Wednesday, October 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

A volunteer veterinarian poses with a cat in the front-line village of Tavriiske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Oct. 3, 2023. A group of Ukrainian volunteer veterinarians from Kyiv traveled to the front lines to treat local animals. (Photo by Libkos/Getty Images)

Media: UK Minister says Ukraine has practically defeated Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine’s recent attacks on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have led to the “functional defeat” of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, U.K. Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said at the Warsaw Security Conference on Oct. 3, according to Ukrainska Pravda.

Belarusian military to check its combat readiness. The Belarusian military will conduct exercises in order to check its readiness for combat, the Belarusian Defense Ministry’s press service announced on Oct. 3.

Bloomberg: US military ‘ready to deliver’ cluster-armed ATACMS. The U.S. military is ready to send Ukraine some of its long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) armed with cluster munitions once U.S. President Joe Biden approves the transfer, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 3, citing the U.S. military’s chief weapons buyer.

Ukraine to procure 100 high-voltage transformers to prepare for Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Due to previous strikes on Ukrainian factories, many of the transformers will need to be purchased from abroad. In order to protect them from Russian attempts to destroy them in the future, the foreign-made transformers will be stored in Poland or Romania until they are needed.

Ukraine adds Chinese oil, gas companies to ‘international sponsors of war’ list. Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has added the three largest Chinese oil and gas companies to its “international sponsors of war” list, the agency’s press service announced on Oct. 3.

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Minister: Agricultural cargo to be checked in Lithuania to speed up grain exports. Ukrainian agricultural cargo headed for the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda will be checked directly at the port, instead of at the border with Poland, Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi said on Oct. 3.

Russia claims Ukrainian Neptune missile destroyed over occupied Crimea. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed its forces shot down a Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missile near the Crimean coast late on Oct. 3. Kyiv hasn’t commented on the allegation.

BBC: Burger King still ‘open as usual’ in Russia. Burger King “remains open as usual in Russia,” despite the fast food chain claiming at the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that it would exit the country, the BBC reported on Oct. 3.

Russian finance minister: Ukraine war is Moscow’s main budget priority. The main priority for Russia’s budget for the next three years is strengthening the country’s military and “supporting participants” of its war against Ukraine, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Oct. 3, as cited by Forbes Russia.

Russia’s Investigative Committee charges top Ukrainian military officials with ‘terrorism.’ Four top representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were charged with committing “terrorist acts on Russian territory,” Russia’s Investigative Committee announced on Oct. 3.

Read our exclusives

Ukraine war latest: Zelensky meets soldiers fighting on Kupiansk-Lyman axis

President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke to commanders about the operational situation on the battlefield, the progress of offensive and defensive operations, and the current issues faced by units.

Photo: President’s Office

Investigative Stories from Ukraine: Russian drone downed by Ukraine is full of Western components

A Russian Ptero reconnaissance drone recently downed by Ukrainian forces contained parts manufactured in the U.S., Japan, and Germany, a Ukrainian investigative journalism team found.

Photo: Trap Aggressor/State Watch

Opinions and insights

ISW: Weakness is lethal. Why Putin invaded Ukraine and how the war must end

“Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t invade Ukraine in 2022 because he feared NATO. He invaded because he believed that NATO was weak, that his efforts to regain control of Ukraine by other means had failed, and that installing a pro-Russian government in Kyiv would be safe and easy,” write ISW analysts Nataliya Bugayova, Frederick W. Kagan, and Kateryna Stepanenko.

Photo: Mikhail Metzel/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Governor: Russian air strike on Kherson Oblast village kills 1, injures 7. Russian forces launched an air strike on Antonivka, a northeastern suburb of Kherson, killing one person and wounding another seven, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Oct. 3.

Prosecutors: Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast injure 4. Russian attacks against Avdiivka and Illinivka in Donetsk Oblast wounded four civilians on Oct. 3, the regional prosecutor’s office reported.

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.

International response

The Telegraph: UK military aid stocks ‘running out’. The U.K. is running out of military equipment to send to Ukraine, the Telegraph reported on Oct. 2, citing information from a senior military chief.

Biden, world leaders coordinate military support for Ukraine. The participants discussed strategies for supplying the Ukrainian military with ammunition and weapons, bolstering Ukraine’s air defenses, and fortifying energy infrastracture ahead of the winter months.

Bloomberg: Hungary wants to cut EU funding to Ukraine in half. The proposal adds weight to fears that international support for Ukraine could be waning following U.S. lawmakers’ decision to remove aid for Ukraine from a government spending bill passed on Sept. 30.

Charles Michel: Ukraine could join EU by 2030. “Ukraine may indeed become a member of the EU in 2030 if both sides do their homework,“ European Council President Charles Michel said.

Armenian parliament ratifies ICC’s Rome Statute, following shattered relationship with Russia. The Armenian parliament voted in favor of ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Oct. 3. If signed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Armenian authorities will be obliged to arrest Russian dictator Vladimir Putin if he sets foot in the country.

In other news

Kyiv Independent journalist wins Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism. Kyiv Independent journalist Asami Terajima was announced as one of the winners of the 2023 Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism, the Thomson Reuters Foundation announced on Oct. 3.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Toma Istomina, Elsa Court, Lili Bivings, Nate Ostiller, Teah Pelechaty, Dinara Khalilova, and Abbey Fenbert.

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