Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives - a newsletter that contains author publications, interviews, exclusive comments, photos and videos.
Photo of the week
Honored Artist of Ukraine, fighter of the Third Assault Brigade Yevhen Avdeyenko performs during the theater military stand-up "Unborn for War", Uzhhorod, October 16, 2024.
Interview
Chargé d'Affaires ad interim of Poland in Ukraine Piotr Lukasiewicz
Since September 1, the Polish Embassy in Ukraine has been led by Piotr Lukasiewicz, 52, a Colonel in reserve. He remains a temporary chargé d'affaires ad interim as President Duda is yet to formally appoint him to the position of Ambassador. Nevertheless, it is Lukasiewicz, the former Ambassador of Poland to Afghanistan (2012-2014), who is deployed in Kyiv, performing all the relevant functions of the chief of the diplomatic representation.
Piotr Lukasiewicz chose to give Ukrinform his first interview to Ukrainian media since his arrival. The conversation turned out to be frank and elaborate enough. The diplomat did not avoid sharp questions, taking time to explain to the Ukrainian audience plenty of interesting nuances of bilateral relations, shedding light on Warsaw's vision of Ukraine's future in NATO and important steps required on the way to the EU. Undoubtedly, the focus was on countering Russian aggression and assistance from allies. It was also about Poland supporting Ukrainian veterans and his admiration for modern-day Heroes of Ukraine. The interview separately focused on painful issues of history, which Lukasiewicz believes may "haunt" Ukrainian-Polish relations until they are fully resolved.
Yuri Fedorenko, Achilles Strike UAV Battalion Commander
The guest for this interview with Ukrinform, which we hold as part of our Victory Commanders project, is Yuri Fedorenko, call sign Achilles, commander of the Achilles Strike UAV Battalion at the 92nd Hetman Ivan Sirko Independent Assault Brigade. From the first days of the all-out invasion, Yuri and his soldiers have been serving within a rifle unit of Territorial Defense Forces (TRO). They launched their first UAV into the air in May 2022, on the Kharkiv front, where their defensive positions were mercilessly shelled by day and night by the enemy.
An Armed Forces captain, Yuri Fedorenko was talking about plans to expand his unit into a regiment, about important and highly topical issues such as the remnants of Soviet legacy in the Ukrainian military, forced conscription for war, the military in politics. He also shared his thoughts on the significance of the Kursk offensive operation, what he will do after Ukraine’s victory, and whether one person can change the course of history.
Svitlana Hrynchuk, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine has inflicted some of the greatest damage on the environment of Ukraine. As of September 2024, over 6,000 environmental crimes have been recorded, and the damage is estimated at UAH 2.6–2.7 trillion. In an interview with Ukrinform, newly appointed Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, Svitlana Hrynchuk, discussed the prospects of the legal documentation of acts of Russian ecocide, the possibility of compensation for the destruction caused, and plans for ecosystem restoration. According to her, international partners fully support Ukraine in these matters.
Publication
Maintaining gas transit via Ukraine: What solutions Europe is looking for
The agreement on Russian gas transit through Ukraine, which was signed between Naftogaz of Ukraine NJSC and Gazprom PJSC, is expiring this year. Ukraine’s stand on this issue is defiant: there will be no new agreement with the aggressor state. This has been repeatedly emphasized by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Meanwhile, European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson pointed out that Europe would be able to live without Russian gas.
However, not all EU countries are ready to abandon gas transit via Ukraine. Hence, considering the realities, it is not about extending the contract with Russia, but about changing the transit flows. Ukrinform’s review offers an insight into how it will look and what Europe is leaning towards.
President Zelensky has set out his five-point Victory Plan to the the Verkhovna Rada, European Union leaders.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting rescheduled for some day in November
Ukraine Latest: Weekly Digest for October 14-20, 2024
Fact Checks
Russian fake about mass involvement of Polish citizens in work of territorial recruitment centers
Recently, pro-Kremlin's Telegram channels have started to circulate a video allegedly on behalf of the United24 fundraising platform. The video claims that by December 2024, 70% of the representatives of territorial centers of recruitment and social support will be Polish citizens. The video claims that, at present, 47% of the personnel at territorial recruitment centers are Polish citizens who have entered into a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The video claims that this initiative is supposedly a result of efforts to fight corruption during the mobilization activities in Ukraine and is aimed at improving the efficiency of territorial recruitment centers.
This is a fake. This video was not published on any of the official resources of the United24 platform. In addition, there have been no official statements from Ukrainian or Polish officials regarding the involvement of Polish citizens in the work of the territorial centers of recruitment and social support.
The video itself was created by propagandists using a variety of footage from the Internet, none of which was related to the "mass service of Poles" in the territorial recruitment centers. For instance, an image displaying the chevron of the Odesa Regional Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support was posted online at the end of last year.
Russian propaganda fakes Charlie Hebdo cover about Ukraine's Formula for Peace
Pro-Kremlin media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on social media platform X are spreading an allegedly new cover of the French satirical publication Charlie Hebdo. It features a cartoon-style depiction of the pacific international peace symbol, made up of the remains of a soldier in Ukrainian uniform, and the caption “Ukrainian Peace Formula.”
This cover is a fake - it is not available on the Charlie Hebdo website or on the magazine's social media accounts, which typically feature the first pages of new issues.
The fake cover indicates that the publication date is October 11 and the issue number is 1682. However, there was no new issue of Charlie Hebdo on that day.
In fact, the previous two copies were published on October 9 and 16 and had issue numbers 1681 and 1682, respectively. Both covers of the magazine feature completely different cartoons that have nothing to do with Ukraine.
Russian fake about Ukraine encouraging pensioners to serve in army in exchange for sanatorium vouchers and TVs
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channels and bots on social media platform X are spreading a photo allegedly taken at a branch of the Pension Fund of Ukraine. Against the background of an announcement listing pension benefits, an unknown person holds a booklet allegedly from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine with an “invitation” for pensioners to join the military. The booklet is accompanied by the slogan “Your experience is our strength”. The “bonus” for the participants is supposed to be a “chance to win” a voucher to a sanatorium or a large-screen TV.
Video
Lithuanian volunteers in Brussels and Luxembourg collect drones for Ukraine
On October 19, a march against Russia's environmental crimes took place in Warsaw
News:
War
Russia to lose $6.5B annually after EU abandons Russian gas – expert’s opinion
“Halting the supply of Russian gas to the EU is very beneficial to Ukraine, because Russia used to receive about USD 6.5 billion annually for the gas shipped towards Europe via Ukraine. Now, Russia’s military budget will not have these funds. It is a big win, as Ukraine will lose only USD 230 million received for transit operations. This is much less than the profit from depriving Russia of such funds,” told Mikhail Krutikhin, an oil and gas market expert.
Ukraine in talks with Hungary to build another freight checkpoint – Mykyta
“In order to meet all the needs of carriers on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border, it is necessary to build a new large freight checkpoint: four lanes in one direction and four lanes in the other. Talks on this are still underway with Hungarian colleagues,” told the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Viktor Mykyta.
In his words, the development of economic relations is essential to both countries. Now, according to Mykyta, the main task is to bring the countries together and prevent “Russia, the enemy, from dividing us.”
“For Hungary itself, it is important to be a transit country for goods that will go from Ukraine. In particular, it is important to load highway M3 with relevant vehicles that will pay taxes. It is economically beneficial for Hungary. If we economically link our relations to Hungary, it will be beneficial for Hungary to support Ukraine in order to economically develop itself as well,” Mykyta noted.
Politics
China's exercise in Taiwan Strait among reasons for postponing Ramstein meeting – expert
This opinion was expressed in a comment to Ukrinform by Natalia Tymoshenko, head of the Center for Geopolitical Processes and International Security Studies.
“China's conducting of such large-scale military exercises to ‘deter separatism’ in the Taiwan Strait and surrounding regions, in our opinion, was one of the reasons for postponing the meeting on providing weapons to Ukraine. For our Western partners, and the United States in particular, this is an acceptance of the very likely emergence of a third hot spot after Ukraine and Israel,” she said.
U.S. may reduce support for Ukraine in case of China's attempt to seize Taiwan - expert
According to Yurii Poita, a visiting research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) is not yet fully prepared to seize Taiwan, and it is unlikely that China's political leadership will make such a decision in the next few years.
“The recent military drills in the Taiwan Strait have no impact on Ukraine. At the same time, the military exercises are aimed at increasing the PLA's combat capabilities in the medium term, which means China considers a military scenario likely in a few years. In this case, the military, economic, and diplomatic resources of our main ally - the United States - will be directed to helping Taiwan, which will reduce Kyiv's military support,” Poita said.
Economy
IAEA visits to Ukrainian NPP substations: Galushchenko comments on talks with Grossi
Energy Minister German Galushchenko has said that a new round of visits by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to Ukrainian NPP substations will begin next week to check the current situation there. He discussed this issue in detail at a meeting with IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi in Paris.
Ukraine working with partners to increase electricity imports ahead of winter – MP
"There is still time to obtain generators and small gas stations, but overall, we are entering winter with half of the necessary peak generation. One of the small solutions that could help is increasing electricity imports from Europe to Ukraine," said MP Inna Sovsun, head of the subcommittee on bringing the Ukrainian legislation in line with the European Union law within the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Energy, Housing and Utilities.
According to her, there is technical capability for this, and there are no restrictions; the issue lies only in regulatory decisions. A decision to allow a bit more electricity to be exported to Ukraine via ENTSO-E, the EU agency, is currently being assessed by specialists to determine whether it could cause instability in their system.
Ternopil region produces more than 109,000 t of sugar
In the Ternopil region, sugar refineries have processed more than 782,000 tonnes of sugar beets and produced over 109,000 tonnes of sugar. During the same period last year, sugar refineries produced about 75,649 tonnes of sugar. This can be explained by the fact that the sugar refining season started much earlier, as well as by the better quality of raw materials.
Currently, four sugar refineries are running in the Ternopil region, namely those situated in Chortkiv, Khorostkiv, Kozova and Zbarazh. More than 2 million tonnes of sugar beets have been contracted for, and thus, the region will produce about 240,000 tonnes of sugar in total, according to Stakhiv.
Poltava region’s farmers obtain development loans worth more than UAH 3.4B
In order to attract additional financial resources, farmers from the Poltava region use the mechanism of agricultural receipts. Since early 2024, a total of 35 agricultural receipts have been issued in the region, raising about UAH 187 million in additional financial resources.
Last year five agricultural enterprises received UAH 27.9 million for the development of horticulture, berry growing and viticulture, and one enterprise was paid UAH 7 million for the development of greenhouse production.
See you next Friday!