(OSV News) — The papal point man for charity 23 and was heading east to Kharkiv to spend Christmas “in the city where Russian bombs fell first and the war started” on Feb The prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Charity began his ninth trip to Ukraine on Dec which he donated to Caritas Ukraine in Lviv Dec adapted to specific needs of a country where hospitals are often damaged or inaccessible The journey aims to show solidarity with the war-torn country “which the pope prays for every day,” the cardinal said Cardinal Krajewski opened a soup kitchen for the poor Dec “The war is taking its economic toll,” Cardinal Krajewski told OSV News in a recorded message sent on Dec “The monthly retirement is $100 for many people It’s hard to make a living on such a sum That’s why the Dominican brothers built this soup kitchen so that they can feed the needy but people can also take supplies home.” “Always when I’m opening a place like that I think of the Gospel when Jesus multiplied the bread and fed the 4,000,” Cardinal Krajewski said “Jesus told the disciples: Go and feed those people because sharing with those in need is sharing with Jesus himself.” The Dominicans in Fastiv have been helping Ukrainians from the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion “I visited all of them and shared a traditional Polish ‘oplatek,'” the Polish prelate said of a wafer that Poles share with each other at the Christmas vigil on Dec “Then children from the local music school came and performed a Nativity play It was a real joy to listen to their concert,” Cardinal Krajewski said “After the concert I greeted the children in the name of the Holy Father and gave them each a giant teddy bear a donor from Poland donated,” he told OSV News “Some of those children lost their fathers at war,” he said As he was recording the message for OSV News Pope Francis called him to ask how the Christmas mission was going “I told him the trip with a mobile hospital was a true penance for me as the vehicle was hard to drive and it was impossible to go over 55 miles per hour The Holy Father laughed that I could pray a lot — and indeed the trip was so long that I reminded myself of every single prayer I knew since childhood,” Cardinal Krajewski laughed “I told the Holy Father about those days and about where I’m going tomorrow — to Kharkiv — and that I’m simply afraid as the drones targeting Ukrainian cities are unpredictable,” he recalled “It is not clear at what point they appear in complete silence,” the cardinal said of the commonly used deadly Russian weapon “Next to the nunciature several blocks of flats were smashed the whole neighborhood is closed,” he said do what you have to do” despite fear a significant architectural monument of the Ukrainian capital Ukrainian air defenses shot down all five missiles and 40 UAVs Another 20 drones did not reach their targets Several embassies suffered in the recent attack “Let us pray for a ceasefire on all war fronts in all the Middle East and the entire world at Christmas,” the pope said in his Dec 22 Angelus prayer ahead of the Christmas week “Tormented Ukraine continues to be struck by attacks against the city May the weapons be silenced and Christmas carols resound!” the pope cried out “So much cruelty!” he underlined Paulina Guzik is international editor for OSV News In the Kyiv region, a nighttime Russian drone attack caused fire and destruction in Fastiv district and the city of Brovary. Rescuers continue to work to eliminate the consequences of the strike, and 3 killed were reported, according to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine. In the morning, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine also released photos and videos of the aftermath of the Russian drone strike on the Kyiv region. “In Fastiv district, the fragments of a UAV hit a 10-story residential building, causing a fire and destruction on the 6-7th floors,” the emergency service reported. The SESU added that 150 residents were evacuated and an injured man from the 6th floor and a trapped woman from the 9th floor were rescued. The emergency service also informed that 49 rescuers and 13 vehicles are working at the scene, and psychologists from the State Emergency Service are providing support to the victims. In addition, an invincibility point was deployed. “A killed man born in 1988 was found,” the SESU said. The Service also said that in Brovary, the wreckage of a Russian UAV destroyed a residential building, and there was a fire that had already been extinguished over an area of 120 square meters. “The body of a killed man found, and the search for his wife, is ongoing,” the SESU reported. Later, the National Police of Ukraine said that 3 people had already been killed in the Kyiv region as a result of the Shahed attack. As of 7:30 a.m. Kyiv time, in one of the districts of Kyiv region, one apartment building was damaged, in which 11 apartments were damaged. In another district of the region, 8 private houses, 3 cars, a shop, an outbuilding, and a fence were damaged, the police added. “Unfortunately, Russia killed 3 people. A 26-year-old man also suffered burns. The victim was taken to the hospital, where he is being provided with all the necessary assistance,” the NPU said. Last night, there were reports of air defense operations in the Kyiv region, where Russian attack drones were spotted. Later, a representative of the Kyiv region authorities said that the downed drones caused fires in residential buildings in two settlements in the region. In particular, a fire broke out in a 10-story building. Later, local authorities informed that 2 people in two settlements in the Kyiv region were killed in a Russian attack. Several others were injured. Russian drones were also spotted in the capital. In addition, explosions were also heard in Kyiv amid a Russian drone attack. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab , opens new tab Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts. , opens new tabScreen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. © 2025 Reuters. All rights reserved Elopak is deeply concerned by the tragic developments in Ukraine and stands with all those who are suffering at this time Elopak has wholeheartedly condemned the unprovoked attack by the Government of Russia and supports the resulting economic sanctions implemented by the EU and other actors As a result of the ongoing and escalating conflict Elopak is today announcing the suspension of all activities in Russia with immediate effect and until further notice has already been temporarily closed as we work to protect the safety of our colleagues and their families We will continue to pay the salaries of our 336 employees directly affected until further notice Elopak continues to monitor and evaluate the situation We are assessing how best we can adapt our operations to support continued access to essential goods across the Eastern European Region Our overriding priority remains the personal safety and security of our employees in Ukraine We are in constant touch with our co-workers in Kyiv and Fastiv and have established a steering group that is working to support them and their loved ones The decision is not expected to impact Elopak’s operations outside of Russia We’re a global company that operates in more than 40 countries and have customers in over 70 countries Russian troops launched attacks on Kharkiv and Kryvyi Rih using various types of weapons Volunteers from the Ukrainian Red Cross emergency response teams are currently on the ground assisting with the situation George Simion will face Nicusor Dan, a mainstream candidate, in a run-off There are five luxuries it can no longer feasibly afford Friedrich Merz’s career is one of unforced errors and puzzling missteps. But he is serious about Europe Both Donald Trump and Ukraine’s diplomats will consider it a success Головна Сторінка » English stories » Fastiv City Council is Likely to Buy “Toy” Anti-drone Guns After All Slidstvo.Info journalists found that the city executive committee held a tender where Group Intrade won the auction This company dealt with grain and started selling anti-drone guns only a month before the tender After a call from Slidstvo.Info journalists the city council reviewed the results of the tender and quickly rejected the company’s offer stating that the tender documentation did not meet the technical requirements of the goods Group Intrade LLC filed a complaint with the Antimonopoly Committee which ordered Fastiv City Council to cancel the decision to reject its proposal Although the city council may appeal this in court the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine ordered the Fastiv City Council to cancel the decision to reject the tender offer of Intrade Group LLC for the purchase of Spys Compact M anti-drone guns Decision of the Commission of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine the Executive Committee of the City Council should cancel the decision and announce the winner who submitted the most economically advantageous offer The Antimonopoly Committee found that the tender documents did not contain any specific requirements for the technical specifications of the State Standard of Ukraine so Fastiv City Council had no reason to reject the offer of Group Intrade LLC This was reported to journalists by Natalia Kondratovych head of the public procurement sector of the executive committee of the Fastiv City Council The journalists of Slidstvo.Info found in the Prozorro electronic system a tender for the purchase of anti-drone guns ANTIDORON PORTABLE QUERTUS AD G-6 or the equivalent for the amount of UAH 2,757,500.00 by the Fastiv City Council special attention was drawn to the participant Group Intrade LLC (with a charter capital of UAH 1000 the company specialises in wholesale trade in grain Group Intrade started selling anti-aircraft drones only on 22 September 2023) KVERTUS LLC (the largest domestic manufacturer of electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment) offered to buy the ANTIDRON KVSG-6 specified in the tender for UAH 551,500 per unit Group Intrade LLC presented the equivalent of the device with completely identical characteristics and UAH 100,000 cheaper — Spys compact M (UAH 450,000 per unit) there is no mention or photo of this anti-drone in the public domain Group Intrade was declared the winner of the auction and was awaiting the final announcement of the decision journalists of Slidstvo.Info asked the Fastiv City Council to comment on the purchase of uncertified equipment The head of the public procurement sector of the executive committee of the Fastiv City Council noted that the requirements of the tender documentation did not include the availability of test reports for the anti-drone systems Fastiv City Council published a protocol on the rejection of the bid of the tenderer This was due to the sudden discovery that the proposed anti-drone guns Spys compact M had not been tested and therefore had no information on certification the city council rejected the proposal to purchase the Spys Following the publication of the news on the Slidstvo.Info website that Fastiv City Council would purchase uncertified anti-drone guns Mayor Mykhailo Netiazhuk accused the journalists of publishing false information and threatened to sue he said that Slidstvo.Info published the news after the city executive committee rejected the offer of Group Intrade the decision to reject the bid was published in the Prozorro system an hour after the news was published Protocol of tender offers disclosureNetiazhuk also noted that he had received an official request from journalists on 17 November although the request itself indicated a different date — 16 November editor-in-chief of the Slidstvo.Info agency the situation is typical for many Ukrainian officials They spend money on things of dubious quality We are pleased that the authorities are responding to our publications It’s good that the city officials finally changed their minds about spending two million budget hryvnias on a dubious product but it’s bad that the decision was made too late.” disagreeing with the decision of the city council The Specialised Commission for Review of Complaints on Violations of Public Procurement Law considered the complaint and ordered Fastiv City Council to cancel the decision to reject the tender offer the city council is likely to purchase these products Earlier, Slidstvo.Info journalists spoke to the manufacturer of Spys who confirmed that the anti-drone guns do not yet have certificates the journalists showed the technical passport and specification of these guns to the military from the electronic warfare units and asked him to analyse the characteristics of the planned purchase The latter called the purchase a “toy for toys” and the military agreed that only civilian drones would be able to be “downed” by such guns READ ALSO: Charitable Organisation Suspected of Selling Humanitarian Vehicles, but Volunteers Deny It Slidstvo.Info agency traced the path of the 27-year-old Viktoria uncovering the conditions of her detention in .. funding has significantly impacted Slidstvo.Info as nearly 80% of our operations in recent .. Following an investigation by Slidstvo.Info the National Agency on Corruption Prevention reported that it had been .. According to Ukrinform, the acting head of the regional military administration Mykola Kalashnyk reported this in Telegram a 70-year-old woman in Boryspil district suffered an acute stress reaction and was treated on the spot without hospitalization The number of damaged private houses in Boryspil district increased to 10 One private house was damaged in Fastiv district Facades and roofs were damaged, windows and doors were smashed. Outbuildings and two cars were also damaged A fire in non-residential premises was extinguished in Obukhiv district There were no hits to critical infrastructure facilities “All owners of the damaged buildings will be provided with the necessary assistance We are already working on this together with local authorities and international partners,” Kalashnyk assured As Ukrinform reported earlier, houses and cars were damaged and there were fires due to the night attack by Russian UAVs and missiles in Kyiv region While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 Explore how fiber-based packaging is one of the most impactful ways to make your product more sustainable Fiber-based cartons offer an ideal solution to the need for a low-carbon circular economy planet and profit reporting through published reports and other resources strategic priorities and future growth ambitions towards 2030 Download the presentation and watch the webcast here In Ukraine we have a small office in Kyiv and a factory in Fastiv producing Roll Fed cartons and employing 151 employees The plant in Fastiv was temporarily closed on 24th February 2022 In April we resumed some small-scale production in Fastiv to supply customers in Ukraine in support of efforts to maintain supplies of essential goods in the country This came in response to requests from local and central governments in Ukraine The decision was led by Elopak management in Ukraine and has the full support of our senior leadership in Norway we undertook a comprehensive risk assessment that prioritised the personal safety and security of our employees in Ukraine We ensured compliance with all applicable security risk and safety requirements and labour laws including providing a clear evacuation plan and suitable shelter for employees in the event of an emergency Elopak continues to evaluate the risks of operation on an ongoing basis As a company we are heartened by the determination our colleagues in Ukraine have shown for restarting production in the country “At the Fastiv plant we have been strongly advocating the decision to resume production For many of us we have been working at Elopak for a long time and are keen to continue with our work It was a difficult time to resume production and we had to make a big team effort to get operations going again.” “Elopak products support the critical food industry and my team and I recognise the importance of our mission in helping to deliver these products to all Ukrainians especially those in the most difficult areas where people are starving,” Architect Manuel Herz with his wife and baby take part in the opening ceremony of a symbolic synagogue at Babi Yar (Babyn Yar) a place in Kiev where the Nazis shot more than 100,000 Jews between 1941 and 1944 “My sister, brothers, mother and father are all buried in Babi Yar,” Fania Khasidovich told me when I visited her in 2008 in Fastiv a city of 40,000 people about 50 miles southwest of Kyiv It was only a few days before her 92nd birthday But Fania wasn’t talking about the mass grave in Kyiv that was recently hit by shrapnel from a Russian missile targeting a nearby television antenna Between 1941 and 1943 about 1.5 million Jews were murdered by the Germans with Ukrainian collaboration. Many are buried in unmarked mass graves in ravines and forests across Ukraine. The organization Yahad in Unum established in 2004 by Father Patrick Desbois has documented 1,911 Holocaust-era execution sites throughout the former Soviet Union And these don’t even count the more than 500 locales in which 100,000 Jews were killed during the pogroms of 1918-1921 let alone the tens of thousands killed in premodern pogroms by Bogdan Chmielnicki’s Cossacks in 1648-1649 A country with so many mass graves can get overwhelmed by the presence of ghosts and dybbuks it is important to remember the blood of our ancestors that has been shed in this land But it is also important to celebrate the new life that has been struggling to build a free and that is currently holding firm against Russian aggression forests and fields in which mass murders once took place Many have since become places of leisure for a new generation struggling to rebuild and to live again I have seen firsthand through my own work studying these sites that they are not just memorials to the dead but also places of life As a member of a research team that collected oral histories of Yiddish-speakers in Ukraine, I have visited dozens of mass graves and memorials, usually accompanied by survivors who shared with us their stories. Under the direction of the Yiddish linguist Dov-Ber Kerler, our team, called the Archives of Historical and Ethnographic Yiddish Memories (AHEYM) In Slavuta, Ukraine, Maria Liberzon showed us where the town had planted an orchard of trees so that nobody would build over the site of the mass grave About 1,500 Jews had been shot when the Germans occupied the town in August 1941 At a time when the Soviet government sought to de-emphasize the Holocaust it was too dangerous to mark the site with a monument so the surviving Jewish community instead persuaded the local authorities to plant the orchard as a silent marker two young men were kicking around a ball amid the trees In a small village, we visited the site of the Pechera Concentration Camp that the Romanians, who ruled the region south of the Southern Bug River, had established on the grounds of a former noble estate during World War II. Over 10 thousand Jews died in the camp, mostly from starvation or disease. Sasha Kolodenker and Rita Shveibish told us of how they had survived by chewing on beetroot The camp was scenically situated on a hill overlooking the Southern Bug A path led down from the camp to the river from which the starving and thirsty inmates could attempt to fish or quench their thirst at their peril for the Germans waited on the opposite bank shooting at those who came within their sight we passed a small group of day hikers bathing in the water We asked Sasha how he felt seeing people swimming and frolicking in the river But Fish was not disturbed by the desecration of the synagogue — the young people This acceptance of both the tragic memory and present joy was apparent when I last visited Kyiv’s Babyn Yar in July 2019 It was a beautiful warm day and the complex was crowded with picnickers My first reaction was revulsion that people would be so callously disregarding the sacredness of the site But after a few hours of wandering through the ravines and memorials took out the lunch I had packed and sat down in the grass to eat it wants to confront the thorny questions of the past — how to remember Ukrainian nationalists who collaborated with the Nazis or how to memorialize the Holocaust in a respectful manner Even those committed to that memory sometimes need a break it’s OK to just enjoy a hike in a ravine or meet up with friends at the monument that marks the center square Ukrainians are once again being murdered and their cities bombed monuments will surely be erected to commemorate this war as well I hope that amid the destruction and memorialization there will also be a place to kick around a soccer ball and enjoy a picnic To contact the author, email [email protected] Jeffrey Veidlinger is the Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan and the author most recently of In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Forward. Discover more perspectives in Opinion. To contact Opinion authors, email [email protected] I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association Russians attacked the Kyiv region with drones on the night of March 24. Damage was reported in one of the areas, and a person was injured, according to the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration He sustained superficial shrapnel wounds to the abdomen All necessary medical assistance is being provided He is currently being hospitalized in a local hospital," the message states Mykola Kalashnyk added that two private houses were also damaged in the area due to the enemy attack firefighters extinguished a fire at a commercial enterprise The head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration added that more detailed information will be provided later On the night of March 23, Russian forces attacked the Kyiv region with drones. As a result of the enemy attack, damage to buildings was recorded, and there were casualties, according to the Telegram channel of the head of Kyiv Regional Military Administration as a result of the enemy drone attack on the Kyiv region a woman born in 1997 and a man born in 1976 were injured in the Bucha district Preliminary reports indicate that the injuries are minor Medical assistance is being provided," the message states three private houses and a car were reported to have been damaged The enemy attack also affected other areas One private house was damaged in the Fastiv district a fire at an enterprise has been extinguished "All emergency services continue to document and eliminate the consequences of the enemy attack More detailed information will follow," concluded Mykola Kalashnyk Rescuers at the scene (Photo: t.me/Mykola_Kalashnyk) The State Emergency Service of Ukraine reported that as of now the consequences of the enemy attack have been eliminated Two injured individuals have been confirmed rescuers were dispatched to extinguish a fire caused by the debris of a UAV falling on the territory of one of the enterprises A total of 28 rescuers and 8 units of emergency service equipment were involved There were no casualties or injuries," the report states The emergency services also added that at 01:33 in the village of Kriukivshchyna and three private residential houses were damaged as a result of debris falling Russian forces carried out a massive drone attack on Kyiv At least 7 people are reported to have been injured This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page The production of psychotropics was established by a resident of the city He equipped the drug laboratory in his garage and sold ready-made “goods” for cash during personal meetings with verified clients the police seized the prohibited substances from the defendant for almost 100 thousand hryvnias The operatives of the territorial department for combating drug crime together with the investigators of the Fastiv district police department of the Kiev region exposed the illegal activities of the 35-year-old resident of the Kyiv region The police found out that the fastivist equipped a garage on the territory of his household for a drug laboratory for the exacerbation of the psychotropic substance “amphetamine” He ordered all the necessary equipment and precursors via the Internet and sold the finished products for cash exclusively to a trusted circle of customers during personal meetings Law enforcement officers conducted an authorized search of the defendant's residence about 2 liters of amphetamine in liquid state The estimated cost of seized prohibited substances The extracted material evidence is directed to the relevant expert research Investigators informed the defendant about the suspicion under Part 1 of Art transportation or shipment of narcotic drugs psychotropic substances or their analogues without the purpose of marketing) and part 3 of Art transportation or shipment of precursors) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine The final legal qualification of the attacker's actions will be determined upon receipt of the results of the expert study a man may be threatened with imprisonment for up to eight years with confiscation of property Procedural leadership in criminal proceedings is carried out by the Fastiv Interdistrict Prosecutor's Office Department for Combating Drug Crimes of the National Police of Ukraine We use cookies to provide you with better navigation on our website you automatically agree to the use of these technologies the 47-year-old soldier was killed four days ago while performing a combat mission in Kharkiv region Another railroad worker whose life was taken by the ruthless war Growing up in a family of railroad workers he decided to devote himself to this difficult work from a young age This is how he began his career at the Fastiv Motor Car Depot (RPCH-8) He successfully worked his way up from assistant driver to deputy depot manager he worked as a senior electric train driver he stood up to defend his homeland from the very first days He was awarded the War Veteran medal for his participation in the battles for Donetsk region in the fall of 2023 the head of the primary trade union organization at the Fastiv Motor Car Depot He was the previous chairman of the trade union organization his success in work and his dedication to the cause he devoted himself completely to the railroad The entire staff of the Fastiv depot and the trade union committee deeply mourn this heavy loss and express our sincere condolences to his family and friends.” All rights reserved.