Have you missed the latest events on the war in Ukraine? 20 Minutes takes stock for you every evening. Here is the gist of this Friday, October 9, 2026, on the 1,689th day of the conflict.
Fact of the day
Will dialogue ultimately lead to peace? The United States is holding discussions with Ukraine this Friday during a meeting in Florida to which national security advisers from several European countries have also been invited.
The Ukrainian delegation must meet Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, emissaries of Donald Trump, for this meeting which “should last two days”, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The Ukrainian team will be led by its chief of staff, Kyrylo Boudanov. On the European side, Washington has invited national security advisers from France, Germany and the United Kingdom, American officials told AFP. The European Union and NATO will also be represented.
The talks will focus on "new ideas" put forward by the United States to end the conflict with Russia, in particular "proposed security guarantees for Ukraine" and "a blueprint for post-war prosperity", the American sources said. Washington judges that concerns about the arrival of winter and energy supplies encourage the resumption of discussions.
The trend
A Ukrainian drone attack in Russia destroyed several units of a data center of the giant Yandex, sometimes nicknamed the “Russian Google”, the company announced Friday. The strike took place in the town of Kaluga, about 150 km southwest of Moscow.
“This could lead to disruptions to some Yandex services. We are currently assessing the extent of the damage,” Yandex continued.
Yandex is the leading Russian-language search engine and is widely used in Russia for services such as taxis and deliveries. It is also dominant in the Russian-speaking world. The day before, a Ukrainian attack targeted another Yandex data center in Sassovo, in the Russian region of Ryazan, about 300 kilometers southeast of Moscow, causing a fire.
Today's statement
“Electricity networks and electricity transmission facilities have suffered considerable damage. The restoration work continues day and night”
The lyrics are by Volodymyr Zelensky. The recent Russian bombings in Ukraine have caused significant damage to the national electricity network, the Ukrainian president lamented this Friday, raising fears once again of a very difficult winter for the population.
In recent days, following Russian strikes on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, authorities have introduced emergency power cuts and restrictions in several regions.
The number of the day
2. This is the number of Ukrainians detained in Austria as part of an investigation into espionage, Austrian authorities said this Friday, while two Ukrainian journalists were also arrested and released.
The first two people were arrested on Monday and two more on Thursday, Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said, refusing to reveal the identities of the people concerned. “They are suspected of espionage. Investigations are underway,” he said, adding that he could not provide further information. According to the Austrian news agency APA, the two men are members of the Ukrainian military intelligence services.
Concerning the two other people arrested, a spokesperson for the prosecution told AFP that they had been arrested on the basis of “suspicions which have not been confirmed”.
