October 3 2024

Lithuania and Sweden are partnering to provide demining equipment worth €22 million to Ukraine, €15 million from Lithuania, and €7 million from Sweden. Additionally, pickup trucks and other vehicles will be purchased to meet the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the State Special Transport Service of Ukraine.


The Czech company, Czechoslovak Group, signed a deal with the Ukrainian company Ukrainian Armor, to set up a 155 mm artillery shell factory inside Ukraine. One agreement involves the supply of components, while the other pertains to licensing technology for production. Preparation for the factory is already underway and they plan on producing 100,000 155 mm artillery shells in 2025 and 300,000 in 2026.


International weapons manufacturer BAE Systems, plans on localizing production of M777 howitzers in Ukraine. First, they will localize the repair of the howitzers that are already in service of Ukraine, and then look into the manufacturing of them in Ukraine later. In addition, BAE systems CEO Christian Saar said they will also provide spare parts and provide training for Ukrainian servicemembers. He emphasized the importance of growing Ukraine’s defense industry and promised long-term cooperation.


On October 2, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law exempting defendants from criminal liability if they join the military. There are nearly 60,000 prisoners in pre-trial detention centers and Russia hopes to conscript about 40% of them. Around 20,000 individuals are expected to take advantage of this opportunity. Criminal proceedings are halted for those serving in the military, and defendants are fully exempt from liability after receiving a state award or when they are honorably discharged from the military.


Vitalii Lomeiko, a Ukrainian judge who was accused of collaborating with Russia, was killed in a car explosion in the occupied city of Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region, on October 2, 2024. The incident occurred near the port in the Lysky neighborhood, and witnesses reported hearing a loud sound and seeing a column of black smoke. Lomeiko had been a judge in the Chernihiv District Court and stayed in Berdiansk after it was captured and cooperated with the Russian authorities.


The Russian military mistook a crop-dusting plane for a Ukrainian drone and opened fire with machine guns in Tambov Oblast. The Bekas light aircraft had to make an emergency landing on September 25 near Tambov. The pilot, who was spraying crops, flew over a gunpowder factory, prompting machine gun fire at the plane. The pilot sustained a leg injury and had to make an emergency landing in a nearby field.


A Russian Su-25 was reportedly shot down.

A Russian Nebo-M radar was also reportedly destroyed. These cost an estimated $100 million.


AeroVironment signed an agreement with an unnamed Ukrainian company to manufacture Switchblade 600 drones in Ukraine. The partnership aims to localize production gradually, starting with subsystem components, with plans to eventually produce several thousand units annually, pending U.S. government approval. This approval may take around nine months. AeroVironment is also working on improving the drone and simplifying its operation. The company also wants to conduct training in the use of its drones inside of Ukraine, currently, training is only allowed outside of Ukraine.

The Ukrainians are reportedly using the Switchblade 600 in an unintended manner, saving them for higher-value targets such as air defense systems. Originally, they were designed to target armored vehicles, but Russia has so many of them, that it makes sense to save more expensive munitions for more important targets.


On October 2, Russia attacked Kharkiv with a KAB glide bomb, striking a residential building and injuring at least 10 people, including a 3-year-old girl. The bomb hit between the third and fourth floors. The explosion also caused a fire that spread to nearby vehicles and resulted in extensive damage. Residents were evacuated, and emergency workers are on-site, with concerns about possible victims under the rubble.

According to Mayor Ihor Terekhov, in September Kharkiv experienced 53 attacks by the Russian military using artillery, missiles, and drones, resulting in nearly 200 civilian injuries, including 19 children. This is the highest number of attacks in 2023. The ongoing strikes have complicated winter preparations because repair crews and workers are often sent to deal with damage from these strikes.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, this summer Russia killed 589 Ukrainian civilians and caused 2,685 injuries, a 45% increase compared to the previous three months. July 2024 was particularly deadly. It had the highest civilian casualties since October 2022. Since February 24, 2022, at least 11,743 civilians have been killed and 24,614 injured. Over 15 million Ukrainians now require humanitarian assistance due to the ongoing conflict.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine has incurred approximately $1.2 trillion in lost revenue and $386 billion in lost added value, according to the Kyiv School of Economics.

Losses by Sector

1. Commerce: $450.5 billion
2. Construction: $409.9 billion
3. Agriculture: $83.1 billion
4. Energy: $43.1 billion
5. Transportation: $38.8 billion
6. Digital Infrastructure and IT Sector: $19.3 billion
7. Education and Science: $14.5 billion
8. Healthcare: $11.4 billion
9. Culture, Sports, and Tourism: $7.3 billion
10. Financial Sector: $4.3 billion

Other Damages/Costs Imposed by the War

• Demining Costs: $42 billion
• Housing Sector Costs: $22.4 billion
• Expenses from Emigration: $15.4 billion
• Housing and Utilities Restoration: $7.7 billion
• Government Social Benefits Spending: $10 billion
• Dismantling Destroyed Facilities and Waste Removal: $13.4 billion

Ukrainian men in Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast will face conscription into the Russian army from now until the end of 2024, according to Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed puppet leader. Men aged 18 to 30 are required to serve for 12 months. Similar forced conscription was previously carried out in 2023 across occupied regions. Saldo claims these conscripts won't be sent to the front lines. Forced conscription of citizens of an occupied population is considered a war crime.


On October 2, Ukraine's military intelligence launched a cyberattack targeting the online platforms of several Russian banks, including Alfa-Bank, Otkritie Bank, Bank Rossiya, Tinkoff Bank, Gaz Bank, and Rostelecom, which calls itself “the largest digital services provider in Russia.” The attack led to a complete failure in payment systems and disrupted mobile applications, online banking, and internal operations of these entities.


Luxembourg joined the Drone Coalition for Ukraine, led by Latvia and the UK, on October 2, 2024. Defense Minister Yuriko Backes signed the declaration in Riga, pledging €3 million to support the coalition’s efforts. Luxembourg joining means the coalition now has 17 members.

Belgium plans to donate three Caesar self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, allocating €12 million for the purchase. The proposal will soon go to Belgium's Council of Ministers. This is done as part of the Artillery Coalition led by France and the U.S. which has the goal of providing Ukraine with 72 Caesar howitzers in 2024.

The Security Service of Ukraine received 14 Darts attack drones that were provided by employees of the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety employees, who donated over $13,000 from their own salaries. The Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation used the funds to buy these Ukrainian-made kamikaze drones.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has launched the Rehab4U project to support Ukrainians' rehabilitation after the war. The project has a budget of $13 million and has the goal of making Ukraine more livable for people with disabilities. Additionally, USAID announced $237 million in humanitarian aid to provide life-saving services and winter preparedness. The funding will also support medical services, housing repairs, and restoration of heating and water supply systems. Ukraine is facing a potential 6-gigawatt electricity shortage this winter, which is roughly ⅓ of Ukraine’s peak energy usage.

The Patriot air defense system donated by Romania is in Ukraine, according to Romanian Defense Ministry spokesman Constantin Spinu.

Spain is sending VAMTAC armored vehicles to Ukraine. These vehicles are essentially just a Spanish-made version of the U.S. Humvee and have been in use since 1998. The VAMTAC can carry up to 2.5 tons, weighs 5.8 tons, and reaches speeds of 135 km/h. The number of vehicles and delivery date weren’t specified, but Ukraine’s military is already using them.


Mark Rutte, the new Secretary General of NATO is in Kyiv and said that providing Ukraine with permission to use long-range weapons in Russia will be discussed at the next “Ramstein” meeting, which will take place on October 12


On October 1, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk reported that Russia's artillery superiority has decreased from 8:1 to 3:1 since early 2024. This change is attributed to improved foreign aid from the Czech Republic and the ending of the delays in supplies from the U.S.


The Ukrainian government has approved a resolution allowing military units to directly mobilize reservists and volunteers without going through the Territorial Recruitment Centers. This change enables conscripts to choose their military unit for service. Commanders can now issue referrals for medical evaluations and recruit volunteers for combat units. Ukraine hopes this will increase the number of volunteers signing up, as it gives individuals more control over their military service compared to waiting to be conscripted.


Ukrainian drones targeted the Borisoglebsk airbase in Russia’s Voronezh region. The airbase has facilities that store guided aerial bombs, Su-35 and Su-34 fighter jets, and aviation fuel. This base has been used for bombing Ukrainian territories. NASA FIRMS satellite imagery confirmed active fires at multiple sites in Borisoglebsk. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed it intercepted or destroyed 113 Ukrainian drones across four regions, with 25 intercepted in Voronezh. Satellite imagery published by Radio Svoboda shows a lot of burning in the grass around the airfield, but no obvious damage to the airbase’s facilities. However, the imagery isn’t very closely zoomed in, so there may be damage that was not otherwise visible.


Israel reportedly launched up to 30 missiles overnight near the Khmeimim air base in Syria. The strikes caused massive explosions, and video showed air defenses attempting to intercept the missiles. Some reports suggest the attack targeted a warehouse that had just received weapons from an Iranian cargo plane and that the weapons were intended to be supplied to Hezbollah. Russian and Syrian air defenses were active for about 40 minutes but could not stop all the missiles. The full extent of the damage is still unclear, but it seems collateral damage was minimal.


Russian blogger dosye_shpiona:

    “ Strike on S-400.
On September 20, 2024, in the area of ​​the settlement of Zhuravlino in the Kursk region, a strike was carried out on the positions of the S-400 air defense missile system, one of the units of the 11th Air Force and Air Defense Army. The air defense missile system was performing tasks to cover the airspace in the direction of Kursk.
The strike was carried out using six attack drones of an unspecified type.
As a result of the impact:
• Two SAM launchers were destroyed;
• One air defense missile system launcher was damaged ( estimated repair period – up to 4 weeks );
• The combat control point of the 55K6E air defense missile system was disabled ( the extent of the damage is being clarified );
• There were no casualties among personnel….”

Ukrainian soldier Stanislav Osman:

    “It is logical to conclude that after Vuhledar, the new targets for the Russians in this direction are Bohoyavlenka and the village of Dalne near Kurakhove.

The creation of ticks is not just red borders on the map, it is an expansion of the area of operation of artillery and drones, deterioration of our logistics, limited ability of our artillery and drones to operate, the ability of enemy subversive reconnaissance groups to infiltrate our rear, and so on.

The movement of [Russians] in Donbas is unrealistically fast compared to 2023.”

Mikola Voroshnov, a soldier of the 72nd OMBr:

“Vuhledar has fallen. Vuhledar was doomed, saving it was impossible. But saving the people was possible. However, the order to retreat never came. Everyone in the city and around it understood that the countdown was on, first in days, then in hours, but the order to withdraw never arrived. Where will we retreat to? Who the hell knows. As long as the enemy has the strength to chase us, we will keep moving back.”

Ukrainian milblogger frontukrua:

    “We advanced a little near Liptsi, we are pushing the Russians back a bit.”

Quote of the Day:

    “Hedgehogs are Superb Observers of Nature and Rise Superior to the Blows of Fortune”

― Philo of Alexandria