Ukraine’s first underground school under construction in Kharkiv
Ukraine’s eastern city of Kharkiv has commenced the construction of the country’s first fully underground school in a bid to shield pupils from frequent bomb and missile attacks by Russia.
The underground school will serve as a shelter, allowing Kharkiv children to continue safe face-to-face education even during missile threats.
It will also be able to accommodate children and adults from nearby kindergartens, offices, and other institutions in case of air raids.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city with a pre-war population of over 1.4 million, faces daily Russian rocket and missile attacks due to its proximity to the border, prompting the need for protective measures.
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US defence chief visits Kyiv, announces $100m military aid package
US will send Ukraine anti-tank weapons, air-defence equipment and an additional HIMARS system.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has made a surprise visit to Kyiv where he unveiled a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $100m.
Austin, on his first trip to Kyiv since April 2022, met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as well as Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Monday and promised the long-term support of the United States.
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Award-winning film in town’s ‘Ukrainian Sunday’
A town is set to host a “Ukrainian Sunday” featuring talks, a live link to the country and the screening of the award-winning documentary 20 Days in Mariupol.
It has been organised by DOCS+, which has been screening documentaries in Oundle, Northamptonshire, for 15 years.
20 Days in Mariupol chronicles the Russian invasion of the Ukrainian port city last year.
Agris Krumins, founder and chair of DOCS+, said: “We felt it was important to remind our audience and the wider public of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.”
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Russia launches most intensive drone attack since invasion began
Russia has sent waves of kamikaze drones into Ukraine in what Kyiv claims is the most intensive drone attack since the start of the war. Many in Ukraine fear it could be the start of a long campaign of strikes aimed at destroying the energy infrastructure.
“Kyiv was the main target,” the Ukrainian air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on his Telegram channel. The capital was attacked in the early hours of Saturday with around 75 Iranian-made Shahed drones, Ukrainian officials claimed, adding that 71 had been shot down.
Five people were wounded by falling debris, including an 11-year-old child, the mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, said. Several buildings, including a kindergarten, were damaged and around 17,000 people in the Kyiv region were left without electricity as a result of the strikes. Power was restored later in the day.
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Germany’s defense minister unveils more help for Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius vowed Tuesday to keep supporting Ukraine’s efforts to win its war against Russia, pledging further military aid worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion).
The new support is to include further Iris-T SLM anti-aircraft missile systems as well as anti-tank mines and 155-millimeter artillery shells, German news agency dpa reported.
“We are talking about 20,000 additional shells,” Pistorius said at a joint news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Rustem Umerov, in Kyiv, according to dpa.
Andrii Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, said it was “a great aid package.”
Pistorius’ unannounced trip to the Ukrainian capital came a day after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin traveled to Ukraine and pledged American support “for the long haul,” including an additional $100 million in weapons from U.S. stockpiles.
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Ukraine Hails New EU Aid Tranche, Hopes for 2024 Funding Approval
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal hailed a new 1.5 billion euro aid tranche from the European Union on Wednesday, saying it was key to maintaining the country’s macroeconomic stability as war raged on.
Shmyhal also said he hoped for fast approval of the EU’s multi-year 50 billion euro program for Ukraine as uncertainty grew over aid from the United States for the next year.
The finance ministry said the government had received the latest 1.5 bln euro tranche from the EU, bringing the bloc’s total aid to 16.5 billion euros so far this year.
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Children’s library in Ukraine’s Kherson destroyed in Russian shelling
Russian forces have destroyed a children’s library in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson, shelling it on Friday morning, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin.
“The barbarians destroyed the Kherson book collection, which had pleased the youngest and their parents for years,” Prokudin wrote on his Telegram channel on Friday.
He added: “The most important thing is that no people were hurt. And we will definitely renovate the walls.”
“Over the past day, the enemy launched 119 attacks, firing 638 shells from mortars, artillery, Grads, tanks, anti-tank grenade launchers, UAVs and aircraft,” Prokudin also said.
He added that “the enemy fired 91 shells at the city of Kherson.”
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Ukrainian refugee families in UK four times as likely to end up homeless
British Red Cross research calls for more funding to support Ukrainians to prevent them ending up on streets this winter.
Thousands of Ukrainian refugee families are at risk of homelessness this winter and are four times as likely to end up on the streets as other families in the UK, according to research from the British Red Cross.
A report by the charity and Heriot-Watt University, published before Wednesday’s autumn statement, calls on the chancellor to include extra funding for Ukrainian families to prevent a sharp rise in homelessness among this group.
The report found 6,220 Ukrainian refugee families are expected to have applied for homelessness support by the end of this financial year, a rise of 13% on the 2022-2023 figure.
Almost 5,000 of those families are predicted to face “core homelessness”, such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing or being accommodated in a hostel.
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Ukraine prepares army mobilisation reforms as war drags on
Ukraine prepares army mobilisation reforms as war drags on – Zelenskiy
(Reuters) – Ukraine is drawing up reforms to its programme for mobilising troops as the war with Russia rages on with no end in sight, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Friday.
Kyiv does not disclose its troop losses or the workings of its mobilisation programme which has been under way since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Zelenskiy said he had ordered senior officials to draft proposals.
“The plan will be worked out and all the answers will be there – next week I will see this plan,” he told a news conference.
Zelenskiy did not reveal details of the reforms. He said issues at military medical commissions and recruitment centres would be addressed.
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