Yesterday, Trump told Volodymyr Zelenskyy, regarding the attacks on Russian refineries, to “stop it already,” adding that Ukraine should have a “new president.” All this came just a few days after his administration authorized the import of Russian oil into the United States through April 2027. Zelenskyy responded today in a way that was to be expected: Ukraine is willing to stop bombing Russian refineries the moment Russia stops bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. “The real cause of the war in Europe is Russia, and Russia alone,” he said, noting that any de-escalation must be mutual and backed by real guarantees, because Russia has violated agreed-upon ceasefires so many times that a promise alone is not enough. According to him, an energy ceasefire is achievable right now; it’s just that Putin doesn’t want it. Let’s recall a context that seems to have been overlooked in Washington: On October 8, Russian attacks on the power grid plunged Kyiv into near-total darkness, and they have not ceased since then. In September, the General Staff estimated that 45 percent of Russia’s refining capacity is idle. In other words, the very strikes that Kyiv is supposed to stop are the ones working best of all. And this also happened:

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• Russia’s Yandex lost its third data center in four days. Following the centers in Sasovo in the Ryazan Region and Kaluga, the company today completely shut down operations in the Vladimir Region, where a fire broke out after a drone attack, according to the TASS news agency. Yandex Cloud acknowledged this morning a “power outage in the ru-central1-a availability zone,” which corresponds to the Vladimir facility. According to the Ostorozhno Novosti channel, people across Russia were unable to order taxis today; customers in Serbia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia reported the same difficulties. The Yandex Pro app for drivers and couriers, as well as smart home services, were not functioning. Yesterday, the company added drone and missile attacks to its terms of service as a force majeure event that relieves it of its obligations.
• Ukrainian drones damaged the bascule railway bridge over the Don River between Rostov-on-Don and Bataysk. Service had to be suspended on both tracks, and Russia acknowledged delays affecting 25 long-distance trains on routes from Moscow and St. Petersburg to Adler, Novorossiysk, Anapa, and Mineralnye Vody. Tavriya trains bound for occupied Crimea were delayed by up to three and a half hours. According to open-source reports, this is a key logistics hub for the Russian military, through which military cargo and reinforcements are transported to the southern front. Monitoring channels reported possible damage to the lifting mechanism itself, though this has not been officially confirmed. Meanwhile, the ATESH movement had already reported on October 6 that Russia was fortifying bridges across the Don River against drones.
• Last night, Russia launched an attack using 116 Shahed-type attack drones, 95 of which were jet-powered, along with Gerber drones and Parodija decoys. According to preliminary data from the Air Force, air defenses shot down or neutralized 94 of them, including 74 jet-powered Shaheds; ten drones struck seven locations, and debris fell at nine sites. Over the past day, Russian attacks have killed at least two people and injured 25. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, an 11-year-old boy was killed and nine people were injured, including two 8-year-old girls; in the Donetsk region, one person was killed and four were injured; in Kharkiv, six were injured, including a child; in the Kyiv region, four were injured; in Sumy, two were injured; and in Kherson, one was injured.
• Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia sent a joint letter calling for a ban on the transit of Russian grain through European Union territory, a halt to the export of grain stolen from occupied Ukrainian territories, and the strengthening of the Solidarity Corridors between the EU and Ukraine. “The European Union must not become a conduit through which Russia offsets the economic consequences of its own aggression,” the letter states. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotsky welcomed the initiative; the prime ministers of the three Baltic states will meet with other leaders on October 14 in Brussels, where Zelenskyy will also be present.
• Eighteen Ukrainian companies already have permits to export finished weapons. According to its head, Davyd Alojana, the Export Control Commission has processed more than 400 applications and approved over 90 percent of them. Ukraine’s arms production capacity is expected to reach $55 billion this year, compared to roughly $1 billion annually at the start of the invasion; in some categories, Ukraine produces up to 50 percent more than it can use or afford. The Ministry of Defense and the General Staff retain the right of first refusal.
• Around 5:00 a.m., a Russian drone struck an ambulance near Sum that was heading toward the exit. The 44-year-old driver and the 59-year-old paramedic were injured; according to preliminary reports, their injuries were not serious. The crew managed to get out of the damaged vehicle on their own, and their colleagues then transported them away despite the risk of a second strike.
• According to the Financial Times, which cites five European intelligence agencies, Russia’s military intelligence service, the GRU, has stepped up attempts to assassinate top executives at European defense contractors. The goal is reportedly to weaken support for Ukraine. In response, the companies have stepped up personal security for their executives.
• Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius stated that the Netherlands considers Russia an enemy, not merely an aggressor. “Russia is our enemy. And no, that doesn’t mean we’re at war,” she said. No other European Union country has yet phrased it so explicitly.
• Overnight, Ukrainian drones struck a Russian air defense position in Sochi, specifically in the Sirius area. During the same wave of attacks, Sochi’s oil infrastructure was also hit; the images show six destroyed tanks at the Rosneft depot and three damaged or destroyed tanks at Lukoil-Yugnefteprodukt.
• Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal called the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil a historic mistake. According to him, Estonia restricted imports of Russian fuel precisely at the urging of the United States, so it is necessary to continue cutting off Moscow’s revenue streams.
• Even after the U.S. market opens up, Australia will still not allow Russian fuel to enter the country. According to Australian officials, they do not want Vladimir Putin to profit from the war in the Middle East.
• In the first nine months of the year, the European Union imported a record 12.18 million metric tons of Russian liquefied natural gas from the Arctic, 9.5 percent more than last year.
• The death toll from yesterday’s guided missile strike on a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia has risen to 20, including three children; 32 people were injured.
• The Japanese Ministry of Defense has signed a contract to purchase Ukrainian interceptor drones from SkyFall.
• Spain and Greece have refused to hand over Patriot missiles, which are nearing the end of their service life, to Ukraine.

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• Updated RuAF Losses
• Samara
• Happiness
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• “Trump is a pedophile”
• Minus fuel storage
• To Crimea by Pontoon
• He caught him
• Minus the data center
• Minus the pontoons

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Ukrainian drones made a nighttime foray nearly as far as the Arctic Circle. In Ukhta, in the Komi Republic—nearly 1,700 kilometers from the Ukrainian border—a column of black smoke rose above the Lukoil-Ukhtaneftepererabotka refinery following an airstrike. Meanwhile, in the Tver Region, the Redkinsky Experimental Plant—which manufactures components for the Decilin-M fuel mixture used in the Kh-55 and Kh-101 cruise missiles, the very missiles Russia is using to strike Ukraine’s energy infrastructure—caught fire. And in the Kaluga region, several modules of the Yandex data center were completely destroyed—the second Russian data center belonging to the same company to be hit in two days. Following the attacks on Ukrainian data centers, Zelenskyy put it quite succinctly: “We always respond in kind.” Meanwhile, Yandex has removed its data centers from maps. As if that would help anything. And this also happened:

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• A Ukrainian delegation arrived in Miami for two days of talks with U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Representing Kyiv were Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Presidential Office; his first deputy, Serhiy Kyslytsya; Rustem Umerov, director of foreign intelligence; and Davyd Arachamiya, chairman of the Servant of the People parliamentary faction. Washington also invited national security advisors from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as representatives from NATO and the EU. On the table are security guarantees for Ukraine, a postwar reconstruction plan, and, according to Axios, a partial ceasefire that would be limited to attacks on the energy sector and grain exports. Ukraine has already indicated that it would agree to this, while Russia has remained silent so far. Witkoff and Kushner are expected to travel to Moscow to meet with Putin in October—their third visit this year. The Trump administration is seeking a breakthrough in the negotiations before the U.S. congressional elections and before winter sets in fully.
• Montenegro has detained Mikhail Zvinchuk, the founder of the pro-war Telegram channel Rybar, along with his wife and three associates. The former press officer of the Russian Ministry of Defense is on sanctions lists, and the U.S. State Department is offering up to $10 million for information leading to him and members of Rybar in connection with interference in (not only) U.S. elections and influence operations. According to Montenegrin media, this was a joint operation by the police and intelligence services against the hybrid activities of Russian information networks. The group was reportedly filming material in the country intended to damage Montenegro’s tourism industry and economy. Prime Minister Milojko Spajić wrote on X that Montenegro is protecting its interests and that no one will jeopardize its European future.
• After more than twelve hours, Austrian police released Ukrainian investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach, head of the investigative department at Ukrayinska Pravda. He was in Vienna on an editorial assignment, investigating the fugitive former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, whom NABU and SAPO suspect, as part of Operation Carthage, of covering up fraudulent call centers in exchange for bribes. Cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko was also detained; according to editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva, he was injured during the raid. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Tkach’s release, but the editorial office called the detention unlawful and is demanding that Austria explain the circumstances, provide information on Bondarenko’s condition, and return the confiscated phones.
• Over the past day, Russian attacks in Ukraine have killed at least 41 people and injured 67. The Donetsk region has been hit the hardest, followed by the Zaporizhzhia region, with 1,039 strikes across 51 municipalities. Between 4:50 and 5:59 a.m., six guided bombs struck Zaporizhzhia itself, killing one person and injuring nine, including a child; police and firefighters evacuated twelve people. Overnight, Russia deployed 136 drones, including 93 jet-powered Shaheds; air defenses shot down or neutralized 114 of them. On the outskirts of Chernihiv, a Geran-type drone set a hypermarket on fire.
• Ukrenergo reports new power outages in Kyiv and six regions: Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa. In some of these regions, hourly schedules and restrictions on industrial use are in effect. At 9:30 a.m., consumption was 11.4 percent higher than the previous day because it was cloudy in the west and residential solar panels could not keep up with demand. A Russian drone struck a power facility in the Poltava region, cutting off electricity to 6,000 customers.
• British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, during his first visit to Ukraine in this capacity, announced a winter aid package worth 54 million pounds, or about 71 million dollars. Twenty million will go toward emergency repairs to energy grids, backup generators, and solar power systems, with another 34 million to maintain heating and water infrastructure throughout the winter. According to Miliband, the package sends a message to Putin that the British will not be easily worn down.
• Teddy Young, a sailor in the British Royal Navy and a 24-year-old military intelligence specialist with a high-level security clearance, appeared in court for the first time. According to the indictment, between November 2024 and May 2025, he collected classified information for the benefit of a foreign power and wrote a report in Russian containing classified data. The judge remanded him in custody; the next hearing is scheduled for October 16.
• The Rating Agency released a poll conducted from October 3 to 5. In a hypothetical first round of the presidential election, Volodymyr Zelenskyy would receive 22.9 percent, Valeriy Zaluzhnyy 20.2 percent, Petro Poroshenko and Mykhailo Fedorov 7.6 percent each, Kyrylo Budanov 6.7 percent, Andriy Biletsky 5.4 percent, and Dmytro Razumkov 5.1 percent. 9.2 percent of the population remains undecided.
• At the Pidzamche station in Lviv, a Lviv-Sokal diesel train collided with an electric locomotive as it was departing. Five people were injured, and the train engineer was trapped in the cab. Railway experts are investigating the cause.
• Kyiv police officers defused two unexploded ballistic missiles that had landed near residential buildings. Each weighed half a metric ton.
• Kyiv Mayor Klitschko urged residents to leave for the winter. According to him, it will be a matter of sheer survival.
• Ukraine will participate in the Future Forces international defense exhibition and forum in Prague.

Interesting videos

• Updated RuAF Losses
• Russian Airstrike on a Playground
• A Ukrainian drone and its launch
• A Russian on the recipient’s side
• Russian Mine Clearance
• Russian Air Defense
• The drones are operating
• Belgorod

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It’s Putin’s birthday, and his generals apparently knew what he wanted. Overnight, they fired 183 projectiles at Ukraine: five Iskander-M ballistic missiles, North Korean KN-23s, and S-400 anti-aircraft missiles launched along a ballistic trajectory, plus Zircons and Onyxes, 48 Kh-101 cruise missiles, Iskander-K and Kalibr missiles, and 130 attack drones, 46 of which were jet-powered. Air defenses intercepted 161 targets; strikes have been reported in eighteen locations in Kyiv and twelve regions. The worst damage occurred in Pryluky in the Chernihiv region, where a missile destroyed two entrances to a five-story prefabricated apartment building and killed nine people, including three children. By noon, the total death toll from the night’s attacks had risen to fifteen, with over forty injured. Zelenskyy stated that the key target was the energy sector and that Russia wanted to strike “painfully and demonstratively”—and the demonstration was successful, because in Pryluky, a building where the families of gas company employees lived was burned to the ground, and the rest of the city was left without gas. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha summed it up succinctly: “For Putin’s birthday, Russian generals gave him his favorite gift: war crimes.” He added that perhaps his final gift will be a prison cell in The Hague. And this also happened:

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• The Aframax oil tanker Rio, carrying between 95,000 and 100,000 metric tons of oil, has been burning in the Black Sea since early yesterday evening, when it was struck by naval drones 11 kilometers from Sochi. The ship is flying the Liberian flag, is en route from Novorossiysk to India, and has been on Ukraine’s sanctions list since February as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. All twenty-three crew members, all Indian nationals, have been rescued. The Russian Ministry of Transport announced today that “oil is currently burning in the Black Sea” and that firefighting operations can begin only once the intensity of the fire has subsided enough for rescue vessels to approach safely. Putin’s residence, Bocharov Ruchey, is located about thirty kilometers from the site of the incident.
• Following the nighttime attack, some residents were left without power in the Vinnytsia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Poltava, and Chernihiv regions, and Ukrenergo began emergency repairs wherever the security situation permitted. Hourly power outages are in effect today in Kyiv and six regions—Sumy, Poltava, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv—ranging from half to one and a half groups; in addition, power limits are in effect for industry and businesses. Ukrenergo states that the extent of the blackouts has not changed since the attack and recommends using high-power appliances between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., when solar power generation is at its peak.
• According to Ukrainian air defense forces, Russian drones could reach speeds of 800 to 900 kilometers per hour in the future. Ukraine is currently shooting down about 57 percent of them, while the success rate for conventional Shahed drones is 85 to 90 percent. Five models of interceptor drones are being tested, but they will not be available in sufficient quantities until late November at the earliest. According to spokesperson Cherevashchenko, the F-16 is one of the most effective weapons against jet-powered drones, but the aircraft consume resources at an extremely high rate, and Ukraine is in critical need of assistance from its partners.
• At the Latvian-Belarusian border, armed, masked individuals threatened Latvian soldiers and actively pushed a group of at least twenty migrants toward Latvia. A few hours later, the masked men entered Latvian territory, damaged electrical wiring, and stole two cameras. Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava warned that “Belarus should understand that such incidents could lead to more serious consequences for Belarus itself.” This year alone, Latvia has blocked 11,925 attempts to cross the border illegally.
• The ISW confirms Ukrainian advances north and northeast of Lyman as part of Operation Vivaldi, near Yampolivka and along the Zherebets River, as well as Ukrainian control of Rai-Oleksandrivka east of Sloviansk, the expansion of counterattacks in the Kostiantynivka direction near Rusyn Yar, and the holding of positions southeast of Novoselivka, west of Orikhiv. The institute does not confirm any Russian advances anywhere. DeepState, on the other hand, has documented a Russian advance near Bilytske in the Donetsk region.
• Bulgaria today called off the search for the crew of a cargo ship that sank following an overnight drone attack in its exclusive economic zone, about 130 kilometers off the coast; some sailors remain missing. Eighteen people were rescued from the second vessel that was struck, two of whom are seriously injured. President Iliana Yotova convened the Consultative Council for National Security in response to the attacks.
• Zelenskyy announced that over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces had struck four targets that “help Russia finance and wage its brutal war”: two oil facilities and a military training ground in the Perm Krai, Samara Oblast, and Astrakhan Oblast, as well as an operation in the Black Sea. He described these as “justified Ukrainian responses to all Russian attacks against our people.”
• The SBU has uncovered a Russian propaganda operation in the occupied town of Oleshky. According to the SBU, the occupation administration was ordered to involve local residents in a series of videos on a predetermined topic: accusing Ukrainian defense forces of shelling and blockading the town, discrediting the Ukrainian leadership, and thanking Russian soldiers.
• Donald Trump announced that he will speak with Putin “very soon” regarding the unexplained death at a Russian research facility in Irkutsk, where a case of pneumonic plague is suspected. The United States has issued a health alert, while the World Health Organization has assessed the risk of spread as low.
• The new high-voltage power line between Moldova and Romania will be called the Trump Liberty Line. The U.S. Embassy in Chisinau made the announcement; the U.S. investment in the interconnection is expected to total $130 million.
• The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Russia by a vote of 21 to 5. China, Cuba, Ethiopia, Burundi, and Vietnam voted against the resolution, while Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa, among others, abstained.
• Slovak Defense Minister Robert Kaliňák rejected Germany’s assessment of Russia as the main threat to European freedom. “I disagree with it because we do not view Russia as a threat to Slovakia,” he said.

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• Updated RuAF Losses
• Sochi
• Sochi, too
• The “bird hospital” burned down after a Russian airstrike
• Humvee Robot
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• Add to Collection
• A Russian drone struck civilian cars
• Russian rocket
• Another memorial to North Korean soldiers from the “SVO”
• Dnipro
• POV: Russian in the Crosshairs

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While the world’s major cities are still debating what format of peace talks would suit Putin best, Russia has devastated Kharkiv. The city suffered two major strikes in a single day. Overnight, Banderol jet drones struck the city in a classic “double-tap” attack, in which the second strike targets the area where people and firefighters have already gathered. The attack left one person dead and eight injured; at least ten multi-story buildings were damaged, and an office building and cars were on fire. Around 2:40 p.m., three guided aerial bombs struck the Slobidsky district, hitting a five-story residential building, the DBN company—which manufactures drywall panels for the reconstruction of destroyed buildings—and a tailor’s workshop. According to Oleg Synehubov, head of the Kharkiv Regional Administration, the afternoon airstrike left six people dead and fifty-nine injured, including three children. An 11-year-old girl is in critical condition. Rescue service spokesperson Yevhen Vasylenko reported that two people were pulled alive from the rubble. Mayor Ihor Terechov, however, warned that there may be others still trapped beneath the debris. It is worth noting that Putin and his propaganda machine consider Kharkiv a “Russian city.” And this also happened:

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• Ukrainian drone strikes have already taken out more than 51 percent of Russia’s oil processing capacity. In mid-September, that figure stood at 45 percent. Defense Minister Yevhen Khmara described this as a significant blow to the enemy’s economy and its ability to wage aggression and supply its military units. According to the International Energy Agency, Russian production fell to 3.8 million barrels per day in June—the lowest level in twenty years—and by mid-September, 204 strikes on 28 major refineries had been confirmed. Repairs to secondary units take six to eight months. A Moscow refinery with a capacity of 250,000 barrels per day is expected to remain out of operation until early 2027. In addition, Ukraine has tripled its production and purchases of long-range drones this year. On September 28, Putin signed a decree restricting the publication of data on the status of refineries.
• Overnight, Russia launched more than 205 attack drones at Ukraine. By 8:00 a.m., air defenses had shot down or neutralized 172 of them; strikes were recorded at thirteen locations, and debris fell at three others. In the Sumy region, 45 strikes on 21 communities left one person dead and several injured; in Mykolaiv, a Banderol missile damaged warehouses and vehicles and injured one person; in the Dnipropetrovsk region, nearly fifty drone and artillery strikes across three districts left one person dead and one injured. In Sloviansk, three airstrikes killed one person and injured three others, including a child.
• Russian drones attacked the cargo ship Royad Mammadov, sailing under the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis and owned by the Turkish company MG Shipping 5, in the Black Sea. It was carrying corn from Izmail, Ukraine, to Ravenna, Italy, and was struck in Romania’s exclusive economic zone, about nine nautical miles from the Pescăruș platform and twenty miles from the Romanian coast. The captain and another crew member were killed. Three people were injured. One sailor is missing, and eleven were rescued. The crew consisted of citizens of Azerbaijan and India. The ship caught fire after the strike and sank.
• Mykhailo Drapatyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who has held the position since July, is decentralizing command on the front lines. Six operational groups have been formed, including two new ones: “Centr,” under the command of Andriy Biletsky, and “Azov,” under the command of Denys Prokopenko. Both have been assigned the toughest sectors in the Donetsk region, including Kramatorsk and Dobropillya. Drapatyj has placed several dozen senior officers, including colonels and brigadier generals, on reserve, while Serhiy Sobko and Emil Iškulov have been returned to active duty.
• Germany has signed fifteen agreements with Ukraine worth over 8.5 billion euros, including deals on anti-drone solutions, increased production of missiles for the Patriot and FREYJA systems, radars, and ground-based unmanned systems. The package is worth over 1.3 billion euros. Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that Germany will contribute more than 557 million euros to the Ukrainian Energy Support Fund, and an additional 50 million will go toward the reconstruction of the New Safe Confinement at Chernobyl.
• Eight officers were killed in the crash of a Russian Tu-95MS bomber on September 29 near the village of Krasnoyarovo in the Amur Region; three of them are listed in the Ukrainian database “Book of Executioners” because they participated in organizing missile strikes against Ukraine. They are Andrei Lobanov, Fyodor Pavlyukov, and Andrei Gerasimov. Their identities were confirmed by Mediazona. The plane crashed during a training flight from the Ukrainka airbase.
• Estonia is gradually relocating the main units of its 1st Mechanized Brigade from Tapa to Jõhvi, which is about fifty kilometers from the Russian border, down from the previous 130 kilometers. At the same time, a new military base is being built in Narva with a capacity of up to 1,000 soldiers—200 in peacetime and an additional 800 in wartime.
• Satellite images of the Khanskaya airfield in Adygea, Russia, showed two aircraft parking bays completely burned out following a nighttime drone strike. According to the SBU, Su-35 and Su-34 aircraft and an air force munitions depot were hit. Russia trains military pilots at the same base.
• Ukrainian drones delivered about four metric tons of humanitarian aid to the occupied town of Oleshky—approximately 400 packages containing food, medicine, and supplies for children. More than 6,000 residents remain in Oleshky, including about 200 children.
• Putin has authorized the Italian group UniCredit to reorganize and sell its Russian subsidiary. A private investor from the United Arab Emirates is set to acquire UniCredit Bank Russia. The bank will retain its payments division.
• The Ukrainian army has a “Bolívar Battalion” led by a defected Venezuelan military officer, Colonel Jose David Chaparro. It consists of about 250 soldiers, mainly from Colombia, Chile, and Venezuela.
• At the Palanca border crossing in the Ștefan Vodă district of Moldova, a Russian projectile ricocheted upon impact and struck a civilian bus. A Moldovan border guard was injured.
• After a phone call with Emmanuel Macron, Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian pilots will soon begin training on French Rafale fighter jets.
• For the first time, the Ukrainian Air Force shot down jet drones using automatic machine gun turrets equipped with artificial intelligence.

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• Updated RuAF Losses
• A Russian drone and a Ukrainian balloon
• Minus Gvozdika
• Action in the Trenches
• Minus
• Russian helicopter chases drone
• Automatic Turret

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