Center for Countering Disinformation
The Center for Countering Disinformation is a Ukrainian body established in 2021 under the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. It focuses on identifying and refuting disinformation, including threats directed against Ukraine, and on monitoring information threats.
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine holds more territory than Russia has taken since autumn, pushes back on Gerasimov's Zaporizhzhia claims
In his evening address on October 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory since the start of autumn than Russia has captured, and that the same trend has held in other periods of 2025. He pushed back on claims by Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, asserting that Russian forces are being engaged about 20 km from Zaporizhzhia, not 5 km as Russia claims, and that several named settlements remain under Ukrainian control.
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Ukrainian strikes disabled three Yandex data centers in Russia, sharply cutting bot traffic
Between October 8 and 11, 2026, Ukrainian strikes hit three large Yandex data centers in Russia — at Sasovo in Ryazan Oblast, near Kaluga, and at Vladimir — disabling supercomputers and forcing Yandex Cloud into emergency mode. The strikes disrupted a wide range of Russian consumer, logistics and financial services, and monitoring data showed automated bot traffic from the Yandex network collapsing from near its two-week maximum to a fraction of a percent before partially recovering.
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Russia launches massive combined missile and drone attack on Ukraine overnight on October 6–7, hitting Kyiv and multiple oblasts
Russia launched a large-scale combined missile and drone strike on Ukraine overnight on October 6–7, deploying ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, anti-ship missiles, and more than 130 strike drones. Main strike directions were Kyiv, Kharkiv, Poltava, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts. Ukrainian air defense said it shot down or suppressed 161 aerial targets by 09:00 on October 7. Multiple civilians were killed across several cities, including the destruction of a residential building in Pryluky, Chernihiv Oblast. President Zelensky, who had warned the previous day based on intelligence that Russia was preparing a massive strike, described it as one of the "most vile" and said energy infrastructure was a key target.
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Zelensky warns of imminent Russian massive strike as strategic bombers take off
President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on 6 October that Ukraine had received updated intelligence on Russia preparing a new massive strike, following a selector meeting with officials, military and key services. The Ukrainian Air Force separately reported the takeoff of strategic bombers from Russian airfields, with cruise missile entry into Ukrainian airspace expected in the early hours. Zelensky said Ukraine is preparing a response and that anti-ballistic capabilities depend on international partners.
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Russian drones hit Kyiv's Pivdennyi Bridge for fourth time in a day, paralysing cross-river traffic
Russian forces struck the Pivdennyi (Southern) Bridge in Kyiv with drones around 5:00 a.m. on 2 October 2026, the fourth hit on the bridge in roughly 24 hours and part of a wave of attacks that fully closed the bridge and restricted traffic on the Paton and Metro bridges. The overnight strike also hit a 25-storey residential building in the Darnytskyi district, killing one person and injuring two. The closures caused a major transport collapse across the city, with large traffic jams, rerouted buses and trolleybuses, and a Kyiv Defense Council decision to tighten bridge rules during air-raid alerts.
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Berlin march demands humanitarian access for occupied Oleshky
The Ukrainian civic movement Vitsche Berlin organized a march through central Berlin on 28 September under the slogan "Stop the Russian occupation of Oleshky," calling for humanitarian aid and safe evacuation of residents of Russian-occupied Oleshky in Kherson Oblast. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov acknowledged a "critical situation" in the city but blamed Ukraine, while Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation accused Russia of obstructing aid and shifting responsibility.
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Ukrainian strikes hit Azov optical-mechanical plant, Ilysky refinery, and Russian air-defense assets overnight
On the night of 25–26 September 2026, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant in Rostov Oblast — a facility linked by open-source analysts to several Russian missile programs — along with the Ilysky oil refinery in Krasnodar Krai, a Pantsir-S2 air-defense system, an ammunition depot in Sievierodonetsk, and a P-18 Terek radar in Donetsk Oblast. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the Azov strike was carried out by its Alpha Special Operations Center together with the Ukrainian Navy, using Neptune cruise missiles and Ruta, Palyanytsya, and Bars jet drone-missiles. President Volodymyr Zelensky publicly confirmed the strikes.
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Zelensky signs sanctions against former press secretary Mendel and Russian propagandists
President Volodymyr Zelensky on 13 September 2026 enacted personal sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council against his former press secretary Yulia Mendel, the only Ukrainian citizen among 10 individuals in the package. On the same day he signed two further decrees targeting 29 Russian citizens and 29 companies linked to the state corporation Rostec, and 20 vessels of the Russian shadow fleet. The move follows a May 2026 interview in which Mendel repeated Russian-aligned claims to U.S. podcaster Tucker Carlson.
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Ukrainian drones strike Azot chemical plant deep inside Russia
Ukrainian drones attacked the Azot branch of Uralchem in Berezniki, Perm Krai, on the morning of September 11, causing explosions, smoke and a full halt of production at Russia's largest nitrogen fertilizer facility, roughly 1,500 km from the Ukrainian border. Plant workers reported multiple blasts; the Russian Defense Ministry said drones were shot down and the Perm governor reported no casualties.
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Ukrainian drones strike Ryazan oil refinery and Rostov airfield overnight
On the night of September 6, 2026, Ukrainian drones attacked targets in Russia's Ryazan and Rostov oblasts. Ukraine's General Staff said the Defense Forces struck the Ryazan Oil Refinery, the Rostov-on-Don airfield, a Podlyot radar station, and two Pantsir-S1 air-defense systems, with the refinery hit using an FP-1 drone produced by Fire Point. Russian officials acknowledged a drone attack and a fire at an unnamed enterprise in Ryazan, but did not officially confirm damage to the refinery.
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Moscow airports shut down for second consecutive night after Zelensky's warning on Russian airspace
Vnukovo and Sheremetyevo suspended flight operations for a second consecutive night following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's public warning that Russian airspace is becoming fully dangerous for civil aviation. Ukraine formally notified the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and called on member states to ban civil flights over Russia, drawing an updated ICAO conflict-zone safety statement and sharp rejections from Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin.
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Germany blames Russia for drone incident at Leipzig/Halle airport, announces countermeasures
On 1 September, Germany formally blamed Russia for an explosive drone discovered on 4 August near a Ukrainian Antonov cargo aircraft at Leipzig/Halle airport. German ministers announced the closure of the Russian consulate general in Bonn, termination of the agreement for the "Russian House" in Berlin, tighter border controls, and new EU sanctions listings. Russia rejected the accusations, and the EU summoned the Russian ambassador.