Sunday, October 1

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian members of the sniper team “Ghosts of Bakhmut” prepare for their front-line mission, in an undisclosed location near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on September 25, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by ROMAN PILIPEY/AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky meets with Slovak defense minister. President Volodymyr Zelensky and Slovak Defense Minister Martin Sklenar discussed cooperation with Slovakia regarding the Ukrainian military’s needs, the situation at the front line, and de-mining.

Media: Russian soldier working with intelligence defects to Ukrainian forces. The soldier, Daniil Alfyorov, had been working with Ukrainian intelligence since July and had successfully convinced 11 other Russian soldiers to defect to the Ukrainian side, Andriy Yusov, a HUR spokesman, said.

Special forces extract two soldiers who had been in occupied land since start of invasion. The Navy’s intelligence arm informed about the two Ukrainians who had been in occupied territory since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. The two operators had engaged in combat against the Russian forces and were too seriously injured to slip out alone. Local residents were concealing them, according to the Navy.  

Borrell makes unannounced visit to Odesa. “Odesa is a beautiful historic city. It should be in the headlines for its vibrant culture (and) spirit,” Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter. “Instead, it marks the news as a frequent target of Putin’s war.”

Dozens of international firms join Kyiv’s new defense industry alliance. Among other capabilities, the alliance will eventually pave the way for Ukraine to localize production of licensed foreign weapons on Ukrainian soil, said Andriy Yermak, head of the president’s office. During his recent visit to Washington, Zelensky and U.S. President Joe Biden agreed to have their teams hammer out a roadmap for this kind of localization.

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Kuleba: African countries interested in hosting Ukrainian defense plants on their soil. Plagued by weapons and ammunition shortages, Ukraine cannot export anything defense-related at this time but is looking to return to being one of the world’s leading armorers. The production of Ukrainian weapons on African soil is seen as an alternative to currently impossible exports, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

Medvedev threatens Russia will seize more Ukrainian regions. In a Telegram message commemorating one year since Russia’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, Russia’s former president Dmitry Medvedev said “there will be more new regions within Russia.”

Foreign Ministry: Belarus to showcase abducted Ukrainian children at meeting with foreign diplomats. Belarus is planning to organize a visit for foreign representatives at locations where Ukrainian children taken from regions temporarily occupied by Russia are kept, the Foreign Ministry said on Sept. 30.

Explosions reported in Kharkiv, Mykolaiv oblasts. At least four explosions were heard in Kharkiv, city Mayor Ihor Terekhov said via his official Telegram channel in the early hours of Oct. 1. Two explosions were also reported in the city of Snihurivka in Mykolaiv Oblast, according to regional authorities.

This Week in Ukraine Ep. 27 — How Ukraine is destroying Russian military in Crimea

Human cost of war

Zaporizhzhia missile strike injures 5, damages infrastructure. Five people were injured on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia as the result of a Russian missile attack that also damaged five homes and a unit of infrastructure on Sept. 30, according to the regional military administration.

International response

US House of Representatives passes funding bill to avoid government shutdown. NBC News reported on Sept. 30 that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan funding bill to avoid a government shutdown but that the deal currently lacks additional defense aid for Ukraine.

Senators issue joint statement confirming Ukraine support. Following a passage of a bill to avoid a government shutdown, top U.S. Senate leaders issued a rare bipartisan statement affirming their commitment to Ukraine. They expect the Senate will work “to ensure the U.S. government continues to provide critical and sustained security and economic support for Ukraine.”

Bulgaria bans Ukrainian sunflower imports until November. Bulgaria has banned the import of Ukrainian sunflowers until the end of November after a meeting between both countries’ agriculture ministers, Bulgaria’s Agriculture Ministry said on Sept. 29.

Romania investigates another possible airspace violation by Russia. The ministry reported that, as Russia attacked Ukraine’s ports on the Danube River, air raid sirens were activated in the nearby Romanian cities of Tulcea and Galati as radar systems detected an unauthorised object heading towards the latter in Romania’s airspace.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Igor Kossov, Teah Pelechaty,

Nate Ostiller, Oleksiy Sorokin, Kate Tsurkan, Olena Goncharova, and Brad LaFoy.

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