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The Kyiv Independent [unofficial]
Russia’s war against Ukraine
Rescuers pour water on burning cars and the National Academy of Sciences building, which is on fire after being hit by a Russian drone, on September 28, 2026 in Kyiv. (Kyrylo Chubotin/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi liberates 3 more settlements, inflicts 2,000 Russian losses, 3rd Army Corps announces. The villages of Ridkodub, Nove, and Katerynivka were liberated amid newly-reported territorial gains of 51 square kilometers.
Russian missiles strike Kyiv educational facility in overnight attacks. In the Solomyanskyi district of the city, an educational institution was hit by a Russian missile and started a fire, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
Over 70% of Ukrainians hold Zelensky responsible for corruption among his allies, poll shows. When asked what concerned them most, 50% of Ukrainians cited corruption, while 40% cited Russia’s mass missile and drone attacks.
Ukrnafta installs concrete shelters at Kyiv gas stations amid Russian attacks. The shelters will initially be installed at stations in densely populated areas and near major roads and will be available to anyone nearby, Ukrnafta CEO Bohdan Kukura said.
Russian drone strikes near Ukraine-Poland border crossing in Volyn Oblast. Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said the drone struck Ukrainian territory around 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from the Dorohusk crossing and did not enter Polish airspace.
Zelensky faces backlash over appointment of judge accused of persecuting EuroMaidan protesters. Viktor Kytsyuk is one of the most high-profile judges accused of issuing unlawful rulings against protesters during the the 2013-2014 EuroMaidan Revolution, or Revolution of Dignity, which ousted pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych.
Medical center, science academy struck in downtown Kyiv as all-day Russian drone attacks continue. In the city center, local media and Telegram channels reported a strike next to the main campus of Kyiv’s Taras Shevchenko National University.
Putin restricts publication of Russian refinery, energy data amid Ukrainian strikes. Limiting the dissemination of information on export volumes, buyers, transport routes and terminals can make it more difficult for governments and researchers to track Russian energy flows and identify potential sanctions evasion.
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Company News
Kyiv Independent community helps fund 26 drone detectors for front-line journalists
The Kyiv Independent community helped raise more than $24,000 through an online store collection launched to mark World Press Freedom Day, enabling the purchase of 26 drone detectors to help protect independent journalists reporting from Ukraine’s front lines.
Read our exclusives
Ukraine’s defense industry gets a second chance
Today, Ukraine is building its defense industry for the second time, and in a way opposite to the Soviet one: from the bottom up, with private money, in open competition, under the harshest quality control in the world — the front line.
Photo: Nikoletta Stoyanova/Getty Images
How Ukraine angered South Korea — and why it matters
As South Korea demands an apology and an explanation, the episode adds to a string of diplomatic mishaps that are marring Ukraine’s relations with international partners amid the Russian invasion.
Photo: Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Unfreezing Europe’s Russian assets debate
Absent a push from EU governments themselves, the discussion is instead playing out in newspaper columns, and at think tank events.
Photo: Antonio Masiello/Getty Images
Ukraine’s defense tech boom needs more than battlefield innovation, deputy minister says
Another challenge is persuading businesses to keep their intellectual property and financial interests in Ukraine.
Photo: Benjamin Girette/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Human costs of war
General Staff: Russia has lost 1,531,060 troops in Ukraine since Feb. 24, 2022.
The number includes 2,090 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day.
International response
‘Promoting peace is an active work’ — Pope Leo urges concessions between Russia, Ukraine. On the last day of his official visit to France, Pope Leo XIV called for concessions to create peace between Russia and Ukraine. The pontiff did not give details on what a peaceful resolution for the war would entail.
Trump wants Zelensky to ease strikes on Russian refineries, Ukraine official says deal must go both ways. A Ukrainian official told Kyiv Independent that Ukraine would agree to stop attacking Russian refineries, but only if Russia also agrees to an energy truce.
Poland to ease rules for shooting down drones, missiles entering from Russia.
Visual identification of targets by pilots would not longer be required, Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister said.
EU’s decision to pay for alleged ‘anti-reform’ draws criticism from Ukrainian experts. The Ukrainian judicial watchdog Dejure argued in June that “rather than improving the integrity declaration system, (the integrity declarations law) effectively dismantles integrity declarations as a meaningful tool for holding judges accountable.”
Russia beginning ‘additional mobilization’ of troops, North Korean recruitment, Zelensky warns. The president said that Russia is looking to “increase the involvement of foreigners” in its armed forces. North Korea is preparing to deploy another 10,000 troops against Ukraine, in addition to the more than 8,000 military personnel currently stationed in Russia.
Russia to raise military spending by 27% in 2027, highest level in war so far, media reports. Russia is planning to spend 17.1 trillion roubles ($202.58 billion) on its military in 2027, an increase of around 27% over the previously budgeted amount.
EU approves major defense projects plan, with Ukraine featuring prominently. The projects aim to address the EU’s shortfalls in key defense areas, namely air defense, maritime security, space, drone and counter-drone capabilities, and security along the EU’s eastern flank.
Kremlin seizes control of German retailer Metro AG’s Russian properties.
Metro AG is one of the world’s largest retailers, specializing in food wholesale and food distribution to restaurants and hotels. Metro AG first entered the Russian market in 2001 and now operates 91 wholesale stores, employing around 9,000 employees in the country.
EU adopts Russia sanctions over crackdown on anti-war party, abduction of Ukrainian children. The sanctions list includes three judges from Russia’s Supreme Court and an official from the country’s Prosecutor General’s Office, according to an EU press release.
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In other news
French far right gains ground in Senate months before presidential election. France’s National Rally (RN) party and its allies secured a record 14 seats in France’s 348-seat Senate, a result RN co-leader Marine Le Pen hailed as a “historic victory.”
Ukrainian Chess Federation blasts presidential aide after accepting FIDE position alongside a Russian, urges SBU probe. The Ukrainian Chess Federation (UCF) issued a protest on Sept. 28 after Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Presidential Office, accepted the title of vice president at the International Chess Federation (FIDE) alongside a former Russian minister.
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