Topic: War
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Russia strikes Kyiv with drones for third straight day; woman injured in Darnytskyi district
Russian drones struck Kyiv on the morning of 13 October, with debris damaging a two-storey private house and yard fence in the Darnytskyi district and injuring a woman. The attack followed an evening barrage on 12 October that combined ballistic missiles and drones and hit multiple districts of the capital.
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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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EU launches €115m AGILE defence innovation programme, open to Ukrainian firms
The European Union has created a new €115-million grant programme called AGILE to fund rapid innovation in the defence sector. It targets small and medium-sized companies from the EU, Ukraine, and the European Free Trade Association, with grants awarded within four months and technologies expected to reach the armed forces in one to three years. The European Commission cites Russia's war in Ukraine as a key driver behind the initiative.
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Eleven children, including an infant, returned from Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast to Ukraine-controlled territory
Eleven children aged from 1 year and 4 months to 17 were returned from the Russian-occupied part of Kherson Oblast to Ukrainian-controlled territory, the head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said. The operation was carried out with the charity Save Ukraine under the presidential Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Among those brought back, several said they had been subjected to militarization and intimidation in occupation schools.
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Ukraine's PM meets IMF's Szczurek ahead of November mission to discuss 2026 budget and 2027 financing needs
Ukrainian Prime Minister Serhiy Koretsky met with the Director of the International Monetary Fund's European Department, Mateusz Szczurek, to discuss execution of Ukraine's 2026 state budget and financing needs for 2027. The talks took place at the start of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings week, with an IMF mission to Ukraine expected in November.
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Kyiv's water utility warns of growing supply disruptions from power-grid fluctuations and 40% staff loss
The deputy general director of Kyivvodokanal said the capital's water supply has been failing more often because voltage fluctuations are damaging the utility's 1970s-era electrical equipment, and that prolonged blackouts combined with frost could leave residents without running water and trigger a sanitation crisis within days. He guaranteed tanker-truck delivery of drinking water but could not guarantee that water would reach taps, and warned that a full stoppage of sewage removal could cause a public-health emergency in about three days.
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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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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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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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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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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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SBU says it foiled Russian-directed plot to bomb military bus in Rivne
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) says it prevented an attempt to blow up a minibus carrying Ukrainian military personnel in Rivne, arresting a 19-year-old Kyiv university student. The SBU says the suspect was lured via messages on Telegram promising quick earnings, then directed by a Russian handler who sent him to Rivne to retrieve an improvised explosive device from a cache. The agency describes the case as the fourth Russian-directed terrorist plot it has foiled in the city since the start of 2026.
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Drone strike hits key Russian airfield in occupied Crimea overnight
Explosions and satellite-detected fires were recorded at the Gvardiiske airfield in temporarily occupied Crimea during a drone attack on the night of 12 October. The base is used by Russia to launch drones against Ukrainian territory, and Ukraine's Defence Forces had not commented on the attack at the time of reporting.
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Russia launches overnight missile and drone attack on Ukraine, 15 hit locations recorded
Russia attacked Ukraine during the night of 12 October with one X-59 guided air-launched missile and 121 strike drones of various types, including decoys. Ukrainian air defenses shot down or suppressed 89 drones, but hits were recorded at 15 locations and falling wreckage at 4 others, with several drones still airborne as of the morning.
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Ukraine's HUR publishes 3D model and enterprise data for Russia's 'Kinzhal' missile on War&Sanctions portal
Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) of the Ministry of Defence has released an interactive 3D model and detailed information on the components and production cooperation of the Russian aeroballistic missile Kh-47M2 'Kinzhal' on the War&Sanctions portal. The package names 58 Russian enterprises involved in the missile's production, 22 of them not currently under measures from any sanctions coalition country. HUR called on partners to synchronise sanctions against all involved enterprises and tighten control over technologies used by Russia.
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Russian drones hit railway and energy infrastructure in Zhytomyr Oblast, no casualties reported
Russian forces struck the northern part of Zhytomyr Oblast with drones on the night of 12 October and again during the day, damaging railway and energy infrastructure in the Korosten district, as well as residential buildings in the Korosten and Ovruch communities. Fires broke out at two locations on a transport facility in Korosten and were extinguished by rescuers, who had to withdraw several times due to the threat of repeat strikes. As of the morning of 12 October, no information about casualties had been received.
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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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Ukraine's General Staff reports 264 combat clashes; heaviest fighting on Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka axes
Ukraine's General Staff reported 264 combat clashes over the past day, with the heaviest fighting on the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka directions. Russian forces carried out 73 airstrikes, dropped 238 guided aerial bombs, deployed 8,985 kamikaze drones, and conducted 2,468 shellings of populated areas and Ukrainian positions. Ukrainian aviation, missile troops, and artillery struck an enemy troop concentration area, an artillery system, and a UAV launch pad.
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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.