Russian troops have entered the embattled town of Vuhledar in the Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin said on October 1, adding that “fighting is ongoing,” the Kyiv Independent reported.
Speaking on national television, Filashkin described the situation as “extremely difficult,” adding: “The fighting is actively ongoing within the town, so it is almost impossible to bring in humanitarian aid.”
Later in the day, videos emerged on social media showing Russian soldiers flying the country’s flag on the roof of an apartment building in the town. The videos suggest that a complete Ukrainian withdrawal from the town is highly likely.
A total of 107 civilians remain in Vuhledar, though all children have been evacuated, the Governor noted. About 14,000 people lived there before the war.
Ukraine’s 72nd Mechanized Brigade has defended Vuhledar for nearly two years, as Russian forces have been trying to capture the town since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
The frontline town lies about 50 kilometers southwest of occupied Donetsk and roughly 40 kilometers east of the administrative border with Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Russia attempts to capture new positions in Zaporizhzhia sector, preparing small-scale assaults, military says
Russian troops are trying to seize new positions in the Zaporizhzhia sector to improve their tactical positioning, the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on October 1.
Voloshyn said there were indications that Russian forces were gathering troops near the towns of Pryiutne and Robotyne in order to attack Ukrainian positions.
“There are certain signs that (the enemy) is concentrating personnel and moving them to the frontline, training assault groups, accumulating ammunition,” he said.
Following Kyiv’s ongoing incursion into Kursk Oblast, Russia reportedly began moving its troops from Ukraine’s south and east to the Russian region, but Voloshyn said the number of troops in the Zaporizhzhia sector remained around the same.
“Russia has only redeployed certain units and specialists to the Kursk direction, and is increasing the number of personnel by 2,000-3,000 soldiers per week to replenish losses,” Voloshyn said, going on to claim that despite this, Russia does not have enough troops to launch a large-scale offensive.
Russia this week claimed it has captured two more frontline villages: Krutyi Yar in the Donetsk region and Vyshneve in the northeastern Kharkiv region, the state-run RIA news agency reported.
Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant ‘on verge of blackout’ after Russian attack on substation, Ukraine says
Russian forces attacked a substation connected to the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), cutting off a power line to the facility, Ukraine’s Energy Ministry said on October 1.
The attack put the plant “on the verge” of a blackout again, the ministry said in a statement, adding work was underway to restore full power.
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear plant in Europe, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Throughout its occupation, the plant has been repeatedly disconnected from the Ukrainian power grid due to Russian attacks on the country’s energy infrastructure.
“We demand to immediately implement the International Atomic Energy Agency resolution and return the occupied nuclear power plant to Ukraine’s control. The safe operation of Zaporizhzhia NPP is possible only under Ukraine’s control,” Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said.
The plant has already experienced eight complete blackouts, the state nuclear energy company Energoatom said.
Ukraine’s National Resistance Center reported on September 15 that Russian forces continued to use the territory of the occupied power plant to deploy military personnel and store ammunition and explosives, and criticized the IAEA for supposedly ignoring the fact.
President Volodymyr Zelensky told the UN Security Council on September 24 that Russia was preparing to target three more Ukrainian nuclear power plants.
Russian attacks lead to more dead civilians
At least six people were killed and three injured in the southern city of Kherson, which lies on the western bank of the Dnipro River, after Russian artillery fire struck a market. Six more people were injured after they were hit by Russian fire while waiting at a city bus stop.
At least one person was killed and 32 injured in the southern Zaporizhia region after Russia hit residential buildings and infrastructure with aerial bombs, said regional governor, Ivan Fedorov.
Ukraine’s military said it shot down 29 of 32 Iranian-made drones launched in a Russian attack on central, southern and northeastern Ukraine.
Ukraine held a nationwide moment of silence to remember the country’s war dead on Defenders Day, the third since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukraine does not release official numbers on its war dead, but tens of thousands of soldiers are thought to have been killed.
Politics and diplomacy updates
The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said that Russian torture and mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war were “pervasive” in all stages of captivity. The mission also found some torture or ill-treatment of Russian POWs by Ukraine in the initial stages of captivity, but claimed that such actions stopped once the prisoners arrived at official places of internment. The mistreatment of Russian and Ukrainian POWs “is different in scope and scale,” said Danielle Bell, the mission’s head.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said Kyiv is investigating the killing of 16 Ukrainian POWs who were taken captive by Russian forces on the eastern frontline after surrendering. Kostin said the men appeared to have been shot dead in an incident that took place near Pokrovsk.
Russia said it had detained 39 people, including nine teenagers, in several Russian regions, accusing them of backing “Ukrainian terrorist” groups.
Russia has released three journalists from independent news outlets that it had detained when they attempted to interview people attending a Red Square event to mark the second anniversary of the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. The three were fined 500 rubles ($5) each for allegedly using “foul language” in a public space.
NATO’s new Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Ukraine is his “top priority.” Rutte, former prime minister of the Netherlands, was formally installed in the role on Tuesday.
The United Nations Development Program in Ukraine, with support from the European Union, has provided water trucks and water treatment facilities to five communities in the Kherson region and three communities in the Dnipro region. These communities face a persistent water crisis as a result of the Kakhovka dam disaster and ongoing attacks on critical infrastructure. Overall, UNDP has provided 10 water filtration stations and 10 water trucks, securing access to safe drinking water for over 95,000 residents in these communities.
Each mobile filtering station consists of two modules and can filter over 5,000 liters of water per hour, with the capacity to purify even seawater. Equipped with solar panels, these stations can operate continuously, even during power outages.
In April 2024, with funding from the European Union, UNDP delivered 15 water trucks and 30 water filtering stations to 14 communities in the Dnipro region.
The Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine reports that seven Ukrainian frontline regions received 600 generators of various capacities in September as part of the cooperation between it and the EU Civil Protection Mechanism with the support of the Polish Foreign Ministry. The devices will be used to ensure uninterrupted power supply to social and healthcare institutions, so-called ‘Points of Invincibility’ and other critical infrastructure facilities in the event of long-term power outages.
Compiled by Ana Dumbadze
