Topic: Politics
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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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Ukrainian parliament summons Kyiv mayor Klitschko to report on winter preparations
The Verkhovna Rada voted 151 in favor on October 13 to summon Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko for a report, on an initiative by Servant of the People MP Maryana Bezuhla. Klitschko delivered a 5-minute address the following day, calling the accusations of sabotaging heating-season preparations baseless and arguing that the summons was an attempt to remove him and erode local self-government. The vote came after repeated Russian strikes on Kyiv's energy infrastructure, which Klitschko said have destroyed the city's own generation capacity and forced full dependence on the national grid.
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Syrskyi in first major interview since dismissal: Ukraine's war outcome uncertain, Kursk operation a success
Former Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, dismissed by President Zelenskyy in July, gave his first major interview to the BBC in which he said it is impossible to say with certainty whether Ukraine is winning or losing the war, defended the 2024 Kursk operation as a successful and necessary maneuver, and detailed his procurement-related disagreements with former Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. He denied issuing any ultimatum to Fedorov and said the decision to remove him rested solely with the president. The interview was published on 13 October 2026.
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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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Ukraine's top investigator faces questions on brother's real estate, deflects to family
Oleksiy Sukhachov, director of Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (DBR), spoke for the first time to journalists from Slidstvo.Info about an investigation into 143 apartments and office premises in Kharkiv acquired by his brother, businessman Oleksandr Sukhachov. Encountered on the morning of October 8 at a public sports ground in Kyiv, Sukhachov called the information "not corresponding to reality" and told reporters to contact his brother. The encounter was physically obstructed by unidentified men in black, one of whom identified himself as a law-enforcement officer. The interview followed an earlier pre-publication court ban on the investigation that triggered a multi-outlet solidarity action and condemnation from international press-freedom groups.
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Ukraine's parliament adopts minority-education law demanded by Hungary, clearing path to two more EU accession clusters
On 12 October 2026, Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada adopted and President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a law expanding educational rights for national minorities and indigenous peoples — the change Hungary had demanded in exchange for unblocking two EU accession negotiation clusters. Hungary's foreign minister confirmed Budapest will agree to opening clusters 2 "Internal Market" and 3 "Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth" at a Ukraine–EU intergovernmental conference planned for 13 October in Luxembourg, where the EU's Coreper had already signalled readiness to approve the negotiation positions.
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Ukraine's finance minister tells Rada country is in liquidity crisis, blames $29.5bn shortfall in partner aid
Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko told the Verkhovna Rada on 12 October that Ukraine's state budget has fallen roughly 50 billion hryvnia short of planned revenues over nine months of 2026, with 39 billion hryvnia in payments deferred to year's end and capital expenditures blocked. He attributed the squeeze to a $29.5 billion shortfall in expected partner support tied to delayed reforms under IMF, EU and World Bank programs. Marchenko said military pay and social programs remain fully funded, but the Rada must now pass dozens of reform-related bills to unlock the rest.
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Kyiv prosecutor sues city authorities over missing mobile shelters
The Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office has filed a lawsuit against the Kyiv City State Administration (KMDA, the city's executive body) and the Kyiv City Council, the city's elected legislature, seeking to compel the installation of mobile shelters in public places. The prosecutor's office argues that current Ukrainian law places the obligation on local authorities and that, despite the ongoing full-scale war, Kyiv has no above-ground rapid-deployment shelters in public spaces. A court has opened proceedings in the case.
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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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UK's Starmer and Zelensky agree to meet after phone call on sanctions and air defense
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer agreed during a phone call to hold a bilateral meeting in the coming days. The call covered continued UK sanctions on Russia, Ukraine's need for air defense, and a joint demand for an immediate energy ceasefire. It came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's public call for Ukraine to change its leadership and a reported US–Russian agreement on Russian diesel fuel supplies.
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MAGA figures blame Ukraine's strikes on Russian refineries for U.S. fuel-price pain ahead of midterms
U.S. conservative commentators, media figures and a Republican senator are publicly accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of deliberately striking Russian oil refineries to hurt President Donald Trump ahead of the November 3 midterm elections. The Ukrainian outlets reporting on the wave say the narrative is being pushed across blogs, television and social media and is amplified by an expected Russia-to-U.S. diesel deal. Ukrainian sources frame the accusation as a politically motivated distortion and note counter-voices inside the U.S., including a bipartisan bill to block sanctions relief for Russian oil.
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Trump tells Ukraine to elect a new president, a day after announcing US-Russia diesel deal
On October 10, US President Donald Trump said Ukraine needs a new president who can make a deal to end the war with Russia, accusing Volodymyr Zelensky of choosing not to end the conflict despite repeated opportunities. The remarks came a day after Trump announced a deal struck during a phone call with Vladimir Putin under which Russia will supply large volumes of diesel fuel to US and world markets, with the US issuing a Treasury license suspending the relevant sanctions until April 7, 2027. Zelensky condemned the diesel deal as weakness and a "gift to Putin for his birthday," and said the Ukrainian negotiating team meeting in Miami had been used as a "screen." Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said Zelensky has the support of the Ukrainian people and that only Ukrainians can decide who leads them.
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Zelensky publicly rebukes Kyiv authorities over resilience plan as Russian strikes damage energy grid
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on 9 October that Kyiv's city authorities had "almost completely" failed to carry out the required steps of the national resilience plan, setting separate tasks for the capital. The rebuke came amid a third consecutive day of scheduled and emergency power outages in Kyiv and several oblasts following Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, and after Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged residents able to leave the city to do so temporarily.
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Former German Chancellor Schröder celebrated Putin's 74th birthday in Moscow, drawing condemnation from Berlin and Brussels
Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder joined Vladimir Putin at Putin's home on 7 October to mark Putin's 74th birthday, according to the Kremlin. The visit triggered sharp criticism from German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, senior Bundestag figures, EU leaders, and members of Schröder's own SPD, while some in the SPD defended the trip as a possible opening for mediation. Schröder travelled to Moscow in connection with the Russian subsidiary of the German Globus hypermarket chain, of whose supervisory board he is a member.
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Full 20 million hryvnias bail posted for ex-presidential aide Iryna Mudra in "Forest Gump" case
The full court-set bail of 20 million hryvnias has been posted for Iryna Mudra, a former deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine and a suspect in the "Forest Gump" money-laundering investigation led by NABU and SAP. The Higher Anti-Corruption Court (ВАКС) confirmed the payment on 8 October, allowing her release from pretrial detention. Mudra's defense had previously failed in an attempt to reduce the bail to 12.5 million hryvnias.
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Hungary lifts block, EU approves screening for Ukraine's clusters 2 and 3
On 7 October, Hungary ended a months-long block on Ukraine's progress in EU accession negotiations, with the EU Council's COELA working group approving screening results for clusters 2 ("Internal Market") and 3 ("Competitiveness and Inclusive Growth"). The same day, EU ambassadors at Coreper agreed to send letters to Ukraine and Moldova requesting their negotiating positions, clearing the procedural path toward a possible Intergovernmental Conference on 13 October at which the two clusters could be formally opened.
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Russia's oil and gas tax revenues drop 17% in nine months despite higher prices
Russia's oil and gas tax revenues fell 17% in the first nine months of 2026, reaching 5,47 trillion rubles ($64.43 billion) compared to 6,61 trillion rubles a year earlier. The decline came even as Urals crude prices more than doubled from pre-war levels, driven by falling production, export constraints and Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries.
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Ukraine's top commander submits first "war plan" to security council, transfers dozens of generals to reserve
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Mykhailo Drapatyi has prepared a so-called "war plan" and submitted it for review to the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO), according to Ukrainska Pravda. The document, reportedly the first of its kind for Ukraine, has been under consideration by the RNBO for several weeks. Separately, Drapatyi has moved dozens of colonels, brigadier generals, and other senior officers into the reserve battalion over the past six weeks.
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EU rejects Ukraine's request to front-load 2027 funding, urges reforms to unlock €34 billion in 2026
The European Union has turned down Ukraine's request to receive part of its 2027 financial support early, telling Kyiv instead to complete promised reforms that could unlock about €34 billion still available this year. Ukraine had asked the European Commission to front-load tranches from a €90 billion EU loan agreed in late 2025 to cover an estimated $27 billion defense funding gap. So far in 2026, Ukraine has received only €15.7 billion from the loan, with slow reform implementation cited as a key reason for the delay.
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Merz accuses Russia of supporting Germany's far-right AfD, offers no evidence
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a speech in Münster that Russia supports the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, without providing concrete evidence. The remarks came at the International Westphalian Peace Prize ceremony, whose 2025 laureate is NATO, and follow a sharp drop in support for Merz's CDU in two regional elections.