"The trend this year continues," Zelensky said, "Since the start of fall, our warriors have liberated more territory than the Russians have managed to capture. The same was true at other points this year."
This weekly update from the Kyiv Independent aims to shed light on the situation facing Ukrainians living under Russian occupation and the ever-tightening control of information imposed by the Kremlin.
Key news as of Oct. 17:
Eleven Ukrainians, including 96-year-old woman, return from Russian-occupied territories, ombudsman says
The Russian soldiers are believed to belong to the 38th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which is operating in the area. Kravchuk alleged that orders of this nature within the brigade are issued at the initiative of its commander, Colonel Valery Kazak.
Ukrainian forces downed 289 out of the 332 drones, including jet-powered attack drones, launched by Russia overnight, the Air Force reported. Russian drones and ballistic missiles of the Iskander-M or the North Korean KN-23 model struck 22 different locations, and debris fell in three areas.
While the humanitarian crisis in the Russian-occupied front-line city of Oleshky recently garnered media attention, all regions of occupied Ukraine face worsening humanitarian issues at the hands of Russia's occupation authorities.
Across all occupied territories, civilians face failing water and electricity systems, shortages of qualified doctors, deteriorating municipal