Babylon
Babel (Бабель) is a Ukrainian media outlet founded in 2018 in Kyiv by Oleksandr Honcharov and Kateryna Kobernyk. It publishes news, analysis and video content covering Ukrainian politics and society.
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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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Trump suspends Russia sanctions under Graham Law, straining US support for Ukraine
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on October 16, 2025 suspending the implementation of sanctions against Russia under the bipartisan Graham Law, days before they were due to take effect. The move, combined with an earlier US–Russian diesel deal and restrictions on Starlink service, has triggered a public dispute with President Volodymyr Zelensky and rare bipartisan criticism in Washington over key American support for Kyiv ahead of winter.
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Trump says Zelensky is 'not the person' the US should be dealing with, calls Ukrainian refinery strikes 'a disgrace'
In a Newsmax interview published on October 15, US President Donald Trump publicly broke with Volodymyr Zelensky, saying he is "not a big fan" of the Ukrainian president and that Zelensky "is not the person we should be dealing with." Trump said it is harder to negotiate with Zelensky than with Vladimir Putin, demanded Ukraine halt strikes on Russian oil refineries, called such strikes "a disgrace," and repeated his call for Ukrainian elections. Zelensky responded in Brussels the following day, saying he finds it easier to deal with Trump than with Putin and that Ukraine is ready to hold elections if Russia accepts a 60-day ceasefire.
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Russia launches 580 drones and two missiles in overnight attack on Ukraine; 536 drones downed
On the night of 14–15 October, Russia struck Ukraine with two Kh-59 missiles launched from the Black Sea and 580 strike drones of various types. Ukrainian air defence neutralised 536 of the drones, with hits recorded at 31 locations and falling debris at 11 more. Strikes and casualties were reported across multiple oblasts, including three deaths in Kropyvnytskyi and three in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
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Ukrainian search expedition finds about 30 remains of 1944 massacre victims in Polish village of Laskiv
A Ukrainian search expedition discovered approximately 30 sets of human remains at an Orthodox cemetery in the village of Laskiv in Poland's Lublin Voivodeship. The remains are identified as Ukrainians killed in a March 1944 attack by units of the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) and Peasant Battalions (Bataliony Chłopskie). The dig was commissioned by the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance and carried out by the communal enterprise 'Dolya' under a Polish permit issued in August 2026.
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SpaceX throttles military Starlink terminals in Ukraine without warning, disrupting drone operations
In the night of October 13–14, SpaceX unilaterally restricted the speed of Starshield — the military package of Starlink satellite terminals — used by Ukraine's Defense Forces, without prior notice. The cap of roughly 100 mph (160 km/h), later reported to have been tightened to 60–70 km/h in some units, disrupted drone operations on the Huliaipole direction, hampered the use of interceptor drones against Russian Shaheds, and forced the cancellation of several missions. President Zelensky called the move a "big mistake," presidential adviser Serhiy Beskrestnov said it was linked to the political situation, and Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski publicly accused Elon Musk of politicizing his products.
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General Staff reports 203 combat clashes on 12 October, 206 since start of 13 October; Russian losses estimated at 1,555,700
Ukraine's General Staff reported 203 combat clashes over the past day (12 October) and 206 clashes since the start of 13 October, with the Pokrovsk direction remaining the most active. Russian personnel losses for the past day were reported at 1,390, bringing cumulative Russian losses since 24 February 2022 to about 1,555,700. Russian forces carried out 90 airstrikes, dropped 301 guided aerial bombs, used 9,516 kamikaze drones, and conducted 2,619 shellings of populated areas and Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian aviation, missile forces and artillery struck a Russian personnel concentration area and a UAV control point.
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Russian drone strikes hit Kyiv and three districts of Kyiv Oblast, killing at least four
On the morning of 8 October, Russian forces attacked Kyiv and three districts of Kyiv Oblast with strike drones, including reactive Shahed-type UAVs. A drone hit a four-storey shop building in the Solomianskyi district, where three people were later confirmed killed. By the end of the day, the death toll in Kyiv had risen to four and the number of injured to nineteen, with thirteen hospitalised. Three districts of Kyiv Oblast were also struck, injuring three residents. Emergency power outages were introduced across Kyiv and parts of the region, and water pressure dropped on the capital's right bank.
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Ukrainian suspect in Nord Stream sabotage seeks asylum in Croatia to avoid extradition to Germany
Volodymyr Zhuravlov, a Ukrainian citizen suspected by German investigators of involvement in the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, has applied for political asylum in Croatia, his lawyer Mykola Katerynchuk said. The asylum request comes after a district court in Pula ruled to allow his extradition to Germany, a decision the defense is appealing. Zhuravlov justified the request by saying he would not receive a fair trial in Germany.
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Anti-Corruption Center says Ukrainian investigators knew of alleged crimes in Skelia regiment since March
Ukraine's Anti-Corruption Center (ЦПК) has alleged that the State Bureau of Investigation (ДБР) may have known since at least March 2026 about alleged crimes in the 425th Separate Assault Regiment "Skelia" but failed to open pretrial investigations until after a Babel media investigation was published in June. According to ЦПК, the Office of the Military Ombudsman sent eight letters to the ДБР and the Office of the Prosecutor General between March and June 2026 describing possible offenses including torture, physical violence and failure to provide medical aid resulting in death; in six of those cases the ДБР declined to open pretrial investigations, citing insufficient grounds.
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Kyiv shootout between SBU and GUR erupts over alleged FSB plot against Chechen exile leader Zakayev
Ukraine's SBU said it prevented an FSB-ordered plot to assassinate Akhmed Zakayev, the exiled head of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria's government, who was in Kyiv for Independence Day on 24 August. The case targeted Stepan Kaplunov, a Russian-national volunteer and deputy commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) embedded in a GUR special unit. On 2 September, a shootout in Kyiv's Berezniaky district during a search of Kaplunov's apartment left three GUR personnel wounded. Kaplunov and RDK say he was abducted by SBU officers on 23 August and his confession was extracted under pressure; the SBU says his group attacked its investigative team. President Zelensky called the incident 'absolutely shameful,' an SBU official was dismissed, and the DBR and Prosecutor General's Office opened investigations.