Weekly Exclusives
Weekly Exclusives - a newsletter that contains author publications, interviews, exclusive comments, photos and videos.
Photo of the week
Aurora in the sky above the city, Kyiv, October 10, 2024
Interview
Over 70 percent of soldiers get back to war zone upon recovery after treatment for wounds and injuries, - Anatoly Kazmirchuk, Ukraine Armed Forces Medical Forces Commander
We meet with Anatoly Kazmirchuk at the National Military Clinical Center, where he began his professional career as a senior resident back in 1997. Currently, Mr. Anatoly is the commander of the Medical Forces, who not just knows the inner workings of the military medical health care system, but took part in the construction of this system. Ukrinform was the first to interview Mr. Kazmirchuk as the Armed Forces Medical Forces Commander. He was talking about how the system works amid war, how many soldiers return to the ranks upon recovery after treatment for wounds and injuries, the reasons why just 10 percent of combat medics have a background in medical education, how the evacuation of the wounded from the Kursk region takes place, the ways to solve the problem of medical personnel shortage, in addition to many more topics.
Patrick Turner, Senior NATO Representative to Ukraine
Ukrinform has a long history of communication with officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at various levels, and last week, Senior NATO Representative to Ukraine Patrick Turner came to our office to give his first interview to the Ukrainian mass media since his appointment this summer. The diplomat spoke about the strengthening of the Representation, his own role and goals in the new position, and commented on why it would be good to have Ukraine as an Ally. The conversation dwelled on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the assistance NATO provides to ensure that Ukraine prevails. We also touched upon the Kremlin's hybrid attacks targeting Allies. Separately, we spoke about Russia’s nuclear saber rattling and how the Alliance sees it. In general, the conversation helped us see that the new chief of the NATO Representation to Ukraine is focused on tackling challenges and achieving results. We also saw that Mr Turner realizes the great power of words, certainly combined with action. And this is exactly what Ukraine wants to see from its Western partners at times of war.
French volunteer, former AFP executive editor Denis Hiault
In central Ukraine’s Cherkasy region, there is a small town of Uman that has sheltered many internally displaced persons since Russia’s large-scale invasion. Thousands of kilometers away, in southern France lives a former journalist with Agence France Presse, who once served as the agency’s chief editor, Denis Hiault. A string of events has firmly tied this man with the Ukrainian town, and the main driver was Russia’s brutal war of aggression. Denis is now a volunteer who runs a SOS-Ouman fundraiser who just completed his eighth humanitarian mission to Ukraine, delivering along with his team tonnes of medical supplies and other necessities to Uman’s medics, teachers, and others in need of help. Ukrinform spoke with the ex-journalist during his short stop in Kyiv’s Maidan Square as he was heading south, to the town where he found many new friends and which always embraces him with gratitude whenever he arrives with yet another humanitarian cargo batch.
Publication
Rada has passed tax-raising law. The Ukrainian military struck an ammunition storage site at Khanskaya military airfield in Russia's Adygeya region, hit oil depots in several different regions in Russia. Ukrainian forces won back part of their lost positions in Russia’s Kursk region
Ukraine Latest: Weekly Digest for October 7-13, 2024
Fact Checks
Fake videos, photos and paid rap from Niger
Russia initiated a propaganda information campaign for the birthday of its dictator
On the occasion of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's birthday, local propaganda outlets presented their leader with a gift. Russia’s “information operations troops” did it in the usual way - by spreading fakes and disinformation.
The Russian propaganda's main narrative was the slogan “Putin is the president of the world.” In this context, Russian propaganda spread fakes and staged videos allegedly supporting Vladimir Putin's policies both in Ukraine and around the world
The pseudo-support in Ukraine was illustrated by numerous Russian media outlets, Telegram channels, and bots on social media platform X. They spread photos and videos purportedly from Kyiv, where “Ukrainian pro-Russian partisans” and “Putin supporters” allegedly posted nearly one thousand leaflets featuring an image of Putin on the occasion of the Russian leader's birthday.
Russian propaganda sharing fake about Hitler's car bought by Zelensky
Reports have recently emerged on the English-language website Seattle Tribune saying that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky allegedly purchased a car worth about $15 million that previously belonged to Adolf Hitler. The story claims that the car was allegedly spotted in Kyiv on October 6, when Zelensky was getting out of it. For "evidence," the propagandists added a screenshot allegedly from one Telegram channel, which published a photo of a car "parked" near the building of the President's Office. The article links the purchase of the car with Zelensky's recent diplomatic trip to the United States, during which a new $7.9 billion aid package for Ukraine was announced.
This is a fake. The website Seattle Tribune, where the article was published, is fake and was registered on October 3, only four days before this fake began to be circulated. The name of the article's author was not indicated.
Video
Volodymyr Zelenskyi met with Olaf Scholz in Berlin, where he presented the Victory Plan
Zelenskyi arrived at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, where a meeting of NATO defense ministers is taking place
News:
War
Names of 13 out of 16 Ukrainian POWs shot during surrender identified – PG’s Office
"Regarding the recent incidents, we are working on the fact of the execution of 16 Ukrainian servicemen and have identified 13 military personnel; the data for the remaining three is still being established due to lack of access to the military unit," said Yurii Bielousov, head of the War Department at the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The official also commented on the execution of nine Ukrainian soldiers on October 10 in Russia's Kursk region: "Concerning the situation in Kursk, where nine Ukrainian servicemen were executed, we understand who these soldiers are. We are currently clarifying the details of the shooting of our prisoners of war. We know the location where this occurred in Kursk and are working on two Russian units that may be involved in the execution."
Bielousov also stated that over the past year, the number of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war has increased, and the conditions in places of detention in Russia where Ukrainian prisoners are held have significantly worsened. This could indicate that there are instructions ‘from above’. Specifically, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, previously called for the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war in his Telegram channel.
In Ukraine, a separate unit within the Security Service of Ukraine is investigating the cruel treatment of prisoners of war and their executions, which currently total 102 cases.
Politics
Allowing strikes deep into Russia more advantageous for Europe than continuously supplying Ukraine’s air defense – MEP
“Regarding military aid to Ukraine, we are currently dissatisfied with the level of support from the EU countries. We are disappointed that there are still restrictions on the use of weapons provided to Ukraine against targets on the Russian territory. Therefore, it is much more logical for us to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes against Russian military targets rather than exhausting its air defense systems and having us repeatedly supply more. It’s better to let Ukraine strike deep into Russia,” said the MEP.
Controversial MEP visits Russia to ‘counterbalance’ successful talks in Uzhhorod - exper
Pro-Russian Slovak MEP Ľuboš Blaha, a member of Slovakia's ruling party Smer made a propaganda visit to Moscow to counterbalance the impressions of the successful talks in Uzhhorod between the Ukrainian and Slovak prime ministers.
In his opinion, this indirectly confirms the success of the Slovak-Ukrainian talks that took place last week.
At the same time, Mesíkis emphasized that in the pro-Russian segment of Slovak politics, there is a kind of intraspecific struggle “who loves Putin more.” In this regard, according to the expert, Blaha is currently competing with the head of the Slovak National Party, which is also part of the ruling coalition, Andrej Danko.
Economy
Businesses step up development of renewable energy sources in 2024 – expert
“First of all, those projects that were launched prior to the full-scale invasion are being completed. For example, the VR Energy’s wind farm project in the Dniester Estuary and EcoOptima’s Skolivska Wind Farm,” said Stanislav Ihnatiev, the founder of Kharkiv Energy Cluster.
At the same time, non-core market players began to develop solar and wind energy projects. Among them, Ihnatiev mentioned OKKO, Epicentr and Nova Poshta, which created separate divisions for this purpose.
According to the expert, in the first half of 2024, businesses built 200 megawatts of solar energy generation facilities to meet their own needs.
Poltava region’s farmers obtain over UAH 69M in government assistance via SAR
Currently, a total of 5,637 agricultural producers from the Poltava region have been registered with the State Agrarian Registry (SAR). According to recent reports, 858 entities submitted requests to the SAR to receive government assistance for 1 hectare of cultivated land. Of them, 515 agricultural producers from the Poltava region have already obtained UAH 69.2 million in government assistance (for about 17.3 thousand hectares).
More than 180 small businesses set up by veterans in Ivano-Frankivsk community
The veterans who returned from the Russo-Ukrainian war have already set up more than 180 small businesses in the Ivano-Frankivsk community.
Society
Bilingualism still persists among Ukrainian teachers – Language Ombudsman
"Unfortunately, bilingualism persists among teachers, who, while educating our children, continue to use non-official language during breaks and in extracurricular activities," Kremin stated.
He noted that similar situations occur in other sectors, underscoring the need for ongoing efforts to create a stronger Ukrainian-speaking environment.
Head of NACP announces timeline for repeat verification of Khmelnytskyi MSEC Head’s Declaration
The repeat verification of the declaration of the head of Khmelnytskyi's Medical and Social Expert Commission (MSEC) will follow a standard procedure lasting up to 120 days.
Housing for displaced persons: 40 modular homes installed in Bukovyna
By the end of this year, the village of Chornohuzy in Vyzhnytsia community, Bukovyna, is set to complete the installation of 40 modular homes designated for internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Environment
Environment Minister announces damage costs of polluting Seym, Desna rivers
"Industrial discharges from a plant located in Russia have led to an ecological disaster in our waterways. As of now, the estimated environmental damages to Sumy and Chernihiv regions amount to over UAH 530 million. The law enforcement officers have documented these incidents," Hrynchuk stated.
Russia’s damage to Ukraine’s environment estimated at over UAH 2.6T – Ministry of Environment
As of September 2024, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has resulted in over 6,000 documented environmental crimes, with estimated damages reaching UAH 2.6-2.7 trillion.
Ukraine investigating more than 200 cases of war crimes against environment - Hrynchuk
“A distinct area of focus is the documentation of crimes against the environment. This is conducted by environmental inspectors in collaboration with prosecutors from specialized environmental prosecutor's offices under Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine. Currently, the Prosecutor General's Office is engaged in the investigation of 209 criminal proceedings on war crimes against the environment, 14 of which have been preliminarily classified as ecocide,” said Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Svitlana Hrynchuk.
In particular, together with representatives of the ministry, these data are being documented and prepared for inclusion in the International Register of Damages, after the environmental component is launched.
ee you next Friday!