In an effort to boost the declining birth rate, Ukraine is considering a new bill to increase payments for newborns & support working parents. While the financial aid is welcomed by many, demographers caution against expecting a baby boom. What are the factors shaping one of the critical challenges?

Ukraine is facing a stark demographic reality: for every baby born, roughly three people die. With projections showing the population could shrink from 30M to 25M by 2050, the gov't is proposing increased financial support for new parents. But can a one-time payment truly reverse a long-term trend?

What happens after the battle? For many severely wounded soldiers, the path to recovery begins at Mechnikov Hospital in Dnipro. Here, every day brings stories that defy belief—like Vladyslav, who survived brutal torture and crawled for days to safety, or the surgeons who fight to save every limb.

The International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a resolution calling on Russia to return the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant to Ukraine's control, Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported. The resolution was initiated by Ukraine and supported by 62 member states of @iaeaorg.bsky.social.

On September 19, three Russian MiG-31 fighter jets entered Estonian airspace, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Aafter entering Estonian airspace, the Russian fighter jets remained there for another 12 minutes.

Military intelligence is divided on whether Russia deliberately sent drones into Polish airspace, but all agree Vladimir Putin is becoming more aggressive, CNN reports.

Ukrainian forces flooded a pipe through which Russian soldiers were able to infiltrate the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast, Operational Command "North" reported. The situation near Kupyansk remains tense at this time. The capture of the city is Russia's strategic objective.

Russia and Vietnam concealed arms deal payments to avoid US and Western sanctions, using profits from joint oil and gas ventures, The Associated Press reports, citing Vietnamese documents from an official opposing closer ties with Russia to protect relations with Washington.

Russian troops trying to advance on Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast are commanded by former Ukrainian officer Serhiy Storozhenko, BBC Ukraine found. Both Russian pro-war bloggers & Ukrainian experts agree that the 6th Army, led by Storozhenko, plays a key role in the offensive, reporting on its progress.

Ukraine and Russia are now only negotiating on humanitarian issues, mainly the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Rustem Umerov said in an interview with CNN. Kyiv also supports US President Donald Trump's peace initiatives, he added.

The situation near the city of Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast remains tense as Russians aim to capture it, deploying small assault groups often disguised in civilian clothing, the 10th Army Corps of Ukrainian Land Forces reports, adding that Kupyansk is a strategic target for Russia.

26-year-old Hero of Ukraine, Lieutenant Colonel Maksym Danylchuk became the new commander of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade "Magura", the Zhytomyr regional military commissariat reported.

The EU plans to accelerate its phase-out of Russian LNG, after Donald Trump urged the bloc to restrict energy trade with Moscow, Bloomberg reports. The European Commission is considering adding to its sanctions a plan to end all Russian LNG imports by 2027, aligning with the original EU goal.

Russian forces launched 86 strike drones, including Shaheds and Gerberas, at Ukrainian regions overnight into Friday, with air defenses neutralizing 71 targets as the attack continued, Ukraine's Air Force Command reported.

Ukrainian Special Operations Forces hit a logistics hub of Russia's 810th Separate Marine Brigade in Kursk Oblast overnight into Thursday, destroying an ammunition storage base, material supply depot, and a concealed site for weapons and military equipment, the SOF said in a statement.

Russian drones targeted Kyiv overnight into Friday, damaging trolleybus lines and leaving an unexploded device in one district, according to the city’s administration.

The first military equipment provided under the agreement between the US and NATO within the PURL initiative has been delivered to Ukraine, public broadcaster Suspilne reported, citing an unnamed NATO representative.

Dr. Yuriy Skrebets, a surgeon at Mechnikov Hospital, has 27,000 photos of wounded soldiers on his phone. Each one is a story. The hospital has performed 51,000 surgeries on soldiers, with a 90% survival rate for the most severe injuries. We take a look inside their work.

As part of repatriation efforts, Ukraine has brought back 1,000 bodies that, according to Russia, belong to Ukrainian service members, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.

⚡ US President Donald Trump has not yet been able to end the Russo-Ukrainian war because Russian President Vladimir Putin "really let him down," the American leader said at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Russian forces dropped a 250-kilogram guided bomb on a residential area in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, on Thursday, killing five people.

In occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, 18 officers of Russia's 35th Army's operational staff were killed by sabotage. The Coordination HQ for the Voluntary Surrender, "I Want to Live," reported that on August 30, unknown individuals set fire to dry grass near their command post in Voskresenka.

The Central Election Commission recognized Tetiana Chornovol as a Ukrainian parliament member. The CEC received a document from the Verkhovna Rada certifying the early end of the murdered MP Andriy Parubiy's powers.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a bill establishing a military ombudsman into law. The commissioner will be appointed by the president every five years and cannot serve more than two consecutive terms. Their Office will function as an auxiliary control body in security and defense.

Ukraine and Poland will establish a joint task force on unmanned aerial systems, news agencies Ukrinform and Interfax-Ukraine reported. It will include representatives from both armed forces to coordinate and develop initiatives, Ukrainian Defense Minister Denys Shmyhal said.

Long-range drones from Ukraine's Security Service struck the "heart" of an oil refinery in Bashkortostan — the ELOU-AVT-4 unit, an informed SBU source told hromadske.

Overnight, Russian troops attacked Ukraine with 75 Shahed, Gerbera strike drones, and other UAVs, with Ukrainian air defenses destroying 48 targets. The drones were launched from Kursk, Oryol, Millerovo, and Primorsko-Akhtarsk. Over 40 of the 75 drones were Shahed models.

Ukraine's Special Operations Forces confirmed striking Russia's Volgograd Oil Refinery overnight into Thursday, halting operations at the facility that supports the invasion forces.

Russian forces attacked a State Emergency Service unit in Nizhyn, Chernihiv Oblast, killing one firefighter and injuring two, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus and the State Emergency Service reported.

The Ukrainian parliament has supported awarding former speaker and MP Andriy Parubiy the Hero of Ukraine title posthumously, with 230 parliamentarians voting in favor. This followed a petition garnering 25,000 votes on the president's website.

Drones attacked the Russian city of Volgograd overnight into Thursday, with residents hearing five explosions.

The Russian drone strike on a Poltava Oblast gas station on Wednesday evening injured five drivers and a cashier, damaging cars, the building, and equipment, raising the number of victims to six, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service and the prosecutor's office.

Polish Defense Minister and Deputy PM Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz has arrived in Kyiv, the Polish Ministry of Defense reports. He plans to discuss military cooperation, support for Ukraine's defense, and the security situation amid Russian aggression with his Ukrainian counterpart, Denys Shmyhal.

Russian forces attacked Poltava Oblast overnight into Thursday, temporarily cutting power to several rail sections in the region, Ukrzaliznytsia reported.

As part of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, 16 more Ukrainian children have been returned from the temporarily occupied territories, the Save Ukraine organization reported. In particular, a 15 y.o. girl and her aunt were rescued after Russia "sentenced" her parents and older brother to 15+ years.

The gas pipeline that Russian troops could use to approach Kupyansk in Kharkiv Oblast has been blown up. The enemy is now trying to cross the Oskil River by boats and rafts, Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Regiment of Unmanned Systems "Achilles," told Suspilne.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will lead the Ukrainian delegation at the UN General Assembly in New York, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spox Heorhii Tykhyi reported. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that US President Donald Trump is likely to meet with Zelenskyy in the near future in NYC.

Following the Russian-Belarusian military exercises Zapad-2025, Russian forces are being withdrawn, preparing to leave Belarus and return to Russian territory, said Andriy Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Service of Ukraine, at a briefing, as quoted by Radio Liberty.

Border guards denied reports that Iryna Zarutska's father, a Ukrainian woman killed in the US, was not allowed to leave the country to attend her funeral. State Border Guard Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko said the man was assisted in completing entry documents, Ukrinform reports.

The Ukrainian parliament has ratified the agreement on a century-long partnership between Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

The Ukrainian parliament has approved the law on the military ombudsman in the second reading, with 283 MPs voting in favor. The bill was adopted entirely, following the creation of the Central Administration for the Protection of Servicemen's Rights in April 2024 by the Ministry of Defense.

A European Parliament office will be opened in Kyiv, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced during a speech in the Verkhovna Rada.

Since the beginning of 2025, the Defense Forces have neutralized more than 305,000 Russian soldiers, reported the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. This year, defenders destroyed 29,095 units of Russian army vehicles.

Soldiers from the 57th Kost Hordiyenko Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade captured a Kenyan citizen named Evans, who explained he was an athlete and traveler, but ended up in the Russian army, according to the brigade's page.

President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, arrived in Ukraine, she announced on X, saying, "Back in Kyiv 🇪🇺🇺🇦 ." Ruslan Stefanchuk, Verkhovna Rada Speaker, who met her at the Kyiv train station, said her visit was "an important signal of unity and unwavering support for Ukraine."

Russian forces attacked Ukraine's railway infrastructure overnight into Wednesday, causing delays for more than 40 trains and route changes, Ukrzaliznytsia reported.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is ready to meet with Russian leader Vladimir Putin under any conditions. However, he cannot travel to Moscow to meet him, he said in an interview with Sky News.

Before the full-scale invasion, Maksym Shelekhan was a lawyer in Balakliia, known for helping his community. After the Russian occupation began, he and his brother, Volodymyr, chose to stay behind and aid Ukraine's Armed Forces. Learn more about the heroic brothers 👇

Over 10,000 prisoners were mobilized into the Armed Forces after being granted conditional early release, the Justice Ministry reported in response to NV. Convicts may be conditionally released to perform military service during mobilization or martial law, but not all are eligible for release.

Ukraine's Defense Intelligence conducted a special operation in the Shchitovoy area near the Russian city of Vladivostok, targeting a military unit whose soldiers executed Ukrainian prisoners, an informed intelligence source told hromadske.