South Korea will withdraw more staff from its embassy in Kyiv, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Doo-soon said on 20 October. Seoul says Kyiv broke an understanding to keep the transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war confidential, which was meant to protect the soldiers and their families in the North. Seoul had conveyed its position through several channels but received no sufficient response from Kyiv, Park added.
The Korea Herald noted, the move comes amid a dispute with the host government itself. That matters beyond the two countries. Good ties with Kyiv serve South Korea’s interests, AP reported earlier this month, citing experts, because Ukraine could share intelligence on North Korea’s expanding cooperation with Russia and its battlefield experience.
Seoul shrinks its Kyiv mission
Officials put the planned withdrawal at about half the embassy’s staff. The Korea Herald added that the timing has yet to be set. A chargé d’affaires and all consular staff will stay in Kyiv to keep diplomatic contacts and protect South Korean citizens.
Zelenskyy told the UN General Assembly in September that Ukraine had transferred two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea. Ukrainian forces had captured both men in Russia’s Kursk Oblast in January 2025, where Pyongyang had sent troops to fight for Moscow.
Explore further
Ukraine’s disclosure of secret North Korean POW transfer sparks South Korea’s demand for an apology
On 6 October, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Sybiha’s messages included words of apology but fell short of what Seoul expected. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi replied that Sybiha had written he regretted the situation reaching an exchange of critical comments.
In an interview published on 12 October, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told the dispute stemmed from differing readings of confidentiality at various stages of the transfer. He considers the matter closed. “Ukraine fulfilled all its obligations.”
Ukraine has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2027–2029 term, receiving support from 162 UN member states in a vote by the UN General Assembly on 13 October, Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.
The three-year term gives Ukraine an opportunity to shape international human rights discussions while drawing attention to abuses stemming from Russia’s war. Kyiv says it will work with partners to strengthen accountability mechanisms and protect civilians affected by conflict.
Ukraine’s Permanent Mission to the UN called the result a major diplomatic achievement, saying its team had spent more than a year securing support for the candidacy.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv would use its membership to push for accountability for Russian human rights violations, support international investigations, and advocate for prisoners of war and civilians unlawfully detained by Russia.
Ukraine will also continue efforts to secure the return of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred by Russia, Sybiha said.
Ukraine to focus on accountability for Russian violations
Ukraine’s election comes as Russia continues its full-scale war against the country, which has brought grave violations of human rights and international humanitarian law consistently since 2022.
As a council member, Ukraine plans to work with international partners to strengthen mechanisms for documenting and investigating abuses, protect human dignity, and reinforce international human rights institutions, Sybiha said.
Ukraine has been elected to the UN Human Rights Council for 2027-2029. I thank all UN Member States that supported Ukraine’s candidacy.
Ukraine joins the Council while continuing to defend its people and its sovereignty against Russia’s ongoing aggression, which has brought…
Ukraine is returning to the council after previously serving multiple terms, most recently from 2021 to 2023. It was among the council’s founding members when the body was established in 2006.
Russia was suspended from the UN Human Rights Council in April 2022 following reports of gross and systematic human rights violations during its war against Ukraine. Moscow subsequently announced it was withdrawing from the council.
15 countries elected to the council
Alongside Ukraine, the General Assembly elected Brazil, Ghana, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Ireland, Jordan, Kuwait, Moldova, Nepal, Nigeria, Germany, Uruguay, and Japan to the Human Rights Council.
The 47-member council is the UN’s principal intergovernmental body responsible for promoting and protecting human rights worldwide. Members serve three-year terms.
Ukraine wants the EU to force Moscow into a ceasefire with frozen Russian assets, trade and transit embargoes, maritime bans, and entry bans, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X after the EU Foreign Affairs Council in Luxembourg on 12 October 2026. He also welcomed new EU sanctions listings adopted that day and progress in Ukraine’s EU accession talks.
Kyiv has spent this month laying out truce formats it would accept while awaiting Russia’s position on talks, and the levers it is pressing the EU to use include frozen Russian assets that EU leaders failed to agree on tapping last December.
The pressure Kyiv wants from the EU
Sybiha called it “devastating pressure.” He also wants Russian combatants and their families barred from the EU, maximum visa restrictions, and Russia’s isolation in culture and sports.
I was pleased to attend the EU Foreign Affairs Council today.
It is time for Europe to define its strong role. Our future and our security are in our hands.
Now is the time for real European pressure on Moscow. Not half-measures, but devastating pressure: frozen assets, trade… pic.twitter.com/AnI8h6HXbs
His post named three types of ceasefire—energy, food security, and a full ceasefire—without saying whether Kyiv would accept them separately. Earlier this month, he told journalists Ukraine was ready for an energy and Black Sea ceasefire “but only in such a combination.”
New sanctions listings and two more accession clusters
The minister welcomed the EU’s 12 October adoption of new sanctions listings against Russia—the largest single expansion of the bloc’s blacklist. EU ambassadors agreed on the 1,646 names on 7 October. They include 1,569 tied to Russia’s military industry and 77 to its so-called State Duma elections. The listings are separate from the EU’s 22nd sanctions package, which the EU has yet to adopt.
He also welcomed the EU’s “green light” for opening two more clusters in Ukraine’s EU accession talks: Internal Market, and Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth. The formal opening was scheduled for an intergovernmental conference on 13 October.
Front-line briefing and aid requests
Sybiha said he briefed European colleagues on the front-line situation, Russia’s plans, and ways to deprive it of its advantages, and that he passed partners specific requests for aid. He reaffirmed Ukraine’s commitment to reforms.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Russia's handling of a suspected pneumonic plague case fit what he described as Moscow's history of concealing information about dangerous incidents, citing the 1979 anthrax outbreak, the Chornobyl disaster, and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to his post on X on 8 October.
A 28-year-old worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute, Daria Shipilova, died at Shelekhov District Hospital on 2 October. The hospital was placed under quarantine, and nearly 200 people who had contact with her were put under medical observation.
Sybiha has called on Russia to disclose all the facts surrounding the case, provide transparent epidemiological data, and cooperate with international mechanisms.
"Russia has a long record of concealing the truth: the 1979 anthrax leak in Sverdlovsk, the 1986 Chornobyl disaster, and the true scale of COVID-19 in 2020–2022," he said.
Plague is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which is usually found in small mammals and their fleas. Bubonic plague, the most common form, is caused by the bite of an infected flea. Pneumonic plague is the most virulent form: left untreated, it can be fatal within 18 to 24 hours of onset, though common antibiotics can cure it if given early.
But each time, the consequences were devastating.
Sybiha warns of the risks of secrecy
Sybiha added that there is compelling evidence that Russia has used chemical weapons in Ukraine and has threatened to use nuclear weapons in its genocidal war. His remarks came amid rumors that the plague could have originated in a biological laboratory developing weapons.
"The world must not wait for another catastrophe before asking questions," he said.
Russia must disclose all the circumstances surrounding the case, provide transparent epidemiological data, and cooperate with international mechanisms because “when dangerous pathogens are involved, secrecy is a threat to everyone,” Sybiha added.
WHO seeks more information from Russia
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it still lacks the data it needs for a full risk assessment, while Russia has told the organization that no cases of plague have recently been reported in Irkutsk Oblast.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that the organization has asked Russia for "further information on the laboratory tests conducted on the individual who died and the contacts," more details on what prompted the public health measures, and the health status of the contacts. The organization also seeks verification of media reports of a second employee with pneumonia of undetermined cause.
Based on "unofficial information," the public health risk to the general population appears to be low, WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier says, according to Forbes.
US officials say they know little about what is happening in Russia
On 6 October, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said information з приводу вирогідної хвороби from Russia was "still quite limited."
The next day at the White House, a reporter asked US President Donald Trump whether the plague in Russia was a bioweapon, according to CNN.
"Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so," he said.
The reporter also asked whether Trump was “getting the same vibe right now from Russia that you got from China at the start of COVID.”
"Well, China didn't say much, and Russia's not saying much either, but they do say they have it very much under control," Trump answered.
Ukrainian drugmakers could lose the certificates that let them sell in Uzbekistan, their most important export market, Ukrainian business outlet Ekonomichna Pravda reported on 7 October. Uzbekistan is ending remote factory inspections next year, and industry sources say its inspectors are wary of traveling to a country at war.
Russia's war keeps reshaping Central Asia's trade with both warring countries: Ukrainian refinery strikes pushed Russian fuel shortages into the region, and Kazakhstan gained leverage over a Russian retail giant.
A market worth a third of export earnings
Uzbekistan brings in about 30% of the Ukrainian drug industry's foreign-currency earnings, and one in 10 medicine packs sold there is Ukrainian, Ekonomichna Pravda wrote. By the outlet's count, at least three of Ukraine's five biggest drugmakers by revenue rank it as their top foreign market.
The currency from Uzbekistan lets manufacturers keep prices low in Ukraine and absorb losses from Russian strikes, three industry sources told Ekonomichna Pravda. Losing the market would force producers to raise domestic prices or pull low-margin medicines, which "will hit the Ukrainian patient," said Hennadii Vovk, former deputy head of Ukraine's State Service on Medicines and Drug Control.
Exports reached $114 million in January–June 2026, more than in all of 2021, said Yevheniia Piddubna, government relations head at Farmak, Ukraine's largest drugmaker. She said Uzbekistan takes 35% of Farmak's exports.
Data from the YouControl business registry, cited by the outlet, complicates that picture. In 2022, 30–35% of Farmak's products went to Uzbekistan. In 2025, Uzbekistan was not among its direct buyers. Farmak explained that wartime currency rules cap payment terms at 180 days, while foreign buyers often demand longer. So part of its trade runs through the group's Polish company.
Remote checks end, and inspectors hesitate to travel
Uzbekistan grants three-year certificates of good manufacturing practice (GMP) after inspecting the factory. Since the pandemic, it has allowed remote checks. That suited Ukraine, where Uzbek experts avoided traveling because of Russia's invasion, industry sources told the outlet. Remote inspections end on 1 January 2027.
Explore further
Ukraine funds its war from wages, and a 1971 law keeps millions of women from earning them
Most Ukrainian certificates expire within a year. Farmak's runs out in November 2026, and the company may not manage to renew it in time. Three producers renewed under the old rules until 2029: Darnytsia, the Borshchahivskyi Chemical and Pharmaceutical Plant, and Farmex Group. According to Piddubna, Uzbekistan's regulator has drafted rules for remote inspections in force-majeure cases, but nothing has been put into practice. Industry sources said the Uzbek Presidential Administration must sign off.
Producers have asked the Office of the President, the Foreign Ministry, and the Health Ministry to raise the issue with Uzbekistan's government, but no Ukrainian experts have been sent there yet, the outlet reported. Russia, whose share of the Uzbek drug market is almost the same as Ukraine's, is ready to take Ukraine's place, its sources said.
Armed escorts in masks pushed a group of migrants from Belarus toward Latvia and threatened Latvian soldiers, and hours later masked people crossed into Latvia and stole border surveillance cameras, Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava said on 6 October. Latvia's military described the incident as part of a continuing hybrid campaign on the border, and Ukraine's foreign minister blamed Moscow.
Russia keeps probing the EU's eastern defenses with migrants pushed from its own soil and through its ally Belarus, alongside drone incursions and sabotage that ISW has linked into one Russian pattern across Europe.
Armed escorts threatened Latvian soldiers
Latvian soldiers stopped at least 20 migrants trying to cross the border illegally from Belarus, the Latvian National Armed Forces said. Masked escorts led the group, and this time they were armed, threatened the soldiers, and urged and drove the migrants toward Latvia, the military said.
"Unlike many previous incidents, this time the provocation was particularly demonstrative and aggressive," Dombrava said.
The incident confirms that deliberate provocations and hybrid threats on the border will continue, the armed forces said. Illegal migration is being used as a tool to pressure Latvia's border and, with it, the external border of the EU and NATO, they added.
Belarus began funneling migrants toward the EU in 2021, a campaign Poland's government called a hybrid attack in which the migrants end up as weapons. In 2023, Finland closed its border crossings with Russia, accusing Moscow of the same tactic, and by mid-July Latvia had logged 111 straight days of migrants pushed across from Belarus.
Masked people stole the cameras
Several hours after the standoff, people in masks entered Latvian territory, damaged a distribution cabinet, and stole surveillance cameras, Dombrava said. They returned to Belarus before the border guard patrol could arrive.
"Belarus should understand that such incidents could lead to more serious consequences for Belarus itself," he said.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine stands in full solidarity with Latvia. "Make no mistake: Moscow is behind it," he wrote, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin "deliberately weaponizes migration, with the help of Lukashenka, to destabilise Europe."
Tunnels, tear gas, and damaged cameras on the border
Latvia's border guards stopped 11,384 attempts to cross illegally from Belarus between the start of 2026 and 24 September. In January, Latvia's armed forces and border guard published evidence that Belarusian security agencies were organizing illegal migration across the border. Latvia has also recorded deliberate damage to cables, distribution cabinets, and camera poles on its eastern border, aimed at slowing the rollout of an automated border control system.
Explore further
Stop arming Ukraine or we shut down your defense firms, pro-Kremlin group tells Latvia, Poland, and Portugal
On 22 July, Latvian soldiers fired warning shots and used tear gas against migrants trying to cross. The next day, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said Russia and Belarus were stepping up their hybrid war against the Baltic States to distract from Russia's failures in Ukraine. Latvia temporarily halted crossings on the Belarus border on 31 July. In August, Latvian guards found the first tunnel dug from Belarus and turned back 15 migrants who used it.
The Netherlands will help Ukraine with maintenance, spare parts, and ammunition for F-16 fighter jets, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten promised in a statement on 5 October. He made this and other statements following a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with drones every day, increasingly with jet-powered ones. F-16 fighter jets are one of the effective options for shooting down these UAVs, but Ukraine has far too few of them. The F-16s are used very frequently and therefore require maintenance. About half of the aircraft spend extended periods abroad undergoing repairs and maintenance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Financial Times this month. The process of returning the aircraft has taken too long, and Ukraine has lost time when the jets were most needed to protect Ukrainian airspace, he said.
“A further strengthening of Ukraine’s air defense is literally vital,” the prime minister said.
Russia’s aggression continues to escalate, and F-16 fighter jets can help stop it
Russia is deliberately attacking civilian facilities and energy infrastructure and wants to make Ukrainian cities uninhabitable, Jetten said, adding that “we must not allow this to happen.”
One effective solution is the use of F-16 fighter jets, while Ukraine faces shortages of both these aircraft and the missiles for them.
Ukrainian F-16 pilots lack air-to-air missiles and take off with only the aircraft’s cannon during some daytime missions, the War Zone reported on 2 September. The M61A1 Vulcan 20mm rotary cannon can pose a danger to civilians on the ground, the outlet noted.
A pilot in an F-16 fighter in Ukraine. Screenshot from the video of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's speech on Ukraine's Air Force Day
Poland promised to provide Ukraine with F-16 missiles back in September, and several partners, including Poland, have already begun the process of transferring ammunition this month. Other partners include Spain and Belgium, which Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha mentioned during a meeting with journalists, Hromadske reported on 1 October.
Ukraine critically needs this ammunition, especially as Russia prepares new strikes, Sybiha said.
“Against the backdrop of the fact that we have not yet built up the capability to repel jet-powered drones, against the backdrop of preparations for new strikes, it was critically important to help our military shoot down these drones. The most effective right now—apart from air defense systems, which are very expensive to use constantly against drones—are F-16 fighter jets,” the minister said.
Zelenskyy held talks with the president of France and the prime ministers of Poland and the Netherlands about means of protecting against Russian strikes, he said in his address on 5 October. In particular, he thanked the Dutch prime minister for his prompt response.
Whether Belgian maintenance delays are the reason for the low number of operational F-16s in Ukraine remains disputed
Fewer than 50% of the F-16s delivered to Ukraine may be operational, Defense Express reports, citing a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) editorial published on 29 September.
The Belgian company that services F-16s for Ukraine takes as long as 40 weeks to complete the work, retired US Navy Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery told the WSJ.
Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo visiting the Melsbroek Air Base, where Ukrainian personnel have been undergoing F-16 training, 28 May 2024. Photo: president.gov.ua
That day, Zelenskyy had already announced that Belgium would send three of its fighter jets to Ukraine this year. Ukraine will receive them under an accelerated procedure, he said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs refutes claims that Ukrainian fighter jets have a catastrophically low operational availability rate and excessively long maintenance times.
“Contrary to these claims, our industrial sustainment partners are not only continuing to deliver overhauled aircraft, but are doing so at an increasing pace. Turnaround times are decreasing, not increasing,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on 2 October.
Reports about the condition of Ukraine’s F-16s should not undermine confidence in international funding supporting F-16 maintenance or cast doubt on the need for additional F-16s from the stockpiles of partner countries, Tykhyi warned.
Ukraine may soon receive a multimillion package of 20-mm rounds for its F-16 fighter jets, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha told journalists, Hromadske reported. He called the ammunition critical for shooting down Russia's jet-powered drones and said several partners have already begun transferring it. He expects the larger package after an upcoming high-level visit.
Russia now strikes Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities daily, increasingly with jet-powered drones that outrun the cheap interceptors built for slower Shaheds. Fighter jets are among the tools Ukraine uses against them, while its overall interception rate for jet drones still trails its rate against propeller drones.
"Critically important" ammunition
Sybiha said Ukraine has yet to build up its capability to repel jet drones.
"Given that we have not yet built up the capability to repel jet drones, and given the preparations for new strikes, it was critically important to help our military shoot down these drones. Apart from air defense systems, which are too expensive to use constantly against drones, the most effective tools right now are F-16 fighter jets," Sybiha said.
He thanked Spain, Belgium, and Poland, which have begun the process of transferring the ammunition, and said that thanks to them Ukraine will "very soon" have the rounds it needs.
Explore further
Belgium will send three F-16 fighter jets, but maintenance delays may keep Ukraine from using them
A "very serious visit" ahead
Sybiha linked the larger package to a visit he did not name.
"We will soon have one very serious visit. We think that one of the decisions following this visit will be a multimillion package of this ammunition for Ukraine," he said.
Talks on buying the rounds from private manufacturers are also underway, he added.
Ukraine has already received urgent batches of F-16 ammunition from Belgium, Spain, and other partners, and Belgium plans to send three more F-16s by the end of 2026 under an accelerated procedure. The jets' air-to-air missiles and cannon rounds are imported and not always in stock.
Explore further
Combat shows speed alone can’t catch Russia’s jet-powered drones, despite eight Ukrainian makers’ assurances. So why can’t they stop them?
Another night of Russian strikes
Overnight on 2 October, Russia launched 108 drones at Ukraine, 47 of them jet-powered, and air defenses downed 88 of them. In Kyiv, a Russian strike on a 25-story residential building in the Darnytskyi district killed one person and injured two. Russia also targeted the Southern Bridge again, after striking it three times the previous day, and the city restricted public transport across several bridges.
In Kharkiv Oblast, a Russian FPV drone hit a car in the Solonytsivka hromada on the afternoon of 1 October, injuring a man and a boy. A Russian strike damaged a civilian enterprise in Rivne Oblast and started a fire that forced an evacuation of nearby homes, regional head Oleksandr Koval said, and drones attacked Cherkasy Oblast.
In neighboring Romania, an object believed to be a drone crashed near the village of Plauru in Tulcea County during the attack, starting a fire that caused no casualties, Romania's Defense Ministry said.
Russia's low-Earth-orbit satellite constellation Rassvet went from a few minutes of connectivity over Ukraine to two stable windows lasting more than an hour each in just five months. The system was built by the Russian private company Bureau 1440 as Moscow's answer to Starlink.
As of now, it is nowhere near matching SpaceX's 10,000-satellite network—but the gap between what Russia has now and what it needs is closing, and the tools that could slow it down mostly sit unused. When Ukraine and SpaceX bricked Russian-obtained Starlink terminals earlier this year, Russian assaults froze across the front—proof that cutting satellite command-and-control links matters more than disrupting guidance. Russia is now building its own links. The most consequential tool that could slow that down is Western sanctions against Bureau 1440 itself.
Four years of Western sanctions have failed to cut Russia off from the foreign components its missile and drone factories rely on: parts manufactured after sanctions were imposed still reach Russian assembly lines within months. Rassvet is a new version of the same problem. The system is still being built and relies on imported components whose exact origin is disputed—some experts point to American and European parts reaching Russia through sanctions-evasion networks, others say the core hardware is built from off-the-shelf Chinese components. Its manufacturer remains unsanctioned by any Western government, while some of the infrastructure needed to expand production has already been struck by Ukraine.
Six minutes in March, two hours by August
In March 2026, Bureau 1440 launched its first operational batch of 16 Rassvet satellites from Plesetsk Cosmodrome. Each pass over Ukraine created a window of six to 10 minutes, Serhii Beskrestnov, callsign Flash, a Ukrainian presidential adviser on defense technology, estimated at the time.
By late August, the picture had changed. Tracking data from N2YO showed four passes a day and two stable communication windows lasting more than an hour each. Satellite communications expert Volodymyr Stepanets said that 12 of the 16 satellites from the first batch had reached their operational altitude of 550 km, three were still ascending, and one had burned up—likely due to a manufacturing defect. A second batch of 16 went into orbit in July, though those satellites struggled to reach their target altitude and some may reenter the atmosphere.
Bureau 1440 shows footage of separation of 16 Rassvet satellites from Soyuz's third stage pic.twitter.com/jhe2krZ1kA
The second batch may be climbing faster than the first did at the same stage. Still, Russia is far from the 200–250 satellites Beskrestnov considers necessary for stable, round-the-clock coverage, and the altitude of roughly 550 km is still short of the roughly 800 km the constellation is designed to reach.
What Rassvet would change on the battlefield
Russia is unlikely to have any civilian use in mind for these communication windows. The satellites transmit in the Ka and Ku bands—high-frequency signals that are difficult to jam and difficult to detect.
Radio frequency spectrum and satellite frequency bands, including Ka and Ku bands used by Russia's Rassvet constellation. Source: Bliley Technologies
Right now, Ukraine's electronic warfare can push Russian drones offline: a Shahed flying low through a jammed zone loses its link and drifts off course. A satellite relay overhead would change that. The drone holds its course, receives updated coordinates mid-flight, stays below radar, and strikes. The constellation could do this for long-range strike and naval drones alike—letting them operate through electronic warfare at very low altitudes, where Ukraine's air defenses struggle to see them.
Bureau 1440 has also developed user terminals small enough to fit on Geran-type attack drones and cruise missiles. Gerans have struck Ukrainian territory, including Kyiv and Kyiv Oblast, almost continuously over the past month. A terminal on a Geran would turn a one-way munition into a weapon that can be redirected after launch. Unlike the Starlink terminals Ukraine relies on, which are geographically restricted, Russian terminals are expected to face no such limits—the same terminal that connects a Geran over Kyiv Oblast would work over Berlin or Paris.
A pass of the Russian Rassvet satellites over Ukraine scheduled for 21 April 2026. Source: www.n2yo.com
The sanctions lever—and the gap in it
Rassvet's parent company, IKS Holding, is one of Russia's largest hardware and software developers. The US sanctioned the holding, its then-owner Anton Cherepennikov, and the subsidiaries Kryptonit and KNS Group on 24 February 2023. Cherepennikov died under unexplained circumstances, but the company keeps operating.
Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (SZRU) says the holding serves as a personnel reserve for the Federal Security Service (FSB). The first deputy CEO of IKS Holding is Boris Korolyov, son of FSB First Deputy Director Sergei Korolyov, according to the SZRU. He took the post at 27 in 2023, after Cherepennikov's death.
More importantly, though, is the company that actually builds the satellites—Bureau 1440—and its leadership. Ukraine has placed the company on its own sanctions list, but Kyiv's unilateral designations carry limited trade enforcement power, because these people and this company are absent from Western lists. At Euromaidan Press's request, the US-based research organization C4ADS confirmed that Bureau 1440 and its leadership sit outside every Western sanctions regime, and called designating the manufacturer the single most visible and effective step available.
From the Ukrainian side, Viktoriia Vyshnivska, a senior analyst at the Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (NAKO), told Euromaidan Press that sanctions on Bureau 1440 are not a magic button—but they are not pointless, either. Because Bureau 1440 uses Western equipment, designating the company would directly affect trade in those boards and components, she said. Any Western manufacturer that kept doing business with the company would also risk investigation and legal consequences.
Given the reach of Russia's sanctions-evasion networks and its close ties with China in joint production and technology sharing.
"We shouldn't expect a magical effect," Vyshnivska said.
But sanctions would make direct trade impossible and raise the cost and difficulty of sourcing Western components.
Even if the useful window is short, making supplies more expensive and harder to find is the point.
Many of the goods Bureau 1440 uses are already banned from sale to Russia under EU export controls, Vyshnivska noted. Yet Bureau 1440 itself is still absent from the sanctions lists. Her recommendation: Bureau 1440, its current owners, its parent company, the key related entities and individuals, and its main suppliers should all be designated.
Illustration of the Russian Rassvet satellites by Bureau 1440
Diplomacy: Ukraine goes to the ITU
Beyond that, Ukraine is trying to act on its own on several fronts.
The first is diplomacy. On 28 August, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Ukraine had sent a formal note to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the UN agency that coordinates radio frequencies, demanding that Ukrainian territory be excluded from Rassvet's service areas across all frequency bands. The system's use over Ukraine "has nothing to do with civilian purposes," he wrote on X.
Today, we officially addressed the International Telecommunications Union @ITU requesting an exclusion of Ukraine’s national territory from the declared service areas of all beams of the Russian military satellite system 'Rassvet' satellite networks in all frequency bands.
Days later, at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Ireland, Sybiha handed partners a list of nine legal entities linked to the project and urged them to impose sanctions.
The EU had already moved once: its 21st sanctions package, adopted on 23 July, targeted the Rassvet network. But the main gap is not closed, and that round stopped short of the manufacturer, leaving Bureau 1440 and its chief executive off the lists.
Hitting the supply chain with weapons
Another lever is direct strikes. In mid-August, Ukrainian-made Flamingo cruise missiles struck an industrial zone in Samara that houses the Progress Rocket Space Center—the only plant in Russia that serially assembles the Soyuz-2.1b rockets used to launch Rassvet into orbit. Satellite imagery published by the Ukrainian Telegram channel Exilenova+ showed a collapsed roof section 85 meters long and 35 meters wide over Building 106A, the hall where crews wire the rockets' control systems and cabling. The channel reported two missile hits on that hall.
The aftermath of a strike by two FP-5 Flamingo cruise missiles on the Progress Rocket and Space Center. Photo: t.me/exilenova_plus
If the hall was destroyed, production could stop entirely, and switching to other Russian launch vehicles would take significantly longer and add complexity. Drones also attempted to strike Plesetsk Cosmodrome, from which both 2026 batches were launched.
Both targets—the factory that builds the rockets and the site that launches them—are needed if Russia is to expand Rassvet production.
The timeline: 5.5 to eight years, if nothing changes
Russia plans to expand the constellation to 292 satellites by the end of 2027, Deputy Chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) Vadym Skibitskyi said. Moscow's longer-term goal is 924 satellites by 2035.
Explore further
After SpaceX cuts off Starlink access, Russia launches first 16 satellites of its own “Rassvet” alternative
With 32 satellites already launched in two batches, 260 more are needed. At 16 satellites per launch, that requires roughly 17 launches. At a four-month interval between launches, deploying them would take roughly 5.5 years even if every launch succeeded and every satellite reached its target orbit. That most likely won't fully work out: one satellite from the first batch is already lost, two from the second batch may be lost as well, and none of them has yet reached the required altitude.
Russia also depends on the scarce Soyuz-2.1b rocket. The rocket has averaged only six to eight launches per year since 2022—most committed to GLONASS navigation satellites, ISS resupply, and military payloads—limiting Russia to a theoretical maximum of roughly two Rassvet-dedicated launches per year, or 128 Rassvet satellites over four years at that rate.
There is still time to shut this project down or slow it. Vyshnivska put the useful window to slow Rassvet at about a year. Russia, by Ukrainian calculations, needs five to eight years to see it through.
Russian drones and missiles struck Kyiv data centers over 23–24 September, knocking out internet and hosting providers. The Digital Transformation Ministry said about 100,000 subscribers lost service, NV Business reported.
Russia has widened its air campaign from power plants and warehouses to railways, fuel stations, and now digital infrastructure as it tries to grind down the country's ability to function before another war winter.
"You'd have to destroy 70-80% of Kyiv's buildings"
MiroHost founder and Internet Invest Group head Oleksandr Olshanskyi told NV Business the attack destroyed his own data center.
"Most critically important data and systems have been moved abroad or to the cloud," Olshanskyi said. "If an online store stops working, that's unpleasant but not a tragedy."
He called rumors about a full internet blackout or sharp service price hikes baseless.
"Destroying all internet in a simple way is impossible—you'd have to use nuclear or chemical weapons or destroy 70-80% of buildings in Kyiv," he said.
What Russia hit
The strikes damaged a Kyiv data center housing UTELS switching equipment on 23 September. Overnight into 24 September, Russia destroyed equipment of hosting provider CityHost.UA and the data center housing MiroHost. About 95% of MiroHost's clients operate outside Ukraine and were unaffected, he said. Russia also struck the Pavutyna network's data center. Crazy Network said a missile struck Kyiv's central traffic exchange hub, cutting service for its subscribers in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, and Khmelnytskyi Oblast.
Providers KIEVNET, Domonet, FAUST, and Etherlink also reported disruptions. Ukraine's telecom regulator NKEK said on 24 September that providers were completing emergency restoration, and Domonet estimated service would return by 21:00 that evening.
The 23 September strikes killed two people and injured more than 40, and hit a college building in Kyiv while students were on campus, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote that evening. Russia targeted major Ukrainian data centers "seeking to disrupt the flow of information," he said. "This is critical civilian infrastructure that ensures people can access life-saving information. It is not a military target."
"More sanctions pressure, more missile interceptors are the only way to stop this terror," Sybiha wrote. "These attacks must not become the new normal."
Panic, not military gain
Olshanskyi said Russia uses these strikes to spread fear, not achieve lasting results.
"The enemy's goal is to cause damage, inflame panic, and heighten nervousness," he said.
His data center's destruction "will not affect the situation at the front in any way," he said.
Ukraine's current ambassador to the United States, Oksana Markarova, will be replaced in the near future, Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha confirmed in an interview with Ukrainian Radio on July 8.
Earlier on July 8, a source in the Presidential Office told the Kyiv Independent that President Volodymyr Zelensky had informed Markarova of her pending dismissal.
"We can expect about 20 decrees dismissing and appointing new heads of foreign institutions," Sybiha said, specifically mentioning the U.S. as one of the planned replacements.
In his comments, Sybiha described Markarova as "one of our most successful ambassadors."
"She is extremely effective and charismatic, but surely every diplomat has a rotation cycle," he said. "I can confirm that the Ukrainian president's vision is to carry out rotations in all countries, both G7 and G20. That is, first and foremost, to strengthen these countries, in particular the U.S. track."
Zelensky and Sybiha on June 21 announced plans to overhaul Ukraine's diplomatic corps, teasing major personnel changes in a bid to secure better military aid packages and other support from international partners.
Zelensky discussed replacing Markarova specifically in a recent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, a source in the President's Office told the Kyiv Independent on July 7.
There are multiple "strong candidates" in the running to replace Markarova, the source said. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, and Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko are among the candidates, Bloomberg previously reported.
In his evening address, Zelensky said that a meeting with all Ukrainian ambassadors is scheduled for July 21. It was not immediately clear as to when the changes to the posts may take effect.
Markarova has served as Kyiv's ambassador to Washington since April 2021, and played a central role in coordinating U.S. military and financial support during the early phases of Russia's full-scale invasion.
The announcement of her dismissal comes at a high-stakes moment in relations between Kyiv and Washington. The U.S. Defense Department recently paused shipments of critical weapons systems, including Patriot air defense missiles and precision-guided munitions, even as Ukraine faces intensifying Russian attacks.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul pledged on June 30 that Berlin is exploring "every possible path" to provide Ukraine with additional air defense systems, amid intensifying Russian missile and drone attacks, according to RBK-Ukraine.
Speaking at a press conference during his visit to Kyiv, Wadephul said Germany is working with its defense industry, European allies, and the U.S. to urgently secure more systems for Ukraine's air shield.
"We are going down every path available," Wadephul said. "The German defense industry is trying to expand its capacity. We're speaking with our European partners, and I believe we must also move forward with the United States."
He added that he remains in close contact with German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius to assess whether existing systems from Germany's own stockpiles can be redirected to Ukraine.
Wadephul's visit came just a day after Russia launched its largest aerial assault on Ukraine to date, firing 477 drones and 60 missiles in a 24-hour period. In a video message posted on social media earlier on June 30, the German minister described Ukraine as "a country once again haunted by war," and reaffirmed Germany's solidarity.
"Germany stands by Ukraine," Wadephul said. "We must not allow freedom to be lost here. We have to support this country and ensure that a ceasefire is finally achieved. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin must realize he cannot continue this war and must negotiate a peace solution."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha welcomed Wadephul's visit in a post on X, saying the two discussed how to counter Russian aggression and deepen bilateral ties.
Glad to welcome my German colleague and friend @AussenMinDe Johann Wadephul.
We spoke about steps to counter Russian aggression against Ukraine, neutralise the threats posed to Europe by the aggressive Russian regime, and ways to further strengthen the ties between our nations.… pic.twitter.com/38ZX97SfXb
Sybiha said they also spoke about Germany's role in Ukraine's development of long-range capabilities and drones, calling it "win-win cooperation"— as well as Berlin's support for the 18th EU sanctions package and Ukraine's path to EU membership.
"I am grateful to Minister Wadephul for his moral clarity and personal contribution to Ukraine's resilience," Sybiha added.
Wadephul is expected to meet with President Volodymyr Zelensky later during his visit.
The German foreign minister emphasized that witnessing the destruction firsthand is critical to understanding Ukraine's suffering and the urgency of sustained international support.
"This is indeed a difficult situation," Wadephul said. "And that is why German solidarity is so important right now."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on June 30 rebuked Slovakia's foreign minister after he suggested the international community might "perhaps even forgive" Russia's actions and reengage in dialogue with Moscow to end the war in Ukraine.
"Russia's sense of impunity is the root cause of its crimes," Sybiha wrote in a post on X. "It's naive to expect a criminal to stop if their crime is forgiven instead of punished. Russia will hit your other cheek as well. And those who have lost no one in this war have no right to make such statements."
Sybiha's remarks came in response to comments made by Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Blanar during a domestic media interview on June 29. Blanar argued the war in Ukraine could not be resolved militarily and called for a return to diplomacy, suggesting Russia could be forgiven.
"Let us return to respect for international law and seek ways to communicate with the Russian Federation," he said. "And perhaps even forgive everything that has happened."
Juraj, Russia's sense of impunity is the root cause of its crimes. It's naive to expect a criminal to stop if their crime is forgiven instead of punished. Russia will hit your other cheek as well. And those who have lost no one in this war have no right to make such statements. pic.twitter.com/ALLzGT6ugP
Slovakia recently requested a delay in adopting the European Union's 18th sanctions package against Russia, citing the need for further clarification on how it would impact member states, particularly in light of the EU's RePowerEU initiative to end dependence on Russian fossil fuels by 2030.
Fico's administration has distanced itself from the pro-Ukraine consensus within the EU and NATO. Since taking office in 2023, he has halted Slovak military aid to Ukraine and pursued diplomatic engagement with Russia. Earlier this year, Fico attended Russia's Victory Day Parade in Moscow and met with President Vladimir Putin — a gesture most Western leaders avoided.
Fico has dismissed the idea of meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky, telling Slovak broadcaster STVR that Zelensky "hates me" and that such a meeting "has no significance."
Ukraine has consistently emphasized that peace can only come through justice and accountability for Russian war crimes and aggression, a position echoed by many Western governments.
Kyiv is preparing to overhaul its Foreign Ministry and diplomatic corps in order to strengthen international support for Ukraine as the all-out war with Russia enters its fourth year, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on June 21.
The announcement is part of "a number of new decisions" Ukraine has made in response to Russia's stated aim to conquer all of Ukraine, Zelensky said in his evening address.
"(W)e will make changes to certain staff positions, including within the Ukrainian diplomatic corps and institutional management, to increase Ukraine's potential both in relations with partners and in internal Ukrainian resilience," Zelensky said.
The president said that all of Ukraine's ambassadors will hold a meeting and that results of the diplomatic transformation should be apparent in a month.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha, confirmed that the president had already made decisions regarding some diplomatic personnel and that the ambassadors' meeting was scheduled for July.
"The geopolitical situation requires the diplomatic service to find new arguments and approaches adapted to realities," Sybiha said in a television broadcast on June 21.
"Therefore, the president has already made certain personnel decisions regarding the heads of some foreign institutions, because the criterion is very simple: results."
According to Sybiha, expected results include military aid packages, humanitarian and financial assistance, and support for Ukrainians living abroad.
Sybiha described the coming month as a "month of full diplomatic mobilization to bring about a just and sustainable peace for Ukraine."
The announcement comes after the disappointing outcome of the Group of Seven (G7) Leaders' Summit in Canada and before the June 24-25 NATO summit in The Hague, where Zelensky will once again advocate for international support for Ukraine.
At the G7 summit, Zelensky hoped to reset relations with Washington during a face-to-face meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump and potentially win an agreement to purchase weapons from the United States.
Trump's abrupt departure from the summit quashed those hopes, and Zelensky himself left the conference early. The G7 summit produced no unified statement on Ukraine and Trump reportedly objected to other leaders' call for stronger sanctions against Russia.
Zelensky told G7 leaders that "diplomacy is now in a state of crisis."
A hundred days since Ukraine agreed to a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire, "Russia continues to choose war," Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on June 19, urging international pressure to push Moscow toward ending the war.
"It has been exactly 100 days since Ukraine unconditionally accepted the U.S. peace proposal to completely cease fire, put an end to the killing, and move forward with a genuine peace process," Sybiha said on X.
Ukraine backed the U.S. proposal for an unconditional 30-day ceasefire during talks in Jeddah on March 11. Russia has rejected the offer, instead pushing maximalist demands while intensifying attacks across Ukrainian cities.
"A hundred days of Russian manipulations and missed opportunities to end the war. A hundred days of Russia escalating terror against Ukraine rather than ending it," Sybiha said.
Ukraine's top diplomat stressed that Kyiv remains committed to peace, while Russia disregards U.S. efforts to "end the killing."
While U.S. President Donald Trump initially pledged to broker a swift peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow, the U.S. administration has become increasingly less engaged in negotiations as the progress stalls.
Trump has evaded calls for exerting additional pressure on Russia via sanctions, and compared the two warring sides to "two young children" who should be let "fight for a while" before being pulled apart.
The U.S. president has also become increasingly preoccupied with the Middle East amid escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel.
"It is time to act now and force Russia to peace. Peace through strength, increased sanctions, and enhanced capabilities for Ukraine," Sybiha said.
European leaders have declared they are ready to impose additional sanctions on Russia as the 18th sanctions package is being prepared. In turn, a U.S. bill imposing heavy sanctions on Russian oil has been postponed, as other foreign policy issues dominate the agenda in Washington.
Three Ukrainian nationals were killed in a bus accident in France on June 13, President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in a statement on Telegram.
"Terrible news about the tragic bus accident in France," Zelensky wrote.
The accident occurred in the morning of June 13, near the Sarthe department of France. The bus was reportedly carrying Ukrainian nationals, including adults and children, who were returning from an educational exchange.
While en route to Paris, the bus lost control and flipped into a ditch.
Four adults were killed in total – three of whom were Ukrainian nationals. French media reported that nine people sustained serious injuries, while an additional 18 suffered minor injuries.
Zelensky added that Ukraine's Foreign Ministry promptly sent a team of diplomats and consuls, led by the ambassador to France, to assist survivors and support the victims’ families. The team is coordinating with French authorities and emergency services at the scene.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko are providing regular updates on the victims' conditions and emerging details regarding the accident.
Zelensky thanked the French authorities, noting that "more than 50 emergency teams were deployed" in what he called "a true expression of French solidarity."
He also expressed his "condolences to all the families of the victims" and wished for a "speedy recovery of the injured children."
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha warned on June 13 that Russia has begun preparing strategic military reserves, signaling plans for military operations that may extend beyond Ukraine.
"According to our intelligence, Russia has started to prepare strategic reserves, which indicates plans for combat operations not only in Ukraine," Sybiha said during the Globsec conference in Prague, calling for urgent diplomatic and economic pressure.
"Allies need full diplomatic mobilization to stop this war. This is not just a question for Ukraine. (Russian President Vladimir) Putin only understands strength, and right now it's crucial to apply sanctions in a timely manner, using them as economic weapons to pressure Russia," Sybiha said.
The comments come as Russia intensifies its military offensives and missile strikes across Ukraine, despite participating in two recent rounds of peace talks in Istanbul. The first talks were held on May 16, followed by a second meeting on June 2. While both rounds produced agreements on prisoner exchanges, they failed to secure a ceasefire.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a June 12 interview with Germany's Bild newspaper that Russia is using the talks to delay tougher U.S. sanctions, while continuing to escalate attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Russia also continues to issue nuclear threats to Western countries. Putin claimed on June 11 that Russia possesses the world's most advanced nuclear systems, with 95% of its strategic nuclear forces reportedly made up of modern equipment.
Putin emphasized the need to significantly strengthen Russia's ground forces. Russian defense spending has surged to 6.3% of GDP, the highest level since the Cold War, as Moscow continues to ramp up its military investment amid the ongoing war.
Connexion
(@andrii_sybiha) 
(@afec7032) 
