Ukraine troops near the frontline in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, October 30, 2024

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: Kyiv Tries to Cut Off Russian-Occupied Crimea

EA-Ukraine VideoCast: How Zelensky Rattled Putin’s Cage

Friday’s Coverage: Kyiv — “We Will Isolate Crimea In The Near Future”

UPDATE 0632 GMT:

BBC Russian and Russian independent media outlet Mediazona have confirmed the identities of 225,019 Russian military personnel killed during Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The names of 3,813 Russian soldiers have been added since the last update in late May.

Among the slain are 7,226 officers.

The verified information comes from public sources such as obituaries, posts by relatives, regional media reports, and statements from local authorities. The outlets notes that the actual Russian toll is significantly higher.

The head of the UK’s electrnic intelligence agency GCHQ, Anne Keast-Butler, said on May 27 that almost 500,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during the invasion.

Ukraine’s General Staff says 1,380,120 Russian soldiers have been killed or seriously wounded.

UPDATE 0628 GMT:

Vladimir Putin has acknowledged the escalating toll from Ukraine’s long-range strikes inside Russia.

“Their goal is to create a split in Russian society, sow confusion and inflict economic damage,” Putin told soldiers in a meeting at the Kremlin on Friday.

Putin inisted that “everything is quickly restored” and “they will not succeed”.

UPDATE 0623 GMT:

Ambassadors of the European Union’s 27 countries agreed on Friday to advance membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova.

The first phase of negotiations will begin Monday.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky posted:

I thank all our partners in the EU and every leader personally for this strong step for the sake of Europe….The opening of the first cluster is significant political and moral support for our state and our people.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Facing Russia’s superiority in manpower for its 51 1/2-month full-scale invasion, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced an increase in wages for the military.

In his nightly address to the nation, the President also mandated that “significantly more opportunities be opened for foreign volunteers to join the Ukrainian Army”.

The Government launched a review last month of measures to boost military personnel. The steps were confirmed in Zelensky’s meeting with Ministers on Friday. He said, “We agreed on how to increase the financial resilience of our defense and further transformation of the Ukrainian army.”

The new minimum wage, with an increase of at least 33% and much higher payments for frontline service, will be started this month. “Clear conditions”, including temporary discharge, will be set out in contracts of 10, 14, and 24 months. There will be “more opportunities to advance within the Army”.

With the EU finally approving a €90 billion ($104 billion) loan earlier this year, the Government has increased defence spending to a record 4.4 trillion hryvnias ($97 billion) in 2026.

Around 10,000 foreign volunteers from more than 70 countries have joined the Ukrainian army during Russia’s invasion.