Withdrawal of fighters from Vuhledar and rumors about Budanov's dismissal: October 2 highlights

Ukrainian defenders are withdrawn from Vuhledar

The Ukrainian military command has given permission to carry out a maneuver to withdraw units from the town of Vuhledar in the Volnovakha district of Donetsk Oblast. The decision was made to preserve personnel and combat equipment, to take a position for further actions.

Officials commented on the rumors about Budanov's possible dismissal

During a meeting of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov commented on rumors about the dismissal of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov. He said that it is not being discussed now.

MP Fedir Venislavskyi is convinced that "these rumors are spread for internal destabilization". Meanwhile, the association of families of Azovstal defenders expressed concern about news of a possible dismissal, as it could harm prisoner-of-war exchanges.

The Cabinet of Ministers announced a demographic strategy

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the Demographic Development Strategy of Ukraine until 2040. It states that, according to the forecast of the Institute of Demography and Quality of Life Problems of the National Academy of Sciences, by 2051 the population of Ukraine will be 25.2 million people.

Ukraine is ready to discuss the Volyn tragedy

Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine is ready to discuss the issue of the Volyn tragedy.

Subsequently, the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance reported that in 2025 they plan to conduct search operations for the victims of the Volyn tragedy in Rivne Oblast. They will do it in response to the appeal of the Poles.

Estonia is considering sending its troops to western Ukraine

The government of Estonia is discussing the possibility of sending its troops to western Ukraine for non-combat missions, although the country previously denied that this could happen.

Meanwhile, Hungary says that the European Union is allegedly considering sending military advisers to Ukraine as part of an aid mission for Kyiv.

Pseudo-activist Stakhiv was taken into custody

The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv, on the fifth attempt, chose a pre-trial restriction against the pseudo-activist Ostap Stakhiv. He is suspected of illegal distribution of the locations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and fraud. Stakhiv was remanded in custody without bail until November 30.

Ukraine is working on its own ballistic missiles

$4 billion have already been invested in the production of Ukrainian industry, in 2025 this funding is planned to increase. The priority is the development of domestic drones and long-range weapons, including ballistic missiles.

UN: 589 Ukrainian civilians died in the summer

From June 1 to August 31, due to full-scale Russian aggression in Ukraine, 589 civilians were killed, and another 2,685 were injured. The number of victims is 45% higher than in the previous three months.

Other news

• The Donetsk Oblast occupation court imprisoned three Ukrainian soldiers for almost 30 years.
• The September attack on Lviv: the lecturer of the Polytechnic, who was in intensive care for almost 30 days, died.
• Russia abducted more than 20,000 children from Ukraine, there is a risk of deportation for another 1.5 million - ombudsman.
• More than 100 Ukrainians were evacuated from Lebanon, which is being attacked by the Israeli army.
• "We want to return to the ranks of those who went AWOL": another draft law was announced in the Rada.
• President Zelenskyy changed the deputy heads of the Foreign Intelligence Service.
• The USAID agency has announced new assistance to Ukraine for more than $1 billion.