Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Elizaveta Novikova
Animal rights in Russia?? Is such a thing permitted? More bears news here.
[Regnum] Bears continue to approach people. From September 22 to 28 alone, the Krasnoyarsk Unified Dispatch Service received 122 reports of bears and their tracks.
In Tuva, an encounter ended in death. On September 22, a bear attacked a group of fishermen in the Todzhinsky District. 62-year-old Alexander Kuzmenko, a renowned children's hockey coach, suffered serious injuries and later died in the hospital. Shortly before, regional authorities reported ten bear sightings near villages and shepherds' camps in just one week.
And the problem isn't going away. Dangerous animals are becoming more numerous, appearing in places they were once rare, and conflicts between them and humans are growing.
There are currently almost 308,000 brown bears in Russia. In 1990, their population was approximately 130,000. Over the past 36 years, their numbers have more than doubled.
Over the decades, attitudes toward this predator have changed several times. In the 1990s, hunting pressure increased, and trophies became part of the illegal trade. At the same time, an animal rights movement was developing in the country: they sought to ban den hunting and rescue orphaned bear cubs.
In 2009, supporters of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) collected over 40,000 signatures against winter den hunting. Two years later, the rules changed. Maria Vorontsova, director of the fund's Russian office, said at the time that the conservation organization (which ceased operations in Russia in 2019) had been seeking a ban since 1995.
"We are very pleased that our efforts to combat this barbaric hunting of bear dens have been successful," Vorontsova said after the new regulations were adopted.
But was animal rights a factor in the bear population's rise? And why did an animal protected as rare in some regions continue to be actively hunted in others?
Regnum News Agency investigated how the protection, hunting, and population of brown bears in Russia have changed over the past decades.
SECURITY WAS TIGHTENED, BUT THE SPOILS GREW.
In the 1990s, a modern system for protecting rare species began to take shape in Russia. In 1995, the federal law "On the Animal World" was adopted. Regional Red Data Books began appearing even earlier.
For example, the Red Data Book of Tatarstan was established in 1993, and the first edition was published in 1995. At that time, the brown bear was a rare species in the republic: its population was estimated at only a few dozen individuals.
Experts cited deforestation and poaching as factors limiting its distribution. Consequently, the bear was listed in the regional Red Data Book and its harvesting was banned.
In 1996, the Saylugem population of brown bears was listed separately in the Red Book in the Altai Republic—a small, isolated group for which special protection measures were envisaged.
However, the brown bear was not listed in the federal Red Book. Regional protection could be granted to either individual populations or the species itself.
This sporadic appearance in the Red Data Books did not mean that the Russian brown bear was considered an endangered species. It was part of a new conservation system that allowed for the separate protection of rare populations and species in specific regions.
According to zoologist and candidate of biological sciences Mikhail Krechmar, bans alone were not enough if there was still demand for the products.
"Regional and federal Red Data Books have no impact whatsoever on the scale of culling. They only matter when imposing construction restrictions or technical regulations," he says.
However, bear hunting did not decrease in the 1990s.
"BEARS WERE SHOT EN MASSE"
After the collapse of the USSR, the old hunting system began to collapse, and a new demand for bears emerged.
This was particularly noticeable in the Far East. Research into the bear bile trade shows that after 1991, the industry grew sharply. The authors attributed this to the opening of borders, the relaxation of government controls, and the dire economic situation of local residents. In the 1990s, thousands of bear gall bladders were smuggled out of Russia annually.
At the same time, legal hunting also developed. In Kamchatka, demand for bear hunting grew in the 1990s, including from foreign tourists. Some hunting grounds in the region issued over 500 licenses, and the harvest reached several hundred animals per season.
According to Kretschmar, bears remained in demand on the illegal market, with bile and paws particularly prized.
"In the 1990s, bear hunting products were in demand, even though this demand was illegal. The general population's income was very, very low, and China was buying the bile and paws," the specialist explains.
"Bears were shot en masse throughout their range. Some were licensed, some were not. Poaching was rampant, and there was no oversight of the hunting grounds," says Kretschmar.
According to him, it was virtually impossible to accurately assess the scale of illegal mining. The trade was judged by large shipments of bile and paws seized at the border.
The expert emphasizes: “There was an increase in hunting pressure in the 1990s, but a decline occurred in the early 2000s,” he says.
Official statistics indicate that legal harvesting remained significant in the late 1990s: 2,443 brown bears were harvested in Russia in the 1996/1997 season, 2,488 in 1997/1998, and 2,730 in 1998/1999.
Conservation and harvesting coexisted in the 1990s. Legislation became stricter, and individual populations received additional protection, but economic interest remained high in some regions.
And at the same time, another discussion has emerged – no longer about how many bears can be harvested, but about how to change the hunt itself.
HUNTING IS PROHIBITED IN THE DEN
One of the most notable campaigns was the fight against bear den hunting.
Since the 1990s, IFAW has supported the work of biologist Valentin Pazhetnov, who rescued and rehabilitated orphaned bear cubs. At the same time, the foundation advocated for changes to hunting regulations.
The reason for the campaign was explained by Sergei Pazhetnov, head of the Center for the Rescue of Orphaned Bear Cubs.
"Until recently, the main method of hunting was in the bear's den during hibernation. This is the simplest and most brutal form of hunting. Without their mother, the cubs die in just a few hours," Pazhetnov said.
According to him, the center has been working for many years to ban such hunting in conjunction with IFAW, which has been fighting this practice since the mid-1990s.
In 2009, activists collected more than 40,000 signatures against den hunting.
In 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources approved new hunting regulations. Winter bear den hunting was banned. For animal rights activists, this was the concrete result of a long-standing campaign—a change to a specific provision of hunting legislation.
But it's wrong to assume that this campaign alone led to an increase in the overall Russian bear population. The ban applied to a specific harvest method. Overall population fluctuated simultaneously under the influence of other factors—the actual harvest volume, the state of the prey base, and natural reproduction.
And this is important for understanding the entire situation. Animal rights activists did influence hunting regulations, but the population growth began against the backdrop of much broader changes in hunting management.
WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE 2000S?
According to Kretschmar, the turning point occurred in the early 2000s. Hunting pressure began to ease. The economics of the bear trade also changed. The products that had previously brought in money for hunters gradually lost value. As a result, fewer bears were harvested, and the permitted quotas were increasingly not harvested.
"The Soviet planning system was based on the idea that bears were a liquid commodity—their pelts were exported, their meat processed. Now, no one wants bears—their meat is unused, and neither are their pelts. This explains the catastrophic underharvesting. I don't know how to stimulate increased harvesting other than by paying bounties," says Kretschmar.
Today, this gap is clearly visible in official statistics. In 2025, hunters were allowed to harvest almost 47,000 bears, but they actually harvested only about 12,700. Depending on the region, approximately 10–30% of the permitted number was harvested. The established limit alone does not mean that hunters will harvest it entirely.
"In any given region, we have a quota compliance rate of no more than 40% of those issued. More often than not, it's 10-20%. And these unused quotas are an additional source of population growth. In other words, we're driving the bear population growth ourselves by not meeting the quotas," says Kretschmar.
Alexander Savchenko, head of the Department of Hunting Resources and Nature Conservation at Siberian Federal University, points out several other changes that have occurred in hunting.
According to him, it has become more complex and less accessible: deadlines have been shortened, the organization of the hunt has changed, and the hunting grounds have become more fragmented. In some areas, a single hunter must deal with several hunting users simultaneously.
Current regulations stipulate that a bear harvest application may include no more than two consecutive periods totaling up to 30 calendar days. Savchenko believes this is significant for the taiga: hunting requires time, experience, and preparation.
Another factor, in his opinion, is the changing generation of hunters. "The older generation of hunters is leaving, and young people are becoming less and less interested in this type of hunting," says Savchenko.
According to the expert, the economic value of hunted animals has also changed. Previously, meat, hide, fat, and other products had clear economic uses. Now, demand for them is significantly lower, and previous distribution channels have been curtailed.
As a result, an imbalance arises: the bear has become less sought after as a hunting target, but its numbers have continued to grow.
WHY HAS THE BEAR POPULATION INCREASED TO 308,000?
According to the Ministry of Natural Resources, there were approximately 130,000 brown bears in Russia in 1990. By 2026, that number had risen to 307,900.
But comparing these two figures alone is insufficient. Over the past 36 years, hunting regulations, the condition of the hunting grounds, the food supply, and the harvest volume have all changed. Furthermore, estimating the population of large animals cannot be completely accurate.
"Any accurate census of large mammals has a margin of error of 25%. It's impossible to count bears in the taiga. Government agencies use data provided to them by local authorities and hunting farms, but this is an absolute ceiling. There's simply no research being conducted on bear ecology in the country right now," the specialist says.
He believes that growth is not only due to a reduction in production.
"Now the population growth is also occurring naturally—all animal populations around the world are subject to cyclical fluctuations, and bear populations are clearly on the rise. The average litter size of female bears is growing, and the average number of bear encounters along routes is increasing," he says.
Savchenko also draws attention to how the relationship between humans and bears has changed.
According to him, in the Yenisei region of Siberia from the 1960s to the 1980s, people were constantly present in the bear's habitat—making hay, gathering wild plants, fishing, and hunting. Crop failures and food shortages occurred even then, but he observed no mass bear outings near populated areas.
The point is, it wasn't just the bear that changed. The people around it changed, too—their lifestyle, their way of life, and their attitude toward hunting.
SECURITY IS ONLY PART OF THE STORY
The history of the Russian bear after the collapse of the USSR cannot be reduced to the simple formula "Red Data Books appeared - there were more bears."
Animal rights organizations have indeed achieved concrete changes. The most notable example is the long-running campaign against den hunting, which resulted in a change in the rules.
But there is no evidence that this campaign or the very appearance of the Red Data Books led to a doubling of the brown bear population in Russia.
Other processes simultaneously influenced the population: in the 2000s, actual harvesting decreased, demand for products declined, some of the permitted quotas were no longer used, and the population continued to grow naturally.
However, bear protection has not disappeared, the task has simply changed.
While in the 1990s and 2000s the discussion centered on changing hunting regulations, today regions are forced to find a balance between preserving the population and ensuring human safety.
As a reminder, Regnum News Agency previously investigated why bears are increasingly encountering humans and how Russian regions are trying to address this problem. In the fall of 2026, the animals were spotted near villages, schools, roads, and tourist routes, and in several regions, encounters with them resulted in fatalities.
Authorities are responding with restrictions, hunter patrols, and increased population control, but experts disagree on the causes of the situation, citing population growth, a lack of natural food, access to food scraps, and reduced hunting pressure.
Gamekeeper Krechmar named the three most dangerous regions for bears.
[Regnum] Primorsky Krai, Krasnoyarsk Krai, and Irkutsk Oblast are among the top three regions with the most bear activity. Zoologist and gamekeeper Mikhail Krechmar spokewith Regnum News Agency on Thursday, October 1.
According to the expert, bears in these regions are approaching people more often than usual due to a food shortage. A similar situation is also developing in the Kemerovo Region and Buryatia.
"These are all areas where Siberian and Manchurian cedar grow, which were affected by the total crop failure that hit this year," Kretschmar explained.
The gamekeeper clarified that the nuts of these trees are the brown bear's main source of fat, and without them the animal physically cannot enter its den.
"Since they have no food, they are moving en masse to the outskirts of villages," the agency's source noted.
The expert added that the situation should not be expected to improve until next year, when the cedar harvest will improve. This season, regions must prepare for a sharp escalation of conflicts before and during the first snowfalls.
"Those bears that feel they definitely won't survive the winter will begin to destroy settlements in search of food with even greater energy," the game warden concluded.
In September, biologist and zoologist Alexander Lipkovich warned in an interview with Regnum News Agency that the current generation of bears is more aggressive than previous ones. Due to population growth, the bear, a naturally solitary species, encounters its fellow bears more frequently. This keeps the predator constantly on edge—angry and nervous.
More from regnum.ru Residents of the Moscow region have begun to find bear tracks.
Residents of the Moscow region have begun finding bear tracks in forests near populated areas. This was reported on October 1 by the press service of the Moscow Region Ministry of Ecology and Nature Management.
"We received approximately 20 inquiries from concerned citizens regarding the discovery of bear activity in forested areas near populated areas," the ministry told RIA Novosti.
As the Ministry of Ecology explained, the presence of a bear is often indicated not by encounters with the predator itself, but by tracks on the ground, scratches on trees, and other characteristic signs. Young bears are occasionally spotted along roadsides.
At the same time, citizens often mistake the prints of large dogs or the markings of other animals, such as moose, for bear tracks, the department emphasized.
Bear attacks on people have become more frequent in Russian regions. On September 29, a bear killed a man picking cranberries in the Kamchatka tundra. On September 25, a bear attacked a man returning from fishing in Chukotka, and on August 31, a bear attacked two hunters in Kamchatka Krai.
On September 30, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev announced that the government is preparing priority measures due to frequent bear attacks. The Cabinet of Ministers will consider removing the brown bear's status from the endangered species list and identify regions for additional funding to manage their population.
Even more from regnum.ru A polar bear approached the library in the village of Dikson.
A polar bear, listed in the Russian Red Book, approached a library in the village of Dikson on Taimyr. This was reported on October 1 by Alexey Chelnov, head of the Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets District of Krasnoyarsk Krai.
According to him, the predator appeared near the library building on September 30. It was carefully scared off and escorted out of the village by the "Bear Patrol" rapid response team, created by the administration and working in conjunction with the police and border guards.
"It's essential to prevent conflicts between humans and wild animals. Polar bears are listed in the Russian Red Book and the International Red Book. The patrol's task is to carefully escort the animal out of the urban area without causing harm," Chelnov noted in the MAX messenger.
He added that humans are intelligent creatures, capable of forecasting and analysis. It's important to try not to harm nature, even when dangerous animals like polar bears, wolverines, wolves, or arctic foxes are nearby.
19.03 Ukraine first stagnated under the balistic regime. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this on Telegram.
18.35 Throughout the day, Russian fighters attacked Ukraine with 97 attack UAVs, including 66 jet ones. The military forces of the ZSU in four were informed about this.
17.37 The commander of the Lankan 40th Tactical Aviation Brigade (BrTA) sighting of Kiev, Captain Marat Mambetov, died in battle on one direct front. The Ukrainian forces of the ZSU were informed about this.
17.16 Ukraine and the European Commission have determined the format, lines and necessary deadlines for fully covering the financial and defense needs of our country in 2026-2027. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this on Telegram.
16.28 The system for responding to Russian attacks against the critical infrastructure of Kiev was dismantled. A necessary redeployment of resources was also identified, President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on Telegram for the selector’s bags.
15.53 The Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Lvov convicted Vyacheslav Zinchenko, accused of murdering a huge activist Irina Farion, until his release.
As the judge declared, Zinchenko’s guilt was brought to full attention. He was accused of deliberate murder motivated by national intolerance and of illegally committing murder. I didn’t recognize the guilt myself.
15.39 In the Lviv region, the commander of a military unit was victorious, who had extorted $4,100 for helping a mobilized person lose his service in a military unit and be sent to the area of active combat operations. The National Police reported this.
15.13 Presidential Advisor Sergey (Flash) Beskrestnov believes that the detonator on the Russian attack drone Geranium actually does not harm sensors or folding sensors.
According to Beskrestnov, the new modification of the enemy drone has everything mechanically simple, “solid sensors and folding sensors.”
“We’ve been working on the “Usami” on Geran. This is a major mechanical detonator. In the middle there is a metal tube and a metal shear, which, when the dot is pressed, closes up until something happens, and there is a command to vibrate,” he said.
15.00 In Kiev, the rule of ground public transport through the Pivdenny place was restored under the emergency regime. Based on the previous results, the inspectors did not reveal any critical defects, the KMDA reported.
14.59 The defense forces of Ukraine on the 30th of April – the 1st of June hit low important military targets of the Russian occupiers. ZSU General Staff, details.
14.49 The law enforcement authorities vikrified a psychologist from one of the medical institutions of Khmelnytskyi region, who, for a pittance, offered help to military personnel with military uniforms, lines and armor.
The woman was asked to contact the Shepetivsky RTCC and SP. So, in one episode, she extorted 3 thousand dollars from a friend for registration in the military without a fine for failure to update personal data.
For this sum, she planned to forfeit 1 thousand dollars and transfer it to the Posadovtsev, in order to ensure that the person was registered without penalties.
It also means that a psychologist could, for pennies, fit into a formalized mobilization line and armor.
14.48 Near Moscow, the 235th garrison military court sent Major General Sergiy Nikitushkin, head of the department of basic and material base of the Main Directorate of Combat Training of the Russian Armed Forces, to pre-trial detention center. As the Russian media mean, the fuss about the arrest was discussed on the evening of the 30th spring. The main military investigation management of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation insisted on taking Nikitushkin under control, fearing the risk of the investigation being disrupted. The details of the criminal records and statistics, as they were revealed, are not going to go unnoticed.
14.39 Great Britain has sent a new package of sanctions against Russia. I informed the British government about this. The exchange of ships of the “shadow fleet” for the transportation of LNG, disinformation measures of the Kremlin and others, counting towards the destruction of the civilian population and the ideological indoctrination of Ukrainian children.
14.28 As a result of the full-scale invasion, 134 media workers perished. 105 of them entered the front of the Defense Forces and died as participants in combat operations. The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) reported this. Another 15 media workers died in the wake of the end of professional journalistic work, 14 as civilian victims of Russian aggression.
14.08 The legacy of the Russian attack on Pavlograd, Dnipropetrovsk region, on Thursday, April 1, injured three people. The head of the Dnipropetrovsk OVA, Oleksandr Ganzha, told us about this.
14.01 A Russian drone hit the territory of the Nuclear Research Institute near Kiev, decommissioning the previous VVR-M reactor. Through the attack, the vinyl was burned and the fire was extinguished. The State Inspectorate for Nuclear Regulation (DIYARU) reported this.
13.12 Russia may bear responsibility for the capture of a Russian drone near a school in Kiev, where children and teachers were in hiding at the time of the attack. As President Volodymyr Zelensky informed, a third building was buried on top of the school, the wall was partially destroyed, the windows and doors were damaged.
“Russian monsters will continue to attack the life of our land, Ukrainian children, our schools, and Russia must bear responsibility for this,” Zelensky wrote in the caption. We also called on our partners to put pressure on the Russian Federation and provide additional support packages to Ukraine.
13.06 Russian riot police hit the Pivdenny Bridge in Kiev with drones. Vitaliy Klitschko announced this action in Telegram. In addition to the metro and ground transport, the bridge was closed. Fakhіvtsi KP Kiyivavtoshlyakhmіst quilt the camp of the sporudi.
13.03 On the evening of the 30th spring in the Orgievsky region of Moldova, a drone crashed, which, according to previous data, is expected to be of the Geranium type. The Ministry of Defense and the General Inspectorate of Police of Moldova were informed about this, Newsmaker reports.
The drone was found near the road between the settlements of Ivancha and Brenesti. Behind the scenes, he hit the trees, fell to the ground and sank.
12.34 Defense forces launched strikes against Russian targets in the Black Sea on the territory of the Russian Federation. President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this on Facebook.
12.12 Counterintelligence officers and police carried out a series of murders near Zaporizhzhya. Two FSB agents were caught, who were trying to liquidate four military ZSUs. The SBU reported this.
11.54 In the spring, the Russian occupation forces recorded a record loss of manpower since the beginning of 2026 - 46,230 people. I informed the ZSU General Staff about this.
At the same time, the enemy's losses at Veresna increased by 14,520 points, which is an increase of 45.8%.
11.51 Over 414 thousand students in 948 classes of high and high school education in 1 day began to receive discipline on the Fundamentals of the National Resistance. As reported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, in 2026/2027, discipline was introduced in 275 educational institutions for 237,616 students and in 673 educational institutions. illumination for 176,615 workers. The program imparts the formation of knowledge and practical skills for action in the minds of safe threats, saving life and health, providing pre-medical assistance and preparing communities for national resistance. The Ministry of Education and Science declares that its passage does not convey the status of a military contagionist.
11.29 Several representatives of the high military command of the Russian Federation were informed in absentia about the suspicion through a missile attack on the center of Krivoy Rog on September 28, 2024. Todi injured 10 people. According to the investigation, Colonel General Oleksiy Kim, Vice Admiral Oleksandr Peshkov, Rear Admiral Oleksiy Petrushin and Colonel Dmytro Kozlovsky were responsible for planning this attack.
11.00 In four and five regions of Ukraine, power outages were recorded due to Russian attacks on civil energy infrastructure. Ukrenergo reported about this. There, where safety precautions are allowed, emergency work is already underway.
At the same time, it is predicted that the future will be affected by the stagnation of yearly power outages and work schedules for industrial workers - they will not stagnate at all.
10.33 Near the Solomyansky district of Kiev, a Russian drone was taken to school. Viniklo got excited, having reported the mister's head Vitaliy Klitschko on Telegram. At the time of the enemy’s attack, over 100 students and about 60 workers were initially in Ukriti.
10.19 President Volodymyr Zelensky recorded the brutality from the front from the blessings of the Destruction Day and the devastation of Ukraine. He praised the military for defending the state and declared that Ukraine’s resilience begins at the front.
09.35 A woman was injured as a result of the Russian night attack on Rivnenschyna. She has injured her shoulders and is currently in the hospital. As reported by the head of the Rivne Regional Police Department, Oleksandr Koval, the victim’s apartment was recognized as having been damaged.
09.18 Near the Krasnogvardiysky and Pervomaisky districts of the occupied Crimea, local publics reported about the power outage after an overnight earthquake in Nizhnyogirsky. The flow through electrical substations and the destruction is also confirmed by Krimenergo.
08.37 Russian troops attacked the Nikopol district of the Dnipropetrovsk region with drones ten times. Having perished the 44-year-old civilian man. As soon as the head of OVA Oleksandr Ganzha gave in, Nikopol, Marganetska, Pokrovska and Chervonogrihorivska communities fell under the blows.
07.59 As a result of the Russian night attack on Odessa, infrastructure was damaged (two business centers), one person was injured.
07.38 In the Pechersky district of Kiev, Ukraine, on the 1st of June, the crackdown broke out in the open territory. The legacy of the Russian night attack on Kiev in the Solomyansky and Obolonsky districts was the result of the fire. Є injuries. This was reported to the DSNS of Ukraine and the CMVA. Having specified the measures of Kiev, Vitaliy Klitschko, the enemy UAV entered the territory of a non-residential complex in the Pechersky district.
04.58 Russian dictator Volodymyr Putin plans to paralyze Kiev before the onset of winter in order to maximize tension and destabilize the political situation in Ukraine. The Economist writes about this from the messages of the Ukrainian High-Posaders. Two military officials said that the Kremlin official ordered the attack on all civilian targets near Kiev.
00.22 Russian troops launched an attack on Odessa. Local publics wrote about the fire at the business center. Odessa MBA student Sergey Lisak confirmed the fact of the attack, indicating that “the infrastructure was damaged.”
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
[NewsFront] 20:41 During the day, from 8:00 to 20:00 Moscow time, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 227 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type flew over the territories of the Kaluga, Bryansk, Kursk, Belgorod, Tula, Voronezh, Tambov, Rostov, Saratov, Samara regions, Krasnodar Krai, Moscow region, the Republic of Crimea and over the Black Sea. 18:32 The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to apply strikes against sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
This afternoon, a dry cargo ship carrying military supplies for Ukrainian Armed Forces units was hit by a drone strike in the Black Sea.
17:52 Crew of the 152mm Giatsint-B howitzer of the Center group destroy edenemy manpower concentration in the Dobropillya area.
13:11 Collective forces of the CSTO as part of the Interaction-2026 exercise worked out assault on the positions of a simulated enemy.
12:10 Summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation on the progress of the special military operation (as of October 1, 2026)
Units of the "North" force group are tightening the encirclement of Ukrainian Armed Forces formations in the northeast of the Khar'kov region and expanding the external zone of control. During active offensive operations within the encirclement, the settlements of Nesterne and Rublenoe in the Khar'kov region have been taken under control.
Fighting is underway to liberate the villages of Varvarovka, Grachevka, Reznikovo, and Serdobino in the Khar'kov region. Additionally, enemy forces are being destroyed near the villages of Nefedovka, Mykolaivka, and Khatnee in the Khar'kov region. Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 30 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, and a ground-based robotic system within 24 hours while encircled. Active fighting continues to liberate the village of Prikolotne in the Khar'kov region as the external control zone expands.
Furthermore, as a result of decisive actions by the group's units, the village of Vysokaya Yaruga in the Khar'kov region was taken under control. The personnel and equipment of a heavy mechanized brigade, two motorized infantry brigades, an assault regiment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a territorial defense brigade, and a National Guard brigade were defeated in the areas of the villages of Zarozhne, Slatino, Liptsy, Pitomnik, Sosnovy Bor, and Tsirkuny in the Khar'kov region.
In Sumy Oblast, units of a heavy mechanized, airmobile, two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and two territorial defense brigades were struck by fire near the villages of Boyaro-Lezhachi, Velyka Rybitsa, Korenek, and Nikolskoye in Sumy Oblast and the city of Sumy. In total, the enemy lost over 250 servicemen, three armored combat vehicles, a field artillery gun, 26 vehicles, and two electronic warfare stations in the area of responsibility of the "North" force group.
Units of the "West" group of forces improved their position along the forward edge. They inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and a territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Blagodatovka, Grushevka, Izyumske, Kovalivka, Osinovo, and Proletarske in the Khar'kov region, and Mayaki and Pryshyb in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 220 service members, a Canadian-made Senator armored combat vehicle, 10 vehicles, and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the Southern Group of Forces occupied more advantageous lines and positions. Formations of two mechanized brigades, an airmobile brigade, an unmanned systems brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and a naval infantry brigade were defeated near the settlements of Belenke, Vasilevskaya Pustosh, Druzhkovka, Klinovoye, Kramatorsk, Nikolaevka, Semenovka, and Slavyansk in the Donetsk People's Republic. The enemy lost over 205 servicemen, a Bucephalus armored personnel carrier, and 16 vehicles.
Units of the Center Group of Forces have improved their tactical position. They have inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of three mechanized brigades, a Ukrainian unmanned systems brigade, a naval infantry brigade, and two National Guard brigades near the settlements of Andreevka, Belozerskoye, Bokovoe, Gornyak, Lidino, Maryevka, Novogrigorovka, Novoyavlenka, Sergeyevka, and Shilovka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
In the village of Dobropillya in the Donetsk People's Republic, assault groups of the 51st Army are advancing in the northern, northwestern, central, and eastern parts of the city. Within 24 hours, 93 buildings were liberated, and more than 30 Ukrainian Armed Forces militants were killed. In total, in the area of responsibility of the "Center" group of forces, Ukrainian armed forces lost up to 460 servicemen, eight vehicles, an artillery piece, and two electronic warfare stations.
Units of the "East" force group advanced deep into the enemy's defenses. They inflicted losses on the personnel and equipment of an assault brigade, an airmobile brigade, three airborne assault brigades, two assault regiments, and a naval infantry brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlements of Ivanovka, Kolomiytsy, Lysaya Balka, and Orly in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Moskovka, Nikolskoye, Obshcheye, Samoylovka, and Svoboda in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The Ukrainian Armed Forces lost over 270 service members, an armored combat vehicle, and 12 vehicles.
Units of the Dnipro Forces Group have taken up more advantageous positions and lines. Formations of the mechanized and mountain assault brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were defeated near the settlements of Dimitrovo, Orekhov, and Preobrazhenka in the Zaporizhzhia region. Up to 30 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel and four vehicles were destroyed. Tactical aviation, strike drones, missile forces, and artillery of the Russian Armed Forces Groups damaged military airfields, energy infrastructure facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, drone assembly and storage sites, and temporary deployment sites of Ukrainian armed forces and foreign mercenaries in 148 districts. Air defense assets shot down seven guided bombs and 650 fixed-wing drones.
10:24 Northern assault units significantly advanced in the northern part of the Volchansk pocket, Nesternoye was liberated. Soldiers from the 12th Motorized Rifle Brigade and 344th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 69th Motorized Rifle Division of the 6th Guards Army distinguished themselves.
09:46 Soldiers of the Northern Guard complete the clearing of the eastern part of the Volchansk cauldron. The village of Rublenoe has been liberated. MAP
08:34 During the past night, from 20:00 Moscow time on September 30 to 8:00 Moscow time on October 1, air defense forces on duty intercepted and destroyed 330 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles of the fixed-wing type over the territories of the Bryansk, Belgorod, Smolensk, Kaluga, Tula, Kursk, Tver, Lipetsk, Oryol, Tambov, Astrakhan regions, the Moscow region, the Republic of Crimea and over the waters of the Black Sea.
08:21 The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to apply strikes on logistics and communications centers, as well as sea vessels deployed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Tonight, the following were hit by drone strikes:
in Kyiv – a transport and logistics center (LLC “Renta Logistic”), in the warehouse building of which a workshop for the production of unmanned boats was equipped;
in Odessa and Odessa region:
the data center "HOSTING-UA", through which intelligence and other service information was processed in the interests of the Ukrainian Armed Forces;
A dry cargo ship carrying military equipment and dual-use cargo for the Ukrainian Armed Forces was struck in the port of Chornomorsk.
07:30 Changes on map over the past 24 hours:
Tolstodubovo was liberated (+15.5 km2)
Settlement of Shabelnoye was liberated (+10.3 km2)
Yegorovka was liberated (+3.2 km2)
Adjustment of the control zone in favor of our forces in the area of the village of Rublenoe (+25 km2)
06:31 Drone drivers of the "Center" liquidate Ukrainian Armed Forces shelters in forest belts in the Dobropillya direction.
by Ekaterina Lymarenko
In mid-September, the Good Angel Foundation and members of the Vega unit carried out a complex three-day evacuation from a village on the border between the Dnipropetrovsk region and the Donetsk People's Republic. They evacuated a large family—a married couple, Alexey and Katerina, their four children, and their grandmother, Irina.
They lived in the basement for a year and a half. And at the end of the summer, Ukrainian Armed Forces militants began hunting them. When the decision to evacuate was made and the family began moving, Ukrainian troops targeted the children's location with missiles and drones. It wasn't until mid-September that they managed to reach Donetsk.
Read more about the family history in the report by the Regnum news agency correspondent.
"We went into the basement as children and came out as adults."
We're waiting for the family in the reception room of the temporary accommodation center. There are many boxes here—parcels from residents of other regions of Russia for refugees from liberated villages. When the family of eight enters, the large room suddenly becomes small. The youngest, Polina, hides her face in her hands—she's afraid of strangers.
“We went into the basement as children and came out as adults,” says Grandma Irina.
The boys and Polina still barely speak. Sonya, the eldest, took the evacuation the hardest—she had known soldiers she'd become friends with, and she was killed several times during the evacuation. But now the girl calmly answers questions.
The first thing we asked the family was: why did they stay for so long?
"We would never have left if it hadn't been for Baba Yaga," says Sonya. "But the soldiers said: since Baba Yaga has arrived, we definitely have to leave. I have cats and dogs left there. They left the cats' door half open, and didn't have time to untie the dogs. They asked the neighbor to go out—she went, and then the attacks started on her."
Twelve-year-old Ruslan looks up from the laces on his sneakers and adds sadly from under his brows:
— There are still some cows left...
"There were nine head of cattle," says the grandmother. "And Sonya had exotic animals; she nursed them back to health in the basement."
"When we went into the basement in March 2025, I had two budgies, a rat, a chinchilla, and hamsters," says Sonya. "The cat bit the hamster, and it died. The mouse bit the rat. The parrot ate the mouse, and the other one got bored and died. And three days before the Baba Yaga drop, my cockatiel died. Out of nowhere, it sat on my hand and died."
— Where did you get food for them?
"I asked them to bring Russian soldiers. The guys never refused."
A "White Angel" operated in the village, forcibly transporting children to Ukraine. It's surprising that such a large family wasn't found, even though the local SBU had long had a special interest in them due to their political stance: as early as 2014, agents visited Grandma Irina.
They didn't beat her, but they pushed her with rifle butts and intimidated her. The next time, they lined her up against the wall and threatened to shoot her. She shuddered for a long time afterward whenever she saw a similar car.
— Why didn’t you go to the rear, to Ukraine?
"No way. In Russia, a large family is respected and understood. But in Ukraine, having more than two children means being disadvantaged, being marginalized. The kids were teased at school. Ruslan was called a "separ" for speaking Russian. You could get fined in stores for speaking Russian."
The younger children were born during the war in Donbas: Ruslan in 2014, Vanya in 2017, Polina in 2018. So even when we were thinking about moving, it always seemed like the time wasn't right yet.
In 2023, Katya was saved from forced evacuation by a large basement and a relative in a neighboring village, where she and her children had moved while the SBU was keeping watch on her at her mother's. The Ukrainian Armed Forces persisted for six months, inciting neighbors to evacuate. They later admitted to taking money for informing.
In the fall of 2023, the Ukrainian Armed Forces moved in. The commander treated the civilians with compassion, but his subordinates—former convicts—were very unpleasant "neighbors." They didn't hide who was in prison for what: rape, murder, robbery.
At first, they offered to help with the housework, but the family remained distant and always refused. Then their attitude changed.
One day, some tipsy VS officers wandered into the kitchen where Irina was cooking for her grandchildren. One thing led to another, a fight broke out, and at that moment Sonya walked in. The men stopped fighting and began to look at the girl with interest.
Grandma, of course, immediately understood everything and shouted to her granddaughter, "Run, Sonya, run!" But one of the drunken soldiers had already reached out to hug the 12-year-old. Irina screamed, pushed the soldier away, and Sonya managed to escape. Everything was alright.
— He didn’t do anything to you?
"He got angry that my plans were ruined. He made me wrap my leg. My leg was shot. I'd wrap it, and he'd unwrap it. They tormented me as much as they could."
- Sonya, are you scared?
"It was certainly unpleasant when a drug addict approached you. And he was a drug addict, for sure: injection marks on his neck, covered in tattoos. I spent most of my time at home afterwards, trying to stay out of sight. I was already at the right age for them…"
"The hunt was specifically for children."
The Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated in early summer 2025. There was no internet, but my grandmother kept a radio, which the family used to get the news. That's how they learned that the Russian army was approaching.
"They said the village had been liberated," Sonya recalls. "We listened and couldn't believe it. Then my grandfather came and said there was a Russian flag on the administration building. We didn't believe that either. And then we heard motorcycles—it became clear: the Russians had arrived. It was a celebration for us."
Sonya waited for the fighters not to leave, but to feel safe at home. Some were only five or six years older than her. The fighters arrived hungry, but the family had nothing either: eight months on nothing but pasta.
Then the soldiers asked Grandma Irina, "Mother, let's join forces, we're out of bread." They agreed that they would provide the flour, and she would bake flatbreads. So Irina started baking, producing 40 of them every day.
Volunteers from all over Russia brought gifts and animal feed for the children, and the family started a farm. Life began to improve.
"Life became quiet," recalls Katerina, her mother. "The kids rode bikes, my grandmother and I planted roses. None of that remains now; it's all been bombed by drones."
The plans were interrupted in May 2026. A Ukrainian Armed Forces sabotage group entered the village. Kateryna's husband, Alexei, saw men in black uniforms entering the corner house. He knew: only NATO had such uniforms.
"At first I remembered that the tank crews wear black uniforms—they get dirty from the oil. But these guys came in—their uniforms are shiny, brand new. NATO ones."
Between the militants and the basement where the Russian Armed Forces soldiers had dug in, there were only two houses: one abandoned and the one where his children lived. That same day, one of the VSAV officers came to the family's basement and demanded food and water. He made no attempt to hide his affiliation with the Ukrainian army. Alexey seized the opportunity and headed toward the Russian soldiers.
"Our guys took seven people at once. But it turned out there were eight. They started searching and spotted a motorcycle. It was moving slowly, cautiously, and the driver had a yellow armband. The soldiers exchanged glances and took off after it.
The Russian military then caught up with the Ukrainian saboteur, but a young fighter with whom Sonya had become friends was killed in the operation.
"A soldier with the call sign Tuman, he was only 22 years old. He arrived the day before, asked his grandmother to fry some sausages in dough, and brought them himself. For everyone—the soldiers and us. But he never showed up the next day, and no one told us anything then."
It turns out he went looking for the eighth VSSU soldier and disappeared. The guys said he only lost his foot, but he was completely torn apart; he stepped on a mine.
The family understood that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had no plans to leave them alone. And that neighbors who had fled to the Ukrainian side, knowing they remained in the village, were assisting the Ukrainian military in this hunt.
Why they did this is still unclear, but grandma has her own version:
"Many of our neighbors, having left for Ukraine, married Ukrainian Armed Forces officers. Maybe they wanted to help their husbands this way? We were shown on TV when the front retreated: how we were living, how our house was being rebuilt."
These neighbors would write to Katya or Sonya, asking how they were doing, how they were doing—and then immediately curse them. And literally an hour later, the house would start to be haunted.
"The hunt was specifically for children. By the time we ran to the neighbors, the shells were already flying toward them."
In early June, a shell hit the summer kitchen where my grandparents lived. They managed to escape. A day later, Sonya was nearly hit—a shell landed next to the shower.
"I picked some flowers and was getting ready to take a shower. I grab a towel and look up—a drone bomb is flying in. I just managed to duck out the door when the shell exploded. It didn't cut me, just stunned me, and it grazed my grandmother's arm—she was nearby, feeding the dogs."
The family's house stood firm, as if someone had been protecting it. One day, a drone dropped a bomb right on the roof, but even that didn't explode.
"Dad took it down in the morning," Sonya recalls. "The explosives were left in the attic. Grandpa put them in a bucket—it would be a long wait for the bomb disposal team. Mom once carried a shell out of the house, too. You get used to it."
In midsummer, my grandfather was wounded. He was mowing hay for the cows, checking the tomatoes in the greenhouse, and when he went into the house, there was an explosion. My grandmother heard a scream, ran, and saw that my husband's arm and leg were torn off—they were hanging on by flesh.
Soldiers evacuated him on a motorcycle toward Donetsk, and his family has heard nothing more about him; he simply vanished. Hospitals and morgues say they never had him, but they're not giving up; they're currently searching for him in the Rostov region.
Three days of hell
By early autumn, the village was already half destroyed. Ukrainian Armed Forces reconnaissance drones were flying into the family's yard, covering everything: barns, basements, clearly studying the area, memorizing the layout of rooms and buildings. And then, one day, there was an explosion.
"We hadn't slept for a long time," Irina says, "and at exactly 12 o'clock, there was a shock! That explosion was unlike anything else; we knew right away it was Baba Yaga. But we missed; it was near the basement. And if we had, we wouldn't be sitting here anymore."
The family ran to the neighbors for shelter, but the grandmother was very weak. After Grandpa was taken away, she was gradually failing, mentally and physically, and she missed her husband greatly. She crouched by the Christmas tree and told the children to run for their lives. But Katerina practically pulled her mother out in her arms.
At this point, Sonya was already writing to Katya Mezinova, a volunteer from the Good Angel foundation who had been visiting the family the longest: "Katya, Baba Yaga has arrived! Please take us away from here!"
Sonya, volunteer of the Good Angel Foundation, Katya Mezinova and Polina
At first, they hid with neighbors, then the military arrived and took the family away to prepare for evacuation. And so began a three-day nightmare. That same night, the military base was "dismantled" by attack drones, and the children were transferred to a second base. A couple of hours later, artillery bombardment arrived.
“It was lucky that the soldiers remained alive,” says Katya.
“But not for long, Mom,” Sonya remarks gloomily.
It was a veritable human hunt—the "eyes" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces hovered over the village, watching to see where the family would run. Every move meant a new landing. And so it went, again and again.
All these days, while the family desperately tried to survive in Alekseyevka, a rescue team was being prepared in Selidovo. At dawn, the soldiers set out to retrieve the family.
Halfway there, a drone struck the car, burning it and injuring the soldiers. During the next attempt, a drone also struck the car. The soldiers who went to retrieve the family were killed. Only the third evacuation team managed to reach the family.
The evacuation took place along a road completely covered by Ukrainian drones. The VSAS kept an eye on the family, and everyone was prepared for the fact that no one would let them simply leave. Several times along the way, reconnaissance drones were encountered, and some flew in, and then everyone—military and civilian—hid in the bushes.
Before the evacuation, a group arrived in the village for rotation. One of the soldiers, Lyosha, encouraged Sonya before the dangerous operation: "We'll get through now, and if everything goes well with us, you'll get through too."
The day before, he'd told the girl about his mother, who'd come to meet him on vacation so they could go home together. He didn't make it in time—the soldiers' vehicle was destroyed by three Ukrainian Armed Forces drones.
The family was evacuated along the same route the next day. The drone struck again—the car was stopped, and the family hid in a dugout by the road. Lyosha's remains lay there. Sonya remembered it forever.
"It's so strange: just yesterday a man was laughing and joking, and now he lies there, torn to pieces. And somewhere his mother is waiting for him."
Thanks to the coordinated work of Russian soldiers and volunteers, the family members managed to escape alive.
"When you have your own house, you can even get a husky."
Sonya will soon be 15, and she plans to go to technical school. She doesn't think like a child at all. She mostly talks about issues that aren't typical for children.
When I ask where they'll live, she replies, "We can't afford Donetsk." And then she immediately starts thinking about what kind of carpet to buy for the new house the administration will allocate, so her brothers and sisters won't get cold feet. Her concern for the younger children is touching in its seriousness.
— The children behaved in the basement as well as children can behave in a basement.
- You say “children” as if you no longer consider yourself one of them.
- Of course not.
- Why?
"Nothing that used to make me happy brings me joy. Gifts, trips—everything has faded into the background."
— What could make you happy?
— Returning home. My cats, nine cows, and dogs are there. We would never have left if it weren't for Baba Yaga.
And at that moment, Sonya finally breaks down, and streams of tears begin to run down her cheeks. She throws her head back and runs out of the room—she doesn't want to be seen crying.
Polina is riding her bike around the yard—she ran away earlier, bored by the grown-ups' conversation. Her sister comes over to hold her by the handlebars; she taught her to ride back home in Alekseyevka.
Sonya says she wants to be a chef, not a veterinarian. Animals are too stressful, and she enjoys cooking.
But then she looks at me with childish slyness and starts smiling: "But it looks like we're going to have another epic encounter with animals. We went to the market, and a husky followed us, I almost took it! When we get our own house, we can have a husky too."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
BREAKING: Israel says pilot tried to hijack flydubai flight to Tel Aviv that diverted, landed in Saudi Arabia
