Topic: United States
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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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Trump administration weighs easing sanctions on Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers to cut freight rates
The Trump administration is considering easing US sanctions on vessels of the so-called Russian "shadow fleet" so they can carry non-sanctioned oil and petroleum products, aiming to lower record-high global tanker freight rates and boost Persian Gulf exports. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright raised the issue in a video address to the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh this week. The move comes days after Trump temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian diesel, a step that drew sharp criticism from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European countries, and some Republican senators.
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France's foreign minister says Europe now supplies two-thirds of Ukraine's intelligence
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in a France Inter interview on 15 October that two-thirds of the intelligence currently received by Ukraine comes from European countries, including France. His comments come amid uncertainty over US intelligence sharing following reported threats from Washington to halt it if Kyiv continues striking Russian energy infrastructure. Barrot said Europe has long shouldered the main share of support to Ukraine and accused the Kremlin of using social media to spread demoralisation. He did not directly confirm or deny that Washington had reduced intelligence sharing.
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Trump announces deal for Russia to supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel to US market
On 9 October 2026, Donald Trump announced that Russia would immediately supply 300,000 tonnes of diesel fuel to American and world markets under a deal with Vladimir Putin reached during a phone call. On the same day, the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued General License 135, authorizing specified transactions involving Russian diesel through 7 April 2027. The deal was justified by Trump as a way to lower diesel prices that had risen because of a war with Iran ahead of the 3 November midterm elections; critics from both parties argued it contradicts a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports and the sanctions Trump himself signed in September.
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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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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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UK to speed LMM missile deliveries to Ukraine during Zelensky's London visit
During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to London on 14 October, the British government announced it would accelerate deliveries of Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) to Ukraine to counter Russian jet-powered drones, including a £45 million air-defence missile package with £10 million in deliveries expedited ahead of winter. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, cited in Ukrainian coverage as 'Енді Бернем' / 'Andy Burnham', instructed ministers to prepare additional sanctions and military and financial aid packages in coming weeks and said the UK is fully implementing a ban on maritime services for Russian LNG.
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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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Zelensky confirms US warned it could halt intelligence sharing if Ukraine keeps striking Russian oil refineries
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in an NPR interview that the Trump administration warned Ukraine it could stop sharing intelligence if Ukrainian forces continued to attack Russian oil refineries. Zelensky said the warning was conveyed to his generals, not to him personally, and that as of the interview the exchange had not actually been halted. The warning comes as Kyiv was hit by ballistic missiles on the evenings of October 12 and 13 without advance US warning, and SpaceX imposed speed-based restrictions on Starlink and Starshield terminals used by the Ukrainian military. Trump publicly denied that intelligence sharing had been stopped.
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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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Petraeus: Ukraine is the "real laboratory" of future warfare, NATO needs revolutionary change
Former CIA Director retired General David Petraeus said at the Warsaw Security Forum that the war in Ukraine is the real laboratory of future warfare and that NATO countries must carry out urgent, revolutionary institutional military changes. He said these must go beyond handing drones to existing units, and should touch doctrine, training, procurement, personnel policy and infrastructure, while predicting a shift toward autonomous and AI-enabled systems.
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Russian ballistic missiles hit Kyiv energy plant and apartment block; Ukraine reports no partner warning
On the evening of October 13, Russian ballistic missiles struck Kyiv, hitting the TEC-4 (CHPP-4) thermal power plant and a nine-story residential building in the Desnianskyi district. Ukrainian officials said international partners did not provide advance warning through the usual intelligence-sharing channels, and that Ukrainian air defence detected the missiles only as they were approaching the capital. It was the second consecutive night Kyiv was hit by Russian ballistic missiles without a partner warning.
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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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EU figure contradicts Trump’s $250 billion claim on payments to Russia for energy
An EU source told European Pravda that EU countries paid Russia about 197 billion euros (around 209 billion dollars) for fossil fuels from March 2022 to July 2026, undercutting US President Donald Trump’s claim of 250 billion dollars. The figures come as Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky criticised a parallel Trump-Putin understanding to allow Russian diesel fuel exports, calling it “unfair and dishonest.”
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Zelensky says Ukraine ready to meet US negotiators in coming days
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine is ready to meet with American negotiators in the coming days and that he has conveyed the proposal to US President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. In his address he framed the talks as part of ongoing team-level negotiations on paths to peace, voiced Ukraine's support for a US-backed energy ceasefire, and stressed that Russia must also join such an agreement.
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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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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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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.