More reports of war crimes in Izyum, ZNPP got resupplied, and the problems Donbas youth face in gaining a passport

Weekend Catch-up Edition:

• Eyewitness reports of torture emerge after the discovery of mass graves in liberated Izyum.

Journalist Askold Krushelnycky visited the town to speak to local residents, many of whom have revealed that they were tortured by the Russian occupation forces. In his exclusive account for NV, he shares the stories of those who suffered under Russian occupation, and warns of greater atrocities to be discovered.

• A resupply convoy sent by Energoatom has reached the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

25 trucks full of equipment and spare parts, as well as diesel, successfully made it to the occupied nuclear facility, allowing for critical repairs and maintenance to be conducted. This will lower the risk of a nuclear accident, though Russia has still refused to demilitarize the plant – a total of around 500 soldiers remain stationed at the plant, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

• U.S. President Joe Biden greenlights another $600 million in aid for Ukraine.

The U.S. continues to be one of Ukraine’s most stalwart supporters. This package, in addition to funds earmarked for further training of Ukrainian troops, will also provide the ZSU with ammunition, drones, utility vehicles, and cold weather gear. No new heavy weapon shipments, however, were announced as part of this package.

• A number of explosions occurred deep in Russian-occupied territory.

Kherson, Berdyansk, and Luhansk all reported blasts, with Berdyansk and Luhansk resulting in the deaths of at least two Russian collaborators. In Kherson, a plume of smoke was visible rising from behind the city’s central administration building – the target may have been the appellate courthouse behind the building. In Berdyansk, the head of the Zaporizhzhia occupation administration, Oleh Boyko, was killed along with his wife. In Luhansk, the so-called “prosecutor-general” of the Luhansk puppet authority was killed, along with his deputy, by an explosive device planted in his office. Ukraine did not claim responsibility for any of the blasts.

• Ukrainian oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky has lost the operating rights for the Dnipro Airport.

According to data from the Unified State Register of Court Decisions, the Dnipro City Council on Sept. 28, 2021 filed to the District Administrative Court of Dnipro a lawsuit against the State Aviation Service of Ukraine to declare illegal and cancel order No. 1007 of the State Aviation Service dated June 30, 2021, on the issuance of an operation certificate for the Dnipro airfield to Dnipro International Airport LLC, which ultimately belongs to Kolomoisky. Dnipro’s District Administrative Court ruled in favor of the City Council – with city mayor Boris Filatov saying that “the time will come when the residents of Dnipro will fly freely to Europe. By low-cost carriers. Without Kolomoisky.”

• Kolomoisky’s bad weekend didn’t get any better, as news of a raid on one of the oligarch’s properties in western Ukraine was reported on Sunday. The raid was conducted by the National Anti-corruption Bureau of Ukraine, in connection with a fraud case involving Ukrnafta, a national oil company. However, NABU says that Kolomoisky is not a suspect in that case.

• Germany confiscates German assets of Russia’s Rosneft national oil company.

In connection with the German government’s continued policies of energy uncoupling from Russia, and the existing sanctions regime, all of Rosneft’s German assets will now be managed by the German Federal Network Agency BNetzA. BNetzA further has been given control of Rosneft Deutschland GmbH (RDG) and RN Refining & Marketing GmbH (RNRM) and shares in three refineries: PCK Schwedt (Schwedt), MiRo (Karlsruhe) and Bayernoil (Voburg).

• 15% of all of Ukraine’s grain warehouses have been destroyed by Russia.

In a new report released by the U.S.-funded Conflict Observatory NGO, Russia is said to control approximately 6.24 million tons of Ukrainian crop storage facilities, while 2.25 million tons of storage facilities have been damaged in Ukrainian-controlled territory, representing about 5% of the pre-war crop volume.

• The day’s long-read: Young people from occupied Donbas face major problems in obtaining Ukrainian citizenship

NV interviews young people from occupied Donbas who escaped to Ukraine or Europe, about the bureaucratic obstacles they face in obtaining a Ukrainian passport — despite their dreams of being accepted as true Ukrainians.

• Don’t miss: How Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky became an architect of Ukrainian victory

Syrsky, the commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, is said to be one of the key architects of Ukraine’s successful defense of Kyiv and the swift liberation of Kharkiv Oblast. NV takes a look at the history and background of this decorated officer.

• From the opinion desk: How do you solve a problem like Crimea?

The New Voice’s own editor-at-large, Euan Macdonald, thinks about the issues involved in the eventual reintegration of Crimea.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine