Monday, November 4

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Ukrainian law enforcement officers stand next to a destroyed supermarket building following a Russian attack against downtown Kharkiv early on November 4, 2024. (Sergey Book / AFP via Getty Images)

Russia launched around 900 bombs, 500 Shahed drones and 30 missiles at Ukraine over past week, Zelensky says. Most of these strikes targeted civilian facilities and critical infrastructure, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Locations of Ukrainian weapons systems revealed on Google Maps, official says. After “a public reaction,” Google representatives contacted the Ukrainian side, and the company is already working on fixing the issue, Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said in a later update on social media.

Ukraine needs 500,000 more troops amid slowing mobilization, senior lawmaker says. Roman Kostenko, secretary of the parliamentary defense committee, stated on Nov. 2 that in his view it is necessary to mobilize 500,000 citizens, given current battlefield conditions.

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Over 200 Russian drones shot down by US-funded mobile fire teams since January, US ambassador reports. U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink said on Nov. 3 that the U.S. State Department has funded 800 mobile fire teams in Ukraine, which have shot down over 200 Russian drones since January 2024.

Worldwide majority supports Ukrainian victory over Russia, poll says. An average of 54% of those surveyed said they wanted a Ukrainian win, compared to only 20% who supported Russia. Popular support for Ukraine was strong even in countries that are not traditional allies of Kyiv.

UN secretary general ‘very concerned’ about reports of North Korean troops in Russia. “This would represent a very dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine. Everything must be done to avoid any internationalization of this conflict,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said on Nov. 3.

Read our exclusives

‘Trump fundamentally doesn’t care about Ukraine’ – Michael McFaul on US elections

The Kyiv Independent sat down with Michael McFaul, former U.S. Ambassador to Russia, professor of international studies at Stanford University, and the co-founder of the Yermak-McFaul Expert Group on Russian Sanctions, to talk about the U.S. elections and what their outcome could mean for Ukraine, Russia, and the future of the rules-based world order.

Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Ukraine war latest: Ukraine facing one of Russia’s ‘most powerful’ offensives since start of all-out war

“Active hostilities that continue in certain areas require constant renewal of the resources of Ukrainian units,” ommander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Nov. 2. Russia continues to press forward on its offensives across the eastern front, primarily on the Toretsk, Kurakhove, and Pokrovsk axes, where outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian soldiers are forced to withdraw.

Photo: Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine

Russia’s use of unidentified gas surges on the front line, Ukraine lacks detectors

Russia is increasingly deploying unidentified gas in its latest chemical warfare tactic against Ukrainian troops, who are losing ground across the hotspots of the eastern front line.

Photo: Valentyna Polishchuk/Global Images Ukraine

Sandu wins in Moldova despite ‘unprecedented’ campaign of Russian interference

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has long insisted that the real opponent to her pro-EU government is Russia, which has been waging a hybrid war designed to push Chisinau back into Moscow’s orbit.

Photo: Daniel Mihailescu / AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Russia attacks supermarket in Kharkiv, injures 14. The attack damaged a supermarket, multistory apartment buildings, commercial facilities, and cars. At least 14 people were wounded, including four police officers, Kharkiv regional police reported.

Paramedic, ambulance driver injured in Russian shelling of Kherson Oblast village, governor says. Russian troops shelled the village of Bilozerka in Kherson Oblast, wounding a paramedic and an ambulance driver, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on Nov. 3.

Russian attacks against Ukraine kill 3, injure 24. The largest number of casualties was reported in Kherson Oblast, where Russian attacks killed one person and injured another 10, including three children.

General Staff: Russia has lost 699,090 troops in Ukraine since Feb 24, 2022. Russia has also reportedly lost 9,182 tanks, 18,523 troop-carrying armored fighting vehicles, 28,160 vehicles and fuel tanks, 20,086 artillery systems, 1,244 multiple launch rocket systems, 994 air defense systems, 369 airplanes, 329 helicopters, 18,187 drones, 28 ships and boats, and one submarine.

McFaul on Ukraine’s future with Trump vs. Harris

International response

If Trump wins US presidential election, Europe ‘cannot remain pro-war,’ Orban says. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in a radio interview on Nov. 3, as cited by Hungarian news outlet Telex, that if Donald Trump wins the U.S. presidency, “Europe cannot remain pro-war,” supposedly referring to EU’s defense assistance to Ukraine, which Orban has repeatedly criticized.

Finland closes world’s last Lenin museum outside Russia. A new political museum at the same site will open on Feb. 15, 2025, Finnish authorities announced. The museum will reportedly focus on Finnish-Russian relations, including developments in the 21st century.

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