October 18, 2026
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Zelensky says US has resumed sharing intelligence with Ukraine after a three-day pause
In an interview broadcast on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday, October 18, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the United States has resumed sharing intelligence with Ukraine after it was blocked for "a certain period of time." According to Zelensky's office, the pause lasted three days and coincided with Russian ballistic missile strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure on October 12 and the night of October 14. Zelensky also said he hopes negotiations with Washington can take place during the same week, and warned that US alignment with Russia would be "a historic mistake and a great tragedy."
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Ukrainian drones hit St Petersburg oil terminal, VK data centre and bridge in large-scale overnight attack
On the night of 18 October, Ukrainian drones launched a large-scale attack on Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast, striking the Petersburg Oil Terminal, the Ruchyi fuel depot, a VKontakte data centre, a cable-stayed bridge on the Western High-Speed Diameter, and an Ozon logistics centre. Fires broke out at the oil terminal's tank farm and at the Ozon warehouse; Russian authorities reported power outages, restricted flights at Pulkovo airport, and one death plus five injuries in Saint Petersburg. Ukrainian defence company Fire Point said its FP-1 drones were used.
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Zelensky: Russia struck Ukrainian energy infrastructure 76 times since Trump's 'energy ceasefire' announcement
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported on October 18 that Russia has deliberately attacked Ukrainian energy and oil-and-gas infrastructure 76 times since U.S. President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" on October 11. Overnight strikes on substations in Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi and Odesa oblasts left tens of thousands of households without electricity, and Zelensky said the weekly strike tally included nearly 2,700 drones, 1,700 aerial bombs and 66 missiles, most of them ballistic.
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Zelenskyy says Ukraine holds more territory than Russia has taken since autumn, pushes back on Gerasimov's Zaporizhzhia claims
In his evening address on October 18, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory since the start of autumn than Russia has captured, and that the same trend has held in other periods of 2025. He pushed back on claims by Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, asserting that Russian forces are being engaged about 20 km from Zaporizhzhia, not 5 km as Russia claims, and that several named settlements remain under Ukrainian control.
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Ukraine reports Starlink connectivity loss for military drones; Zelensky calls it a "planned special operation"
On 14 October, Ukrainian military drones equipped with Starlink terminals lost connectivity, with the slowdown lasting roughly a day and effects lingering into 17 October. The incident occurred while US President Donald Trump was threatening to halt intelligence sharing over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, speaking in Brussels on 17 October, said connectivity had not fully recovered and described the episode as a "planned special operation." Both Trump and SpaceX owner Elon Musk denied involvement in any throttling.