Kremlin
The Kremlin is the informal name for the Government of the Russian Federation, derived from the Moscow Kremlin complex that houses the presidential administration and residence. It is widely used as a metonym for the Russian executive power and its decisions in foreign affairs.
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WSJ: Putin proposes Trump–Putin–Xi summit on Ukraine; Rubio confirms talks
The Wall Street Journal reported that Vladimir Putin proposed during his 9 October phone call with Donald Trump a trilateral summit with Trump and Xi Jinping to discuss ending the war in Ukraine on terms favourable to Moscow. The Kremlin suggested holding the meeting on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Shenzhen on 18–19 November, in a format that would not include Volodymyr Zelensky. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed discussions are ongoing but said no concrete agenda exists, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed in Samarkand on 19 October that talks about a possible meeting have taken place.
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Russia launches massive combined strike on Kyiv overnight, killing one and damaging metro, shopping centre and energy infrastructure
On the night of 18–19 October, Russia struck Ukraine with Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles, Iskander-K cruise missiles and 269 strike drones, including 59 jet-powered Shaheds. Kyiv was hit by two waves of ballistic strikes at around 23:00 and 03:00, killing a 21-year-old woman and damaging residential buildings, a medical facility, an educational institution, a metro station and the Cosmo Multimall shopping centre. Ukrainian officials say the first wave arrived without partner warning; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said he did not know exactly what happened.
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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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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 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 massive new campaign of strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities
On 16 October, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov publicly reported to Vladimir Putin that Russia had begun a dedicated campaign of massive strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Overnight into 17 October, Russian forces hit energy facilities in 10 oblasts, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying more than 15 power generation and transmission sites were damaged in one of the largest such strikes on record.
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European leaders brace for Trump siding with Moscow as energy sanctions are rolled back
European leaders gathering at an EU summit in Brussels this week are bracing for a scenario in which US President Donald Trump effectively sides with Moscow after a week of steps that rolled back years of US energy sanctions on Russia, pressured Kyiv to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, and publicly questioned the legitimacy of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters in Brussels that "the Western alliance is now in a weaker position than it was a few days ago," and several EU leaders privately said Trump is inclined to attack Kyiv and back Moscow, and is unlikely to change. Zelenskyy has said he feels betrayed and publicly criticised Trump. Despite the friction, the US continues to sell weapons and share intelligence with Ukraine.
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US proposed handing frozen Russian assets to Washington-controlled vehicle; Europeans reject plan
The United States proposed to European allies that part of roughly €260 billion in frozen Russian sovereign assets be unfrozen and transferred to a financial structure under US control, to revive peace talks on Ukraine, the Financial Times reported on 15 October. European delegates rejected the idea, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz publicly insisted the assets remain frozen in Europe with Europeans deciding their fate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow had no information about the proposal.
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Zelensky says he will not resign, calls it 'my responsibility'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Piers Morgan that he has no intention of resigning, calling the question of his replacement a decision for the Ukrainian people rather than for Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or anyone else. He said holding elections is impossible under wartime conditions, even as a source close to him dismissed reports that Kyiv was considering capitulation.
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Russia hits Kyiv energy grid with 39 ballistic missiles and 128 drones, knocking out power for 600,000
Russia launched a massive combined strike on Ukraine overnight on 13–14 October, using 39 ballistic missiles and 128 strike drones against energy and critical infrastructure in Kyiv, Kyiv Oblast and Kharkiv. President Zelensky said at least 600,000 people were left without electricity and that the main target of the Kyiv attack was the TEC-4 combined heat and power plant, which sustained direct hits. Three people were killed in Kyiv, more than 20 were injured, and the attack came days after U.S. President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine.
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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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Polish president accuses PM Tusk of exaggerating Russian threat for political gain
Polish President Karol Nawrocki said in an interview with Rzeczpospolita that the level of Russian threat has not significantly changed in the past six months and accused Prime Minister Donald Tusk of using that threat for personal political gain. Tusk responded on X, thanking Nawrocki for his honesty, and the two leaders' offices traded further barbs in a public dispute with direct implications for Poland's alliance standing and domestic threat assessments.
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US and Europe draft four-part Ukraine peace plan as Trump–Putin diesel deal overshadows Miami talks
On 9 October, US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner hosted a six-hour meeting at Witkoff's Shell Bay golf club near Miami with a Ukrainian delegation and representatives of the UK, France, Germany, the EU and NATO. The US envoys asked Ukraine to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries, relayed that Vladimir Putin is not yet ready to negotiate and is conditioning talks on receiving the remaining roughly 11% of the Donbas under Ukrainian control, and announced that Donald Trump had struck a separate deal with Putin on Russian diesel exports. President Volodymyr Zelensky rejected the strike demand and called the diesel decision "unfair and dishonest." The Washington Post subsequently reported that Washington and European capitals are shaping a four-part peace proposal covering reconstruction financing, NATO-Article-5-style security guarantees, economic and energy integration including a possible Russia–Europe pipeline, and a ceasefire along the current front line. Ukraine's presidential office dismissed the leak as "not bad PR" rather than a joint US–European document.
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Kellogg breaks with Trump, says Ukraine should be free to strike inside Russia
Former US special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg said at the Warsaw Security Forum that Kyiv should be free to hit targets in Russia, including oil refineries. His remarks put him at odds with US President Donald Trump, who over the weekend called on Ukraine to stop such attacks. Kellogg dismissed Trump's recent statements, including the suggestion that Volodymyr Zelensky consider leaving the presidency, as "noise."
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NATO estimates Russian losses in September exceeded 50,000, roughly 10 times Ukraine's
A senior NATO military official told Bloomberg that Russian personnel losses in Ukraine in September exceeded 50,000, including up to 28,000 killed, compared with about 5,000 Ukrainian losses over the same period. The official attributed Russia's high attrition to offensive tactics that send troops into "kill zones" saturated with Ukrainian drones, mines and artillery. Bloomberg said it could not independently verify the figures.
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Kremlin endorses Trump's call for new Ukrainian president; European leaders rally behind Zelensky
The Kremlin publicly backed US President Donald Trump's statement that Ukraine should elect a new leader, with spokesperson Dmitry Peskov citing Volodymyr Zelensky's alleged unwillingness to make difficult decisions to end the war. Zelensky responded by offering to hold elections if Russia agrees to a 60-day ceasefire and said Ukraine will defend itself against Russian aggression regardless of American pressure. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Foreign Minister and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly expressed solidarity with Zelensky ahead of the 12 October EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Luxembourg, where EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said wartime elections are constitutionally barred and that international pressure should be directed at Russia.
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Trump announces "energy ceasefire" with Russia; Kremlin declines to confirm, Ukraine says it wasn't told
On 11 October, US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine was taking effect immediately, claiming both sides had agreed. The White House later told Axios that the proposal referred specifically to mutual cessation of strikes on oil refineries, described as "refinery for refinery." The Kremlin declined to confirm any deal, and within hours Russian forces struck energy infrastructure in Ukraine, including the TEC-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv. Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum on 12 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the announcement was news to him, that Ukraine has only one oil refinery while Russia has an extensive network, and that if Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire this winter, Ukraine will respond.
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Sikorski urges NATO to prepare decisive response to potential deadly Russian hybrid attacks
Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, in a Financial Times interview during a visit to London, called on NATO to prepare a decisive response to potential deadly Russian hybrid attacks in Europe. He proposed concrete measures including closing Russian consulates, restricting Russian diplomats, requiring biometric passports for Russians entering the EU, and reducing tourist visas issued to Russian citizens.
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Tusk at Warsaw Security Forum: Ukraine fights for survival, Russia for domination
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk opened the Warsaw Security Forum in Warsaw on Monday, 12 October, framing Russia's war on Ukraine as a fight between Russian domination and Ukrainian survival. He pledged that Poland "cannot and will not" signal yielding to intimidation of Western support for Kyiv, and said Poland and NATO are preparing for various scenarios after his conversation with NATO's European commander General Alexus Grynkewich.
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Trump announces Russian diesel deal with Putin, urges Ukraine to choose a new president
On October 9, 2026, US President Donald Trump held a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and announced an agreement to allow between 300,000 and 3 million tons of Russian diesel fuel onto US and global markets. Trump then publicly attacked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, accusing him of being able to end the war but choosing not to, and saying it was time for Ukraine to choose a new president. Zelenskyy called the decision weak and a gift to Russia that would fund the war, while bipartisan US lawmakers and European leaders condemned the agreement.