Ukraine Daily

Monday, October 3

Russia’s war against Ukraine

KHARKIV, UKRAINE - OCTOBER 02: Tetiana cries as she prays during a Sunday afternoon service at the Pokrovsky cathedral on October 2, 2022 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have reclaimed villages east and south of Kharkiv, as Russian forces have withdrawn from areas they’ve occupied since early in the war. (Photo by Paula Bronstein/Getty Images)

Governor: Russian forces strike Zaporizhzhia, damage infrastructure. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh reported that Russian forces used nearly a dozen S-300 missiles, targeting the city and two villages in the region early on Oct. 3. According to Starukh, some infrastructure was damaged in Zaporizhzhia, including a rehab center for children with special needs. One person is in the hospital following the attack.

Prime Minister: 900 Ukrainian teachers have joined Ukraine’s Armed Forces to fight Russia’s aggression since Feb. 24. Speaking during the annual Global Teacher Prize ceremony, Denys Smyhal said that “this is a great example of serving your people.”

Stoltenberg: Ukraine’s success in Lyman shows its ability to push back Russian forces. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the recapture of the town in Donetsk Oblast shows that the Ukrainians are making progress due to their “courage, bravery, and skills,” as well as the advanced weapons provided by the U.S. and other allies.

ISW: Russian information space fundamentally changes after defeat in Kharkiv Oblast, Lyman. The Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment that Russia’s loss of Donetsk Oblast’s Lyman, combined with the Kremlin’s failure to conduct partial mobilization effectively is “fundamentally changing the Russian information space.” Experts stress that the Kremlin-sponsored media and Russian military bloggers are criticizing the bureaucratic failures of the partial mobilization and attributing the defeat around Lyman and Kharkiv Oblast to Russian military failures to properly supply and reinforce Russian forces in northern Donbas.

Pope Francis appeals to Putin to stop ‘spiral of violence and death.’ Pope Francis called for an immediate ceasefire and a diplomatic solution to Russia’s war in Ukraine “in the name of God and of the sense of humanity that dwells in every heart,” he said on Twitter on Oct. 2. Pope condemned the “grave situation” that has manifested recently, which is “contrary to the principles of international law,” and warned of the “uncontrollable and catastrophic (international) consequences” of nuclear escalation.

UK intelligence: Public criticism to increase in Russia if Ukraine liberates more territory. The U.K. Defense Ministry said that Russian forces likely experienced heavy casualties when they withdrew from the town of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast on Oct. 1. The ministry said that the withdrawal led to “a further wave of public criticism of Russia’s military leadership by senior officials,” and further loss of its captured territory will “almost certainly” lead to intensified criticism.

Zelensky: Ukrainian counteroffensive success is not limited to Lyman. In his evening address on Oct. 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian Armed Forces have liberated two more settlements in Kherson Oblast adding to the growing list of territories liberated by Ukrainian soldiers. Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine’s counteroffensive success is not limited to Lyman, a city Russian forces have used as a supply hub to launch attacks in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast since it was captured in May.

Ukraine liberates Torske village in Donetsk Oblast. According to Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces, the Ukrainian troops recaptured the settlement on Oct. 2. Torske is located about 15 kilometers east of the earlier liberated strategic town of Lyman.

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Zaporizhzhia engulfed by terror as recent Russian strike takes 31 lives. Early in the morning on Sept. 30, 16 missiles were fired at Zaporizhzhia, regional capital of the southern Ukrainian Zaporizhzhia Oblast with a prewar population of 710,000.

Photo: Wojciech Grzedzinski for The Washington Post via Getty Images

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Ukraine war latest: Ukraine’s counteroffensive continues after Russian defeat in Lyman. Ukraine’s counteroffensive continued on Oct. 2, a day after Russian forces withdrew from the key eastern railway hub of Lyman in a humiliating military defeat. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine has established full control over Lyman, a city Russian forces have used as a supply hub to launch attacks in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast.

Photo: Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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The human cost of Russia’s war

Update: Death toll of Russian strike on Zaporizhzhia Oblast rises to 31. Zaporizhzhia Oblast Governor Oleksandr Starukh reported that another victim had died after a missile hit a humanitarian convoy in Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Sept. 30. National Police Chief Ihor Klymenko said on Oct. 1 that the attack had wounded 92 people.

Police: Bodies of 5 civilians who tried to flee Russian occupation found in Kharkiv Oblast. Serhiy Bolvinov, head of the Kharkiv Oblast police investigation department, said that the people were trying to escape the then-occupied city of Kupiansk in May when they hit a Russian landmine in the nearby village of Vasylenkove. Among the killed were four men, aged 18, 19, 20, and 41, as well as a 50-year-old woman.

Governor: Mine explosion kills 1 telecommunication worker, injures 3. A vehicle carrying four employees of telecommunications firm Ukrtelecom was blown up by a landmine near the town of Okhtyrka in Sumy Oblast, and the injured were hospitalized after the incident, Sumy Oblast Governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi reported on Oct. 2.

Russian attacks kill 2, wound 7 in Mykolaiv. Mykolaiv Oblast Governor Vitaliy Kim reported on Oct. 2 that Russian S-300 surface-to-air missiles had struck a hospital’s territory and an area near two high-rise residential buildings overnight. Russian forces also shelled a village near Mykolaiv, killing two people, according to the official.

International response

US Senator fears Russia may hit weapon supply center in Poland. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN that if Vladimir Putin decides he can lose the war because of the Western weapon supplies to Ukraine, the Russian dictator could strike at the logistic centers “where these supplies are coming through, including inside Poland.”

Macron vows that France will help Ukraine restore its territorial integrity. In a phone call with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Oct. 2, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Russia’s recent illegal annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts and said France would help Ukraine restore “full sovereignty and territorial integrity.” The country will also keep working with “European partners on new sanctions“ against Russia, the Elysee Palace said.

US defense secretary says he warned Russia not to use nukes. U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in an interview with CNN that he had privately conveyed to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu not to “go down this path and conduct this type of irresponsible behavior.” “I don’t see anything right now that would lead me to believe that (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin) has made such a decision,” Austin said. However, he added that Putin had made irresponsible decisions in the past, such as invading Ukraine.

Three European nations to finance production of 16 Slovak howitzers for Ukraine. Denmark, Norway, and Germany have committed $90 million to finance the production of Slovak Zuzana 2 self-propelled howitzers, Ukrainian newspaper Yevropeiska Pravda reported.

Nine countries make statement in favor of Ukraine joining NATO. The nine countries include: Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Slovakia. “All those who commit crimes of aggression must be held accountable and brought to justice,” the joint statement reads. President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sept. 30 that Ukraine would file an application to join NATO.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Asami Terajima, Toma Istomina, Natalia Datskevych, Brad LaFoy, Olena Goncharova, and Lucy Minicozzi-Wheeland.

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