrainian developers are looking to bring science-fiction to life with an "invisibility cloak," a lightweight overcoat able to hide soldiers from Russian thermal imagery, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced on Oct. 4.

9:39 PM

US Central Command: confiscated Iranian munitions sent to Ukraine.

Over a million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition confiscated from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was transferred by the U.S. to Ukraine, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on Oct. 4.

9:05 PM

Culture

Two sisters capture the beauty of Ukraine’s villages before it’s gone

8:12 PM

Ombudsman: Russia to open military camp for youth in occupied Crimea.

Russia will open a new military-oriented camp for youth in Yevpatoria, occupied Crimea, where young people will be indoctrinated with Russian military ideology, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram on Oct. 4.

8:02 PM

Russian ammunition detonates in Kherson field, man seriously injured.

A man has been seriously injured after he came across ammunition left behind by Russian ammunition, which then exploded, Kherson Oblast Military Administration reported on Oct. 4. The 32-year-old man lost a limb, among other injuries, and was taken to hospital for treatment.

7:46 PM

Russian attack on Nikopol injures 1.

Nikopol was targeted by Russian artillery and an attack drone during the day, injuring one civilian, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Serhii Lysak reported on Oct. 4.

6:53 PM

Hungary issues more demands following suspension of OTP Bank from 'international sponsors of war' list.

Hungary "still needs guarantees," that the Hungarian OTP bank will not be reinstated to Ukraine's international sponsors of war list, Foreign Affairs Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Oct. 4.

6:41 PM

Should Ukraine be in NATO?

5:55 PM

Police announces discovery of fraud scheme selling non-existent cars for military.

Ukraine's National Police uncovered a criminal fraud network, in which individuals allegedly sold non-existent vehicles, including to soldiers and volunteers who planned to use them on the front, the service reported on Oct. 4.

5:34 PM

Bloomberg: Azerbaijani President cancels plans to attend peace talks with Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has canceled plans to attend peace talks on Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 4, citing local media.

4:05 PM

Military intelligence: Special forces land in Crimea in military operation.

Ukrainian special forces landed on Russian-occupied Crimea and conducted a combat operation, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) announced via a video published online on Oct. 4.

3:42 PM

Ambassador: Ukraine in dialogue with most US House Speaker candidates.

"Many names are already being actively discussed, such as Majority Leader (Steve) Scalise, who is next in the party's hierarchy after the speaker," Markarova wrote on social media.

3:02 PM

SBU detains 3 alleged Russian spies operating in Kharkiv, Zhytomyr oblasts.

At the instruction of their Russian handlers, the suspects allegedly collected information on Ukraine's Armed Forces and the consequences of Russian strikes in Kharkiv and Zhytomyr oblasts.

2:50 PM

Moldova to ban pro-Russian party members from running for election.

The Moldovan parliament is set to approve amendments to the election code that will ban members of the pro-Russian Shor party from participating in elections, the parliament's speaker Igor Grosu said on Oct. 4.

2:46 PM

Poll: Most Americans favor Ukraine aid, but partisan divide widens.

Most Americans continue to support for Ukraine's military (63%) and continued economic assistance (61%), which is slightly lower than a year ago.

1:51 PM

Ukraine completes investigation into killing of EuroMaidan protesters, indicts Yanukovych for murder.

The investigation into the killing of EuroMaidan protesters in Kyiv in February 2014 has been completed and former President Viktor Yanukovych has been formally charged with a range of crimes including murder, the General Prosecutor's Office announced on Oct. 4.

1:38 PM

Media: SBU drones hit Russian S-400 air defense system near Belgorod.

The strike was reportedly carried out at night. In videos on Russian Telegram channels, allegedly taken in Belgorod and published in the early hours of Oct. 4, the sounds of explosions can be heard over the city.

12:39 PM

Venice bus crash kills 21 people, including at least 4 Ukrainians.

A bus crash in Italy on Tuesday killed at least four Ukrainians, local media reported on Oct. 4. In total, 21 people on board were killed, the local authorities said.

11:27 AM

Politico: EU to announce Ukraine membership talks in December.

According to Politico, the EU's executive arm will publish its "progress report" in November and will make it "very hard for member states not to say let's open negotiations" for Ukraine.

MORE NEWS

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Ukrainian forces push forward near Melitopol

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Zelensky introduces new Defense Minister Umerov, names key tasks

by Martin Fornusek September 7, 2023 2:39 PM 2 min read

Rustem Umerov with President Volodymyr Zelensky in Saudi Arabia in May 2023 (Rustem Umerov / Twitter)

This audio is created with AI assistance

President Volodymyr Zelensky for the first time on Sept. 7 introduced the newly-appointed Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to the ministry's leadership.

The key five priorities that the president assigned to the new defense chief include strengthening the central role of the ministry in the defense sector, putting soldiers as the foremost value, expanding international partnerships, curbing corruption, namely through digitalization, and reforming the military to NATO standards.

"The Ukrainian soldier is a key priority of the defense forces," Zelensky said. "A new philosophy of values toward Ukrainian soldiers is needed: people are not consumables."

The president stressed that bureaucratic procedures that take up too much of the soldiers' time and energy must be either simplified or removed. These efforts should also include digitalization of the bureaucratic structure.

Zelensky added that the Ukrainian military must leverage its vast experience with defense against Russian aggression to improve the training of soldiers in medical skills and combat support.

The president added that the defense minister's decisions must inspire trust and confidence. In particular, Zelensky named procurement of military supplies and intra-departmental communication in the military and the Defense Ministry as the key issues that should be addressed.

The president voiced confidence that Umerov was the right person for the task. The minister thanked Zelensky for his trust and said that Ukraine would liberate every centimeter of the occupied territory.

Umerov, the former head of the State Property Fund, replaced Oleksii Reznikov as a defense minister after the latter resigned earlier this week due to two major procurement corruption scandals.

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.

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