Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 10-28-2024

Demand for military bonds increases, Eurobond prices continue to rise, Ukraine's central bank weakens hryvnia. Weekly Insight for Oct. 28

Demand for military bonds increases

The Ministry of Finance (MoF) saw higher demand for military bonds last week, but the conditions for rate cuts were not there.

Kyiv Post special correspondent Nadim Khmaladze captured footage from Georgia near parliament following the contested parliamentary election on Oct. 28

Pro-Ukrainian opposition challenges Georgian government after allegedly rigging Kremlin-style elections

A Georgian election conducted in the shadow of Russia’s war in Ukraine has descended into a political crisis amid reports of vote-rigging and accusations of Kremlin interference.

The ruling Georgian Dream party won a parliamentary majority in a contested vote on Saturday, which international observers and opposition parties said was rife with intimidation and fraud.

According to sources from the Kyiv Post, everyone was certain that “Georgian Dream” would resort to fraud to retain power, but no one anticipated the scale.

A highly controversial victory for the ruling party, which is close to Russia, risks turning another country away from the West, following in the path of Belarus.

A week ago, the presidential election in Moldova, along with a referendum on the country’s European integration, caused concern among neighboring countries.

The 10th Kyiv International Economic Forum (KIEF) 2024 will be held on Nov. 7. The topic of this year's KIEF is “The Power of Challenge: Factors Shaping the Future of Ukraine and the World.”

The forum will take place in wartime Kyiv for the third time. The participants will discuss the global context of the war in Ukraine: protecting Ukraine’s economic interests in the EU, opportunities and challenges for human capital, the future energy system, Ukrainian defense tech in the global technology market, and business relationships with the authorities to rebuild Ukraine.

This year, the forum will take place just two days after the US presidential election – a key topic for discussion among speakers and the community during the forum. 

In Berdyansk, Kyiv’s military intelligence (HUR) and local resistance destroyed a railway bridge used by Moscow’s troops, paralyzing railway communication and complicating Russian logistics.

In the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR), in collaboration with the local resistance movement, conducted a successful special operation, resulting in the destruction of a railway bridge, Kyiv Post sources in intelligence community report. This bridge was used by Russian troops to transport military cargo.

Residents reported several powerful explosions on social media on the evening of Oct. 27. As a result of the successful diversionary actions, a railway viaduct located between the water utility building and a car wash on East Avenue was blown up.

The Ukrainian president told Indian media that Delhi has leverage over Russia and should use that leverage to help pressure Russia into ending the war in Ukraine.

India “cannot just say [it is] interested in the end of the war” and should use its leverage over Russia to show concrete actions, said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Times of India reported Monday that Zelensky said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the head of state of a large nation like India, can pressure Russia through trade and economy to help put an end to Moscow’s invasion.

In this interview with the First Deputy Chairman of Kredobank Kyiv Post discusses the prospects for Ukraine’s EU membership and its relationship with Poland.

Regardless of the scale of historical injustice caused by the ongoing war, Ukraine’s place is in Europe. Jakub Karnowski, First Deputy Chairman of Kredobank (PKO Bank Polski Group) and Head of the Liberal Economics Unit at the Warsaw School of Economics shared his views on the prospects ahead, relations with Poland, and the challenges in integrating with the European Union with Kyiv Post’s Michał Kujawski.

MK: In the summer of 2024, you took over as the head of Kredobank, the largest Polish financial institution operating in Ukraine having previously served on the supervisory boards of Ukrainian Railways and Ukrposhta, Ukraine’s Postal Service. What experience have you gained over this time, and how has Ukraine itself changed?

Orban, who currently holds the bloc's presidency and is the Kremlin's EU ally, is due in Georgia on Monday in a show of support to the ruling party, which has been accused of leaning toward Russia.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban "does not represent" the European Union on his visit to Georgia, where the ruling party was declared winner of disputed elections, the bloc's foreign affairs chief said on Monday.

Orban, who currently holds the bloc's rotating presidency and is the Kremlin's closest EU ally, is due in Georgia on Monday in a show of support to the ruling party, which has been accused of leaning toward Russia.

The defectors can leverage their military expertise and understanding of the culture of their compatriots to disrupt and weaken the resolve of North Korean soldiers on the battlefield.

Nearly 200 North Korean defectors who live in South Korea, many with military backgrounds, seek to deploy to Ukraine to launch a psychological warfare campaign against Pyongyang’s troops reported to have deployed to Russia, according to the South China Morning Post.

The group, composed of ex-soldiers with up to 10 years of military experience, are prepared to exploit their insider knowledge of North Korean military culture to disrupt and demoralize Kim Jong-un’s troops.

Does the lack of political will of the EU to challenge the pro-Russian forces in Georgia mean it is abandoning the pro-Western democratic movement?

A day after the parliamentary elections in Georgia, the situation, I’m afraid, looks desperate.

The pro-regime exit poll gave the lead to the ruling pro-Russian and anti-Western “Georgian Dream” party run by the richest Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili (56.1%), while the two exit polls commissioned by two pro-democratic TV stations projected a victory of the potential coalition of several pro-Western parties.

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia was planning to send North Korean troops into battle within days.

NATO chief Mark Rutte on Monday decried the deployment of North Korean troops to bolster Russia's war effort in Ukraine as a dangerous expansion of the conflict that signalled President Vladimir Putin's "growing desperation".

Speaking in Brussels after a briefing with South Korean intelligence officials, Rutte said he could confirm that North Korean military units had been sent to Russia's western Kursk region.

The arrested man worked for the UN World Food Program in the eastern hotspot of Pokrovsk is believed to have relayed information on Ukrainian positions to a Russian agent using an online messenger.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on Monday that it had arrested a34-year-old local man who reportedly used his role as a volunteer with the UN World Food Program to spy on Ukrainian positions in Pokrovsk. The actual date of the arrest wasn’t released.

Pokrovsk, a city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, is currently seen as Russia’s key strategic objective in its quest to capture and eventually annex Ukraine’s Donbas region in its entirety.

The world in focus, as seen by a Canadian leading global affairs analyst, writer and speaker, in his review of international media.

Pro-Western Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who has broken with the ruling Georgian Dream party, said she will not recognize the results of parliamentary elections held on October 26 and alleged that the country has been the victim of a “Russian special operation.” Zurabishvili did not present any evidence to back up her claim in a brief statement to the media in Tbilisi on October 27. “As the only remaining independent institution in this state, I want to say that I do not recognize this election. It cannot be recognized. It would be the same as recognizing Russia's entry here -- Georgian subordination to Russia,” she said. “I didn't come to Georgia for [Russian domination]. Our ancestors did not live for this. We will not tolerate this. It cannot be taken away from Georgia -- its European future," she added. She called for street protests starting on October 28 at 7 p.m. in the South Caucasus nation, which has seen mass demonstrations in recent months against the ruling Georgian Dream party, which critics accuse of being pro-Russian and of having eroded democratic norms. She blasted what she called a “Russian special operation -- one of the new forms of hybrid warfare carried out on our people, our country.” The Georgian Dream party celebrated an apparent win in the vote, but the pro-Western opposition cried foul and election monitors said that “critical violations took place,” including voter intimidation and physical violence. - RFE/RL

Despite credible media reports of voting day irregularities, western election monitoring groups held back on calling Sunday’s polling in Georgia as election fraud. Instead the large coalition of observers under the OSCE and another led by the International Republican Institute said they detected an “uneven playing field, pressure and tension, intimidation and harassment.” Opposition groups also said they documented irregularities, with one opponent telling the BBC he was beaten by men after he tried to report ballot box irregularities to the police. It is rare for international election monitoring groups to be far out of sync with international media reporting.

A multi-pronged Russian assault into Ukraine’s Donbas region is taking brutal casualties but hasn’t stopped as the Kremlin claims Ukrainian defenses are crumbling.

Russian forces attacking in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region have posted new claims of making gains, as Kyiv’s troops continue to struggle against superior numbers and firepower according to official and media reports on Monday.

Russian armor and infantry backed by powerful artillery and aircraft operating under near total air superiority were moving freely in the center of Selydove, an important road hub, over the weekend. Kyiv Post’s review of geo-located drone and ground imagery suggests Moscow’s forces have taken control of Selydove’s tactically important high-rise residential district.

The arms manufacturing company’s CEO told TSN that its first factory in Ukraine, its second is nearing completion, and two more are on the way in the coming months.

In an interview with TSN published on Saturday, Oct. 26, the of Germany’s Rheinmetall, Armin Papperger, announced that its first Ukrainian production facility, which up to now has been mainly used to repair battle damaged vehicles, has begun to build the KF 41 version of the Lynx infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). The first batch of around ten of the armored equipment is planned for delivery before the end of the year.

Papperger told the news outlet that a second factory was nearing completion and that planning for two more facilities intended for ammunition production and propellant manufacturing was well advanced.

“I have been assured that his legacy for democracy in Ukraine will continue and that full support for Kyiv Post’s future will continue,” the Kyiv Post CEO said.

“It’s with great sadness that we’ve learned that our friend Adnan Kivan, a great supporter, passed away. I have been assured that his legacy for democracy in Ukraine will continue and that full support for Kyiv Post’s future will continue.”

Known for his successful business ventures, social initiatives, and extensive charitable work, Kivan left a lasting impact on countless lives.

Today, October 28, 2024, Adnan Kivan, founder of KADORR Group Corporation and the largest Arab investor in Ukraine, passed away.

Known for his successful business ventures, social initiatives, and extensive charitable work, Kivan left a lasting impact on countless lives.

The staff of Kyiv Post is deeply saddened by the news of the death of our publisher, Adnan Kivan, and expresses its deepest condolences to his family and friends.

The staff of Kyiv Post is deeply saddened by the news of the death of our publisher, Adnan Kivan, and expresses its deepest condolences to his family and close friends.

Mr Kivan, a Syrian-born democrat and Ukrainian patriot, achieved a lot in his life and did much for Ukraine, especially for his beloved Odesa.

Six out of 10 of Vovchansk's buildings have been totally destroyed, with 18% partially ruined, according to open-source researchers' analysis of satellite images.

"It barely exists anymore," said the mayor of Vovchansk, an industrial town razed by a Russian onslaught shocking even for the killing fields of eastern Ukraine.

Vovchansk has no great history but its geography could not be more tragic. Just five kilometres (three miles) from the Russian border, drone footage from the Ukrainian military this summer shows a lunar landscape of ruins stretching for miles.

Kyiv says the strikes, which often target energy infrastructure, are in response to Russian bombardments of Ukrainian territory.

Early morning on Monday, Oct. 28, Ukrainian drones reportedly targeted two distilleries in Russia’s Voronezh region, according to regional governor Alexander Gusev.

In the Anninsky district of Voronezh region, two employees sustained minor injuries when a drone strike triggered a fire at one of the distilleries.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili on Sunday accused Moscow of orchestrating election fraud, calling it a "Russian special operation".

The Georgian opposition called for protests on Monday and the European Union demanded an investigation into "irregularities" after a disputed legislative vote that showed a win for the ruling party accused of moving towards Russia's orbit.

Pro-Western President Salome Zurabishvili on Sunday accused Moscow of orchestrating election fraud, calling it a "Russian special operation".

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Russia's economy and war effort is coming under increasing strain, which will pose increasingly acute challenges to Russian President Vladimir Putin's ability to sustain the war over the long term.
• Ukrainian and Russian forces both advanced within the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast.
• Russian forces advanced in and near Selydove and northwest of Vuhledar.
• Russian authorities are using Cossack organizations to militarize Russian children and build out Russia's force generation reserve in the long term.

A week after Russian milbloggers were trumpeting the arrival of the LSTS-1944 Sarmat-3 lightly armored vehicle on the battlefield the first one was reported destroyed on Saturday.

In an Oct. 21 post on Telegram the pro-Moscow milblogger “Ugolok Sitha” gleefully announced the arrival of the Sarmat-3 vehicle, used by Russian special forces and airborne troops, on the battlefield in Kursk. Photographs posted on the site showed the vehicle supposedly in action near the front lines in Russia’s Kursk region - the first confirmed sightings of this new vehicle.

On Saturday, Oct. 26, the Ukrainian milblogger “Lost_WarinUA” equally gleefully announced that one of the vehicles had been destroyed in the Glushkovo village in the Kursk Region. What made the announcement even sweeter from the Ukrainian point of view was the fact that the Russian commentator Aleksey Zolotaryov had originally identified the hulk as “a piece of burnt-out Ukrainian metal.”