Ukraine’s capital reports an uptick in cold and Covid cases
Source: Kyiv City Administration
Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, has seen an uptick in cases of flu, acute respiratory viral infections, and COVID-19, with 10,657 new cases reported over the past week. Although the infection rate remains below the epidemic threshold by 2.2 times, officials are keeping a close eye on the numbers. The current infection rate stands at 361 but it has increased by 11.6%, affecting both children and adults. The alarming data shows that cases among children have jumped to 6,880 from 6,228, marking a 10.5% rise, while adult cases grew by 13.7%, from 3,323 to 3,777. Children account for 64.6% of all cases, with a notable 16% rise among school-aged kids.
Hospitalizations have also risen, with 154 individuals admitted for flu and ARVI, including 117 children. The Kyiv hospitals also reported 162 COVID-19 cases, with 15 of those being children under 17. There are 27 COVID-19 inpatients, including eight children, and three adults are currently in intensive care.
Fortunately, no deaths from flu or COVID-19 complications were reported during the past week.
The alarming situation made Ukraine’s Ministry of Health streamline its COVID-19 vaccination guidelines allowing people to make do with a single dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.