Moscow is intensifying efforts to assassinate European defense officials. It is the alarm raised by Western intelligence agencies that has prompted companies to increase security measures around their high-level executives.
Harsh attack from US President Donald Trump after criticism from Kiev for the lifting of sanctions on Russian diesel. 'The time has come for Ukraine to find a new president capable of reaching an agreement, Zelensky only wants to create problems for the world, to stop hitting Russian refineries", attacks the US leader who yesterday signed the diesel pact with Putin. Moscow applauds: "Historical words". But Europe also accuses the tycoon: "This is how he finances the tsar's war".
Today we will continue coordination with our partners; talks with European leaders are planned. Practically every day we coordinate at different levels and work on further defense packages, in particular for air defense and ammunition for combat aircraft. All this serves to protect the lives of our citizens and the interests of Ukraine." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky writes this on X.
"Just this morning, search and rescue operations ended in Zaporizhzhia, where Russia killed 23 people, including four children. Yesterday, the Russians hit a health facility in Kharkiv and, during the night, targeted civilian infrastructure, residential buildings and energy plants. This morning, the Russians hit a five-story apartment building in Slovyansk: an entire section of the building was destroyed and there may still be people under the rubble. And all this continues without stop: This week alone, the Russians deployed around 1,450 aerial bombs, 75 missiles of various types and over 1,640 attack drones, of which around 60% were jet-powered,” Zelensky said.
When the Trump administration launched its latest diplomatic initiative on the war in Ukraine on the sidelines of the UN Assembly in late September, Ukrainian officials were surprised by the breadth of offers made by US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Russia. This was reported by the New York Times, which cites officials familiar with the negotiations, according to whom the Americans have put three profitable economic incentives on the table to induce Moscow to accept a limited ceasefire on energy infrastructure or maritime activities.
In particular - writes NYT - Washington has hypothesized the release of billions of dollars in Russian sovereign assets frozen in the West. Such funds, officials said, were intended as an upfront incentive for partial truces, not as an after-the-fact reward for their implementation. This revived a proposal from the previous year to release funds for Russia; at the time, it was speculated to free up as much as $100 billion.
The Americans also revived a plan to sell shares in Russian oil giant Lukoil - a multibillion-dollar operation - to a group of Middle Eastern investors, some of whom have business ties to US negotiators. Finally, according to officials informed of the talks cited by the NYT, Witkoff and Kushner have relaunched a US proposal that would allow Belarus - an ally and neighbor of the Kremlin - to export potash.
According to the US newspaper, Kiev avoided categorically rejecting the proposals, however asking for the introduction of guarantees and protections: it suggested, for example, mirror payments to Ukraine (of the same amount as the frozen assets) or the granting of further military aid in case of violation of the truce.
"The real cause of the war in Europe is Russia, and only Russia. It would be possible to stop attacks on energy infrastructure today, but Putin does not want to do it. Ukraine will be ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Russia stops targeting our energy infrastructure. Any de-escalation measures must be mutual and supported by concrete guarantees." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this on
Moscow is intensifying efforts to assassinate European defense officials. It is the alarm raised by Western intelligence agencies that has prompted companies to increase security measures around their high-level executives. Assassinations of European civilian targets - once considered taboo even by Russian spy agencies - are playing an increasingly prominent role in these plans. According to the Financial Times, which spoke to officials from five different intelligence agencies, CEOs and other high-level employees have become targets of Kremlin agents.
Russian tech giant Yandex's data center in the Vladimir region was damaged by a drone attack and its operations were suspended, Russian state news agency Tass reported, citing the company. "As a result of a drone attack, the infrastructure of Yandex's data center in Vladimir was damaged. The operation of the data center was completely suspended. No casualties were reported," the statement read.
A child died and five other people, including two children, were injured in Russian drone and missile attacks in the Dnipropetrovsk region last night, regional authorities reported. The attack was launched on the town of Pokrovske in the Nikopol district, Ukrainian media reported, citing regional officials. A 10-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy are among the injured and have been hospitalized along with a 47-year-old man and two women, aged 49 and 61. Russian forces attacked the Dnipropetrovsk region more than 30 times yesterday with drones and artillery, governor Oleksandr Hanzha said.
