The special on the war in Ukraine
Ukraine, end of truce in Oleshky. Zelensky: "Stop refinery raids if US missiles arrive"
Russia "is losing, we are holding our positions. To stop these senseless losses, Russia would only need to choose a ceasefire and diplomacy", underlined the Ukrainian leader. Two people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed in a Russian drone attack in central Ukraine. Moscow accuses Kiev of a massive raid in which an "industrial plant" east of Moscow was hit with a drone, while Ukraine claims it hit a major oil refinery
Ukraine is defeating Russia at the head of battle and therefore it is time for Moscow to choose the diplomatic path. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is convinced of this, reporting the latest developments on the battlefield in a post on "Russia is losing. We hold positions, liberate territory and make sure that every day of war has the highest possible cost for the aggressor. To stop these senseless losses, Russia would only need to choose a ceasefire and diplomacy", he underlined.
Two people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed in a Russian drone attack in central Ukraine. Two cars caught fire after being hit in the attack, which took place inside a vocational training institute in the Vinnytsia region, the Ukrainian national emergency service announced on Telegram. Meanwhile, Russia accuses Kiev of a massive raid during the night and of hitting an "industrial plant" east of Moscow with a drone, while Ukraine claims to have hit an important oil refinery.
In the meantime, work is underway on a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin at the Apec summit in China.
Trump-Zelensky, from the ambush in the Oval Office to the reconciliations
Donald Trump's latest frontal attack on Volodymyr Zelensky is just the tip of the iceberg of a turbulent relationship between the two leaders, which has its roots in the tycoon's first presidential term and has as its backdrop the president's fascination with Vladimir Putin. Here are the main stages of a relationship made up of ups and downs that never took off definitively.
Ukraine, 227 billion in EU aid from 2022: 110 billion remain to be financed in 2027
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made it clear at the European Council that the war against Russia next year will cost 155 billion euros, and said that a contribution of 70 billion will be needed. Community funds in Kiev and the cost of the conflict in 2027 were the topics at the center of the October 16th episode of "Numeri", an in-depth analysis by Sky TG24.
Zelensky: "Stop refinery raids if US missiles arrive"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared that his country will stop targeting Russian oil refineries - complying with a request from US President Donald Trump - as long as Washington supplies Kiev with Patriot interceptor missiles. Trump, grappling with domestic inflation - caused largely by soaring energy prices, in turn fueled by his war against Iran and the Russian-Ukrainian conflict - has called on the parties involved to cease attacks on each other's energy infrastructure.
Interviewed on Sunday by US broadcaster Fox News, Zelensky said he had had "several" conversations with Trump and his team regarding the issue. "We explained that we cannot sit idly by after Russian attacks on our energy system; Russia is killing our people, hitting our power grids, gas, refineries, everything," he told Fox News host Trey Yingst.
"We said: if you want us to stop attacking Russian refineries, they must stop attacking our energy system. Alternatively, provide us with Patriot missiles; we will find the funds, we don't just ask for help," the Kiev leader said.
Zelensky specified that if Washington provided the missile systems, Kiev would suspend attacks on Russian refineries for a month. Patriot missiles represent one of the crucial resources available to Ukraine to intercept Russian drones and missiles.
Asked whether he feared that such a proposal could be interpreted as an attempt to exert "pressure" on Trump, Zelensky responded in the negative. “I have no fear in sharing the truth between partners,” he said.
Kiev, suspected app hacking warns of air strikes in Ukraine
The Ukrainian Air Force's air strike warning app may have been hacked. Ukrinform reports this, citing the Ukrainian Air Force itself. “The Air Alert application may currently provide incorrect information due to possible hostile influence,” the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on Telegram. "The Air Alert application was probably exposed to hostile influences. There is no threat of radiation!", the message reads. The Ukrainian Armed Forces Air Force urges everyone to remain calm and follow official messages.
War Ukraine Russia, Putin's plan to leave Kiev in the cold
With autumn now underway and the cold season upon us, Russia has begun to persistently strike Ukraine again, targeting the country's energy sites. And according to what was reconstructed by the New York Times, it would be a very specific strategy: Moscow's idea would be to leave Kiev in the cold during the winter, with the aim of weakening the morale and resistance of both the civilian population and the army. The cities of Kiev, Kharkiv and Odessa would be listed as priority targets.
The humanitarian truce in Oleshky expires
The ceasefire located around Oleshky, a city in southern Ukraine under Russian occupation, ended at 10.59pm local time (9.59pm in Italy), after several days of truce which allowed the evacuation of the inhabitants. "During this period, the parties fulfilled their commitments. This made it possible to deliver humanitarian aid to Oleshky and help civilians who wanted to leave the city safely," Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram, adding that he is working with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, on new "humanitarian initiatives." The truce in Oleshky was the longest held by either side since the Russian invasion began in 2022.
Pam: "Food assistance for over 400 displaced people from Kherson"
Over 400 civilians evacuated from Oleshky, in the Kherson region, have arrived in Kiev in worrying medical conditions after months of isolation and deprivation, receiving immediate assistance from the World Food Program (WFP). The organization communicates this in a note. People who managed to escape during a brief local truce after being trapped by the fighting received hot meals upon their arrival and will be supported with food aid for the first two weeks, with the organization ready to expand interventions as needed. “For people who have endured months of fear, isolation and deprivation, this humanitarian respite offers something very simple but incredibly important: the chance to reach safety and receive the help they need,” said Luke J. Lindberg, WFP Executive Director. “We recognize the role of US First Lady Melania Trump in making this ceasefire possible. We hope that this moment can pave the way for lasting humanitarian access, so that assistance can reach civilians wherever they need it.” WFP had monitored the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Oleshky and had previously attempted to provide support, but was not granted access. “We were able to respond quickly and effectively thanks to the flexibility of US funding,” said Richard Ragan, WFP Representative and Director in Ukraine. “We can expand immediately when we have the right resources and operational space for our staff, our partners and the people we serve.”
Bulgaria confirms pro-Russian Yotova, defeating pro-European Ghiurov
The curtain falls on the presidential elections in Bulgaria, with the largely announced victory in the run-off of the outgoing head of state Yliana Yotova, who, according to exit polls and preliminary results, far surpassed her challenger Andrei Ghiurov. Supported by Prime Minister Rumen Radev and his Progressive Bulgaria party, the socialist Yotova - in favor of dialogue with Moscow - obtained 58.2% of the votes, according to the projection of the Miara opinion poll agency. The pro-European Andrey Ghiurov, supported by the liberals of Democratic Bulgaria with allies from the 'Continue the Change' party, instead stopped at 38.6%. The remaining percentage of voters instead chose the "I'm not voting for anyone" box. As in the first round, however, the turnout was very low: just over 29% of those entitled to vote had voted at 7pm local time, one hour before the polls closed. Yotova, 62, is a journalist and activist of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, MEP from 2007 to 2017, vice-president of Bulgaria from 2017 to last January, when she replaced Rumen Radev.
Ukraine-Russia war, what Kiev's Operation Vivaldi is and how it proceeds on the field
Operation Vivaldi is the code name chosen by the Ukrainian army for the counteroffensive launched in the north of the Donetsk region, in the Lyman area. An operation kept under strict confidentiality for a long time and made public by Kiev only in the last few days, after months of activities on the ground.
Zelensky: "Russia is losing, choose diplomacy"
Volodymyr Zelensky starts from the ground and, claiming a superiority of the Ukrainian forces over the Russian ones consolidated in the last month, relaunches the appeal to Moscow to choose the path of diplomacy. That is, a resumption of negotiations ideally sealed by a face-to-face meeting with Vladimir Putin as a guarantee of willingness to negotiate. “In October, our forces inflicted record losses on the enemy and recaptured more territory than the Russian occupiers managed to capture,” the Ukrainian president said, reporting more than “54,000 dead and seriously wounded” in Russian ranks in just one month. "Russia is losing - he added -. We maintain our positions, liberate territories and make sure that every day of war costs the aggressor as much as possible". However, the path of diplomacy remains uphill, even after the extraordinary parenthesis in Oleshky: the truce in the southern Ukrainian city occupied by the Russian army allowed an unprecedented joint operation to evacuate civilians, which however remains an isolated episode. Moscow has refused to extend the ceasefire, a Ukrainian presidential official said, reporting that Kiev's Foreign Ministry had actually put forward "a proposal to extend" the truce but that "the Russians don't want it." During the ceasefire which expired on Sunday evening, civilians trapped in the exhausted town were evacuated, but also 167 people from other areas of the Kherson region, the Ukrainian General Staff said, specifying that the operation concerned settlements located in territory controlled by Ukraine, along the Dnipro river.
Attack alarm in Moscow, investigations by 007 USA and Fsb: teenager arrested
The alarm was triggered on Saturday 31 October after a report arrived at the US embassy in Moscow. The arrested young man had published a video on TikTok in which he threatened to commit a crime in the museum park: "The communications revealed a TikTok account used to publish threats, a subscription to a neo-Nazi channel on Telegram and a significant number of searches relating to terrorist attacks, massacres and other violent events", added the FSB.
Ukrainian war, Pope Leo at the Angelus: "After Oleshky I hope for new peace initiatives"
The Pontiff, during the Angelus homily, addressed a thought to the civilians living under the bombs of the war between Russia and Ukraine. “I hope that the collaboration between the parties that made this dutiful gesture of humanity possible will increase the desire for dialogue and lead to new concrete peace initiatives,” said Leone.
Russian raid on school, 2 dead including 13 year old girl
Two people, including a 13-year-old girl, were killed in a Russian drone attack in central Ukraine. Two cars caught fire after being hit in the attack, which took place inside a vocational training institute in the Vinnytsia region, the Ukrainian national emergency service announced on Telegram. Four other people - two five-year-old girls, a 16-year-old boy and a 24-year-old man - were injured and taken to hospital, the service said.
Media: Moscow rejected a proposal from Kiev to extend the truce to Oleshky
Russia has refused to extend the ceasefire.
