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some relief to cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk that have been shelled relentlessly by Russian troops.
EU guidance weakens sanctions on Russian coal. According to Bloomberg, a new guidance by the European Commission says that the transfer of some Russian goods, including coal and related products, “should be allowed to combat food and energy insecurity around the world.” Poland and the Baltic countries have criticized the updated sanctions guidance during meetings between European ministers, asking the commission to “withhold publication of the document until the matter was addressed,” Bloomberg reported, citing its anonymous sources.
On Sept. 16, the UN General Assembly voted to allow President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to prerecord his address for the annual meeting on Sept. 21. Only seven countries voted against granting Zelenskiy the exception: Russia, Belarus, Cuba, North Korea, Eritrea, Nicaragua, and Syria. Belarus, represented by Belarusian Foreign Minister Uladzimir Makei, participated in the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. Belarusian political opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya also participated in bilateral meetings with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other high-ranking officials. Topics discussed were reportedly the circumstances surrounding political prisoners, sanctions against Lukashenko's regime, and visa regulations in Belarus.
Zelenskiy on major prisoner swap with Russia: We value every life, will return everyone. Following a major prisoner swap on Sept. 21, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an address that the return of 215 POWs is a victory for Ukraine, but mainly, it's a victory for 215 families who will reunite with their loved ones. Azov commanders among POWs returned from Russian captivity. Commanders of the Azovstal defense, including Denys Prokopenko, the head of the Azov regiment at then-besieged Azovstal steel plant, his deputy Svyatoslav Palamar and marine commander Serhiy Volynsky, were among the 215 people released from Russian captivity in a massive prisoner exchange on Sept. 21. Pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk handed over to Russia in exchange for 200 POWs. Ukraine's most high-profile pro-Kremlin politician and Putin's right-hand man in Ukraine Viktor Medvedchuk was part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine that took place on Sept. 21, according to Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko. The prisoner swap returned 205 Ukrainian soldiers and 10 foreign fighters. Foreigners sentenced to death among those freed in Saudi-brokered POW swap. Russia on Sept. 21 released 10 prisoners of war from five countries, some of whom had been sentenced to death by Russian proxies in Ukraine's east, in a prisoner exchange brokered by Saudi Arabia. Three of the prisoners exchanged include Britons Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin, as well as Moroccan citizen Saadoun Brahim, previously sentenced to death in a sham trial in Russian-occupied Donetsk.
Most-Accurate US artillery shell is added to Ukraine's arsenal. The Pentagon has sent Ukraine its most accurate artillery shell, the GPS-guided Excalibur, according to budget documents that confirm the previously unannounced addition to the military armament assembled to combat the Russian invasion. A plan to replenish the US stock of Excaliburs acknowledges for the first time that the Pentagon has been supplying Ukrainian forces with the shell, reported Bloomberg. Officials have sidestepped questions about the
14 UKRAINE Country Report October 2022 www.intellinews.com