Topic: Presidency
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Ukrainian drones hit three Yandex data centres; Zelensky says social media became 'easier to breathe on'
Between 8 and 11 October 2026, Ukrainian drones struck three of Yandex's five largest data centres in Russia — in Sasovo (Ryazan Oblast), Kaluga and Vladimir (Vladimir Oblast). Cloudflare Radar data cited by Tom's Hardware shows bot traffic from Yandex's network collapsing from roughly 80–88% of its two-week peak a week earlier to about 57% after the first strike and to 0.3–0.4% after the third, while NetBlocks reported Yandex Cloud traffic fell to 30% of normal levels. Speaking by video link at the Warsaw Security Forum, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes made social media 'easier to breathe on' and proved that 'Europe is not the source of the problem.' American historian Timothy Snyder and MEP Tomasz Zdechovský suggested the drop showed Russian hosting of bots supporting Trump and Germany's AfD, a reading fact-check analyses contest.
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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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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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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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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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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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EU to allocate roughly €3 billion in extra military aid to Ukraine next week, Zelenskyy says
After a phone call with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 11 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the EU will allocate approximately €3 billion in additional military support to Ukraine during the week of 12–18 October, with the funds directed to drones and missiles. The call came just before a Russian Shahed drone hit a power station in Kyiv, and Zelenskyy noted that further strikes on energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv region followed an earlier US statement on an energy-related ceasefire.
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Russia strikes Kharkiv's TEC-5 power plant despite declared energy ceasefire, Zelenskyy says
Russia struck the TEC-5 energy facility in the Kharkiv region on the evening of 11 October, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his evening video address, despite an "energy ceasefire" previously announced by U.S. President Donald Trump. The strike, carried out with Shahed drones and aerial bombs, forms part of a reported week of more than 200 Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure and at least 150 civilian deaths.
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Tusk and Zelensky hold phone call as Ukraine reports intensifying Russian attacks
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke by phone on 11 October. Zelensky briefed Tusk on Ukraine's defense needs and what he described as a marked increase in Russian shelling and destabilization activity. Tusk pledged the full solidarity of Poland and Europe with Ukraine and said he was certain nothing and no one would break Ukraine and its president in the fight against Russian aggression. The two leaders also coordinated their diplomatic activity ahead of EU-level meetings in Brussels.
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Russian strike on Kyiv energy facility causes outages in up to five districts, cuts water pressure
On 11 October, Russia struck an energy facility in Kyiv, triggering emergency power outages across multiple districts, damaging a high-voltage transmission line and reducing water pressure on both banks of the city. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko and operators Ukrenergo and DTEK reported the damage and appealed to residents to limit appliance use. President Volodymyr Zelensky said a Russian 'Shahed' drone hit the facility on the same day US President Trump announced an energy ceasefire, and that TEC-5 in Kharkiv was also struck.
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Russian airstrike hits two apartment buildings in Sloviansk, entrance of five-storey block destroyed
On 11 October at around 09:45, Russian forces struck Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast with an airstrike, hitting two multi-storey residential buildings and completely destroying one entrance of a five-storey block, according to city officials and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Casualty figures evolved during the day: an initial count of four wounded rose to seven, and a later report cited ten wounded and one killed. Ukrainian prosecutors have opened a war crimes investigation into the strike, which used three FAB-250 aerial bombs.
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Zelensky offers to halt strikes on Russian oil refineries if Russia stops hitting Ukrainian energy
On 11 October, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to stop strikes on Russian oil refineries and other energy infrastructure if Russia reciprocally halts strikes on Ukrainian energy. The offer came the same day U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an immediate 'energy ceasefire.' Zelensky said the U.S. announcement was news to him and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had received the relevant orders. The same day, Russia struck the TEC-5 thermal power plant in Kharkiv, continuing a week in which Zelensky said Russian forces launched roughly 1,450 aerial bombs, 75 missiles and more than 1,640 strike drones at Ukraine.
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Russian airstrike on Zaporizhzhia residential building kills 23, including children; city declares day of mourning
Russian forces struck a residential building in Zaporizhzhia with guided aerial bombs in the early hours of October 10, 2026. By the morning of October 11, the death toll had risen to 23 people, including children. Two schoolgirls were among the dead, and the city declared October 11 a day of mourning as search-and-rescue operations concluded.
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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.
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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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Finland to send F-16 ammunition to Ukraine, Zelensky says after call with Stubb
Ukraine will receive ammunition for F-16 fighters from Finland in the coming days, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced following a phone call with Finnish President Alexander Stubb on Saturday, October 10. Zelensky said the ammunition is what currently enables the downing of jet-powered Shahed drones, and thanked Stubb for a Finnish support package aimed at protecting Ukrainian airspace. The two leaders also discussed additional Russian oil-revenue streams that could finance further aggression.
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Russian glide bombs strike Zaporizhzhia residential building; at least 20 killed, including children
On the morning of 10 October, Russian forces struck the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia with five KAB guided aerial bombs, hitting residential buildings. Casualty figures evolved over the day as rescue operations continued: by Sunday, Ukrainian officials reported at least 20 people killed, including three children, with 18 to 32 injured. President Volodymyr Zelensky linked the attack to a recent US-Russia deal on Russian diesel exports, calling it Moscow's "thank-you" for the lifting of sanctions. Zaporizhzhia declared 11 October a day of mourning.
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Miami talks on Ukraine end after one day as Trump announces Russian diesel deal with Putin
On 9 October, US, Ukrainian, European and NATO representatives met in Miami to discuss ways to end Russia's war before winter, but the planned two-day meeting ended after a single day. The Ukrainian delegation cut short its visit and headed home after President Trump announced a phone-call deal with Vladimir Putin to supply Russian diesel fuel to US and world markets, prompting sharp criticism from Kyiv.
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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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Ukraine's General Staff reports 1,710 Russian personnel and 1,757 drones lost in past day
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces published its daily Russian loss report on Facebook for October 9, putting past-day Russian personnel losses at 1,710 and drone losses at 1,757. Cumulative Russian personnel losses since the start of the full-scale invasion are estimated at about 1,549,490, according to the same report. The General Staff notes its figures are being verified.