Dismissal of Territorial Defense commander, closure of Rotterdam+ case, video of beating in Chernivtsi mall: highlights

New commander of the territorial defense

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Major General Ihor Tantsiura from the post of commander of the Armed Forces Territorial Defense Forces. Tantsiura became the head of the Terrorist Defense Forces in May 2022. Over the years, he was in charge of the 169th Training Center of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "Desna", was the Chief of Staff of the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), and later - the Headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO). He was also the Deputy Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Instead, the President appointed Major General Anatoliy Barhylevych. Previously, he was the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Ground Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In 2016, Barhylevych was awarded the Order of Danylo Halytskyi "for his personal contribution to strengthening Ukraine's defense capabilities, courage, dedication and high professionalism displayed during the performance of military duty."

HACCU closes "Rotterdam+" case

On October 9, the High Anti-Corruption Court decided to close the Rotterdam+ case due to the expiration of the pre-trial investigation.

The SAPO prosecutor will appeal this decision to the court of appeal.

The Anti-Corruption Action Center clarified that the grounds for closing cases due to the expiration of the time limit appeared in 2018. This is one of the so-called "Lozovyi amendments". These amendments were adopted by the MPs of the previous convocation in violation of the rules of procedure. Now there is a chance that the Lozovyi amendments will be removed from the legislation: the relevant bills have been registered in the Verkhovna Rada.

Rotterdam+ is a formula that determined the cost of electricity produced by thermal power plants. It was applied in 2016-2019. It benefited businessman Rinat Akhmetov's DTEK company, which is a monopolist in the market and has the largest thermal power plant in the country.

Beating in Chernivtsi shopping center

Last year's video from the Chernivtsi Oblast Territorial Center for Recruitment and Social Support was shared online, showing military enlistment officers, police officers, and an unknown person in civilian clothes pushing, blocking, and beating a man.

The center is conducting an internal investigation. A criminal case has also been opened.

Suspilne, citing an anonymous source, writes that the man was "physically and psychologically abused to make him sign the summons."

The death of "cyborg" Vitaly Baranov

On October 8, the heart of Vitaliy Baranov, a Ukrainian soldier who defended Donetsk airport, lieutenant colonel and commander of the 206th territorial defense battalion, stopped beating.

He had been fighting since 2014. During the full-scale invasion, the territorial defense battalion under the command of Biba (Vitaliy's call sign) served in the south, the Slobozhanskyi axis, as well as the Bakhmut axis.

Baranov was born in 1967, he lived in the village of Katyuzhanka, Dymer village community, Vyshhorod district, Kyiv Oblast.

On October 10, Vitaliy Baranov's body will be brought home. The funeral ceremony will take place on October 11 at 9 a.m.

The situation in the Middle East

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that it has managed to regain control of all settlements previously infiltrated by Palestinian militants. Now the Israeli military is launching an offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said he had ordered a complete siege of the Gaza Strip. At the same time, the Israeli Air Force reported that it was launching a large-scale attack on Hamas facilities in Gaza.

In addition, Israeli Energy Minister Israel Katz has already issued an order to "immediately stop the supply of water from Israel to the Gaza Strip". Electricity and fuel supplies were cut off on October 8, the Washington Post reports.

For its part, Hamas threatens to execute prisoners in response to Israeli strikes.

So far, more than 900 people have been killed in Israel and 687 killed in the Palestinian territory, the Times of Israel reports.

Other news

• In Hroza, Kharkiv Oblast the fate of five people who disappeared after the Russian attack on the village is unknown.
• Court has dismissed Sumy Mayor Oleksandr Lysenko from office over bribery.
• Diplomats have taken a wounded Ukrainian boy out of Israel, Foreign Ministry says.
• The Russian military has moved new reserves to the Mariupol area. It happened for the first time in six months, says mayoral advisor.
• Nine more children who had been in the occupied territories of Kherson Oblast have been returned to the government-controlled territory.
• An earthquake has occurred in Zakarpattya Oblast, preliminarily with a magnitude of 4.5. The tremors were also heard in Lviv.
• The court extended the detention of former Defense Ministry official Vyacheslav Shapovalov.