Latest news with #IrynaVereshchuk
Boston Globe
01-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Large-scale Ukrainian attack targets air bases in Russia, authorities say
Those details could not be independently verified, but the statement from the ministry came hours after an official in Ukraine's security services, known as the SBU, said that a large-scale drone operation was underway. Advertisement The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive intelligence operation, said that dozens of aircraft were damaged. It was not immediately possible to independently confirm that claim, but Russian military bloggers were quick to opine on what appeared to be a significant failure of defenses. 'Today will later be called a black day for Russian long-range aviation,' read a post on the Telegram channel called Fighterbomber, which is believed to be run by Capt. Ilya Tumanov of the Russian army. It added: 'And the day is not over yet.' The deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Iryna Vereshchuk, said that the security services had 'set a new bar of skill in conducting large-scale combat operations on enemy territory.' Advertisement 'This is not a knockout, but a very serious knockdown for the enemy,' she wrote on Telegram. Earlier Sunday, Ukraine's military said that a Russian missile attack on a training base killed at least 12 soldiers and wounded more than 60 others -- a rare statement acknowledging casualties within its ranks. The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Maj. Gen. Mykhailo Drapatyi, submitted his resignation after the attack on the base, in the Dnipro region, saying in a statement that he felt a 'personal sense of responsibility for the tragedy.' 'An army in which commanders bear personal responsibility for the lives of their people is alive. An army where no one is held accountable for losses dies from within,' he said. Ukraine's military said it was investigating the circumstances, but emphasized that there was not a mass gathering at the time of the strike -- an apparent attempt to demonstrate lessons learned from previous incidents. 'At the time the air-raid alert was announced, all personnel were in shelters, except for those who may not have had time to reach it,' Vitalii Sarantsev, a spokesperson for Ukraine's ground forces, said in an interview with Ukrainian news media. Ukraine's military does not typically disclose official casualty figures, which are treated as a state secret and are a highly sensitive topic in the country. Past attacks with large numbers of military casualties -- like when a Russian missile killed soldiers gathered for an awards ceremony in southern Ukraine in late 2023 -- have raised questions about security protocols. The dueling attacks came on the eve of another round of peace talks in Istanbul, proposed by Moscow. While Ukraine had insisted it see a promised memorandum outlining Russia's ceasefire terms before sending any officials to the talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced Sunday that his country would in fact send a delegation. Advertisement He did not say whether Ukraine had received the memorandum. In a post on social media, Zelenskyy said only that he had met with senior leadership and 'defined our positions' before the talks Monday in Istanbul, where Defense Minister Rustem Umerov would lead Ukraine's delegation. Ukrainian officials have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of stalling for time in the negotiations. Hours before the strike on the military training base, Russia launched what Ukrainian officials said was the largest combined overnight aerial assault on the country since the start of the war. Ukraine's air force said that Russia launched 472 drones and seven missiles overnight. It said that the majority of the drones and three of the incoming missiles were intercepted, but that at least 18 targets were struck. While the air force did not provide further details on what was struck, local officials in the Kyiv region said that at least 10 homes had sustained damage. Local authorities also reported damage in the Kirovohrad region of central Ukraine and in the northeastern Kharkiv region. This article originally appeared in
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Chaos to coordination: the evolution of POW swaps in the Russia-Ukraine war
The nature, size, and political significance of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia have evolved significantly over the three and a half years of the full-scale war, accelerating sharply in recent weeks. While ceasefire and peace negotiations have gone through periods of halts and bursts, increasingly institutionalized prisoner exchanges are one of the few enduring areas of direct cooperation between Ukraine and the Russian Federation. On average, Ukraine and Russia exchanged 135 prisoners — mostly military, but with a sizable civilian component – each month from February 2022 through May 2025 (excluding the planned 1,000 for 1,000 exchange that began on May 23). But a deeper inspection of the data reveals a number of meaningful trends. Prisoner exchange numbers have surged — 277 individuals changed hands in April, and this weekend alone, 1,000 brave Ukrainians will come home. The picture is unrecognizable from last year, when prisoners were only returned on special occasions and holidays. Prisoner exchanges have been shaped by competing (and sometimes mutually exclusive) priorities including backchannel logistics, battlefield developments, and geopolitics. New data collected by KI Insights, an analytical research unit backed by the Kyiv Independent, gives a look behind the curtain into the institutionalization of prisoner exchanges. The full-scale invasion brought two meaningful institutional changes to prisoner exchanges. Firstly, Russia became an official party to the conflict, creating room to directly engage in negotiations. (Before the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation denied its involvement in aggression in Ukraine, and negotiations were done through Russian-backed proxies in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.) Secondly, Ukraine created the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, an interagency working group created by the Cabinet of Ministers in March of 2022, which is responsible for prisoner exchanges. Since its creation, the Coordination Headquarters has gone through meaningful changes. Roles and responsibilities have changed hands, priorities have been defined, and each agency has a specific process it is responsible for. Kyrylo Budanov, leader of the Coordination Headquarters (since June of 2022, taking over from Iryna Vereshchuk) and Ukraine's chief of military intelligence, has successfully turned prisoner exchanges into an institution. Data collected by KI Insights demonstrates the impact of institutionalization. The average number of prisoners swapped per exchange has steadily increased, growing by approximately 50% each year. The number of swaps, however, has been inconsistent, with frequent breakdowns until late last year. In 2022, an average of 50 prisoners were returned to Ukraine per exchange. In 2025, the number has risen to more than 200, with this weekend's exchanges driving the number higher. The Istanbul negotiations failed to achieve a ceasefire, proving once again, Russia does not want peace. But for the prisoners who returned home, they were meaningful. The exchange also underscores an interesting dynamic of this war. There are lines of communication between Ukraine and Russia, and enough trust between officials to work together to return prisoners home. That is significant — the current frontline in Ukraine is more than 1,200 kilometers long, and any ceasefire will require significant amounts of communication and trust between Ukrainian and Russian officials. Russia has broken off prisoner exchanges at key points over the war, often when Russia thinks it can inflict maximum psychological damage. Following the siege of Mariupol and Ukraine's unsuccessful counteroffensive, Russia froze prisoner exchanges. Russian soldiers also tortured and killed Ukrainian prisoners of war at Olenivka Prison and on the battlefield. Refusing to return prisoners is a tactic Russia uses to exploit existing divisions in Ukrainian society and exploit the pain of families of the imprisoned as a political resource. For Russia, prisoners are resources — for psychological warfare and for bargaining. While pressure from the United States hasn't brought Russia to the table for a ceasefire, it likely has caused Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a show of reasonableness by agreeing to a prisoner exchange. The latest exchange is historic and could be a tipping point that helps U.S. President Donald Trump realize that U.S. pressure on Russia makes a difference. It could also solidify the shadowy infrastructure built between warring states and set the stage for an all-for-all prisoner exchange. Maybe it could, as Trump puts it, 'lead to something big???' Even if it doesn't, it is a battle won on the road to returning Ukrainians to Ukraine. Read also: BREAKING: Ukraine, Russia hold largest prisoner swap since start of Russia's war We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian government moves to facilitate military registration for Ukrainians abroad
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers plans to amend a resolution to simplify the process for Ukrainian citizens abroad to register for military service. Source: Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Head of the Ukrainian President's Office, on social media Quote: "Draft amendments to Resolution No 932, which simplifies the military registration of Ukrainians abroad, have been submitted to the Government for consideration." Details: Vereshchuk explained that the amendments will enable Ukrainian consulates and branches of the Document, a state-owned commercial organisation under Ukraine's State Migration Service, to issue passports and other documents to "tens of thousands" of Ukrainians abroad. She expressed gratitude to Ukraine's State Migration Service, the Ministry of Defence and the Cabinet of Ministers Secretariat for their swift work in developing these regulatory changes. For reference: On 16 August 2024, the Ukrainian government adopted Resolution No 932, approving a pilot project for automatic verification and validation of information on conscripts, those liable for military service, and reservists. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
