Thursday, October 12

The Kyiv International Economic Forum, one of Eastern Europe’s largest international forums, is taking place in Kyiv on Oct. 12.

The forum brings together representatives of business, government, and society to discuss key economic issues and global trends.

The Kyiv Independent will cover the event as a media partner.

Russia’s war against Ukraine

President Volodymyr Zelensky at a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, ahead of the NATO Defense Ministers Council in Brussels on Oct. 11, 2023. (Olivier Matthys / Pool / AFP via Getty Images)

Zelensky arrives at NATO headquarters in Brussels for talks on military aid to Ukraine. President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived at the NATO headquarters in Brussels on Oct. 11 for a meeting with the alliance’s defense ministers in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, the first time the Ukrainian president will participate in the format in person.

SBU identifies individuals responsible for assisting Russia with Hroza missile attack. Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) named two Ukrainian collaborators on Oct. 11 who allegedly worked with Russian forces to carry out the Oct. 5 attack on Hroza that killed 53.

Air Force: Ukraine downs 28 drones launched by Russia. Ukrainian forces shot down 28 of the 33 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported on Oct. 12.

Denmark expects to deliver F-16 jets to Ukraine in spring 2024. Denmark expects to deliver the first F-16s to Ukraine in the spring of 2024, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told the press in Brussels on Oct. 11. Speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers, Poulsen said that Denmark expects to be able to donate the aircraft “in March or April”.

SBU, police detain suspected saboteur for planting explosives at gas station in Kharkiv. According to the report, the suspected saboteur was caught while planting explosives at the gas station. The device was deactivated immediately after the suspect’s arrest, the SBU said.

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Ukrainian sugar will be allowed to enter Hungary after Budapest amends food ban. Hungary will import Ukrainian sugar again after amending its list of prohibited Ukrainian agricultural products, the Hungarian government said in a resolution on Oct. 9.

Poll: Military is Ukraine’s most trusted institution. Around 93% of Ukrainians have trust in the Armed Forces, making it the most trusted institution in the country, followed by volunteer armed units (85%) and other volunteer organizations (84%), according to a survey by the Razumkov Center published on Oct. 11.

Russia files complaint to UN aviation organization over sanctions. Russia’s Foreign Ministry officially filed a complaint with the U.N.’s International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Oct. 11, saying that some of its members were acting in a discriminatory fashion towards Russian aircraft.

Man arrested for selling abandoned Russian weaponry in Kherson Oblast.

A man has been arrested on suspicion of selling weapons, ammunition, and explosives left behind by the Russian army in Kherson Oblast, the region’s prosecutor’s office reported on Oct. 11.

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Western allies pledge F-16s, air defense, and ammunition on day 1 of NATO minister meeting

Speaking at a press conference at Brussels’ NATO headquarters, Stoltenberg applauded the 16th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group – a U.S. initiative involving more than 50 nations – in which he says world leaders “focused on Ukraine’s most urgent needs.”

Photo: Simon Wohlfahrt/AFP via Getty Images

Allies in discord: Roots of recent quarrel between Poland and Ukraine

Poland’s people and government hosted millions of Ukrainian refugees. At times, the relationship looked nigh-unbreakable, but a scandal over grain amplified by aggressive rhetoric exposed the rift between both countries.

Photo: Omar Marques / Getty Images

Literature community commemorates Ukrainian writer killed by Russian attack

A little over three months after a Russian missile strike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk killed writer Victoria Amelina, her colleagues and readers gathered at the 30th annual Lviv BookForum festival to honor her memory.

Photo: Screenshot from BookForum / YouTube

Ukraine war latest: NATO ministers meet to talk Ukraine aid; death toll of Hroza strike rises

The death toll of the Oct. 5 Russian missile strike against the village of Hroza in Kharkiv Oblast has risen to 55, Dmytro Chubenko, the spokesperson of the regional prosecutor’s office, said on Oct. 11, Ukrinform reported.

Photo: Alexander Khrebet/Kyiv Independent

That diamond ring? It may have helped pay for Russia’s war

Soon after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, luxury brands like Tiffany and Cartier announced they had stopped buying Russian diamonds. An investigation by the Kyiv Independent has found evidence to the contrary.

Illustration: Karolina Gulshani

Human cost of war

Russian attack on school in Nikopol kills 4. A Russian attack on a school in Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast killed four people, Governor Serhii Lysak reported on Oct. 11. The death toll from the afternoon rocket attack rose to four after rescuers found the body of a 67-year-old woman from under the rubble, Lysak said at around 7:45 p.m. local time.

Russian strike on Donetsk Oblast’s Avdiivka kills 1, injures 2. According to prosecutors, Russian forces launched the attack in the town in the morning, targeting the residential districts. An 85-year-old man was killed on the porch of his house, and a 44-year-old woman and a 69-year-old man were injured, the report said.

2 civilians killed by unexploded ordnance in Kharkiv Oblast. An unidentified explosive device killed two men in a field near the heavily mined village of Hrakove in Kharkiv Oblast on Oct. 11, Governor Oleh Syniehubov reported.

Foreign Ministry: 3 Ukrainians killed, 9 injured in Hamas attack on Israel. The number of Ukrainians killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel has risen to three, Oleh Nikolenko, the spokesperson of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, reported on Oct. 11.

Debris from drone kills 2, injures 2 in Belgorod Oblast, Russia claims. Shortly after midnight on Oct. 12, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported that Russian air defense shot down a drone en route to the city of Belgorod. Falling debris caused a fire to break out in a house, killing two and injuring two others.

International response

International donors pledge up to $530 million to Ukraine in demining assistance. Participants of the International Donor Conference on Humanitarian Demining in Ukraine pledged almost 500 million euros ($530 million) to Kyiv in demining assistance, the Croatian news agency HINA reported on Oct. 11, citing Croatia’s Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic.

Canada presents new aid package for Ukraine that includes munitions, winter equipment. The winter equipment, which will be funded from the $370 million tranche announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, includes boots, thermal layers, winter sleeping bags, and 2,000 female military uniforms.

Austin confirms new $200 million military aid package for Ukraine. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the delivery of a new $200 million package of military support for Ukraine on Oct. 11.

US provides $1.15 billion in grant funding to Ukraine. This is part of the fifth additional package provided under the program called Public Expenditures of Administrative Capacity Endurance (PEACE) in Ukraine, designed to support the country’s social and humanitarian expenditures.

Finland pledges $100 million in defense aid for Ukraine. As was the case with previous packages provided by Finland, details on the content and the mode of delivery are not disclosed for security reasons.

Belgium to provide Ukraine with F-16 jets from 2025. The minister did not specify the number of the planes Belgium intends to send but said that the transfer will depend on “the build-up of our new F-35 capabilities.”

Belgium creates $1.8 billion fund for Ukraine by taxing frozen Russian assets. Belgium has created a 1.7 billion euro ($1.8 billion) fund for Ukraine financed by the tax revenue from interest on frozen Russian assets, the country’s Prime Minister Alexander de Croo announced on Oct. 11.

Does Ukraine need NATO or does NATO need Ukraine?

In other news

Ukraine to start evacuating citizens from Israel. Ukraine is to start evacuating its citizens from Israel, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said on national television on Oct. 11.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Nate Ostiller, Francis Farrell, Asami Terajima, Martin Fornusek, Dominic Culverwell, Lili Bivings, Elsa Court, Abbey Fenbert, and Olena Goncharova.

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