Ukraine Breaking News Today Live on 10-31-2024

Ukraine’s central bank is maintaining the key rate at 13% and will keep it there for the first part of 2025 to mitigate higher risk of inflation.

Kyiv’s key lending rate will stay at 13% and inflation in Ukraine is under control, according to the analysis and decision announced by Ukraine’s central bank, the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU).

NBU increased its forecast for inflation in the next few quarters and warned about strengthening of pro-inflation risks – the growth in both consumer and core inflation was faster than forecast.

Torden is suspected of committing five war crimes in Ukraine in 2014, resulting in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers, and of seriously wounding four others

Finnish authorities on Thursday charged a Russian citizen over alleged war crimes in Ukraine in 2014.

The Nordic country’s Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe filed the charges against Voji –slav Torden a commander of the Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary Rusich group – with the Helsinki District Court on Thursday.

Anna Danylchuk, NGO founder, newspaper writer, and popular YouTube and social media personality, explains the historical precedence for Ukraine's fight and what it can teach us.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky said fighting Russia is tough when nine out of every ten bucks’ worth of US arms promised this year haven’t shown up – the Pentagon numbers seem to support the claim.

President Volodymyr Zelensky’s recent charge that only ten percent of the military assistance the US said it would transfer to Ukraine this year has actually reached Ukrainian troops, is largely accurate, a Kyiv Post review of figures published by the Pentagon found.

Speaking at a meeting with reporters in Reykjavik on Wednesday, Zelensky said one of Ukraine’s many problems battling Russian invasion is that allied-promised arms assistance arrives too late or not at all - which complicates defense planning and kills and injures Ukrainians.

Ukraine's Ministry of Finance received the same demand for government bonds, but borrowed less. Bond Market Insight for Oct. 30

Ukraine's Ministry of Finance received UAH64bn of demand vs UAH63bn a week ago, but proceeds were UAH23.2bn vs UAH25.8bn due to the unbalanced distribution of bids between securities.

Investors focused on 1.5 and 2.5-year UAH military bills, which were 5x oversubscribed.

In the final phase of the US presidential election campaign, the tone has become increasingly acrimonious. Europe's press looks on with consternation.

In the final phase of the US presidential election campaign the tone has become increasingly acrimonious. Kamala Harris said she considers Donald Trump to be a fascist. And during a Republican campaign event, comedian Tony Hinchcliffe compared Puerto Rico to a 'floating island of garbage', a comment Trump's campaign team later distanced itself from. Europe's press looks on with consternation.

A step too far even for Trump voters?

Skydio said the sanctions have targeted its sole supplier of batteries from China and warned the industry of similar risks posed by reliance on concentrated supply chains from China.

Beijing’s sanctions on multiple US firms involved in military sales have led to supply chain issues for Skydio, the largest US drone manufacturer that supplies drones to the Ukrainian military.

Skydio claimed its X-10 drone, which incorporates onboard artificial intelligence (AI), was the first US drone to pass Ukraine’s electronic warfare (EW) tests, leading to Kyiv ordering thousands of units.

Kyiv Post’s CEO is gearing up to take part in Web Summit 2024, the global technology and innovation showcase in Lisbon, Portugal.

For the second consecutive year, the Kyiv Post is gearing up for Web Summit, the global technology and innovation showcase in Lisbon, Portugal that draws leading thinkers worldwide. The event runs from Nov. 11 to 14. 

Last year, the Kyiv Post team was represented by its Chief Editor, Bohdan Nahaylo. This year, CEO Luc Chenier will take the reins where he is set to contribute to two key panel discussions: safeguarding journalists and securing cyberspace.

Video footage shows a Russian soldier attempting to fend off a Ukrainian drone, at one point resorting to throwing debris from an infantry fighting vehicle at it.

A video circulating on social media depicts a Ukrainian first-person view (FPV) drone “forcing” a Russian soldier to surrender.

“The drone captures the occupier. He resisted very strongly,” read the video caption posted by Ukrainian military journalist Andriy Tsaplienko on Telegram.

Pyongyang missile’s flight duration breakthrough could be a result of its June mutual defense pact with Moscow, with military technology exchange being hinted as one of the clauses.

North Korea conducted a test launch of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on Thursday morning local time, with a breakthrough flight duration of 87 minutes.

The Japenese government said the missile – flew in an almost vertical “lofted trajectory” – reached an altitude of 7,000km (4,349 miles) and traveled 1,000km (621 miles), as per Al Jazeera. It is unclear if the latest missile was nuclear-capable.

Ukraine is bracing for the most difficult winter year of the Russian invasion, launched by the Kremlin in February 2022.

Before the strike on his neighbourhood in eastern Ukraine, Volodymyr had planned to brave what promises to be the worst winter of the war yet with just a heavy blanket and two electric heaters.

Then a Russian bomb struck, ripping open the windows of the sitting room in his Soviet-era apartment, tearing a hole in the wall and damaging one of just two heaters.

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

North Korea launched a new intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday in its first test in almost a year of a weapon designed to threaten the U.S. mainland and occurring days ahead of the U.S. election. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered the missile test and was at the launch site, calling the launch “an appropriate military action” to show North Korea’s resolve to respond to its enemies’ moves that has threatened the North’s safety, according to its Defense Ministry. The United States, South Korea and Japan had also identified the weapon as an ICBM and condemned the launch as raising tensions. The launch came as Washington warned that North Korean troops in Russian uniforms are heading toward Ukraine, likely to augment Russian forces and join the war. North Korea confirmed the launch hours after its neighbors detected the firing of what they suspected was a new, more agile weapon targeting the mainland U.S. The statement was unusually quick since North Korea usually describes its weapons tests a day after they occur - AP

The US and South Korean defense chiefs called Wednesday for North Korea to withdraw its troops from Russia, where Washington says some 10,000 of them have been deployed for possible action against Ukrainian forces. Russia and North Korea have deepened their political and military alliance as the Ukraine war has dragged on, but sending Pyongyang's troops into combat against Kyiv's forces would mark a significant escalation that has sparked widespread international concern. “I call upon them to withdraw their troops out of Russia," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the Pentagon, echoing a call by his South Korean counterpart Kim Yong-hyun, who stood beside him. Austin said the United States will "continue to work with allies and partners to discourage Russia from employing these troops in combat." But there is a "good likelihood" that Moscow will still do so, according to the US defense secretary, who said that North Korean forces are being outfitted with Russian uniforms and weapons. Kim, speaking through a translator, said he believes the North Korean deployment to Russia "can result in the escalation of the security threats on the Korean peninsula." France 24

With less than a week until Election Day 2024, most American voters are already convinced they know who is the best candidate for themselves – and sometimes for Ukraine too.

Rallygoers deemed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the best for US foreign policy and aid to Ukraine during a campaign event in Georgia recently.

Harris shared the stage with former President Barack Obama for the first time this year, a combination that helped attract thousands of people to the packed high school stadium.

The Counter-intelligence department of Ukraine’s Security Service said on Wednesday that it had detained an engineer from Kharkiv, who had been helping the Russians to improve its Shahed drones.

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced on its Telegram channel on Wednesday, Oct. 30 that it had arrested a 72-year-old Kharkiv based engineer who is suspected of assisting Russia to improve its kamikaze drone technology.

According to SBU investigators the mechanical engineer and one of his assistants who had been working on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) development had passed technical information intended to improve the Shahed-type drones that Russia has assembled and used extensively against Ukraine since the 2022 full-scale invasion.

The New York Times has reported that Russia has been providing small arms to the Houthis. What more is there to this?

American officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during his recent visit to Ukraine, indicated that according to American military intelligence, Russia is considering providing the Houthis with missiles should the West escalate the war in Ukraine. Apparently, recently released in a prisoner exchange with the West, Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout is negotiating the sale of advanced missiles.

This information was given to the Ukrainians to justify Western reluctance to allow Ukraine’s use of Western weapons deeper into Russia.

Latest from the British Defence Intelligence.

• According to the Russian Investigative CommitteeGeneral-Major Alexander Ogloblin has been arrested and is being held in pre-trial detention for allegedly accepting 10 million rubles in bribes from a telecommunications company, as an inducement to secure Russian Ministry of Defence contracts. Ogloblin had previously been sentenced to four and a half years in prison in February 2022 in relation to separate embezzlement charges. He was granted early release after testifying against his former superior Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and Head of the Main Communications Directorate, General-Lieutenant Vadim Shamarin, who was detained in May 2024.
• Ogloblin's second arrest demonstrates that Russian authorities continue to enthusiastically pursue corruption charges against serving and former defence officials appointed in the era of former Minister of Defence, Sergei Shoigu), even after achieving initial convictions. The goal of Russian authorities is almost certainly not the eradication of corruption entirely; this behaviour is fundamental to the functioning of the regime. Instead, Russian authorities are likely seeking to limit corruption to more manageable levels that have a less drastic impact on the functioning of the department.

Ex-Soviet Ukraine and Moldova opened European Union accession negotiations in June, setting them on a long -- and yet uncertain -- path towards membership that Russia has tried to block.

The European Commission said Wednesday it hopes to move entry talks with Ukraine and Moldova to the next stage "as soon as possible" in 2025, as part of a renewed enlargement push faced with the "existential threat" from Russia.

In an annual update on the EU enlargement process, the commission also reaffirmed that Georgia's path to joining remained "de facto" halted without a change of course from its ruling party -- accused of steering Tbilisi back into Russia's orbit.

A guided aerial bomb -- a powerful weapon widely used by Russia -- hit a building, killing a child and at least one other person, leaving 34 people wounded.

A Russian bombardment of a building in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv on Wednesday killed at least two people and wounded 34, the local governor said.

A guided aerial bomb -- a powerful weapon widely used by Russia -- hit a building in the major northeastern city, according to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The Armenian and Azerbaijani communities in the US important minorities that could play an essential role in the upcoming presidential election.

With only days to go, the 2024 US presidential election is in full swing. Millions of Americans have already cast their ballots having responded to calls by both campaigns to cast their ballots by mail, with early voting turnout setting new records across the country.

Despite these impressive numbers, tens of millions of Americans will still opt to vote in person on election day. Many will continue to research candidates before voting, so each campaign will be working hard to earn these votes. Some of these voters will be from the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities.

A Ukrainian aerial scout, commenting on Moscow’s use of so-called machine vision technology, told Kyiv Post that while “the technology is still raw, it has potential for further development.”

Russian forces are reportedly experimenting with an automated evasion system for their reconnaissance UAVs to counter Ukrainian anti-aircraft drones, according to Defense Express.

The system involves rear-view cameras with wide viewing angles and machine vision, which analyzes footage and initiates evasive maneuvers when a threat is detected.

The Chechen leader has claimed that the only casualties from Tuesday’s drone attack on the Special Forces University in Chechnya were Ukrainian prisoners being held there.

Speaking after a drone attack on Tuesday, Oct. 29 set fire to buildings on the Russian Special Forces University campus near the Chechen city of Gudermes, Ramzan Kadyrov said, after initially claiming the building was empty, that it had been housing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) who were killed by the strike.

Kadyrov suggested that the attack had been carried out by Ukrainian forces despite international commentators saying there was strong evidence it had been carried out by Dagestani irregulars as “a continuation of a previous confrontation with Chechen forces.”

Latest from the Institute for the Study of War.

Key Takeaways from the ISW:

• Western intelligence officials reportedly stated that North Korean troops are in an unspecified area in occupied Ukraine.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted enhanced Ukraine-South Korea cooperation amid since-retracted reports that South Korea would consider providing direct military assistance to Ukraine.
• The Kremlin is reportedly struggling to prepare for the September 2026 Russian State Duma elections campaign due to uncertainty about the course of the war in Ukraine, suggesting that the Kremlin is not confident that Russia will be able to win the war over the next two years.
• The Kremlin simultaneously continues to militarize various levels of Russian government, likely in preparation for long-term war efforts in Ukraine and confrontation against NATO despite the reported lack of preparation for the Duma elections.
• The US Treasury and State departments sanctioned nearly 400 entities and individuals from over a dozen countries on October 30 in one of the largest concerted efforts to address Russian sanctions evasions via third parties to date.
• Ukrainian forces recently regained positions near Pokrovsk.
• Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast and near Kreminna, Chasiv Yar, Pokrovsk, and Kurakhove.
• Russian occupation authorities continue to advertise Russian military service to civilians in occupied Ukraine.