Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Kyiv, October 3, 2024 (AP)
Wednesday’s Coverage: Russia Murders 17+, Injures 44 In and Near Kyiv
UPDATE 0734 GMT:
The Swedish Supreme Court has upheld the seizure and transfer of a Russian shadow fleet vessel to Ukraine.
The cargo vessel Caffa, detained by Swedish authorities in the Baltic Sea in March, was allegedly transporting grain stolen from Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine. In June, a Swedish court ruled that the seizure was lawful.
Ukraine Prime Minister Andrii Sybiha hailed “a landmark decision”, the first time a foreign court has ordered the handover of a Russian ship linked to stolen Ukrainian grain.
UPDATE 0727 GMT:
The High Anti-Corruption Court has set bail at Hr 6 million ($130,000) for Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine’s recently-dismissed Ambassador to the US, on charges of illicit enrichment.
Stefishnyna was removed by President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday.
The prosecutor said on Wednesday that she failed to declare two apartments; cash spent on renovations; her mother’s medical treatment; airline tickets, and the rental of another apartment.
The total value of the assets was Hr 13.9 million ($310,000), the prosecutor claimed.
They also cited assets acquired by other individuals on Stefanishyna’s instructions, and said she interfered with the selection of the head of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention in 2024.
Stefanishyna said, “The burden of proving allegations lies with those who make them. As for me, I will do what I must: calmly and lawfully defend my position. I have no doubt about the outcome.”
UPDATE 0723 GMT:
Ukrainian authorities have ordered the evacuation of 525 children and their guardians from the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces, within 20 km (12.5 miles) of the city’s eastern edge, have been attacking for months.
UPDATE 0714 GMT:
The head of the leading Russian drone manufacturer Uraldronzavod has been critically injured in a car bombing.
Vladimir Tkachuk was targeted by a bomb planted beneath his Mercedes, killing his bodyguard.
Uraldronzavod is one of several private drone manufacturers that launched after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The company produces the Upyr (Ghoul), a low-cost first-person-view (FPV) kamikaze drone manufactured with 3D-printing technology.
Uraldronzavod and Tkachuk have been sanctioned by Western governments.
UPDATE 0709 GMT:
Ukraine’s drones struck Russia’s recently-repaired Slavneft-Yanos oil refinery for the second consecutive night.
The refinery, in the Yaroslavl region more than 700 km (435 miles) from the border, was again set on fire. It produces around 15 million tons of oil annually.
The Saratov refinery, one of Russia’s largest, stopped processing crude oil on Sunday, say two industry sources. Ukrainian drones damaged and shut down the refinery’s CDU-6 crude distillation unit. Repair could take between two and three weeks.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Amid deadly Russian ballistic missile attacks across Ukraine, particularly on and near the capital Kyiv, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte has said the bloc is working to arrange the air defenses which the country “urgently needs”.
On Wednesday, 17 civilians were murdered and 44 injured when Russian fired 24 ballistic missiles on Kyiv and the region. None of them were downed.
Posting after a National Security and Defense Council meeting, Zelensky said supplies of air defense missiles fell by 2/3rds in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2025.
The President asserted, “Our partners do have the missiles,” and pondered that the stagnation of supplies might be “aimed at making Ukraine, so to speak, more willing to compromise” in talks to end Russia’s invasion. He added after the conversation with Rutte:
It is important to cut through all red tape and make the necessary political decisions. Literally every day, people’s lives here in Ukraine depend on the resolve of our partners in Europe and the United States.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an advisor to Zelensky on defense technology, estimated that Russia is capable of launching 100 ballistic missiles every month, targeting logistic hubs, industrial facilities, food stores and warehouses. “The war of attrition has entered its next phase,” he said.
US-made Patriot missile systems are the only ones that can intercept the Russian Iskander-M, S-400, and Zircon missiles.
The Trump Administration cut off the supply to Kyiv. In theory, they could be provided via sales to NATO members transferring them to Ukraine, but the US has expended much of its stock in its war on Iran.
After a meeting with Zelensky at a NATO summit last month, Donald Trump authorized US licenses for joint production of Patriots. However, he told reporters last week that he had not made a final decision.
Officials and experts estimate that starting production in Ukraine will take years.
Despite Trump’s hesitancy, sources say “no order was given to halt the discussions”, and talks are continuing with US arms makers and military officials. Lockheed Martin is pursuing a new, lower-cost Patriot interceptor, the PAC-3 Adapted Capability Effector (ACE) missile.
