According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, talks to restore shipping traffic in the Black Sea are in full swing. India, Turkey and Egypt are also involved, Zelensky told journalists. He held separate discussions with the heads of state and government of these states and other countries in the Middle East. There are also suggestions from other nations to end the blockade.
The steel company ArcelorMittal has recorded a write-off of around one billion dollars due to the destruction caused by Russian missile attacks on its factory in Ukraine. The impairment loss primarily reflects damage to property, facilities and equipment, the company said on Friday. The company told the government in Kiev that operations at the plant in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine could not be safely resumed. Five people were killed and 17 injured in four attacks in the past five weeks.
The local ArcelorMittal boss, Mauro Longobardo, explained that they now want to concentrate on maintaining the infrastructure in order to enable production to be resumed after a peace agreement. Since the beginning of the war, the company says it has supported the plant with more than $700 million.
According to authorities, at least one person was killed and numerous others injured in Ukrainian drone attacks on several Russian regions. In the Rostov region, an attack damaged the Novoshakhtinsk oil refinery, which had to temporarily suspend operations, according to Governor Yuri Slyusar. The air defense intercepted around 50 drones there during the night. According to Governor Alexei Russkich, eight people were injured in the Ulyanovsk region, including a child.
In Belgorod, a civilian was killed and another was injured when a drone hit a truck, according to the operations center there. According to Governor Alexander Gusev, air defense destroyed 88 drones over the Voronezh region and four people were injured. In addition, the governor of the Perm region, Dmitry Machonin, announced an attack on an industrial plant.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb has asked US entrepreneur Elon Musk to expand Starlink satellite internet for Ukraine. This should enable Ukraine to attack Russian missile launchers on Russian territory. “That's why (...) I ask Elon Musk to give Ukrainians the opportunity to use Starlink in areas where there are ballistic missile launch pads,” Stubb told Reuters on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. This applies to the occupied territories of Ukraine and Russia and would save lives.
Ukraine has an acute shortage of anti-aircraft systems. Russia's use of ballistic missiles reached record levels in the summer. So far only Patriot systems can intercept them, but their ammunition is severely depleted. Musk activated Starlink for Ukraine shortly after the Russian invasion in 2022, but the service does not work over Russian territory. Unlocking it would allow Ukraine to target mobile launch pads several hundred kilometers across the border.
In response to a wave of suspected acts of sabotage, NATO is increasing the exchange of intelligence information. The alliance must remain "calm and confident" in the face of the threat from Moscow, NATO's supreme commander in Europe, US General Alexus Grynkewich, told the Reuters news agency. Grynkewich describes recent incidents such as an attempted drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport as worrying.
Danish military intelligence has warned that Russia is likely to intensify its hybrid warfare against the West in the coming months. According to official information, the government in Moscow rejects involvement in acts of sabotage in NATO countries.
The Romanian Ministry of Defense has reported the intrusion of a drone into its airspace. The flying object stayed over Romanian territory for around four minutes on Thursday and then crashed near a town in the north of the country, not far from the border with Ukraine. It initially remained unclear who owned the drone.
Romania had previously deployed two F-16 fighter jets. Spain also sent two F-18 fighter jets to monitor Romanian airspace in two locations. According to the ministry, the reason was the location of several drones in Ukraine near the Romanian border. Moldova also reported several violations of its airspace during Russian attacks on neighboring Ukraine.
Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden has defended his support for removing Russian oligarch Mikhail Fridman from the EU sanctions list. Frieden told journalists that they had called for the billionaire to be removed from the sanctions list “in the greater interest of Luxembourg and in order to prevent damage to Luxembourg”. This was “in the overriding interest of Luxembourg”. Fridman is considered a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After days of wrangling, the EU states agreed on Tuesday to lift their sanctions against Fridman and the oligarch Alisher Usmanov. Usmanov's removal from the sanctions list was demanded by France and Slovakia. France wanted to achieve the release of French people arrested in Azerbaijan.
Frieden said his government only called for Fridman's removal after the demand for Usmanov's removal had already been made. This “does not change our support for Ukraine,” he said in response to criticism of Luxembourg’s actions. Fridman is demanding around 15 billion euros from Luxembourg before an international arbitration tribunal because his assets there were frozen there due to an EU sanctions decision.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to Russia's poisoned proposal to meet with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin in Moscow with sarcasm and a curse. When a reporter from Russian state television repeatedly asked him when he would be coming to Moscow, the former comedian and actor replied, audibly annoyed: “On a rocket, damn it!” Ukrainian and Russian media widely shared the clip of Zelensky's visit to New York on social networks.
In particular, the barely audible Russian swear word “bljad” – politely translated as “damn” – caused a stir in the media of both countries. The word is censored in Russia. The Russian reporter Valentin Bogdanov published the video with Zelenskyj's reaction on his Telegram channel, among others. He also posted a photo of Zelenskyj in a children's playground rocket that was obviously generated using artificial intelligence.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he had not heard from Zelenskyy any official rejection of a visit to Moscow. Russia is open to a peace process. “One must strive for peace, but not a temporary ceasefire,” he said. Moscow has consistently rejected Zelensky's proposal for a ceasefire, insisting that the conflict be resolved from its roots first.
The G20 meeting is scheduled to take place in Miami in December. The USA has also invited the Kremlin chief and hopes to take part. The federal government is reacting to this.
The Federal Government “notes” the USA’s invitation to Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit in Miami in December. “We also note that President Putin has not yet decided on the invitation,” said government spokesman Stefan Kornelius to the German Press Agency when asked.
“For the federal government, there is no normality in dealing with Russia given the war in Ukraine,” he explained. Preparations for the summit are underway, “including on this issue”. The federal government is coordinating closely with its partners on this.
According to the Kremlin, there is no decision yet on a possible meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump in December. It is premature to talk about an agenda, says Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US had invited Putin to the G20 summit in December in Miami, Florida, where a meeting with Trump would be possible. Russia appreciates the invitation and will decide on an answer, says Peskov. He also reiterates the Russian position that Moscow is seeking a peace solution and not a temporary ceasefire. Trump has been trying to mediate in the Ukraine war since his return to the White House in January last year.
According to authorities there, the fire at a Polish Starlink station on Wednesday was the result of an act of sabotage. The fire broke out in the generator of the transmitting and receiving unit for satellite communications, says Polish Deputy Prime Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski. The attack was aimed at disrupting the internet connection of various institutions, including the Ukrainian military. The Starlink system is functional.
Czech JAS-39 Gripen fighter jets took off on a patrol flight over Poland during the night. The Czech army announced this on the text message service X. The use of weapons was therefore not necessary and the aircraft returned to their home base.
Artificial intelligence from ChatGPT developer OpenAI is intended to help the Ukrainian government ward off cyberattacks from Russia. The Ministry of Digital Transformation has been accepted into OpenAI's “Daybreak” program, which uses AI software to find and close security gaps.
The US company said it was about protecting civil infrastructure. Utility companies and hospitals in Ukraine, among others, have been exposed to cyber attacks attributed to Russian hackers for years. Last year alone, the Ukrainian cybersecurity authority registered a total of almost 6,000 incidents, the statement said.
After the controversial lifting of EU sanctions against Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Mikhail Fridman, the Baltic states have adopted national punitive measures against the two billionaires. “Estonia did not consider it right to remove these two prominent Russian businessmen from the EU sanctions list and did not support the decision,” said Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna.
Russia shows no willingness to end the war against Ukraine and Usmanov and Fridman continue to support Russia's aggression. Therefore, Estonia has imposed national sanctions against them, it said in a statement from Tallinn without providing further details on specific measures. Neighboring Latvia had previously imposed national financial restrictions and entry bans against the two oligarchs. Lithuania has also taken similar steps.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Russian armed forces hit Ukrainian defense installations, logistics and telecommunications centers as well as ships used by the military in night attacks.
After months of negotiations, two North Korean soldiers captured by Ukraine have been brought to South Korea. South Korean lawmaker Yoo Yong Won, who personally met the two men during a visit to Ukraine in 2025 and has since advocated for their transfer, said at a press conference that they had arrived safely in South Korea a few days ago.
The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj said during his speech at the UN general debate in New York that Ukraine had sent two North Korean prisoners of war to South Korea. "Taking these men alive was not easy. One of them tried to take his own life when he realized he would be captured," Zelensky said.
He also criticized military cooperation between Russia and North Korea: "That too is madness. Why should Koreans give their lives in a war against Ukraine? Kim Jong Un uses them like currency. And he gets something in return." According to South Korean intelligence estimates, North Korea has sent around 15,000 soldiers to support Russia in the war against Ukraine. It is believed that North Korea receives money, military technology and security guarantees from its ally Russia in return.
According to Mayor Vitaly Klitschko, one person was killed and two others were injured in a Russian rocket attack on the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The injured were medical personnel who were being treated in the hospital, said Klitschko. Ballistic missile debris crashed in three districts. A residential building was partially destroyed. “People could be trapped under the rubble,” writes Klitschko on the short message service Telegram. He calls on residents to stay in shelters.
