The Press Play Prague Film Festival awarded the Best Film Award to the Kyiv Independent’s investigative film “He Came Back” on October 12. It reveals sexual crimes committed by the Russians during their occupation of Kyiv, Kherson and other oblasts at the beginning of 2022.
The festival, organized by three Czech Republic-based organizations–Project Syndicate, Referendum Daily (Denik Referendum), and Atlas Cinema–was held in Prague from Oct. 8 to 12 and emphasized the crucial role of journalism in contemporary society.
The festival screened more than 20 films and presented six documentaries in two categories, six feature-length and six shorter.
Toma Istomina, Deputy chief editor of the Ukrainian newspaper, presented the film. She also shared her insights into investigating sexual war crimes.
The documentary, written by Olesia BIDA, highlights the fact that Ukrainian law enforcement has documented a total of 292 cases of sexual assault by Russian soldiers. This figure is likely only a fraction of all of them.
Two survivors told their stories to the journalists who were able to identify the soldiers and their commanding officers responsible for the rapes. In one case, they reconstructed a crime by working undercover and contacting civilians as well as military personnel in the occupied Donetsk Oblast.
Other Kyiv Independent members who are behind the project include Vitalii havura, Max Yakobchuk Kostiantyn nechyporenko and Yevheniia motorevska.
In his evening address on October 12, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine and France are working together to establish new joint production facilities for defense.
The Press Play Prague Film Festival awarded the Best Film Award to the Kyiv Independent’s investigative film “He Came Back” on October 12. It reveals sexual crimes committed by the Russians during their occupation of Kyiv, Kherson and other oblasts at the beginning of 2022.
The semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported on October 12 that Iran had delivered two satellites manufactured in Iran to Russia for a launch scheduled soon. This is the latest example of space cooperation between two nations that are both under U.S. sanction.
Dusan Bajatovic is the CEO of Srbijagas – a state-owned Serbian company – and Alexey Miller is the CEO of Gazprom – a Russian state-owned energy giant. They expect Russian gas supplies to reach $400 million cubic meters in winter.
Ukrainian troops, in cooperation with the Intelligence Service (HUR), struck a depot that contained oil and petroleum products used for the Russian military near Rovenky.
Ukraine’s officials reported that Russia has carried out massive attacks in Ukraine’s southern, eastern and southern regions in the last 24 hour. At least three civilians have been killed and 14 others injured.
The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces announced on October 12 that Russia has lost 667 630 troops since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
Andrzej Duda, the Polish president, announced that the European integration of Ukraine will be a priority for Poland’s EU Presidency in early 2025. He also stated that maintaining an “open doors to Europe” policy towards new members would also be a priority.
A proposed reform to the European Peace Facility would make financial contributions optional, in order to bypass Hungary’s objection to military aid to Ukraine. This has led to a backlog of 6.5 billion euros ($7 billion).
A senior U.S. government official said, “It is time to craft a new strategic approach in terms of the specific positions (of the allies).” Defense ministers of NATO member nations will meet in Brussels on October 17-18 to discuss this issue.
Mike Johnson, the U.S. House speaker, said on October 11 that he did not want to see any more funding for Ukraine.
Video footage from the scene shows officers standing outside the venue’s doors, intercepting male concertgoers as they exit the venue. Some men are seen being arrested by officers.
According to new estimates, MOL (which owns refineries both in Hungary and Slovakia) will be able process non-Urals crude oil by the end 2026 as opposed to earlier estimates that it would happen early 2026.
Slovak Foreign Ministry Juraj Blanar announced on October 11 that Slovakia will expand its base in Michalovce. Instead of supplying new arms to Ukraine, the Slovaks will repair Ukrainian military equipment.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanked Germany for their support but stressed the importance of German aid next year and its need to remain unchanged.
Several months back, these infantrymen served their sentences in prison. They are now part of the 1st Separate Assault Battalion (also known as “Da Vinci”).
In a statement released on October 11, the spokesperson for the European Union’s External Service said that it was “appalled by” Victoria Roshchyna’s death and demanded an “independent and thorough” investigation into her death.
Defense Minister Rustem Umerov had planned to merge Defense Procurement Agency and State Rear Operator into one agency, but changed his mind when a NATO announcement said that the agencies should remain separate and two separate supervision boards should be set up.
Operational Command South reported on October 11 that since the beginning of the week, Ukraine has repelled 29 Russian assaults in the oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.
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